Now, obviously, we are going to have a difference of opinion, the main thing is can we come up with some facts, or at least opinions so well grounded, that there is a clear winner? I believe we can.
First, there is sport versus art. In a sport one fights somebody else. In an art, one is in conflict (attempting to resolve conflict) with oneself.
A proper karate stance should be a perfect mix between mobility and solidity. Mobiity is when one can launch their body quickly. Solidity is when one can grip the ground with their feet and not be moved.
In the Shotokan kokutsu dachi stance, however, the mix between mobile and solid has been unbalanced. If you study the legs you will see that they are angling more than 90 degrees apart. This means the stance is more solid than mobile.
Now, to leap right into it, it’s okay to practice the high and fancy kicks, they will give you flexibility, and that increase your power. However, when it comes to defense on the street, you want to stay with the basic kicks that are too low and fast to grab. You want concentrate on with the front snap kick, the side thrust, the wheel (a snap on the side), and a spinning (hopping/popping) side to the rear.
Inspect your kick, make sure that the bones are aligned. Stand on the part of the foot that you are kicking with to make sure it can support weight. You can stand on the ball of the foot, so the front snap kick is going to work, but you can’t stand on a side of the foot comfortably, so it is not going to work.
He had attached parachute webbing across the insides of his car because he felt that that material was most excellent for holding his auto together on the inside. He had fire extinguishers screwed to every surface. He had a dial on his dash to give extra juice to his brake lights, and he turned it whenever he faced away from the sun so that drivers behind him could see when he braked.
This was all surface stuff, though. The most impressive thing that Mud Car did was memorize the times of all the traffic lights in San Jose. He could traverse that large town without ever hitting a stop light.
I want to make a point here…and I can only do that by asking you one specific question. Where, during your punch, do your arms bear the most weight? The answer is obvious, they bear it at the end of the punch, when the arm is nearly extended.
So why do you need to work your arm across the whole range of motion? Being strong at the beginning or middle of the push up is not where you need the strength. Concentrating your work out through the whole range of motion of the arm is not putting energy into the impact part of the punch where you need it.
One must understand, of course, that there are stages of emptiness. The beginning student will have one viewpoint concerning this notion, and the advanced master will have another, and there is plenty of room in between. Indeed, one could almost say there are as many viewpoints of this great nothingness as there are students to perceive them.
In the beginning concepts of Tai Chi give much confusion. The beginning student tries to get in his own way, tries to figure out the mechanistic nature of the universe, and works his way through confusion. Eventually, the beginner starts to realize that there is more to this idea of emptiness than he ever had inkling.
One can perceive space inside the body. The apparent concreteness of organ and tissue gives way to perception. Awareness permeates unhindered through the contrivances of the apparently real body.