Ground work and throws

Our karate club now has a full set of mats so that we can cover the whole dojo. These were donated by Sensei Steve Wilkinson, John Ward and Paul Young (Who runs the Tai Chi class with Steve). Throws and ground work are an essential part of karate and need to be practised regularly to ensure that they become part of a fully rounded karatekas skill set.

Within the kata we practice and our kihon drills there are throws and take downs, but to practice them just in this way without practical application means they become worthless. Ground work on the other hand is what karateka need when things go wrong. A karateka should aim to stay on his feet where possible. This is where our strength lies. But sometimes we could end up on the floor. Not a good place to be as this is a very vulnerable position to both injury from the hard surface of the ground, the aggressors associates and obviously the aggressor themselves. We therefore need to be if not experts in the ground game, proficient enough to  at least get out of it. The same principles apply on the ground as stood up i.e Connection, keeping relaxed, sensitivity, balance and finding the empty space.

A link to terminology is attached.Throws and ground work terminology