load & explode
Creating Explosive MOvement
by James oberschlake

Karate students may know the move, but often they are not doing the movement correctly. For instance, they may be able to perform an oi-zuki. The stance, hip position, 
posture, and alignment might be correct, but the movement (how they got there) might not be. Many students step and fall into their stance, then generate speed and power
primarily with the upper body at the very end of the technique. Such movement fails to fully employ the dynamic principles used to generate the whole-body explosive
movement known as kime. What follows are ideas for creating such explosive movement with a process I call, Load and Explode. 

​Makiwara is the traditional and still best method for developing kime. Hitting something trains the nervous system to completely contact the body muscles in an instant.
​But kime is more than the dramatic muscle contraction at the end of the technique. Kime should also employ an explosive starting motion. To do this, the body is "loaded"
with latent energy, which when suddenly released, launches the technique toward the target at maximum speed.

Imagine two strong men holding a rope. When they are relaxed, there is no movement. If the men engage in a tug of war each pulling with a force of exactly 300 pounds, 
there is no movement, but there is latent energy. If one man begins to pull with a force of 301 pounds, there would be slow movement. However, if one man suddenly
relaxes and releases his grip, there will be explosive movement in the direction opposite he was pulling. This analogy illustrates how loading and releasing latent energy
can be used to create an explosive starting motion.

Loading the body is something that primarily occurs in the muscles. It is accomplished with the body's natural reaction to gravity, commands from the nervous system, 
and as a response to activities of the mind such as awareness, intent, concentration, and imagination. The mind controls the body in accordance with nature.

Muscles are elastic;  they can either contract or relax. In the body, muscles are arranged in corresponding opposites that make movement possible. For instance, when 
biceps contract and triceps relax, the arm bends at the elbow joint. When biceps relax and triceps contract, the arm straightens. Contracting both pair at any point along
its range of motion makes the arm strong, stable, and resistant to outside force. Relaxing both makes the arm compliant to outside force.

These explanations might be helpful, but "load and explode" is best learned by feeling the sensations of loading parts of the body with a ready tension that can be used to 
generate a quick, explosive starting motion. The sensation experienced in the  muscles feels like a stretched rubber band. Before throwing a punch, squeeze the arm
to the side of the body so that it feels like a compressed, coiled spring. Sudden relaxing of the appropriate muscles releases the latent energy and propels the technique
toward the target at maximum speed.

Load and explode can be employed in the whole body as well. The body is symmetrical;  it has a right side and left side. Adductor muscles contract and squeeze the sides
of the body toward its centerline. Abductor muscles expand the body away from the centerline. For balance, stability, and quick, powerful movement, the muscles on both sides of the body must work evenly and harmoniously.

It is the quick squeezing motion that seems underdeveloped in most karateka. Emphasize this motion in your training. For instance, when practicing stepping in kokutsu dachi, see how quickly you can squeeze the knees and elbows together. Then do not hold them together because that would stop the momentum of the techniques. The elbows and knees touch and brush. Eventually the technique from start to finish becomes continuous and accelerating and culminates with devastating impact.

Another way to load the body is to use the legs. While maintaining good posture, sink by bending the joints of the legs:  ankles, knees, and hips. The legs are now loaded, ready to push into the ground and propel the technique toward the target. The quicker and harder you push into the ground; the more explosive will be your starting motion.

Proper breathing can be used to load and explode. Proper breathing is an advanced topic, and I cannot adequately explain it in one paragraph. However,  this much I will say:  Your breathing should mimic your movement. When you are moving, you should be breathing; either inhaling or exhaling. As your movement accelerates, so should your breath. At impact the body muscles contract strongly, and the breath naturally stops. In this way proper breathing is used to generate speed and power.

Breathing can also be used to create a ready tension and load the body with latent energy. Here I recount instructions giving from Sensei Greer Golden: Inhale fully. Exhale so that the lungs are about half inflated. Then press the remaining "air" into the lower abdomen. It may feel like you are pressing your belly into your belt. Inhale and exhale off the top, but always keep some residual air pressure in reserve. The lower abdomen always retains some firmness. Quick, explosive exhaling seems natural. Developing quick, explosive inhaling requires more practice. Quick inhaling and quick exhaling help create an explosive starting motion. One of the best ways to learn proper breathing is to kiai at the beginning rather than the end of your technique. Make the kiai throw the technique. The explosive kiai creates the explosive starting motion. Finally, use your mind. Karte is more than an exercise. It is a martial art. Your body is a survival machine. The more you can mentally create a life and death combat experience, the more your body will naturally react to save itself. Do not create hate. Create the courage to face hatred, violence, and all manner or evil.

Train to increase muscle strength and flexibility. Makiwara, planks, plyometrics, practicing "5-pointed star" yoga posture, and using elastic bands-these are some ways to improve your body condition. Practice correct movement to reprogram the nervous system and muscle memory. Use your mind. Use your breathing. Sink and use your legs. Emphasize the quick squeezing motion when expanding and contracting. Create appropriate tension in the ready positions. Learn to load so your movement explodes from start to finish.