Muscle strength is one factor among many that contributes to effective technique. The key to stimulating muscle growth is muscle contraction. Complete and sustained contraction gets optimal results.
Okinawan karate offers a way to do this which is more efficient and more complete than weightlifting or resistance training.
The naihanchi kata use maximum sustained isometric tension to build muscle and connective tissue. (This holds for sanchin too.)
Where weight lifting isolates muscles groups, and applies stress separately to the extensors and flexors, naihanchi unifies this developmental pressure. Done properly, contraction in the opposing muscles extends throughout the body. The limbs, torso, neck and head are included and unified in training effect. It is not merely that all the parts of the body are developed – they are connected with each other, developed as a unified structure.
As you go deeper into naihanchi you can build the major arch-structures first – the arm arch, spine arch and leg arch. Then you can unify the three of them, drawing them together to make a sound unified structure.
Then building the abdominal barrel is natural. As you continue to develop this you will be able to locate any gaps in the structure – for example in the groin area, lower back, neck and head. Gradually, with practice, the whole body is enclosed in muscle, forming the naihanchi arched structure.
Isometric tension in every posture of naihanchi kata, and dynamic tension in most of the body during the execution of techniques, builds a powerful, unified body. This is the result of maximum and sustained muscle contraction for maximum training effect.
It is more efficient and effective than weight lifting or body weight resistance. It does not need to replace those, but it closes the gaps they leave and it makes connections throughout the body which other strength building training methods do not.
Stance checking pressure from a training partner, and shi-me – body striking pressure and conditioning – skillfully applied, increase the intensity of the training, and stimulate maximum muscle growth over the whole body.
For neutralizing incoming energy and projecting full-body power the naihanchi and sanchin kata provide a uniquely potent training method which leaves no gaps in the body structure.
This accounts for why students of te on Okinawa in pre-modern times spent their first three years practicing only naihanchi kata. It provided the foundation of body strength and conditioning, and the intense mental focus they would build on for a lifetime of karate practice.
When Motobu makes his claim that naihanchi is all you need for fighting, I speculate that this is what he meant. I do not think he meant that naihanchi kata provide a full spectrum of waza, because the majority of the techniques he used in kumite, as shown in the photos in his books, are not found in the naihanchi kata.
That question aside, naihanchi training, properly done, provides maximum stimulation of muscle development, and optimal whole-body unification and power.
There is more to karate than that, but that is an essential foundation of combative performance and mastery.
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Post copyright © 2024 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC
Photo of Sakiyama Sogen
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