Change It Up

By: Jason Kraus

Try not to let your practice fall into patterns where you can more easily groove bad habits. Try to continually adjust your combinations so you can progress beyond the techniques and seek to understand the principles* underlying the techniques.

Avoid the easy habit of practicing only what a test prescribes. Practicing of a narrow selection of techniques results in a narrow skillset.

I learned this one night, practicing with a karate group while I was traveling for work. I was a 4th kyu (purple belt) at the time, on the cusp of testing for 3rd kyu (brown belt). That night the sensei called for some kihon sequences that were on the 3rd kyu test and with which I was familiar. I did the techniques with speed, power, and confidence.

Then he called for combinations that were not on any test but were made of techniques that I had practiced thousands of times before, just in new combinations. I had a much more difficult time with those. Not because I couldn’t remember the combinations but because the sequences made new demands on my body. Demands for which it was not entirely prepared for. For instance, oizuki, then stepping back gedan barai to shuto tsuki, followed by mae geri. Not a complex combination, just one I had never practiced before.

I noticed my center of gravity moving upward, the power for my techniques migrating from my hips and legs to my shoulders and arms, and felt the subsequent tightening of my chest and restricted breathing.

I had taught my body karate in a very narrow way, a way geared primarily toward testing and not toward spontaneous use in real life.

It was an important lesson that caused me to reevaluate what kind of karate I was imprinting on my body. That event opened my eyes and I became more focused on understanding the underlying principles of the techniques.

From my own experience, I know this is a difficult request to make of your body, especially if your immediate goal is achieving shodan. But this kind of training – training that is not on any test or in any kata – is good for your overall development and will serve you well as you continue to train.

*As a reminder, there are eight methods to generate power: Dropping power, Rising power, Momentum, Rotational power (forward and rearward), Vibration, Pendulum action, Compression, and Expansion. Related: Honework

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Jason Kraus is a lifelong martial artist. Jason spent decades in various martial arts including traveling to and living in both Japan and Korea. He has most recently returned to his first love, Shotokan Karate and trains at Missouri Karate Association.