DOSSIERS TECHNIQUES
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The secret is in relaxation

Some preliminary observations...

In many schools, whether Shotokan or not, the famous "Kime" is advocated as the supreme culmination of technique and the paroxysmal manifestation of Karate's legendary efficiency. It is of course essential to achieve this form of union between body and mind, also known as "Ki-Aï" (literally "union of energies"), so that the gesture is at once purity, strength, power and so on. This Kiaï is, moreover, the sound expression of this, an expression that we'd like to see natural, i.e. not the effect of a conscious will but of breathing alone.

Unfortunately, this notion of "Kime" is very quickly superficially assimilated to a form of extreme contraction of the body's muscles, which is justified by unclear explanations of shockwave feedback mechanisms, etc., and which practitioners too quickly take literally, thus cultivating not only errors as to the result one would like to obtain, but also laying the groundwork for major physical problems that will irremediably reveal themselves later or later.

It's an illusion to "decide"

The main mistake we generally make is to perform each technique as if the presumed impact were completely at the end of it. This is particularly obvious when you see practitioners whose attacks (and counter-attacks, for that matter) end up more or less far from the target constituted by their partner. We come to completely confuse the notions of "control" with those of unaccomplished techniques, both of which can indeed stop as close as possible, but, in the case of the latter, cannot be prolonged if they were to be truly weight-bearing.

The main reason for this is that we mistakenly work with the sensation of hitting a surface, when in reality we should be visualizing a volume to be crossed. This is very different: in the first case, we decide a priori that the distance is perfectly fixed, i.e. the distance "at the end of the technique" to within a few millimeters. In the second, on the other hand, the impact can be anywhere in a much wider space, even if the technique isn't fully developed.

The immediate consequence of this is that it is no longer possible to decide the precise moment at which the "Kime" should take place, but that the "Kime" must be naturally present when the impact occurs. Take the example of shooting, whether with a rifle, a bow, etc., where it's always said that you shouldn't decide to shoot, but "be surprised" by the start of the shot. Concentration, breathing and, last but not least, relaxation are the only things that count.

Always speed...

Physical relaxation guarantees a fundamental factor: speed. On the one hand, you need to be fast if your technique is to have a chance of reaching your opponent before he dodges it or reaches you in anticipation. On the other hand, efficiency is linked to the square of speed, which, combined with mass, determines the energy transmitted. Contracting a muscle chain slows it down through the interplay of agonist and antagonist muscles, as if you were braking yourself on one side while trying to go faster on the other. In the end, one of two things happens: either there's no impact (opponent dodging, etc.), and there's no need to contract anything, or there is an impact, but we've only had time to decide to contract something in a few thousandths of a second?

It's simple - just breathe

The secret lies in two things. The first is to have sufficient quality of posture and technique so that, throughout the development of the gesture, an impact can be effective and we ourselves do not risk injury through of our segments and joints. The second is to charge our breathing with the main work, so that it alone constantly sustains our "Kime" potential, and carries the technique through to its conclusion.

A double investment for the future

Let's get into the habit, whether in Kihon or conventional Kumite, of "seeing" the impact beyond the physical or imaginary target, and of not deliberately "blocking" the technique, but on the contrary letting it "fly" until the complete exhalation decides its end. So much the worse if the kimono "snaps" less (and even then...), if our physical pace makes us look less determined - in appearance, if so much the important thing is not the "appearance" but the value of the result produced by our training.

And we'll soon be able to verify that, not only is our efficiency not diminished - quite the contrary - but that our bodies rid themselves of negative tensions, giving us that "healthy" feeling of fatigue, even after hours of training and extreme effort. Think of it as an investment in a lifetime of practice, the benefits of which will become tangible in ten, twenty or thirty years' time. Conversely, if we persist in stiffening up, "taking" shocks in return with each step in Kihon, it's as if we're slowly destroying ourselves. We shouldn't be surprised if our knees, shoulders and backs start to ache, making it difficult for us to continue training with the same pleasure and fluidity. Will we then have a belated thought for R. Kipling and his famous: "Man, what have you done with your body?"...

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