My favorite equipment for Karate training at home
For some people, it’s difficult to get to the dojo as often as they would like to. If you are like me, you want to train every single day, at least 30 minutes. It’s totally possible to train your Karate from home, and today I’ll share with you a list of my favorite equipment that I use to do so.
In this article, I will cover the following:
- Standing Punching Bag
- Hand Weights
- Chi-ishi
- Kettlebells
- Ab Wheel
- Tetsutaba
- Ankle Weights
- Kung-Fu Metal Ring
- Furibo
- Floor Dip Bar
- Wooden Dummy
Many of these tools are used in Hojo-Undo, traditional Okinawan "supplementary exercises" used to condition the body in terms of strength, endurance, coordination and posture.
I use these tools many times per week, some every day. You’ll see that they allow me not only to train my Karate but work on my conditioning as well. I hope you can benefit from this list, so here we go.
Standing punching bag
As you know, punching bags are a fantastic piece of equipment that can help you train various aspects of your Karate. When training from home, standing bags are a must if you don’t have a place to hang a traditional punching bag. That's why I've bought my standing bag.
I have the Wavemaster XXL , and I love it! It's sturdy, stable and its padding run lower than other models so I can practice low kicks on it. Of course, I can't go full contact on a standing bag because it would quickly go on its back, but still, I can hit with a pretty decent amount of power. No complaints there.
I use it mainly to practice techniques of my punches, kicks, elbow and knee strikes, but it can also be used to develop stamina, endurance, and coordination. If you want to lose weight, punching bags are a great way to burn fat quite rapidly!
Training frequency: Three times a week.
Duration: Five minutes rounds, two-minute rest, for a total of 45-60 minutes.
Why I like it: I can practice my basic strikes on a target.
If you're interested in using a punching bag for Karate, read these articles that I wrote about five ways punching bag training can boost your striking power and before you buy, discover my recommended selection of the best punching bags for martial artists.
Hand weights
One of my favorite tools is without any doubt the hand weights . It’s similar to traditional ishi-sashi, a hojo-undo tool used in Okinawan Karate, but much lighter. Mine weights 3lbs, but that’s enough for the kind of training that I do with it.
I used them to practice basic Karate punches and blocks like I would at the dojo. I like working with the hand weights with kiba-dachi, zenkutsu-dachi, and sanchin-dachi stances. It’s a great tool to help increase your punches and blocks speed, as well as your forearms, arms, and shoulders endurance. If you don’t have these, you definitely should!
Training frequency: Twice a week.
Duration: 45-60 minutes.
Why I like it: I can mimic Karate strikes and blocks and combine it with movement.
Chi-ishi
The chi-ishi or "energy stone" is a traditional karate tool mainly used in Goju-Ryu and Uechi-Ryu and it is used to strengthen the hands, wrist, forearm, arm, chest, shoulders, upper back, and legs. Okinawan karate practitioners have been using chi-ishi for centuries. They are great ways to build grip and wrist strength for striking, and a great complement to hand weight and kettlebells. Maybe it's just in my head, but there is a traditional feel when working with chi-ichi.
There are some movements specific to the chi-ichi that you cannot do with other weighted tools like the "shoulder rotations" that works on specific muscle groups.
Chi-ishi are pretty expensive to buy, so a friend and I decided to make some instead. You can contact me via email for you are interested to buy one.
Training frequency: Every day
Duration: 5-10 minutes.
Why I like it: Really helps me condition and strenghten major muscle groups.
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