Sensei M.Maharaj: 2011

UCHI WAZA - Karate Striking Techniques

Karate Terminology - Blocks

UKE WAZA

Chudan uke – Middle block

Jodan uke - Upper block

Gedan uke – Low seiken block

Haishu uke - Block with back of open hand

Kosa uke or juji uke – X block

Morote uke – Double augmented block

Nagashi uke – Slip block

Sasae uke – Supported prayer block (one hand shuto, one hand seiken)

Shuto uke- Knife hand block

Otoshi uke -Blocking downward with palm heel

Osae uke – Press block

Soto uke –Middle seiken block from outward

Tora guchi - Circular double block to gedan and jodan

Tae uke – Arm across chest parallel to floor(Block).

Kake uke -Open hand hooking block

Ko uke or koken uke -Wrist block

Ude uke - Inward moving block

Hiza uchi uke - Knee block (Blocking outside to inside)

Hiza soto uke - Knee block (Blocking inside to outside)

Sokutei harai uke - Block with sole of the foot (Outside to inside)

Peace and Harmony,

Sensei M.Maharaj

Ashi barai -Foot sweep
Fumikomi geri -Heel stamping kick
Hiza geri -Knee kick
Kansetsu geri or Fumi Geri- Knee joint kick
Geri -Kick
Kakato geri -Heel of foot kick
kakato-otoshi geri or Mae keage geri - Axe kick
Kin geri -Groin kick (Haisoku, instep)
Mae geri (Keage) -Front kick (snap)
Mae geri (Kekomi)- Front kick (thrust)
Mae tobi geri -Jumping front kick
Mawashi geri -Round house kick
Mikazuki geri - Crescent kick
Gyaku Mikazuki geri -Reverse Crescent Kick (inside to outside)
Nidan geri -Double front snap kick (Back leg first)
Ren geri -Double front snap kick (Front leg first) also called as "Multiple kick"
Tsumasaki mae geri -Front kick with tips of toes
Tobi ushiro mawashi geri - Flying reverse round house kick
Tobi ushiro geri - Flying back kick
Ushiro mawashi geri - Reverse round house kick
Ura yoko geri -Spinning side kick
Ushiro geri -Back thrust kick or Donkey kick(Slang)
Yoko geri (Keage) -Side snap kick
Yoko geri (Kekomi)- Side thrust kick
Sokuto Geri (In wado karate)- Side kick(foot-edge kick)
Yoko tobi geri -Jumping side kick
Kaiten Geri - Roll kick or Rounding Heel Kick (This is a special kick in Wado)

PARTS OF THE FOOT

Haisoku -Instep
Hiza -Knee
Josokutei or CHUSOKU -Ball of the foot
Kakato -Heel of the foot
Sokuto -Foot edge
Tsumasaki -Tip of the toes

Peace and Harmony,
Sensei M.Maharaj

Karate Terminology - Body Parts

ASHI - Foot or Leg.

ASHI YUBI - Toes.

ASHIKUBI - Ankle.

EMPI or HIJI - Elbow.

GAN - Eye.

HAI-WAN - Back Arm.

HIDARI - Left (left side).

MIGI - Right

HIRA-KOTE - Level Forearm.

HIZA - Knee or Lap.

HIZAGASHIRA - Knee Cap.

KAKATO - Heel (of the foot).

KAMI - Hair.

KANSETSU - Joint.

KARADA - Body, Physique.

KETTO - Blood.

KOMEKAMI - The temple area of the head.

KOSHI - The Ball of the Foot, or the Hip/Waist.

KUBI - Neck.

MATSUKAZE - The side of the neck.

MEN - FACE

MOMO - THIGH

MUNE - CHEST

HARA - BELLY (ABDOMEN)

SEOI - Shoulder.

SHO - Palm, as in hand.

SHOFU - Side of neck.

SOKKO - Top Of The Foot.

SOKUTEI - Sole of Foot.

SOKUTO - Edge of foot. The striking area in a Side Thrust Kick.

TE - Hand.

TENDO - The crown of your head.

UDE - Forearm.

UDEKANSETSU - Arm Joint.

UTO - The point at the base of the nose between the eyes.

WAKIBARA - Side Of The Chest.

WAN - Arm.

YAKO - The inside of the upper thigh.

YOKO - Side or Lateral.

YUBISAKI - Fingertip.

ZENSHIN - Whole (entire) Body.

Peace and Harmony,

Sensei M.Maharaj

"Mae Geri" Front kick

Fist of all we should know the meaning of this kick “Mae” means “Front” and “Geri” means “Kick”. So “Maegeri“ means “Front kick".

How to kick:

1. Get into “Gedan barai” stance.

2. Begin by bringing your back knee up and forward.

3. Once your leg is up in the air, it's time for the kick. Use the ball of your foot to aim at. This is the "Striking surface" to kick the target.

4. Immediately snap the leg forward at your target. While rolling your hips forward.

5. Then get back to the starting position.

It's very important kick for the beginners. Don't neglect the proper procedure while training.Use hips and rise the knee as much possible to deliver a powerful kick. Thrust from the hips. It gives you maximum speed & impact. If the kick is proper it would be danger for your opponent. Cuz speed and power are a dangerous combo in karate (for your opponent, not for you)!

Coach instructions are very important if you are novice.

Targets are Ab,Chin&Groin.

Train safe and hard....

Peace and harmony,

Sensei M.Maharaj

Tai - sabaki

Tai sabaki (体捌き) is a term from Japanese martial arts and which relates to 'whole body movement', or repositioning. It can be translated as body-management. It is a term used widely in kendo, jujutsu, aikido, judo, karate and ninjutsu. Tai sabaki is usually used to avoid an attack, such that the receiver of the attack ends up in an advantageous position and it is often wrongly referred to as evasion.

An example of tai sabaki is 'moving off the line' of attack using irimi and tenkan movements rather than to 'move against' the attack. This implies the use of harmony rather than physical strength.

Tai sabaki - wado

Tai- sabaki is the core of wado karate. It refers to body manipulation so as to move the defender as well as the attacker out of harm's way. Wado has many tai- sabaki techniques.

Fig:2

A perfect example i can show “Nagashi Tsuki”. Nagashi means foot work. Tsuki means punch. I trust this is a very effective tai sabaki tactic in wado karate. In this tactic we don’t want to block our opponent’s technique. Simply move out of the way of your opponent’s attack also finish up with an explosive punch. So what you want guys more than this to win a fight? But we should practise a lot. Comparing with other karate our nagashi tsuki(fig:2) is quite good. It has the real core of wado principle ”San-mi-Ittai”. Now let me explain about this.

San mi-ittai are three kinds of body shifting movement which typify Wado.

“Ten-i“ - to move the position" or move away from the attack.

“Ten-tai”- twisting and realigning the body to change the relationship of the body to the attack and further reduce the exposed target area.

“Ten-gi”- executing techniques while letting the attack pass through.

We should learn the “maai”(Distance) before tai-sabaki. This is very important for kumite(Sparring).

Sen

These three expressions describe three kinds of timing for attack and counterattack.

1.“Sensen no Sen” means to attack when the opponent's intent to attack is perceived, thus pre empting the opponent's attack and catching him/her off guard.

2. “Sen” means attacking simultaneously with the opponent as in nagashizuki. It implies that the 'defender' will be able to complete his attack first, and/or displace the opponent's attack.

3. “Go no Sen” means to respond to an attack with a counterattack or block/counterattack. However, the timing must be such as to strike immediately the opponent's attack is completed and before he is able to launch a further attack.

Bottom line – This is very precious stuff I've ever post. And also this is very important thing for all karate practitioners so realize and use sen to practice tai-sabaki. I wish you folks to hoard many medals in the near future.

Peace and harmony,

Sensei M.Maharaj.

" Tsuki " A Punch

Tsuki (突き?) is the Japanese word for "thrust".

The punch is a fundamental part of the karate training syllabus and almost all forms ('kata'). My article about “Tsuki”(punch) described here make up the very core of wadokai; the powerful stances and hard hitting energy, the subtle yet significant movements. Punch can be performed in different stances, although only one is described in this article, “Zenkutsu-dachi” (Front Stance).

Some examples of use for basic techniques include:

Choku-tsuki (直突き), straight punch

Gyaku-tsuki (逆突き), punch with the rear arm

Oi-tsuki (追い突き), punch with the lead arm

Age-tsuki (上げ突き), rising punch

Ura-tsuki (裏突き), upside-down fist punch into solar plexus area (short-range)

Tate-tsuki (立て突き), vertical fist punch into the middle of the chest (short-range)

Morote-tsuki (双手突き), augmented punch using both hands

Kagi-tsuki (鉤突き), hook punch

Mawashi-tsuki (回し突き), roundhouse punch

Jun-tsuki no tsukomi, Forward lunge punch

Gyaku-tsuki no tsukomi, Reverse lunge punch

So let's get down to business!

Front stance:

Fig: 1

To properly assume a front stance first begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart with both hands resting in a fist in front of you, level with your hips. You should have your feet flat on the floor and your knees slightly bent (fig:1). This is called the 'ready position' ('Shizentai').

Then, we move into front stance. Move your left leg slightly forwards and to the center, at the same time bringing your left hand up to your ear. Then shift your weight forwards and allow the momentum to move your left leg further outwards, bending your knee and bringing your left fist down in an arc across your body, also lifting your right fist so it is now in line with your navel. Finally, extend out your left foot enough so that it just blocks your toes from view and both feet are shoulder width apart, and have your left fist immediately above your knee (Fig:3).

Fig: 2

Fig :3

Congratulations! You have moved into front stance, and also performed a downward sweeping block in the process!

Now for the difficult part! You have to push your weight forward onto your front knee, and at the same time begin to slide your back leg forwards. Your leading arm should be lifted to be level with your chest. The power in this punch comes from its explosiveness and its incorporation of your body's momentum and center of gravity. The process begins when both feet are together, and you shift your weight forward to create momentum. To do this, you have to first push your rear heel into the ground, sending the energy up your leg, and as you twist your hips the energy is transferred through your core and finally through your shoulders, arms and wrist when you finally place your leading leg down. You should always strive to make contact with your target at the same time as landing with your front leg, so as to maximize the transfer of energy. Contact is made with the first two knuckles (Seiken Fig:4) there you have it; you can now perform a choko-tsuki!

Fig: 4

Hikite is another very important technique while punching. Hikite (te meaning hand, hiki or hikeru meaning drawing in) is a very common aspect of traditional martial arts, especially in karate. Whenever you see karateka performing straight punches as a group, they are sharply snapping one hand out while pulling the other hand back to the belt.

The performance of the hikite itself is fairly consistent across styles at a base level. As the straight punch extends, the withdrawing hand retracts. It is chambered somewhere around the floating ribs. Depending on style you might chamber it a little lower, or even higher tucked up near the armpit.

Targets : Face ,solar plexus & abdomen.

Click here to see the video.

Bottom line: Use your hips, shoulders & wrist in a proper way to deliver an explosive punch.