So you’ve seen 5\u00a0year old kids\u00a0pull off remarkably sharp kata like this:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?autoplay=0&v=rFtt5M9IO7c&autoplay=false<\/p>\n
And you’ve seen competitors jump high like this (2:20):<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And you’ve\u00a0probably got a handful of students who\u00a0are *really* sharp too…<\/p>\n<p>But as aesthetically pleasing as these examples are, it surprises me how many students can’t actually apply the movements of the kata in a realistic and effective manner against another person. Fresh air techniques can look sharp and powerful, but lack of understanding and being able to actually make the techniques work are two completely different things.<\/p>\n<p><em>Random thought… <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Remember that movie <em>“Days of Thunder”<\/em> with Tom Cruise? He was ultra fast on an open track – faster than everyone else. But he\u00a0had to learn to deal with other drivers pushing and\u00a0nudging him, and\u00a0that\u00a0wasn’t so easy.<\/p>\n<p>It’s the same deal here.\u00a0Students might look great, but can they apply?<\/p>\n<p>Here is a little <a title=\"more karate drills and exercises here\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/karatedrills\">bunkai exercise<\/a>\u00a0to help students bridge the gap between technique and application.<\/p>\n<p>It works like this…<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Pick a random sequence of kata. To keep it simple, let’s say the first few moves of say Pinan Shodan \/ Heian Nidan.<\/li>\n<li>Have one person stand in yoi dachi (ready stance) and have their training partner approach from the left with a punch or shoulder grab.<\/li>\n<li>Now the first person must turn to their left, shift away and apply their bunkai. Once complete return to yoi dachi.<\/li>\n<li>Now the attacker approaches from the right side. The defender applies the same sequence again, but this time using the opposite side of the body.<\/li>\n<li>Now the attacker approaches from directly in front. The defender shifts back (or moves left or right relative to the incoming attack) and makes the application with either side of the body.<\/li>\n<li>Now the attacker approaches from behind and the defender must turn, shift back, left or right and apply the bunkai once more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Advanced methods:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Attacker approaches from any angle. Defender must apply using whichever side of the body that makes sense. As a general rule move to the opposite side of the incoming attack.<\/li>\n<li>Defender starts with their eyes closed. Attacker approaches from any angle and as soon as they begin their attack, the Defender opens their eyes and applies. The attacker can kiai to alert the Defender before the attack to give them some time to respond. <em>(As opposed to stepping over and punching the defender in the face while their eyes are closed, and THEN then making kiai).<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Defender may apply any kata bunkai you specify <em>(example – they can do any application from a chosen Pinan kata)<\/em>, attacker may attack from any direction.<\/li>\n<li>Defender my apply any bunkai they know from any kata, attacker may attack from any direction.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is all just a precursor <em>(as are\u00a0ippon kumite, and regular kumite)<\/em> to more realistic\u00a0personal defense. An attacker might throw any technique from any direction at any time. The purpose of training is to be prepared for that. This <a title=\"more karate drills and exercises here\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/karatedrills\">exercise<\/a> helps students get one step closer.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So you’ve seen 5\u00a0year old kids\u00a0pull off remarkably sharp kata like this: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?autoplay=0&v=rFtt5M9IO7c&autoplay=false And you’ve seen competitors jump high like this (2:20): And you’ve\u00a0probably got a handful of students who\u00a0are *really* sharp too… But as aesthetically pleasing as these examples are, it surprises me how many students can’t actually apply the movements of the kata […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2839"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4094,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2839\/revisions\/4094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}