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Makiwara

The makiwara is the most important piece of training equipment in karatedo. It typically consists of a wooden board covered with straw rope. It is used to develop the power, speed, stance, and form of every technique and at the same time condition natural weapons such as the fists, knuckles, elbows, knees, and feet. Practice with the makiwara toughens the skin, strengthens the joint's articulation, and generally strengthens the technique. It used to be the only way to practice delivering blows with full force and it was used to learn proper concentration of force and focusing of the whole mind and body on the target. In modern karatedo, protective equipment allows the student to work on a moving target. This has somewhat lessened the use of the makiwara, which, however, still remains essential, especially when training by oneself.

The makiwara should be approximately six feet high (the height of a man) and have just enough spring in it to absorb the shock of the impact without generating too great a reaction force. This reaction force is absorbed by the body and may damage the joints or be detrimental to the organs, particularly the heart, if absorbed in a straight line through the limbs. If the expression of force causes as much damage to the instrument generating the force as to the target, the purpose is defeated. In earlier times, karate practitioners practicing on the makiwara over a long period of time sometimes sustained internal injuries (especially when the joints were locked and the body not fully twisted into techniques). Cyclists have discovered that using their limbs, particularly their arms (elbows and wrists), as shock absorbers to buffet and dissipate the jolts received from the ground, tires them immeasurably less than absorbing these shocks directly. Their consequent gain in stamina is obviously a sign of less body damage occurring, thus reducing the amount of energy needed to maintain the exercise, and allowing for the maximum gain with the minimum expenditure. This is a primary axiom of all athletic motion, and one of the reasons why in Kenkokan karatedo, the punching arm is slightly bent and shoulders are fully twisted so that they end up being perpendicular to the target. In this way the reaction force is better absorbed and dissipated by the arm and shoulders. For further explanation and evolution of these principles of dynamics, see Chapter 3, p. 29.