Technique of the Week (October 31th, 2008)
From Kyoshi
David Baker
--------------------------------------------------------------
Muscles in Karate:
Karate provides
an excellent, overall workout, training all major muscle groups.
I once asked Master Ueshiro which were the most important muscles
for karate and he said, “Calves and traps.” And if you
look at photos of him as a young man without his gi top, you can
see his very large, well-developed traps that rise above his shoulder
line. Likewise, Master Nagamine shows well-developed traps into
his early middle age (65) in photos without his gi top on pages
32 – 33 in “The Essence of Karate-Do” (paperback
edition).
Also, as you develop in karate, be aware of the overall balance
of your muscles. In other words, the style is meticulously balanced
between left and right. But sometimes we will focus on certain exercises
for a period of time that may develop one set of muscles so much
that they may cause an imbalance vis-à-vis its opposing set
of muscles.
For instance, sometimes we’ll do a lot of pushups, punches,
chishi and other triceps exercises. So, if you develop a chronic
soreness in your elbow, at the triceps’ insertion (top, outside
of the elbow), then do some bicep curls or other exercises to strengthen
that muscle, to correct the imbalance and relieve the strain in
the elbow.
Similarly, we do a lot of deep knee bends, squatting, low kata and
other quadriceps exercises. So, if you develop a chronic soreness
at your quadriceps’ insertion (top, outside of knee), then
do some hamstring curls or other hamstring exercises to help balance
the strength of the hamstrings relative to the quadriceps.
Finally, most people are aware of the need to maintain the strength
of our abdominal muscles, but it is also necessary to exercise their
opposing muscles in the back. There are many ways to do this, including
yoga – which Hanshi enjoys; chiropractors and sports doctors
have lists of back exercises to do; and there is a very good book
from the early 1970s that had been out of print called “The
Bad Back Book” by Jerry Wayne that Hanshi had recommended to
the group back then. Some higher-ranking Black Belts may have a
copy, used copies are available online, and Ox Bow Press recently
reprinted the original.
Domo arigato gozaimasu,
Kyoshi David Baker
