Over the years, I have read Funakoshi Sensei’s precepts many times over and even though they seem simple on the surface, they have to become your own to be truly understood.
I am starting this series of articles with precept 11, “Karate is like boiling water, if you do not heat it constantly, it will cool.â€
This is one precept that I can honestly say I follow every day. If you are not training Karate each and every day, you will not improve as much as if you did.
To me, this is a very simple concept. If you train every day, you will improve. I am not saying that you have to do a full Karate class or spend five hours working on kihon but if you do a single kata or a small group of kihon movements, your Karate will improve.
For example, I make myself do at least one kata each day. This can be a short kata, like Tekki Shodan or a long kata like Kanku Dai or Gojushiho Sho. The best part is, you can do the kata however you like.
You can move in, slow motion or fast, with no power or full power, with rhythm or no rhythm or you can work only on sections of the kata that you want to improve. The key is to do something every day that will make your Karate better.
You can even break it down further by doing on a technique or two a few times. I find that doing ten-no-kata with something as simple as stepping into a front stance with a front punch a few times is better than nothing.
For those who truly do not want to even the simple drills like the ones above, you can watch a video or read a blog, like this, to find ways to keep your mind in it. Watching a video on Youtube.com of a kata or kata application will also keep the Karate water boiling.
Please leave a comment below and let us know how you keep your Karate boiling.
Be sure to check back soon for the next, out of order, Funakoshi Sensei precepts.