NON-CONTACT JAPANESE KARATE© 
About the Author:  Mike Govek

One of the most frequently asked questions about non-contact karate related to practicing techniques that may or may not be effective -- "how do you know it works if you never hit anything?" -- you may have asked this yourself.  What follows may shed a little light on the subject.

Non-contact karate is a child of modern times. Historically, karate was quite deadly. In Okinawa and other places in the Far East, the peasants were oppressed by the ruling class. Weapons were not allowed, and the times were violent. Karate, or empty hand combat, was used for defense and practiced secretly, with techniques passed from teacher to student. Empty hand fighting was the only defense available. As recently as last century people practiced in secret because discovery held severe consequences, even death.

As karate developed, it became a 'do', a way of life, a road or journey. People no longer fear facing life or death situations daily, yet still practiced the art. Lack of need for defense has not diminished the effectiveness of karate techniques, but has allowed the art to expand beyond that needed for physical protection.

The safety of performing non-contact techniques has been introduced for basically two reasons. The first is very practical. The courts and public opinion no longer look kindly on serious injury caused by sports. In this day of overabundant lawsuits and escalating insurance costs, no one could afford to run a truly contact karate dojo. Secondly, the benefits of karate have been extended to people from many walks of life. Many are not highly talented with speed and strength necessary to be a truly proficient karateka on national or international competitive levels. The benefits derived from the physical exercise and artistic aspects are enough for many students of karate.

Today karate can be thought to involve five aspects; physical exercise, mental discipline, self-defense, art and sport. Each karateka is involved for a particular set of reasons that may include some or all of these aspects. In any case, the karateka is, and should be, concerned with the safety in the art.

With this rather lengthy introduction, two general statements will be made:

1). During training in karate, in no way should speed be abridged, power curbed, or commitment to techniques be less than complete.

2). Absolute control should always be maintained over the technique.

Shotokan, or JKA Karate, is a traditional style of karate. One of the elements of art that is continually maintained is discipline. Discipline involves training hard, total concentration and commitment to techniques, stable emotions and respect for other individuals. Respect for training partners is partly evidenced by the safety factor that is always introduces into the training methods.

The primary safety factor is distance -- maai. In the beginners training, the distance between the technique and the target is rather large -- about twelve inches to the face and six inches to the body. As the control of distance becomes more refined, the distance between the technique and the target narrows to within fractions of an inch. The shortening of the distance happens very gradually as the skill of the participant improves. With this safety factor, there is no need to hold back on speed or power.

The safety factor also includes control of body position and technique. Blatant disregard of body position and lack of control of the techniques are the two main causes of injury in karate training. In training mistakes are made. People do move in the wrong direction. In the end it is the responsibility of the participants to prevent serious injury. That includes making that final and very split second decision not to focus a technique that could have actually made contact.

Karate training objectives include continually practicing techniques that are within a fraction of an inch from the target. Many people consider this pulling the punch. This is absolutely not the case. It must be remembered that the distance that is left between the technique and the target is not adjusted by the fist to the body distance. The distance is adjusted from body center to body center -- bellybutton to bellybutton, as it were. The technique itself does not change at all. In order to make contact with the target, a slight shifting of the body is all that is necessary. If the focus is one-half inch away from the target, a shift of only one inch will cause a one-half inch penetration. This will then be a most effective technique. Technique remains pure and constant. Full power, full speed, and full attention -- with no changes. A powerful punch is easily changed into an effective punch. Truly powerful karate will result.

An unfortunate consequence of non-contact karate training is the effect on the reaction training of the defense person. There is a greater tendency to be lax on blocking and shifting techniques when one knows that the technique is not going to hurt. However, if one knew that a bruised rib was in order for not blocking, reaction would be much faster and more accurate. In many cases the defense person stops acknowledging effective techniques. This is dangerous because in real life situations, many of these techniques would have hit the target.

In many cases the offense person also becomes lax. This loss of intensity feeds on itself. At this point good karate training goes out the window. The defense person cannot train well because the offense person is not attacking with full commitment. The techniques are slower and typically not even on target. Full commitment to the techniques, on target, with full power and full speed are essential to good, effective karate training.

The concept of total commitment to the finishing technique is what separates traditional karate from all the other variations of karate, such as those seen on television. These styles many times relate more to boxing with its continuous punching techniques and little or no focus (kime). This distinction is becoming more and more important as traditional karate gains a place as an Olympic sport.

Is there a time when intensity would be tempered? When the general intensity of a class is low, quick changes in the intensity can be dangerous. Students will not be ready for it. Also, when there is large disparity in energy levels of the participants it is important to be careful. This usually occurs when black and brown belts are training against lower belts. The lower ranked people can be easily overwhelmed. For those ranks of brown belt and above who are training together, of course, there are no excuses.

Some people in non-contact karate will train with light to medium body contact -- the proverbial thumping. This method of training does do its job in teaching people fast reactions and respect for techniques. In fact, it can be used in some instances as a training tool by the Sensei and sometimes the Sempai. However, for karateka without the necessary high degree of control it is not recommended. A regular diet of thumping will eventually lead to less than optimum techniques due to the fact that the techniques will be 'pulled'.   True focus of the technique is not achieved. This is not good for karate training.

To return to the question posed above: "How can one learn to hit when no contact is ever made?" - A valid question indeed, and a very important one.

The act of striking a target involves a very complex and very fast series of events. The contact of a punch to the target translates energy through the body, through the heel, and to the floor. The body must make some very intricate adjustments and muscle contractions to translate this force to a shock wave back to the target. The way to practice this body connection in translating the force of the technique is by using the makiwara board. The makiwara board is an essential part of non-contact karate training. This is where effective techniques are learned. Repetitive use of the makiwara develops the ability to understand the resistance of a target to the force of the technique. If the makiwara is not used, effective karate is very elusive, if not impossible to obtain.

Training partners are protected a little bit if pads are used, but full power techniques are still not developed. Punches are still pulled. The pads do not protect that well. People still get hurt.

In the final analysis, effective karate techniques can be developed with the non-contact style of karate. In fact, more technically correct, more powerful technique can be developed with this system. It remains the responsibility of the participants to have the necessary respect and discipline during training. This means training hard, with total concentration and commitment to the techniques, maintaining stable emotions, and respecting the safety of your fellow karateka.