Читать книгу Secrets of Shotokan Karate онлайн

13 страница из 28

Stimulus and Response

All of fighting may be viewed as a process of stimulus and response. This is a relatively simple concept to understand, even for the layman. As it relates to karate, it involves the tendency of an individual to respond to actions not initiated by himself. In other words, when attacked, an individual responds by defending himself. The attack is the stimulus and the defense the response. Consequently, it follows that training should attempt to reinforce and develop, as much as possible, the ability of the individual to respond to outside stimuli. While sparring drills demand such a reaction, there are still other methods of training that will benefit the student in this regard.

Formal karate training usually takes place in a class atmosphere, with the instructor giving commands and instruction, and then counting as the students perform each exercise. Many fail to realize that this is the perfect time to train the stimulus-response process. The voice of the instructor may be viewed as the stimulus, and the student’s individual movement in the course of training is the response to it.