About Junbi Undo—Part 1 | YMAA

In an Okinawan karate dojo, warming-up exercises are known as junbi undo, preparation exercises. Within many Western schools of karate today ... 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Whileitisnotmyintentiontodenytheimportanceofwarmingupbeforekaratetrainingofanysortbeginsinearnest,ithastobesaidthattheactivitiesengagedinunderthisbannercanoftenfallshortwhenitcomestothequestionofpreparingthebodyandmindforthedemandsofkarate.Whileaerobicfitnessandmuscularstrengtharenodoubtimportant,thestrongbodyandcalmmindrequiredintraditionalkarateisbasedontheunderstandingofyourbodyweightandhow,throughtheconnectionwiththegroundandacalmandfocusedmind,thatbodyweightcanbebestusedtodealwithandmanipulatetheforceofanattack.Whileallhellmaybegoingonaroundus,westrivetoremaincalminside.Inkarate,wetrytobetheeyeofthestorm. WithintheGojuryutraditionofOkinawankarate,aseriesofexerciseshavebeenhandeddownsincethedaysofChojunMiyagi,thetradition’sfounder.Theseexercisesareintendedtonotonlywarmupthebody,makingitreadyfortraining,butalsotoengagetheparticularmusclesandtendonsusedinthevarioustechniquesofkarate.Theyalsoplayanadditionalroleoffocusingthemindonaparticularpartofthebodyastheroutineisworkedthrough,thusgivinganearlyappreciationforsomeoftheposturesand“feelings”youaresearchingforinyourkaratetechnique.BecausealmostallofthetechniquesofGojuryukaratearesharedtosomeextentbyotherschoolsofmartialarts,thissetofjunbiundoexercisesshouldnotbeconsideredasbeingsolelybeneficialtoGojuryupractitionersalone. Inthemain,therearetwokindsofjunbiundoexercises.Thefirststretchesthemusclesandtendonsandloosensupthejoints,whichhelpstopromotesupplenessandincreasetherangeofmotioninthemovingpartsofthebody.Thisgroupbeginstostirthebloodandraisethebody’stemperature.Thesecondgroupofexercisesisdonetobuildstrengthandstaminainthemajormusclegroupsofthebodyandtoincreaseyourmentalpowersofendurance.Overtime,thesetwoformsofjunbiundocombinedenablesthetechniquesofkaratetobeperformedwellwithintherangeofthekarateka’smentalstrengthandphysicalsuppleness.Thisinturnallowshimtomovefreelyandwithoutthestressesimposedonalesssuppleorhealthybody.Themindaswell,familiarwiththelimitsofthebody,iscalmandmoreabletoachievethatrelaxedstateofconcentrationneededtodealsuccessfullywithconflict. Beginningwiththetoesandworkingverticallyupthroughthebodytotheneck,thefirstsetofexercisesisanexcellentwaytopreparebothphysicallyandmentallyfortherigorsofthetrainingtocomeandtopointyourattentiondirectlytowardspecificposturesandpositionsencounteredlaterintheactionsofkarate.Theseexercises,orsomethinglikethem,shouldbeconsideredasmuchapartofyourkaratetrainingasablock,apunch,orakick.WhatfollowsarethedrillsIteachandarepracticedinmydojobeforeeverytrainingsession. Evenwhentheentiretrainingisgivenovertohojoundo,theseexercisesarestilldonebecausestudentsshouldneverattempttoliftheavyweightsfromscratchwithoutpreparingtheirbodyandmindinsomewayfirst.Todosoistoinvitethepossibilityoftornmuscles,tendons,orperhapsevensomethingworse.Thefibersofthemusclesworkbetterwhenprepared;soremember,youshockthemintoactivityatyourperil.Alltheseexercisesshouldbeconsideredgeneralwarmingupdrills,albeitspecifictokarate. Toimproveyourflexibilityandmuscularstrengthtotheirfullpotential,youshouldseekexpertguidancefromaqualifiedteacherofyoga,gymnastics,orweightlifting. Junbi-Undo1—Beginbystandinginheikodachi(naturalstance,FigureA),restingthehandsonthehips,andfocusingyourattentiononthesolesofthefeet(teisoku).Spreadthetoesaswidelyaspossibleandtrytomakeasmuchsurfacecontactwiththegroundasyoucan. Fromhereliftupyourbigtoe(FigureB)andholdforasecondbeforereturningittotheground,grippingthefloor,andliftingthesmallertoes(FigureC)offtheground.Thisexchangeisrepeatedatleasttentimes.Thebigtoeuppositionisthesameposturemadewiththefootwhenkickingyokogeri(sidekick).Withthebigtoedownandthesmalltoesup,thisfootpositionisusedinkatawhenturningfrontonfromasidewardstance,asinthegekisaikata,i.e.,whenmovingfromheikodachitosanchindachiafterthejodanshutouchi(headheightopen-handstrike).Itisalsofoundtowardtheendofthekatasaifawhenmovingonfromthesecondchudanurazukiintosanchindachi,tothrowhidarijodangyakuzuki(leftsidehead-heightpunch). Standinginheikodachi(FigureA)andplacingyourweightononeleg,raisetheoppositeheelandgripthefloorwiththetoeswithasmuchstrengthaspossible.Twisttheheelinwardtowardthestandingleg(FigureD),butdonotallowthetoestolosetheirgrip;holdforfourorfivesecondsbeforereleasingthetension.Thistwistingexerciseshouldberepeatedatleasttentimeswitheachfoot.Overtime,thisdrillincreasesthestrengthofthetoesandimprovestheiroveralldexterity.Thisisimportantinkarate,asoftenwithinkatasubtlecontroltacticsusingthetoesareemployed.Oneexampleoccursimmediatelyafterthekicksinthegekisaikata,andintheGojuryukatasuparinpeiwheretheyprecedetheawasezuki(doublepunch)isyetanother.Intheseandotherkata,thetoesareplacedontheopponent’sfoottokeephimfromretreatingandtoholdhimthereforthestrikethatfollows.Duringthistime,thebigtoeisusedtoapplypressureonavitalspotjustabovetheopponent’stoes(kori). Placingyourbodyweightononeleg,rollthetoesoftheoppositefootbackandforthonthefloorbeforemakingacircularmotion(FigureE).Allowsomeweighttobebroughttobearonthetoesbeingrolledandtakecaretorollthebigtoe.Thisexerciseincreasesyourawarenessofthetoesandimprovestheoveralldexterityofthebigtoe,aweaponsooftenleftoutofthekaratearsenal,andyet,onethatcanhaveamind-numbingeffectwhenappliedcorrectlyasdescribedinthepreviousexercise.Ourbigtoealsoprovidesuswiththeabilitytobalanceproperlyandourunderstandingofitsrelationshipwiththegroundisvitalforourstability. Withthehandsrestingonthehips,raisethebodyupontotheballsofthefeet(koshi)andholdfortwoorthreeseconds(FigureF).Thispostureworksthetendonatthebackoftheankle(Achillestendon),stretchesthecalfmuscles,andaidsintheacquisitionofgoodbalance. Placingthefeetbackonthefloor(FigureG),rockbackwardontheheels(FigureH)beforereturningtotheoriginalpositionontheballsofthefeet.Warmingupthetendonsandcalfmusclesoftheleg,thefirstpostureontheballsofthefeetisalsothefootpositionfoundinakaratefrontkick(maegeri).Whenontheheels,thisfootpositionisfoundintheGojuryukataseisan,towardtheendwhenkickingwiththeheelintothelowertorsoorbladderofanopponent(kakatogeri).IntheShotokankataunsu,thiskindofkickisalsousedtogreateffectabouttwo-thirdsofthewaythroughthekata,6althoughinthatparticularschoolofkaratethetechniqueisalsoknownaskesagegeri. Junbi-Undo2—Keepingthearmpitsclosedtightly,holdthearmsoutinfrontofthebodywiththepalmsofthehandsopenandfirm.Springingoffthefloorwiththeankles,shoottheknees,alternately,intotheopenhandsinasteadyandrhythmicalwaymakingasmuchimpactwiththepalmofthehandaspossible.Thismovementnotonlypreparesthelegsforactionlaterinthekaratetrainingproper,butalsohelpsspotlighttheactualmechanicsinvolvedintheexecutionofakickwiththeknee(heizageri). Junbi-Undo3—Returningthehandstothehips,standontheleftlegandraisetherightkneesothatthethighislevel;doingthishelpsdevelopbalance.Rotatetheankle,firstclockwiseandthencounterclockwise.Thenflickthebottompartofthelegoutasifkicking.Keepthelegrelaxedwhileyoudothisandremembertoformthefootproperlyasifdoingakaratefrontkick(maegeri).Repeatthisbystandingontherightlegandraisingtheleftknee. AbouttheAuthor MichaelClarkeMichaelClarke,Kyoshi8thdan.BorninDublin,Ireland,inMay1955,MichaelmovedtoManchester,Englandwithhisfamilyin1958.Therehegrewupenjoyingaveryhappy,butfinanciallydeprived,childhood.Attheyoungerendofsixchildrenhecametounderstandearlyon,thatlifewastough,itwasn'talwaysfair,butitwasalwaysworthliving.Hisofficialschoolingwas'basic'andhecompletedthemandatorytenyearsrequiredbylaw,butleftschoolattheearliestopportunity, …More » RelatedArticles AboutJunbiUndo—Part2byMichaelClarke,Aug.22,2010 "Liftthingsproperly,hitthingswithcare",thismaximshouldbeattheforefrontofyourmindwhenembarkinguponthestudyof... 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