Fundamentals

Stances

There are various stances in kata. Here, they are briefly explained.

 

Hachiji-dachi (Natural Stance)

八字立Hachiji-dachi
(Natural Stance)

Stand, separating your heels by a distance roughly equal to shoulders’ width and with the toes slightly outward. This is an ordinary and natural standing posture. This stance is the basis of all stances. Take care to not strain legs, arms, knees, hips, waists, shoulders, etc.

 

Heisoku-dachi (Feet-together Stance)

閉足立Heisoku-dachi
(Feet-together Stance)

From the natural stance, slowly bring your feet together.

 

Kiba-dachi (Horse-riding Stance)

Front

騎馬立(正面)

Kiba-dachi

(Horse-riding Stance)

Side

騎馬立(側面)

Kiba-dachi
(Horse-riding Stance)

Place your heels apart, and bend your knees toward the big toes of your feet. The center of gravity should pass through the center of your body and between your legs.

 

Shiko-dachi (Square Stance)

Front

四股立(正面)

Shiko-dachi
(Square Stance)

Side

四股立(側面)

Shiko-dachi
(Square Stance)

The distance between the heels should be almost the same as in kiba-dachi. Turn your feet as far outward as possible. Keep your spine straight, thrust out your stomach, and bend your knees deeply.

 

Kokutsu-dachi (Back Stance)

後屈立Kokutsu-dachi
(Back Stance)

While bending your knees, move one leg slightly forward. Bend the knee of the supporting leg deeply. The body weight should be placed on your rear leg. Keep your body straight by thrusting out your stomach, and bending your knees deeply.

 

Nekoashi-dachi (Cat-let Stance)

猫足立Nekoashi-dachi
(Cat-let Stance)

From the natural stance, twist your body slightly, change the positions of your feet, and bend your knees deeply, so that you are in a half-facing position against an opponent. In other words, the front leg of kokutsu-dachi is drawn toward the body. The center of gravity should be your rear leg.

 

Zenkutsu-dachi (Front Stance)

前屈立Zenkutsu-dachi
(Front Stance)

Bend the front knee very deeply, and let the rear leg bend slightly and naturally. The body should be straight, and the body weight should be placed almost entirely on the front leg.

 

Fudo-dachi (Immovable Stance)

不動立Fudo-dachi
(Immovable Stance)

From the posture of zenkutsu-dachi, bend your rear knee slightly more deeply and thrust out you stomach, so that the center of gravity is between the legs.

 

 

Offensive techniques

If karate is considered as a combating art, the techniques can be broadly classified into offensive and defensive techniques. General offensive techniques include punching, kicking, hitting, striking, and grabbing. In karate, practice mainly consists of striking and kicking.
Beginners should practice striking and kicking techniques very hard.

 

 

Kicking

In karate, there are various kicking techniques, such as mae-geri (front kick), yoko-geri (side kick), mawashi-geri (roundhouse kick), mikazuki-geri (crescent-moon kick), and nidan-geri (double kick). Here, mae-geri and yoko-geri are briefly described.

There are jodan, chudan, and gedan kicks, depending on target area.

 

Mae-geri (Front Kick)

Practice of mae-geri usually begins from the zenkutsu-dachi. In mae-geri, it is especially important to raise the knee of the kicking leg so that your thigh touches your stomach.

 

前屈立

Zenkutsu-dachi

充分抱え込む

Raise knee.

前方を蹴る

Kick forward

引きながら 再び抱え込む

Lower the leg
with the knee raised.
Return to standing
position slowly.

 

Yoko-geri (Side Kick)

There are keage (side-up kick) and kekomi (kebanashi, side-thrust kick) in yoko-geri.

Practice of yoko-geri usually begins from kiba-dachi. Later, practices should also be done from hachiji-dachi, zenkutsu-dachi, and kokutsu-dachi.

 

騎馬立

Kiba-dachi

左足を出し

Move left leg.

抱え込む

Raise knee.

蹴込む

Kick.

 

Mae-geri and yoko-geri from hachiji-dachi

Mae-geri and yoko-geri from hachiji-dachi are also shown for reference.

 

八字立

Hachiji-dachi
(Natural Stance)

前蹴り

Mae-geri

八字立

Hachiji-dachi
(Natural Stance)

横蹴り

Yoko-geri

 

 

Striking

Fist of Shoto-kai is ordinary and natural fist, but the thumb and the little finger are tightly bent so that the second joint of the middle finger hits opponent. Be careful not to strain your elbow and shoulders while making fists.

Striking practices of oizuki and gyakuzuki are done from the hachiji-dachi and kiba-dachi, and by moving forward from zenkutsu-dachi. Concentrate your power in the fists, and punch as if your fists are going to penetrate completely through the target.

 

Regular Fist

 

Striking from kiba-dachi and continuous movements of oizuki

Striking from kiba-dachi and continuous movements of oizuki are shown with continuous photographs.

 

Striking from kiba-dachi

Never put unnecessary strength in the elbow or shoulder.

 

 

Oizuki (continuous photographs)

 

 

Blocking

Fundamental exercises, blocking is practiced separately from striking. Blocking techniques are not just blocking the attacks of an opponent, but are the forms from which one can spontaneously attack the opponent.
Generally, there are blocking techniques of gedan-barai (lower level block), jodan age-uke (upper-level rising block), shuto-uke (sword-handed block), ude uke (forearm block), and tetsui uchi uke (iron hammer strike block). Here, gedan-barai, jodan age-uke, and shuto-uke are briefly explained.

 

Gedan-barai (Lower Level Block)

Raise the left (right) fist beside the right (left) ear, and thrust the fist downwards to about 15 – 16 cm above the left (right) knee to block an attack.
Gedan-barai from hachiji-dachi is shown with continuous photographs.

 

Jodan age-uke (Upper-level Rising Block)

 

The basic concept is to sweep up an upper level punch from an opponent. It is important to cross the arms by drawing back the arm to be used for block toward the hip of the other side of the body.
Jodan age-uke from hachiji-dachi is shown with continuous photographs.

 

Shuto-uke (Sword-handed Block)

Shuto-uke is a very difficult blocking technique.

 

From hachiji-dachi, flex your knees, support your weight with your right leg only, and move the left leg forward without putting your body weight on the left leg. While moving the left leg, open the left hand (with fingers straight and close together), thrust your right hand out lightly, and bring your left hand above your right shoulder with palm upward. Bring your right elbow to your right side with palm upward in front of your stomach. Thrust your left hand outward from your right shoulder so as to cut and catch the striking arm of the opponent.

 

Shuto-uke from hachiji-dachi is shown with continuous photographs.

 

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