Can you count?

The count is really, really hard.

Nobody understands this, until they have an instructor who doesn't know the tricks. All the great Senseis seem to do it the same way. I can do it, too, but was never taught. Maybe it becomes naturally after years of teaching. I don't know.

Simplified, the instructor counts, and the class performs the technique when the count is heard. For the students, the count represents the transition from motionless to full speed. Therefore, the instructor should insist that nobody move before the count.

It is very different from counting during an exercise, say jumping jacks. Doing jumping jacks the count is done when the jump is over and the hands extend above the head. This is very different.

When an instructor slips from the one to the other, value is lost. If the teacher is doing the technique with the students, they must make a point of not moving before the count. It should be as if the teacher is hearing it at the same moment that the students do. Many get confused and end up counting on the completion of the punch. Wrongo.

There are other parts to a Karate count, too.

Count slowly, and the students should move slowly. Count sharply, and they should move fast. The sound of the count when done quickly doesn't really matter. The students don't hear the word, just the sound.

Even when desiring speed, it is important that the spacing between the counts give the students time to finish the prior technique, and to set for the next. The teacher should not base the spacing of the count on what they think it should be, or at what is suitable for the senior students, but rather on a speed appropriate for the slowest students in the room. Go faster, and the drill is wasted on part of the class.

There is also a trick to turning around. The word for this is mawate. If this is barked out with the same enthusiasm as the count, students won't hear the word until it's too late, and perform another technique. This makes them cautious when they think they might be getting the turn-around command. Bad training. The trick is not to bark out "MAWATE" as a rushed, single syllable bark, but differently. With a totally different voice than the count is given, the first two syllables are given slowly, followed by a barked out last syllable. The students know they are going to turn around, and do it briskly at the end of the word. Sensei says, "ma-wa-TE". It is foolproof. The students won't even be aware you're doing it, but they will not mis-step, or hesitate from fear of mis-stepping.

There are other tricks as well. It's like being a symphony conductor. If you do it well, you can control things perfectly. Unlike a conductor, nobody will notice you doing it.