Doing Karate Freestyle is actually one of the most efficient ways of learning to fight in the martial arts. The frantic action can be translated into street combat, it sharpens all the senses, and it tunes the mind and body to a fine pitch. This article is going to tell you five things to work on that will make your karate kumite top notch and hard to beat.
First, watch your opponent’s eyes. Watch everything, but watch where he is looking, how he is looking, whether he blinks, when he blinks, and so on. The rule is simple here…you can’t fight what you can’t face.
Second, use your stances to load the legs with power. This means the closer your opponent gets, the lower you get to the mat, and the more energy you build between the front leg and the back leg. When it is time to fight, lift a leg, release the spring, and let that power propel you faster than a rocket on steroids.
Three, don’t ever bother to think about your emotions. Emotions are weird things that happen inside your skull, they run around inside your mind. Simply, if you let yourself pay attention to emotions, then you aren’t using your senses and intention to pay attention to combat.
Four, have a good and well planned strategy for anything that might happen. If he is moving in a certain manner, then analyze that motion and move with him. If he is motionless, figure out how to angle yourself to best benefit and greatest advantage.
Five, realize that making mistakes are the secret of learning. Don’t get angry because you messed up and got tagged, figure out what you did to get hit, and what you need to do in the future to not get hit. This is probably the most important of the five things listed here, because it is the key to all learning, and not just in the martial arts.
These five things are simple concepts, but they must be adhered to, refined, and made to make sense. My first lesson in freestyle consisted of the instructor telling me to raise my hands, letting me know that he was going to beat me up, and then doing so. It was a terrible teaching device, except that I watched him, and I learned.
The next time I freestyled I did so against a student who hadn’t had that lesson. So I did the things that the instructor did to me, and I came out on top. So the five things are eyes, legs, emotions, strategy, and always learn when you make a mistake, and these are the key points that will help you become a full time winner at Karate Freestyle.
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