Traditional development
Kumite principle
Jiyu kihon 自由基本
Free basics
What it is
In plain words
Basic techniques practised from free-fighting stance and guard, moving, rather than from formal stances on a count. It is the translation layer between kihon and kumite, and the place where techniques that work on the spot are rebuilt to work while moving.
5 points
How it is taught.
The trigger that starts it, the distance and timing it needs, the decision it represents, and what it costs when it is wrong.
- Mechanics
- The same techniques as formal kihon, thrown from kamae with free footwork, without a chamber at the hip and without a count.
- Distance
- Free-fighting distance throughout.
- Timing
- Self-selected, or on a partner’s movement.
- The decision
- Which technique the stance and distance actually allow, rather than which one the count called for.
- Application
- Everything that transfers from kihon into kumite passes through here.
2 faults
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Fault
Reverting to formal chambering.
Why it happens. Habit from kihon.
The fix. Practise in front of a mirror; a hand dropping to the hip is unmistakable.
Fault
Losing technical quality because the stance is free.
Why it happens. Treating "free" as "approximate".
The fix. The hip rotation, the hikite and the kime are unchanged. Only the stance and the chamber differ.
Practice
Drills
- Formal kihon technique, then the same technique from kamae moving, back to back.
- Moving up and down the floor in kamae throwing single techniques on no count at all.
Kumite ↔ kihon ↔ kata
What it connects to.
Techniques
- Gyaku-zuki Reverse punch
- Kizami-zuki Jab, leading-hand punch
- Mae-geri Front kick
- Mawashi-geri Roundhouse kick
- Ashi-sabaki Footwork
3 terms
The Japanese, explained.
- Kihon 基本
- Basics, fundamentals. The individual techniques practised in isolation and in simple combinations. The vocabulary the other two divisions of karate are written in.
- Kamae 構え
- Guard, posture of readiness. The position taken up facing an opponent — feet, hips, hands and eyes together. A good kamae threatens without committing, and gives away nothing about what is coming.
- Jiyu kumite 自由組手
- Free sparring. Free practice with neither attack nor defence prearranged. Not the same thing as competition, which adds rules, scoring and a referee.