Outdoor Makiwara DIY

Now that spring has arrived in the Inland Northwest it's time to bring our training outdoors! Whether you're looking to build a replica of Chojun Miyagi Sensei's garden dojo or simply get some additional weekend training, we'll show you how to build your own personal makiwara with minimal effort and cost. Excluding tools I already owned, which could also be borrowed, I only spent about $10.

This hoju undo staple can be found in every Goju-Ryu dojo, and for good reason. The makiwara is an excellent impact tool with a variety of training benefits, including:

-Resistance Training: Just as with heavy bags, striking the makiwara prepares one for real self-defense scenarios that punching in the air simply cannot provide. Are your punches solid or will they bounce off? Are you punching with the correct knuckles? Is one side weaker than the other? The makiwara provides immediate feedback for karateka and allows them to develop the full-body strength necessary for powerful strikes.

Higaonna Sensei's knuckles. Taken from The Art of Hojo Undo

-Conditioning: Repeated striking against solid objects conditions karateka both physically and mentally. Training your mind to accept the feel of hitting solid objects is crucial for handling real self-defense situations and cannot be replicated through light contact or zero-resistance training. Striking the makiwara also toughens the skin and bones through repeated contact. It is VERY important to note however, getting hands like Higaonna Sensei happens only after decades of very rigorous training. One should be considerate of their training level and health to avoid serious injury from over-usage. Hitting until your knuckles end up bloody and swollen will only leave you unable to attack effectively later.

-Targeting: The makiwara provides a narrower target for strikes than heavy bags and thus can be used to develop greater focus. The target can easily be adjusted for kicks of all heights and strikes from a variety of angles.

-Versatility: While mostly used for punching, makiwara can be used for nearly every strike and kick. Closed-fist strikes (such as punches and hammer fists), open strikes (palm and knife-hand, etc), knees, elbows, and kicks are all great for training on the makiwara. There's a reason it's so ubiquitous!

Higaonna Sensei performing tettsui uchi (hammer fist) on a makiwara

Now that we know why the makiwara is important, let's get to building!

Black cat optional

Materials:
-2x4 wood ($2.38 at Home Depot for 8ft, $3.84 for 10ft)
-Screws or nails, about 3 inches long (Varying price, but cheap)
-Clear spray paint to seal (I used Rust-oleum $3.87)
-Rubber or leather padding (Varying prices, I cut a piece off an old rubber mat)
-Saw
-Measuring tape
-Drill or hammer
-Shovel

Crossbeam positions

1. Saw off two 10in~ pieces of lumber from the 2x4. These will be the crossbeams. I used an 8ft piece of 2x4 which created a makiwara about 5ft high; taller karateka will want to use the 10ft ones.

2. Drill the two crossbeams onto your main frame. The front of the makiwara will have a beam across the bottom in the front; the rear of the makiwara will have a crossbeam about 1ft up and behind the frame.

3. Coat the entire thing with the clear coat spray paint. This will help the makiwara resist weathering. Designated wood protectorate exists, but the cost is high enough that it's cheaper to simply replace the makiwara multiple times over; the choice is yours.

4. While it dries, it's time to dig your hole! You'll want your makiwara buried about 2ft deep, ensuring that the crossbeams are fully buried. Pack the dirt in around the makiwara to hold it secure. Some prefer their makiwara leaning towards them when they hit for additional resistance, others like them straight.

5. Attach the makiwara pad. Shureido makes leather pads which can be tied to the post; I used a piece of rubber foam mat. I used hair ties to secure it, which will allow me to easily move the pad up or down depending on my needs while still holding it tight when I strike.

You're ready for training! Higaonna Sensei recommends 100 strikes per side each day, then eventually working up to as much as half an hour daily. Your training will, of course, depend on your schedule and training goals but you no longer have an excuse to forgo hojo undo!

Okinawan Nunchaku

Hello and Happy New Year from Ask the Makiwara!

What better way to start a new year of Goju-Ryu training than kobudo training. In translation, Okinawan Kobudo means "old martial way of Okinawa." For most practitioners, Kobudo refers to weapons training, so in this case we are referencing weapons and styles Okinawa.

The weapon that we are focusing on today is the Nunchaku. A weapon requiring intense focus and quick hands, most people outside of martial arts probably remember them wielded by Bruce Lee or a particular orange clad turtle.

Built in multiple fashions, the handles of the nunchaku can be made of wood, metal, plastic, or foam for those of us who may just be starting to learn how to wield them. The two pieces are connected by a chain or rope. Both the chain and handles can vary in lengths allowing for usability in the different styles that have formed. 

While the nunchaku is commonly known for its use in Okinawan and Japanese styles, it is not exclusive to these regions. It also finds a home in Filipino (Eskrima) and Korean (Hapkido) styles.

Stay tuned as we dive in more specific details of the Okinawan style of nunchaku!

Build Your Own: Chiishi

Hello!

In an effort to make karate training even more accessible & affordable for everyone, we'll be showing our readers how to build their own training tools. This article is about building your own chiishi!

I've seen basic 10lb chiishi advertised for as much as $60 each. I've even seen some fancier models advertised for over $100! I don't know about you, but as a teacher working my way through grad school I certainly don't have that kind of money. Plus, it's difficult to find appropriate weights. Some students may need lighter and others may prefer heavier chiishi.

If you have $10 and some elbow grease, you can make your own chiishi customized to your specifications.

All you need are:

-Concrete mix (found at most hardware stores)

-Dowels (cut to your desired length)

-A few nails or screws per dowel

-Stirring tool

-Chiishi moulds (we used Dollar Store mixing bowls, a deep pie tin, & a small bucket)

-Cooking spray

-Water

-Drill or hammer

Directions

1. Insert the screws or nails into one end of your dowel sticking out of the side. This will provide additional support to eliminate the risk of your dowel sliding out of the concrete onto your toes while training. 

When choosing a dowel, choose a wider one. Not only will this provide additional strength to the chiishi, but it will make your training more realistic. Gripping the chiishi should mimic the gripping we do when we grab an opponent's clothing or wrist. Too thin and you're missing this training point.

2. Spray your mould with cooking spray. This will allow the concrete to pull out smoothly when it's set.

3. Mix the concrete and water in your mould. I prefer using slightly less water than concrete but nearly a 50/50 ratio. 

4. Slide the nail-end of the dowel into the concrete mixture. If the concrete was properly mixed it should be solid enough to hold the dowel up straight. 

5. Wait overnight for it to set and then voila! You're one step closer to your own hojo undo collection. You'll likely have plenty of concrete mix leftover and your moulds are reusable. Experiment with using smaller or larger moulds to find a weight that suits you.

When adjusting sizes, it's better to have a mould that is wide but thin, like a pie, rather than compact. By moving the weight out you will increase the amount of inertia due to the change in the chiishi's center of gravity. This increases the force needed for you to stabilize the chiishi's weight & will activate more muscles, even with a lighter weight. You'll decrease the amount of work needed by pulling the weight in; think about figure skaters pulling their arms in for a spin. Train smarter for a better workout!

History of the Chiishi

Ask the Makiwara is all about exploring different aspects of Goju-Ryu karate, as well as how other martial arts may relate to it. This month we'll be exploring the chiishi, a tool used in hojo undo training.

Hojo undo is defined as "supplementary exercises." These are exercises designed to build strength, stamina, & speed through movements which reflect how we use karate. While pumping iron at the gym will build strength, it will not train the nuanced movements found in our style. As such, training with these simple tools is a crucial activity for all karateka.

Chiishi, which literally translates to "strength stone," is a large stone or cement block with a long dowel attached to its center. Gripping the dowel develops finger and wrist strength for grabbing while carrying & adjusting the balance of the stone develops power in one's upper body. We'll cover several exercises which use the chiishi in future entries.

Higaonna Sensei demonstrating two exercises utilizing chiishi. Taken from the Internet.

Like most hojo undo, chiishi were not developed specifically for karate training. In Okinawa, devices similar to chiishi with spinning cross pieces at the top were used to wind thread for textile production. 

An example of an early weaving tool found in an Okinawan museum. Photo taken from The Art of Hojo Undo by Michael Clarke.

Another possibility for the chiishi's inspiration is a mortar tool used for grinding in food production. Everyday objects would have been easily accessible for even the poorest karateka looking to improve their skills.

While chiishi are Okinawan in nature, there is some thought that there may be a connection in usage between their training exercises and the exercises used in Persia, India, & other Near East areas. These weighted clubs have been used in that area since antiquity for strength training purposes and are still used in many areas by wrestlers. Many of the traditional exercises share similarities with our own chiishi exercises. Due to Okinawa's strong trade ties with China, it's possible that India brought over not just the Buddhist ideas found in our style but also training methods. There is nothing concrete on this however and it is just speculation. 

A modern wrestler training with meel. Note the similarities in placement & grip. Taken from the Internet.

Join us next week to learn how to make your own chiishi!

European Gasshuku Day 4

I can't believe that tomorrow is our final day! This week has been so fantastic; it's just flown by. I'm finally adjusting to the heat during training and it's refreshing to still have a little pep by the end.

We started off our Shodan training with Nakamura Sensei. This hour was devoted to partner drills on locks, breaks, and chokes. It was great practice on some techniques I don't use nearly enough!

Our next hour was with Sensei Larsen. We focused on Seiyunchin and really broke it down. Sensei Larsen made a big point about how we need to avoid looking forward to our next test or kata so much that we forget to look inward at our previous learning. This has been a major part of my training towards Nidan. I'm realizing that Shodan is like being able to paint with broad strokes of primary colors; the point comes across but it lacks detail and beauty. The dan ranks are all about adding details and exploring the less obvious techniques and applications. There are kata I thought I knew well that I'm now realizing I only knew superficially!

He emphasized this by telling us that, with everyone removing their belts & not sharing their ranks, it should be clear from our techniques who was Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, etc. If it's not clear then you aren't training hard enough. Truly something to strive for.

Finally we worked with Kokubo Sensei & Yamashiro Sensei. Kokubo Sensei asked us what we wanted to work on & it was tied between Sanseru and Shisochin. We split with Yamashiro Sensei teaching Sanseru & Kokubo Sensei Shisochin. I chose Sanseru and we focused on maintaining our center of gravity for balance and power as well as fluidity in our movements with tanden. Then we moved onto Sepai and worked the same ideas. It was great to work on these black belt kata. I still have a lot to perfect with them so working under such a talented instructor was very beneficial! Yamashiro Sensei noted that some people were acting like Japanese Daruma dolls which have large, rounded bottoms and wobble. Watching him perform these kata while keeping perfect alignment was truly amazing!

Not only has the training been extremely beneficial, but the friendships made at these events are truly what makes the Gasshuku. I've trained with people from many different countries, met up with old international friends, and tonight a huge group went out for food and dancing. Sitting at a table with at least ten different languages being spoken and yet we're all sharing laughs and stories and bruises. Tomorrow is the last day training and I'm already looking forward to the Okinawa Budosai in 2016!

Photo taken during a break. These breaks are when we socialize, hydrate, and practice what we've learned.

European Gasshuku Days 1-3

¡Hola!

We're three days into training at the 30th European Gasshuku in beautiful Málaga, Spain and it's already been some of the most amazing training I've ever experienced. 

There are about 230 karateka here from a dozen countries all training in a large sport center called the Ciudad Deportiva Carranque. We get quite a few curious onlookers, especially astonished children coming from swimming lessons!

It is exceptionally hot in Málaga with temperatures easily reaching the 90*s by the time we begin training. Combine that with several hundred people exercising and our gi quickly become soaked in sweat. Gesturing to your wet gi and sighing or laughing is a standard ice breaker, no common language needed. At the end of our first day, Nakamura Snesei recommended we get in the shower with our gi on if we lacked laundry services; we laughed but as the days wear on it becomes more and more reasonable!

Every day we begin with about an hour of warm-ups led by one of the European Chief Instructors. This usually involves stretching, basics, and moving drills. After a 10 minute water break, we break into groups by rank. The kyu grades leave to another part of the center and the dan grades split by level. The first day we had two hour-long sessions in small groups before returning to whole group, but the last two days have been three small group sessions followed by a shorter whole-group cool-down.

Day 1 Shodan:

We began our training with Nakamura Sensei, the World Chief Instructor and CI of Canada. Quite an honor! Nakamura Sensei is extremely talented and one of the most cheerful and kind people I've ever had the pleasure to train under. The focus of this training was on kime, tightening your joints at the point of impact, and utilizing your tanden. Nakamura Sensei asked us to visualize the weight of a barrel of water dropping. He described how we should be able to use the weight of our internal organs to increase our force if we're properly using our tandens during our movements. We practiced this with a variety of katas and plenty of ten tsuki.

Our next session was with Sensei Henrik Larsen, the CI of Denmark & a 7th Dan. His focus was on breaking past the strict adherence to set bunkai curriculum that kyu grades must have to reach shodan; black belts need to explore much deeper. These additional movements are often called oyo bunkai. We brought together pieces from several kata in order to see their similarities and understand how they can be used together in partner and 3-person drills. Some of these drills felt more complicated than they should be due to the heat "boiling our brains," as Nakamura Sensei put it. While I've mostly acclimated by Day 3, I've decided that some "hot karate" needs to be added to my regular training to prepare for the Okinawa Budosai in 2016.

Day 2 Shodan:

Our first session was with Kokubo Sensei and Yamashiro Sensei. If you haven't seen Yamashiro Sensei move, you really can't imagine what it's like. We often discuss how karate is influenced by the elements and nature and Yamashiro Sensei represents water. He is able to move his body in ways that are so fluid it almost seems unnatural. He does more with each step, each transition, than I could possibly ever hope to do in a full kata. Together with Kokubo Sensei (who speaks only Japanese & Spanish & so utilized a shodan interpreter. One of the many unique aspects of international gasshuku) they worked on primarily stances and moving with us. As Kokubo Sensei teaches, our stances should be like our roots that keep us strong with the ground. A major focus of theirs was on keeping our centers of gravity, especially while moving or transitioning stances. We lose most of our power if we're off-balance, not to mention how easy it is for us to be knocked down. They discussed the importance of aligning your spine from your head down your center, something that is especially easy to lose track of when moving quickly.

Our next session was with Sensei Andrews of England. Sensei Andrews is the one who developed the Sandan Gi drills we practice in our dojo, however he has adjusted many and now has ten different sets. While the initial set up of 3 levels of moving forward three attacks & moving backwards 3 defensive movements remains standard, each one incorporates additional sets that target different strategies and are sometimes drawn from kata. These presented a great way to practice basics and challenged us both mentally and physically. Sensei Andrews also expounded on the importance of not feeling overconfident as a larger, stronger karateka or feeling lesser as a smaller karateka. He pointed out that while we fear the charging elephant, we also fear the tiny wasp. As a smaller karateka myself, this idea is one I'm often studying. In the days of old, each karateka learned one kata specifically for their body type. While we learn all of them today, it's important to always be aware of what techniques and strategies are best for your size. If you're a smaller karateka afraid of fighting bigger opponents, just remember the wasp.

Day 3 Shodan

Today was probably my favorite day of training so far. We began the day with Sensei Nolan of England. He's both terrifying in his power and the real violence in his attacks, but also carries on with jokes and smiles. An absolute treat! We spent the hour working on a variety of kakie drills, ranging from locks to breaks to kicks and chokes. There were a few new techniques that I'd never seen before which I'll definitely be incorporating. 

Continuing on Sensei Andrews' size discussion, Sensei Nolan showed us very simple techniques that easily allowed very small people to prevent huge people from picking them off the ground or pushing them. Of course having a firm stance is important, but he also showed us how simply grabbing the attacker's elbows from underneath to lock them or even using one finger to push their head back both broke the attacker's power enough to completely shut them down. I'm looking forward to trying these on our very tall PNW instructors such as Sensei Taylor and Sensei Franz!

Next we worked Sanchin with Masuyama Sensei. This was really fantastic. He talked a lot about rooting our stances, pointing out that no matter how long or thick a tree's branches are, a breeze will push it over without strong roots. He went through every single movement of sanchin, demonstrating each one & discussing it. We did sanchin at least a dozen times, quite exhausting but so fulfilling. He corrected my hand placement during toraguchi, but after watching half of my kata slammed my shoulders in shime so hard I literally saw stars, came back around and said "good." I saw him almost throwing many students to the ground because their balance was poor, looking at them & shaking his head, or dropping people with shime. I considered myself very fortunate to have someone as talented as Sensei Villa for an instructor and I felt very honored to have a compliment from Masuyama Sensei. 

We finished our group training with Sensei Monteiro, the CI of Portugal. This focused on sparring drills and rondori. He seemed very frustrated at many students who moved too stiffly or kept their guard down/open or brought their hands back to chamber during sparring. Europe has a large tournament following and you'll often see a very different approach to sparring and kata which reflects that instead of a more street-based approach, especially in the kyu and lower dan ranks. I would bet that Sensei Monteiro does not share the former view. We finished with 3-person rondori where one person fought two people. It was a great way to loosen up and the regular switching made it easy to meet a lot of new people.

Thank you to those who stuck through this very long post; my intention was to post mini blurbs daily but it took me a few days to find reliable internet. We have two more days left and I am so excited to see what they bring!

Sneak Peek

Welcome to another entry of Ask the Makiwara! Some of you may be wondering what is coming down the line for articles and topics on the blog. Take a look at the picture below for a hint.

Kelli and I are going to start by exploring with a piece of equipment used for hojo undo. If you can guess what it is, we think you'll be prepared for what's coming. Leave a comment if you know what it is!