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Hi, I'm Danny Lane and welcome to the Daily Dozen Beginners Workout.
During this training video, I'll be introducing you to the 12 basic karate techniques
that will provide you with a fast, effective method of self-defense
and a great way to stay in shape. But before I begin, I'd like to recommend these
following safety guidelines while using this training video.
Always consult a physician before engaging in a program or rigorous exercise.
And consult a physician immediately if any persistent pain or swelling occurs during or after
periods of training. Always train under the guidance of an experienced coach or instructor
to ensure the most effective and safe training procedures and techniques. Children especially should be
closely supervised while training. Always warm up adequately before each workout.
And begin each training session slowly, gradually increasing the speed and power of your punches and kicks.
Never overtrain. Overdoing it could result in an injury due to fatigue or relaxed
concentration. If an injury should occur, allow ample time for it to heal before resuming practice.
Before I start the beginners workout, I'll start with some basic warm up exercises.
Starting with the neck first. Standing in a relaxed position.
I do three different types of neck exercises. Do some neck circles.
Then side to side.
And then down and up.
And I'll start with the shoulders. Do some shoulder circles.
Bring them over the top and forward.
Then I reverse that going backwards.
And I bring them up and down.
Then to loosen up the chest for punching, I do some arm circles.
First forward.
And then backwards.
Then I lock my fingers behind my head. Spread my feet a little more distance apart.
And I do some trunk twisters. Twist and stretch.
Into the other side.
Now do some side bends. Stretching out the obliques.
Into the other side.
And some trunk rotations.
Arch back.
And some hanging stretches.
Between the legs.
And some back bends.
Then I bend and stretch.
Grab my ankle. Pull my head towards my knee.
Holding that pressure.
Over to the other leg.
And in between the legs.
And coming up.
Pacing my hands on the mat in front of me. Keeping my feet flat on the floor.
My knees locked. Stretch.
Walk towards my hands with my feet.
Keeping my knees locked. My feet flat on the floor.
Grabbing the ankles. Bend and stretch.
I recommend that you do all these exercises until you feel
warmed up to do the sitting stretches.
The first stretching exercise will be the hamstring stretch.
From the sitting position, bring one foot in to the inside of the leg.
Heel press in towards your groin. Make sure that your toes
are pointed up. That your knee is pressed in against the mat. We're going to be working the
hamstring muscle on the back side of the quadricep. From here, all you're going to do
is reach forward, hold that resistance and pressure
and stretch it.
The more that you do this, the more the muscle will relax,
the higher you're going to be able to kick when we get into the workout.
I recommend you do this with both legs. At least three repetitions each
holding for 15 seconds. From here, I'm going to go into the intermediate
hamstring and quadricep stretch. So by bringing one leg behind you,
tuck your heel in against your hips. This knee is at least
at a 90 degree angle or more. You're going to bend and stretch the same way.
You'll feel a little more resistance this time in the hamstring.
Eventually you're trying to bring your chin down to your knee, laying your body
down on top of your leg.
Once again, you should hold this for 15 seconds, at least three repetitions.
Using this exercise, by placing your hands behind you,
you can push up toward your ceiling and press, stretching the quadricep now,
or the frontal thigh. Just push up.
Once you get loose in this position,
start sliding the rear leg back even farther
and do that whole thing again, reaching forward and stretching.
Placing your hands behind you,
pressing up, stretching the quadricep right here.
From this position, for the sidekick position, put your hands in front,
come up off the mat, bring this front foot sideways,
and we'll be stretching out for the sidekick.
Stretching the body down towards the knee in this position.
Sitting back down, bring the left leg out.
Keep your feet in a spread position, both toes facing up to the ceiling.
Just go to the point of resistance.
Reach and stretch.
To the other leg.
And then center.
Just trying to lay your head down on the mat in front of you.
And from here, close your feet together.
About six inches apart. Stretching for the calves now in the back.
Bend and stretch, grab the feet, pull forward.
And from here, we're just going to come up right up on the knees.
Rest on your elbows in front. Spread your knees as far apart as you can.
Press straight back with the hips.
Working the inner groin muscles.
After doing this routine for about 15 minutes,
you'll be ready for the basic workout.
The stance used in learning all 12 basic karate techniques will be the fighting stance.
Standing with one foot behind, feet about shoulder distance apart,
bend your knees, bring your rear heel off the floor, up onto the ball of the foot.
You should be very light on your feet. Most of the weight should be on the balls of the feet.
Your feet, once again, are about shoulder distance apart.
This way you can shift your weight forward, or backwards, or up and down,
or laterally, very easily. Our stance is very mobile and very comfortable.
The very first technique in the Daily Dozen Beginner's Workout will be the jab.
First of all, in making a fist.
Bring your fingers back to the palm of your hand.
Wrap your thumb on the outside.
You'll see that I'm going to be punching with the middle and index knuckle,
also that the fist and forearm is parallel.
From the on guard position, both hands up in a fighting posture.
In doing the jab, all you're going to do is extend the hand straight out towards the imaginary target,
making sure the shoulder is high, the chin is tucked, striking with the middle and index knuckle.
From the fighting stance, also you're going to be shifting the weight forward into the jab.
This way you're directing all your power and energy into the target.
A little faster.
You'll also notice that my right hand is covering my right jaw,
my forearm is covering my rib cage.
Shift the weight, bring the shoulder up, jab.
The focus is looking straight down the middle and index knuckle directing the target.
Technique right into the target.
Once again.
A little faster.
The second way to do the jab will be with a partner.
From this position, you learn proper distance and also proper target selection.
The jab is directed into the chin or the nose area or the solar plex area.
You'll take a short step with your front foot for distance, come straight in.
This way try to come as close as possible without making contact.
Twisting the wrist right on the end of the move.
Two more.
One more. Then once you learn proper distance and timing,
it's best to also do the technique into a focus pad.
This will increase your energy and also achieve maximum power.
So using the focus pad from the fighting stance on guard position,
I'll be stepping with my front foot, striking the pad.
You'll notice that my knuckles are flat against the pad,
that my wrist is not bent up or down.
The power will come from my body being in motion, driving the pad straight back.
Two more.
And one more.
The second technique will be the back fist, using also
once again the front arm. From the on guard position, in doing the back fist,
as your body moves towards your opponent or target, your elbow is starting to come up.
Your palm of your hand is starting to turn in towards your body.
Then you're striking out with the back of the hand. I'm striking with the middle and index
knuckles, but only with the back of them at this point.
As you shift your weight forward, elbow is starting to come up, hand is turning in towards your body,
strike, and bring it back. Shifting the weight forward,
elbow is starting to come up, strike with the back of the hand,
and back. A little faster. The power from the back fist comes
from the speed of the hand moving towards your target and also the momentum of the body.
Shift the weight, elbow is coming up,
strike, bring it back sharply.
One more.
Now with my partner, first of all,
I'll be striking with the back fist. The target selection will be the jaw or temple or side
of the head area. From the on guard position, using a jab step,
elbow is coming up, striking to the temple
with the back of the fist. Once again, stepping, elbow
is coming up, strike. Three more, each time getting a little faster
and a little closer.
Two more.
One more. Now with the focus pad,
once again, elbow is coming up, striking the back of the pad
with the back of your hand. Step.
Once again, the power from the back fist
is coming from the speed of the hand moving forward and the momentum of your body weight
moving into the pad.
Two more.
One more.
There you have the back fist strike.
The third technique is the reverse punch.
It comes from the rear hand. As you step forward with your left foot to close the distance,
shifting the body weight forward, right hand comes straight out,
turning over, striking the target. The power from the reverse punch comes from the
body weight being in motion, also from the speed of the hand moving forward.
You'll notice that I twist my wrist on the end of the move.
Right there. The power, once again, is from the leg
pushing off and the hip driving forward.
You'll see that I'm transferring my weight from a 50-50 ratio
to about 80% here, 20 here, on contact
of the target.
Once again, you'll notice my left hand is coming over to guard
my jaw. My forearm is guarding my ribs over here.
Couple more.
Now with the partner.
The reverse punch can either go to the face or to the body. I'll do three to the face
and then three to the body. The footwork will be stepping
once again with the lead foot to close the distance. Hip is twisting
straight right into the face.
Backing up, step, and one more.
Now when punching to the body,
you may have to bend the knees just a little bit to bring your body down to the target area.
So as you're stepping, bend the knees down a little more.
Drive the punch straight into the body.
One more.
Bend down and punch. Now working the focus pad for
power. Once again, step, turn
the hip, drive the punch straight through the target, and then
pull it out. Step,
punch the pad, and pull it out. Three more.
And one more.
There you have the reverse punch.
The fourth basic technique will be the low block. The responsibility of the low block
is from the solar plex down to the upper leg. From the on guard
position, bring the left hand palm facing your jaw in.
And from here, just bring the hand sweeping across the body, blocking. Once again, from the elbow
down, blocking from the upper leg to the solar plex,
the low block will cover all that area. Fold, pull back with your right hand
to the side, snap down the left hand for the low block.
Folding, blocking. This can cover any
strike, kick, or punch coming into the lower part of the body.
From here, left hand folds, right hand is straight out, pull back the right hand
thrust down with the left hand sharply.
Now if the attack is coming in, instead of moving forward, like we did on the attacks,
the footwork I'm going to use now will be a step back, away from
the attack. So from the on guard position, left hand folds,
I'll step back with my rear foot, and block at that point.
Also, after we execute the block,
I'll follow up immediately with the last technique, the reverse punch.
Once again, fold, lunging back
low block, and reverse punch for a counter.
Now with my partner, I'll be blocking against the front kick first.
We'll do it slow, from the on guard position, as the kick comes in
towards my stomach, I move away, block down with the forearm.
Once again, two, slowly, three,
and then I can counter with a reverse punch as he steps down.
Just a little faster.
Two more, last one.
Good. There you have the low block with a counter reverse punch.
The fifth basic karate technique will be the middle block.
The middle block will cover from the solar plex on up to the eye level.
From the on guard position, bring the hand to the jaw once again, but open it up.
You'll see that the palm is facing in towards my jaw, my right hand is straight out.
Lunging back away from the attack once again, come straight across,
blocking from the jaw all the way down to the solar plex here.
You can block either with the knife edge of your hand, or the forearm bone running down the outside of the arm.
Once again, from the fighting stance, the hand comes up, right hand comes out,
move back, block, and then immediately transfer the weight forward
and counter with a reverse punch.
Left hand folds it to jaw, right hand is out. Lunge back away from the attack,
block, counter punch.
Just a little faster, left hand folding, lunging back, block,
counter punch. You'll notice that I'm transferring my weight
from 60% to the rear leg to 60-80% to the front leg depending on
the power of the punch.
Once again, fold, lunge back, block, counter punch immediately.
Now with my partner, the technique I'll defend against
is like a hooking punch to the face. From fighting stance, the punch comes in,
I use the knife edge of the hand to block with,
and immediately I can counter punch to the body.
Fold, lunging back, blocking, immediately
counter punch. Once again, a slow
block, transfer the weight forward, punch.
Three a little faster,
and one more.
There you have the fifth technique, the knife hand block with a counter punch.
The sixth
technique is our third basic block, the high block. From the on guard position,
left hand folding under, right hand straight out, the footwork is
lunging back, pull back with the right hand, block straight up with the left hand,
turning the palm outward. You'll notice my forearm is at a 45 degree
angle to deflect the strike off to the side.
From the on guard position, left hand folding under, lunging back,
pull back with the right hand, block up with the left hand.
Once again, left hand folding under, lunge back, block,
counter punch. A little faster,
folding, your starting position, lunge back, block,
counter punch. Once again, get the transfer
of weight from the rear leg to the front leg to drive the power into the
reverse punch. And one more, folding,
high block, reverse punch. Now with my partner,
the strike coming down to the top of my head, in this situation
we'll use a knife attack, or you could be against a stick attack or whatever.
From the on guard position, left hand under, coming up blocking.
You'll notice our forearms are touching, that his hand slid off to the side.
Left hand under, block in a circular fashion,
block the strike off to the side. A little slower,
blocking right there. And immediately, of course, you could counter punch with your reverse punch
to the body or face. Just a little faster,
and one more.
There you have the high block with the reverse punch.
The seventh technique will be the first of our
four basic kicks, will be the rear leg front kick. From the fighting stance,
the rear leg being the kicking leg, bring your knee straight up,
pull your toes up as well. You'll notice that my knee is parallel to my solar plex.
From here you'll be striking out with the ball of your foot into the target.
You'll notice that my toes are pulled back, my instep is arched outward.
Once you execute the kick,
be sure to snap the kick back sharply so you can maintain proper balance.
So draw it back fast, just like so, maintain good balance,
and then get back in your stance. From a comfortable fighting stance,
kick, recoil the kick back sharply,
and come down.
Once more, the power is achieved by pushing forward with the hips
and out with the leg.
Now with my partner,
first of all I'll be working to develop distance, kicking at the solar plex,
or chin, in the fighting stance, knees coming up,
knee is higher than my solar plex, kicking straight into the solar plex
of my opponent and coming down. Bring the knee high, push forward,
bring the knee back sharply after you kick,
and step down.
A little faster.
And one more.
Now working on the focus pad for power,
same thing, drive forward with the hips, push through the target,
each time come back set
to your fighting position.
Two more.
And one more.
There you have the rear leg front kick.
The eighth technique will be the front leg side kick.
The footwork used will be the slide up. For my fighting stance,
your rear foot will slide up to replace your front foot.
On doing so, your front leg will then go out, knee chambering,
striking the target with the bottom of the heel. You're going to be bringing your heel up,
pushing straight out with the hips, side kicking. Bring the leg back sharply
and step down. Once again, from the fighting stance, slide up your back foot,
kick straight out with your front leg, turn the hip over,
strike with the bottom of the heel.
Be sure to bring that leg back sharply to maintain proper balance after the kick.
The slide, the kick,
and the recoil. A couple more times, a little faster.
One more.
Always come down in an on guard position. Now with my partner,
first of all, develop timing and distance.
The fighting stance, sliding up, you'll notice my feet are together,
my left leg chambers strike out with the heel of the foot
and come forward. Once again, slow,
sliding, chambering, kicking,
recoil, and down. A little faster.
Two more.
And one more.
Now with the focus pad.
Once again, drive the heel straight into the target,
push out with your hips. The power comes from the speed of the body
being in motion.
Three more.
And one more.
There you have the front leg side kick.
Technique number nine will be the rear leg round kick. You'll be executing the kick
with the top of your foot, your toes being pulled down. You'll be striking the target
with the instep of the foot right here, this instep bone.
Once again, the kicking leg is the rear leg. I'll be moving my body a half turn forward,
shifting my weight to the front leg. I'll be bringing my rear leg up,
bringing the knee first, the heel second. From here,
striking out in a whipping motion and snapping it back.
The round kick is a snapping type of kick. The power is
achieved by the speed of the foot moving.
Coming up, turning, knees coming up, the heel's coming up,
snap it forward and down.
The faster you do this technique, the easier it is.
Once again, speed is achieved by relaxing. Turning the body,
snapping the leg straight across and coming down.
One more.
And down. Now with the partner,
the round kick can be thrown at various angles.
It can be thrown from the knee, groin, solar plex, or a jaw.
So you can work at various angles. This time
I'll be working at the solar plex or in the midsection. As I turn my waist,
my guard will shift, my weight is shifting forward, rear leg's coming up,
heel is chambering, kicking right into the solar plex, and then coming
down forward. Once again, turn the body,
chamber the knee, bring the heel up, and kick.
Bring it back, and step down.
A little faster.
Once again, the round kick is a snapping type of kick, so it moves very fast.
Last one.
Now for the pad. Once again, it's very important
to drive the pad with the instep bone. Moving slow
for the first time, shifting the weight, twisting my body, bring the knee up,
striking the target, bringing it back, and stepping forward.
A little faster.
Three more.
Two more.
And last one.
There you have the rear leg
round kick.
Technique number ten will be the back kick. The back kick is going to be used
when somebody's approaching from your rear. In this case, the kicking leg is the back leg.
I'll be turning a little bit to the side, looking this direction.
I'll be glancing over my right shoulder to my rear,
I'll be bringing my heel up, not my knee, and then pushing
straight back, striking with the bottom of the heel, just like this.
So it's important not to turn around or turn your body, but immediately, as soon as you
glance and see the target, kick straight back.
Bring it back sharply. Looking forward, then glancing to the rear.
Back kick and recoil.
A couple more. Glance, bring the heel up, keep the knee pointed to the ground,
toes pointed to the ground.
And one more.
Now with a partner for timing and distance,
once again, as I glance, instead of turning my body this direction,
I'll step immediately with my left foot to close
the distance, still keeping my hips in the same position, kick straight back
towards the target and down. Once again, I glance,
don't change your body position, guard is up, step,
kick, and come forward. A little faster.
Remember, you're stepping behind your right foot with your left foot.
Two more, a little faster.
One more, step behind
with your left foot, kick out with the right leg.
Now with a focus pad for power,
what I suggest is don't worry about turning around,
looking at the pad with both eyes. If you're kicking with your right leg,
all you have to do is just look out the corner of your right eye, glance at the target,
kick straight back. You'll notice my hips are still facing
away from the target after I kick.
Two more.
And one more.
There you have the standing back kick.
Technique number 11 will be the jumping front kick.
The kicking leg will be the rear leg from the fighting stance.
You'll take a step through with your rear leg. At this point,
you'll bring your left knee up, driving the knee up,
exchange your feet in the air, hop up off the instep of the right foot,
and kick out with the right leg and come down.
Once again, the right leg is back at this point, take one step forward,
knees are bent, throw the left knee up, hop into the air
and kick with the right leg.
When you bring the left knee up, it creates hang time in the air so you can exchange legs
in the air and bring the other leg out.
Stepping forward with the right foot, drive the left knee up into the air,
push off the instep of the right foot, and kick.
It's a little faster.
And one more.
Bring the knee up, lift up with your shoulders, exchange feet in the air and kick.
And down.
Now with a partner for distance and timing, I'm about three steps
away from my partner. I take the step forward with the right foot,
I drive the left knee towards his face, hop and kick.
And come down.
I'll be striking his face with the ball of the foot.
Drive the left knee up,
hop and kick. Once again, a little faster.
It's important,
try to not stop your momentum once you start the technique.
And one more.
Now using the focus pad at head level,
you may want to start a little lower, but eventually after you accomplish the technique,
then challenge yourself to kick higher.
I'll be stepping, throwing the knee towards the target.
Kick with the ball of the foot and land.
Step, fake,
kick and land. Three more.
And one more.
There you have the jumping front kick.
The twelfth and final technique will be the jump side kick.
The kicking leg being the front leg from the fighting stance, in this case I'm
kicking with my right leg. The footwork will be like the jumping front kick.
As I step towards my opponent, I'll be driving my rear leg up,
but instead of bringing it towards him, I'll just bring the foot up in the air.
I'll hop into the air at that point and kick with my front leg.
The jump won't be so high
as opposed to jumping in to the target for maximum power.
So you'll step with your front foot, throw the left knee up into the air, and lunge
towards your opponent.
The good thing about this side kick is that it covers a lot of distance.
From here, by throwing my left knee up into the air, slightly towards my opponent,
I can get there with this kick.
Two more.
And one more.
Now with a focus pad for power.
Back up.
You'll notice the distance is about three steps away.
So I'm lunging into the target.
Striking with the bottom of the heel.
Three more.
And one more.
There you have the jump lunging side kick.
This concludes the Daily Dozen Beginner's Workout. By doing these
12 basic karate techniques daily, you'll develop a fast, effective method of self-defense
and a great way to stay in shape. Have a good workout.
Thanks for watching.
Wonderful.
I believe in you.