The Three K

The three k’s of Karate
1. Kihon…………… (basics)
2. Kumite ………….(sparring)
3. Kata ……………..(forms)

Many karate specialists say that Kumite is the spirit of karate and Kata is the soul but without your Kihon neither exist.

KIHON (basic techniques)
Kihon contains all the fundamentals of Karate: stances, blocks, sweeps, kicks, punches and other striking techniques.

Kihon is either practised individually with the students arranged in lines stationary, or moving back and forth practising tequniques, otherwise in pairs with both students taking turns in attacking and countering.

Basic training is the foundation of good Karate: it is the building blocks of finding 'the way'.

Without a full knowledge and understanding of Kihon you will not be able to progress. Basic training teaches you the tools of Karate the techniques. Kumite is the trade. Once you know the techniques you

can begin to learn how to use them appropriately. Kumite is the trade. Once you know the techniques you can begin to learn how to use them appropriately.

Karate is so much more than just techniques, to use an analogy; it is similar to learning the alphabet, then learning to shape a word, then a sentence, then a paragraph and so on until you can write a book.

On the surface, Kihon seems to be the repetition of many simple movements, and after practising Karate for a while the disorderly student will be inclined to get bored with Kihon, wishing to practise more involved techniques. When this happens the student does not make much progress.
From the performance point of view, Kihon teaches how to relax the shoulders, how to concentrate the power, how to twist the hips when punching, how to turn the fist at the end of the punch, and how to keep good balance. In short, how to perfect the various techniques
On the mental plane, patience focus and concentration are learned. It is impossible to make any progress in Karate, without a real extensive acceptation of the numerous elements contained in Kihon.

e-mail: senshinryu@hotmail.com