Training principles  for fascial connective  tissues: Scientific foundation  and suggested practical applications
Robert Schleip, PhD, MA a,*, Divo Gitta MUller, HP b
a Fascia Research Group, Division of Neurophysiology,  Ulm University, Albert·Einstein·AIIee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
b Somatics Academy GbR, Munich, Germany
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Summary     Conventional sports  training emphasizes adequate training of muscle fibres, of cardiovascular conditioning and / or neuromuscular  coordination. Most sports-associated  over load injuries however occur within elements of  the  body wide  fascialnet, which are then loaded  beyond  their prepared capacity. This tensional network of  fibrous  tissues includes dense sheets such as muscle envelopes, aponeuroses, as well as specific  local adaptations, such as ligaments or tendons. [read more=”Read More” less=”Read Less”]
Fibroblasts continually but slowly adapt the morphology of these tissues to repeatedly applied  challenging  loading  stimulations. Principles of a fascia  oriented training approach are introduced. These include utilization  of  elastic recoil, preparatory counter movement, slow and dynamic stretching,as well as rehydration practices  and propri· oceptive  refinement. Such training should be practiced once or twice a week in order to yield in a more resilient fascialbody suit within a time frame of 6-24 months.Some practicalexam· ples of fascia oriented exercises are presented.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Introduction                                                       
Whenever a  football player is  not  able  to take the  field because  of a  recurrent knee  pain, a tennis star  gives  up early  on  a match due  to shoulder problems, or a sprinter limps  across the finish  line with a torn Achilles tendon, the problem is most  often neither in the  musculature nor the skeleton Instead, it is  the structure of  the connective tissue  – ligaments, tendons, joint  capsules, etc.  – that may   have   been   loaded  beyond its  prepared  capacity
Fascia   has  been   described  as  a  body   wide   tensional network,  which consists   of   all fibrous collagenous soft connective  tissues,  whose   fibrous architecture  is  domi· nantly shaped by tensional strain rather than compression. This continuous network envelops and connects all muscles and organs. Elements of this  fibrous network include muscle envelopes, joint  capsules,  septi, intramuscular connective tissues, retinaculae, aponeuroses, as well as more  dense localspecifications such as ligaments and tendons. While at some  areas a local  distinction of different tissue  elements (such  as  aponeuroses, ligaments, etc.)  is  possible,  many areas such  as those in proximity to  major joints  consist  of gradual transitions between different tissue  architectures in which  a clear distinction often appears as arbitrary and misleading (Schleip  et al., 2012b).
Previous   anatomical  terminology often restricted the term fascia   to  dense sheets  of connective  tissues  with lattice-like or seemingly irregular fibre architecture. In contrast, the more  comprehensive and  novel  terminology proposed by the  series  of international fascia  research congresses continues to  honour  that usage  by referring to such tissues as ‘proper fascia’, but  at the  same  time  allows for a perceptual orientation in which also the  other fibrous connective   tissues  mentioned   above    are    included  as elements of a body wide ‘fascial net’  for multi-articular tensional strain transmission (Findley  et al., 2007; Huijing et al., 2009; Chaitow  et al., 2012) (Fig. 1).  It is important to  understand, that the  local  architecture of this  network adapts to the  specific  history  of previous strain loading demands (Blechschmidt, 1978; Chaitow, 1988).
A  focused training of  this  fascial  network could  be  of great importance for  athletes,  dancers and  other  move- ment advocates. If one’s fascial  body is well trained, that is to say optimally elastic and resilient, then it may be relied on  to  perform effectively and  at the  same  time  to  offer a high degree of injury prevention (Kjaer et al., 2009). Until recently, most  of the  emphasis in sports  has been focused on  the   classic  triad of  muscular strength,  cardiovascular conditioning,  and   neuromuscular  coordination  (Jenkins, 2005).

Figure 1     Different connective tissues considered here as fascial  tissues. Fascial  tissues differ  in terms of their density and  directional alignment of collagen fibers. E.g. superficial fascia  is characterized by a loose  density and  mostly  multidi- rectional or  irregular fibre  alignment; whereas in the  denser tendons or ligaments the  fibres are  mostly unidirectional. Note that the  intramuscular fasciae e septi, perimysium and  endo- mysium  e may  express varying  degrees of  directionality and density. The same is true e although to a much larger degree e for the  visceral fasciae (including  soft tissues like the  omentum majus  and tougher sheets like the  pericardium). Depending on local  loading  history, proper fasciae can  express a two- directional  or  multi-directional arrangement.  As indicated, there are  substantial overlaps areas in  which  a  clear tissue category will be difficult  or arbitrary. Not shown here are retinaculae and  joint   capsules, whose   local  properties  may vary between those of ligaments, aponeuroses and proper fasciae.

Some alternative physical  training activities e such as Pilates, yoga,  Continuum Movement, and  martial arts  e are  already taking  the  connective tissue  network into account. Here the  importance of the  fasciae is often specifically discussed, though modern insights in the  field of fascia  research have often not been specifically included. It is therefore suggested that in order  to  build  up an  injury- resistant and  elastic fascial body network it is essential to translate current insights  from  the  dynamically developing field  of  fascia   research into  practical  training programs. The intention is to encourage physical  therapists, sports trainers and  other movement teachers to  incorporate the principles presented  here  and   to   apply   them  to   their specific  context.

The  following  presents some  basic  biomechanical and neurophysiological  foundations   for a fascia oriented training approach, followed by suggestions for some prac- tical  applications.

Basic foundations
Fascial remodelling
A recognized characteristic of connective tissue  is its impressive  adaptability:   when   regularly  put   under increasing yet  physiological strain, the  inherent fibroblasts adjust their matrix  remodelling activity such that the  tissue architecture better meets demand. For example, through our  everyday biped   locomotion the   fascia   on  the   lateral side of the  thigh develops a more  palpable firmness  than  on the  medial  side.  This difference in tissue  stiffness is hardly found  in wheel  chair  patients. If we were  instead to spend the   majority of  our  locomotion with  our  legs  straddling a horse, then the  opposite would  happen, i.e., after a few months   the   fascia   on  the   inner   side  of  the   legs would become  more   developed  and   strong   (El-Labban   et  al.,1993).

The varied  capacities of fibrous  collagenous connective tissues make  it possible  for these materials to continuously adapt to  the  most  challenging regular strains, particularly in  relation to  changes in  length, strength and  ability   to shear. Not only the  density of bone  changes, for example, as happens with  astronauts who spend  time  in zero  gravity wherein the   bones   become more   porous   (Ingber,  2008); fascial    tissues   also    react  to    their   dominant   loading patterns. With the  help  of the  fibroblasts, they  slowly but constantly react to  everyday strain as  well  as  to  specific training, steadily remodelling the  arrangement of their collagenous fibre network (Kjaer et al., 2009). For example, with each  passing year  half the  collagen fibrils are replaced in a healthy body  (Neuberger and  Slack,  1953).  Extrapola- tion    of   these  roughly    exponential  renewal   dynamics predicts an expected replacement of 30% of collagen fibres within  6 months  and  of 75% in two  years.
Interestingly, the  fascial  tissues of young people show stronger undulations e called crimp  -within  their collagen fibres,  reminiscent  of  elastic  springs,   whereas  in  older people the  fibres  appear as  rather flattened (Staubesand et al., 1997).  Research  has  confirmed the  previously  opti- mistic  assumption that proper exercise loading  e if applied regularly e can  induce a more  youthful collagen architec- ture, which  shows  a  more  wavy  fibre  arrangement (Wood et  al.,  1988; Jarniven et  al.,  2002)   and   which   also expresses a  significant increased elastic storage capacity (Fig. 2) (Reeves  et al., 2006; Witvrouw et al., 2007).
However, it seems  to matter which kind of exercise movements are  applied: a  controlled exercise study  with a group  of senior  women  using slow-velocity and  low-load contractions only demonstrated an increase in muscular strength and volume; however, it failed  to yield any change in the  elastic storage capacity of the  collagenous structures (Kubo et al., 2003). While the  latter response could possibly be also related to age  differences, more  recent studies by Arampatzis et  al.  (2010)  have  confirmed that in order  to yield  adaptation effects in human  tendons, the  strain magnitude applied  should exceed the   value   that  occurs during  habitual activities. These  studies provide evidence of the  existence of a threshold or set  point  at the  applied strain magnitude at  which  the   transduction of  the mechanical stimulus influences the  tensional homeostasis of the  tendons (Arampatzis et al., 2007).

The  catapult mechanism: elastic recoil of fascial tissues

Kangaroos can jump  much farther than  can be explained by the  force   of  the  contraction of  their leg  muscles.  Under closer   scrutiny,   scientists discovered that  a  spring-like action is behind the  unique  ability: the  so-called ‘catapult mechanism’ (Kram and  Dawson,  1998).  Here, the  tendons and  the  fascia  of the  legs are  tensioned like elastic rubber bands. The release of this stored energy  is what  makes  the amazing jumps possible. The discovery soon thereafter that gazelles also utilize the  same  mechanism was hardly surprising. These  animals  are  also capable of impressive leaping  as well as running, though  their musculature is not especially powerful. On the  contrary, gazelles are generally considered to  be  rather delicate, making  the  springy  ease of their incredible jumps  all the  more  interesting.

Figure 2     Increased elastic storage capacity.  Regular  oscil- latory exercise, such  as daily  rapid  running, induces a higher storage capacity in  the   tendinous tissues of  rats, compared with   their  non-running peers.  This  is  expressed  in  a  more spring-like recoil  movement as shown on the  left. The area between the  respective loading  versus  unloading curves represents the  amount of ‘hysteresis’: the  smaller hysteresis of the  trained animals  (yellow)  reveals their more  ‘elastic’ tissue storage capacity; whereas the  larger hysteresis of their peers signifies their more  ‘visco-elastic’ tissue  properties, also called inertia.  Illustration modified   after Reeves  et al., 2006.  (For interpretation of the  references to colour  in this figure legend, the  reader is referred to the  web  version  of this  article.)

The  possibility   of  high-resolution ultrasound examina- tion made it possible  to discover similar  orchestration of loading  between muscle  and fascia  in human  movement. Surprisingly, it has  been found  that the  fasciae of humans have  a similar  kinetic storage capacity to that of kangaroos and  gazelles (Sawicki  et al., 2009).  This is not  only made use of when we jump or run but also with simple walking,  as a  significant part of  the  energy   of  the  movement comes from  the  same  springiness described above. This new discovery has led to an active revision  of long-accepted principles in the  field of movement science.
In the   past, it  was  assumed that  in  a  muscular joint movement, the  skeletal muscles  involved  shorten and  this energy  passes  through passive  tendons, which results in the movement of the  joint. This classic  form of energy  transfer is still true e according to these recent measurements e for steady  movements such   as  bicycling. Here,  the   muscle fibres actively change in length, while the  tendons and aponeuroses scarcely grow longer. The fascial  elements remain quite passive. This is in contrast to oscillatory movement  with   an  elastic  spring   quality,  in  which   the length of the  muscle  fibres changes little. Here, the  muscle fibres  contract in an almost isometric fashion  (they  stiffen temporarily without any significant change of their length) while  the  fascial  elements function in an  elastic way with a movement similar to that of a swinging yoeyo (Fig. 3). It is this lengthening and shortening of the  fascial  elements that mostly ‘produces’ the  actual movement (Fukunaga et al., 2002; Kawakami  et al., 2002).
It  is  of  interest that the   elastic  movement quality in young people is associated with a typical two-directional lattice arrangement of their fasciae, similar  to  a woman’s stocking  (Staubesand et al., 1997).  In contrast, as we  age and usually lose the  springiness in our gait, the  fascial architecture takes on  a  more  haphazard and  multidirec- tional   fibre  arrangement. Animal  experiments have   also shown  that lack of movement quickly  fosters the  develop- ment of additional cross-links  in fascial  tissues. The fibres lose their elasticity and do not glide against one another as they  once  did;  instead, they  become stuck  together and form tissue  adhesions, and in the  worst  cases  they  actually become matted together (Fig.  4) (Jarvinen et al., 2002). The goal of the  proposed fascia  fascial  training is therefore to  stimulate fascial  fibroblasts to  lay down  more  youthful fibre  architecture with  a  gazelle-like elastic storage capacity.  This  is  done  through movements that  load  the fascial  tissues over multiple extension ranges  while utilizing their elastic springiness (Fukashiro  et al., 2006).

 Stretching variations for  myofascial health

Usually  slow  static  stretching methods are   distinguished from  rapid  dynamic  stretches. Dynamic stretching may be familiar to many people as it was part of physical  training in beginning  and  middle  of the  last  century. During the  last two  or  three decades, this  ‘bouncing’ stretch  was  then assumed by most  educators to  be  less  beneficial, but  the method’s merits have  been confirmed in recent research. Although stretching immediately before competition can be counterproductive, it seems  that long-term and regular use of such dynamic  stretching can positively influence the architecture of  the  connective tissue   in  that it  becomes more  elastic when  correctly performed  (Decoster et al., 2005).

 Figure 3     Length  changes of fascial  elements and muscle  fibres in conventional muscle  training (A) and in oscillatory movement with elastic recoil  properties (B). The elastic tendinous (or fascial) elements are  shown as springs,  the  myofibres  as straight lines above. Note that during a conventional movement (A) the  fascial  elements do not change their length significantly while the  muscle fibres  clearly   change their  length.  During  movements like  hopping   or  jumping   however  the   muscle   fibres  contract  almost isometrically while the  fascial  elements lengthen and shorten like an elastic yoyo-spring. Illustration adapted from Kawakami et al. (2002). Indeed, when  practiced regularly, static as well  as dynamic stretching have shown to yield long term improvements in  force, jump  height, and  speed (Shrier, 2004).
Different  stretching  styles   seem   to   reach  different fascial  tissue  components. Fig. 5 illustrates some  of these different target tissues affected  by  various  loading  regi- mens. Classic weight  training loads the  muscle  in its normal range  of motion, thereby strengthening the  fascial  tissues, which are  arranged in series  with the  active muscle  fibres. In addition, the  transverse fibres across  the  muscular envelope are  stretched and  stimulated as  well.  However, little effect can  be  expected on extramuscular fasciae as well   as   on  those  intramuscular  fascial   fibres   that  are arranged in  parallel to  the  active muscle  fibres  (Huijing, 1999).

Figure 4     Collagen  architecture  responds to  loading. Fasciae   of  young  people (left   image)  express more  often a  clear two- directional (lattice) orientation of their collagen fibre  network. In addition the  individual  collagen fibres  show a stronger crimp formation. As evidenced by animal  studies, application of proper exercise can induce an altered architecture with increased crimp- formation. Lack of exercise on the  other hand, has been shown to induce a multidirectional fibre network and a decreased crimp formation (right  image).

Figure 5     Loading of different fascial  components. A) Relaxed  position: The myofibers  are  relaxed and  the  muscle  is at normal length. None of the  fascial  elements is being  stretched. B) Usual muscle  work:  Myofibers contracted and  muscle  at normal  length range. Fascial tissues are loaded which are either arranged in series  with the  myofibers  or transverse to them. C) Classic stretching: Myofibers relaxed and muscle  elongated. Fascial tissues are being stretched which are oriented parallel to the  myofibers, as well as extramuscular connection. However, fascial  tissues oriented in series  with the  myofibers  are  not sufficiently loaded, since  most of the  elongation in that serially  arranged force  chain  is taken up by the  relaxed myofibers. D) Actively loaded stretch: Muscle active and loaded at long end range. Most of the  fascial  components are being stretched and stimulated in that loading pattern. Note that various  mixtures and  combinations between  the  four  different fascial  components exist. This simplified  abstraction therefore serves  as a basic  orientation only. On  the   other  hand, classic   Hatha   yoga  stretches,   in which  the  extended muscle  fibres  are  relaxed, will  show little effect on those fascial  tissues, which are  arranged in series  with  the  muscle  fibres. The reason is that since  the relaxed myofibers  are  much  softer than  their serially arranged tendinous extensions, they  will ‘swallow’  most  of the   elongation  (Jami,  1992).   However,   such   slow   and melting stretching promises to provide good stimulation for fascial  tissues, which  are  hardly  reached by classic  muscle training, such  as the  extramuscular fasciae and  the  intra- muscular fasciae oriented in parallel to the  myofibers.
Finally, a dynamic  muscular loading  pattern in which the muscle    is   briefly   activated  in   its   lengthened   position promises the  most comprehensive stimulation of fascial tissues.
According  to  recent  examinations of  the   collagen synthesis   in   cyclically    loaded  tendons,   the    resultant increase in collagen production tends to  be  largely  inde- pendent of  exercise volume   (repetitions);  meaning that only  few  repetitions are  necessary to  yield  an  optimum effect  (Magnusson   et  al.,  2010).   The   proposed  fascia training therefore recommends soft  elastic bounces in the end  ranges  of available motion.
In addition variation among  different stretching styles  is recommended, including  slow passive  stretches at different angles  as well as more  dynamic  stretches, in order  to foster easy shearing ability between physiologically distinct fascial layers  and  to  prevent the  tendency for  limited movement range  that usually goes along with aging (Beam et al., 2003). The reader is cordially  invited to review  the  excellent study by Bertolucci (2011) of ‘pandiculation’-like stretch behav- iour in the  animal  kingdom, including  his proposed practical recommendations for myofascial body self care  of humans. While dynamic  stretching may be a more effective warm-up practice before sports  (McMillian et al., 2006),  recent examinations suggests that slow static stretching can induce anti-inflammatory as well as analgesic effects in inflamma- tory tissue  conditions (Corey at al., 2012).

 Hydration and  renewal

It is essential to  realize that approximately two  thirds  of the  volume  of fascial  tissues is made up by water. During application of mechanical load – whether in a stretching manner or via local  compression – a significant amount of water is pushed out  of the  more  stressed zones, similar  to squeezing a sponge  (Schleip et al., 2012a).  With the  release that follows,  this  area is again  filled with  new  fluid,  which comes  from surrounding tissue  as well as the  local vascular network. The  sponge-like connective tissue  can  lack adequate  hydration at  neglected  places.  Application of external loading  to fascial  tissues can  result in a refreshed hydration of  such  places in  the  body  (Chaitow,  2009).  In healthy  fascia,  a  large   percentage  of  the   extracellular water is  in  a  state of  bound   water (as  opposed to  bulk water) where its behaviour can be characterized as that of a  liquid  crystal (Pollack, 2001).  Much pathology – such  as inflammatory conditions, edemae,  or  the  increased accu- mulation of free  radicals and other waste products e tends to go along with a shift towards a higher  percentage of bulk water within  the  ground  substance.  Recent indications by Sommer and Zhu (2008) suggest  that when local connective tissue  gets  squeezed like a sponge  and  subsequently rehy- drated, some of the  previous bulk water zones may then be replaced by bound  water molecules, which  could  lead  to a more  healthy water constitution within  the  ground substance.

Fascia as a sensory organ

Fascia contains a rich supply of sensory  nerves, including proprioceptive receptors,  multimodal receptors and  noci- ceptive nerve  endings. Some fascial  tissues such as the retinaculae contain a richer sensory  innervation than  other ones. Those tissues that have been found to contain a richer supply   seem   to  be  able   detect slight   angular direction changes in mechanical loading, whereas the  less densely innervated tissues, such  as  the  lacertus fibrosus  (bicipital aponeurosis), seem  to  be  specialized for  a more  unidirec- tional  passive  biomechanical force  transmissions  only (Stecco et al., 2007,  2008).  When  including  intramuscular connective  tissues,  periosteum  and   superficial  fascia   as part of the  body wide  fascial  net  as outlined above, fascia can then be seen  as one  of our richest sensory  organs. It is certainly our most  important organ  for proprioception (Schleip, 2003).
It is interesting to  note that during  the  last  decade the classic   ‘joint receptors’ e located in  joint   capsules and associated ligaments e have  been shown  to  be  of  lesser importance for normal proprioception, since they are usually stimulated at extreme joint   ranges   only,  and  not  during physiological motions  (Lu et al., 2005; Proske and Gandevia, 2009; Ianuzzi et al., 2011). On the  contrary, proprioceptive nerve endings located in the more superficial layers are more optimally situated, as here even  small  angular joint  move- ments lead to relatively distinct stretch or shearing motions. Recent findings indicate that the  superficial fascial  layers  of the  body  are, in fact, much  more  densely populated with sensory nerve endings than connective tissues situated more internally (Benetazzo et al., 2011; Tesarz  et al., 2011).  In particular the  transition zone  between the  fascia  profunda and the subdermal loose connective tissue seems to have the highest sensorial innervation (Tesarz et al. 2011). This seems to be also the zone at which large sliding or shearing motions between fascial  layers  seem  to occur  during multi-articular extensional movements, provided that  no  pathological adhesions are  present within  this  transitional zone  (Goats and Keir, 1991).
A mutually antagonistic relationship between myofascial pain  and  proprioception has frequently been described. Expressions  of  that are  the  significantly diminished local proprioception in low back  pain  (Taimela et al., 1999)  or the   decreased  pain   threshold  when   the   proprioceptive nerves are  experimentally blocked (Lambertz et al., 2006). In addition it has been shown by Moseley et al.  (2008) that an  increase in local  proprioception can  significantly lower myofascial pain.   Most likely  the  mutually inhibiting rela- tionship between soft tissue  pain and fascial  proprioception is facilitated through the  wide-dynamic-pain (WDR) neurons in the  dorsal  horn  of the  spinal  cord  (Sandkuehler et al.,1997).  Interestingly the  research by Moseley et al.  (2008) also  indicated, that therapeutically induced peripheral afferent input  needs to be accompanied by a conscious attention of the  patient in order  to yield  a long term anti- nociceptive effect.

Training principles

The  following  practical  guidelines are  suggested applica- tions     based   on    these    general   biomechanical   and neurophysiological considerations.  Note  that given  basic limitations of  human   anatomy and  the   long  and  diverse history  of human  movement explorations, none  of the suggested movements will be completely ‘new’. In fact, it was found that many aspects of known movement practices – like rhythmic gymnastic, modern dance, plyometrics, gyrokinesis, chi running, yoga or martial arts, just  to name a few  e contain elements which  are  very  congruent with the  following suggestions. However, these practices have often been inspired by  an  intuitive search for  elegance, pleasure and  beauty, and/or they  were  often linked  with non-fascia related  theoretical  explanation concepts.  The novel  aspect of the  proposed approach is therefore to selectively develop training suggestions, which  specifically target an  optimal renewal of the  fascial  net  (rather than e.g.  muscular tissues or  cardiovascular conditioning) and which  are  directly linked  with  the  above  outlined specific insights  from  the  rapidly  growing field of fascia  research.

 Preparatory counter movement

This  movement  principle  utilizes  the   catapult  effect  of fascial  tissues. Before  the  actual movement is performed, one   starts  with   a  slight   pre-tensioning  in  the   opposite direction. This is comparable with  using a bow to shoot  an arrow; just  as  the   bow  has  to  have  sufficient tension  in order  for  the  arrow  to  reach its  goal,  the  fascia  becomes actively   pre-tensioned   in   the    opposite   direction.   In a sample exercise called ‘the  flying sword’, the  pre- tensioning is achieved as the  body’s axis is slightly tilted backward for a brief  moment, while at the  same  time  there is an upward lengthening (Fig. 6). This increases the  elastic tension in the  fascial  body  suit  and  as a result allows  the upper body  and  the  arms  to  spring  forward and  down  like a catapult as the  weight  is shifted in this  direction.
The opposite is true for straightening up e one activates the  catapult capacity of the  fascia  through an  active pre- tensioning of the  fascia  of the  back. When swinging back- wards  and  up from  a forward bending position, the  flexor muscles  on the  front  of the  body are  first briefly activated. This momentarily pulls the  body even  further forward and down  and  at the   same  time   the   fascia   on  the   posterior fascia  is loaded with  greater tension. The  kinetic energy which  is stored on the  posterior side  of the  fascial  net  is dynamically released  via  a  passive   recoil   effect as  the upper body swings back  to the  original  position. To be sure that the  individual  is not  relying  on muscle  work  of their back  muscles, but  rather on dynamic  recoil  action of the fascia, requires a focus on timing e much the  same as when playing  with  a yoeyo or a swinging elastic pendulum. It is necessary to determine the  ideal  swing,  which  is apparent when  the  action is perceived as fluid and  pleasurable.

The  Ninja  principle

The legendary Japanese warriors  who reputedly moved  as silently  as cats  and left  no trace inspire  this principle. When performing bouncy   movements such  as  hopping,  running and   dancing,  special  attention   needs  to   be   paid   to executing the  movement as smoothly  and softly as possible. A change in direction is preceded by a gradual deceleration of the  movement before the  turn  and  a gradual accelera- tion afterwards, each  movement flowing from the  last; any extraneous or jerky  movements should  therefore be  avoi- ded   (Fig. 7).  This  goes   along   with   the   perception  of a   smooth    and   ‘elegant’  quality  of   movement.  As  an inspirational analogy  for the  more  embodied’ patient, one can  refer to  the  way a cat  moves  as it  prepares to  jump. The feline first sends  a condensed impulse  down through its paws  in order  to accelerate softly  and  quietly landing  with precision (Fig. 8).

Figure 6     Training example: The Flying Sword A) Tension  the  bow: The preparatory countermovement (pre-stretch) initiates the elastic-dynamic spring in an anterior and inferior direction. Free  weights can also be used. B) To return to an upright position, the
‘catapulting back  fascia’  is loaded as the  upper body is briefly bounced dynamically downwards followed by an elastic swing back up.  The attention of the  person doing the  exercise should  be on the  optimal timing  and  calibration of the  movement in order  to create the  smoothest movement possible.


Figure  7     Movement   shapes  during   jerky   versus   elegant direction turns. When directional turns  (like  moving a limb forward and back) are  performed without proprioceptive refinement, they  tend to include sudden turns  at which tissues are   frequently  prone   to   injury   due   to   the   abrupt  loading pattern (above). In contrast, when  the  same  movements are conducted with  an  internal search for  elegance, then a more sinusoidal movement change can  be  observed, characterized by gradual deceleration before the  turning point  and  a subse- quent gradual acceleration. In this  pattern the  loaded tissues are   less  prone   to  injuries, the   movements appear  as  more graceful, and also less acoustic noise is created (e.g. during bouncing  movements).    For more  technically oriented patients future develop- ment of small  accelerometer  based feedback devices may be useful. Direction changes which  are  based on the  Ninja principle will then be  characterized by a  more  sinusoidal movement shape, rather than  the  sudden and  jerky  direc- tion changes in a person who moves with less fluid elegance and   who  will  be  more   likely  to  induce overload strain injuries during  these exercises (Fig. 7).
Normal stairs  become training equipment when they  are used  appropriately, employing  gentle stepping. The sug- gested production of ‘as  little noise  as  possible’ provides the   most  useful   feedback e the   more  the   fascial   spring effect is utilized, the  quieter and  gentler the  process will be.  Of course use of barefoot or barefoot-like plantar foot contact with the  ground will be of advantage for this kind of ‘stair  dancing’.

Figure 8     Training  example: Elastic  Wall Bounces. Imitating the  elastic bounces of a gazelle’s soft  bouncing  movements  is explored in standing and  bouncing  off  a wall.  Proper  preten- sion in the  whole  body will avoid any collapsing into a ‘banana posture’. It’s  imperative to  make  the  least amount of sound and  avoid  any  abrupt movement. A  progression into  further load   increases  can   occur   only  with   the   mastery  of  these qualities.   Stronger  individuals can   eventually explore e.g. bouncing  off a table or windowsill instead of a wall. The person shown should not yet be permitted to progress to higher  loads, as  his  neck  and  shoulder region  already show  slight compression.

Slow and  dynamic stretching

Rather than  a  motionless waiting  in a  static stretch posi- tion, a  more   flowing  stretch is  suggested.  It  is  recom- mended that  both   fast   as  well  as  more   rapid   but   fluid stretching modalities be  utilized. Before  any  rapid  move- ments  are   used,  the   myofascial tissues  should   first   be warmed up,  and  jerking  or  abrupt movements should  be avoided.
The long myofascial chains  are the  preferred focus when doing slow dynamic  stretches. Instead of stretching isolated muscle   groups,   the   aim  is  finding  body  movements that engage  the   longest  possible    myofascial  chains   (Myers, 1997).  This is not  done  by passively  waiting, as in a length- ening classic  Hatha  yoga pose, or in a conventional isolated muscle   stretch.  Multidirectional movements, with   slight changes in angle are utilized; this might include sideways  or diagonal   movement   variations   as    well as spiralling rotations.  With  this   method,  large   areas  of  the   fascial network are  simultaneously involved  (Fig. 9).
In order  to  stimulate the  more  serially  arranged tendi- nous and aponeurotic tissues, more  dynamically swinging stretch   movements  are   recommended,  similar   to   the elegant and fluid extensional movements of rhythmic gymnasts.  The   same   tissues  can   also   be   targeted   by muscular activation (e.g.  against resistance) in  a  length- ened  position, similar   to   how  a  cat   sometimes  enjoys pulling  his front  claws  towards the  trunk  when  stretching. And finally  so-called ‘mini-bounces’ can  be  employed as soft   and  playful  explorations  in  the  lengthened stretch position.

Figure 9     Training  example: The  Big Cat  Stretch. A) This is a slow stretching movement of the  long posterior chain, from the  finger  tips  to the  sit bones, from  the  coccyx  to the  top  of the  head and to the  heels. The movement goes in opposing directions at the  same  time  e think  of a cat  stretching its long body.  By changing  the  angle  slightly,  different aspects of the fascial  web are  addressed with slow and steady movements. B) In the  next  step  one  rotates and  lengthens the  pelvis  or chest towards one side (here shown with the  pelvis starting to rotate to  the  right). The  intensity of  the  feeling of  stretch on  that entire side  of  the  body  is then gently  reversed. Afterwards, note the  feeling of increased length.

Dynamic,  fast  stretching can be combined with a prepa- ratory countermovement, as was previously  described.  For example, when  stretching the  hip flexors, a brief  backward movement could be introduced before dynamically lengthening and  stretching forwards.

Proprioceptive refinement

It is essential that the  importance of fascial  proprioception is clearly  explained and  repeatedly emphasized during  the training process. For proper motivation both  rational explanations as well as limbic-affective components should be utilized. As an example the  case  of Ian Waterman can be used, a man  repeatedly mentioned in scientific literature. This impressive man contracted a viral infection at the  age of 19,  which  resulted in a  so-called ‘sensory neuropathy’ below  his neck. In this  rare  pathology, the  sensory  periph- eral  nerves, which provide the  somatomotor cortex with information about the  movements of  the  body, are destroyed,  while   the   motor   nerves  remain  completely intact. This meant that Mr. Waterman could  move,  but  he could not ‘feel’ his movements. After some time  he became virtually lifeless. Only with  an iron  will and  years  of prac- tice  did  he  finally  succeed in making  up for  these normal physical  sensations, a capacity that is commonly  taken for granted. He  did  so  with  conscious control that  primarily relies  on visual  feedback. He is currently the  only person known  with  this  affliction, which  is able  to  stand unaided, as well as being  able  to walk (Cole,  1995).
The way Waterman moves is similar  to the  way patients with chronic  back pain move.  When in a public place, if the lights  unexpectedly go out, he clumsily  falls to the  ground. Springy, swinging movements are possible for him only with obvious  and  jerky  changes in direction.
If  doing  a  ‘classic’   stretching  program with  static  or active  stretches,  he   would   appear  normal.  As  for   the dynamic  stretching that is part of our fascial  training, he is clearly  not  capable, as he lacks the  proprioception needed for fine coordination.
Congruently,  in the  proposed fascia  training a  percep- tual  refinement of shear, gliding,  and tensioning motions  in superficial fascial  membranes is encouraged. In doing this, it is important to limit the  filtering  function of the  reticular formation, as it can  markedly restrict the  cortical transfer of  sensations from  movements which  are   repetitive  and which  the  cerebellum can  predict via feed-forward antici- pation (Schleip, 2003).  To prevent such  a sensorial damp- ening,    the    idea    of   varied    and   creative   experiencing becomes  important.  In  addition  to   the   slow   and   fast dynamic  stretches noted above, as well  as utilizing  elastic recoil  properties, the  inclusion  of ‘fascial refinement’ elements are  recommended, in which  varying  qualities of movement are  experimented with, e.g., extreme slow- motion   and  very  quick  micro-movements which  may  not even  be visible to an observer, as well as large macro- movements involving  the  whole  body.  To this  end, it  may then be  not  uncommon to  place the  body  into  unfamiliar positions while  working  with  the  awareness of gravity,  or possibly through exploring the  weight  of a training partner.
Exploratory   ‘micro-movements’    with    an    amplitude below    an   inch   (w2.5  cms.)    can   be   incorporated  as described  in  the   Continuum  Movement   work  of  Conrad (2007).  Using interoceptive stretch sensations as  a  guide- line,  it may be possible  that postoperative or other fascial adhesions could  be  partly loosened by the  careful utiliza- tion of such micro-movements when performed close to the available end-range positions (Bove and Chapelle, 2012). In addition, such  tiny  and  specific  local  movements can  be used  to  bring  proprioceptive attention  and  refinement to perceptually neglected areas of the  body  whose  condition Hanna  (1998) had  described with  the  term ‘sensory-motor amnesia’ (Fig. 10).

Squeezing and  rehydrating the sponge

The use of special foam  rollers  or similar  materials can  be useful  for  inducing  localized sponge-like temporary tissue dehydration with  resultant  renewed hydration. However, the   firmness   of  the   roller   and   application  of  the   body weight   needs  to   be   individually   monitored.  If  properly applied and including  very slow and finely tuned directional changes only, the  tissue  forces  and potential benefits could be similar to those of manual myofascial release treatments (Chaudhry et  al.,  2008).  In addition, the  localized tissue stimulation can serve  to stimulate and fine-tune possibly inhibited or desensitized fascial  proprioceptors in more hidden tissue  locations (Fig. 11).
For motivational and explanatory purposes the  excellent video   material  of  Guimbertau et  al.   (2010)  has  proven helpful for  fostering an  understanding of the  viscous  plas- ticity  and adaptive elasticity of the  water-filled fascia. The resulting perception of the  liquid architecture of the  fascial net   has  proven   to  be  especially effective  when  incorpo- rated into  the  slow dynamic  stretching and  fascial  refine- ment work.

Figure 10      Training   example: Octopus   Tentacle.  With  the image  of an  octopus tentacle in mind,  a multitude of exten- sional  movements through the  whole  leg are  explored in slow motion.  The   tensional  fascial    proprioception  is   activated through creative changes in muscular activations patterns. This function goes  along  with  a  deep myofascial stimulation that aims  to  reach not  only the  fascial  envelopes but  also into  the septa between muscles. While  avoiding  any  jerky  movement quality,  the   action of  these  tentacle-like  micro-movements leads  to a feeling of flowing strength in the  leg.

Figure 11     Training example: Fascial  Release. The use of particular foam  rollers  may allow  the  application of localized tissue   stimulations  with   similar   forces   and   possibly   similar benefits as  in a  manual myofascial release  session. However the  stiffness of the  roller  and  application of the  body  weight needs to be adjusted and monitored for each  person. To foster sponge-like tissue  dehydration with  subsequent renewed local hydration, only slow motion  like subtle changes in the  applied forces  and  vectors are  recommended.

Proper  timing  of the  duration of individual  loading  and release phases is very important. As part of modern running training,  it   is  now   often  recommended  to   frequently interrupt   the     running     with    short     walking    intervals (Galloway,  2002).   There   is  good  reason  for  this:   under strain, the  fluid  is pressed out  of  the  fascial   tissues and these begin to function less optimally and their elastic and springy resilience slowly decreases. Short walking pauses e with  a  recommended duration between one  and  3 min  – then serve   to  partly rehydrate  the   tissue, as  it  is  given a  chance  to   take  up   nourishing   fluid.   For  an   average beginning   runner  such   rehydration  breaks  may  be   best every  10 min, while more  advanced runners with a more developed body  awareness can  adjust the  optimal timing and  duration of  those breaks based on  the  presence  (or lack)  of that youthful and  dynamic  rebound: if the  running movement begins to feel  and look more  dampened and less springy, it is likely time  for a short  pause. Similarly, if after a brief  walking  break there is a noticeable return of that gazelle-like rebound, then the  rest  period was  adequate. For well  trained runners with  a less  refined sensuous kin- aesthetic proprioception the  additional use  of accelerom- eter driven   feedback  devices (as  described  in  the   first section of this paper) may be useful  indicators for the appropriate timing  of such walking breaks.
This cyclic  training, with  periods of more  intense effort interspersed with  purposeful breaks, can  subsequently be recommended in all  facets of  fascia  training. The  person training then learns to pay attention to the  dynamic  prop- erties of  their fascial  ‘bodysuit’ while  exercising, and  to adjust the  exercises based on this new body awareness. The resulting understanding  of  fascial   renewal  dynamics together with the  refined proprioception should  then carry over to an increased ‘fascial embodiment’ in everyday life.

Sustainability: the power of a thousand tiny  steps

An additional and important aspect that needs to be under- stood by the trainee is the concept of the slow and long-term renewal of the fascial network. It is explained that in contrast to muscular strength training (in which big gains occur early on and then a plateau is quickly reached wherein only very small gains are possible) fascia  changes more slowly and the results are  more  lasting. It  is therefore possible   to  work without a great deal of strain e so that consistent and regular training pays off. When training the  fascia, improvements in the  first  few  weeks  may  be  small  and  less  obvious  on the outside. However, improvements have  a lasting  cumulative effect which,   after years, can  be  expected to  result  in marked improvements in the  strength and  elasticity of the global fascial  net  (Fig. 12) (Kjaer et al., 2009).

The intention of the  proposed fascia  oriented training is to  influence the  matrix  renewal via specific  training activ- ities which may, after 6e24 months, result in a more injury- resistant and resilient ‘silk-like  body suit’  which is not  only strong  but  also allows  for a smoothly  gliding joint  mobility over  wide  angular ranges. Proper nutrition and  life  style that fosters an anti-inflammatory matrix milieu with sufficient presence of growth  hormones e such as are expressed during  deep sleep  and  after appropriately challenging muscular or cardiovascular  exercise are  additional factors  that  influence the positive matrix renewal in response to.

Figure 12      Collagen turnover after exercise. The upper curve shows  collagen synthesis in tendons is increasing after exer- cise.  However,  the  stimulated fibroblasts also  increase their rate of collagen degradation. Interestingly, during the  first 1e2 days  following  exercise,  collagen degradation  over-  weights the  collagen synthesis; whereas afterwards this  situation  is reversed. To increase tendon strength, the  proposed fascial fitness  training therefore suggests appropriate tissue  stimula- tion 1e2 times  per week  only. Illustration modified  after Magnusson et al., 2010.
    It is suggested that  training should  be  consistent, and that only  a  few  minutes  of  appropriate exercises, per- formed once  or twice per  week, is sufficient for  collagen remodelling.   The    related   renewal   process  will   take between 6 months  and 2 years and will yield a lithe, flexible and  resilient collagenous matrix. For those who do yoga or martial arts, such  a  focus  on  a  long-term goal  is nothing new. For the  person who is new  to  physical  training, such knowledge of fascial  properties can go a long way in convincing  them to train  their connective tissues.
Of course, these fascia  oriented training suggestions should  not  replace muscular strength work,  cardiovascular training and coordination exercises; instead, they  should be thought of as useful  addition to  a comprehensive training program.

Conflicts of interest
There  were  no identified conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements
The  authors  wish  to  acknowledge  the   financial   support given by the  Ida P. Rolf Research Foundation and by the Vladimir Janda Award for Musculoskeletal Medicine.

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Tai Sabaki
By R. Christian Estes, M.D.
Hachidan, Shorin Ryu Kensankai Karate Kobudo

In Okinawan Karate the objective is to avoid a fight, but if it cannot be avoided then do not loose. You train to fight so you do not have to fight, sounds like a long run for a short slide, but to the Okinawans courtesy is an essential characteristic of a human being. You must remember, Okinawa has never had a standing army, only guards for the King and police for the public. [read more=”Read More” less=”Read Less”]
This concept of not fighting can be seen in the famous writings of Sun Tzu, where he states the highest form of generalship is defeating your opponent without fighting. Well that is great in concept, but in reality might not be possible, so a martial artist must be prepared to deal with aggression and survive. In Shurite karate, movement has always been emphasized. My Sensei, Hanshi Perry, stresses to move and hit in order to defeat an attack. According to Chosin Chibana, Matsumura had once said to Itosu: ‘With your strong punch you can knock anything down, but you can’t so much as touch me.’ I am physically at a disadvantage to the younger, stronger and bigger opponent, so I developed my ability to move and hit in order to survive.

Tai sabaki means to ‘change body’ or place yourself in the best position to defeat your opponent’s attack. It is much easier to move yourself in the position you want to be at than to move your opponent. Having said that, in some instances you will not be able to move and thus you will have to make your opponent change body. Situations that I can imagine are in a close space whereby you cannot move your feet at all. Perry Sensei profoundly stated once, tai sabaki does not always mean that you have to move your feet.

There a limited number of directions that one can move in a fight. The octagon pattern contains the essential choices. As one knows that the Koryu or old kata are based on that pattern. It is interesting to note that the angles that are being utilized are 45 degrees and multiples of each. The 45 degree angle is of particular interest in the reception of light or sound waves. In stealth technology, 45 degree angles are utilized to disperse radio waves and when one looks in a mirror straight on you see your reflection, but as you tilt the mirror the image gets less until at 45 degrees you see the ceiling. I do not believe in coincidences and believe that these angles contribute to ones ability to move and not be seen as well by your opponent. Of course these angles also contribute to better leverage and application of technique to vital structures to incapacitate the aggressor(s).

There are basically three distances of fighting, 9, 6, and 3 feet. For simplification, I will deal with the most common ma-ai or combative distances. In three foot fighting, you can touch your opponent and vice versa. In this instance you usually will not have time to move back or forward or even to the side, so this is where the usage of ashi sabaki (foot change) is essential for tai sabaki. This concept is exhibited in Nahanchi Kata, where you will pivot on the ball of the foot to move away from the attack. This is as quick of a tai sabaki as I can perform.

Now in 6 foot fighting, I cannot touch my opponent. Now I have the time to move in response to an attack. This application of tai sabaki is the most common and understood.

Here one can move forward or back on a 45 degree angle or to the side on a straight line. The choice will depend on what the opponent is doing. If he/she moves forward you can receive the attack by going back off the line since they are going to where you were. If he only extends a weapon (hand/foot) without moving forward, you have the option of moving to the side on a straight line, which puts their attack further from you while you move closer to them.

I personally like to move so I end up in their blind spot behind their elbow/shoulder area. From there I can get behind them, a good place to be for a smaller person against a larger opponent. This requires the correct timing and commitment to go towards your opponent instead of away.

I mentioned earlier that in some situations you cannot move so you have to make your opponent change body. As with much of the martial arts, you need to know both sides of the coin. If you know how to change your own body, you will know how to change others. In our dojo we practice a series of two man drills called Keiko Kumite that practices this concept.

Of course this is just a part of fighting an opponent. I believe if you understand and can apply this concept of Tai Sabaki using Ashi Sabaki and of course Te Sabaki (change hand) you can survive the initial onslaught of an attack.
Do not be where you were!

  Octagon Pattern

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A Performance Theory Analysis of the Practice of Kata in Karate Do:
Self Resolving Contradictions of Ritual, Spontaneity, Violence, and Morality
copyright © 2006 Meron Langsner, all rights reserved
Originally published in The Brandeis Graduate Review, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2003

Courtesy of Kyoshi Chris Estes

At the heart of Karate is the performance of kata, pre-choreographed self-contained ritual sequences of fighting techniques.  Kata is all at once the primary means of training, a library of technique, a cultural heritage, a form of moving meditation, and a graceful expression of the art itself.  This study will focus specifically on the performance of kata within the Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu system of Okinawan Karate. [read more=”Read More” less=”Read Less”]The Okinawan tradition of Karate-Do has been part of the culture of the United States since roughly the end of World War II.  American students of this physical discipline absorb simultaneously a system of movements relating both to physical violence and nonviolent meditation, transplanted aspects of Asian cultures.  And in order to make sense of the rest, hybrid traditions are born out of the cultural bridges that are built by teachers and students in order to assimilate the transplanted system.

Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu is a designation of a specific Karate tradition. “Shorin-Ryu,” means “small pine forest style” and is also a Japanese language rendering of Shaolin, the name of the Chinese temple to which many of Asia’s fighting forms trace their lineage.  Shorin-Ryu is an umbrella term used to describe one of the two main branches of Okinawan Karate, the other being called Goju-Ryu.  “Matsubayashi” is the name chosen by the systems founder, Shoshin Nagamine, to pay tribute to Bushi Matsumora Sokon Okina and Matsumora Kosaku Okina, two legendary masters and teachers to which the system traces its lineage.  This is the short version of the context of the art in Okinawa. [1]

Karate-Do translates literally into “Way of the Empty Hand.”  The suffix “Do,” translating as “Way,” or “path,” marks it as a spiritual discipline rather than as a purely fighting form, though its historical roots are far less spiritual and more violent than its current incarnation.  The metaphor of the path is apt, as the practice of Karate is a process as much as it is anything else, and (at least in the Matsubayashi tradition) is closely tied with the practice of Zen.  Karate-Do, as a process, is a means of shaping the bodies and minds of students.  This occurs on several planes simultaneously; physically, mentally, and spiritually.  To examine a process, especially a living tradition, one must understand that the object of examination is a living thing in a state of constant flux.  So it is with Karate.  In his study of Kalarippayattu, Philip Zarrilli points out the circumstances of studying a practice,

Because practices are not things, but an active, embodied doing, they are intersections where personal, social, and cosmological experiences and realities are negotiated.  To examine a practice is to examine these multiple sets of relationships and experiences.  A practice is not a history, but practices always exist within and simultaneously create histories.  Likewise, a practice is not a discourse, but implicit in any practice are one or more discourses and perhaps paradigms through which the experience of practice might be reflected upon and possibly explained.

Martial arts, like other overt techniques of disciplining the body including aerobics, weight training, contact improvisation, etc. are “incorporating practices” through which the body, and therefore experience and meaning are “culturally shaped in its actual practices and behaviors” (Connerton 1989: 104).  These are “technologies” [of the body] in Foucault’s sense, i.e. practices through which “humans develop knowledge about themselves” (1988:18).  Psycho physiological techniques are practiced in order for the practitioner to be transformed to attain a certain normative and idealized relationship between the “self,” “agency,” ”power,” and behavior. (5)

This study will to a certain degree place Karate in Zarrilli’s definition of a “practice.”  In doing so I hope to clarify the practice of kata as a transformative tool and examine it as a performative practice.

Karate was first brought to the United States by soldiers who served in the Pacific during WWII.  Later, in the interest of spreading their art and representing their culture, several Okinawans were sent to the United States with the task of being missionaries of Karate-Do.  There was a feeling that the Westerners who brought back martial arts misrepresented the forms, Sensei Omine states in a letter to the Mayor and Town Zoning Board of East Northport, NY dated April 25, 1973,

Those foreigners who carried bits and pieces of the art out of Okinawa spread idea that Karate was a fighting art for the purpose of violence; at worst street fighting, at best sport like competition and tournaments.  Karate is neither.

Inherent in our art is an ancient traditional wisdom.  The Karate student is one who ardently searches and strives to build his character into the finest example of human morality at the same time as he trains his body.

In an effort to bring this true tradition of Karate to Western culture, I was sent here by the All-Okinawa Karate-do Association in 1968.  Mine is a missionary’s task. (Budokan Karate Dojo, 1989)

Omine Sensei was my teacher’s teacher.  To some degree I was brought up on stories about him, just as when I teach, my students are told stories of my teacher.  In this way, history and lineage are an informal but essential part of the pedagogy; students are expected to have not just technical proficiency, but knowledge of the tradition from which they draw their physical prowess.  Teachers of Karate, as repositories of the orature, exist through their pedagogic work as the continuation of physical and spiritual traditions.

The root of the pedagogic process is the practice of kata.  There is a fair amount of work by the masters themselves in print and in translation on the nature and purpose of kata, none of which I can hope to equal in this study.  What I intend to do however, is to focus the lens of performance theory on this particular behavioral phenomenon.  Kata is an exemplary case of what Richard Schechner terms “restored behavior.” Schechner writes,

Restored behavior is living behavior treated as a film director treats a strip of film.  These strips of behavior can be rearranged or reconstructed; they are independent of the causal systems (social, psychological, technological) that brought them into existence.  They have a life of their own.  The original “truth” or “source” of the behavior may be lost, ignored, or contradicted – even while this truth or source is apparently being honored and observed.  How the strip of behavior was made, found, or developed may be unknown or concealed; elaborated, distorted by myth and tradition.  Originating as a process, used in the process of rehearsal to make a new process, a performance, the strips of behavior are not themselves process but things, items, “material.”  Restored behavior can be of long duration as in some dramas and rituals or of short duration as in some gestures, dances, and mantras. (Between Theatre & Anthropology, 35).

Each kata is a self-contained ritual that is transmitted from the body of the teacher and restored into the body of the student.  No detail is ignored.  There is no room for personal interpretation.  Every aspect from rhythm and timing to physical placement of the body in space within fractions of an inch to use of breath is preset by the tradition.

By repetition, the forms of the various kata are inscribed on the psychophysical apparatus of the student.  Once form is developed, speed and power will follow.  In the case of a punch for instance, the sequence of movements is:  first the foot moves and is placed on the ground, then the hip is activated, and the power generated from the center is unleashed to the fist itself.  During any solo exercise, the exact ending points of any given technique are measured to the dimensions of the practitioner’s own body; therefore, a chest punch is aimed at where one’s own chest would be if it were in front of oneself and so on.  Once students are capable of being precise within their own physical dimensions, the next task is to adapt the techniques outside those dimensions.

Beginning students often cannot even walk naturally when they begin training, let alone target accurately.  It is common for them to try to move their hands and feet simultaneously while hunching their shoulders, very bad form.  If they should make contact with anything with such a strike, they would most likely knock themselves over.  As only one foot is on the ground and their center of gravity is far from stable; the “equal and opposite reaction” of Newtonian mechanics would knock their center backwards and the rest of the body would follow.  Since the movements are essentially based on natural walking, this stage must pass before fine-tuning begins.

Fine-tuning is an essential part of the training.  Sensei Carbonara would tell students, “talk to your body,” in an effort to develop body awareness.  The fine-tuning process gets more extreme as students move up in ability; not long before my black belt examination, I was once corrected from across a room because my punch was a fraction of an inch away from where it should have been.  The correction was silent; Sensei looked down the line, made eye contact with me, looked at my fist, and gestured with his fingers that I should move my hand slightly to the left.  I made the correction that untrained eyes would not even notice and he nodded and counted the next movement.

The explanation of the importance of such precision was both informal and mathematical. To paraphrase Sensei Carbonara, “You say that’s only half an inch, but if you’re trying to hit the moon and you’re half an inch off, you miss by a thousand miles.”  The same fine-tuning is applied to all movements, and exemplified in kata training.

Students usually begin their training in kata within the first month of study, after they have sufficient skill in the basic techniques to begin stringing them together.  New kata are introduced as the student progresses, while the previously learned kata are constantly refined.    All kata begin and end in the same spatial position.  The patterns are designed to always close themselves.  Each kata or sequence of kata have their own “attention” position with which the beginning and end is marked.  The practice of kata is detailed down to the position of the eyes.

The ritual embodies violence, the actions within the ritual mimic and condense behavior that create, along with the rest of the training, what Eugenio Barba refers to as a “decided body” (17-18).   A decided body is one which has the extra-daily movements of a performance system inscribed so as to become second nature.  This acculturation is visible in all types of performers from ballet dancers to sumo wrestlers.

In Matsubayashi Ryu, the acculturation of the body is achieved through very specific restored behavior, the kata.  Kata are practiced in a way not only to shape the body but to affect the mind as well.  The link between mind and body is of primary importance in the acquisition of knowledge.  It is not just by learning the various kata, but by repeatedly experiencing oneself performing them that a student advances in skill and understanding.  Karl F. Friday offers an explanation of the effectiveness of kata,

In emphasizing ritualized pattern practice and minimalizing analytical explanation, bugei masters blend ideas and techniques from the two educational models most familiar to medieval and early modern Japanese warriors, Confucianism and Zen.

Associating the bugei and samurai culture in general with Zen has been a time honored habit among both Japanese and Western authors.  And to be sure, kata training shares elements in common with the Zen traditions of ishin-denshin or “mind-to-mind-transmission” and what Victor Hori terms “teaching without teaching.”  The former stresses the importance of a student’s own immediate experience over explicit verbal or written explanation, engaging the deeper layers of a student’s mind and by-passing intellect; the latter describes a learning tool applied in Rinzai monasteries whereby students are assigned jobs and tasks that they are expected to learn and perform expertly with little or no formal explanation.  Both force the student to fully invoke his powers of observation, analysis, and imagination in order to comprehend where he is being steered.  Both lead to a level of understanding beyond cognition of the specific task or lesson presented. (104-105)

The basic dualities inherent in Zen are present in kata practice.  Though any kata is to be practiced so often as to be entirely automatic, each time the kata is performed, it is to be as if it were the first time.  The practitioner should relax into the pattern to such a degree that psychological spontaneity becomes part of the film strip of the restored behavior.  To do this one must invoke a state of “flow,” as described by Victor Turner in From Ritual to Theatre.

Turner’s description of flow involves;

1) The experience of merging action and awareness.
2) Centering of attention
3) Loss of Ego
4) The experience of being in control of one’s actions and environment
5) Non-contradictory demands for action
6) Flow is autotelic, it needs no goals or rewards outside itself
(56-58)

One does not perform the kata, one becomes the kata.  When at the age of 15 I was once asked by my sensei the purpose of kata, I was told, after giving several wrong answers, that kata was for “purifying the mind.”  The Zen aspect of Karate explains my sensei’s answer.

From spirituality, it is a small step to invoking morality.  Of course, the concept of a ritual that symbolizes violent acts being a tool for moral development seems contradictory on the surface.  But the moral development of the Karate practitioner is not based on the “thou shalt not” of Western religious thought.  In The Future of Ritual, Schechner theorizes that rituals are a means of catharsis, and furthermore, that their rhythmic actions release endorphins in the body.  He further states that all rituals somehow involve violence.  Schechner writes,

In both animals and humans rituals arise or are devised around disruptive, turbulent, and ambivalent interactions where faulty communication can lead to violent or even fatal encounters.  Rituals, and the behavior arts associated with them, are overdetermined, full of redundancy, repetition, and exaggeration.  This metamessage of “You get the message, don’t you!?!” (a question surrounded by emphasis) says that what a ritual communicates is very important yet problematic.  The interactions that rituals surround, contain, and mediate almost always contain hierarchy, territory, and sexuality/mating (an interdependent quadruple).  If these interactions are the “real events” rituals enfold, then what are the rituals themselves?  They are ambivalent symbolic actions pointing at the real transactions even as they help avoid too direct a confrontation with these events.  Thus rituals are also bridges – reliable doings carrying people across dangerous waters.  It is no accident that many rituals are “rites of passage.” (230)

Schechner goes on to cite Rene Girard,

Girard believes (and I agree) that ritual sublimates violence: “The function of ritual is to ‘purify violence’ violence; that is to ‘trick’ violence into spending itself on victims whose death will provoke no reprisals” (1977:36).  All this sounds very much like theatre – especially a theatre that “redirects” violent and erotic energies.  (234)

Taking this into account, let us return to kata and the development of character.  Rather than, “thou shalt not,” in kata, “thou shalt” until the desire to commit any act of violence is cathartically and ritually expelled.

It is through the kata that violence is ritualized and expelled by cathartic release.  It is through strenuous ritual enactment of techniques designed to cause serious damage to another human being that desire to perform actual violence is expelled.  Perhaps this is why progress in learning the applications is equated with moral growth.  By understanding the ways in which the body can be damaged, there is an added dimension to the catharsis.

It is through harnessing such behavior in the form of ritual that it is controlled and banished in the practitioner.  The violence of the actions is ritualized in the kata, which are open to several interpretations (bunkai), which become progressively more advanced and therefore more dangerous.  At the same time, practitioners learn more advanced kata as they progress in the system, which again ritualize further aspects of violence.

Kata compress and systematize patterns of violence.  The more advanced the student, the more advanced the kata in their personal repertoire, and, the deeper the understanding of all the kata in said repertoire.  Progressing logically from there, the more advanced the kata, the more potentially violent the application of the movements within it.  The greater the potential violence, the greater the catharsis.  Through kata, violence is controlled, expressed, and released.  The greater the catharsis, the more content and “at peace” the practitioner.  Rather than invoking “thou shalt not,” Karate raises its practitioners above unnecessary acts of aggression through enacting violence in the performance of kata.

[1]  My teacher in Karate was  Sensei Joseph Carbonara, 9th Dan, Hanshi, under the late Shoshin Nagamine, 10th Dan, Hanshi, and first disciple to the late Chotoku Omine, 8th Dan, Kyoshi.   I could not in good faith document the traditions of Karate without acknowledging my teacher and my teacher’s teachers.  Since this study is one of dual perspective, both from within as a practitioner and from without as a scholar, I must call attention to and analyze the traditions and courtesies even as I observe them.

Bibliography

• Barba, Eugenio, and Savarese, Nicola – The Secret Art of the Performer; A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology, Routledge, London and New York, 1991
• Budokan Karate Dojo, E. Northport, NY, – 20th Anniversary Book, 1989
• _________________________________, – 25th Anniversary Book, 1994
• _________________________________, Brochure, circa 1992
• Friday, Karl, F. with Humitake, Seki – Legacies of the Sword; The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1997
• Funakoshi Gichin – Karate-Do, My Way of Life, Kodansha International, New York, London, Tokyo, 1975
• McCarthy, Patrick – Bubishi, translation and commentary, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan, 1995
• Nagamine, Shoshin – The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, and Tokyo, Japan, 1976
• _______________, – Tales of Okinawa’s Great Masters, Trans. Patrick McCarthy, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Boston, Rutland, Vermont, and Tokyo, 2000
• Schechner, Richard – Between Theater & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1985
• _______________ – The Future of Ritual, Routledge, London and New York, 1995
• Turner, Victor – From Ritual to Theatre, The Human Seriousness of Play, Performing Arts Journal Publications, New York, 1982
• ____________ – The Anthropology of Performance, Performing Arts Journal Publications, New York, 1988
• Zarrilli, Phillip B. – When the Body Becomes All Eyes; Paradigms, Discourses and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, A South Indian Martial Art, Oxford University Press, 1998
• Meron Langsner is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Drama & Dance, Tufts University, Medford, MA

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