TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR KARATE

5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR KARATE

THINK MORE
Be more conscious of what you are doing, think about your kata in particular, don’t just go through the movement or motion otherwise it just becomes an aerobic exercise class, think about your stances, technique and body position and angles try to improve these.

GET STRONGER
We say you don’t need strength for your karate, but the truth is it does help, you will get stronger with your training as time goes by, but we often don’t push our bodies enough, we don’t get low enough in our stance or push our kicks and punches to go faster, and quite often we don’t even break a sweat, this will not make you stronger or your karate improve.

LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY MOBILITY/MOVEMENT
We don’t often stretch or put our body through full motion movement this will often restrict our stances also kicks and punches, practise regular stretching and mobility exercises otherwise the end result will be poor quality karate.

ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS
We often reply oss to our sensei when training, without thought to ask why? We sometimes don’t understand and just follow the instruction, we should ask why am I doing this movement what does it mean and how does it work? If you don’t understand in your mind how can you make this work through your body!

SLOW DOWN
We often in too much of a rush with katas for example, speed kills technique, clean up your technique/stance then understand how the movement works practise techniques slower, and the speed will come later, Good technique generates speed.

8 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR KATA

1. SPIRIT
The feeling of never quitting or giving up, the feeling that your life is on the line with every karate move.

2. POWER
Practise your technique slowly, understand the movement; as your technique gets better, it gets faster. Technique is power.

3. RELAX
When you have mastered the form of the kata and its techniques, try not to move in a robotic fashion. A tense or stiff body reduces speed and form, so relax your body and let the movement flow, only tensing (kimi) on your kiai.

4. APPLICATIONS
Understand each move in your kata. Bunkai means disassembly of kata into short sequences. Within these sequences are common techniques known as kihon—practise these to improve your kata.

5. TIMING
Each kata has its own timing & rhythm. Don’t rush or make it too slow. Ask your sensei about the timing of the kata, combine this with technique, and see your kata excel.

6. RECORD YOUR KATA
Your sensei can only see what’s in front of him; you can only see what’s in your mind’s eye and a mirror. Record your kata and then play it back to yourself.

7. PRACTISE YOUR KATA OUTSIDE THE DOJO
Practise in a park, woodland, beach, or even in water—you’ll be surprised how different it feels.

8. BREATHING
Breathing must be synchronized with every kata movement. Maintain calm and rhythmic breathing at all times.

KARATE BEGINS AND ENDS IN COURTESY, RESPECT, GOOD SPIRIT, HONOR, AND GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP.