Paper on an Aspect of JKS Karate

The longer one spends studying karate, the clearer one thing becomes: the fundamentals become more and more important as one progresses from one level to the next. Ultimate proficiency lies in the perfection of the basics, and if one understands that it is actually not possible to reach total perfection when it comes to basics, then one starts getting somewhere.

 

There are two important issues here:

1. Many karateka often neglect the basics as they reach higher grades. While they will of course never admit it, deep down they believe that spending too much time on fundamentals is for beginners, and that they are above trying to perfect, for instance, a "simple" mae-geri. 
2. They think they know how to do it, and therefore the basic elements of the mae-geri, i.e. back foot pointing forward, weight forward, hips square, knee up and snap back, are executed without any real understanding and therefore finally without real effect. 

 

This attitude is echoed by some senior karate-ka who will concentrate on, for instance, "advanced" katas at the expense of the Heians (the irony of course is that no single technique in any kata can be divorced from the basics: kime, posture, hip rotation and so on are the fundamentals of form, no matter how "advanced" the kata - or the karateka).
This is the main point of this paper: I believe that some very important basics are not taught to students at an early enough stage or, even if they are taught, these basics are not given the importance they deserve. This ultimately has a negative effect on the form of even some senior karateka, especially when it comes to kata.
While all the other elements of correct form are obviously also vital, I want to concentrate on a specific fundamental problem which I believe is evident among too many karateka today.

THE POSITION OF THE FEET

When in zenkutsu-dachi or fudo-dachi, many karatekas' back feet point sideways at an angle of more than 45 degrees, sometimes even a full 90 degrees.

When in kokutsu-dachi, the back foot often points backwards, and in kiba-dachi, few karatekas' feet are actually parallel.

The focal point of this paper is the position of the back foot when in front stance or fighting stance which, of all the stances, are most seriously affected by this problem - not only in terms of form in kata, but also because it curtails the effectiveness of one of the most common scoring techniques in kumite.

The Back Foot Position in Front/Fighting Stance, as it Relates to Kumite

 

One of the most effective and most popular scoring techniques in kumite is the gyaku-zuki. This technique can only be effective if the back foot is pointing forward, at the very least at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the hand movement.

 

If the foot is pointing further back than 45 degrees, a number of things happen which will nullify the effectiveness of the gyaku-zuki:

 

1. Because the fighter is literally on his back foot, it creates a negative attitude. If the back foot is pointing sideways, it is impossible to move forward with any significant degree of speed or force. The most likely direction for the fighter to move in is backwards, even if it is only by shifting his body weight onto his back leg. It follows that, if he is physically moving backwards, he is probably doing the same thing mentally. Either way, it is a sure recipe for defeat. 
2. A back foot that points sideways inhibits hip rotation to the point that it is almost impossible to execute a correct gyaku-zuki. In fact, there is a direct correlation between the effectiveness of a gyaku-zuki and the direction in which the back foot is pointing. 
3. If the hip can't rotate, distancing is also seriously affected. Again, there is a direct correlation between the reach of the fist and the direction in which the back foot is pointing (bearing in mind that, at the point of impact, the shoulder should be square and not in a gyaku-hanmi position).  
4. A lack of hip rotation leads to a huge drop in power. There is no comparison between a punch delivered with static hips and one delivered with "vibrating" hips.

  

Since the power in a karate punch is generated through the hips, it should be one of the most basic techniques which should be taught to any student. And, of course, one of the keys to correct hip vibration lies in the position of the back foot for both blocks and punches.

The Back Foot Position in Front/Fighting Stance, as it Relates to Kata

 

One of the first techniques taught in karate is oi-zuki. This technique is found in most of the katas, from Heian Shodan, right through to many of the black belt katas.

For oi-zuki, we are taught that the body should be in shomen position at the kime point, i.e. hips and shoulders should be square. Try this with the back foot pointing sideways: the hips cannot be square, which means that a number of things will happen:

1. There can be no real kime.
2. The leading shoulder is likely to be too far forward.
3. The body will lean forward.
4. There will be an over-reach with the striking hand.
5. Most important of all, because oi-zuki is a moving technique, if the back foot is pointing sideways it will drag behind the rest of the body instead of propelling it. The hip supposed to be the trigger for the striking hand will also be left behind, which means that not much of the technique is left.

Again, when one does gyaku-zuki while moving forward (e.g. with tsugi-ashi), and the back foot is pointing too far sideways, that foot will drag behind the body as well, with the same consequences.

 

Students are already exposed to gyaku-zuki early on in what is ironically called a "basic" kata - Heian Nidan. If the student is not taught the correct foot position for this technique at this early stage, the result is a weak foundation in terms of its future application.

In Heian Godan, the sword hand techniques (movements 21a and 23a) are impossible to execute correctly if the back foot is pointing too far to the side. There will be no kime point, because the hip on the side of the striking hand will not be locked in (one reason why the feet tend to be in the wrong position here is that the person doing the kata over-anticipates a change of stance and therefore moves too quickly from front stance to back stance).

The advanced kata Chinte is another excellent example of how the incorrect position of the back foot will totally nullify an important technique. In Chinte, the tate-zuki (vertical fist punch) is executed like a gyaku-zuki, but with the fist in a vertical position. The fist meets the palm of the other hand, which is extended as tate shuto uke (vertical sword hand block). The extended hand should not be pulled back to meet the striking fist. Instead, a sharp forward movement of the hip should give the fist enough reach to meet the palm of the other hand without any backward movement of the latter (the stance is fudo-dachi). This technique is totally impossible to execute correctly if the back foot is pointing too far to the side.

SUMMARY

While students are of course being told about the importance of the position of the back foot, it should be emphasised and focussed on far more than at present. It should become an ingrained part of their early training, which will ultimately result in fewer senior karateka suffering from this problem later on, when it is too late, or very difficult, to fix.