You want to learn how to punch efficiently, with  power, focus, and penetration?  To be able to deliver a fight-stopping strike,  then the makiwara is an essential tool for your karate training.

The makiwara is a padded striking post created in Okinawa between 150 to 200 years ago.  The early karate masters used it to improve the efficiency of their punches. It teaches you to hit with a proper fist.  Everyday use will train the hands/feet to deliver full power strikes; it also trains the legs, hips and shoulders in a such way to maximize power while keeping a strong stance.

The makiwara lets you use a variety of techniques, from knife hand, palm heel, hammer fist, back fist, elbow strikes to front kicks, side kicks, knee kicks, all while working to make your front stance, “sanchin” stance, side stance stronger.  This is the true way to learn how to develop focus, and power.

While most modern day karate-ka do not use the makiwara, fearing that they could damage the hand with longtime use, and others only train in “sport karate” which does not need this kind of training. But the truth is that with proper training and daily practice you can increase bone density in the striking area.  The medical term of this is called “cortical remodeling”- if loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger and thicker.

I have been training in karate for 40 years, and have been training on the makiwara for 39 years. When I first started karate, I heard about the makiwara and that all the old masters used them, so I decided that is what I was going to do. Our first dojo had a makiwara, so I started to train on them. I was one of the only student to use it. From then on I always had one in my back yard in all the different houses I lived at, and have been using them ever since.

There is a old book called “Nanto Zatsuwa” (jottings on the southern countries) that was written by an exiled samurai in 1850 which shows a drawing of a samurai warrior also punching a makiwara,  using the traditional Okinawan device to train his own fist.

Master Itosu wrote this in 1908 “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 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 each day.”. 

There is a saying about karate: “karate is like boiling water when you take it off the fire it stops boiling.” The makiwara is the fire in my karate.

see in the dojo