Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
You can immediately improve your Kumite by 100% by simply practicing proper body positioning...
...and learning to automatically snap back into that centered position after every technique...
Think of your body as being a tank. Compact, with a low center of gravity, arms, legs and hips in perfectly balanced position, ever ready for the crank of the turret and launch of a missile...
It's the tank that does the fighting, the arms and legs are there simply to deliver the payload.
Your Kamae must be centered and have the ability to move the hips in any direction at any time. If your not balanced it'll create an opportunity that your Kumite partner can utilize to launch an attack.
One of the best Kumite positions in Karate is Sanchin, it's the most balanced and it creates an inside tension, which makes it easy to explode out in any direction at any moment.
I am learning that the initial power in kumite is done primarily with the legs.
Attacks are delivered by pushing off the floor, keeping the hips centered as you torque the momentum generated by your legs, through the rotation of the hips and finishing with the whip like rotation of the upper torso, including the shoulders, arm, and finally ending with the fist...
...and don't forget to immediately snap back, or retract to your original centered position, otherwise you'll be a sitting duck for a counter-attack.
I've learned that more power and accuracy is generated, when my feet are planted firmly on the ground and I am well balanced
Your legs should be not too wide or too narrow, you must be able to move quickly in any direction. A good Kumite stance is a modified Sanchin, where the width is as usual but the length is a little longer...
The hips are in Hanmi or facing to the side, rather than to the
front.
The secret to quick movement is with the back foot...
...angled fully forward or nearly forward, as this position allows for the greatest freedom of movement in any direction.
There should be pressure on the back ankle, so that once it is released, it automatically springs forward. Try to use your rear foot for control of your movements, not the front foot. Your rear foot is better able to propel your center forward and back, side to side, and at different angles.
Spend time training in just movement in all directions, and in particular the use of the rear foot as a spring, it will elevate your Kumite dramatically...
RJF
