An essential part of learning to hit something … is hitting something.  Sounds strangely obvious however many karate and indeed martial arts classes teach students how to punch thin air, and when it comes to then hitting something or indeed someone karate-ka are disappointed in their striking and penetration ability.

In the past karate-ka used the Makiwara, a padded striking post, to practise open/closed hand strikes, kicks, knee strikes and elbow strikes and used a guide of 50 – 100 times a day.  Now we have many options to practice and develop striking power and at Zanshin Kai we utilise everything from hook pads, to thai pads, heavy bags and bare stomachs !

See the video below of some Zanshin Kai Karate-ka developing punching power and conditioning.