Kihon: The art of 'technical isolation' to correct and improve

If one is aiming to optimize their karate it is essential to constantly use KIHON (Fundamental) training to both eradicate weak points, superfluous actions and/or errors; furthermore, and obviously, to increase one's skill level.

Just mindlessly doing kihon over and over again, which people often get into a rut doing, is inadequate for achieving these goals.

Now, I am not saying that repetition is bad, of course it is absolutely necessary; however, repetition of correct actions (with targeted objectives) is utterly paramount. This means repeating things which, as outlined above, and I will repeat again here: either (a) eradicate weaknesses; (b) remove superfluous actions; (c) correct errors; (d) improve skill (form, speed, power, agility, smoothness, etcetera); or any combination of these.

This is especially important for higher Dan grades and is the only way in which they can achieve a truly high karate level and keep improving.

There is also another consideration in these regards: "...age, 'wear and tear', illness, and injuries." Asai Tetsuhiko Sensei particularly highlighted these points and expanded 'JKA Shotokan' with additional techniques and kata which are more natural and, thus, easier on the body. In this way, one's karate can continue to evolve and improve irrespective of age and bodily condition.

Nonetheless, only by adapting the aforementioned approach to kihon can one optimize both standard Shotokan, and the extensions of it, by Asai Sensei and, indeed, the other great karate masters. 

To conclude, keep in mind that kihon is ISOLATION TRAINING FOR TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE, therefore, "...it should be highly focused with decisive objectives to correct and/or improve your karate-waza". Accordingly, Kihon is your training time to inject increased quality into your Kata and Kumite.

Reviewing today's training: Sunday, November 10th, 2024.

© André Bertel. Oita City, Japan (2024).