The word karate is a combination of two kanji characters in Chinese with roughly translates to empty hand however putting the words together the meaning is way beyond self-defence, the meaning is translated as ‘the way’ or ‘the path’ meaning that this is an entire discipline and lifestyle in of martial arts where you not only have to learn the skills but also so you have to get into the right mindset to do Karate. Now speaking of karate we would always suggest that you start you get lessons from a professional however there have been real instances where student disciples of Karate simply listened to their master and practised without even seeing the stances because the master had gotten too old so we can imagine a probable scenario where you can hope to learn karate by reading that means by listening to yourself or watching pictures or the best way would be to enrol into our courses to get an in-depth online experience. So here are the few steps you can take to learn karate at home.
1. Preparation of mind –
you must understand that karate is something you must never use to attack how or harm someone innocent. Therefore we suggest that you meditate by making your mind empty and open to new experiences before you start your Karate practice. The mind is the most important game when you are trying to learn something that if used properly is lethal. There are no implements to use in Karate and your body itself is the weapon therefore you must channelize all your energy and focus from the room back into yourself while you meditate. Another good way to meditate is not to think anything but to think nothing and think about it positively, this is something that is at the professional level and can take a fair bit of practice.
2. Preparation of body –
karate is not Elite sport karate had been designed for self-defence purposes for the common folk and therefore you don’t need extraordinary physic to do karate however a good physical condition always helps. Karate is a high calorie-burning exercise and as we know putting your body into a cal shock can be dangerous so you must always start with warmups before going into the Karate stances. You can follow our previous blog or some of the few basic exercises that you can do here as warmups like jumping jacks, burpees, squats, push-ups etc.
3. Entry level stances –
Karate proceeds in belts and the first belt of promotion is the white belt. In white belt, you will have to learn about the stances of Daichi.
-
- Seiza Daichi – in this stance you will learn how to sit properly on the practice mat. Numerous pictures on the internet will help you learn Seiza Daiichi. This is important because it helps you become humble.
- Musubi Daichi – in this stance you will learn how to stand properly and is a time when you must bring your mind to full attention along with your body. There are pictures available for you to do this but this is so simple as it is putting your legs together and feet at a 45° angle standing upright with your arms decide your body and your mind in one place.
- Heisoku Daichi – this is the same as the previous Daichi but is different in that you have to put your feet together and your arms must be at an angle of between 45 degrees and 60 degrees.
- Heiko Daichi – this is also known as the ‘get ready’ stance and now you must put your arms in a slightly extended and neck fitted position and your legs must be a little wide apart so that you can be capable of quick movements. And your feet must be parallel.
- Hachiji Daichi – this is known as the natural stance and is quite similar to the previous Heiko Daichi, the only difference is that you must loosen your body a little bit and your feet must not be parallel but at an angle of 45 degrees and your shoulder like the previous Daichi.
- Kiba Daichi – this is known as the horse stance and your legs must be wide apart but your feet must be parallel and your arms must be parallel to your legs. This is is a little bit complicated and you can take the help online to see pictures of the stance to know better.
- Shiko Daichi – this is the same as the previous Daichi however you must loosen your body a little bit and your feet must be at an angle of 45 degrees and not parallel. This stance is known as the horse stance open feet.
These were the few basic stanzas that you must master before you go into a little bit of the more complex stances and other battle stances.
After you master all of the stances you must progress into bodily actions such as kicks and punches and blocks and attacks. And we also suggest that you procure a sandbag to help you emulate an enemy. You can buy any online guide or make your own after seeing the videos by our renowned instructor the Jerry Bola on Karate online and master all the moves and defence positions of karate and become a confident person.
