Kihon - basics, an amazing gift handed to us (use it right).

I always gave my heart in every training and every move, but there were times I questioned why do I have to do kihon isuch a restricted way, unlike the way I fight. I thought that I don’t fight the way I do Kihon, why not do it in a more “applications like” way.

But I had total thrust in Sensei Nishiyama and I knew there is more to kihon than what meets the eye, as the years passed I learnt to appreciate kihon, I saw beyond the external, Kihon teaches us to cooperate the whole body to one line of energy, from stance to body dynamics to technique, and do that in variety of directions, using different parts of the body as contact area.
It conditions us and teaches us to be coordinated and connected through the full range of motion, and from there eventually we can produce force in any range that is within the bigger range that we practice in kihon.

In kumite, generally, most techniques we use are to smaller ranges than in the basics, so we need the basics in order to prepare us to be able to produce forces through full ranges.

And you see, most injuries happen in the outer ranges, not usually in mid ranges, so we must develop our elasticity, stability, coordination and resiliency in outer ranges and kihon is an excellent way to do it.

The big includes the small and not the other way, so when you practice to the full range, you develop the strength, stability and coordination to the full range while if you practice shorter range you are limited to those shorter range.

Kata of course follows the same concepts, and some of the basic kata such as heian and tekki are also called kihon kata, but when we practice kata, we produce force to one direction and than another, while when practicing kihon we have the chance to purposefully repeat, to reflect and correct over rand over.

There are many levels to the same kihon, until black belt roughly, the focus is on proper body dynamics, and synchronization between stance to body action to technique, including timing of technique, connection between all body segments, moving out of optimal posture.

After black belt one must gradually learn to use more inside power or muscles contraction/expansion in addition, which means that the outside and inside have to match, breathing has to be used properly to control muscles action, dynamics and ground reaction forces.

At this level our goal is to learn to make more power in less action, and remove unneeded action, we can do it only by relying more on inside muscles action.

I must clarify, kihon can also instill some rigidity in us, I see some people that do a lot of kihon and kata but not so much kumite, and when they spar, they look too robotic trying to apply kihon in kumite.

We must digest the principles of good movement through kihon, but be free from the form itself at some point, we must be able to instantly start our technique from anywhere, and punch or kick in limitless trajectories and directions, free from the restriction of kihon but according to its principles, and still in whatever we do the whole body will cooperate to any direction, without unneeded movement, to make maximum shocking power - todome.

This has to be understood in theory so we can and more importantly, get the feel of it in our bodies, nervous systems and in our bones.

Kihon is an amazing gift that was handed down to us.