Shotokan Shitoryu Karate Association NZ - SSKANZ
  • Home
    • News
    • Upcoming Events
    • Tournament Results >
      • 2020 NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
      • 2019 New Zealand National Karate Championships
      • 19th SENIOR & 18TH CADET JUNIOR U21 OCEANIA KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
      • 2018 Oceania Cup
      • 17th WKF Oceania
      • Mabuni International Karate Open Championships 2016
      • New Zealand Open Karate Championships 2016
      • 2015 World Junior, Cadet and U21
      • Auckland Open 2015
      • National 2015
      • WKF World Senior 2014
      • 16th WKF Oceania Karate Championships 2014 in Suva Fiji
      • National 2014
      • CNI Karate Championships 2014
      • 2014 World University
      • NZ Open 2014
      • WKF Junior World 2013
      • Commonwealth 2013
      • NZ Open 2013
      • Hamilton Open 2013
      • Oceania 2012
      • National 2012
      • Commonwealth 2011
    • Classes >
      • Henderson
      • Mt. Roskill
      • Glenfield
      • Albany, AJHS
      • Glen Innes, Glen Taylor School
      • Windsor Park, LCJ
      • Albany, PS
      • Takapuna
      • Hillcrest
    • Contact
  • About Us
    • SSKANZ – History
    • Instructors >
      • Sensei Johnny Ling
      • Sensei Leonard Kong
      • Sensei Zhiming Meng
      • Sensei Andrea Anacan
    • Grand Master James Lo
    • Sensei Con Kassis
    • SSKANZ Black Belts
  • About Karate
    • WKF Senior World Champions
    • Infographics
    • Basics of Karate
    • The Physics of Karate
    • Kata >
      • How to practice a kata
      • Shitoryu Kata >
        • syllabus
      • Shotokan Kata
    • Competition Rules >
      • Kata Rules
      • Kumite Rules
  • Gallery
    • Photos >
      • 2019 New Zealand National karate Championship >
        • 2018 >
          • Oceania Karate Championships 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016 >
        • Auckland Championships 2016
        • KNZ National Training Camp Jan 23 – 25, 2016
      • 2015 >
        • WKF Junior & Cadet and U21 Championships, 12-15 November, Jakarta (Indonesia)
        • Auckland Open
        • NZ National Karate Champs 2015
        • Auckland Karate Championship 2015
        • Northland Open - Whangarei, 10th May 2015
        • Hamilton Open - 29th March 2015
        • Australian Open Karate Championships, Liverpool, NSW, Australia - Apr 10–12, 2015
      • 2014 >
        • APSKF
        • Sensei CON KASSIS 11-12 OCT 2014
        • 16th OKF Championships 2014 SUVA FIJI
        • Karate 1 in Okinawa & Training in Japan 2014
        • Auckland Open 2014
        • National 2014
        • CNI Karate Championships 2014
        • Auckland Region Karate Championships 2014
        • NZ Open 2014
        • Hamilton Open 2014
        • Melbourne International 2014
        • KNZ Auckland Training Camp 2014
      • 2013 >
        • SSKANZ Club Fun:) Dec / 2013
        • Commonwealth 2013
        • SSKANZ BBQ 2013
        • Training with Sensei Con 2013
        • KNZ Auckland Training Camp 2013
      • 2012 >
        • Oceania 2012
        • KNZ Auckland training camp 2012
      • 2011 >
        • Commonwealth 2011
        • Sugihara cup 2011
        • Development Karate Tournament (27-03-2011)
      • 2009 >
        • Training Camp 2009
        • In Training 2009
        • Black Belt Certification 2009
      • 2008 >
        • WKF Japan 2008
        • Australian Open 2008
        • Hamilton Open 2008
      • 2007 >
        • Australian Open 2007
        • hamilton Open 2007
      • 2006 >
        • Oceania Karate Championships 2006
        • NZ Open 2006
      • 2005 >
        • Commonwealth Karate Championships 2005
    • Videos
  • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Tournament Results
  • New Page
  • Blog
  • Blog

THE PHYSICS OF KARATE

The Physics

When the ancient martial arts masters were developing their sophisticated fighting techniques, they experimented with fundamental principles of physics. 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.

Generally, a stronger, larger person can exert more energy than a weaker, smaller person. But this doesn't necessarily determine the victor. 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.

Picture
At its most basic, karate is a system for varying the forces of a fight to your ownadvantage. 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 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. The concentrated attack is a lot more painful.

In karate, there are a number of punching and kicking stances, but most of them rely on this same basic idea. The point of impact is reduced to some small, usually bony area of your hand or foot, and the force of your attack is focused on this point. Karatekas strengthen their hands and feet so they can throw these punches and kicks without seriously hurting themselves. It is crucial to practice excellent technique; if a karateka continually punches incorrectly, he or she may eventually develop severe arthritis.

Karatekas maximize the force of the impact by putting their whole body into the punch or kick. If you watch karatekas fight, you'll see that they often pivot their torso and shift their weight from one leg to the other when they throw a punch. In this way, the energy of their moving body goes into each hit along with the energy of the arm muscles. Karatekas also practice hitting with great speed, as this increases the force of each blow.


Picture
One of the most important elements in karate is following through on punches and kicks. When you hit something, say a piece of board, your natural instinct is to slow down your swing just before impact; you hesitate because you don't want to hurt your hand. Karatekas deprogram this hesitation instinct; they visualize pushing their fist to some point past their target (the other side of the board, for example). To maximize the force of each movement, it's essential that the karateka follows through. Before each attack, karatekas take a deep breath. As they release the punch or kick, they let this breath out. This helps them focus on each movement.




Back to Top

Contact Details
  • Sensei Johnny Ling
          - Mobile: 021728729
          - Email: skanz.karate.johnnyl@gmail.com
          - Web: www.sskanz.com
​
  • SSKANZ Contact Form
Find Us
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
About SSKANZ
  • History
  • Instructors 
          - Johnny Ling
          - Andrea
          - Leonard
          - Zhiming
  • Grand Master
  • Sensei Con
  • Black Belts
  • Classes
  • Photos
  • Videos
Important Info
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Upcoming Event
  • Tournament Results
What is Karate
  • About Karate
  • Basics 
  • The Physics of Karate
  • Kata
  • How to Practice Kata
  • Shitoryu
  • - Syllabus
  • Shotokan
  • Competition Rules
  • Kata Rules
  • Kumite Rules
  •