“Finding the balance between flow and power is an everlasting concept that can become frustrating as you continue to train, as trying to find that balance only comes from practice, practice, and more practice.”
As a smaller person who doesn’t weigh much, I am always looking for ways to maximize my power without relying on pure muscular strength. In general, everybody benefits from this type of training; you are able to move faster, have longer endurance, and overall flow your techniques better. Finding the balance between flow and power is an everlasting concept that can become frustrating as you continue to train, as trying to find that balance only comes from practice, practice, and more practice. I’ve heard this feeling referred to as “lazy karate”, which seems counterintuitive as we want to maximize our techniques to their fullest. However, the concept incorporates utilizing your body’s natural movement into your technique, tensing at the point of impact, then immediately relaxing again.
It’s difficult to describe this feeling, but there’s one drill that really helped it click in my brain.
Take a roundhouse kick. Most every style has the same chamber shape for this kick, pointing your knee at your target as you turn over your hip to make contact.
This in turn makes the kick move in a circular, half-moon type path. How can we make this easier for ourselves? If we change the kicking path to linear, starting with a front kick chamber then flipping your hip at the exact moment of impact, it becomes a lot quicker and more powerful.
This is not the “officially correct way” to do your roundhouse kicks, but it’s an important concept to play around with. Try out the front kick chamber for some of your other kicks; outside crescent kick, diagonal kick, hook kick, etc.
You’ll notice the feeling this creates, which is not just unique to the front kick, therefore we’ll call this chamber the Universal Chamber. It helps shorten the path to your target, concentrate force and body momentum, as well as achieve a good ratio of exertion to flow.
Additionally, doing the universal chamber allows you to throw kicks in sparring without telegraphing. If all your kicks start with the same chamber, the opponent will have less time to counter as they won’t know what’s coming until you throw it. It also gives you the opportunity to see how your partner reacts and change what kick you execute accordingly.
Train.
Play.
Have fun.
