Is Body Conditioning Karate's Lost Art?

Copyright remains the property of: George Chaplin, C/O Dr. N. G. Jablonski, Dept
. of Anthropology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francis
co. CA 94118 - 4599 U.S.A email: njablonsk.cal.org.
Biographical Details George Chaplin is an Uechi Ryu Karate Do Yon Dan, and has t
aught and practiced karate in Hong Kong and Perth Western Australia. He was regi
stered at Futenma Dojo where he trained with Grandmaster Kanei Uechi, and has sp
ent a total of one year studying on Okinawa. He spent five years as Chief Instru
ctor of the Hong Kong Dojo with Mr. Robert Campbell Renshi who was Senior Instru
ctor and head of the branch. He has recently moved to San Francisco. .
Introduction:
This article is offered to the audience with the hope that it will inspire furth
er discussion about the topic of conditioning. Here conditioning refers to the b
ody's accommodation to getting hit and not getting bruised. It does not mean phy
sical or cardio-vascular conditioning. It is an attempt to explain the observati
on that conditioning takes place. It may or may not be the answer and although t
he medical implications are pondered by the author, he must point out from the s
tart that he has no medical training.
He welcomes any input from health professionals into this debate. He advises tha
t conditioning must be done carefully and under supervision. If it is not undert
aken then there is a risk that sparring and training accidents will cause greate
r injuries than they would otherwise. If you are in doubt about any health aspec
ts of karate training the correct person to consult is a health professional. Un
fortunately their most frequent advice, to the author at least, has been to give
up karate!
Despite its importance for most forms of modern martial arts training, body cond
itioning has either been totally dropped or is sadly neglected. Traditional form
s of kung fu and karate, such as Uechi Ryu, have always incorporated a system of
body conditioning. It was by means of body conditioning that the body was prepa
red for the rigors of combat.
Today many of these exercises to "toughen" the body have been discarded. The emp
hasis has shifted to sport karate and body conditioning has been replaced with m
uscle and cardiovascular conditioning because now it is fitness that is of param
ount importance. It can be said, however, that conditioning is vital to all form
s of karate because it gives the body the ability to stand up to the constant kn
ocks and blows. The ability to withstand the small but constant injuries sustain
ed in normal training is important because it gives rise to greater confidence i
n the practice of karate. In addition to this confidence conditioning done corre
ctly will help to maintain good health. For these reasons conditioning should ag
ain become an essential part of martial arts practice.
Training Methods:
Traditionally, conditioning was achieved by practicing very slightly injurious r
outines slowly and sustainedly over many years. The important word here is sligh
tly. The inflicting of serious injury is detrimental to body conditioning, karat
e spirit, and general well being. Neither masochism nor sadism should have a pla

ce in training. It must be noted that vigorous training may seem to approach the
se extremes but at no time should the boundary separating safe from injurious tr
aining be crossed.
There are no absolutes and it necessary for the training partners to set their o
wn limits with which each is comfortable. It is up to the instructors and senior
s to ensure that the training is continuing within orderly and safe bounds.
So what areas do traditional karate individuals try to train? To answer that que
stion we will look at Uechi Ryu Karate Do, a conservative Okinawan form of karat
e, which has a number of specific exercise to train particular places. These exe
rcises are done against the resistance of a partner and so increase muscular str
ength at the same time as conferring conditioning. The slight trauma is provided
by means of rubbing and hitting. These exercises are performed at every trainin
g session and last for approximately 10 - 15 minutes. In Okinawa, Japan, karate
training sessions consist of two or more hours three times a week. Conditioning
is started at the first lesson.
In the first place these conditioning exercises are used to strengthen those are
as on the outer arm used for the majority of blocking, that is, the dorsal, medi
al, and lateral aspects of the forearm. Care is taken to avoid the tendons, nerv
es and blood vessels of the ventral (inner) aspect and also around the elbow and
wrist joints. This whole area is referred to as the Kote in Japanese. These are
as are conditioned by practicing repeated blocks and strikes to each of the area
s in turn, each time hitting a slightly different place. Next in importance to t
he blocking areas, are the areas that are not so successful in avoiding getting
hit or kicked such as the; thighs, and calves (which in this system is also used
in blocking against kicking techniques). Lesser amounts of conditioning in othe
r areas that also occasional become hit, such as, the stomach, pectorals, and th
e latissimus dorsii muscles, is also undertaken. In Okinawa conditioning of the
frontal lower throat area has been observed, the resistance being provided by fo
rceful contraction of the neck muscles. This practice the author considers doubt
ful. This and other extreme methods of conditioning seems to be a recent introdu
ction to Uechi Ryu. In conditioning the pectoral region of women care must be ta
ken to avoid the breast tissue as bruising can cause fat necrosis. Besides the u
ndisireablibity of necrosis, these post trauma, necrotic, lumps may potentially
lead to a cancerous lump being missed or confused in manual breast examination.
Coincidentally with this protective conditioning the exercises are training the
striking weapons so as to improve their strength and ability to withstand consta
nt impacts. They use techniques such as striking with (knife hand, using body of
the Abductor Digiti Minimi muscle on the edge of the hand), (hammer fist, which
utilizes and reinforces the same area as shuto by having the digits tightly fle
xed to form a fist), and (full fist, striking with knuckles of index and middle
fingers). Parts of the foot such as tips of toes, top of instep and occasionally
the lower shin just above the ankle is used for conditioning the legs by means
of (front kicks) and (circular or round house kicks). The areas of the leg that
are conditioned are the lateral and anterior (outer and front) aspects of the th
igh and to a lesser extent the inner or medial aspects above the adductor canal
(well above the knee but low enough to avoid the groin). The lower leg is condit
ioned at lateral and medial sides of the shin and at the front, above the shin b
one proper, where the Tibialis Anterior muscle joins the top 1/3 of the tibia be
low the tibial plateau. The shin itself is also conditioned by repeated very lig
ht taps with the toes. In addition in Okinawa the front of the shin is condition
ed by rolling a smooth heavy weight up and down on it. Kote Tikkai (arm rubbing)
is also used for conditioning in addition to the (blocking) and (striking) tech
niques described above. This is where the three blocking areas of the forearms a
re massaged against those of a partner very forcefully. It is said to be used to
spread the micro bruises out and increase the blood supply. Sometimes the calve
is rubbed by using a rising front kick into a rubbing X or cross block to the l

ower leg.
Chinese Kung Fu practitioners also use similar methods as well as preparations o
f herbal medicines to enhance blood flow into the regions that are being conditi
oned. An herbal remedy is used in Uechi Ryu Karate Do but only to ameliorate ove
r-enthusiastic conditioning that has caused severe or extensive bruising. The so
called "Uechi Grass" preparation of an herbal grass grown at the masters home s
oaked in (Okinawan rice spirit) is applied topically and internally, but it is n
ot used routinely as it would be in Chinese systems. Besides partner work Chines
e practitioners employ such training aids as lightly and repeatedly hitting the
"wooden man" so often seen in Wing Chun academies.
Observations of Students:
Although the methods employed vary from style to style, the end result appears t
o be the same. Unfortunately it is impossible to state what physiological change
s conditioning actually brings about, without the opportunity of dissecting a pr
actitioner's arm. We can speculate about how it is most likely effected, from ob
serving the changes seen in the proponents of Uechi Ryu and in particular, those
changes arising and developing in students new to karate. The author has had th
e opportunities to observe this training both in students and high ranking maste
rs in Okinawa for one year and among his own students over periods as long as tw
elve years.
All students report bruising, on first starting body conditioning. This soon les
sens and usually disappears within six months. Severe bruising is a sign of over
vigorous application, if it continues with a lower intensity of conditioning br
uising needs to be investigated as it could be indicative of blood or other medi
cal disorders. The bruising appears to be more common in students of poor physic
al condition and weak muscle tone. Younger students frequently achieve condition
ing more quickly. Once it has been achieved, conditioning seems to last for a pe
riod of years after the cessation of active training. The muscle tone and resist
ance to depression in actively conditioned areas appears to be very high. There
is no sign of obvious damage and no changes in skin texture or coloration were o
bservable.
The conditioned areas show very little subcutaneous fat deposits. All students r
eport lesser amounts of injuries, less severe pain in injuries that are accident
ally sustained and enhanced healing of such injuries. At least for the author me
dical nurses who have had to give injections or draw blood, have complained that
the blood vessels are hard to find, that they are deep and the skin itself is t
hick.
Mechanisms of Body Conditioning:
Training appears to cause the loose connective tissue and fascia underlying the
skin to change in such a way that they can withstand knocks and blows better. Be
sides the sub-cutaneous fascia there is a compartmental fascia, that is, a cover
ing around bundles of muscle fibers, individual muscles, and around groups of mu
scles. Fascia is the tough unchewable substance found in the middle of the leg m
uscles used in a typical Sunday roast beef. Its natural purpose is to provide th
e muscle fibers something to push against when they are contracting. Hence, fasc
ia is very tough and weight for weight is comparable to steel in tensile strengt
h. It seems that with repeated slight trauma the fascia thickens slightly so as
to provide an even stronger cover.
This covering of sub-cutaneous fascia cushions blows and can be thought of as a
tough extra skin underlying the outer skin. Cushioning from the fascia is achiev
ed by account of it being totally inelastic and when it is stressed against cont
racted muscles it spreads the impact over the surface of the muscle allowing no
penetration into the muscle body. This lowers peak impact pressures at the point
of contact. Equally important to the actual fascia's thickness and strength is

muscle tone. The stronger the muscles are contracted the more tension would be e
xerted in the subcutaneous fascial layer. The tighter it is stretched the more a
re the penetrative force would be dissipated over. The deep compartmental layers
in and around muscles are quite possibly also implicated in this cushioning.
Other structures are probably also involved in conditioning. The dermis may deve
lop a protective callusing over areas that are frequently hit or abraded. The lo
ose connective tissues are those tissues that lie between the fascia and the low
est levels of the outer skin or epidermis. It is made up of collagen, the same t
ough connective tissue as that of fascia and tendons and it is in the loose conn
ective tissues that fat is stored. This layer too may change as a result of trai
ning and also work to slightly cushion the effect of blows. One way could be a c
hange in the proportion of collagen to fat.
The loose connective tissue has a rich blood supply and is able to repair and re
generate itself quickly and quite easily. The deep fascia is also bathed, althou
gh mostly indirectly, in a rich blood supply from the loose connective tissue an
d from the muscles themselves. It also has a very limited direct blood supply. A
s a result of the micro damage and regular training the blood supply to the loos
e connective tissue and fascia might increase as they thicken. Besides the cushi
oning effect of this thickening, the increased blood supply would provide anothe
r benefit, in that, the body's ability to repair micro damage is much enhanced - small bruises healing almost before they are noticed.
The mechanisms for conditioning bones is much more problematic to describe if it
even happens because the author suspects that it is more likely an artifact of
pain tolerance. If any conditioning can be given to bones it is more from the ef
fects of muscle stress than repeated trauma, because bones thicken depending on
the loads they have to endure. Denser boner could be more resistant to impact fo
rces but it is doubtful to the author that this would be to any significant degr
ee.
An increase in the density of the bone would stimulate the periosteum, and it ma
y be possible by repeated very gentle stimulation to make it thicken and hence "
condition". With bone's slow regenerative ability any useful conditioning will a
lso be very slow to develop. Any apparent bone conditioning, other than that ins
ignificant amount explained by increased bone density and minimal thickening of
the periosteum, is more probably better explained by accommodation to pain. It i
s not recommended by the author to seek to condition bones and this activity has
been abandoned by him.
This abandonment was is due to the attendant risks of bone conditioning. The sli
ghtest over zealousness in conditioning bony areas and the periosteum will separ
ate from the bone because the bone becomes depressed away from the periosteum. O
nce it has lifted from the surface of the bone it will lose its indirect blood s
upply and take a long time to re-attach. Whilst it is unattached blood will coll
ect between the bone proper and the periosteum. This is the dreaded and very pai
nful bone bruise. Other problems are much worse.
Complications of Over Training:
Bones:
Bruised bones take a very long time to heal due to the almost non-existent blood
supply. This can lead to some very potentially serious complications. The most
unusual and worst these complications being Osteosarcoma or Bone cancer. This is
where the regenerative properties of the bone go haywire. In Osteosarcoma the c
ells change and go mad, proliferating at such a rate they destroy the bone they
are supposed to be repairing. This very serious illness is often, but by no mean
s always, set off by a severe bone bruise. Like all cancers, if it is not caught
in time, it can be fatal and anyway it is always serious. In young people it is
more difficult to catch as it develops at an even faster rate than adults. The

other serious complication of bone conditioning is infected bones, osteomyelitis

.
This is where an infection sets into the body of the bone. Its main non-surgical
cause is almost always trauma. The infection will eventually ulcerate out throu
gh the skin. It too can be life threatening because it can cause blood toxicity
complications and very high fevers. It is always quite difficult to cure and wil
l often break out again as the infection slowly smolders, undetected, through th
e bone. Bad bone bruises can leave areas where there is too much calcium deposit
ed or the deposits are wrongly laid down, which may have health implications in
old age.
Muscles:
Deep muscles have such a rich blood supply that they bruise easily. In fact they
can bruise so badly that they become flooded with blood. This can cause the mus
cle to swell in its fascial covering. When this happens in the calf it can cause
the blood supply to the lower leg to become shut off. This carries the possible
risk of gangrene in the lower leg if the circulation is impaired for a long per
iod. If the blockage is total gangrene will start in less than half an hour. Thi
s condition only likely to happen in the calf and is then known as Anterior Comp
artment Syndrome. It can usually be detected by acute pain in the calf itself an
d numbness around the second and third toes as the nerves serving those areas ar
e similarly compressed along with the arteries. The seriousness of Gangrene does
not need amplifying and it too is associated with fever. Bad diabetics with imp
aired peripheral blood flow should be particularly concerned about gangrene in t
he foot. A very high fever associated with any bad bruise is a certain sign of s
erious difficulty and needs prompt investigation.
Another concern with bruises is those in the body of the large muscles themselve
s, usually the muscles of the thigh; Although the author has seen one in the bic
eps. When flooded with blood from a bad bruise haemotoma, the blood starts to fo
rm a new bone in the body of the muscle. This is heterotopic bone formation asso
ciated with charley horse or chronic cramps it is called myositis-ossificans. Th
e small fragments of bone in the body of the muscle cause severe pain.
The ability of the muscles to form bone in this way is a method the body has dev
eloped for reinforcing areas of high stress. With trauma this useful ability is
confused and forms bone in an inappropriate place. The chance of myositis-ossifi
cans forming is often exacerbated by deep massage to a bruised large muscle.
Tendons, Nerves and Other:
To avoid serious injuries it is of course prudent to avoid damaging blood vessel
s and nerves, however, these are mostly well placed to avoid damage except, mayb
e around joints, e.g., around the wrist and elbow. It goes without saying that j
oints of any kind can never be strengthened by conditioning. The last major comp
lication to be concerned about in body conditioning is in the fascia of the tend
on sheaths, tendons, and ligaments. These do not have a direct blood supply and
like periosteum they collect their nutriments from the thin fluid that passes be
tween the cells. It is called the interstitial fluid. Therefore, without a blood
supply they will not bruise.
Fascia, tendons, and ligaments don't really bruise anyway because they are made
of inelastic, tightly bonded molecules of collagen. These are so inelastic that
they tear instead of bruising. Small tears are not very serious or complicated a
nd will usually clear up with some rest. Sudden impact onto a highly stressed te
ndon or ligament can often cause complete separation that will require surgical
repair. Major tears, whether complete or not, will weaken a ligament or tendon a
nd the resultant scarring will leave it susceptible to more tears. This weakenin
g can become chronic and cause the cessation of training. Tendons run in a prote
ctive sheath. Bruise this and you run the risk of having the smooth slippery sur

face of the sheath roughening, the tendon will then grate every time it moves ca
using acute pain.
This can be seen in the knuckles of people over doing the Makiwara and punching
hard objects like bricks as in Tamashiwara training. This condition, tenosynovit
is, is not normally serious although it may be become chronic and require the ce
ssation of karate training.
Why if there are so many dangers to over-zealous body conditioning do we do it a
t all? And indeed aren't these dangers the reason why most systems practiced tod
ay don't do it anyway? Well, the complications found in body conditioning are pr
esent in everyday practice when doing forms of fighting and sparring. What karat
e practitioner has never had a major bruise? If you are going to become bruised
-- and every one is -- then it is best to prepare the body for the eventuality.
A forceful punch that is wrongly blocked or not blocked at all will connect.
When it strikes the blocking surface it will hurt and could injure. This is such
a regular occurrence that it is not even considered or thought about in most ka
rate circles. A potentially stronger danger can come from actions such as leg sw
eeps and especially from poorly prepared demonstrations involving breaking techn
iques. Because conditioning can protect the body from inevitable contacts it sho
uld be started with the first lesson and kept up through out a karate practition
er's life. They will then always be well protected. Protecting oneself from inju
ry is surely the raison d'tre" of karate training.
The Yin and Yang of Body Conditioning:
It is useful to compare the injunctions given above, with those practices and ex
planations of the old Chinese masters. It is hardly surprising that the old mast
ers arrived at the same knowledge, but that they did so by trial and error and c
enturies of tradition is much harder for us of the scientific age to accept. The
old masters were almost always doctors too, although their medical system was t
hat of the Chinese herbalist. This system often arrived at the same conclusions
as Western medicine, but with an archaic explanation that is considered scientif
ically wrong. From a functional point of view, however, the Chinese paradigms ar
e as valid as Western ones.
Body conditioning is explained in terms of Yin and Yang. The dark soft forces an
d the strong hard forces. Nothing is ever purely one or the other but every thin
g is a different admixture of the two principals of the universe. In the body th
e yin and yang areas can be determined by standing in the midday sun. The areas
in shadow are yin those in full sun are yang. The energy traverses the body in c
hannels Yang channels are on the outer sides of the body and limbs and Yin chann
els on the inside shaded area of the body. The depth of the shadow determines th
e amount of yin present in an area. Therefore, the arm pit, groin, and throat, a
re the weakest area being almost pure Yin.
It becomes immediately evident that this "theory" has some validity as these are
the major striking points of the body to cause injury. Lesser shadows become ap
parent on closer inspection, such as those under the pectoral region, covering t
he inner arm and leg, below the knees, around the ankles, bridge of the nose, et
c.. The major muscles of chest, thighs, calves, forearms, etc. all stand out in
brilliant light; being infused with yang.
The components of the body are each assigned to either yin or yang. Muscles are
the most yang. Hollows and spaces are the most yin; armpit, groin, back of the k
nee. The internal organs are considered uniformly soft and vulnerable. Tendons a
re a mixture of yin and yang. Tendons along with blood vessels and nerves are co
nsidered the areas where the flow (movement) of energy takes place. Therefore, t
he yin element can easily be disrupted there; as it can at the joints. Bones are
surprisingly considered as being almost all yin with only a tiny fraction of ya

ng that is concentrated on their surface.

Although the terms and labels are different this must sound very familiar by now
.
Apply to this knowledge of the body a few simple rules and we have the outline o
f the principles of body conditioning training methods as formulated by the old
Chinese masters. Yang will be repulsed by yang (strength repulses strength). Gre
ater yang overcomes lesser yang. Yang (being strong) damages yin (soft). Yin wil
l eventually overcome yang -- as water will wear away rocks (energy takes streng
th which will ultimately cause tiredness). Too much yang and the body will burn
up (heat exhaustion).
So the methods become simply: Hit strong areas as hard as the strong area can wi
thstand it. Therefore, muscles can be trained to ever increasing amounts of cond
itioning. Hit mixed areas only hard enough so as not to damage the soft parts. O
nly apply soft force to area belonging to yin (soft parts and bones). Do not bec
ome permanently tense but apply focus (kime) as it is needed. Therefore, it can
be seen from the above that functionally, an identical solution as that of moder
n medicine and sports science, has been arrived at by the old Chinese masters.
Conclusion:
All in all, conditioning is a useful adjunct to martial arts training, giving pa
rticipants an opportunity to strengthen their techniques, and offensive and defe
nsive natural weapons. It will enable the students to come face to face with the
fear of being struck and to learn to accept and overcome this fear. It will als
o help to avoid, in their daily training, the potentially life threatening injur
ies that rarely but unavoidably do happen.
George Chaplin, 4th dan, Uechi-ryu Karate-Do.