TRAINING
修養
Shotokan Karate is made up of three elements, Kihon, Kata, and Kumite
KIHON (Basics)
This is the alphabet of Shotokan Karate and the foundation for good technique. Basics are made up of blocks, strikes, kicks and stances which are used in simple combinations for lower belts and more complex ones for higher belts. Speed, sharpness and strength are tuned in kihon and you will learn to use your whole body to deliver a punch or block an attack. |
KATA (Forms)
A kata is a choreographed sequence of movements (or “forms”) that is the equivalent of sentence and paragraph building in Karate. There are 26 different kata in the Shotokan style, the mastery of each marking the movement of the Karate student through belt ranks. Kata are an important part of training and normally practiced at every session. |
KUMITE (Sparring)
Kumite refers to all forms of sparring. To continue the analogy, if kihon is the alphabet and kata is the design of sentences and paragraphs, then kumite is the equivalent of improvisation or composition. Beginners will first experience 3-step sparring, while more experienced practitioners will practice Jiyu Ippon Kumite (semi-free) and Jiyu Kumite (free). Through this type of training, the karate-ka learns to read an opponent’s intentions and react quickly while exercising self-control and judgement. |
Keikogi (稽古着), or dōgi (道着)
In modern times, white, black, blue and indigo are the most common colors of keikogi. In competitive judo, one contestant wears a white uniform and his or her opponent wears a blue one. However, traditionally, the keikogi was white.
In English, the keikogi is almost always referred to simply as gi, which would be an incorrect use of the word in Japanese, but is well understood in context. Often keiko is replaced with the name of the Japanese martial art being practiced. The Ashihara school allows one to have badges (crests) on the left side of the chest and on the left sleeve and the dojo badge on right sleeve. |
Dogi / Keikogi is a uniform for training in Japanese martial arts and their derivatives. (Keiko means practice, gi means dress or clothes.) The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kanō Jigorō. Japanese martial arts historian Dave Lowry speculates Kanō derived the uniform's design from the uniforms of Japanese firefighters' heavy hemp jackets, hanten (半纏). By 1920, the keikogi as it exists today was worn by Kanō's students for judo practice. The Kodokan (judo headquarters) has a photo taken in 1920 that shows Kanō wearing a modern keikogi.
Until the 1920s, Okinawan karate practice was usually performed in everyday clothes. Given the social climate between the Japanese and Okinawans during this time, karate was seen as brutish compared to Japanese martial arts which had their roots in samurai culture, such as jujutsu. Over time, Karate practitioners modified the keikogi for karate by lightening the weave of the fabric and adding strings to the inside of the jacket that are tied to keep the jacket neatly closed. The jacket is also held closed by the belt or obi (帯). The top part of the keikogi is called the uwagi (上着 uwa means "upper"). The pants of the keikogi are called shitabaki (下穿き), which literally means underpants (or zubon (ズボン), which means pants or trousers). |
How to tie the obi (帯) belt
Step 1
Find the middle of your obi by folding it in half. With the belt hanging in front of you, and the tag of the belt on your right side, place the middle of the belt on the middle of your stomach (your belly button). (tag on your right) Step 2 Wrap the belt around you, crossing over in the back, and bringing the ends around to your front. Make sure ends are even length. (tag is now on your left) Step 3 Overlap the ends (left over right) keeping the end with the tag on top. (tag is now on your right) Step 4 Without twisting the belt, tuck the top (tag end) under the belt and pull both ends tight. (tag on your right) Step 5 Bend the left end up and make a loop, then flip the tag end over the top (tag on your left) Step 6 Tuck the tag end through the loop you just made with the other and pull tight. (tag on your left) Step 7 The finished knot should look like a fortune cookie. (tag on your left) |
The belt worn indicates the rank of the karateka according to the standard ranking system adopted in Shotokan Karate. The ten lower ranks (Mudansha 無段者 ) of Kyu or non-black belt holders are divided into the following colours: white, yellow, yellow I, orange, green, blue, purple, purple I and brown I, brown II, brown III. The upper ten ranks (Yudansha 有段者 ) of Dan have the holders wearing the black belt.
After a while a student's gi may become worn from regular training and washing. Parts of the gi may also become discoloured from vigourous workouts. The belt (obi 帯 ) will also become ragged from being tied and untied, and from being tugged on. Although one washes ones gi, the belt is never washed. Every class that you take, every drop of sweat, every little tear or abrasion is part of what goes into each student's unique experience. It is something to be remembered, but not clung to. Therefore no experience is washed away. The belt must tell its own story. |