Knee Dropping Kobudo / Karate

In Japanese Kobudo (Traditional Martial Arts: 古武道), they have a technique called Hiza-Nuki (膝抜き). Let's name it "Knee Dropping". In some Katas of Karate, they used this technique. For example, in the Kata called Seisan, we can recognize a strange movement of a foot. to move forward, we need to lift the front foot backward, which makes the entire weight of the body fall toward the floor. Knee Dropping Technique used this shit of weight and the falling movement to move forward instead of moving to the floor.

Do you imagine why?

Usually, to move forward, we used the back foot to hit the ground to get the power to move forward.

Knee dropping does not use the power generated by the leg to hit the floor.

Knee dropping just tries to use the dropping weight shift to move forward, which is actually faster than hitting the ground with the back foot.

I have been practicing Okinawan Shorin(小林)-ryu Karate and other Okinawan Shorin(少林)-ryu Karate. I recognized this Knee-Dropping technique when I saw the Kata called Seisan. My reaction was like, Oh my god, for the long time of my practice, I have not thought like this!

I started to look into the Knee-Dropping technique by watching some YouTube videos, they I recognized again that the technique was applied to any kind of sports, like baseball, succor, Ping-Pong, etc., in Japan.

I reviewed the Kata that I learned and noticed the technique of Knee-Dropping is used for the Kata of Naifanchi/Naihanchi. Even if the Kata moves right to left and left to right, and all of the instructors/senseis/masters said, Keep your head level at the same height from the floor, both shoulders should the even level all the way performing the Kata.

But I think that is not 100% true. We need to use a subtle shift of our weight for each foot movement.

In most of the styles of Okinawan Karate, Naifanchi is practiced to follow the counting of 1, 2, 3, …

Actually, that is not the proper way to move your body. Kata should flow like the flow of water. The disconnected move is not what Karate is aiming at.

Thinking about the flow of water, the pressure of water in the ocean is changing always, it has a low-pressure part and the water in the high-pressure part naturally flows into the low-pressure part. I believe we can see the common part between Knee Dropping and this flow of water.

What do you think?

Aki