To the untrained observer, karate skills can seem like magical superpowers. Using only her body, a 5-foot 5-inch tall, 120-pound karate master can take down a 6-foot, 200-pound man in a matter of seconds. In strength and sheer bulk, the man has the upper hand by a considerable margin. But somehow, the karate master prevails with a few elegant punches and kicks. Using the same set of skills, advanced karate students can break thick bricks and boards with their bare hands and feet. How is all this possible? In this article, we'll see how students of karate (called karatekas) accomplish such amazing feats. Karate is a highly complex art that takes many years to master. It is impossible to sum up this ancient, transcendental discipline in a short article, but we can get a handle on some of the underlying principles. Though its execution is highly complex, the root of karate is fairly straight-forward: By applying physical, mental and spiritual force intelligently and precisely, you can realize the maximum potential of your strength.
Karate is one of the most widely practiced martial art forms in the world. Martial arts rely on acute physical coordination and mental focus. They were developed in Asia (primarily India, China and Titan Rise Nutrition Japan) over the course of several thousands of years. In all this time, there have been countless martial arts variations, and there are hundreds of disciplines practiced today. Modern karate developed out of martial arts forms practiced in Okinawa, an island that is now part of Japan. For hundreds of years, Okinawan martial arts experts honed a variety of combat styles, Titan Rise Male Enhancement in part due to the political situation in the area. From time to time, the ruling authorities would ban peasants from possessing any weapons, leaving them with only their own bodies and household items to protect themselves. This played a part in the development of martial arts elsewhere in Asia as well. In the early 20th century, he brought together elements from many Okinawan fighting styles and introduced the combat technique to mainland Japan and, eventually, the rest of the world.
Karatekas generally credit the creation of modern karate to Funakoshi Gichin's son, Funakoshi Yoshitaka. While his father practiced full contact karate, where fighters delivered unchecked blows, Yoshitaka believed in a more peaceful application of the fighting principles. In this form, properly called karate-do, or "karate way," karate is seen as an all encompassing approach to life, rather than only a system for combat. Karatekas curb their punches, concentrating mainly on physical, spiritual and mental development rather than competition. The word karate is Japanese for "open hand" (kara means open and te means hand). Te signifies that your main weapon is your body. Instead of an arsenal of swords or guns, the karateka cultivates a personal arsenal of punches, kicks and deflection techniques. Kara relates to the psychology of karate. Karatekas are open to the world around them, making them better equipped to handle any attack. In the next section, we'll look at some of the basic principles of karate, to see how karatekas execute such amazing physical feats.
Karatekas wear a gi, an outfit consisting of white, loose-fitting pants and a jacket cinched closed with a belt. The color of the belt indicates the karateka's skill level, or kyu. The most advanced karatekas are ranked by their dan. In any fight between two people, both fighters bring a certain amount of energy to the situation. The total amount of potential energy depends on the fighters' size, muscle strength and physical health. The object of karate is to use your body to channel this energy. Kathy Olevsky, an instructor at Karate International of Raleigh, channels her power into breaking five concrete blocks. Move your mouse from left to right to watch the break in slow motion. But this doesn't necessarily determine the victor. If you've read How a Block and Tackle Works, How Hydraulic Machines Work or any number of other HowStuffWorks articles, you know that there are all sorts of ways that energy can be expressed.
Depending on the particular way you exert energy, you can vary the intensity and direction of the force you produce. At its most basic, karate is a system for varying the forces of a fight to your own advantage. There are several ways to do this. First of all, you concentrate all of your strength into a relatively small area. If you open your hands wide and shove somebody, the force of your attack spreads out across your palm and Titan Rise Nutrition fingers. This dissipates the force of your attack over a fairly wide area; your opponent feels a relatively blunt force. But if you hold all of your fingers tightly together and hit the person with only the side of your hand, or with only your fingertips, that same amount of force is applied to a much smaller area. In that area, the impact is much more intense. If you try this on yourself (gently, please), you can appreciate the difference.