[VIDEO] 5 Basic Equipment every Karate practitioner needs

by Rush

See me here.

To be specific, I'd recommend getting these things if you're looking to practice Karate at home.

You can watch the video (below) of me talking about it, but this article hope to give some additional perspectives that you may find useful.

I know it can be hard to navigate the huge landscape of sports and martial arts equipment, so this list of equipment is my recommendation based on:
- User Friendliness: how easy to use them on your own without a partner/ instructor

- Affordability: these things are cheap or generally affordable

- Value for Money: good cost-benefit

​- Ease of Storage: how ease to stow these equipment away at home

5. Exercise Mat (preferably padded)
A lot of exercises to improve your performance for Karate is based on using your body weight.

And a good workout would often involve a lot of sweat and planting your limb/ joints on the ground for extended periods of time.

​I assume that most of us aren't blessed with padded floors at home to take the strain out of knuckle push-ups, sit-ups, and kneeling side kicks.

​Even if your floors are padded, I don't imagine you wanting sweat from a good workout seeping in or worse, creating a slip-fall hazard.

For these reasons, the exercise mat is the bare minimum that I'd recommend anyone who's interested in doing body weight resistance training at home for Karate.

4. Dumbbells (modular)
Sure, there are many ways to make body weight exercises more challenging (I still can't do a planche) and there will come a time where you will physically plateau from them.

In respect to the principle of progressive overload, you will need additional weights to physically progress hereon.

Of course, external weights are also essential for spot strengthening, especially as part of rehabilitation from injury.

Dumbbells are my preferred external weights to use given its flexibility to be used for full-body or isolated resistance training for both general fitness (e.g. weighted squats), rehabilitation (e.g. shoulder rotations), and Karate-specific exercises (e.g. explosive/ plyometric punches).

Modular dumbbells especially adds value-for-money for the Karate practitioner, because it can be easily transformed into a makeshift chi-ishi (stone mallet) for more Karate-functional exercises.

The trouble with dumbbells though is that you'd need some idea on what kinds of exercises to do with them before you can go off doing it on your own correctly and safely.

So, do a bit of research into improving your exercise vocabulary with the dumbbells or let me know in the comments video if you're interested in having me show you some exercises using them.

3. Resistance Bands
​This one wins the dumbbells when it comes to external resistance tools, in terms of price, ease of storage, and versatility in terms of use.

While the dumbbells can only generally be used perpendicular to the floor, with resistance bands, you can subject it to any plane that you like.

​This feature makes it one of the best tools to adding direct resistance to your kicks and punches simply by anchoring one end of it to a stable post and sometimes, even your own body.

Modular/ Adjustable versions of the resistance bands exist, but if they're not readily available to you, start of by getting the light and/ or medium ones first.

Test them out during your own practice to have an idea if the resistance if sufficient; e.g. if practicing punches, resistance shouldn't be too light that you can easily complete 10 - 13 repetitions at full speed or too heavy that you have difficulties throwing a punch without compromising your form/ posture.

2. Punching Bag
Right off the bat, this one (out of the list) will be the most challenging for you to figure out in terms of storage at home.

When I used to hang it in my bedroom, I had to sacrifice a substantial part of my living quarters- i.e. minimalist work desk and no bed.

Because, #karatelife.

​And if the decision is to leave it free-hanging/ -standing you (and your other home members) will need to come into terms with how it (does not) blend with the rest of the interior design.

But there's no better way to get better at kicking and punching than to actually go hit something.

Yes, it will swing all over the place and you'll need to figure out how to punch/ kick it at the correct time.

And that's the beauty of the punching bag- beyond improving your punching form, it gives you an opportunity, to improve your timing, distancing, and positioning, if you learn how to 'dance' with the bag.

Because after all, your opponent won't stay in place during kumite/ sparring as you try to hit them.

For being able to closely simulate (as much as it can) a live opponent make the punching bag my favourite training tool for Karate, just next to the mirror.

1. Mirror
Karate pays a lot of emphasis to proper form and structure.

In a regular class and even in Grading/ belt testing, whether you're doing something right is largely based on visual assessment.

​So, if you know what to look out for when practicing in front of a mirror and be strict on correcting each visual incorrections you find, you'll improve very quickly.

​From practicing your singular basics, to kata/ forms, and shadow-boxing, there are many aspects of Karate training that can benefit from you simply doing conscience practice in front of a mirror.

Given this, it makes for a more conducive experience if you can see more of your body, so I'd recommend getting something that shows at least the top half of your body.

Bigger mirrors take more space and money of course, but unlike the punching bag, they're a lot easier to fit into your interior design and you'll use them to check your appearance before heading outside anyway.

​So, I think it's a worthy investment in the long run.

What about the other items and tools?
Yes, there's a lot of other traditional Karate tools and exercise equipment out there that I'll talk about in due time, but for now, these items that I've recommend will go a long way in helping you improve your Karate performance.

I still use them actively even after over a decade of Karate practice.

When you can get better at something, you tend to enjoy it a lot more.

And that how you get to Enjoy Karate More!


OSU!

Above: Video about the topic, if you'd rather watch me go blablabla