03 Oct 3-D Workout principles at work: Karate-in-Motion
About a year ago, Brian and Kim Cyr, at their Academy of Martial Arts in Brampton, Ontario approached me with a request to work with their instructors. (AMA has franchisees in Ontario and in Florida.) In September, we started a series of day-long seminars, not to improve karate which is already a “brilliant and complete system,” but to improve the body for karate. This means cultivating a body that is more connected, coherent and focused so that it is more available to the discipline of karate. To do this we are using the tools gleaned from the Laban/Bartenieff approach to body movement which also inspires 3-D Workout.
There are many training systems out there but very few deal with the fundamental patterns of body use that every human uses to get up onto two feet and stay there for a lifetime. These patterns underlie everything we do and are a rich source for skill improvement. When the instructor understands these tools, he/she also learns to recognize and correct students in more effective ways. Our first seminar was a great success. I look forward to continuing to work with this committed, hard-working and energetic group.