but it exposes the front part of the body and is a disadvantageous posture for defense. A side-facing posture leaves less of an opening and is safer for defense, but limits offensive moves and lacks advancing force. The half-front facing posture is best suited as an intermediate position for both offense and defense.
The body should always be erect and relaxed and the eyes should look directly at the opponent. Do not watch his legs or hands for indications of his movements, but rather his eyes. The front-guarding arm is held at the front-body line with the elbow bent and shoulder relaxed. The fist is tight and stays no higher than the shoulder level. The forearm is slightly inside the body line so it guards the front-facing ribs. The rear arm is held in front of the body with the fist somewhere around the solar plexus. The guarding position of both arms is approximately at the midsection of the body, from which they can be raised or lowered to protect other sections of the body. The knife-hand edge may be used instead of the fist. You must always be in a tightly guarded position whether you remain stationary or move. Be sure not to allow your opponent to induce you to relax your guard. While attacking, always move in a guarded position to protect yourself against the opponent's potential counter moves.
• Vital Spots of Human Body
• Adjustment for Distance
Many otherwise well-executed attacking moves are wasted because of the improper distance between the attacker and his opponent. Consequently, the attacker expends his energy senselessly. In general, karate practitioners maintain the free-fighting distance between each other that is either favorable to their own moves, or such that the opponent is in an unfavorable position to make an initial attack. The distance maintained must be slightly beyond reach of a simple attack with hands or feet. An initial attack from such a defensive distance should be preceded by closing the distance so that the attack can reach the specified target.
The adjustment for distance is an offensive step performed by extending the front foot or by bringing the rear foot forward or sideway. It primarily precedes a simple stepping or attacking move. The adjustment for distance gives the proper distance and direction for the execution of a successful attack. While adjusting, the attacker estimates the fighting distance and assumes the correct body posture, depending upon the type of attack to follow. A successful attack can be made from an oblique direction following a proper adjustment for distance when an opening from that direction is detected. Adjustment for distance enables an advancing force to be added to the attacking move. The adjustment for distance will be applied in detail in many different moves in later sections.
Extending the Front Foot. This adjustment for distance is performed by extending the front foot in a forward or oblique direction, shortening the distance between you and your opponent in order to follow through with rear hand or foot attacks. A simple attacking move follows the extension of the front foot forward. This type of adjustment is used in a same-side facing position where one leads with his left leg and the other with his right in order to attack the solar plexus, for example, and in an opposite-side facing position both leading with same leg to attack the front-facing kidney.
Push your front foot forward as far as necessary to adjust for the right distance between you and your opponent and attack with the reverse hand or foot. This is a simple method of shortening the distance and provides a strong advancing force for the attack. While adjusting, your free-fighting position is primarily unchanged. Therefore, a rapidly executed adjusting move may not be detected by the opponent.
Bringing the Rear Foot Forward. This is an adjustment for distance made by first bringing the rear foot forward and then attacking with the front hand or foot. When the attack is made with the front hand, it is accompanied by the forward extension of the front foot. The rear foot must be brought to the spot from which an attack can be successfully executed.
To adjust for distance in order to attack with the front hand or foot, bring your rear foot forward and place it somewhere around or ahead of the front foot, depending upon how close to your opponent you must be for your attack to be successful. You can attain a side-facing posture for your attack by pointing the toes to the side as you bring up the rear foot.
A continuous adjustment can be made by repeating the same adjusting move after extending your front foot forward following the original adjustment for distance.
In free fighting, a combined adjustment for distance is often applied against the opponent who unexpectedly moves after detecting your original stepping move. Some examples of combination adjustments will be shown in later sections. It can be made easily by extending the front foot forward first and then bringing the rear foot forward again before initiating an attack.
• Fake
A fake is performed when a free fighter indicates that he is going to perform a certain move, solely for the purpose of drawing the opponent's attention to it, so he can then launch a real attack, catching the opponent off guard. For this reason a fake should be executed with a snappy but obvious motion with the hand, foot, or the entire body.
The reaction of the opponent to the fake may result in his changing his guarding position or commencing the execution of a block or shift, thereby rendering him less prepared to defend against a different actual attack. His defense against the fake may result in the creation of an opening for a rapid subsequent real attack.
If a particular fake is used several times the opponent may cease to react to it. It may then be possible to score with the very move which had been used as a fake previously. A fake move can indicate how the opponent customarily reacts, enabling you to plan your future strategy effectively.
The ability to employ the fake with expertise is an important part of many different successful karate combinations. Later sections will show specific applications of the fake.
8 Foot Moves
• Stepping (Bal Ohmkigi)
Karate trainees must acquire broad knowledge and training in free-fighting moves to enable them to understand their own moves as well as their opponents'. Free-fighting stepping is the method of body movement. The spirit of "Go get 'em" as it is taught in some schools may work once in a while but the mastery of stepping provides a bridge between knowledge and practical application. It can provide you with the ability to close in on your opponent and allows you to move into a position to create openings. Stepping should be practiced with the aim of making this free-fighting move, fast, strong, and natural.
Maintaining a correct and balanced free-fighting position is important whether you are stepping forward, backward, or sideway in both offense and defense. Unless you have mastered stepping, your offensive and defensive techniques can easily fail in application.
Simple Forward and Backward Stepping. This is one of the basic moves which must be practiced continuously for application in free fighting. You can practice stepping forward and backward in a single stance first. You can then vary this routine by practicing stepping from one stance into another. Drop your front-guarding arm slightly across your front-facing area until your rear foot passes the front foot. Then push your rear arm forward, simultaneously extending the rear foot forward. This step is made with a simple motion of body rotation. To step backward, you move in the same manner but reverse the procedure.
