The Makiwara Post – What is The Makiwara Post?

At the end of my previous (first) article I stated that the next article will be about karate after World War II.

In the meantime I have changed my mind and thought it would be more appropriate to explain the name of this column, namely “The Makiwara Post”.

Most people not familiar with karate, especially Okinawan karate, don’t know what a makiwara is. In fact, a lot of people who claim to be karate practitioners, experts even, don’t know what a makiwara is.

Okinawan karate systems, in its many forms, have one thing in common: hojo undo.

The term “hojo undo” translate as “supplementary exercises” and consists of various training methods developed to strengthen and condition the body of the karate practitioner.

The purpose of this kind of training is twofold:

1. To strengthen and condition the body of the karate practitioner to such an extent that he or she can receive full-contact blows to the body and be able to withstand it.

2. To condition the hands and feet of the karate practitioner to such an extent that he or she is capable of delivering a crippling blow to an opponent in an instant which will end any life threatening confrontation instantly.

These training methods make use of various types of tools unique to martial arts training. Some of these tools have their origin in martial arts from China, Thailand and even Hawaiian sumo wrestling, but the makiwara is uniquely Okinawan in origin.

In my previous article I referred to Anko Itosu’s “Ten Precepts of Karate”. Two of these precepts refer to hojo undo in general and one specifically to makiwara training:

1. “The purpose of karate is to make the muscles and bones hard as rock and to use the hands and legs as spears”.

2. “In karate, training of the hands and feet are important, so one must be thoroughly trained on the makiwara”.

The makiwara is in essence a striking post constructed from a plank, planted in the ground and which has a bit of padding wrapped around the striking area. Traditionally this padding consisted of straw or old tatami

The makiwara is used to develop kicking, striking and blocking mechanics, power and strong spirit. In the beginning it is not important to strike the makiwara with all of your power but rather to strike it using high repetitions in order to develop proper technique. Makiwara training is not recommended for karate students younger than 16 or 18 years old and it should be done under the supervision of a qualified instructor in the

With the makiwara being the cornerstone of traditional Okinawan hojo undo training, which in itself is vital to karate training, I thought that “The Makiwara Post” would be a suitable, and catchy, name for this column.

What are your thoughts on this?

A dojo (training hall) without a makiwara is no dojo at all!