There are three basic physical components of karate training. These are named kihon, kata and kumite. Practitioner beginning karate training are usually introduced to kihon as the basics of that training. The kihon are considered the fundamental components from which all else is built. They are like the strokes in painting, the letters in writing and the pure-tonal notes of music. In and of themselves they are of little value but when mastered and allowed to flow naturally in learned or natural sequences they become far more powerful than individual basic strokes, letters or tones.

Kinesthetic (sensation of bodily motion) Kihon

Muscle tension, body position, stretch, and other physical sensations experienced during karate practice is kinesthesia (kine = movement; aesthesia = appreciation). Kinesthesia is felt in the muscle tension, body position and various components of the corpus vivendi of all people but in the karate-ka the kinesthesia reaches for heights not sought by other arts or, for sure, the public in general.

All practitioner, even beginners, gain some appreciation of the above mentioned karate kinesthesia. If they did not then they could not progress beyond the route intellectual remembrance of combinations strung together for only short sequences. The mind first memorizes the patterns of kihon but within a short time the body begins to feel that it is doing the kihon correctly. This felt-sense (kinesthesia) is the beginning of the art where the body feels karate and has not just memorized some tricks.

Transfer of Energy from Intellectual to Kinesthetic

As kinesthesia develops a karate-ka's intellectual mind is freed up to allow more lengthy sequences to be attempted. If basic kihon and Renzoku Ido Kihon (Combination Basic Techniques) are not internalized they are a hindrance, detracting from the karate-ka's attention and concentration to the opportunities of battlefield strategy. They are too complex to serve any function until the martial artist into sets of felt-experience integrates them. They must be felt to become useful thereby freeing the karate-ka's mind to higher echelons of martial tactics and strategies.

Kihon may be artificially divided into those which are static and those that are dynamic. Static kihon have no movement; they are positional such as a stance. Dynamic kihon have movement. They are such as a block, a punch or a kick. The feeling for each of these divisions of kihon is different.

It is through the development of feeling in the kihon, a process involving kimochi(feeling), that the karate-ka both frees up his mind for the extremes of battle and frees up his mind so that he can execute highly sophisticated tactics and strategies effectively. During the attending fracas the karate-ka's who has developed kinesthetic sense in kihon and who has progressed to high levels of powerful body dynamics unconsciously moves with determination and agility. As the breadth and depth of integrated kihon develops the karate-ka has at least some chance of maintaining a unified battlefield front, even against multiple or armed opponents.

Renzoku Ido Kihon (Combination Basic Techniques)

As combinations grow longer and longer they may approach the length of kata. The combinations, however, do not merge into kata. The distinction between the two is profound. Renzoku Ido Kihon (Combination Basic Techniques) and kihon are the roots of the receptive/expressive part of physical motion whereas kata are a culmination of wholeness-in-art. Let's examine this a bit further.

Kata are art. As art they are feeling oriented and not (usually) intellectualization of a subject. But, like painting, they are not devoid of communication. The issue is that the communication is transmitted in the form of body position, action or, if you will, kinesthesia (the appreciation of motion and body position.).

If kihon are not appreciated and felt kata cannot exist beyond a very rudimentary level. The greater the depth of appreciation and the depth of feeling for the kata the more the karate-ka can delve into the depths of kata.

A beginner memorizes the kata sequence often while still struggling with what constitutes proper kihon. The student tries to remember the proper form for the kihon and, in addition, remember what the elaborate sequence of the kata is as well. Confusion usually reigns and the student must practice the kata over and over to memorize the sequence. But alas the student triumphs. The kata is memorized. The student will require much more time to internalize the kata, however.

Kihon and Mental Stagnation towards Kihon

At this level the student probably has only developed rudimentary kihon. The stances remain high, immobile, weak or wobbly. The blocks, punches and strikes are fairly ineffective lacking power, speed, and correct paths for maximum efficiency. Transitions from one to another are usually poorly balanced and slow. The student is beginning the journey, a journey that will take years to complete, and along the way the journey has many dangerous pitfalls but at least the karate-ka has begun the journey.

One great pitfall, and a common one, is the stagnation of kihon. After a few weeks or months beginning practitioner believe they have 'mastered' the kihon. They are bored by kihon practice. This is evidenced in two ways. The first is that they begin to dread repetitive kihon practice and avoid it or put very little effort into the kihon sessions of class. The second way is that they just don't eagerly seek improvement in the manner that kihon are refined. Some believe, if not most at least at this stage of learning, that they already know the kihon so further refinement is inconsequential. Both of these evidences indicate stagnation of kihon and often lead to years where the student makes little progress in karate proficiency.

The kihon hold the key. The kihon develop and refine not only the way that karate is practiced but also the way that body dynamics develop. If the kihon are distorted for any reason refinement of form is not possible at least within the context of the particular karate that is sought. In addition, proper body dynamics cannot be grasped. Improperly practiced kihon lead to distort and usually ineffective body dynamics. Developed over hundreds of years karate, as well as other martial arts, have been refined to include that which is superlative body dynamics. Deletion or modification, even through simple ignorance of proper form, leads to deficient body dynamics, a condition that hinders martial arts proficiency.

Advice Regarding Stagnation of Kihon

It has been witnessed the stagnation of kihon in literally thousands of practitioners. Hundreds of them have gone to the point where all further progress in proficiency is impossible. Those who have slumbered into the stagnation of kihon usually do one of two things if they stay in karate training; one is that they become highly philosophical in their training delving into the enigmas of kata, art and spiritualism. The other is that they just abandon the idea that martial arts have anything in them beyond technique. Both of these sequelae of stagnation of kihon are very destructive to further real martial arts progress.

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