Building a proper fistKarate Worksheet 1
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A Short History of
Shotokan Karate |
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Shotokan Karate was introduced in Tokyo in the 1920's by Gichin Funakoshi. He, in turn, was trained on the island of Okinawa, halfway between China and Japan. Okinawa had been a kingdom without weapons for 250 years, but still had a king and a royal family. In order to protect their king from pirates, unhappy sailors and samarai, the king's bodyguards developed linear style karate, using hard, quick punching and kicking to take on a mob. Funakoshi turned bodyguard secrets into a martial ART that anyone can practice. |
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Linear Karate builds muscle, increases coordination and is mentally stimulating. It teaches discipline and listening skills. Additional self-defense techniques are added into the program for today's uncertain world. |
Ichi (ih-chee) Ni (nee) San (sahn) Shi (she) Go (go) Other useful terms: Dojo (doh-joh) Training
gym (literally: Place of the
Way or of
Enlightenment) Gi (ghee) Jacket, training outfit Karate (kah-rah-teh) Empty-hand fighting Karate-Do (kah-rah-teh-doh) The way of Karate Kihon (key-hohn) Basic techniques Sempai (sehm-pye) A senior student Sensei (sehn-seh-ee) Instructor Shihan (shee-han) Master Instructor Yame (yah-may) Stop
Vocabulary
Practicing at home Stretch before you practice.
Show mom and dad how to stretch, too! Wear loose fitting clothing that you can practice in. Spend each day you practice working on a different part of
your training. Take a break or stop for the day if you get frustrated. Practice in front of a mirror sometimes.
DO NOT practice on your dog, your sister, your brother, your
cat or your parents UNLESS they are also training in Karate. There are many things you can do at home to
help you progress faster in Karate without touching ANYTHING!
DO
Building a proper fist
1. Beginning at finger-tips, curl fingers down towards palm.(No long fingernails!)
2. Curl thumb over fingers.
Remember: Straight wrist, tight fist!
Feet are hip-width apart
and flat on floor, legs are slightly bent, fists are hip width apart. Weight is centered.
You are ready for any move!
You are ready to begin your Kata!
First Kata move and first move in many exercises we do is "left-leg-down-block".
Prepare:
1. Left hand goes up by ear.
2. Right hand goes straight out in front of you.
3. Left foot moves to right foot, knees bent.
Move:
1. Left foot steps forward (3-4 footlengths), left knee bends as right knee straightens.
2. At the same time-left hand brushes down right arm to down block (one fist width above your knee) and right fist moves to just above belt, elbow tight at your side.
t-leg-down-block"
front view
The next move is often "Stepping forward punch".
Stepping forward
punch
1. Back (right) foot goes to front foot, knees are both bent. Heels are touching the floor.
2. (Former) Back foot steps out front and bends at the knee. The back (left) leg straightens.
3.At the same time as the legs and feet, move left fist in to waist, fingers up, and punch from waist with right fist, twisting fist at end of punch, fingers down.
Attention:
Check your position-Are your feet shoulder width apart? Are your hips square to the direction of travel? Is your front knee bent enough? Don't thrust forward using your shoulder, that will throw you off balance! Eventually, your power will come from stepping forward with your legs!
Upper block
Upper block can be accomplished by raising the fist and arm that just perfomed a down block, without stepping forward, OR you do the block as you step forward, instead of punching.
Stepping forward upper block
1. Back foot goes to front foot, knees are both bent. Heels are touching the floor.
2. (Former) Back foot steps out front and bends at the knee. The back leg straightens.
3. At the same time as 1 and 2 - Arms cross in the middle, fingers towards you and blocking arm on outside.
4. Blocking arm ends one fist length above your head, at a 45 degree angle, while resting arm takes the hikete position at waist.