We learn and practice Karate to be
able to control ourselves physically and psychologically. A karate practitioner
should in fact focus more on getting that self control rather than being
preoccupied about winning over an opponent. The reasoning behind this thought
is that once one has mastery over his or her own body and mind, one has already
won the battle; due to the physical agility and the self confidence that one acquires.
The Karate practitioner trains over
and over to be able to unlock the secrets and limitation of his/her own body.
He or she learns several ways to use legs, hands, arms, torso, and head to both
block and counter-attack. Karate practitioner also learns to use his or her
body to gain reach and tactical advantage.
It is important for the Karate
practitioner to be able to move in and out of the opponent’s reach as easily
and as quickly as possible. Although in Karate there are many different stances
the practitioner should have the same agility and capability to move back and
forth, and side to side. This should allow him/her to move out of harm’s way or
to gage the proper distance for a strike. All the stances in Karate share one
common thing and that is a straight back or a straight posture. In fact a
straight back is such a common thing in Karate that one can notice it in the
Karate practitioner’s stance out of practice. Thanks to Karate it is rare to
see a “Karateka” slouching; he or she would usually be standing or sitting
confidently with a straight back ready for action at all time.
The beauty of physics is that it
works as follow. With a straight back, perpendicular to the ground, a human
body’s center of gravity is projected at the waist. The only effort the body
has to do in this case is to lift its own weight up with the legs (the biggest
muscle of the body); every other movement (back and forth, side to side) should
be performed almost effortlessly. When the body is bent forward the center of
gravity slides forward of the waist. In this case the body has to apply a
greater force just to stand still. The body now is using different muscles just
to gain balance. The weight of the body is not sitting neatly on top of the
legs; it is rather spread past the waist requiring the help of the back’s
muscles to keep the whole body from falling over. The same principle applies
when the body is leaning backward, except that in this case the abdomen’s
muscles are going to be called to help keeping the body from falling backward.
Bottom line, in Karate we try to
optimize the use of our bodies to gain advantage over our opponents. With a
straight back or straight posture the body seems to be easily manageable. Self
inflicted injuries should automatically stop taking place because the body is
using the proper muscles for the proper circumstances. With an incorrect
posture one is asking the body to perform tasks using weaker muscles that were
not supposed to be used for that specific action. Self inflicted injuries are
not the only outcome of an incorrect posture. And incorrect posture physically
limits the mobility and the agility of the fighter rendering him/her vulnerable
to the opponent’s attacks.
It is important for a Karate
practitioner and probably for all martial artists to keep a straight back while
practicing their art. One has to be watchful and aware of his or her posture.
There is a trick one can use to be able to put his or her back in the right
position. If one makes it a habit to push the chest forward and up one can
almost guaranty that his/her back is at the proper position.
The way we stand up should show
confidence and should, to a certain extent, show intimidation. The bad guys or
the bullies attack those that appear weak or those that are not capable of
portraying confidence. It is a way to avoid conflict.
Maher Hedhili
06/01/2012
