It’s all in the kata

THE teaching theme in Europe was “kata is kumite” and was well received, resulting in multiple invitations from a number of countries.

After much deliberation during the festive season, I decided to start the New Year concluding on this same direction of thought.

Heian Shodan has many hidden treasures applicable specifically on fighting combinations, but allow me to discuss only a single technique.

Movement four consists of contraction from a forward stance into feet close to touching with the right arm defence action.

This contraction changes into expansion empowering a right arm strike.

The success of this movement lays in the following important matters, firstly the contraction in defence followed by expansion in attack, but the secret lies in a solid back leg.

This single movement can be successfully applied in a defensive fighting situation by contracting with a solid routed back foot and in preparation for a counter attack.

In Heian Nidan we find a slipstep introduction in movement seven.

This is an appropriate introduction for more advanced fighting sequences.

The advantage of this movement is that the preparation is hidden, making defending this attack very difficult.

In Heian Sandan, the second last movement is done by sliding from one position to the next introducing the most popular movement in fighting combinations.

It is interesting to observe the increase in difficulty from the first to the third kata, but the fighting applications of these movements are amazing. This year started with a huge intake of parents starting karate careers.

Motivated by the success of their kids and the numerous advantages of training karate, many parents took the first step by attending their first class.

Karate classes are offered across our city at various karate schools.

Please contact me for a reputable reference to a proper school.

You can send an e-mail to soon@karateacademy.co.za or else call me on 083 263 1522.