Paper 16: Rhythm in Karate

Rhythm is a vital component within every aspect of existence. From the macro level, rhythm can be found in how the universe expands and contract and the manner in which planets, moons and stars rotate around each other. In a micro view, rhythm pervades how the even the smallest organisms move, grow, communicate to how animals and humans live every day of their lives. Everything has a rhythm, easily identifiable or not. And most beings follow a rhythm, instinctual or from habit, which makes them most comfortable. Breaking a rhythm can be either by choice or by environment, and the reaction to the break in pattern will result in either a good or bad outcome. As with the rest of life, rhythm is also an essential part of karate, both the physical and mental aspects.

When a student trains karate they follow a pattern or rhythm. Depending on the pattern this can be highly beneficial or less so. Sensei Funakoshi wrote in his 20 Precepts, specifically Precept #11, that “Karate is just like hot water; if you do not give it continuous heat, it will become cold.” This means that you must train regularly, daily is best, in order to maintain your level and to see improvement. Taking time off, or only sporadically pursuing, from any physical activity, whether it be sports, fitness training, hobbies, education, work, whatever, you will lose what you have gained. It is essential to maintain a regular pattern and rhythm to achieve the optimal results from whatever the endeavor.

In karate, each training session also follows a rhythm. It begins with how the student prepares for training during the day by how they eat, rest, and arrive at the dojo. It continues as the student enters the dojo, bows to the school, sensei(s) and sempai(s), empties their mind, gets into their gi, ties their obi, and bows entering the training floor. The rhythm continues with class bowing to shomen and the sensei, then starting with a warm-up, training for the class being kihon, kata, kumite, cardio, strength, or some combination of any or all these things. The class rhythm finishes with stretching and a warm down, bowing to shomen and then to the instructor. The rhythm concludes when the student leaves the training floor, gets out of their gi, bows good-bye to the sensei and leaves the school, and how they replenish their bodies. Following a rhythm for the whole aspect of karate training is critical for optimal development. But rhythms can be good and bad. And following a bad rhythm can be detrimental to karate training. Coming late to class or arriving just seconds before may not give the student enough time to properly prepare. Rushing, or not properly participating a warm-up or warm-down/stretching can lead to injury. Not showing proper respect for yourself and others can result in “bad things” happening. Not taking care of your gi and obi may result in a private (and sometimes public) conversation with sensei. All these problems can be avoided by following a good rhythm.

On a more micro level in karate, rhythm is found in our movements and our breathing. For movements, more specifically, it is how each technique contracts and expands, and how muscles relax and flex. When training kihon, we are working towards the optimal rhythm of muscle movement in order to achieve the best speed and power. Beginners at karate appear very tense, slow and jerky in their movements because they have not learned how to properly use their bodies in these particular motions. Advanced students make the same movements look effortless, yet powerful, and fluid with great speed. The difference between the two types students is that the advanced student understands the proper rhythm of body movement to achieve the desired outcome. Or they are at least is on the right path, there is always room for improvement. What the advanced student has learned is how to isolate the muscles to be used in each part the movement, while at the same time relaxing all others, and then completing the movement with correct tension in all parts of the body at the same instant, resulting in good kime. Over time, continual focus on the rhythm of a particular movement or technique will result in better execution, including reduced effort, increased speed and timing, and more power.

In kihon training there is also rhythm found in combination techniques, it is not limited to single movements. In order to effectively execute a combination of, for example, kizame zuki, gyaku zuki, step forward with a mawashi geri, and ending with another gyaku zuki there must be rhythm. Otherwise it is not a combination, but rather just 4 separate techniques performed in a short period of time. Each component of the combination is learned independently, but then to become a combination in a karate-ka’s arsenal, it must be trained such that it flows fluidly, which means it must have rhythm. And as with individual techniques, good rhythm comes down to muscle movement, and how after one technique ends with kime, then how quickly relaxation occurs for the start of the next technique. Effective combinations come from the pairing of strong kihon movements with proper rhythm.

Breathing rhythm can both improve and impede a karate technique. Improper breathing, such as holding your breath, or inhaling or exhaling at the wrong time, and even the depth of the breath can dramatically reduce the power of technique, and that of all following techniques. Becoming “out of breath” is common in these types of circumstances, and you never want to be out of breath. This situation will result in less oxygen getting to your muscles, thereby reducing your ability to perform movements effectively. While training kihon, kata, and kumite it is important to focus on your breathing, when to inhale and exhale, how much to take in and let out, and when. This is a learned rhythm from extensive training. Left up to its own natural rhythm, our bodies tend to take short, shallow breaths when we are exerting ourselves. However, this is not nearly optimal. Therefore, practicing a breathing rhythm, along with proper muscle relaxation and tension, will result in the most efficient delivery of oxygen to the muscles and by the muscles, and also ensure our bodies are ready to deliver or receive a blow.

Kata is a predefined set of movements. It follows a pattern and has a cadence, which is not to be confused with rhythm. Cadence is more like timing, meaning it refers to the general speed at which each technique is performed (fast, slow, somewhere in between, or varying), and the elapsed time between techniques. Rhythm comes into play in the overall flow of the kata, specifically how an individual performs it. While two different students can perform the same kata with the same cadence, the rhythm can be very different. Just like with two musicians playing the same piece of music following the same tempo, the result can sound very different. One musician may play the piece correctly but lack good rhythm and piece sounds bland. The other may have exceptional rhythm and play the same piece, but makes the music comes alive. It’s the same with kata. Even though the two karate-ka performed the same kata at the same cadence or tempo, the results can be dramatically different. It’s the rhythm to which the movements and transitions are made that create the differences. Advanced students perform techniques with greater speed (generally), therefore their rhythm is different than a less advanced student. As pointed out in “The Textbook of Modern Karate” by Sensei Okazaki and Dr. Stricevic, the total time to perform kata has, over time, been slowly getting shorter. This is not because the cadence has been changed; it is because the performance of techniques has gotten faster as more has been learned about the intricacies of the art. And the resulting change in time to perform techniques has led to differences in rhythm because now there is a larger separation in the timing of fast techniques from slow. Knowing and practicing rhythm of movement and breathing can make a kata strong, fluid and beautiful. Bad rhythm will make the kata look like a jumble of 20, 54, or 100 disparate techniques.

Kumite builds on the rhythm honed in kihon and kata training by adding in the element of an opponent(s). In this case there are multiple rhythms which have to be dealt with. In one instance you have your own rhythm to maintain (which can include altering as the situation warrants). This is vitally important in any confrontation. If you are not in control of your own rhythm then someone else is. In the case of kumite, rhythm is really referring to the movements you are currently performing (could be just standing still, or moving around or even running) and the movements, which are as of yet undetermined, that you are about to make. Kumite (and in this case I am including non-structured fights) is random, therefore unlike kata you can never be sure which technique or maneuver you will employ next. Thus, you must be prepared to defend or attack at any given moment. Being out of your normal rhythm will reduce your ability to effectively and efficiently defeat your opponent. Therefore, it is important to maintain your rhythm while at the same time disrupt your opponent. Alternating the types of your movements, fast and slow, from big to small, in and out, side to side, high and low, while at the same time maintaining your breathing pattern and muscle relaxation and tension will allow you retain your internal rhythm while externally not show any predictable pattern. This will hopefully disrupt your opponent while at the same time keep you primed for optimal response. It is also important to try and determine if your opponent has a predictable rhythm and to see if you can somehow get them to either change it or lose it, or to capitalize on it. Kumite, or in general fighting, can look like a dance, where all parties are moving together, almost in unison. This happens when each adopts an external rhythm similar to the other(s). In most cases this is not desirable. In a fight you want to disrupt and dominate your opponent, not to dance. Furthermore, you don’t want your rhythm superseded or altered by them because now you have been taken out of your prime position. Therefore, you need to control your own internal and external rhythms as well as your opponents.

As first stated, rhythms are everywhere. They can be big, external patterns of movement, and they can be minute, internal manifestations. This pattern holds for karate as well. Externally, rhythm is found in how movements are strung together either in a predetermined way like with kata, or in a random way with kumite. These are external examples of rhythm. How and when to breath, relax and tense muscles, contract and expand are examples of internal rhythms. Both need to be honed continuously to gain improvement. Working on optimizing the internal rhythms first will allow the external rhythms to improve as well. All this tuning of the internal and external rhythms has to be done with a “training rhythm”, which will maintain your karate at a “boil”.

Craig Lawton
Triangle’s Best Karate
June 8, 2008