Momentum as a basic principle.

[HanshiClayton]

The essence of Shuri-te was Matsumura’s discovery of momentum power instead of (really in addition to) muscle power. Up to that time, karate masters were weight-lifters. They would root in place and slug it out for minutes on end, trying to wear down the opponent. Matsumura changed the game. He charged in at high speed, using his body momentum to knock the opponent off his feet. From that point on, you didn’t need big muscles to do karate. However, you did need "basic principles."

I have lumped together the basic principles usually referred to as stepping, shifting, raising, lowering, expansion, contraction, futi, body rotation and whipping action because fundamentally they are all doing the same thing. These techniques generate kinetic energy in the body core and store it as momentum. We then transfer this stored energy into the enemy’s body through impact technique.

The important thing to realize about this is that speed of the body core toward the target has a larger impact on results than body weight or muscle development. Kinetic energy goes up linearly with weight, but exponentially with speed.

I explained this with a bullet in Shotokan's Secret, the First Edition page 43, but let’s try a more practical example. Here’s two karate guys, presumed to be of equal skill, both doing oi-zuki in front stance... step in and punch. One weighs 100 pounds; the other 200 pounds. They step forward at the same speed and strike a standard target. Who hits harder, presuming equal application of basic principles?

The big guy impacts the target twice as hard. He has twice the mass.

Now, to even up the propostion, we have the little guy step in faster than before. At the point where he is moving 40% faster than the big guy, he achieves equal impact. We should be making people VERY aware of this.

It seems like a magic trick until you realize that increasing your forward speed by 40% isn’t easy... it takes twice the energy... twice the leg strength... as before.

Linear technique demands that we step forward as fast as we can, every time, like a sprinter coming off the marks. Stepping slowly or casually in oi-zuki invalidates the technique... even if the punch isn’t blocked or side-stepped, it isn’t going to do the job.

Body momentum is the key to linear technique, but how do you show that to students? I’ve experimented with a couple of techniques.

It was demonstrated to me many years ago by a sensei who slipped past my block in ippon kumite and hit me in the chest with oi-zuki. I weighed about 190 pounds at the time, but I flew back six feet and starfished on the wall behind me. A single punch made me airborne!

We can’t do that demonstration anymore. Lawyers would feast.

So I got a Body Opponent Bag (BOB) for the dojo, and weighted it with 150 pounds of sand. I periodically allow students to beat on BOB as hard as they can. So far, nobody can knock him over with gyaku-zuki from a stationary position, even though they rattle and rock him. However, the same people can take a step back and come in again with one-step oi-zuki... and BOB flies.

Anybody can push BOB over on his back. One hand will do it. To measure real impact we mark a line on the floor at the rear edge of the sand-filled base. Simply tipping BOB over gets no points. However, to strike BOB so that he slams back and skids across the floor, base and all, takes power. We measure the distance from the starting line to the closest edge of the base, and compete for the biggest distance.

This could be a tournament contest. We would measure the distance BOB flies and then divide by the contestant’s weight. The result would be a good measure of focus and power.

On a smaller scale, there is the soda-can demo. Place two full, heavy cans on a smooth surface (the floor). Roll one across the floor so it strikes the side of the other, making it roll away. Explain that we use muscle power to store kinetic energy in the first can (as you accelerate the can smoothy by pushing it with your finger). We store the momentum in our body (as the can is rolling toward the other car). We can transfer the momentum into the other person’s body (as the collision makes the first can stop dead... and the second can rolls away vigorously). It makes a simple and very compelling demonstration of transfer of momentum.

Before we get into it... there is another type of punching that seeks to shatter the opponent without knocking him across the room. Our basic principles need to explain both.