Technical Advice

The aim of this section is to offer technical advice on both general and specific techniques. That is not to say the technique will be described in detail, and the information will probably not be of much use if you don't already know the technique. However the common mistakes will be listed so that those points in particular can be checked.

General Goho and Juho

• SK strikes are like a whip action, not a hammer.
• Snap punches back until the elbow hits the chest
• Never fully straighten the arms or legs during punches or kicks
• When punching fully turn the shoulders, especially gyaku zuki
• Do not 'push' the arm out. Concentrate more on the pull back. Whip action.
• Hit with the first two knuckles for jodan, others for suigetsu
• With normal punches keep the elbow vertically beneath the fist, not elbow out.
• With uraken let the wrist go floppy and only tighten the fist at the moment of impact
• Keep your chin tucked in close to the shoulder, head slightly down.
• Disguise the breathing, use the stomach and keep the shoulders steady.
• If you can see your opponents breathing, attack when he breaths in.
• In randoori or a real fight only kiai with an open mouth when kicking (and counterpunch unlikely).
• Do not look at where you are going to attack.
• Do not telegraph your attack by blinking beforehand etc.
• Mae-uchi and kinteki-geri are speed movements, not power ones.
• Front foot usually faces the direction of attack
• When kicking roundhouse or side thrust kick, the supporting heel points to the place of maximum power
• When blocking open hand pull the fingers back
• When pushing off from left or right stance turn the back foot toes forward (like a sprinter)
• Generally defend against gedan kicks by using hiza-uke
• When using hiza-uke turn the toes inwards so the block is not on the shinbone
• Do not retreat so far under attack as to take you out of range of counterattack.
• In general, if you are blocking then counter kicking, do not take a step back.
• If you are being overwhelmed do not close your eyes, nor turn your back.
• Blocks should always be executed at full power and always snapped back.
• During blocking body evasion is used to put yourself behind the block, as well as the block being used to cover. It increases speed and safety.
• When throwing (eg gyaku-gote) keep the elbows in, the hands close to the belt knot and the legs bent.
• Do not bend forward when controlling an opponent, keep your back straight.
• In randoori or real life, if a technique does not work, don't waste time messing about, use something else.
• Do not ignore the importance of atemi with respect to juho techniques.
• Almost all releases can be accomplished by simply moving the arms in a circle, either inward or outward.
• When performing hikimi use the hip action to pull the leg back into cat stance ready to kick.

Exercises and Injury

• To train for stamina do lots of repetitions.
• To train for strength, do few repetitions with heavy weights
• To train for speed use weights equal to about 5% of what can be held at full limb extension, and do just enough reps to get the muscles 'pumped'.
• When doing pushups, do them the same way we punch, with the elbows tucked close in.
• Short pushups are better than long ones. It's the first part of the movement (or punch) that is slow.
• Don't do 'chicken walks' or similar knee killers - under stressful exercise knees should seldom be bent greater than 90 degrees.
• Practice rapid double punches or double kicks with the same limb to develop speed.
• During some parts of the class exercises (kihon) always do one or two at maximum power.
• Also during kihon, the emphasis should be on technical precision.
• To learn a technique sufficient to use it under extreme stress you need to practice it thousands of times.
• Do not 'bounce' stretch.
• Warm up slowly - listen to your body. Everyone has different needs, so get to class early and warm up for the warm-ups.
• If you get an impact injury, eg fingers, toes etc, pull them straight immediately.
• If you get hit hard on the nose, pull it straight immediately, because if it is broken and you wait the pain will be too great.
• If you get hit solar plexus, and there is nobody to provide seiho, stand up straight and pull your shoulders back hard.
• Disperse bruises with massage, even if painful. It speeds healing.
• Apply a cold compress to injuries.
• Anything that seems serious (eg concussion, possible fractures) tell the teacher and seek qualified medical aid as necessary.
• Pulled muscles should be intensively massaged immediately.
• In general, if a muscle pain is dull, you can train through it. Sharp pain indicates injury and requires rest.
• If you can stand, you can train irrespective of injury by training around it. This applies especially to seniors who can instruct.
• If you are ill (eg flu) then it is a good idea NOT to exert yourself.

Syllabus - 5 Kyu

Kote Nuki - Don't forget Yosi-ashi. When releasing don't pull the hand away, rather keep your hand on top of the opponents hand/wrist.

Gyaku Gote - When you roll your hand from the grip hold your opponents hand on your belt. Do not hold their hand out in mid air. When doing the Taisabaki lower your body by bending the legs, not the waist. Maintain the grip in contact with the belt.

Yori Nuki When releasing the grip maintain wrist to wrist contact. Do not snatch away. Use the body and shoulders to push the elbow forward, not just arm strength.

Ude JujiDon't lean forward with your opponent, and don't stand on tip toe.

Ryusui Geri - When doing the Ryusui dodge do not move backwards. The hand in front is not blocking, just covering. After the kick make sure you regain balance before performing juji-ashi.

Uwa-uke Geri - Do not move back. Only lift the leg to kick after the block makes contact, not before. The hand returns to Ichji Gamae as the leg rises to kick.

Uchi-uke ZukiRemember to re-align the back leg once you have moved. Fully turn the shoulders into the punch. Make sure the uchi-uke is high enough - the wrist should be eye level.