Topic: Pad Work

[Huw]

Tonight we did a fair amount of pad work as part of training. On a personal level I enjoyed it hugely and I'm certain that many/most of the other students did too. What particularly struck me was that the pad work seemed to immediately benefit students technique. The pad seemed to accentuate faults in technique to the point where it was apparent to the student himself/herself that something was wrong. All in all a very positive training experience.

However it got me thinking (oh oh) , why is it that Shotokan karate seems to use relatively little impact training compared to some other martial arts ?

[Azzy_Stealth]

I loved the pad work last night..
It gives you a target to let rip on. Full power - getting feedback from feeling the impact and from the partner.

I noticed that the techniques from the left hand side were much weaker than the right hand side.  

My ushirogeri were weak and off target.  

More practice needed me thinks  

VERY COOL  [/color]

[Mole Bach]

Yeh, great.......

What about the poor sod that held the pad though??????

Mind you Azzy, your comment about the pad having the same level of technical ability, and intelectual equivelence as Lloydie I think was a little harsh.    

[Orion]

I also found the pad work useful, eg I was too close in ushiro geri - obvious when actually trying it against a target, not so obvious (too me anyway) when doing against thin air.

I think actually having something I intend to hit, compared to partner work when I am concentrating on not hitting them will also improve my perception of distance and therefore hone my control, so I will not be erring on the side of caution, and stopping well short so much.

[Lloydie]

I don't know, I go away to Camelot theme parc, take a ride on Excalliber 2, (upside-down and spun around at a rate on knots) all to further my research on the "Azzy Lucky Bag Experience" and you all bring in training aids  

Mole Bach wrote:

Mind you Azzy, your comment about the pad having the same level of technical ability, and intelectual equivelence as Lloydie I think was a little harsh.  

Ah well, in the absence of pads, I will just have to use whatever target is at hand - Step forward that man with the green face    

<back to the discussion>

I wonder if doing "air-shots" continually is a good thing.  I.e. people have commented how much feedback the pads give them, however practice will tend to commit to memory the moves of the technique, so we are much more likely to repeat the move "as we have practiced it". So..if the technique is always against thin air, what will happen when we hit something solid?

For me there are 2 issues here:

1 - When I have hit something "reality-based"solidly (I think it was John Cannon   ) I was shocked at how much force I generated.

2 - In contrast to this, when I started hitting the makiwara (about the same time) I was appalled at how sloppy my targeting and power really was, especially with my weaker left hand.

so any explanations as to this seeming paradox?

Lloydie

[Mole Bach]

In all honesty, I think that a little pad work is OK,

Speaking from experience, I tend to see students spoil their techniques when actually hitting a pad, this is because they want to really hit it strong.

As the student progress in their Karate, and become more confident in their techniques, then the effort they channel into the pad is redirected into their technique, producing a 'different' type of power, more penatrating rather than forcing the pad backwards.

Difficult to explain in words, will try to demonstrate next time.

[Lloydie]

Mole Bach, your explanation makes perfect sense to me now.  In the 1st case I was relaxed and the technique flowed beautifully (although not for the unfortunate recipient!) .   In the second case, I was doing exactly what you suggest, ie trying to hit strongly, and the technique (and power etc) suffered accordingly.

diolch


Lloydie