The makiwara (“wrapped straw”)–or machiwara, as it is called in Uchinaguchi (the native language of Okinawa)–is a traditional hojo undo kigu (supplementary training tool) that is used in Okinawan karate. A makiwara is a wooden post used for striking, and its name comes from the padding that was traditionally used for the striking areas, which was made of bundles of […]
Kihon-geiko (basic/foundational training) is meant to isolate karate movements so they can be individually focused on during practice. Karateka from nearly any style will be familiar with a variety of methods for this purpose–punches while standing in shiko-dachi (sumo/horse stance), kicks with the hands on the hips, walking across the mat in a stance, etc. Whatever the technique may be, […]
Recently, I wrote an article in defense of the use of wrist grabs in karate training, which are often derided as being unrealistic. In that article, I mentioned that the most common complaint people tend to have about many karate and kobudo applications and fighting drills is the use of formal karate-style attacks and incorrect maai (distancing). Unlike wrist grabs, […]
Traditional martial arts are often criticized–and rightly so, in many cases–for training against unrealistic attacks. Most often, the attack that gets the most complaints is the infamous straight lunge-punch in a long front stance that comes from 10 feet away, and wouldn’t hit the defender even if they stood still. A close second to that is the wrist grab, […]
Martial arts have a great deal of terminology describing their techniques, methods, and concepts. Typically, this terminology is in the language native to the region the art came from. Karate, although Okinawan in origin, has adopted the Japanese language as Uchinaguchi (the language of Okinawa) was phased out of regular use in the Ryukyu Islands. This means that karateka all […]
Karate has three staple components–kihon, kata and kumite (basics, forms and sparring, respectively)–that make up the curriculum for most schools. The basics are the individual techniques in the style, consisting of stances, punches, blocks, open handed strikes, kicks, etc. The forms are patterns of basics strung together to, on a basic level, build muscle memory, condition your body and practice […]
