"Turn your hips!"
"HIPS!"
If no one's yelled any of these at you lately, you might not be training hard enough. Usually, you'll hear one of these go by when an instructor wants you to pull, strike, or punch with more power. But power in the martial arts doesn't mean work divided by time, it means the ability to achieve the goal of the technique.
When an instructor wants to see more power, they want to see a technique that would be effective.
Technical correctness is the primary way to make your techniques more effective because it makes them more efficient. In this case, technical correctness means body and bone 'alignment,' accuracy of the contact point (target), and the angle of contact.
(I have put alignment in quotes because we usually only discuss alignment in a static posture but it's critical through the entire process, so I have come to prefer the phrase 'body mechanics' over 'alignment.' But Trias used alignment, and so most instructors I've met in his lineage also say alignment.)
At Broad Ripple Martial Arts we say a technique needs speed, penetration, and a cross between whipping action and momentum to be effective.
Penetration is the most about correct form:
Penetration is a function of distance. If a technique is thrown too far away, then there will be no travel available to hit through the surface of your opponent. Remember, to break a nose, you hit the nose on the guy behind your opponent. Penetration is only possible if the striking implement is rigid. That rigidity is determined by bone alignment (e.g. the wrist must be held straight in a punch) and the angle of contact (e.g. throw a hook punch from too far away so that your fist doesn't make right angle contact, and tell me how much penetration you achieve). Making a correct fist and pulling the toes out of the way for a snap kick aid penetration.
Speed is about technique first and then about effort:
Efficient technique removes unnecessary motions and allows all of the effort to go into increase the speed of the technique. This encompasses keeping the elbow down when punching, staying relaxed, non-telegraphic movement. Keep in mind that the speed we're discussing here is the actual physical speed of the technique and not the apparent speed (the amount of time your opponent has to perceive a technique) although non-telegraphic movement aids both types of speed. Once your technique is 'correct enough' you can work to move faster and faster. Ideally, you want your technique to feel like it goes from a standing start to full speed instantaneously. Think about a sudden sneeze or a convulsive shiver, and try to make your techniques launch out as fast as that.
Whipping action and momentum:
First, let's be clear that these two characteristics are opposite ends of a spectrum. A large transfer of momentum (like a push) is about as far away from a snapping, whip-like strike as you can get. At the same time, a skilled karate player can throw whipping, snappy reverse punches that cause no damage through an entire tournament. So when we say a cross between whipping action and momentum we mean you need some momentum transfer and you need some snap. Some techniques (e.g. backfist) tend to fit better near the whipping action pole and others (e.g. hammer fist) tend to live closer to the momentum pole, but that's mostly a question of habit and tradition. In general, we add momentum to karate techniques by correct body mechanics, like turning the hips strongly in a gyaku-tsuki or a mawashi-geri. We add whipping action by pulling the striking implement back (after sufficient penetration is achieved) as fast as possible. This retraction can occur from the hips, as in gyaku-tsuki, or from the striking limb alone, as in oi-tsuki or kisami-tsuki.
Drilling to Improve the Three Elements of an Effective Technique
Penetration:
Since penetration is mostly about distance, rigidity of the striking implement, and angle of contact the best drill to improve is to work each technique on a substitute target. The Dojo has heavy bags, kicking shields, focus mitts, rebreakable boards and thai pads. All of these substitute (meaning not a human) targets give you the opportunity to work on penetration.
Make sure to work from different distances for each technique, learning where the optimal distance is if you don't move your base and how far you can move your base without losing balance. And always remember to hit through the surface of the target! The full extension of your technique should force your striking surface through the target's surface. You can check this by letting one or two slow motion techniques miss the target. Make sure a minimum of 2 inches of travel past the surface is possible before you continue.
As you are working on your penetration, there is no need to turn this into a cardiovascular drill. Keep the pace manageable and maintain focus on hitting the target squarely, without any give in your striking surface.
Speed:
The effective speed of a technique is as much dependent on the timing and deceptiveness of your application of it as it is on the physical speed of it. On the other hand, once you have the technique well-imprinted on your muscle memory, challenging yourself to throw it as quickly as possible while maintaining good form is an excellent training method. There are two basic approaches:
Starting from a static position, launch your technique as fast as possible to the target. Try to surprise yourself with how your technique gets to the target. And a target is absolutely essential -- doing this in the air forces you to apply the brakes to your own technique, which will not help your speed.
Carefully monitor yourself for technical flaws and do not practice the same 'wrong' technique twice! I have seen it written that each bad repetition of a technique takes 10 good repetitions to repair, and that it takes approximately 10,000 good repetitions to achieve mastery. Fortunately, even achieving a journeyman level of technical correctness is sufficient to put us head and shoulders above the crowd.
You can also practice throwing as many of a given technique as possible in a fixed amount of time. This drill is very advanced, because it is so easy to throw bad technique. If you find that you are throwing higher and higher numbers of your technique by using inappropriate body mechanics, bad distancing, or in any way other than speeding up your technique, you need to stop the drill immediately. Although even a bad technique might work, you don't need to practice to perform bad techniques. They come naturally.
So it's been said, a bad technique is one that isn't capable of having all 3 necessary characteristics -- speed, penetration, and a cross between whipping action and momentum. Although you might be drilling your speed, if you increase speed but make your body alignment or angle of contact so bad you can't generate penetration or momentum, you aren't helping yourself.
Whipping Action and Momentum:
The best tools for this attribute are a medium weight bag and the kicking shield. In general the 'ideal' cross of whipping action and momentum will cause the hanging bag to 'jump' off the hand, and not swing. If you combine the ideal amount of whipping action and momentum with proper penetration, the bag will fold around your hand, foot, or elbow AND the bag will jump.
If the bag swings gently, or your partner behind the kicking shield is pushed around, you are transferring a goodly amount of momentum but are probably not generating sufficient whipping action. If you pop the bag or shield and make a great cracking noise, but the bag stays still or your partner doesn't shift at all, you have great whipping action but insufficient momentum transfer.
It'll be obvious if you actually do these drills that it's not really possible to separate the three elements of effective technique. A zero penetration technique will have no whipping action or momentum; a slow motion technique won't penetrate the surface of a target. There are benefits to focusing on specific attributes of your techniques. A narrow focus will allow you to progress rapidly on those attributes. On the other hand, a narrow focus limits your growth overall. Drill these attributes separately, but don't lose sight of the overall goal: effective technique.
Happy training.
Technical correctness is the primary way to make your techniques more effective because it makes them more efficient. In this case, technical correctness means body and bone 'alignment,' accuracy of the contact point (target), and the angle of contact.
(I have put alignment in quotes because we usually only discuss alignment in a static posture but it's critical through the entire process, so I have come to prefer the phrase 'body mechanics' over 'alignment.' But Trias used alignment, and so most instructors I've met in his lineage also say alignment.)
At Broad Ripple Martial Arts we say a technique needs speed, penetration, and a cross between whipping action and momentum to be effective.
Penetration is the most about correct form:
Penetration is a function of distance. If a technique is thrown too far away, then there will be no travel available to hit through the surface of your opponent. Remember, to break a nose, you hit the nose on the guy behind your opponent. Penetration is only possible if the striking implement is rigid. That rigidity is determined by bone alignment (e.g. the wrist must be held straight in a punch) and the angle of contact (e.g. throw a hook punch from too far away so that your fist doesn't make right angle contact, and tell me how much penetration you achieve). Making a correct fist and pulling the toes out of the way for a snap kick aid penetration.
Speed is about technique first and then about effort:
Efficient technique removes unnecessary motions and allows all of the effort to go into increase the speed of the technique. This encompasses keeping the elbow down when punching, staying relaxed, non-telegraphic movement. Keep in mind that the speed we're discussing here is the actual physical speed of the technique and not the apparent speed (the amount of time your opponent has to perceive a technique) although non-telegraphic movement aids both types of speed. Once your technique is 'correct enough' you can work to move faster and faster. Ideally, you want your technique to feel like it goes from a standing start to full speed instantaneously. Think about a sudden sneeze or a convulsive shiver, and try to make your techniques launch out as fast as that.
Whipping action and momentum:
First, let's be clear that these two characteristics are opposite ends of a spectrum. A large transfer of momentum (like a push) is about as far away from a snapping, whip-like strike as you can get. At the same time, a skilled karate player can throw whipping, snappy reverse punches that cause no damage through an entire tournament. So when we say a cross between whipping action and momentum we mean you need some momentum transfer and you need some snap. Some techniques (e.g. backfist) tend to fit better near the whipping action pole and others (e.g. hammer fist) tend to live closer to the momentum pole, but that's mostly a question of habit and tradition. In general, we add momentum to karate techniques by correct body mechanics, like turning the hips strongly in a gyaku-tsuki or a mawashi-geri. We add whipping action by pulling the striking implement back (after sufficient penetration is achieved) as fast as possible. This retraction can occur from the hips, as in gyaku-tsuki, or from the striking limb alone, as in oi-tsuki or kisami-tsuki.
Drilling to Improve the Three Elements of an Effective Technique
Penetration:
Since penetration is mostly about distance, rigidity of the striking implement, and angle of contact the best drill to improve is to work each technique on a substitute target. The Dojo has heavy bags, kicking shields, focus mitts, rebreakable boards and thai pads. All of these substitute (meaning not a human) targets give you the opportunity to work on penetration.
Make sure to work from different distances for each technique, learning where the optimal distance is if you don't move your base and how far you can move your base without losing balance. And always remember to hit through the surface of the target! The full extension of your technique should force your striking surface through the target's surface. You can check this by letting one or two slow motion techniques miss the target. Make sure a minimum of 2 inches of travel past the surface is possible before you continue.
As you are working on your penetration, there is no need to turn this into a cardiovascular drill. Keep the pace manageable and maintain focus on hitting the target squarely, without any give in your striking surface.
Speed:
The effective speed of a technique is as much dependent on the timing and deceptiveness of your application of it as it is on the physical speed of it. On the other hand, once you have the technique well-imprinted on your muscle memory, challenging yourself to throw it as quickly as possible while maintaining good form is an excellent training method. There are two basic approaches:
Starting from a static position, launch your technique as fast as possible to the target. Try to surprise yourself with how your technique gets to the target. And a target is absolutely essential -- doing this in the air forces you to apply the brakes to your own technique, which will not help your speed.
Carefully monitor yourself for technical flaws and do not practice the same 'wrong' technique twice! I have seen it written that each bad repetition of a technique takes 10 good repetitions to repair, and that it takes approximately 10,000 good repetitions to achieve mastery. Fortunately, even achieving a journeyman level of technical correctness is sufficient to put us head and shoulders above the crowd.
You can also practice throwing as many of a given technique as possible in a fixed amount of time. This drill is very advanced, because it is so easy to throw bad technique. If you find that you are throwing higher and higher numbers of your technique by using inappropriate body mechanics, bad distancing, or in any way other than speeding up your technique, you need to stop the drill immediately. Although even a bad technique might work, you don't need to practice to perform bad techniques. They come naturally.
So it's been said, a bad technique is one that isn't capable of having all 3 necessary characteristics -- speed, penetration, and a cross between whipping action and momentum. Although you might be drilling your speed, if you increase speed but make your body alignment or angle of contact so bad you can't generate penetration or momentum, you aren't helping yourself.
Whipping Action and Momentum:
The best tools for this attribute are a medium weight bag and the kicking shield. In general the 'ideal' cross of whipping action and momentum will cause the hanging bag to 'jump' off the hand, and not swing. If you combine the ideal amount of whipping action and momentum with proper penetration, the bag will fold around your hand, foot, or elbow AND the bag will jump.
If the bag swings gently, or your partner behind the kicking shield is pushed around, you are transferring a goodly amount of momentum but are probably not generating sufficient whipping action. If you pop the bag or shield and make a great cracking noise, but the bag stays still or your partner doesn't shift at all, you have great whipping action but insufficient momentum transfer.
It'll be obvious if you actually do these drills that it's not really possible to separate the three elements of effective technique. A zero penetration technique will have no whipping action or momentum; a slow motion technique won't penetrate the surface of a target. There are benefits to focusing on specific attributes of your techniques. A narrow focus will allow you to progress rapidly on those attributes. On the other hand, a narrow focus limits your growth overall. Drill these attributes separately, but don't lose sight of the overall goal: effective technique.
Happy training.
