![]() ![]() In soccer, footwork can be the difference between putting the ball in the top corner of the net or a mile over the bar. In tennis, it can be the difference between hitting the ball into the corner for a clear winner or have it sail over the baseline. Theres no denying, footwork plays a monumental role in any sport including karate! When it comes to kumite, footwork (Ashi Sabaki) is everything. Its a karate-kas greatest weapon or most costly liability. The TestIf you were to randomly pick 100 students of all ages and grades, then run through the Basics with them, the difference (in terms of speed) between the fastest and slowest punch would be a millisecond. So if this is the case, why then in kumite will one person score eight times out of ten and another score once in ten? The answer is very simple, footwork! Despite its paramount importance, it is still the single biggest thorn in the side of most karate-ka. Why Ashi Sabaki Eludes Most Karate-kaIf footwork is so important, why is it so underdeveloped, even amongst high grades? Weve been moving around since infancy.Īnd if it lets you down in the dojo (and in a tournament), then it is likely to let you down in real life. We chased after our friends when playing tip, ran away from waves at the beach, ran to catch the school bus, we dodged, we tackled and played numerous sports. And regardless of the activity, we never needed to change our movement, the simple act of running served us perfectly each and every time. And then we stumbled across another activity kumite. We were standing in our spot and our opponent was standing in theirs, some feet away. Somehow we needed to get over there to attack, or somehow we had to get away to avoid their attack. It seemed so logical, just do the very thing that has served you all your liferun!Īshi Sabaki Wont Improve Until You Appreciate ItIf you were to watch a video of yourself sparring, would you see yourself running in to attack? Would you see yourself running away to avoid attack? If youre 80% of all karate-ka, youll be answering, Yes to both questions. So the first point to note is that running is NOT footwork. ![]() Running may serve you in most sports, but it is completely useless in combat (unless of course you are literally running away). Now at this point you may be disagreeing. You run in strongly for your attacks and they seem to serve you just fine. The problem is, we dont feel the negative impact of running in the dojo so it often APPEARS to work in our favour. Before we discuss the downsides of running, here are two questions. ![]() How many GKR kata have us run from technique to technique? None! How many GKR kata have us move from technique to technique using a footwork methodology? Everysingleone! There must be some reason why we spend hours practising kata and combinations that have us moving through our techniques with footwork. Running Versus Ashi SabakiThere are countless downsides to running. Hopefully once you grasp any number of these, you will embark on some Ashi Sabaki training for your kumite. From a defensive point of view, when we run away to avoid attack we raise our centre of gravity. ![]() Firstly, because we have ample room to move and secondly, because our opponent is abiding by the rules of kumite. Considering kumite should train us for real life self-defence, its not enough to say, It works fine in my dojo. ![]()
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