Karate is mental power and concentration using the sound of breathing to synchronize physical motion to achieve “Kime”.
The entire body must support all Karate techniques at the time of impact.
Proper stances rooted firmly to the ground are the key foundation of power.
Muscles relaxed to achieve speed and then contracting together to lock at the correct moment through the target reaching the correct impact and penetration.
This action must be synchronized with proper breathing as to make sure the action is performed correctly. The breathing acts like the driving path to force the proper technique and application. If your breathing is not used correctly your techniques will never be constant and precise.
Improper breathing before impact the action or the techniques would be week and not have power to deliver to a chosen target.
The techniques must be synchronized as to have the greatest impact potential.
At the moment of impact like a chain the weakest link will give way and all power is lost.
Therefore, all supporting muscles from a punch in the:
firmly rooted to the floor, must contract with proper timing so as to support the punch.
Like a chain if any muscle tense to early the punch will loose speed, if the muscles tense to late the punch will have no power.
Using the entire body in all Karate techniques not just the extremity only is paramount and can’t be over stated.
All motion is driven by the mind “Mind before impact”. The mind leads in all techniques but most of the times not as conscious thought but in subconscious thought, as there is no time to be in the conscious. This is achived subconsciously by training without thinking just doing. Just like when you practice kata there is no time to think, just do the move empty of thought.
By training with out thought you will developed a psychosomatic response to all attacks. Karate-Do is foremost mental strength driving physical actions to achieve incredible human abilities.
Failure not to use breathing to synchronize the entire body, driven by the mind in a heighten state of awareness is NOT KARATE!!!!