Arguments for a Renewed Contemporary Karate Curriculum by Elmo Diederiks
Attitudes and perspectives apart, we could wonder why we need (yet) another approach to the Karate curriculum. We could of course answer this question with “Why not?”, but I would argue that our knowledge and experience has grown and that our views and practice should thus evolve as well. For me, this mostly lies in the natural (safe and efficient) movement and effective technique in Karate (and sports) practice.
Unlocking what your body can already do.
Most readers are undoubtedly familiar with quotes related to injury like “no pain, no gain”, “this is a martial art, not a game of checkers” or “we’ve all been there”. This certainly holds for the Shotokan practitioners amongst us. Indeed, many Karateka were formed through endless repeating Kihon practice with little eye for how the human body works and while ignoring possible injury. I was initially trained in the same way, but we now know this practice has resulted in countless knee operations and hip protheses. If there is one thing, we should learn here it is to challenge this approach.
Kihon drills can of course offer mental training, but we should also realize that this practice originates from military training aimed at young combatants to master a few simple techniques in a short period of time. We should also realize that every injury will temporarily stop individual progress and hence reduces the potential level one can reach. Personally, I firmly believe that helping people realize their individual highest potential, preferably through a life-long practice, is a beautiful ultimate goal.
In fact, our body is a miracle of nature. The way it grows, how it functions and the abilities it has are truly amazing. Its kinetic chains are pre-programmed for efficiency in different situations while automated cerebral reflexes make multiple muscular corrections every millisecond. For example, you can consciously decide to pick up a cup of tea, but the actual action of reaching for and grabbing hold of the cup is completely controlled unconsciously. Or, when pushed out of balance you will unconsciously put your foot exactly where it needs to be in order not to fall, which is completely controlled in the cerebellum .
I therefore believe that a Karate curriculum should seek natural, safe, efficient and effective movement and should leverage and further develop the existing abilities of our body to do so.
Karate is dynamic
It strikes me that during Karate practice a lot of emphasis is put on stable, strong (and in Shotokan also deep) stances. Many of us have experienced our Sensei hit various part of our body during Kihon practice while standing in for example a Zenkutsu Dachi with an Oi Tsuki. Yet, Bunkai and especially Kumite are far more dynamic and we rarely keep such positions for longer dan a fraction of a second. To understand why it is like this, we should realize that almost all Shotokan Sensei that were sent across the world after World War II have a background in architecture or construction . It is not surprising that they sought meaning in a static approach (“Shotokan Karateka stand like houses but also move like houses”). In addition, we should consider that Kihon and deep stances are also used for body conditioning, specifically for strength and mobility .
Our stances are however designed to move. The names of stances such as Zenkutsu Dachi and Kokutsu Dachi hint to the movement direction: forward bended and backwards bended respectively. Think what would happen if you lift or relax the bended leg. In this context, wider stances actually do provide a larger potential movement energy: lifting or relaxing the bended leg will create more disbalance and therefore higher movement momentum induced by gravity. Other stances seem to be designed to free up one leg to kick of sweep (e.g. Neko Achi Dachi), or seem to quickly move (or bounce) in and out (e.g. Kosa Dachi).
All in all, I believe that a Karate curriculum should focus on dynamic use of the body instead of a static philosophy.
Kinaesthetic awareness and mental resilience
It is argued that Karate is an art of self-defence. This can be debated and opinions differ. We need however to agree that mental resilience is a key aspect of self-defence, and I would even argue it is the most important part (and most useful outside the dojo) that is actually developed in Karate training. In fact, it has been found in scientific research that physical training and martial arts and Karate training specifically will result in better health in general (Chang, Y.C., Yet, T.M., Pai, F.Y., & Huang, T.O., 2018), mental health specifically (Hartmann, 2003, Witte, Kropf, Darius, Emmermacher, & Böckelmann, 2016, Hardwood, A., Lavidor, M., & Rassovsky, 2017, and Macarie, I. & Roberts, R., 2010), as well as mental resilience among others against bullying (Greco, Fischetti, Cataldi, & Latino, 2019) Unfortunately, it has not been researched what aspects of a so-called training intervention specifically contribute, but I would propose three aspects of Karate training that could establish these effects.
The first is that physical exercise has a positive impact on cognitive functions and self-esteem. Physical exercise generates endorphin which reduces stress and the risk of depression and generates a positive feeling and self-satisfaction in general (Bergland, 2013). Moreover, motoric challenging exercises are also mentally challenging. Motoric challenging exercises will activate many parts of the brain including the left-right brain connection in the Corpus Callosum (Dewar, 2021, and Ratey, 2022).
The second aspect is that training focused on motoric skills will build physical self-awareness, both body awareness as well as what I call “Kinaesthetic awareness”. Kinesthesis can be defined as the way the body moves, so by kinaesthetic awareness I mean the ability to perceive (the details of) the movements our body makes, as a basis to evaluate and adjust those movements effectively. This would not only be a pre-requisite to be able to develop and present movement of high quality (skilled movement), it also helps build physical self-knowledge, which leads into mental self-confidence and therefore mental resilience.
And the third aspect, is that training in stress situations (such as partner exercises in Bunkai or Kumite) will not only help build experience with physical potentially hostile situations but will also help build coping mechanisms to deal with body reactions to stress situations. Since the body reacts the same to physical and mental stress such training experience will help build mental resilience in a very broad sense.
Training kinaesthetic awareness and mental resilience is actually highly socially relevant. Due to the rise of computers and mobile devices in work and every-day life, many of us unfortunately have unnatural body posture as well as low levels of body awareness (proprioception) and motoric control, let alone kinaesthetic awareness. And, due to higher levels of social unrest and stress, mental resilience is more relevant than ever. In fact, the term has been explicitly added to the Dutch 2022 governmental coalition agreement under the section of prevention, sports and movement .
Therefore, I am convinced that to build mental resilience a Karate curriculum should not only offer the opportunity to train stressful situations in a safe environment, but should especially have its base in building motoric & physical ability and kinaesthetic awareness.
In Summary
Given these three observations, I have set out to develop a system that focuses on
- skilful (natural, effective and efficient) movement and safe training rather than enforcing unnatural movements in endless drills.
- complete movements the body already can do naturally rather than learning something completely new.
- the dynamic potential of the body rather than mechanical and stationary approach.
- building kinaesthetic awareness and mental resilience, next to training basic motoric qualities, Karate techniques and application.
References
Bergland, C. (2013). 25 studies confirm: exercise prevents depression. Retrieved from Psychology today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/25-studies-confirm-exercise-prevents-depression
Chang, Y.C., Yet, T.M., Pai, F.Y., & Huang, T.O. (2018). Sports activity for health! The effects of Karate participants’ involvement, perceived value, and leisure benefits on recommendation Intention. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(5), 953.
Dewar, G. (2021). Exercise for children: How physical fitness benefits the brain – and helps kids learn. Retrieved from Parenting science: https://parentingscience.com/exercise-for-children/
Greco, G., Fischetti, F., Cataldi, S., & Latino, F. (2019). Effects of Shotokan Karate on resilience to bullying in adolescents. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 14 (4 proc), 896-905.
Hartmann, D. (2003). Theorizing sport as social intervention: A view from the grassroots. Quest, 55, 118-140.
Macarie, I., & Roberts, R. (2010). Martial arts and mental health. Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2, 1-4.
Ratey, J. (2022). Build your muscles, build your brain. Retrieved from Additude: https://www.additudemag.com/exercise-learning-adhd-brain/
Witte, K., Kropf, S., Darius, S., Emmermacher, P., & Böckelmann, I. (2016). Comparing the effectiveness of karate and fitness training on cognitive functioning in older adults – A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5, 484-490.
This blog post is and extract from my 6th Dan dissertation[ED1]
Leave a Reply