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This is a good question. And to answer it, you have to understand why karate kata (forms) exist, what their original purpose was, and how kata practice differs from sparring.
The original purpose of karate kata was to pass on self-defense technique to students. Each self-defense technique consists of one to three movements strung together in the sequence of ...
14
Your intuition is correct. It is a very vulnerable position. That should give you a clue about its bunkai.
For those that don't know, Bunkai is the Okinawan karate term used to refer to the practice of analyzing a kata for its self-defense applications.
Right off the bat, you know this is not a block. And you can conclude that because it would be insane to ...
11
The answer is simple: Because the vast majority of karate is taught by instructors who don't know what realistic bunkai is. And that's because their instructors were never taught it. And their instructors' instructors were never taught it, etc. This goes back many generations.
But why?
I gave a good overview of the subject
at this link.
And you should ...
10
Improve your leg Strength.
Do this first because it feeds into any activity requiring balance.
Try:
Hindu squats. These are great because they have you coming up on the ball of your foot while squatting low.
Dynamic/Plyometric squats. For example, box-jumping. It's simple, just get a crate or some of those stackable aerobics platforms. Squat and jump ...
10
There are several reasons, but in my opinion, they are somewhat of a cop-out - and yet a relief. Keep in mind, getting into the Olympics is a herculean task: there needs to be a federation representing 75 countries on 4 continents (for men) and 40 countries on 3 continents (for women), anti-doping policies, "modern appeal", media interest, promote gender ...
9
Just because a karate style may include weapon katas does not mean that the name "karate" is invalidated. You can think of Kobudo as an extension, or sister art(s) to Karate. Okinawan weapon arts are supposed to have been based on farming tools that the practitioners would have had readily available.
Additionally, as has been noted elsewhere, Kara in the ...
9
This may be new information to you, or it might be something you already understand. Taiji is done slowly for a very good reason. It's not for meditation, although many Taiji schools teach it that way. The real reason it's done slowly is because you're trying to move your body in a very special way that requires your brain to concentrate on many variables at ...
9
Are you doing Taiji entirely for meditation, relaxation, and chi-kung? If so, go ahead and do it with your eyes closed. Or better yet, do it sitting down on the floor while just "thinking" of how the movement should feel. You'll make more progress at your intended purpose that way.
If, however, your purpose for learning Taiji is at least partially for ...
8
Traditional teachers of different style say many different things, of which, some have more, or less validity.
Here's some things I've heard said about forms in general:
It teaches you how to relax into all of the positions/movements for most efficient energy use
The movements specifically work to stretch/strengthen various muscles in a given order
The ...
8
I don't believe there is a "traditional taekwondo black belt bo form".
The Kukkiwon (at the Foreign Taekwondo Master Training Course in 2013) says there are no weapons in Taekwondo, but some schools add them to boost their curriculum.
I had a quick look in General Choi's encyclopaedias (the 1965 one and the multi-volume set) and can't find any references ...
7
The answer to this question entirely depends on the form and the history behind it.
Most forms have changed in small and often big ways since they were first created. Sometimes movements are repeated slowly just because someone thought it would look better in a demonstration. That's the truth for most of what you'll see out there when you see something ...
6
A simple practical exercise that will improve your kicking balance: Do straight leg kicks without ever setting the kicking leg down.
You don't have to do them aggressively or high at first. Even a 30 or 45 degree kick is sufficient to start you off. But when the leg returns, either don't set it down, or do the lightest toe-touch possible.
Gentle, ...
6
Kata is sparring.
Due to the facts that:
kata are a static sequence of moves
for most junior members (and even some senior members) sparring is a free form unplanned sequence of moves (for new people it tends to be totally random)
it can take many years to get your head around this concept. Gradually the two start to merge, so that when you are ...
6
My wife got pretty far into contemporary wushu. She had good teachers, but one book she frequently turned to was Fundamentals of High Performance Wushu: Taolu Jumps and Spins by Raymond Wu. You can find it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-High-Performance-Wushu-Taolu/dp/1430318201
It goes over a lot of the jumping and spinning techniques. The ...
6
Magic is not real, so I am afraid that ying/yang energy is out.
It is most likely that endorphins are being released after exercise. They can also be released during meditation.
answered Feb 18 '14 at 8:44
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6
People get hurt sparring, and they get hurt worse fighting. This is a fact of life. It's why professional fighters may only fight a few times a year, and why you can't just pound each other in martial arts class all the time. Some injuries are permanent. If you are injured all the time, you can't train and possibly can't work either.
There's a reason why ...
6
mattm and Steve have adequately covered the angles of injury and the basis of kata. I would also add two more factors, efficiency and the need to set a physical foundation.
Efficiency
It's not easy to make money with a martial arts school without going down the route of a McDojo and gouging money with belt fees, contracts, etc. Typically, your two routes ...
6
I did some research and found the technique in the Kukkiwon website. The Information section on Techniques describes the taesan milgi:
Taesan-milgi (태산밀기) Steep Mountain Pushing
A motion of pushing an imaginary mountain This is a movement of
pushing a big mountain in order to focus the performer’s mind and
control his or her breathing. This ...
6
These are official videos. There are also coach's documents available you can get from TeamUSA, or from your country's Olympic site. The coach's document specifies competition-specific details, such as timing, height of kicks, placement of feet, and other nuances that are completely irrelevant when you need the forms for advancement or local competitions.
...
5
Lots of good answers! I'm only adding a bit of context to some of them.
Teaching
Most of history, people are illiterate. You don't have a lot of options to transmit information. A form is a simple thing you can memorize and keep practicing and pass down and keep the basic movements even if you're just a farmer.
Some styles would teach short 2-3 ...
5
By reading the The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-do written by General Choi Hong Hi, the founder of Taekwon-do, one would find out that the sine-wave is a main characteristic of Taekwon-do and is part of the "Theory of power" that characterizes the style.
The sine-wave emphasizes relaxation on the upward motion and the contraction and explosion on the downward(...
5
I've studied Yang style Tai Chi for two years. There are some very simple applications for Single Whip:
In the images above, the guy is facing forwards, imagine if the attacker was coming from behind. You start in Wu Chi and when they try to punch the back of your head, you step backwards into single whip, using the whip hand to very subtly deflect the ...
5
Try these footwork patterns:
Stepping forward in a low bow/front stance as you push the broom, alternating legs. It will be a challenge to actually effect the sweeping while doing this.
Fighting stance: step back foot together with front foot, step front foot out to fighting stance. Do right foot forward going one way, left foot forward coming back.
...
5
Step one of defending the body triangle is rolling to the side so that your opponent's feet are on the ground, rather than their knee.
Step two is turning into the body triangle. You need to turn belly up. Resist the urge to push on the body triangle, as you can get your arm trapped, and get rear naked choked easier. If you want to, grab hold of your ...
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⚠ Disclaimer: I am still learning about the goshin-ho and thus the below is best seen as a work in progress… Anyone with a more complete answer is welcome to post it. Any errors, confusion, and misrepresentations are mine alone.
What is it?
The term goshin-ho means "methods of self defence" and as such is not a kata.
There is a set of (57) techniques ...
answered Jul 31 '17 at 8:08
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5
It is as Meer states, that they distinguish between opponents. However, not all styles use red and blue. In Taekwondo, it is required to wear the color of your belt (for poomsae competition), while in JKA, Red and White are worn, while in Olympic Karate, Red and Blue are worn. Incidentally, in Taekwondo, while natural belt colors are worn for poomsae ...
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This is a complex question deserving a complex answer. In your question, you explicitly refer to gedan barai as an example of a generally "bad" bunkai. In this answer, I will start from there to explain why it is taught that way, the purpose behind it, and why it appears to be missing something.
1. Gedan Barai is not a block.
In karate, blocks are ...
5
In the WKF 2018 competition rules document, the following are considered valid reasons for disqualification during a kata competition :
Not presenting yourself when called
Performing the wrong kata or announcing the wrong kata
Failing to bow at the beginning and completion of the kata performance
A distinct pause or stop in the performance
Interference with ...
5
First, don't drill anything you haven't been taught in person by a good teacher. You can learn a lot watching videos, but videos don't give you feedback and correction. I'm worried that you'll be drilling the wrong movement, and that will make it hard to undo later on. Drilling should only be done when you're getting feedback and are actively making ...
5
Throwing someone is difficult and depends on particular openings, balance, and grips; staying standing is the easier "default". In contrast, pins are the opposite: the escape is difficult and depends on particular openings, weight distributions, and grips; staying on top of someone who has already been pinned is the easier default.
Standing ...
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