Oi gyaku zuki

Oi zuki

Punching - Rotation Timing

So doing some karate training with a friend from CA when we went over timing of rotation during punches. What we discussed is that many students, including myself, rotate too early on the punch on the way out and  too late on the retraction. Doing this dramatically slows down the punch as the rotation switches you from using your biceps and lats over to the forearm muscles.

Give this a try. Punch slowly with no rotation to the very last second. Now in the reverse of this process rotate your hand immediately before pulling it back. Quite the difference.

Key to unlocking blocks

So I came across an article that talked about the process of creating fluid quick blocks. I was always concerned that my gedan barai was more like swinging a crow bar. All muscle and slow. I worked through the write up in the article and was amazed by the difference in my gedan barai. I will be working on incorporating this technique into my other blocks over the next several months.

The Snap of Karate (Scott Langley)