Using a <i>Makiwara</i>

*(Makiwara means, literally, "rolled straw." Nowadays, the straw is usually replaced with a cotton pad and is normally placed on a flexible post. Sometimes, instead of placing the pad on a post, it is attached to a spring mechanism mounted directly on a wall.)

Many traditional karate practitioners realize the value of using a makiwara. Some modern karate practitioners opt for a heavy bag instead. Regardless of what is being hit, having feedback from devices such as these can be of great value. This feedback can help you figure out how powerful your punch really is and what it feels like to make contact with something.

Some mistakenly believe that the prime objective of striking a makiwara is to build up the calluses of the punching knuckles. Do you think a violinist does conditioning practice to create the calluses on his/her fingers? A professional violinist develops "pads" on the fingers of the left hand, as a result of constantly pressing against the strings. From repetitious practice, calluses often develop. But these do little to help the practitioner. They are merely a side effect of practice. The idea of using the makiwara to strengthen the fist is not totally wrong. But it is not the knuckles that are being conditioned; it is the wrist and the rest of the arm that are being conditioned to make a more effective technique.



When punching a makiwara (or anything else), several things should be considered that you should always consider while punching the air as well. Check your distance from the target and your stance. Check that you are properly channeling the power of your legs (see March 1998 article for more on the subject). Check that the alignment of your arm during the punch is correct, that you are properly using the hips and that you are properly coordinating the tensing of various muscles involved (see February 1998 article for more on this).

When punching a makiwara (or heavy bag, for that matter), a few things should be considered that may make the punch slightly different than that of air-punching. First of all, if you try to rotate your wrist at the very last moment into impact, you may be jeopardizing the health of your wrist and/or hand. You may need to change the timing of the rotation slightly (not much though) or leave out the wrist rotation altogether.

There is a tendency while punching an object for the practitioner to "push" the punch. If you want to develop pushing power, do push-ups or weight-lifting. Pushing with brute strength is of little use while punching. Pushing is not the same as power. Keep in mind that power is created through a combination of speed and transfer of mass (Force = Mass x Acceleration). As you learn when punching an object such as a makiwara or bag, speed is not in itself sufficient. But neither is just pushing power. You must reach your target quickly and powerfully. Also, one should realize while practicing with a light punching bag that a would-be attacker would most likely be harder to "push" than that bag. This is one reason why the makiwara may be a more realistic training tool; it doesn't move much (but should move enough to absorb some of the shock so as not to ruin the user's joints).

For more information on makiwara use and construction, please see the following:
Makiwara


Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Using a <i>Makiwara</i>

*(Makiwara means, literally, "rolled straw." Nowadays, the straw is usually replaced with a cotton pad and is normally placed on a flexible post. Sometimes, instead of placing the pad on a post, it is attached to a spring mechanism mounted directly on a wall.)

Many traditional karate practitioners realize the value of using a makiwara. Some modern karate practitioners opt for a heavy bag instead. Regardless of what is being hit, having feedback from devices such as these can be of great value. This feedback can help you figure out how powerful your punch really is and what it feels like to make contact with something.

Some mistakenly believe that the prime objective of striking a makiwara is to build up the calluses of the punching knuckles. Do you think a violinist does conditioning practice to create the calluses on his/her fingers? A professional violinist develops "pads" on the fingers of the left hand, as a result of constantly pressing against the strings. From repetitious practice, calluses often develop. But these do little to help the practitioner. They are merely a side effect of practice. The idea of using the makiwara to strengthen the fist is not totally wrong. But it is not the knuckles that are being conditioned; it is the wrist and the rest of the arm that are being conditioned to make a more effective technique.



When punching a makiwara (or anything else), several things should be considered that you should always consider while punching the air as well. Check your distance from the target and your stance. Check that you are properly channeling the power of your legs (see March 1998 article for more on the subject). Check that the alignment of your arm during the punch is correct, that you are properly using the hips and that you are properly coordinating the tensing of various muscles involved (see February 1998 article for more on this).

When punching a makiwara (or heavy bag, for that matter), a few things should be considered that may make the punch slightly different than that of air-punching. First of all, if you try to rotate your wrist at the very last moment into impact, you may be jeopardizing the health of your wrist and/or hand. You may need to change the timing of the rotation slightly (not much though) or leave out the wrist rotation altogether.

There is a tendency while punching an object for the practitioner to "push" the punch. If you want to develop pushing power, do push-ups or weight-lifting. Pushing with brute strength is of little use while punching. Pushing is not the same as power. Keep in mind that power is created through a combination of speed and transfer of mass (Force = Mass x Acceleration). As you learn when punching an object such as a makiwara or bag, speed is not in itself sufficient. But neither is just pushing power. You must reach your target quickly and powerfully. Also, one should realize while practicing with a light punching bag that a would-be attacker would most likely be harder to "push" than that bag. This is one reason why the makiwara may be a more realistic training tool; it doesn't move much (but should move enough to absorb some of the shock so as not to ruin the user's joints).

For more information on makiwara use and construction, please see the following:
Makiwara


Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Using a <i>Makiwara</i>

*(Makiwara means, literally, "rolled straw." Nowadays, the straw is usually replaced with a cotton pad and is normally placed on a flexible post. Sometimes, instead of placing the pad on a post, it is attached to a spring mechanism mounted directly on a wall.)

Many traditional karate practitioners realize the value of using a makiwara. Some modern karate practitioners opt for a heavy bag instead. Regardless of what is being hit, having feedback from devices such as these can be of great value. This feedback can help you figure out how powerful your punch really is and what it feels like to make contact with something.

Some mistakenly believe that the prime objective of striking a makiwara is to build up the calluses of the punching knuckles. Do you think a violinist does conditioning practice to create the calluses on his/her fingers? A professional violinist develops "pads" on the fingers of the left hand, as a result of constantly pressing against the strings. From repetitious practice, calluses often develop. But these do little to help the practitioner. They are merely a side effect of practice. The idea of using the makiwara to strengthen the fist is not totally wrong. But it is not the knuckles that are being conditioned; it is the wrist and the rest of the arm that are being conditioned to make a more effective technique.



When punching a makiwara (or anything else), several things should be considered that you should always consider while punching the air as well. Check your distance from the target and your stance. Check that you are properly channeling the power of your legs (see March 1998 article for more on the subject). Check that the alignment of your arm during the punch is correct, that you are properly using the hips and that you are properly coordinating the tensing of various muscles involved (see February 1998 article for more on this).

When punching a makiwara (or heavy bag, for that matter), a few things should be considered that may make the punch slightly different than that of air-punching. First of all, if you try to rotate your wrist at the very last moment into impact, you may be jeopardizing the health of your wrist and/or hand. You may need to change the timing of the rotation slightly (not much though) or leave out the wrist rotation altogether.

There is a tendency while punching an object for the practitioner to "push" the punch. If you want to develop pushing power, do push-ups or weight-lifting. Pushing with brute strength is of little use while punching. Pushing is not the same as power. Keep in mind that power is created through a combination of speed and transfer of mass (Force = Mass x Acceleration). As you learn when punching an object such as a makiwara or bag, speed is not in itself sufficient. But neither is just pushing power. You must reach your target quickly and powerfully. Also, one should realize while practicing with a light punching bag that a would-be attacker would most likely be harder to "push" than that bag. This is one reason why the makiwara may be a more realistic training tool; it doesn't move much (but should move enough to absorb some of the shock so as not to ruin the user's joints).

For more information on makiwara use and construction, please see the following:
Makiwara


Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Using a <i>Makiwara</i>

*(Makiwara means, literally, "rolled straw." Nowadays, the straw is usually replaced with a cotton pad and is normally placed on a flexible post. Sometimes, instead of placing the pad on a post, it is attached to a spring mechanism mounted directly on a wall.)

Many traditional karate practitioners realize the value of using a makiwara. Some modern karate practitioners opt for a heavy bag instead. Regardless of what is being hit, having feedback from devices such as these can be of great value. This feedback can help you figure out how powerful your punch really is and what it feels like to make contact with something.

Some mistakenly believe that the prime objective of striking a makiwara is to build up the calluses of the punching knuckles. Do you think a violinist does conditioning practice to create the calluses on his/her fingers? A professional violinist develops "pads" on the fingers of the left hand, as a result of constantly pressing against the strings. From repetitious practice, calluses often develop. But these do little to help the practitioner. They are merely a side effect of practice. The idea of using the makiwara to strengthen the fist is not totally wrong. But it is not the knuckles that are being conditioned; it is the wrist and the rest of the arm that are being conditioned to make a more effective technique.



When punching a makiwara (or anything else), several things should be considered that you should always consider while punching the air as well. Check your distance from the target and your stance. Check that you are properly channeling the power of your legs (see March 1998 article for more on the subject). Check that the alignment of your arm during the punch is correct, that you are properly using the hips and that you are properly coordinating the tensing of various muscles involved (see February 1998 article for more on this).

When punching a makiwara (or heavy bag, for that matter), a few things should be considered that may make the punch slightly different than that of air-punching. First of all, if you try to rotate your wrist at the very last moment into impact, you may be jeopardizing the health of your wrist and/or hand. You may need to change the timing of the rotation slightly (not much though) or leave out the wrist rotation altogether.

There is a tendency while punching an object for the practitioner to "push" the punch. If you want to develop pushing power, do push-ups or weight-lifting. Pushing with brute strength is of little use while punching. Pushing is not the same as power. Keep in mind that power is created through a combination of speed and transfer of mass (Force = Mass x Acceleration). As you learn when punching an object such as a makiwara or bag, speed is not in itself sufficient. But neither is just pushing power. You must reach your target quickly and powerfully. Also, one should realize while practicing with a light punching bag that a would-be attacker would most likely be harder to "push" than that bag. This is one reason why the makiwara may be a more realistic training tool; it doesn't move much (but should move enough to absorb some of the shock so as not to ruin the user's joints).

For more information on makiwara use and construction, please see the following:
Makiwara


Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Dehydration

During intensive training, we often become thirsty. But there is more to dehydration than simply becoming thirsty. I have experienced cramping leg muscles, an upset stomach and severe headaches as a result of dehydration. Proper intake of fluids should be an integral part of your training process. We won't get into the related subject of vitamins here.  But that may be a subject worth further research by those interested.

For this article, I have compiled and edited messages on the subject from postings to the Cyberdojo, since they have explained the subject so well already and most of them have professional backgrounds that should provide more validity to their words.

[Dehydration of a karate practitioner] happened in our dojo last week as well. I have a Ph.D. in physiology so I'll try to put together something coherent but I'm going to write it for karate-ka. So all you lurking doctors take it easy on the corrections.

Dehydration during exercise is a compound event. A major issue can be thought of volume depletion. This means that the serum (part of blood that isn't cells) volume is slightly reduced in most people simply because just walking around we can get away with that. Another part of this is that during regular activity, the blood flow to muscles is relatively small. However, when you exercise, blood flow increases dramatically to the muscles (read pumped up). In cardiovascular physiology, the major mode of thinking is to address the issue of "where is the blood?" And this question is usually applied from the point of view of the heart. In this case, volume flow to muscles takes away from the rest of the body. The body compensates by reducing flow to the organs least necessary during exercise (e.g. the stomach). This is normally enough to compensate for exercise but we go hard. Now, blood flow through the heart is modified but ultimately depends on the return of blood from the body to supply what is needed for the next beat. Now we add the final part of the problem - sweat. This reduces further blood volume and this time it specifically lowers the serum volume resulting in more viscous blood. The increased viscosity of the blood reduces the efficiency of the heart. So now we have "stolen" the blood from every source and continue to make the heart work harder. Then Sensei asks for more and your mind can ignore 5% more pain. Blood flow everywhere begins to be reduced ever so slightly but at nearly the instant that you make another strong exertion, you increase your abdominal pressure, let out a good kiai, focus and then relax. Result? You change the volume of blood returning to the heart and the ensuing beat(s) contains a relatively small amount of blood. You don't give the brain as much blood as normal and the next thing you know, you are looking at the ceiling wondering if those people in white are angels and trying to figure out why clouds are so hard.

David Jackson
Vitamin D Laboratory
BUMC/A&D Assay, Inc.
Boston, MA


Dehydration occurs when you lose more water than you take in. When related to karate this is mostly through sweat and open mouth breathing. Usually [less than] two-hour workouts aren't that bad, but longer periods of training such as weekend events can result in dehydration.

How do you know when you are dehydrated? Unfortunately, thirst itself may not be enough. When you sweat a lot you always want to make sure you drink a lot, even if you are not thirsty. Also, strong color and smell of urine is a good indication of dehydration (the kidneys retain more water and urine is more concentrated). Stronger symptoms are headache, mind fogginess and weakness. Eventually, you [can] lose consciousness. I would assume that less oxygen reaches the brain (and other body parts) at that stage due to blood thickening, but I won't sign my name to it…

Avoiding dehydration is simple enough: drink frequently. Large amount of water at one time isn't good enough: most of the water will "flow through" without being absorbed. Drink much after a workout, but keep drinking every hour or so for a while, until you've restored all your liquid (urine is clear).

Hope it helps,
Talila Golan
Dept. of Botany
Madison, WI


Several posters recently have commented on the effects of dehydration, noting quite rightly that it thickens your blood, and can result in weakness, decreased performance, and passing out. One person also alluded to the fact that one state police academy changed its "brutal" exercise regimen after having several people with ill effects from dehydration.

What I would like to add concerns the effects on the kidney. Indeed, as I recall (and I could have the state wrong) it was either the Massachusetts or Pennsylvania state troopers that were involved, and the reason they changed their policy of exercising people until they dropped is because someone finally died from renal failure.

When you exercise vigorously, it is normal to have "some" muscle destruction taking place. The muscle cells are lysed (broken up) and their contents (electrolytes, myoglobin, enzymes) circulate in the bloodstream. The more dehydrated you are, the higher in concentration these entities become. It is "normal" if you examine someone who's been exercising urine under a microscope to see a few red cells (blood). It is decidedly NOT normal to see either blood macroscopically or "smoke" colored urine. Smoke-colored urine results from either the breakdown of blood (hemoglobin) or muscle (myoglobin). The enzymes which are released with the breakdown of the muscle cells is the most destructive part, and can cause damage to the kidney, even to the point of causing kidney failure. This is more likely to occur when the person is dehydrated. The kidney failure is usually temporary (1-7 days), but it is a serious process, and as mentioned above, some people die from this.

The "take home message" is just to use some common sense, and practice what all the sports magazines tell runners, bikers, and other athletes to do. Drink plenty of water before you exercise, and continue to drink during exercise (3-5 cups of water/hour for an average sized person). Electrolyte mixes (gatorade, powerade, and the like) have only a marginal advantage over the best drink on the planet: water.

Joseph F. Kras, M.D., D.D.S.
Department of Anesthesiology
Washington University School of Medicine


When I worked at the hospital based fitness center here in Huntsville, here's what the clients were told about dehydration. Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon. There are 8 pints of water in a gallon. You should weigh yourself before working out and periodically while you're working out. For every pound you lose, you should drink a pint of water.

This works great if you have access to a scale. (Sensei, may I be excused to go weigh myself?)

Drink lots,
Chris Button


[in reply to someone who suggested that dehydration was a form of shock] I'm sorry but I must completely disagree with you here. First I have to say that (Without trying to blow my own horn), I'm a physician who specializes in Critical Care Medicine. I'm well versed in the question of circulatory shock. I've done clinical research on shock, participated in some of the sentinel studies on shock, and teach the subject to residents and medical students. With all due respect, I've probably seen more cases of medically significant dehydration and shock than most of the sensei here have seen white belts.

Dehydration is not shock. Shock is the global failure of cellular oxidative metabolism. One form of shock is hypovolemic shock in which the circulating blood volume is low. Dehydration may cause shock but is hardly synonymous with shock. Other forms of shock may have normal blood volume but the volume is maldistributed, e.g. anaphylactic shock. In some cases of shock the blood volume may in fact be increased but the heart may be unable to circulate the blood and oxygen to the tissues, e.g. cardiogenic shock. They just aren't the same thing at all.

Dehydration is the loss of total body water. Hypovolemia is a low circulating blood volume. Total body water amounts to about 0.6 liters per Kg body weight. For the prototypical 70kg person that means a total body water of 42 l. About 2/3 of this is in the cells (intracellular water) or about 28 l. About 1/3 is outside of the cells (extracellular water - 14l). About 2/3 of the extracellular water (9-1/3 l.) is in the space between the cells (interstitial fluid). About 1/3 (4-2/3 l.) is in the vascular space (intravascular water). Most of the time when we lose fluid we lose fluid from the intravascular space. Sweat glands for example take fluid from the blood and put it on the skin. The kidneys take fluid from the blood and produce urine. If we vomit or have diarrhea we lose fluid that the stomach, pancreas, small bowel etc. has put into the gut lumen from the blood stream. Thus, most of our fluid losses are from the intravascular space.

If our fluid loss is slow then our body can move fluid, first from the interstitial space and then more slowly from the intercellular space, into the intravascular space to maintain the intravascular volume. If we lose the fluid suddenly then there is no time to accomplish this. A good rule of thumb is that we can mobilize about 1-2 l. per day maximum from the interstitial and intercellular spaces into the intravascular space. If I cause you to get dehydrated slowly (i.e., I put you in a warm environment and don't give you free access to water but yet you have some water) You will not have symptoms till you have lost about 5-10% of your total body water (2.1 l. - 4.2 l.). At that time if you stand up suddenly your hart rate will go up but your blood pressure will remain normal. If you lose 10%-15% (4.2 l. - 6.3 l.) then when you stand up your blood pressure will go down and you may become lightheaded. If you lose 15-20% (6.3 l. - 8.4 l.) then your blood pressure will be down even lying down. At that time you would probably meet diagnostic criteria for hypovolemic shock.

Of course, if I suddenly take fluid out of your intravascular space and give you no time to mobilize fluid from the other compartments into the intravascular space you will have symptoms at lower levels of fluid loss. That is why some people get lightheaded when they stand up after donating 0.5 l of blood. All that fluid (about 0.25 L. fluid and 0.25 l. of blood cells) came straight out of the vascular space in a period of a few minutes.

Most of the fluid we lose each day is in the form of urine. Healthy people with normal hearts, livers and kidneys make at least 0.5 ml of urine per Kg body weight per hour (0.012 L./Kg/day). We also lose some fluid each day in stool, in sweat and in our breath. This amounts to about 0.5 l per day. In hot conditions, when we have a fever, or when we exercise, this goes up. This is the principle way we become dehydrated in the dojo. We need to replace this fluid loss. We also need to replace the sodium and potassium and other minerals which we lose in sweat (we lose little in the way of minerals in our breath). When we become hypovolemic several things happen. First our heart speeds up. It pumps less volume per beat (stroke volume) but beats more often to compensate for this and maintain cardiac output (the number of liters of blood pumped per minute). Second the blood levels of catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine) go up. This causes blood vessels in the critical organs such as heart, brain, liver and kidneys to dilate and the vessels in the less critical areas (gut, muscles) to constrict. Changes in the output from our sympathetic nervous system reinforce this. The net effect is reduced blood flow to the muscles and gut and more to the brain etc. Thirdly, receptors that measure our blood pressure, our sodium level, etc. tell the brain to increase our volume, this kicks in our thirst mechanism. Fourthly, the atria of our heart, since they are smaller in diameter reduce their production of ANP, a peptide hormone that stimulates the kidneys to make urine. Thus the kidneys reduce their secretion of sodium and urine.

Training without replacing our fluid and electrolyte losses doesn't condition us. It doesn't make us tougher. It doesn't improve our endurance. When we get tachycardic and thirsty our body is telling us something. We need to listen to it.

Robert S. Joseph, RPh, MD, FCCP
Board Certified Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine
Clinical Asst. Professor Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Intensive Care Units
Community Hospitals East and North
Community Hospitals of Indianapolis and Anderson


Copyright © 1998

Dehydration

During intensive training, we often become thirsty. But there is more to dehydration than simply becoming thirsty. I have experienced cramping leg muscles, an upset stomach and severe headaches as a result of dehydration. Proper intake of fluids should be an integral part of your training process. We won't get into the related subject of vitamins here.  But that may be a subject worth further research by those interested.

For this article, I have compiled and edited messages on the subject from postings to the Cyberdojo, since they have explained the subject so well already and most of them have professional backgrounds that should provide more validity to their words.

[Dehydration of a karate practitioner] happened in our dojo last week as well. I have a Ph.D. in physiology so I'll try to put together something coherent but I'm going to write it for karate-ka. So all you lurking doctors take it easy on the corrections.

Dehydration during exercise is a compound event. A major issue can be thought of volume depletion. This means that the serum (part of blood that isn't cells) volume is slightly reduced in most people simply because just walking around we can get away with that. Another part of this is that during regular activity, the blood flow to muscles is relatively small. However, when you exercise, blood flow increases dramatically to the muscles (read pumped up). In cardiovascular physiology, the major mode of thinking is to address the issue of "where is the blood?" And this question is usually applied from the point of view of the heart. In this case, volume flow to muscles takes away from the rest of the body. The body compensates by reducing flow to the organs least necessary during exercise (e.g. the stomach). This is normally enough to compensate for exercise but we go hard. Now, blood flow through the heart is modified but ultimately depends on the return of blood from the body to supply what is needed for the next beat. Now we add the final part of the problem - sweat. This reduces further blood volume and this time it specifically lowers the serum volume resulting in more viscous blood. The increased viscosity of the blood reduces the efficiency of the heart. So now we have "stolen" the blood from every source and continue to make the heart work harder. Then Sensei asks for more and your mind can ignore 5% more pain. Blood flow everywhere begins to be reduced ever so slightly but at nearly the instant that you make another strong exertion, you increase your abdominal pressure, let out a good kiai, focus and then relax. Result? You change the volume of blood returning to the heart and the ensuing beat(s) contains a relatively small amount of blood. You don't give the brain as much blood as normal and the next thing you know, you are looking at the ceiling wondering if those people in white are angels and trying to figure out why clouds are so hard.

David Jackson
Vitamin D Laboratory
BUMC/A&D Assay, Inc.
Boston, MA


Dehydration occurs when you lose more water than you take in. When related to karate this is mostly through sweat and open mouth breathing. Usually [less than] two-hour workouts aren't that bad, but longer periods of training such as weekend events can result in dehydration.

How do you know when you are dehydrated? Unfortunately, thirst itself may not be enough. When you sweat a lot you always want to make sure you drink a lot, even if you are not thirsty. Also, strong color and smell of urine is a good indication of dehydration (the kidneys retain more water and urine is more concentrated). Stronger symptoms are headache, mind fogginess and weakness. Eventually, you [can] lose consciousness. I would assume that less oxygen reaches the brain (and other body parts) at that stage due to blood thickening, but I won't sign my name to it…

Avoiding dehydration is simple enough: drink frequently. Large amount of water at one time isn't good enough: most of the water will "flow through" without being absorbed. Drink much after a workout, but keep drinking every hour or so for a while, until you've restored all your liquid (urine is clear).

Hope it helps,
Talila Golan
Dept. of Botany
Madison, WI


Several posters recently have commented on the effects of dehydration, noting quite rightly that it thickens your blood, and can result in weakness, decreased performance, and passing out. One person also alluded to the fact that one state police academy changed its "brutal" exercise regimen after having several people with ill effects from dehydration.

What I would like to add concerns the effects on the kidney. Indeed, as I recall (and I could have the state wrong) it was either the Massachusetts or Pennsylvania state troopers that were involved, and the reason they changed their policy of exercising people until they dropped is because someone finally died from renal failure.

When you exercise vigorously, it is normal to have "some" muscle destruction taking place. The muscle cells are lysed (broken up) and their contents (electrolytes, myoglobin, enzymes) circulate in the bloodstream. The more dehydrated you are, the higher in concentration these entities become. It is "normal" if you examine someone who's been exercising urine under a microscope to see a few red cells (blood). It is decidedly NOT normal to see either blood macroscopically or "smoke" colored urine. Smoke-colored urine results from either the breakdown of blood (hemoglobin) or muscle (myoglobin). The enzymes which are released with the breakdown of the muscle cells is the most destructive part, and can cause damage to the kidney, even to the point of causing kidney failure. This is more likely to occur when the person is dehydrated. The kidney failure is usually temporary (1-7 days), but it is a serious process, and as mentioned above, some people die from this.

The "take home message" is just to use some common sense, and practice what all the sports magazines tell runners, bikers, and other athletes to do. Drink plenty of water before you exercise, and continue to drink during exercise (3-5 cups of water/hour for an average sized person). Electrolyte mixes (gatorade, powerade, and the like) have only a marginal advantage over the best drink on the planet: water.

Joseph F. Kras, M.D., D.D.S.
Department of Anesthesiology
Washington University School of Medicine


When I worked at the hospital based fitness center here in Huntsville, here's what the clients were told about dehydration. Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon. There are 8 pints of water in a gallon. You should weigh yourself before working out and periodically while you're working out. For every pound you lose, you should drink a pint of water.

This works great if you have access to a scale. (Sensei, may I be excused to go weigh myself?)

Drink lots,
Chris Button


[in reply to someone who suggested that dehydration was a form of shock] I'm sorry but I must completely disagree with you here. First I have to say that (Without trying to blow my own horn), I'm a physician who specializes in Critical Care Medicine. I'm well versed in the question of circulatory shock. I've done clinical research on shock, participated in some of the sentinel studies on shock, and teach the subject to residents and medical students. With all due respect, I've probably seen more cases of medically significant dehydration and shock than most of the sensei here have seen white belts.

Dehydration is not shock. Shock is the global failure of cellular oxidative metabolism. One form of shock is hypovolemic shock in which the circulating blood volume is low. Dehydration may cause shock but is hardly synonymous with shock. Other forms of shock may have normal blood volume but the volume is maldistributed, e.g. anaphylactic shock. In some cases of shock the blood volume may in fact be increased but the heart may be unable to circulate the blood and oxygen to the tissues, e.g. cardiogenic shock. They just aren't the same thing at all.

Dehydration is the loss of total body water. Hypovolemia is a low circulating blood volume. Total body water amounts to about 0.6 liters per Kg body weight. For the prototypical 70kg person that means a total body water of 42 l. About 2/3 of this is in the cells (intracellular water) or about 28 l. About 1/3 is outside of the cells (extracellular water - 14l). About 2/3 of the extracellular water (9-1/3 l.) is in the space between the cells (interstitial fluid). About 1/3 (4-2/3 l.) is in the vascular space (intravascular water). Most of the time when we lose fluid we lose fluid from the intravascular space. Sweat glands for example take fluid from the blood and put it on the skin. The kidneys take fluid from the blood and produce urine. If we vomit or have diarrhea we lose fluid that the stomach, pancreas, small bowel etc. has put into the gut lumen from the blood stream. Thus, most of our fluid losses are from the intravascular space.

If our fluid loss is slow then our body can move fluid, first from the interstitial space and then more slowly from the intercellular space, into the intravascular space to maintain the intravascular volume. If we lose the fluid suddenly then there is no time to accomplish this. A good rule of thumb is that we can mobilize about 1-2 l. per day maximum from the interstitial and intercellular spaces into the intravascular space. If I cause you to get dehydrated slowly (i.e., I put you in a warm environment and don't give you free access to water but yet you have some water) You will not have symptoms till you have lost about 5-10% of your total body water (2.1 l. - 4.2 l.). At that time if you stand up suddenly your hart rate will go up but your blood pressure will remain normal. If you lose 10%-15% (4.2 l. - 6.3 l.) then when you stand up your blood pressure will go down and you may become lightheaded. If you lose 15-20% (6.3 l. - 8.4 l.) then your blood pressure will be down even lying down. At that time you would probably meet diagnostic criteria for hypovolemic shock.

Of course, if I suddenly take fluid out of your intravascular space and give you no time to mobilize fluid from the other compartments into the intravascular space you will have symptoms at lower levels of fluid loss. That is why some people get lightheaded when they stand up after donating 0.5 l of blood. All that fluid (about 0.25 L. fluid and 0.25 l. of blood cells) came straight out of the vascular space in a period of a few minutes.

Most of the fluid we lose each day is in the form of urine. Healthy people with normal hearts, livers and kidneys make at least 0.5 ml of urine per Kg body weight per hour (0.012 L./Kg/day). We also lose some fluid each day in stool, in sweat and in our breath. This amounts to about 0.5 l per day. In hot conditions, when we have a fever, or when we exercise, this goes up. This is the principle way we become dehydrated in the dojo. We need to replace this fluid loss. We also need to replace the sodium and potassium and other minerals which we lose in sweat (we lose little in the way of minerals in our breath). When we become hypovolemic several things happen. First our heart speeds up. It pumps less volume per beat (stroke volume) but beats more often to compensate for this and maintain cardiac output (the number of liters of blood pumped per minute). Second the blood levels of catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine) go up. This causes blood vessels in the critical organs such as heart, brain, liver and kidneys to dilate and the vessels in the less critical areas (gut, muscles) to constrict. Changes in the output from our sympathetic nervous system reinforce this. The net effect is reduced blood flow to the muscles and gut and more to the brain etc. Thirdly, receptors that measure our blood pressure, our sodium level, etc. tell the brain to increase our volume, this kicks in our thirst mechanism. Fourthly, the atria of our heart, since they are smaller in diameter reduce their production of ANP, a peptide hormone that stimulates the kidneys to make urine. Thus the kidneys reduce their secretion of sodium and urine.

Training without replacing our fluid and electrolyte losses doesn't condition us. It doesn't make us tougher. It doesn't improve our endurance. When we get tachycardic and thirsty our body is telling us something. We need to listen to it.

Robert S. Joseph, RPh, MD, FCCP
Board Certified Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine
Clinical Asst. Professor Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Intensive Care Units
Community Hospitals East and North
Community Hospitals of Indianapolis and Anderson


Copyright © 1998

Timing of Arm &amp; Leg Movements

Most of us have heard many times that, during Karate techniques, the arm and leg motions should stop simultaneously (usually also along with the hip's rotation and overall momentum of the body). This is the basic form, which we should all practice on a daily basis. But there are variations worth studying as well, once the basics are fully understood. (Please note: this discussion is aimed primarily at black belt level practitioners)

Kihon:

Warm up with gyakuzuki and maegeri, then move on to maegeri/gyakuzuki combination

The usual practice is to land the foot and end the punch at the same time. But the timing can change. Practice the same combo with the leg motion finishing before the arm's. And again with the leg finishing after the arm.

Note the change in body connection and speed. The leg landing first can provide the punch with more stability/rooting. The leg landing after can absorb recoil after the punch connects. Which feels better, faster, stronger, etc.?

Now practice stepping forward into oizuki instead of back into gyakuzuki. Start with the hand/foot finishing at the same time. Then try the other timings.

Note the changes in body connection and speed. It is basically the same as for the previous combo. Or isn't it? Does it feel the same? Is one timing better for gyakuzuki and a different timing better for oizuki? Try to examine why. (I can think of a few things to say here, but I'd like you to think about it by yourselves first, to encourage you to come up with your own theories.)

Kumite:

One person does maegeri, the other shifts back.

The person who shifted back shifts in, in a partial (fake) attack.

The person who kicked should now experiment with punching (gyakuzuki for this first set) while the kicking foot is still in the air vs landing in the stance, then punching.

After trying this a few times each, with a few different partners, change to oizuki after the kick.

Are your theories working or not? Why? Is the ideal timing different depending on whether you are moving forward into the punch, vs back, after the kick?

What I have found is that there is usually more power lost when punching while stepping back than when stepping forward, if you punch before the foot lands. This has to do with momentum of the body as a whole. In contrast, punching after the foot lands seems to work well when stepping back, but not so well when stepping forward. This also has to do with momentum.

This will be a lot less difficult to understand after I add graphics to this site (late 1999?). Try to feel how the overall momentum of your body is only slight when returning to gyakuzuki after the maegeri (if anything, it is backwards). In contrast, the body's overall momentum is heading noticeably forward towards your opponent when stepping into oizuki after the kick.

Therefore, the support of the legs behind the gyakuzuki would be limited to that of just the front leg when finishing/landing the punch before the kicking leg reached the floor. Since there is almost no momentum involved with this punch, this lack of stability can have a major impact on the power of the punch.

Likewise, although the supporting leg would be the only one in contact with the floor with the oizuki, this would now be the back leg, since you are stepping in. This, combined with the fact that the overall momentum of the body is moving forward, means that the additional stability provided by putting the kicking foot down is relatively insignificant (it helps, but not as much as for the gyakuzuki example).

To summarize, although I believe that daily practice of simultaneous ending of arm/leg motions is essential, if you are to deviate from this, there are cases in which the arm finishing first may be advantageous and other cases in which the leg finishing first may be better. In the cases I've presented, gyakuzuki may be stronger when executed after the kicking foot touches the floor, and oizuki may be stronger when executed before the kicking foot touches the floor.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Timing of Arm &amp; Leg Movements

Most of us have heard many times that, during Karate techniques, the arm and leg motions should stop simultaneously (usually also along with the hip's rotation and overall momentum of the body). This is the basic form, which we should all practice on a daily basis. But there are variations worth studying as well, once the basics are fully understood. (Please note: this discussion is aimed primarily at black belt level practitioners)

Kihon:

Warm up with gyakuzuki and maegeri, then move on to maegeri/gyakuzuki combination

The usual practice is to land the foot and end the punch at the same time. But the timing can change. Practice the same combo with the leg motion finishing before the arm's. And again with the leg finishing after the arm.

Note the change in body connection and speed. The leg landing first can provide the punch with more stability/rooting. The leg landing after can absorb recoil after the punch connects. Which feels better, faster, stronger, etc.?

Now practice stepping forward into oizuki instead of back into gyakuzuki. Start with the hand/foot finishing at the same time. Then try the other timings.

Note the changes in body connection and speed. It is basically the same as for the previous combo. Or isn't it? Does it feel the same? Is one timing better for gyakuzuki and a different timing better for oizuki? Try to examine why. (I can think of a few things to say here, but I'd like you to think about it by yourselves first, to encourage you to come up with your own theories.)

Kumite:

One person does maegeri, the other shifts back.

The person who shifted back shifts in, in a partial (fake) attack.

The person who kicked should now experiment with punching (gyakuzuki for this first set) while the kicking foot is still in the air vs landing in the stance, then punching.

After trying this a few times each, with a few different partners, change to oizuki after the kick.

Are your theories working or not? Why? Is the ideal timing different depending on whether you are moving forward into the punch, vs back, after the kick?

What I have found is that there is usually more power lost when punching while stepping back than when stepping forward, if you punch before the foot lands. This has to do with momentum of the body as a whole. In contrast, punching after the foot lands seems to work well when stepping back, but not so well when stepping forward. This also has to do with momentum.

This will be a lot less difficult to understand after I add graphics to this site (late 1999?). Try to feel how the overall momentum of your body is only slight when returning to gyakuzuki after the maegeri (if anything, it is backwards). In contrast, the body's overall momentum is heading noticeably forward towards your opponent when stepping into oizuki after the kick.

Therefore, the support of the legs behind the gyakuzuki would be limited to that of just the front leg when finishing/landing the punch before the kicking leg reached the floor. Since there is almost no momentum involved with this punch, this lack of stability can have a major impact on the power of the punch.

Likewise, although the supporting leg would be the only one in contact with the floor with the oizuki, this would now be the back leg, since you are stepping in. This, combined with the fact that the overall momentum of the body is moving forward, means that the additional stability provided by putting the kicking foot down is relatively insignificant (it helps, but not as much as for the gyakuzuki example).

To summarize, although I believe that daily practice of simultaneous ending of arm/leg motions is essential, if you are to deviate from this, there are cases in which the arm finishing first may be advantageous and other cases in which the leg finishing first may be better. In the cases I've presented, gyakuzuki may be stronger when executed after the kicking foot touches the floor, and oizuki may be stronger when executed before the kicking foot touches the floor.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Timing of Arm &amp; Leg Movements

Most of us have heard many times that, during Karate techniques, the arm and leg motions should stop simultaneously (usually also along with the hip's rotation and overall momentum of the body). This is the basic form, which we should all practice on a daily basis. But there are variations worth studying as well, once the basics are fully understood. (Please note: this discussion is aimed primarily at black belt level practitioners)

Kihon:

Warm up with gyakuzuki and maegeri, then move on to maegeri/gyakuzuki combination

The usual practice is to land the foot and end the punch at the same time. But the timing can change. Practice the same combo with the leg motion finishing before the arm's. And again with the leg finishing after the arm.

Note the change in body connection and speed. The leg landing first can provide the punch with more stability/rooting. The leg landing after can absorb recoil after the punch connects. Which feels better, faster, stronger, etc.?

Now practice stepping forward into oizuki instead of back into gyakuzuki. Start with the hand/foot finishing at the same time. Then try the other timings.

Note the changes in body connection and speed. It is basically the same as for the previous combo. Or isn't it? Does it feel the same? Is one timing better for gyakuzuki and a different timing better for oizuki? Try to examine why. (I can think of a few things to say here, but I'd like you to think about it by yourselves first, to encourage you to come up with your own theories.)

Kumite:

One person does maegeri, the other shifts back.

The person who shifted back shifts in, in a partial (fake) attack.

The person who kicked should now experiment with punching (gyakuzuki for this first set) while the kicking foot is still in the air vs landing in the stance, then punching.

After trying this a few times each, with a few different partners, change to oizuki after the kick.

Are your theories working or not? Why? Is the ideal timing different depending on whether you are moving forward into the punch, vs back, after the kick?

What I have found is that there is usually more power lost when punching while stepping back than when stepping forward, if you punch before the foot lands. This has to do with momentum of the body as a whole. In contrast, punching after the foot lands seems to work well when stepping back, but not so well when stepping forward. This also has to do with momentum.

This will be a lot less difficult to understand after I add graphics to this site (late 1999?). Try to feel how the overall momentum of your body is only slight when returning to gyakuzuki after the maegeri (if anything, it is backwards). In contrast, the body's overall momentum is heading noticeably forward towards your opponent when stepping into oizuki after the kick.

Therefore, the support of the legs behind the gyakuzuki would be limited to that of just the front leg when finishing/landing the punch before the kicking leg reached the floor. Since there is almost no momentum involved with this punch, this lack of stability can have a major impact on the power of the punch.

Likewise, although the supporting leg would be the only one in contact with the floor with the oizuki, this would now be the back leg, since you are stepping in. This, combined with the fact that the overall momentum of the body is moving forward, means that the additional stability provided by putting the kicking foot down is relatively insignificant (it helps, but not as much as for the gyakuzuki example).

To summarize, although I believe that daily practice of simultaneous ending of arm/leg motions is essential, if you are to deviate from this, there are cases in which the arm finishing first may be advantageous and other cases in which the leg finishing first may be better. In the cases I've presented, gyakuzuki may be stronger when executed after the kicking foot touches the floor, and oizuki may be stronger when executed before the kicking foot touches the floor.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Timing of Arm &amp; Leg Movements

Most of us have heard many times that, during Karate techniques, the arm and leg motions should stop simultaneously (usually also along with the hip's rotation and overall momentum of the body). This is the basic form, which we should all practice on a daily basis. But there are variations worth studying as well, once the basics are fully understood. (Please note: this discussion is aimed primarily at black belt level practitioners)

Kihon:

Warm up with gyakuzuki and maegeri, then move on to maegeri/gyakuzuki combination

The usual practice is to land the foot and end the punch at the same time. But the timing can change. Practice the same combo with the leg motion finishing before the arm's. And again with the leg finishing after the arm.

Note the change in body connection and speed. The leg landing first can provide the punch with more stability/rooting. The leg landing after can absorb recoil after the punch connects. Which feels better, faster, stronger, etc.?

Now practice stepping forward into oizuki instead of back into gyakuzuki. Start with the hand/foot finishing at the same time. Then try the other timings.

Note the changes in body connection and speed. It is basically the same as for the previous combo. Or isn't it? Does it feel the same? Is one timing better for gyakuzuki and a different timing better for oizuki? Try to examine why. (I can think of a few things to say here, but I'd like you to think about it by yourselves first, to encourage you to come up with your own theories.)

Kumite:

One person does maegeri, the other shifts back.

The person who shifted back shifts in, in a partial (fake) attack.

The person who kicked should now experiment with punching (gyakuzuki for this first set) while the kicking foot is still in the air vs landing in the stance, then punching.

After trying this a few times each, with a few different partners, change to oizuki after the kick.

Are your theories working or not? Why? Is the ideal timing different depending on whether you are moving forward into the punch, vs back, after the kick?

What I have found is that there is usually more power lost when punching while stepping back than when stepping forward, if you punch before the foot lands. This has to do with momentum of the body as a whole. In contrast, punching after the foot lands seems to work well when stepping back, but not so well when stepping forward. This also has to do with momentum.

This will be a lot less difficult to understand after I add graphics to this site (late 1999?). Try to feel how the overall momentum of your body is only slight when returning to gyakuzuki after the maegeri (if anything, it is backwards). In contrast, the body's overall momentum is heading noticeably forward towards your opponent when stepping into oizuki after the kick.

Therefore, the support of the legs behind the gyakuzuki would be limited to that of just the front leg when finishing/landing the punch before the kicking leg reached the floor. Since there is almost no momentum involved with this punch, this lack of stability can have a major impact on the power of the punch.

Likewise, although the supporting leg would be the only one in contact with the floor with the oizuki, this would now be the back leg, since you are stepping in. This, combined with the fact that the overall momentum of the body is moving forward, means that the additional stability provided by putting the kicking foot down is relatively insignificant (it helps, but not as much as for the gyakuzuki example).

To summarize, although I believe that daily practice of simultaneous ending of arm/leg motions is essential, if you are to deviate from this, there are cases in which the arm finishing first may be advantageous and other cases in which the leg finishing first may be better. In the cases I've presented, gyakuzuki may be stronger when executed after the kicking foot touches the floor, and oizuki may be stronger when executed before the kicking foot touches the floor.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Timing of Arm &amp; Leg Movements

Most of us have heard many times that, during Karate techniques, the arm and leg motions should stop simultaneously (usually also along with the hip's rotation and overall momentum of the body). This is the basic form, which we should all practice on a daily basis. But there are variations worth studying as well, once the basics are fully understood. (Please note: this discussion is aimed primarily at black belt level practitioners)

Kihon:

Warm up with gyakuzuki and maegeri, then move on to maegeri/gyakuzuki combination

The usual practice is to land the foot and end the punch at the same time. But the timing can change. Practice the same combo with the leg motion finishing before the arm's. And again with the leg finishing after the arm.

Note the change in body connection and speed. The leg landing first can provide the punch with more stability/rooting. The leg landing after can absorb recoil after the punch connects. Which feels better, faster, stronger, etc.?

Now practice stepping forward into oizuki instead of back into gyakuzuki. Start with the hand/foot finishing at the same time. Then try the other timings.

Note the changes in body connection and speed. It is basically the same as for the previous combo. Or isn't it? Does it feel the same? Is one timing better for gyakuzuki and a different timing better for oizuki? Try to examine why. (I can think of a few things to say here, but I'd like you to think about it by yourselves first, to encourage you to come up with your own theories.)

Kumite:

One person does maegeri, the other shifts back.

The person who shifted back shifts in, in a partial (fake) attack.

The person who kicked should now experiment with punching (gyakuzuki for this first set) while the kicking foot is still in the air vs landing in the stance, then punching.

After trying this a few times each, with a few different partners, change to oizuki after the kick.

Are your theories working or not? Why? Is the ideal timing different depending on whether you are moving forward into the punch, vs back, after the kick?

What I have found is that there is usually more power lost when punching while stepping back than when stepping forward, if you punch before the foot lands. This has to do with momentum of the body as a whole. In contrast, punching after the foot lands seems to work well when stepping back, but not so well when stepping forward. This also has to do with momentum.

This will be a lot less difficult to understand after I add graphics to this site (late 1999?). Try to feel how the overall momentum of your body is only slight when returning to gyakuzuki after the maegeri (if anything, it is backwards). In contrast, the body's overall momentum is heading noticeably forward towards your opponent when stepping into oizuki after the kick.

Therefore, the support of the legs behind the gyakuzuki would be limited to that of just the front leg when finishing/landing the punch before the kicking leg reached the floor. Since there is almost no momentum involved with this punch, this lack of stability can have a major impact on the power of the punch.

Likewise, although the supporting leg would be the only one in contact with the floor with the oizuki, this would now be the back leg, since you are stepping in. This, combined with the fact that the overall momentum of the body is moving forward, means that the additional stability provided by putting the kicking foot down is relatively insignificant (it helps, but not as much as for the gyakuzuki example).

To summarize, although I believe that daily practice of simultaneous ending of arm/leg motions is essential, if you are to deviate from this, there are cases in which the arm finishing first may be advantageous and other cases in which the leg finishing first may be better. In the cases I've presented, gyakuzuki may be stronger when executed after the kicking foot touches the floor, and oizuki may be stronger when executed before the kicking foot touches the floor.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Warming Up &amp; Stretching

Warm-up

Warming up involves the physical heating of the muscles, lubrication of the joints and increasing oxygen and blood flow throughout the body.  Running, jumping and skipping rope are all forms of warm-ups. Stretching the muscles is much easier once they are properly heated and the blood is pumping. Some think of "jumping jacks" (also known as "star jumps") as funny looking, but they are a very good warm-up, moving both the arms and the legs at once. The muscles should be kept warm during the entire workout period, and any long periods of discussion/lecture in class should be followed by warming-up exercises when possible. There are different theories on the use of a "warm-down." Let it suffice to say that it is usually advisable to do more, rather than less, warming and stretching of the muscles both before and after a workout.  But the pre- and post-training routines should be different, as they perform different functions.

Stretching

After the muscles are sufficiently warmed-up, they can be stretched further and with more ease. There are many theories concerning the proper way to stretch (for example, bouncing, slow-and-hold, PNF), but I will not get into them in detail here. I would not advise rushing stretches, nor bouncing past the maximum comfortable range. Lightly "bouncing" in some stretches is not usually harmful if done within your normal range of flexibility. But I would advise against forcing muscles to the point of discomfort and possible injury.

Some will find that they do not require as much stretching time as others. Many will never be as flexible as they would like to be. Some find that their muscles get cold quickly. Others find they can remain flexible for hours but suffer from occasional cramping of the muscles. No two people are exactly alike and we must understand our differences and limitations.

Do not force your muscles to the point that you are doing irreparable damage. Do not take it too easy either; flexibility helps us in many ways and stretching should be considered a necessary part of training. Those who feel they need more might want to try stretching lightly first thing in the morning and very lightly just before going to bed at night. Also, going to the dojo early can really pay off if you spend that time warming up and stretching, instead of just talking to your friends.

Remember that in stretching, just like any other Karate activity, pain in your joints is usually a sign of poor technique; be careful not to manipulate your joints in such a way as to cause pain.

You should notice that you may feel better stretched after some kinds of stretching than others and it is recommended that you try to develop your ideal routine. This may not be ideal for everyone else in the class, and you should do your best to please everyone if you are leading the group taiso. There can be a noticeable difference in the performance of the students following a good warm-up and stretching set. Study why some are more successful than others in getting the class stretched out properly. One thing to consider is the progression of stretching from one area of the body to another (for example, moving from the upper body to the lower body, or starting from the center of the body [the hips & torso] and working out to the limbs methodically).

One problem many people have is that they do not know how many stretches to include. My recommendation is to consider that some muscles take longer than others to stretch (the larger leg muscles, for instance), so either include more of those stretches or spend longer on the few that you do. There have been studies conducted which claim that each stretch should ideally be held for 30 seconds. Although that seems a bit extreme, fast, bouncing stretches at the other end of the spectrum can often do more harm than good. Even if you do not spend a full 30 seconds on every stretch, there are more than enough different stretching exercises to fill up the better part of an hour. But most people can be sufficiently stretched after as little as 5 minutes, if done properly and follow a good warm-up routine (ideally several minutes in duration as well). It is just like everything else in Karate; study and practice!

Some instructors frown upon students wishing to stretch and/or keep their muscles warm between sets of movements. Although I do not advocate chaos, the opportunity to keep in top form throughout the class certainly has its advantages. I often remind students that they should do their best to keep warmed up and stretched out to gain as much as they can from each set of movements as well as to prevent unnecessary cramping or straining of the muscles. In contrast, I expect my students to not figit while going through the techniques.

I like to make sure I include 3 types of activities in my "warm-up" routines (not including the occasional strengthening exercise):

• Warming up - to raise the temperature of the body as well as the heart rate.

• Joint lubrication - twisting and turning of major joints.

• Stretching - including both dynamic (more towards the beginning of the routine) and static (a little at the end of the pre-workout portion and more after the workout).


Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Spinning

Spinning

For those of you hoping to hear about flying, spinning kicks as seen in the movies…Sorry. You're not going to get that here. What I would like to discuss here mostly concerns the physical forces at work while rotating body parts around a central point. There are many examples of this type of motion in karate techniques. I will only be touching on some of the more obvious ones here.

Ice skaters & ballet dancers

Skaters and ballet dancers often spin during their routines. So they must be very conscious of how it is done. One way that their methods of spinning differ is the position of the eyes. In ballet, it is almost always taught that the eyes should remain fixed on a certain point while spinning, rotating the head very quickly around to look at the same point on each revolution. In skating, during very fast, long spins, a skater will often turn his/her head with the rest of the body and "blur" his/her vision, as not to focus on any one point. In Karate, there are very few times that we would ever spin more than 360 degrees and focus is usually only on one opponent at a time. So the method for ballet (turning the head sharply and focusing on one point) is recommended almost universally for karate techniques.

Centrifugal force

Although skaters and ballet dancers may think of their line of vision differently, their spins share many similarities, due to the laws of physics that apply to them (and karate spins as well). Centrifugal force (tending from center) is a term used to describe the force of rotation around a central/pivotal point. Here are a few points to consider relating to this force:

During a spin, the closer the mass is to the center/pivot point, the faster the rotation can occur (all else being equal). Think about the ice skater when she brings her arms in on a spin.

The closer the mass is to the pivot point, the more easily that mass can be controlled (all else being equal). You can test this on some amusement park rides.

Karate examples

An obvious example for spinning practice is ushirogeri (back kick). I'm not talking about a spinning back kick here. Let's stick to the basic Shotokan back kick for this example. Applying the ideas presented above, the spinning should be done with the mass as close to the pivot point as possible for maximizing speed and control. If the upper part of the leg is lifted too far to the side of the body, there is some loss of speed and control as a result. If the foot does not rise toward the back of the leg quickly enough, this also can cause a loss of speed and control during the technique.

This idea can be extended to other techniques as well. The kicking leg in mawashigeri (round-house kick), for example, also travels around a horizontally spinning center (in the large, basic version, anyway). Thus we should think about getting the foot close to the back of the kicking leg and connecting the whole unit of the kicking leg (during the chamber position next to the upper body) as close to the torso as possible for maximum speed and control. One obvious difference between the basic mawashigeri and basic ushirogeri is the path of the kicking foot. Because the mawashigeri involves approaching the target from the side, the knee rises more to the outside of the body than in ushirogeri. Another point to consider in both (as well as other) kicks, is that keeping the torso vertical throughout the movement also helps to keep mass near the axis of rotation; thus also adding to efficiency of motion and control.

Another point to keep in mind while spinning is that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. While spinning the leg around in the back kick, the path the foot travels from the floor to the target should essentially be a straight line. Some people seem to have a hard time believing this, but this straight course can be accomplished while using a circular motion of the body. In geometrical terms, the path of the leg can be thought of as a tangent off the circular motion of the body's center. (This may be more easily understood after I add more graphics to these pages in the future.) Of course the back kick can involve approaching the target from the side (spinning back kick). But although this can be a powerful kick (if done correctly), it takes more time to deliver (physics' rules, not just mine).

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Spinning

Spinning

For those of you hoping to hear about flying, spinning kicks as seen in the movies…Sorry. You're not going to get that here. What I would like to discuss here mostly concerns the physical forces at work while rotating body parts around a central point. There are many examples of this type of motion in karate techniques. I will only be touching on some of the more obvious ones here.

Ice skaters & ballet dancers

Skaters and ballet dancers often spin during their routines. So they must be very conscious of how it is done. One way that their methods of spinning differ is the position of the eyes. In ballet, it is almost always taught that the eyes should remain fixed on a certain point while spinning, rotating the head very quickly around to look at the same point on each revolution. In skating, during very fast, long spins, a skater will often turn his/her head with the rest of the body and "blur" his/her vision, as not to focus on any one point. In Karate, there are very few times that we would ever spin more than 360 degrees and focus is usually only on one opponent at a time. So the method for ballet (turning the head sharply and focusing on one point) is recommended almost universally for karate techniques.

Centrifugal force

Although skaters and ballet dancers may think of their line of vision differently, their spins share many similarities, due to the laws of physics that apply to them (and karate spins as well). Centrifugal force (tending from center) is a term used to describe the force of rotation around a central/pivotal point. Here are a few points to consider relating to this force:

During a spin, the closer the mass is to the center/pivot point, the faster the rotation can occur (all else being equal). Think about the ice skater when she brings her arms in on a spin.

The closer the mass is to the pivot point, the more easily that mass can be controlled (all else being equal). You can test this on some amusement park rides.

Karate examples

An obvious example for spinning practice is ushirogeri (back kick). I'm not talking about a spinning back kick here. Let's stick to the basic Shotokan back kick for this example. Applying the ideas presented above, the spinning should be done with the mass as close to the pivot point as possible for maximizing speed and control. If the upper part of the leg is lifted too far to the side of the body, there is some loss of speed and control as a result. If the foot does not rise toward the back of the leg quickly enough, this also can cause a loss of speed and control during the technique.

This idea can be extended to other techniques as well. The kicking leg in mawashigeri (round-house kick), for example, also travels around a horizontally spinning center (in the large, basic version, anyway). Thus we should think about getting the foot close to the back of the kicking leg and connecting the whole unit of the kicking leg (during the chamber position next to the upper body) as close to the torso as possible for maximum speed and control. One obvious difference between the basic mawashigeri and basic ushirogeri is the path of the kicking foot. Because the mawashigeri involves approaching the target from the side, the knee rises more to the outside of the body than in ushirogeri. Another point to consider in both (as well as other) kicks, is that keeping the torso vertical throughout the movement also helps to keep mass near the axis of rotation; thus also adding to efficiency of motion and control.

Another point to keep in mind while spinning is that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. While spinning the leg around in the back kick, the path the foot travels from the floor to the target should essentially be a straight line. Some people seem to have a hard time believing this, but this straight course can be accomplished while using a circular motion of the body. In geometrical terms, the path of the leg can be thought of as a tangent off the circular motion of the body's center. (This may be more easily understood after I add more graphics to these pages in the future.) Of course the back kick can involve approaching the target from the side (spinning back kick). But although this can be a powerful kick (if done correctly), it takes more time to deliver (physics' rules, not just mine).

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Contraction/Expansion

First of all, let me point out that muscles do not "expand" so much as they "lengthen" and "contract" is slightly misleading as well. What is often meant by contraction/expansion in Karate, however, is not so much an explanation of what the muscles do, as a relational description of the movements of various parts of the body. These parts (usually 2 joints) move closer to and further from each other due to the amount of flexion in a joint between them. This is the type of contraction/expansion that I would like to discuss here.

This type of flexing movement usually involves a tensing of certain muscles during the "contraction" portion of the movement. But, contrary to what many may like you to believe, the difference in overall muscle tension is often not much different in a "contraction" move than an "expansion" move. This is due to the fact that while muscles on one side (of the arm, for example) are tensing/shortening, the muscles on the other side usually relax/lengthen to compensate. It is true that one can tense a majority of muscles at once, or relax almost all the muscles at once. Although there is often a noticeable difference between the total amount of muscle tension in your body at impact/completion of a technique and the relatively relaxed state of preparation, the overall tension should not differ much during the pre-impact portion of execution of quick karate techniques.

So why all the emphasis on contraction/expansion? If you are trying to think of "squeezing" and "stretching" muscles, maybe you should concentrate on the individual muscles involved. Sometimes, it is advantageous to break down a move into the component parts to analyze the various tensions involved. But I think a more obvious way to think about this is to simply study the movement of the joints. The muscles will do their work if the various body parts are moving in the proper ways. And it's easier to keep track of, for example, where your knee is, than how much your various leg muscles are shortening/lengthening during a movement.

If you refer to my February article, you can see that I have already discussed a related point: relaxation vs. tension. As I mentioned in that article, it is usually advantageous to relax muscles to increase speed, and tighten muscles to gain more connection to the rest of the body, both of which help create force (Force = Mass x Acceleration--I will discuss this in more detail in a future article). So if we are trying to maximize speed in a technique (in this example, a punch), why would we want to "contract" (=tense) our muscles? This is my point. There can be a contraction between different body parts (closing the distance between the two points) existing with minimal muscle tension. In the case of a punch, there is a certain amount of muscle tension required to launch the fist towards the target. But the muscles which should be tensed are those of the torso more than that of the arms (There is always some tension in the legs, but that's a different story-again, see the February article for further comments). So while the punching arm is bent during the starting phase of the technique, the muscles of the arm are more relaxed. And when the arm is extended, the muscles momentarily tense. So the "contraction/expansion" of muscles is sometimes the opposite of the "contraction/expansion" of the moving body parts.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

Contraction/Expansion

First of all, let me point out that muscles do not "expand" so much as they "lengthen" and "contract" is slightly misleading as well. What is often meant by contraction/expansion in Karate, however, is not so much an explanation of what the muscles do, as a relational description of the movements of various parts of the body. These parts (usually 2 joints) move closer to and further from each other due to the amount of flexion in a joint between them. This is the type of contraction/expansion that I would like to discuss here.

This type of flexing movement usually involves a tensing of certain muscles during the "contraction" portion of the movement. But, contrary to what many may like you to believe, the difference in overall muscle tension is often not much different in a "contraction" move than an "expansion" move. This is due to the fact that while muscles on one side (of the arm, for example) are tensing/shortening, the muscles on the other side usually relax/lengthen to compensate. It is true that one can tense a majority of muscles at once, or relax almost all the muscles at once. Although there is often a noticeable difference between the total amount of muscle tension in your body at impact/completion of a technique and the relatively relaxed state of preparation, the overall tension should not differ much during the pre-impact portion of execution of quick karate techniques.

So why all the emphasis on contraction/expansion? If you are trying to think of "squeezing" and "stretching" muscles, maybe you should concentrate on the individual muscles involved. Sometimes, it is advantageous to break down a move into the component parts to analyze the various tensions involved. But I think a more obvious way to think about this is to simply study the movement of the joints. The muscles will do their work if the various body parts are moving in the proper ways. And it's easier to keep track of, for example, where your knee is, than how much your various leg muscles are shortening/lengthening during a movement.

If you refer to my February article, you can see that I have already discussed a related point: relaxation vs. tension. As I mentioned in that article, it is usually advantageous to relax muscles to increase speed, and tighten muscles to gain more connection to the rest of the body, both of which help create force (Force = Mass x Acceleration--I will discuss this in more detail in a future article). So if we are trying to maximize speed in a technique (in this example, a punch), why would we want to "contract" (=tense) our muscles? This is my point. There can be a contraction between different body parts (closing the distance between the two points) existing with minimal muscle tension. In the case of a punch, there is a certain amount of muscle tension required to launch the fist towards the target. But the muscles which should be tensed are those of the torso more than that of the arms (There is always some tension in the legs, but that's a different story-again, see the February article for further comments). So while the punching arm is bent during the starting phase of the technique, the muscles of the arm are more relaxed. And when the arm is extended, the muscles momentarily tense. So the "contraction/expansion" of muscles is sometimes the opposite of the "contraction/expansion" of the moving body parts.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

<i>Rei</i> - Bowing

Most Karate practitioners bow many times each time they visit the dojo. Some bow every time they enter the dojo, at the beginning and end of class, at the beginning and end of every kata (form) repetition and every time they face a new partner in kumite (sparring) practice. Most take it for granted that this ritual is a necessary part of their Karate experience, whether it holds some cultural significance (since Karate is, after all, Japanese) or as a way of expressing humility and/or respect for partners/instructors. Some have their doubts about the value of bowing and a few people even refuse to bow in class due to religious conflicts. I am not going to argue the validity of such complaints. I would like to just review the most general bowing ideas here.



Looking at the kanji (pictogram) for "rei," we can imagine the origin of this character being a representation of someone kneeling in prayer. Japanese kanji can have many meanings, and this one is no exception. "Rei," when combined with other kanji, can signify prayer, courtesy, thanking, or bowing, among others. Although a bow can be considered an integral part of prayer, the bow of Karate is seldom confused with a religious rite. Japanese are generally not very religious. In Japan, the bow is used much more often in business or social situations than bearing any religious significance. It is most often used much the same way as a handshake in the western world; as a greeting (as when entering a business meeting), symbolic of some sort of combined accomplishment or mutual understanding (such when signing a contract) or as a display of gratitude (when receiving an award).

Some western Karate practitioners have given up the use of bowing in their classes altogether. This is their choice, but I would not like to be a part of such a group if at least some form of respect/courtesy were not used in its place (such as a handshake, which takes even more time and effort, so what is the point?).

I have spent a total of eight years living in Japan, beginning in 1985. In Japan, I became accustomed to bowing subconsciously as I greeted shopkeepers on my street and thanked delivery people when they brought my pizza. Back in the U.S., I notice that a lot of karateka don't seem to understand proper bowing procedure. I understand that it is something new to most of us and I don't expect everyone to just "get it." But if you're going to do it, shouldn't you do it right?

First, I would like to review the concept of bowing as a way of opening and closing. Whether it be a ceremony or a business meeting, it's basically the same; much like the symbolic handshake. For this bowing application, they occur in sets of two. I recently attended a tournament in which both participants and judges seemed unsure of when they should bow, and how many times. When in doubt, check to see if your bows "match-up" in pairs.

One way to think about bowing is like parentheses in mathematics. You can have a formula: a = (b + c(d)/(e+f(g)/h) - i) But a formula such as: a = (b +c(d/(e+f(g/h - i) doesn't make any sense, because the parentheses don't match up. Bow when you meet a new partner. Bow again when you finish. Bow when you start a new kata. Bow again when you finish. Every bow should be matched up with another to make the formula work. (There are, of course, additional bows sometimes to accept criticism from an instructor or to show extra thanks at the end of class. But the ceremonial and display-of-mutual-respect bows should match up, anyway.) A very short class, therefore, might look something like this (bows represented by parentheses):

(( (taiso/warm-up) (kihon/basics) turn around and fix your karategi (more basics) stretch (kata) (another kata) stretch (kumite/sparring practice with one partner)(sparring with another partner)(warm-down) ))

In kumite, bow when you start and bow when you finish. You can add another bow if you are accepting criticism or congratulating your partner/opponent for a point. But, in general, only the opening and closing bows are required. This may, of course, be slightly different in other styles/organizations, but this is the general idea.

Next, I would like to review the basic types of bows. Bows range from the very informal nod of the head that most of us would use to agree with someone's casual comments, to the very formal seated bow. Japanese learn the subtle differences through the entire spectrum of bowing types. Westerners should not be expected to become perfect at these bowing subtleties, but a brief review might prove interesting for some.

Although good enough for most of your friends, a simple nod of the head is considered somewhat rude in the Japanese culture. Even for the slightest bows, the neck usually does not bend. The entire torso leans forward, with the neck straight. For the more formal bows, simply bring the entire torso--back & neck straight--further forward.

For standing bows, the hands should remain lightly touching the sides of the legs, without moving them, for men. Women sometimes slide their hands inward and downward in formal situations, but this is rarely seen in Karate dojo. With seated bows, hands should slide directly forward to in front of the knees. Women sometimes bring their hands closer together, as with the formal standing bow.

As far as the position of the eyes goes, there seem to be different opinions on the subject. Some think that it is rude to look an instructor in the eyes when bowing. Some say that you should keep looking into your partner's eyes as you bow. Are these different types of bows, or are they the same? For realistic budo/self-defense practicality reasons, remaining conscious of your partner/opponent's position is a good idea. But should you make extra effort to maintain eye contact specifically? I think that you should continue to watch his/her body, but there is not much advantage to looking at the eyes in particular (actual sparring is another story, which I will not get into here). Lowering the eyes is a sign of modesty, and is used in formal bowing in Japan often. But showing gratitude for receiving correction from an instructor is not necessarily worthy of such a deep, downward-looking bow. Apologizing for hitting your partner too hard, maybe.

I don't want to get any further into the different gradations of the bowing ritual here. Someday, I will be adding graphics here to illustrate the different types. If you have any specific questions, please consult a native Japanese person, as any more detail would require a proper physical example.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling

<i>Rei</i> - Bowing

Most Karate practitioners bow many times each time they visit the dojo. Some bow every time they enter the dojo, at the beginning and end of class, at the beginning and end of every kata (form) repetition and every time they face a new partner in kumite (sparring) practice. Most take it for granted that this ritual is a necessary part of their Karate experience, whether it holds some cultural significance (since Karate is, after all, Japanese) or as a way of expressing humility and/or respect for partners/instructors. Some have their doubts about the value of bowing and a few people even refuse to bow in class due to religious conflicts. I am not going to argue the validity of such complaints. I would like to just review the most general bowing ideas here.



Looking at the kanji (pictogram) for "rei," we can imagine the origin of this character being a representation of someone kneeling in prayer. Japanese kanji can have many meanings, and this one is no exception. "Rei," when combined with other kanji, can signify prayer, courtesy, thanking, or bowing, among others. Although a bow can be considered an integral part of prayer, the bow of Karate is seldom confused with a religious rite. Japanese are generally not very religious. In Japan, the bow is used much more often in business or social situations than bearing any religious significance. It is most often used much the same way as a handshake in the western world; as a greeting (as when entering a business meeting), symbolic of some sort of combined accomplishment or mutual understanding (such when signing a contract) or as a display of gratitude (when receiving an award).

Some western Karate practitioners have given up the use of bowing in their classes altogether. This is their choice, but I would not like to be a part of such a group if at least some form of respect/courtesy were not used in its place (such as a handshake, which takes even more time and effort, so what is the point?).

I have spent a total of eight years living in Japan, beginning in 1985. In Japan, I became accustomed to bowing subconsciously as I greeted shopkeepers on my street and thanked delivery people when they brought my pizza. Back in the U.S., I notice that a lot of karateka don't seem to understand proper bowing procedure. I understand that it is something new to most of us and I don't expect everyone to just "get it." But if you're going to do it, shouldn't you do it right?

First, I would like to review the concept of bowing as a way of opening and closing. Whether it be a ceremony or a business meeting, it's basically the same; much like the symbolic handshake. For this bowing application, they occur in sets of two. I recently attended a tournament in which both participants and judges seemed unsure of when they should bow, and how many times. When in doubt, check to see if your bows "match-up" in pairs.

One way to think about bowing is like parentheses in mathematics. You can have a formula: a = (b + c(d)/(e+f(g)/h) - i) But a formula such as: a = (b +c(d/(e+f(g/h - i) doesn't make any sense, because the parentheses don't match up. Bow when you meet a new partner. Bow again when you finish. Bow when you start a new kata. Bow again when you finish. Every bow should be matched up with another to make the formula work. (There are, of course, additional bows sometimes to accept criticism from an instructor or to show extra thanks at the end of class. But the ceremonial and display-of-mutual-respect bows should match up, anyway.) A very short class, therefore, might look something like this (bows represented by parentheses):

(( (taiso/warm-up) (kihon/basics) turn around and fix your karategi (more basics) stretch (kata) (another kata) stretch (kumite/sparring practice with one partner)(sparring with another partner)(warm-down) ))

In kumite, bow when you start and bow when you finish. You can add another bow if you are accepting criticism or congratulating your partner/opponent for a point. But, in general, only the opening and closing bows are required. This may, of course, be slightly different in other styles/organizations, but this is the general idea.

Next, I would like to review the basic types of bows. Bows range from the very informal nod of the head that most of us would use to agree with someone's casual comments, to the very formal seated bow. Japanese learn the subtle differences through the entire spectrum of bowing types. Westerners should not be expected to become perfect at these bowing subtleties, but a brief review might prove interesting for some.

Although good enough for most of your friends, a simple nod of the head is considered somewhat rude in the Japanese culture. Even for the slightest bows, the neck usually does not bend. The entire torso leans forward, with the neck straight. For the more formal bows, simply bring the entire torso--back & neck straight--further forward.

For standing bows, the hands should remain lightly touching the sides of the legs, without moving them, for men. Women sometimes slide their hands inward and downward in formal situations, but this is rarely seen in Karate dojo. With seated bows, hands should slide directly forward to in front of the knees. Women sometimes bring their hands closer together, as with the formal standing bow.

As far as the position of the eyes goes, there seem to be different opinions on the subject. Some think that it is rude to look an instructor in the eyes when bowing. Some say that you should keep looking into your partner's eyes as you bow. Are these different types of bows, or are they the same? For realistic budo/self-defense practicality reasons, remaining conscious of your partner/opponent's position is a good idea. But should you make extra effort to maintain eye contact specifically? I think that you should continue to watch his/her body, but there is not much advantage to looking at the eyes in particular (actual sparring is another story, which I will not get into here). Lowering the eyes is a sign of modesty, and is used in formal bowing in Japan often. But showing gratitude for receiving correction from an instructor is not necessarily worthy of such a deep, downward-looking bow. Apologizing for hitting your partner too hard, maybe.

I don't want to get any further into the different gradations of the bowing ritual here. Someday, I will be adding graphics here to illustrate the different types. If you have any specific questions, please consult a native Japanese person, as any more detail would require a proper physical example.

Copyright © 1998, Jon Keeling