How to teach yourself the basics of karate

Karate was developed over a span of hundreds of years in a violent feudal context so learning it takes a great deal of time and effort. But following these steps, you will be able to choose a basic karate technique and begin to train your body to execute it properly.

Things You'll Need

  • A place to practice, with some room in which to move around and throw kicks and other techniques.
  • Comfortable loose fitting clothing.
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Instructions

    • 1

      Decide on a technique to focus on like a fist strike or a side kick. If you don't have a technique in mind, do some research using the resources provided at the bottom of this page and pick a technique that looks simple and easy to do.

    • 2

      Learn how to execute the technique safely. With a kick, you need to learn how to stretch your muscles and how to position your hips so as not to pull muscles or pull the hip out of its socket. For a fist strike you need to learn how to properly form your fist so that striking will not break your hand. Learning about these safety measures is imperative due to the physically stressing nature of the combat techniques of karate. To find out how to safely execute your technique consult the resources listed below.

    • 3

      Perfect the details of the technique. To make the technique effective you will need to determine the following factors: What is the target of the strike? What part of the strike will make contact with the opponent? What does the rest of your body do to enhance the strike?

    • 4

      Learn about the weak points on the human anatomy, like the diaphragm and the nose. These are the points that you will want to target. Then you will need to determine what parts of the fist make contact with the opponent (for beginners this is the first two knuckles). After this you can focus on the distribution of weight on each leg and practice having a stable posture from which to throw the punch.

    • 5

      Practice the technique. Repeatedly execute the technique and focus on the most important characteristics of the technique: the target, your striking surface, your balance and stability.

    • 6

      Change your focus area and return to Step 2 with a different technique. This step can happen concurrently with the other steps as you can practice many different techniques at once.

    • 7

      Consider finding a karate instructor. There is only so much you can do to teach yourself karate. After getting your feet wet you should seek out direct instruction and practice with other students.