Something I recall both my sensei -- Shihan Garcia, and Sensei Miranda (who also happens to be my father) -- telling me again and again was to ‘practice the basics.’ At the time it sounded as if they wanted me to work on kamae, so I did. Or was it blocking? Okay, some of that too. Maybe striking? Kicks? What exactly where these elusive basics?
A conversation with my father earlier this week brought some clarity to this question, and the frustrating uncertainty of what exactly these basics are. These elusive basics are paradoxically not basic at all, but they’re conceptually simple, basic: flow, stance, and balance. This revelation was followed by him saying that "to understand the basics, you must first master the basics."
Circular as the argument is it is, in a way, fairly accurate. The basics, as I saw them when I started in martial arts were the blocks, kicks, kamae (stances,) striking (tsuki, shuto, etc) the beginning kata and kihon kumite.
In retrospect, they do seem to lead one to the three basics above, and there’s a few threads that pull them together, such as kata. Kata involve motion from one stance to another, and if one wishes to get them right, one has to exercise our balance. They’re a small test of your skills at any particular moment in your training. They’ve always challenged my memory, precision, and most certainly point out to me when my balance is just a little bit off.
One of the exercises that is quite helpful in improving the transition from one stance to the next, and which I remember doing many times in our old dojo in Chile was to walk up and down the dojo in one stance first, say shiko dachi, then shifting to another stance. Our hands not doing much other than shifting forward and back to match the leading foot. All of the basic stances (shiko dachi, sanchin dachi, zenkutsu dachi, neko dachi,) up and down the dojo again and again.
Even today I find myself doing these very simple footwork exercises. Up and down a hallway at home, or when I’ve a few minutes to spare and no one is looking to see me walking funny. Forward and backward, shifting from one stance to another, turning to face various directions from where I am standing. These certainly make for a more varied repertoire of movements.
Sometimes, though, turning doesn’t quite work. Perhaps it feels wobbly, or you plain end up facing the wrong way, and this reminds you that you need to work a little more on balance. How? There’s the simple ways, of course, like standing on one foot, then the other. Practice kata which have turns built into them -- Sanchin’s has two 180 degree turns, while Gekisai Dai Ichi and Dai Ni have both 180 and 90 degree turns (most other goju kata also contain turns, but I’m just listing some of the very basic ones) -- and pay attention to where your feet end up. I always find myself asking if that felt rooted enough, or if the turn made me bob too much up and down, compromising my balance. Question, experiment, try again. You’ll always be making an adjustment for the situation, terrain, or even how much your left toe aches on a cold day after that terrible nutcracker incident.
If you’ve ever been to an Okinawan Karate dojo, one of the things you may notice is that there’s a fair emphasis on sparring. From the very beginning, there’s emphasis on kumite. At first it’s single-step attack-block combinations, also known as ippon kumite, then progressing over time to free sparring. Like kata, an opponent and the repetition of the prearranged type of kumite helps with giving one a feel for the flow from one stance to another, as well as exposing that hobgoblin of balance: bobbing.
The way I think of bobbing, especially on the upswing of the motion, is that of a car’s suspension unloading. A point where you’re accelerating upwards, robbing you of grip, or that sense of
“groundedness” which we seek to attain. One can go too far with grounding, though, making your movements clumsy, or giving you a sensation of being rather static. This is stance without flow. Balanced, but immobile, and not bad if you’re going for an impression of a statue.
Always focus on your stance at first. Get that right until it feels properly grounded and stable, then practice moving in that stance. Forward, back, sidestep. This builds a feel for balance. Don’t worry about speed yet, since that’s a function of practice and time and learning one’s balance. As more of these motions become integrated into your movement speed rises in a natural way. The smooth, balanced motion from stance to stance comprises flow. This is the order that I’ve found, and with which Sensei Miranda also agrees, helps build intrinsic knowledge of these fundamental attributes.
I’ve often joked that footwork in martial arts feels very much like the rhythm section of a band; carrying the rhythm, and the general flow of the music with them and with little appreciation from the audience. Setting the pace and the mood, leaving other instruments to carry the main themes and melodies. The basics, the footwork, the flow are much like the rhythm of a piece of music. The hands and arms add their own motion and flow, their overtones to the rhythmic patter, shuffle and stomp of one’s feet on the dojo floor.
These various pieces, which in fact are the whole of a style, can then be stuffed together into the perplexing simplicity of the basics. Of flow, stance and balance.
Links:
Good overview of the concept and the usual political faffing about that various styles and divisions within styles engage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumite
There’s nothing to learn from this other than the word kumite should be followed by kung-fu sound effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBchPDvgmDk
Wikipedia is so full of things, so here’s a good list of the various foot positions for stances along with explanations for them. But remember that there’s no replacement for a good teacher when it comes to correcting your form: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate_stances
A conversation with my father earlier this week brought some clarity to this question, and the frustrating uncertainty of what exactly these basics are. These elusive basics are paradoxically not basic at all, but they’re conceptually simple, basic: flow, stance, and balance. This revelation was followed by him saying that "to understand the basics, you must first master the basics."
Circular as the argument is it is, in a way, fairly accurate. The basics, as I saw them when I started in martial arts were the blocks, kicks, kamae (stances,) striking (tsuki, shuto, etc) the beginning kata and kihon kumite.
In retrospect, they do seem to lead one to the three basics above, and there’s a few threads that pull them together, such as kata. Kata involve motion from one stance to another, and if one wishes to get them right, one has to exercise our balance. They’re a small test of your skills at any particular moment in your training. They’ve always challenged my memory, precision, and most certainly point out to me when my balance is just a little bit off.
One of the exercises that is quite helpful in improving the transition from one stance to the next, and which I remember doing many times in our old dojo in Chile was to walk up and down the dojo in one stance first, say shiko dachi, then shifting to another stance. Our hands not doing much other than shifting forward and back to match the leading foot. All of the basic stances (shiko dachi, sanchin dachi, zenkutsu dachi, neko dachi,) up and down the dojo again and again.
Even today I find myself doing these very simple footwork exercises. Up and down a hallway at home, or when I’ve a few minutes to spare and no one is looking to see me walking funny. Forward and backward, shifting from one stance to another, turning to face various directions from where I am standing. These certainly make for a more varied repertoire of movements.
Sometimes, though, turning doesn’t quite work. Perhaps it feels wobbly, or you plain end up facing the wrong way, and this reminds you that you need to work a little more on balance. How? There’s the simple ways, of course, like standing on one foot, then the other. Practice kata which have turns built into them -- Sanchin’s has two 180 degree turns, while Gekisai Dai Ichi and Dai Ni have both 180 and 90 degree turns (most other goju kata also contain turns, but I’m just listing some of the very basic ones) -- and pay attention to where your feet end up. I always find myself asking if that felt rooted enough, or if the turn made me bob too much up and down, compromising my balance. Question, experiment, try again. You’ll always be making an adjustment for the situation, terrain, or even how much your left toe aches on a cold day after that terrible nutcracker incident.
If you’ve ever been to an Okinawan Karate dojo, one of the things you may notice is that there’s a fair emphasis on sparring. From the very beginning, there’s emphasis on kumite. At first it’s single-step attack-block combinations, also known as ippon kumite, then progressing over time to free sparring. Like kata, an opponent and the repetition of the prearranged type of kumite helps with giving one a feel for the flow from one stance to another, as well as exposing that hobgoblin of balance: bobbing.
The way I think of bobbing, especially on the upswing of the motion, is that of a car’s suspension unloading. A point where you’re accelerating upwards, robbing you of grip, or that sense of
“groundedness” which we seek to attain. One can go too far with grounding, though, making your movements clumsy, or giving you a sensation of being rather static. This is stance without flow. Balanced, but immobile, and not bad if you’re going for an impression of a statue.
Always focus on your stance at first. Get that right until it feels properly grounded and stable, then practice moving in that stance. Forward, back, sidestep. This builds a feel for balance. Don’t worry about speed yet, since that’s a function of practice and time and learning one’s balance. As more of these motions become integrated into your movement speed rises in a natural way. The smooth, balanced motion from stance to stance comprises flow. This is the order that I’ve found, and with which Sensei Miranda also agrees, helps build intrinsic knowledge of these fundamental attributes.
I’ve often joked that footwork in martial arts feels very much like the rhythm section of a band; carrying the rhythm, and the general flow of the music with them and with little appreciation from the audience. Setting the pace and the mood, leaving other instruments to carry the main themes and melodies. The basics, the footwork, the flow are much like the rhythm of a piece of music. The hands and arms add their own motion and flow, their overtones to the rhythmic patter, shuffle and stomp of one’s feet on the dojo floor.
These various pieces, which in fact are the whole of a style, can then be stuffed together into the perplexing simplicity of the basics. Of flow, stance and balance.
Links:
Good overview of the concept and the usual political faffing about that various styles and divisions within styles engage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumite
There’s nothing to learn from this other than the word kumite should be followed by kung-fu sound effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBchPDvgmDk
Wikipedia is so full of things, so here’s a good list of the various foot positions for stances along with explanations for them. But remember that there’s no replacement for a good teacher when it comes to correcting your form: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate_stances
If footwork is unappreciated, and the rhythm section is unappreciated, drumming in a marching band must be the most unappreciated activity on the planet.
ReplyDeleteBecause let me tell you, there is very little more awkward than trying to walk sideways while facing forward with a drum hanging from your chest. You have to crouch a bit, get on your toes, and crab walk without bobbing up and down. You have to be in certain spots at a certain time, and you have to play music while doing all of this. Talk about balance, flow, and precision!
A completely unappreciated art, drum-do.
ReplyDelete