johnsjar

Today we spent the whole morning practicing what we need to know for the ranking. Next Tuesday there is no class as the school is having a parents/teacher meeting. So the ranking will be next class, which is next Saturday.

My toe gave me grief today, especially in the front thrust and snap kicks. I wished I had brought some tape with me but I did not. Next time I will bring some.

So, just when I think I have all the moves (blocks) down pat, they make me walk backwards while doing them. Talk about hilarious. At my white belt level, learning all the basics is fairly simple as long as one practices so that the muscles and neural pathways have learned the proper way to coordinate the movements. Of course, the higher belt levels are much more complex in terms of katas and moves. But still, learning to walk forwards while punching and blocking is one thing, but reversing that and moving backwards requires additional coordination training.

The great thing about karate even at the simplest level (white belt) is that you are using your entire body, almost every single muscle at the same time for almost every move in a kata. It really is a “holistic’ or should I pun “whole-istic” body experience. You don’t have to demonstrate absolute perfection of form or show great power to benefit from this. In this sense it is much like Tai Chi, but when done correctly the moves are done with speed, power, and accuracy. So far at my white belt level, there is only one single move in kata number 5 where there is a slow shuto (knife hand), and it occurs only once. In that sense it is not like Tai Chi where all the moves are done as slowly as possible in the most common styles of Tai Chi we are familiar with.

This is not to say one cannot do katas slowly. One can and should, but only for training purposes, not for actual use in competition katas or fighting. For example, it is a lot harder and requires much more strength and control to perform a kick or block slowly as opposed to as snappy as possible. You can try any vigorous movement for yourself and you will find that if you do it slowly, you will wobble around like a drunken sailor. The slower you go the harder it is to maintain control.

So the point of slowness is to develop accuracy and strength and also let’s not forget balance.

I am looking forward to the ranking next class. Will I graduate to Yellow Belt? Only your Sensei knows for sure!