Intense Pain! Okinawa Karate Training That Turns Your Entire Body Into a Weapon!

0:05 In “Sanchin,” the basic kata of Gojyu-ryu karate, you tense all the muscles in your body.

0:12 There are also training methods called “kote-gitae” and “kake-te.”

0:17 Both are extremely painful.

0:19 Swords, staffs, and other weapons are very hard objects.

0:28 Karate means empty hand.

0:30 Therefore, you must first transform your own body into a weapon.

0:35 A sword is heated, hammered, and cooled to become stronger.

0:42 So too, your arms and legs must be hammered and forged.

0:47 Turn blocking itself into an attack.

0:50 First, we'll bump the inside of my arm against the outside of your arm.

1:00 To execute a powerful block, you must strengthen your own arm.

1:09 Look! The muscles in your arm are bulging.

1:13 They're deformed!

1:15 Bending your thumb like this causes your arm to change like this.

1:26 Your hands are completely different in size.

1:36 Yagi-sensei's hands are larger than the average man's.

1:41 Hiyori-san's fingers are slimmer than the average woman's.

1:45 What slender fingers you have!

1:51 My fingers might break...

1:52 I'm worried, will you be okay?

2:00 Alright, let's try a light one.

2:04 Flip your wrist the moment our arms collide.

2:07 This part?

2:08 Hitting this thick part means your punch has already reached me.

2:18 Originally, we hit “kote-gitae” at the part where you wear a wristwatch.

2:21 It hurts a lot, doesn't it?

2:22 It hurts a lot.

2:25 You also hit the outside of the arm with this hard part.

2:30 We hit each other there?-Yes.

2:34 Clench your hand at the moment of impact.

2:38 It hurts, doesn't it?

2:43 Now, next.

3:03 You seem fine.

3:05 No!

3:06 Try harder.

3:15 I can't take it anymore.

3:18 This is proof you're in Okinawa.

3:25 The final "kime" is extremely effective.

3:29 For example, in an actual fight, when your opponent swings at you with full force,

3:34 you don't block the attack with all your strength—you deflect it, right?

3:40 So in this case too, it's better to practice striking with relaxed power rather than putting all your strength into it.

3:53 That hurts even more.

3:55 Even more?

3:56 Usually it's like this.

4:00 But...

4:02 Swing it outward.

4:08 Did you relax your arm and swing?

4:12 Do you practice this in stages?

4:16 Yes, in the first stage, you do it with force, and as you improve, you do it with relaxation.

4:20 For example, against a punch, you relax and do it like this.

4:30 Push "tsuki" all the way in without stopping.

4:34 Next, bring your fist down onto my arm from above.

4:40 Relax your strength.

4:43 More.

4:47 This is hitting.

4:48 But...

4:51 Relax your strength.

4:52 Sorry for hurting you.

4:57 It's hard to relax.

4:58 Like flicking water off your palms after washing your hands.

5:05 That's right.

5:06 Relax more.

5:08 Just drop that arm.

5:12 As if brushing someone's hand away.

5:18 This really hurts.

5:21 Try it again.

5:22 I'm keeping my hand open.

5:30 Next...

5:32 Just by clenching my fist, all the force you brought down bounces right back at you.

5:35 It came back!

5:36 Put all your strength into it in an instant.

5:39 It's all the same.

5:45 The one who hits it hurts more.

5:49 Only when we actually collided hands did I truly understand.

5:56 It's difficult to grasp just by listening to an explanation.

6:01 When doing tuski, you strike with these bones, right?

6:03 Rather than building muscle through training,

6:05 block and strike using parts that are already strong without training.

6:10 Moreover, target areas the opponent cannot train.

6:17 Therefore, in “uke” too, use the bones, not the muscles.

6:21 Bend your wrist; there are two bones here.

6:25 Strike here.

6:29 This is using force to block.

6:31 Instead, flip your wrist.

6:34 Use the naturally firm parts that don't need strengthening.

6:42 In this block, tsuki has already reached me.

6:44 Therefore, I need to stop here.

6:53 It seemed like only a hard part lightly touched my arm.

6:58 Yet my arm was violently flung backward.

7:04 Against an opponent who still presses the attack, I strike by rotating my hips.

7:11 Will this right hand be okay tomorrow?

7:13 Shouldn't you learn this?

7:15 Yes, definitely.

7:16 Let's start with a simple block.

7:19 After striking here, flip your wrist.

8:01 It hurts when you hit it exactly right.

8:05 Was it accurate?

8:06 Yes.

8:07 But does it hurt you too when you're hitting it?

8:09 Yes, maybe because the damage from today's practice had built up.

8:14 I definitely feel like I was able to hit this spot precisely.

8:18 As a woman, I've always felt the physical strength difference between myself and men during practice.

8:24 But I didn't feel that now.

8:26 Next, let's do this.

8:41 This is meant to target the eyes.

8:43 Be careful, it's dangerous.

8:44 And the vital point in the groin.

8:46 We used to practice like this, but it's too dangerous,

8:50 so now we do it at a distance.

8:52 Then, after “kote-kitae,” let's do “kake-te.”

8:57 Bend your thumb.

8:59 Pull. Rotate. Push.

9:13 My body is being controlled.

9:16 Let's apply this movement.

9:40 This really needs thorough practice.

9:42 This is the basics.

9:45 Hiyori-san was really good for a first-timer.

9:51 Must be thanks to her regular practice.

9:55 She really was skilled.

9:56 Well, she is a karate instructor, after all.

10:00 To be honest, even after doing it for years, it still hurts.

10:06 No matter how much I do it, it still hurts.

10:13 How was your experience with "kote-kitae"?

10:19 It was super painful, right?

10:21 Yes, it really hurt.

10:23 Yagi sensei also said, “Even after years of practice, this still hurts.”

10:28 It was a great lesson—even with that level of training, it still hurts.

10:34 The fact that it hurts doesn't change.

10:36 The idea of transforming the arm itself into a weapon like a sword is a rare concept, right?

10:46 Yes, but from a self-defense perspective, that method feels like the most correct approach.

10:54 The idea that every part of the body should be weaponized and utilized.

11:01 Yagi sensei's arm wasn't ordinary.

11:06 It was very thick and deformed, right?

11:11 He said the muscles bulged when he bent his fingers like this.

11:19 It was kind of strange.

11:21 The shape?

11:24 It certainly was an unusual shape.

11:27 Today's experience was likely a unique practice method specific to Okinawa's "naha-te".

11:32 Did you practice that with your friends or "kancho" afterward?

11:40 Unfortunately, I don't practice “kote-kitae” together with ‘kancho’.

11:44 However, during “yakusoku-kumite” when doing "uke" against an attack, we often study which part to strike.

12:06 Since you're a woman, it's probably best not to practice turning your entire body into a weapon, right?

12:17 But I felt that the concepts Yagi sensei mentioned

12:22 —targeting areas that can't be trained and striking using parts that are strong without training—

12:29 are especially important for women.

12:39 Hiyori Kanazawa of Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation.

12:43 She is an authentic karateka who has won world championships in both “kumite" and “kata”.

12:50 Her grandfather is the legendary karate master Hirokazu Kanazawa.

12:54 Her father is Nobuaki Kanazawa Kancho, the head of SKIF.

12:59 She is the third generation of a karate family.

13:04 Actual footage of her experience and After-talk.

13:07 It was great to hear such a genuine karateka's thoughts, wasn't it?

13:11 Stay tuned for the next “HIYORI EXPRESS”!

13:17 Please subscribe to SKIF's YouTube channel.

13:27 Everyone is a Hero in "Kuro-obi World".

13:35 Of course you are also a Hero!

13:38 See you again in "Kuro-obi World"!