Karate Worksheet 1

 

A Short History of Shotokan Karate

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.

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.


 Vocabulary

    Count to five!

   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
 

Practicing at home
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

   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.

            Do your kata 3x.

            Go through your last test (or next test, if you have 3 stripes).

            Do a series of kicks across the room without wobbling.

            Spar with an imaginary opponent.

   Take a break or stop for the day if you get frustrated.

   Practice in front of a mirror sometimes.
proper karate fist 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!
ready position  Front Stance
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!
downblock prepare First Kata move and first move in many exercises we do is "left-leg-down-block" (Gedan barai)

Prepare:

1. Left hand goes up by ear.

2. Right hand goes straight out in front of you.

Gedan Barai, con't

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.		 Front view
oi zuki The next move is often "Stepping forward punch".

   Stepping forward punch  (Oi zuki)

   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.

Side view of Oi zuki (punch).

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.

 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!