The concept of generating power through softness in martial arts is nothing new, but it is something that I personally feel is under-emphasized and not practiced enough in Shotokan karate.
I am reminded of this concept from time to time when I notice students tensing up and stopping their techniques short of the end of the full range of motion, often in an effort to feel like they are generating power by making kime. Those who have trained for several years have probably witnessed karate-ka who are so intent on making kime that they prematurely arrest their punches, or pull them short, by contracting all of their muscles at the same time. This is making shime rather than kime. Usually these karate-ka appear to be working hard, as their brow is furrowed, facial muscles are tensed, and breathing is heavy. To the untrained eye, it looks that they are generating very strong techniques. Yet as is true with all martial arts, it is often what is happening on the inside that matters most, not what appears superficially on the exterior.
Yet as is true with all martial arts, it is often what is happening on the inside that matters most, not what appears superficially on the exterior.
When considering the example of choku-zuki (“straight punch”), I personally feel that when practicing kihon and executing the punch through the full range of motion, the arm should travel towards the target without suddenly being stopped before it has fully completed its trajectory. The point at which the punch stops should be the instant when the arm has fully completed its path forward and is in a state of rebounding back towards the body before sub-maximal contraction of the muscles fully stops the punch’s momentum, not suddenly before the trajectory has been completed.
Deeply contracting all of one’s muscles towards the end of a punch when it is still moving towards the target will feel strong, and it definitely will result in a large expenditure of energy when all of the repetitions are added up. However, I would argue that there is far more power generated and transferred through properly aligning and “whipping” the joints in order for the controlled momentum generated from the ground up through the posterior kinetic chain to transfer into the target. This method might not initially feel as strong, especially when just striking at air, because it is not as immediately taxing on the body. That being said, properly controlling and timing the sequence of the kinetic chain is not a simple feat and can be a challenge to reflexively employ in techniques for many. I believe this to be a more efficient method of generating and transferring power, and when applied to resistance such as the heavy bag, the benefits of this method should become clear from the biofeedback received on making impact. This is what I refer to as power through softness, and it is one of the methods of generating power that I strive to constantly imbue in my karate techniques.
The Benefits of Tension
After teaching and observing beginner students, especially young children, I’ve noticed that contracting all of one’s muscles at the end of a technique is usually not something that one naturally does when training. Rather, it is learned – either from our seniors when we are first learning how to shape techniques, or from watching others who appear strong and trying to emulate how they look.
Tensing the right muscles towards the end of a technique is not incorrect – in fact, it is protective at the end range of motion because it prevents hyperextension and joint damage.
Those with normal joint proprioception intuitively know not to fully lock out their limbs, in karate or in any activity in life, so the only time I see karate-ka who actually fully extend their joints when making techniques are those who take too literally the instructor who tells them to “punch straight” or to not let their elbow flare out. Actual hyperextension of a joint can be very painful, so please don’t misconstrue this article to mean that one should lock out their joints when executing techniques.
In addition to protecting the joints from hyperextension, some degree of contraction is necessary on impact to ensure that all the joints are aligned and connected so that no part of the kinetic chain buckles. This also lessens the penetration of the counterforce transferred from the target through the striking part of the body.
But in the case of both joint protection and making kime, the contraction that occurs is sub-maximal, and the technique still follows the entire natural range of motion. The main issue is when muscular contraction increases before the target has been reached, and when the sequence of contraction is synchronized to the point of blunting momentum and hindering its transfer into the target.
Some brief terminology
I will save the etymology and background of the relevant terminology used in this article for the very informative resources that I link at the bottom of this page, but for now it is worth very briefly touching on the biomechanics of muchimi and chinkuchi. For my personal thoughts regarding the use of Japanese or Okinawan terms in training, see my article here. In general, I prefer to focus more on the biomechanics behind a technique rather than the label given to the biomechanics.
Muchimi:
There are two different forms of muchimi. The one being referenced in this discussion relates to generating a whip-like motion throughout the body to transfer momentum that has been increased through the joints of the body in rapid succession from the ground up into the desired target.
Chinkuchi:
Chinkuchi can refer to suddenly contracting the muscles around the joints involved in a technique to provide stability behind it. This is done specifically at the end of a technique to transfer momentum into the desired target, and is powerful because it imparts one’s body mass or feeling of center behind a technique. This is not the same as prematurely arresting a technique by contracting all of the muscles at the same time. The difference will become clear in a minute, especially once muchimi is used together with chinkuchi.
Chinkuchi as it relates to helping generate the whip-like feeling of muchimi refers more to the sudden contraction and relaxation of muscles to help transfer momentum in a chained succession through the joints of the body into a technique.
In essence, each moment along the kinetic chain utilizes chinkuchi, but the overall whip-like feeling of the chain is a type of muchimi.
Illustrating power through softness
Let’s draw a comparison which is overly simplified and thus replete with errors in physics, but that I hope will still help illustrate this concept. This comparison can be applied to any technique, regardless of whether it is a snapping or thrusting sort of movement. The application will be different between the two, but the core principle remains the same.
Visualize your body as a whip that is about to be cracked.
Now let’s try and analyze this visual in the sequence of motion of a punch. From a stationary position, the hips are like the arm that flicks the hand and initiates the uncoiling of the whip. Momentum is transferred from the ground up through the legs, up the trunk as the abdominal muscles tense, through the latissimus dorsi, into the shoulder, down the arm, and ending at the fist. As the momentum travels up the body and through the arm, each joint represents an area where velocity can be increased. Momentum can be bolstered with careful timing as each preceding and formerly relaxed segment of the kinetic chain from the hips to the fist is contracted just enough in rapid succession. The result is that the velocity of the hand has been maximized, while at the moment of impact, the entire body mass is being transferred through the technique. This is a type of application of chinkuchi.
When holding a whip, the arm is quickly raised and lowered, and then the hand holding the handle of the whip is rapidly flicked, causing the velocity of the whip to increase from the handle all the way down to the tip of the whip. Initially after the whip has been flicked, at the very start of the uncoiling, the entire mass of the whip is moving forward at a slow velocity. The velocity then increases down the whip as it uncoils, and the previous segment of a whip “stops moving.” It is getting hit with the tip that deals maximum damage, not receiving contact with an earlier segment of the whip. Momentum is equal to mass x velocity, so in a closed system, this means that momentum is maintained throughout the motion of the whip but that the velocity of the whip increases along the whip as its mass decreases until just before the tip. This explanation is similar to the concept of increasing velocity through the kinetic chain when making a punch, and is an application of muchimi, although in a much more rapid fashion.
Impediments to generating power through softness
It is very hard to do this if one’s whole body is already tense at the initiation of a technique. Achieving a state of relaxation and being able to control the alternating of relaxing and contracting one’s muscles is essential to having fluidity in movement. If you find yourself naturally tense or lacking suppleness in your muscles, work on improving flexibility to improve basal relaxation so you can achieve the degree of contrast necessary to utilize this method of generating power.
If any part of the kinetic chain is out of physical alignment or out of temporal synchronization with the rest of the chain, the potential to maximally transfer momentum is lost. Imagine if instead of momentum travelling smoothly down the whip, different portions of the whip stopped moving at different times rather than in succession. Or imagine if one of the last segments of the whip was stiff while the rest of the whip remained loose and limp. Would the whip still generate lots of power? Of course. But could it be made to be more efficient and powerful? Absolutely.
Softness in snap vs. thrust
The way this method of generating power is manipulated is not always the same in every movement. Broadly speaking, it can vary depending on whether the technique is executed using a snap or a thrust. In the case of a thrusting technique, there is a stacked connection throughout the entire movement, as each joint aligns behind the one distal to it, and it is often the most distal joint of the striking limb that leads the technique. During a snapping technique, there is a disconnect and sharp change in direction in the chain of motion, such that a proximal joint may move forward before the most distal joint. This difference is classically seen in the differing executions of yoko-geri keage (side-snap kick) versus yoko-geri kekomi (side-thrust kick).
Warming up
I sometimes use a simple exercise during warm-up before training to facilitate achieving a loose and whipping state of relaxation.
Try letting the arms hang limp by the sides and then loosely fling them from left to right without any tension in the upper extremities. At the same time, rotate the torso from the ground-up at the ankles and then the hip joints. If very relaxed, the upper limbs often start to move in the opposite direction of the hips and torso, and take on a whip-like effect. If this feeling is harnessed, it can be applied to any technique in a controlled and efficient manner.
Developing power through softness
A helpful way of developing power through softness is to try to simulate a wave being generated through the body from the ground up.
Start by staying as relaxed as possible and try and execute a punch from a standing position by first rotating or vibrating the hips, and then letting that momentum travel up to the shoulder where it is then sent down to the elbow and then to the hand.
Initiating the punch using hip rotation as opposed to hip vibration at first can help give an understanding for the chain effect desired, because hip rotation takes longer than hip vibration and thus there is more of a discernible delay between the hips moving and then the shoulder sending the energy down the arm. Recognizing this delay and being able to consistently produce it will then make it less likely that you disrupt the chain once you start to speed things up.
Once you can simulate the wave of energy traveling through the hip joints and then to the hand in a smooth and chained succession, try to start the punch from the ground up.
Start with big and circular motions and then slowly whittle the movement down to where it looks like you are barely moving the body to initiate the punch. Focus on starting the chain of action with a strong and rapid twitch or muscular spasm.
Conclusion
Being able to hit something powerfully is not dependent on whether or not you have trained in martial arts. Nor does it require being extremely strong. If you hit someone in the face, the groin, or any other sensitive part of the body, you will cause damage. How much damage and how efficiently it is delivered is a different matter.
Hopefully the comparison of cracking a whip to generating a punch illustrates that contracting all of the muscles at the same time at the end of a technique without a prior whip-like initiation and completion of trajectory is not very effective. It decreases momentum in all parts of the arm, which hinders transfer into the target. Instead, the tensing should first be done sequentially, from hips (or feet) to fist, proximally to distally, and with correct alignment, tension, and timing. At the moment of impact, synchronized contraction can then be used to enable maximum transfer of momentum and the feeling of one’s center or body weight behind a technique.
This is power through softness.
Give the methodology some thought and the exercises a try and see what you think. Most importantly, once you feel like you can apply the principles, implement them against resistance like a heavy-weight bag or makiwara. Compare the biofeedback you receive to that from how you are currently striking and determine for yourself which method is more powerful and if this is a useful principle in your training.
SUPPLEMENTAL READING:
Standard disclaimer: Any time I list references to other reading, I am not endorsing any individuals or organizations, nor am I verifying or vouching for the content. Usually I will highlight what I feel are examples of good karate demonstrating the principle or concept I am discussing. My goal is for this article to be an asset to you and your training. My sensei would always say that sometimes all it takes is another person articulating or demonstrating what you have already heard a 1000 times for the light bulb to go off and for something to finally make sense. Hopefully these resources supplement what I have written. Let me know if you come across any other good explanations or videos and I will update this article to include them. Happy training!
- In these videos, Rick Hotton demonstrates what he calls “relaxed heaviness”, applying one’s body weight to a technique, and demonstrates whipping movement:
- Rick Hotton demonstrating “relaxed heaviness”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31UIlhawS-I
- Rick Hotton in another example of applying one’s center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Xz_nqKICA
- Whipping movement generated through softness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF0vOzXMtp8
- Rick Hotton demonstrating “relaxed heaviness”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31UIlhawS-I
- Andre Bertel describes softness: http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2007/06/from-hardness-to-complete-softness.html
- Chinkuchi reading:
- Muchimi reading:
1 Comment
I liked the article. Very detailed and readable. I think the techniques you describe are applicable to many sports such as badminton and field hockey where wrist action is needed to propel the burst or ball.