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Beginning students usually feel slightly intimidated after the first meeting with this wooden post, but those having a strong spirit will take on the challenge the Makiwara offers. Various striking points are conditioned with each session. As striking points toughen, confidence between you and your makiwara training will gradually build up until one day you will have developed a strike so focused and powerful, it will break the board with what seems to be an effortless strike! As you go through the different stages that led to this experience, you will look forward to your next meeting understanding the value of the makiwara. Brief History of the Makiwara In 1908, Anko Itosu sent a letter to the Prefectural Education Department concerning the idea that led to the introduction of his karate to all Okinawa schools. It eventually spread to the Japanese mainland. The fourth point of his letter expressed the importance of makiwara training. Itosu wrote," The hands and feet are important so they should be trained thoroughly on the makiwara. In doing so, drop your shoulders, open your lungs, take hold of your strength, grip the floor with your feet, and sink your intrinsic energy to your lower abdomen. Practice with each arm one or two hundred times." Traditionally,
the makiwara is a tapered wood beam embedded in the ground and rising to about
chest height with straw, rope, or leather wrapped around the top of the board.
A post hole would be filled with cement. The makiwara board would be
placed in the hole and tilted slightly until the cement set. This made
indoor installations and removal of a broken board extremely difficult.
Indoor/outdoor installation and replacement of broken makiwara boards are no
longer a problem with "The Original" King Makiwara.
"The Original" King Makiwara
Makiwara boards
install and remove
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The
Pad
