karainflex

It seems there is a common idea to grab something (the arm of an opponent or even the handle of a weapon like the katana) such that only middle-, ring- and little finger (MRL) use force.

You can see it being discussed (but not explained) here for Karate and Wing Chun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EflKW-7JHmE&t=238s I wonder why that is done and what explanations you might know about this.

I downloaded the paper "Coordinated force production in multi-Finger tasks: Finger interaction and neural network modeling" by Zatsiorsky et al. They explain that fingers always interact with each other (creating force with one finger always creates force with other fingers as well, which they call ens

Hi, I had an introduction to Kobudo with some Bo training and they told us that contrary to Karate they want to move with a bobbing motion (like going up and down while moving). I was so surprised I forgot to ask why. So here is my question: why is this done? :-)

Hi, I was lucky to experiment with a device that measures the punching power (a sensor pad mounted to a load-bearing wall) but I am still thinking about the result: The device showed me that my average punch (shown in kg) equals to my body mass. And my top score is 20kg above my average (which seems to be quite common when I compare this with other results from scientific papers and other people of my dojo).

On one hand I think that is great because it means that my technique transfers my full body mass on average. By using the double hip principles that is what I should actually expect, because Peter Consterdine says it is designed to apply the body mass. And he told me once that my techn

I know that Shukokai is interesting for research regarding body dynamics. But so far I only saw some short clips about Kimura and I know of a kata book but don't know if the book discusses the body dynamics at all. Can you recommend books/videos/articles about body dynamics in Shukokai or similar media with a different background (could be kickboxing or whatever, though I prefer Karate).

Hi, I am interested in a sensor to measure kinetic energy of human punches. So far I have only seen high speed camera footage used with calculations (approximated mass times speed squared), but I want a real value (and no 100k equipment like a high speed cam).

It has to be cheap (<<100 bucks), reusable, transportable (like a pad with a cable), and for sake of preventing injury during the tests: flat, no sharp edges, somewhat flexible (ok, in the worst case I would have to mount a pad in front of it). It is ok to be used stationary. And the sensor data I want to read with a computer unless the thing is somehow able to show the value itself (dunno, max value until reset or so).

20 years ago

Hi, if there is an open air karate seminar over a couple of hours, the sun is burning and there is no strict code regarding clothing (T-Shirt, shoes etc), what kind of headgear would you wear that protects against the sun (no heatstroke, no sunburns) but doesn't get into the way of training some applications - and does not look weird with a karategi?

There are many posts suggesting to do "sparring". Especially when someone asks about finding a style or is interested in self-defense, we can count on someone hitting the red "sparring!!!" button on the keyboard by reflex.

To prevent further misunderstandings: what does that word mean? I think that everyone means something different and expects the others to use the same meaning. The dictionary says it is a martial arts training, which is a quite useless definition.

Is it just a vague term describing some arbitrary exercise with a partner (like application training or technique/pad/... training), is it about competition and resistance, is kumite equal to sparring (and which form of it, onl

Hi, is there a book describing the Wado-ryu origins? But something that goes further than listing dates and events. Maybe one that captures the ideas of the founder and the kata or technical development? A view behind the scenes?

I notice some prejudice in my mind and I just gotta know if they are true or not:

• Do you follow the 3K karate (kihon, kata, kumite) exactly?
• Do you divert from 3K, like by training realistic self defense with grappling, takedowns, ground fighting, contact, education on local laws, "role playing", ...?
• Is your template for basics and kata the Nakayama series of books, or something else [what]?
• Is your bunkai supposed to show a realistic application or is it supposed for tournament show? [if you do nukite to the chest, it is the latter ;-)]
• Do you have any non-Shotokan elements in training sometimes?
• How many examiners do you have for dan gradings? 1? More?
• Do you know if JKA tr

Hi, I noticed the term some while ago and a couple of bunkai books ("Five Years One Kata" by Burgar and "Karate Beyond Kata" by Titchen) used that term so heavily that I decided to dig a bit into the matter.

Yesterday I have seen this interview of Patrick McCarthy by Jesse Enkamp because the title was interesting but then I realized that he is talking 100% about HAOV: https://youtu.be/MvqYqOpjlIg

The essence of that interview is (as I understood it): ditch kihon and ippon kumite and learn/teach the 36 scenarios of an attack, then kata and kata bunkai will reveal itself.

Now, ippon kumite I ditched a long time ago, because it never felt right and then Iain Abernethy talks about why he does

Have you experience with a workgroup-like approach in your training where the trainer prepares the lesson but then trains with the students?

I want to start a purely application focussed course for brown and black belts and train with them after I showed what I want to train. The goal is to mix and match after a couple of minutes and all problems found should be solved with the partner or as a group approach.

We do all the other stuff in other lessons, like kihon, kata, kumite and this is all teacher-centred teaching with one guy in front and a group. I want to do exactly what we don't do in these lessons: ukemi waza, takedowns, practical bunkai with increasing resistance, self defense - o

I need to find some good self defense applications against kicks.

While Karate has a lot to offer for defense by using arms, legs, throws, I am especially interested in how a layman attacker would kick and instruct my partner to do it this way instead of using the well trained e.g. Mae-Geri movements because I think that misses the point under these circumstances.

I think most people will kick to the shin or groin like hitting a football, using a swinging or keage motion or pull up a knee and stomp. Is that a proper assumption?

To make things worse I need to find an application against kick combinations. I learned e.g. Mae-Geri -> Mawashi-Geri -> Ushiro-Geri in one sequence, but I

Style founders and other masters say that it is important to perform kata with an opponent in mind (or more general: with an appropriate mindset).

That made me think (because kata tends to become more self purpose or a sports discipline): we teach kata first, then bunkai to people who probably never were in a fight... so wouldn't it make more sense to switch the order (or have more focus on application first)? Like teaching proper applications and drills and such and then teach the kata to memorize everything.

Has someone done it this way? What is your experience?

Do you take time to sit down with your students and tell them about Karate history, differences between aspects (like sports vs self defense), kata versions and other things, maybe even your ideas, experiences and methods (like interpreting kata, training contents/goals, ...)? How often does this happen, how much time does it take, do people appreciate it, ...? Let's share.