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Traditional Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate / Self defense for children, teenagers and adults
- We offer
- What is Karate
- Training structure
We offer
Self-defence and Reaction
By practicing karate you gain better control over your body and increase your self-confidence. Statistics prove that self-confident people are less likely to become a victim of aggression. Also the responsiveness is constantly trained and thus improved. On the one hand, this has a positive effect on everyday areas of life (e.g. in traffic), on the other hand, defences and other techniques are automatically called upon in emergency situations through regular practice, since they turn into reflexes.
Concentration and Discipline
Every beginner first learns to execute individual basic techniques cleanly, and later to apply them in combinations and partner exercises, in order to realistically simulate attack and defense without hurting eachother. This requires highest concentration and a lot of self-discipline.
Health and Character building
Karate keeps physical and mental fitness into old age, since the circulation is driven, the entire musculature is used and the brain isconstantly triggered. Regular training expands the personal limits of mobility and agility. In addition, karate teaches a philosophy of life that can have a positive impact on the character development; especially for children.
WHat is Karate?
The japanese word "karate" means "empty hand". This martial art is characterized by weaponless techniques. It therefore mainly includes punching, kicking and blocking techniques. But also levers, throws, strangleholds and nerve point techniques are taught. Discipline, condition, mobility and resilience as well as concentration and speed are required.
training Structure
The fascination of traditional martial arts lies in the training of body and mind. Traditional karate does not only consider physical aspects, but also the training of mind and character or the inner attitude. The training is based on three big pillars: the Kihon, the Kumite and the Kata.
Kihon
The word "Kihon" means "base/foundation". It is the elementary school of karate and thus represents the basis of this martial art. It contains all basic techniques (stances, attacks, defences). The aim is to be able to recall these techniques in a fighting situation reflexively, which requires a lot of practice and repetition. Therefore, they are always repeated for the purpose of automation.
What is often mistakenly seen as stubborn memorization, however, requires a good understanding for correct execution. Breaking down the individual movement sequences into their constituent parts makes it easier to gain understanding and thus to optimize execution. In our training it is therefore important to convey that every movement, no matter how small, be it "only" the turning of a fist or the slight bending of a knee, has its meaning and its function. This is the only way to build on the basic techniques.
Kata
The Kata is a certain sequence of basic techniques. It represents a form of exercise against imaginary opponents and combines basic techniques from the elementary school (Kihon). A Kata kind of represents the whole repertoire of a Karateka. Accordingly, a student learns a new kata with every level he or she attains. As in Kihon, there are also different ways of executing the kata. The Karateka can concentrate on the interplay of tension and relaxation of individual muscles, or on the speed or strength with which he performs the techniques. Consequently. Katas are often part pf competitions.
The so-called bunkais represent applications of single sequences of such a kata with an opponent. They are the link between Kihon, Katas and the Kumite, i.e. theory and practice. The continuation of it then forms the Kata Renzoku (entire technique sequence of the Kata is executed on a line with an opponent). The higher the level, the more variations are possible.
Kumite
The word "Kumite" means "connected hands" and represents the free fight in karate training. A requirement for fighting with one (or more) opponent(s) is a correct understanding and sufficient practice of the basic techniques from elementary school. Finally, the Kumite shall simulate real self-defence situations. In these situations the fighter often stops shortly before the goal. The strikes are often only hinted at (especially in the head region). This requires extreme body control. Therefore, the many masters often only teach those techniques that are easy to execute and even easier to control. Techniques that would be used in a real/serious fight are mostly classified as "unsportsmanlike" or "difficult to control". As a result, some karate techniques are hardly or not at all taught by many teachers. However, at our karate school such techniques are also learned, since we practice traditional karate with focus on self-defence. As Kata, also the free fight (Kumite) is part of competitions.
PARTNER EXERCISES, EQUIPMENT, FITNESS AND MUCH MORe...
Based on those three pillars, the training is accordingly diverse and varied. Regular stretching, strength training to strengthen the musculature with or without equipment, partner exercises with or without pillows, etc. Conditioning, coordination and reaction exercises are also fixed components of our training.