ARTICLES

Balance

By Steve Bodnar 

We are taught that a karateka’s pride is his balance and that in a fight with opponents of similar skill, the participant with the best balance will usually win.

All movement requires balance.  In most activities, such as walking or running, we do not have to think about balance.  Over the years we have developed the skills necessary to do these actions naturally.  They are second nature to us.  You probably do not remember the bumps and falls as you learned to walk!

More recently, you may recall working on balance while learning to ride a two-wheel bicycle without training wheels.  How did we learn that skill?  It was by placing ourselves in a position to, by trial and error, to understand the sense of success and failure (usually accompanied by a fall to the ground).  Then, emulate the body movements necessary to have a greater number of successes than failures.  Soon the successes were so significant that we had attained the skill of riding the bicycle and of balance.

The same is true of balance in karate.  You must place yourself in positions that challenge your balance.  Do not be afraid of intermittent failures, since this is a natural condition that is necessary to force improvement.

How can we improve our balance?  There are several exercises you can do to improve your balance.

First, stand on one leg.  Test yourself by closing your eyes.  If you feel a sense of instability, this is due to relying on your eyesight to maintain your equilibrium.  Practice with your eyes closed to train your mind to gain a better perception of other body stimuli that are necessary to maintain equilibrium (such as muscles, tendons, joints, skin, position of your feet, centering of your body etc.).

Another exercise: from the one-legged stand, with the eyes opened, lower slightly by bending the supporting knee, then lift to your starting position.  Once you have mastered this exercise (both sides), try the exercise while holding an object (such as a weapon) and moving it from hand to hand as you rise and lower.  Focus your eyes on the movement of the object.  This extra visual distraction forces your body to rely more heavily on internal balance cues.

Be creative and explore other ways to challenge your balance.  This improvement will be reflective in your technique and execution.