How
to Grow Your School
Building Champions: The Two Essential Elements
Two essential elements are involved in developing winners in Sport Karate:
dedicated practice and competitive attitude. A fighter must be taught to
practice diligently until his technique is superior and his conditioning sharp.
He must also be taught a competitive attitude. Some fighters have a built in
winning attitude and a willingness to practice; however, most fighters will need
to develop both of these characteristics. A champion is built on a philosophy of
hard work and determination.
Dedicated Practice
It is a great deal of fun to win a match; it is exhilarating to know your skills
have exceeded your opponents. It is boring to practice: to take a partner in to
the dojo and drill and drill and drill, to repeat a movement 10 times, 20 times,
50 times, 100 times. This practice, this drill, however, are the characteristics
that distinguish the champion from the also random. Dedicated practice is
absolutely essential for the fighter who wants to become a world champion.
Karate techniques require the fighter to execute physical actions, which the
body does not normally do. Karate requires moving in different directions close
to your opponent, far from your opponent, moving in, moving out; it requires
violent twisting actions; it requires abrupt changes of direction; it requires
precise mechanical movements of the body parts. All this requires practice.
Karate is a series of co-ordinated moves; a thrust may be followed by a step to
the right, a kick preceded by a jump or in combination with any one of a
thousand hand, foot, or body movements. These co-ordinate moves cannot be
accomplished without practice.
Teaching fighters to execute techniques in a series of co-ordinated movements
takes time and should be done gradually. Relaxed, smooth, explosive execution
comes only after repeated attempts. Basic kihon such as a jodan mawashi geri
must be done rapidly and with power, but first it must be practiced and
practiced and practiced. In order to teach a fighter smooth execution, the
technique must be practiced with minimum power and resistance.
The moves
should be done slowly with the body relaxed. The fighter should attempt to feel
how the move is executed. He/she must know where the head is, where the arms
are, where the hips are, the position of the feet and hands. These things can
only be learned if someone watches with a discerning eye for correct technique.
Next the speed
is increased; the muscles tightened; the resistance to the technique is
increased with the use of kick pads and the heavy bag. The technique is
practiced with concern for body position but with more speed, more vigorous. As
the action becomes natural, more power and focus is applied at the right moment
and the entire body is utilized. The movement begins to become complete. The
truly skilled athlete will win most matches. This is true in most sports. Many
times the physically fit, strong, aggressive athlete will take the early lead
but fitness being equal the more skilled will emerge as the victor. The body is
more efficient if it is skilled in the performance of a technique, and fatigue
does not set in when moves are executed swiftly and with precision.
Simplicity is also a key to winning. Basic fundamentals, executed well wins
matches. A remarkable similarity exists among the techniques of top athletes in
a given sport. They tend to have 2 or 3 "bread and butter" moves with some
variation to these simple, fundamental moves. The champion is patient in setting
up the moves, is skilful in execution, and usually scores well each time.
The test of whether a technique has been learned is the ability to apply it on
the mat during shiai. A fighter does not know how to execute technique unless
the technique can be successfully set up, executed and it scores. A move is
learned only if it can be used in a real situation.
Karate is a sport of skilled physical activity, not spectacular crowd-pleasing
techniques. It is a sport where the champion patiently looks for openings,
creates openings, attacks openings and scores with his basic technique.
Become a
AMAA Certified Instructor and Coaching
Facilitator Jessie Bowen
USA Workshops President & CEO
Martial Artist, Fitness, Wellness , Sports and Personal Development Expert:
For more
information contact Jessie Bowen, email
jBowen8871@aol.com
or 919-489-6100
