Features
september 18, 2002

The physics of Shotokan Karate-Do

A beginner’s guide to the mind-body-spirit connection of North
America’s favourite martial art

 

the other press

Richard Wingert and Robert Barry
The Manitoban

Manitoba (CUP)—There is a well-
documented case of a Karate master
from modern Japan who could kill a
full-grown bull with his bare hands.
This master, Masatatsu Oyama,
trained under the founder of modern
Karate, Gichin Funakoshi, and devel-
oped the Kyokushinkai style of Karat
Given that Karate masters can accom-

plish these types of superhuman feats, ,
it is no wonder that many people |
uninitiated to the martial arts attriby e.

a kind of mysticism or magic to tHe
The story of modern Karate actually
began on the island of Okinawa,
the coast of Japan. Chinese monks
introduced the martial arts to the
Okinawans during the eleventh cent
ry AD. By this time, the Chinese

well developed martial arts systems if

  

the forms of Kung Fu and Kempo.»
The Okinawan people, at that ss

were restricted by a ban on carrying
weapons or even farming Heese
literally leaving them “empty handed.”
Hence, the name “Karate-Do” means
“empty” (Kara) “handed” (Te) “way”
(Do), and the art that the Okinawans
developed from the Chinese systems
allowed their rebel fighters to shatter
the ruling Samurai classes’ lacquered
wooden armour and crush bone
underneath.

Today, Karate is a complete system
emphasizing unity of mind, body and
spirit. Although it is possible to simply
look at the physical mechanics of the
body in creating the power behind
Karate techniques, the importance of
the mind and spirit cannot be under-
stated. A human is a complex
machine, and like any complex
machine, it only achieves its full
potential if all its parts are operating in
harmony.

That having been said, the physical
power of Karate is generated through
eight different methods. Below is an
explanation of each.

Movement/Speed: A_ karateka
(karate practitioner) steps toward his
target as he delivers a punch; another
thrusts out her leg in a side-thrust
kick. These are both examples of using
movement. This is one of the simplest
ways of generating force. Force equals
mass times acceleration. Let’s use the
example of our punching karateka.

© page 20

  
  
 
  
   

-stance is that the

Karate stances are wide and low, pro-
viding maximum stability and balance
by lowering the centre of gravity and
widening the base of the karateka’s
“foundation.” This principal is also
easy to understand. The effect of this
teka can quite lit-
mtire body
ather than
lited power of the

 
 

ond consideration

   

  
   
     
  
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
    
 
   
 
 
 

of the te dian (the k:
your abdomen that cq
ment of the lung
execution of vi
This exhalation s
form of a st
is the “hai-ya
fighters maki

karateka can ma
under your feet wi
yells. The force of.
expression of the if
a karate technique.
Snapping: Accelerat
change of velocity

the dhanee i in velocity divided :by the.
change in time. To increase the force
delivered by a technique, one can
increase the speed of a technique (the
magnitude of the velocity) or decrease
the time in which the technique takes
place.

In their proper mathematical form,
velocity, acceleration and force are vec-
tors, with both magnitude and direc-
tion. If we consider a linear technique,
acceleration towards the opponent can
be expressed as a positive value X and
acceleration away from the opponent
can be expressed as a negative value

—X. When you deliver force to a target
and then immediately pull away, the
total force is determined by the accel-
eration X towards the opponent minus
the negative acceleration away from
the opponent —X. Therefore, the
change in acceleration becomes X — (-
X) or 2X, and the total force delivered
is the body mass of the attacker times
2X!

The simplest exam
someone with a wet"

uae fewiided

‘Hie

Hii

ability to apply

, ne of the inost diffi-
in Karate to “master.”

hips and trunk in
2 effects. When per-
forming a punching technique (with
the fist at rest on the hip), the hip is
initially rotated away and then quickly
towards the opponent. The striking

sever.

» fist is already in motion as it acceler-

Yates off the hip, which allows the

‘punch to reach a greater final speed
upon striking the opponent. This dif-
ference in distance traveled between a
technique with hip movement and one
without seems negligible, but the

  

out . .
increase in power can be astounding.

Drawing: A sharp pulling or draw-
ing motion of the opposite side hand,
accompanies most strikes or blocks.
‘Take a basic straight punch for exam-
ple. The karateka begins with her left
hand thrust outward, clenched in a fist
with the palm-side of the fist towards
the floor. Her right fist sits against the
soft spot on her side between the hip
and short ribs with the palm side
towards the ceiling. As her right hand
thrusts forward for the punch, she
pulls her left hand back to her left hip

so that it sits in the same position as

   
      
     
  
  
 
 
 
 
     
  
    

the right occupied on her right side.
This drawing of the non-striking hand
to the hip helps the karateka drive her
technique towards the target with
more acceleration, and also produces
counter-force in a manner similar to
(-X) = 2X].
The tension of muscle connections
through the body during a technique
allows the karateka to translate the
forces traveling in opposite vectors

the snapping motion [X —

to increased power for the strike.
bration: This method of generating
rce bears some similarities to rota-

ion but is less visible because 1 it

7 pro-

_ generated through the use of the
deep muscles inside the body rather
than the shallow muscles just under
the skin. The only external movement
gypically created by vibration is usual-
slight flickering of the hips, such as
€ hip on the striking side moving
ghtly towards the target and then
snapping back so that the hips are
quared to the target just at the point
of impact. Vibration works in a man-
ner similar to drawing or snapping by
producing a counter-force that is
added to the force of the strike.

Rising: Rising power involves the
dropping of the body’s weight into a
very low stance before a strike is deliv-
ered and then sharply driving the body
into a higher stance as contact is made
with the target. This allows the body
to bring the power of the legs into
what would otherwise be an awkward
and ineffective blow. A good example
of rising power is the upward elbow
strike, which is delivered by driving
the body from a low to a high stance as
the elbow swings up under the oppo-
nent’s chin.

Dropping: Dropping power is the
opposite of rising power. It requires
that the karateka start from a high
stance and then drop into a low one as
the strike is delivered, allowing gravity
to drive the mass of the body down
upon the target. A good example of
dropping power is the downward
elbow strike. The karateka raises his
arm and body high above a target and
then uses the mass of his body to
increase the force generated by the
striking elbow.

continued on page 21