Karate - the Right Technique, at the Right Time

Today was the first day I returned to karate since my holiday in Hong Kong. As the lesson progressed I realized while my fitness had improved leaps and bounds with the weight training I had used to supplement my karate conditioning, my technique was still relatively shoddy, even for a beginner. I ruminated over the possibilities. Did I forget the basics? My cardio wasn't off; I would skip rope for 30 minutes straight, and when I ran or rode the exercycle my minimum time was 45 minutes. I thought my beginner's skills were dulled after a month overseas. Yet as I practiced, my stances were, for the most part, would pass for good form, and my punching seemed okay.

Then I realized my technique and my reflexes were responding appallingly to our sensei's instructions. An example: One of the drills was to execute a front kick with our front foot, attack with a jab and then a straight before kicking with our back foot. I would mix up the front kick and almost always stuff up the sequence of punches: straight then jab, jab, jab then straight; all manner of sequences except what we had been instructed to do. And my jab was horrible anyway.

I think the nature of such drills are not imprinted into my mind properly. I think if someone was actually watching me, it would look less like a drill and more like a freestyle combination attack (done poorly). How to rectify this? Well, certainly more practice. But karate has countless drills that require an alert and focused mind. How can one practice the drills that are suited for his or her level successfully? I think another method of training is required: Imprinting. I call it imprinting because in principle it is similar to calligraphy writing - one will repeat the technique over and over until it is "imprinted" into his or her mind. That is an ideal of near-perfection that takes many years to realize.

I will think more on the "Imprinting" method. Perhaps I can even devise a workout centered around this concept. Doubtless it will be among the hardest workouts I can do. ;-)