2026-03-09

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

Getting off the line of attack, while keeping the opponent on yours, is one of the most important lessons in karate training. Sometimes I think our “line work”, where we march up and down the floor in straight lines, sets junior students up for failure in this regard. By the time we put them in front of another person who’s trying to hit them, they’re so accustomed to marching forward and backward in straight lines, that stepping to the side doesn’t even occur to them. It’s like the old Tom & Jerry cartoons where a pole would be falling towards Tom but, rather than just step to the side, he turns and runs directly away from the pole, which inevitably hits him anyway.

To solve this, I have students do yakusoku ippon kumite, but I insist that the defenders start with their backs to the wall so it’s impossible to move backward to escape. You can move anywhere else - forward, or even down - but you can’t move back. This forces students to get off the line, keep the attacker in their sights, and stay close enough to be able to reengage.