SPEED POWER AND TECHNIQUE, BUT WHY?

Welcome to our third instalment of our Shukokai Karate Blog. 


This one is based on the fundamentals of Shukokai Karate which are 


SPEED, POWER and TECHNIQUE


Although this is easily said by anyone, to actually describe what it means is a little bit more complex so I’m going to explain this in a bit more detail for all of our members to understand the meaning behind these words, their origins and more importantly why we use them. 


The first point to look at with this is going back a few hundred years to look at the laws of motion in physics made by Sir Isaac Newton. 


There are three laws of motion however for this blog and not to get to heavy with science we’re going to focus on the 2nd law of Motion which is. 




Net Force = mass x acceleration.1




Now a lot of people might look at this and think what does this mean however in Shukokai terms it becomes a lot simpler. 




Impact of Kick, Punch or Block (Force) = bodyweight (Mass) x take off speed (Acceleration) 




This might look quite complicated however it’s very important to remember these principals as they are what helped form Shukokai karate as a style by Master Tani and Kimura and really what made it completely different from the rest. 


So with this helps with a better understanding of why we hit hard and fast however there also needs to be an understanding of what produced this force when punching and kicking to make this happen. 


Here are a few things that Shukokai adapted into its style to make this law of motion apply. 


Shorter Stance  - For a faster and easier take off.
Relaxing the body when punching, kicking or blocking  - To increase speed of the Technique
Gripping the floor - To help create a quicker take off leading to better impact.
Recoil - For a snap impact
Making hinged door hip rotation instead of like a revolving door - To optimize the force generated from the technique. 


All of these points come in to effect when emphasising the Speed, Power and Technique ethos of Shukokai Karate.

However, it’s important to realise that none of these fundamentals will occur without the other. 


For example 


If you fail to demonstrate the correct technique using the correct body mechanics then you will not have optimal mass.




If you do not have the correct stance and balance, then your acceleration will be suboptimal, resulting in failure to produce optimal impact (net force). 


This is why pad work is a hugely important part of our club’s training and development programme. If you nail down the ethos then you will be on your way to developing yourself as a Shukokai Practitioner. 


So for all of our members, particularly our Adult members, it is important to remember these key points when training to maximise development of your technique when kicking, punching and blocking. 


Below are a collection of photographs of Master Chojiro Tani and Master Shigeru Kimura studying impact of punching at the University of Kyoto.


Thanks as always for reading 

Sensei Steven Miller
5th Dan 
Shukokai Karate Club


References:
1.  https://www.livescience.com/46560-newton-second-law.html