Benefits of Karate
Karate is an effective self defense relying on skill, rather than size or strength. It greatly benefits the mind, body, and spirit. Karate practice also fosters character development.
Body- Physical Benefits
Karate teaches you how to use your body in the most efficient way – from the ground up and from the core out. It also teaches the neuromuscular system to recruit muscles and joints in the correct sequence, allowing for efficient movement. Through special training methods, such as kata, we learn these underlying movement principles, and once they have been installed into the nervous system they can be applied to any form of movement. This “correct” way of moving will help keep your body injury free, correct faulty movement patterns,and it will also have a direct carry over into any sport.
At Rokah Karate we are very fortunate to have these teachings directly handed down to us from the founder in Japan (see history). This ensures that we learn the pure, undiluted, and non-commercialized version of these underlying movement principles – vital to gaining the benefits of Karate training.
Karate training improves every physical element of the body – posture, cardiovascular condition, strength, flexibility, agility, balance, and coordination.
The Mind
Karate is a moving meditation. While keeping a strong “tanden”, Japanese for center of energy, we direct the ki from this area through the contact area and out following the trajectory of the technique. Intention and breath moves the body according to purpose. This movement of energy refocuses the mind and allows it to rest from its busy day to day “self conversation.”
Every physical que also has a mental aspect. For example: – “Action starts from the feet”, “the feet are the Boss” physically, it means more efficient movement, maximizing ground reaction forces and using the whole body musculature from feet to line of technique.
Mentally allowing the feet keep rhythm with opponent and make reaction and distance, help with keeping the brain from being over active, it allows us to harmonize and flow with opponent, avoid doubt, keep stable emotions, keep balance between conscious mind and intuitive mind.
“As if eyes are way back” physically it prevents head forward posture, mentally it allow holistic decision making and stable emotions.
The Spirit
Karate training will help to develop a strong spirit. The spirit of day by day doing your best and never quitting. Understanding that success results from grit and not merely natural talent.
Character Development
The ultimate goal of Karate training is to polish one’s character, ultimately leading the practitioner to radiate such humility and confidence that nobody would consider to engage in a conflict with the student.
Karate training give us tools to be best fighters as well as best human being that we can be.
At Rokah Karate we emphasize development of important characteristics such as humility,self discipline, focus, and respect.