Makiwara Board Training for Karate Written by Owen Johnston, freelance karate instructor http://www.johnstonkarate.com/
A makiwara board, a padded striking post traditionally used in some karate styles, is one of my most recommended types of training euipment for karate practitioners. !t is the most recogni"able of the #hojo undo#, or #supplemental training euipment#, used in the Okinawan fighting methods now known as karate. $here are a few different type of makiwara, which share the purpose of helping de%elop correct techniue, power generation, and conditioning of the hands, arms, and feet. &akiwara can either be purchased %ery affordably, or you can construct your own if you ha%e access to the needed materials. A makiwara can be attached to a wall, suspended, or freestanding. $he $achi'makiwara (or, freestanding makiwara) is made up of a se%eral foot long post buried in the ground, such that the striking pad will reach about shoulder height. $raditionally, rope is used to bind a pad of rice straw to the top to create a striking surface. (&aki * roll+ roll+ Wara * straw.) Other materials materials such as duct tape are suitable, howe%er. Other traditional types of makiwara include age'makiwara (hanging), ude'makiwara (round on all sides), tou'makiwara (bamboo stalks or can e). $he smaller and more commonly seen makiwara boards are usually made of a pad that is co%ered with can%as and fied to a board, then mounted to a wall. $here are some %ariations, such as clapper and portable makiwara. -or more details on all these types and ideas for construction, please %iew ' http://www.americankangdukwon.org/makiwara.pdf $he resistance pro%ided by the makiwara when it is struck gets the body used to hard contact and encourages proper form. A poorly formed techniue will often bounce off the makiwara because the body was not in correct alignment to transfer power through the techniue. When training on the makiwara, you will want to carefully, slowly strike it in such a way that you will to condition cond ition your striking tools for deli%ering techniues, but also the rest of your p ower chain. $his includes your legs, hips, and shoulders. !n this way, you train them to coordinate and mo%e in such a way that you can get the most stability and power out of your techniues. $hese include your open and closed hand strikes, kicks, elbows, and so forth makiwara training allows for a lot of %ariety in techniue. With enough practice on the board your striking areas will adapt and strengthen the bones, and connecti%e tissues used for the strikes. While callouses commonly form o%er the knuckles with enou gh practice on the makiwara, this is not the goal it should merely be a side effect. 0ou must take great care in makiwara training, and always use proper techniue. While you do want to learn how to strike the makiwara with at least a moderate degree of force, you also want to make sure you learn correct ways to strike it, then take it slowly when doing so. As you progress with makiwara training, you can gradually increase the speed and force of your strikes. 1e sure to use something like 2it 2a Jow or similar liniment after training on the makiwara. 1efore you begin any training with makiwara or other impact tools, be sure to find a ualified instructor so that he or she can super%ise your makiwara training. $his will help you to learn control and proper techniue in your striking, which will pre%ent injuries and also make sure you know how to get the most out of your makiwara training. 3ersons under 45 years of age should a%oid hitting the makiwara with ecessi%e force. Always begin striking the makiwara with a low number of light strikes, and always err on the side of caution. !f any kind of swelling, bruises, tearing of the skin, etc. happens, cease makiwara training until you ha%e fully healed. !njury pre%ention is %ery important to k eep in mind as you engage in any kind of physical acti%ity, especially when using makiwara6 As such, ne%er
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engage in makiwara training, or any other kind of training, to the point of o%er'training or injury. 0our health is the most important thing6 As noted before, there are many different types of makiwara. $here are many offered on line for purchase, but as also noted, it is important to understand the uses of the makiwara, as well as differences between the types of makiwara a%ailable. ! highly recommend reading the book $he Art of 7ojo 8ndo a%ailable in print and for 9indle, %ia Ama"on ' for details on these types, as well as training eercises, and e%en how to construct your own. 7a%ing your own custom makiwara may be preferable to purchasing a makiwara board if you need something that has more gi%e or allows for more %ariety of techniues and footwork to be used (such as an ude'makiwara). !f you would like to use other types of resistance for your striking techniues, please keep the following point in mind. When conditioning your striking tools, you should not use any surface for training that has no #gi%e# or cushion of any kind, or is harder than your own body. $his includes trees, bricks, and walls. !f you would like to add cushioning though, try wrapping hea%y duty rope or old thick carpet around a tree. $here are also %arious types of wall punch pads that can be attached to a wall. $o pre%iew or purchase makiwara boards, makiwara bags, wall punch pads, and other training tools, as well as the book $he Art of 7ojo 8ndo, %iew this page ' http://astore.ama"on.com/makiwara'; &akiwara training is only one of many methods used in hojo undo. $he book $he Art of 7ojo 8ndo has a lot of ecellent information on this ancient style of training that was de%eloped as part of the Okinawan fighting methods now known as karate. $he eercises used in hojo undo are highly functional, and closely relate to the types of mo%ement that you use in kata. $he book contains information and diagrams for not only %arious eercises, but describes related techniues, and how to construct euipment. $he author also draws similarities between %arious techniues used in different styles, how the eercises benefit techniues, and e%en de%otes a chapter to warmup eercises, which is important in injury pre%ention.
undo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/&akiwara http://www.americankangdukwon.org/makiwara.pdf
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3ictured below is a makiwara ! purchased recently. We strung some wire through the hole on each side of the board and attached some foam padding to the back. $his way, it can be hung from a nail %ia the wire.
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3ictured below are two makeshift chiishi or strength stones that we put together. $wo different grind stones were used. $he larger one is about 45 pounds in weight and the handle used is an an old ae handle. We used a hea%y hammer to beat the handle into the hole. $he smaller stone is just under ? pounds in weight. A pool stick is used as the handle, with the thin end sawed off with a hand saw. 1oth were %ery sturdy to begin with, upon initial eercise testing, but we also used a liberal amount of hot glue to fill in the cracks between the holes and handles, to impro%e the sturdiness.
