KATA: about certain movements

Some questions about certain movements exhibited, performed or demonstrated in kata:

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(Note: This exercise is not to say the author of a post that inspired them is either wrong or right, good or bad or even the subject of this post, but this exercise is one to achieve a better understanding as to what may or may not have been the intent in the post and to help me come to terms with my thoughts on the concepts used and posed in the article for one specific goal - for me to understand the efforts of other karate-ka and martial artists. [my comments, thoughts, ideas, theories and beliefs will follow each question in the brackets])

1. What is a “Kata Exhibition?” [Not assuming I understand or even know what the author meant by using the term exhibition but to me to exhibit something means to present it as a performance and performance connects me to a more competitive sport oriented way where my kata is meant to teach me things usable and effective in self-defense.]
2. What does it mean to be “Dazzling and Impressive” in kata movement? [Seems like expressions meant to dramatize the performance or exhibition toward some agenda that may or may not fit my views of karate and martial arts as means to defend and protect against conflict and violence. In my belief system it does not equate self-defense. My goal is not to dazzle someone nor impress them as to my ability but to achieve my self-defense goals; it is also about achieving my self-improvement goals as to philosophy of karate in every day existence where dazzling or impressing others is of an egoistic nature.]
3. How does slow movement develop “Muchimi?” [Movement in muchimi is about using what is termed as “Sticky hand” so each practitioner can learn to feel tactilely how the body moves so they can lean how to control the adversary’s movement while apply appropriate methodologies in that control toward a goal in defense. It is about feeling the various contact points one can make in any given situation where one is close enough to touch and feel the adversary’s body; to achieve a sensitivity that will “tell or convey or transmit” a type of energy through movement that transmits the path the adversary is taking or most important the movement of any methodology he may or might use against us in the attack. The movement for a beginner is slow but that is only to start so movement in general is more apropos to learning, discovery, learning then applying tactile tactics and strategies to combat multiple attack methodologies while applying appropriate principled based multiple methodologies of defense to reach self-defense goals.]
4. Does it truly develop awareness and conscious engagement of stabilizer muscles and how does that effect practice, training and most important applications in self-defense? [awareness of muscles comes from training our tactile senses, the sense of touch especially when an attacker gets in very close to pummel you, disrupt your structure and destroy your balance in an attack. According the Medline Plus, the NIH or National Library of Medicine there are three types of muscle tissue: Cardiac, Skeletal and Smooth. “Cardiac muscle cells are located in the walls of the heart, appear striated, and are under involuntary control. Smooth muscle fibers are located in walls of hollow visceral organs, except the heart, appear spindle-shaped, and are also under involuntary control. Skeletal muscle fibers occur in muscles which are attached to the skeleton. They are striated in appearance and are under voluntary control.” It would seem on the surface the terms stabilizer and mobilizer are attempts to put a spin on an agenda toward knowledge of muscles to push a specific agenda that in this case is about teaching a tactile form of defense or ability. It is like using the phrase, “Muscle Memory,” to explain fundamental physiokinetic principles that control our bodies toward a goal in karate and martial arts. Look at them as inappropriate ways to explain things that is accepted as truth when in reality such terms are far removed from adequate explanations of how things work. It is a matter of understanding and distinctions that can leas us to appropriate understanding or simply false agenda driven easily misleading thoughts and ideas. The smooth muscles that are actually under voluntary control along with those skeletal muscles provide us mobility and stability but are not mobilizers or stabilizers per se as if they are distinct and separate. Muscles when flexed, relaxed, etc. provide us the ability along with the skeletal system, tendons, cartilage and sinew, etc. where structure, alignment, etc. provide stability and mobility when muscles, etc. are used according to the situation where sequential locking and unlocking, etc., all come into play to achieve physical defense goals. Then there is the knowledge and understanding that when we use our muscles and skeletal systems, etc. to move those movements and flexes/relaxations transmit a certain feel to each event that can be understood through tactile or touch sense. The goal is to develop the ability to read and interpret those tactile feelings through our most sensitive and largest organ, the skin.]
5. What kind of results in particular can you influence and/or effect regarding stabilizer muscles? [The only effect you can have on stabilizing the body using the skeletal muscles by strengthening them where when using instant dynamic sequential locking/relaxation tension one can achieve greater ability to stabilize the body, etc., through things like appropriate structure, balance and body alignment, etc.]
6. What are stabilizer muscles, how do they differ from normal muscles and can you actually influence those muscles? [As previously shown there are no actual stabilizer muscles or mobilizer muscles, simply muscles that can be used to both stabilize our structure and allow us mobility, in other words movement.]
7. In what way can one influence stabilizer muscles? [See all the above, asked and answered]
8. What are mobilizer muscles (is there such a muscle)? [There is no such thing!]
9. Is relaxing muscles actually in reference to neutralizing the effects of the mobilizer muscles to learn how to activate stabilizer muscles and is this even possible making the assumption there are actually stabilizer muscles and mobilizer muscles? [There is no such thing as stabilizer/mobilizer muscles; the only muscles we want to utilize in physical action are the skeletal muscles that are under voluntary control to a certain extent. The cardiac and smooth muscle cells are involuntary and involve the heart and other organs.]
10. Can you truly differentiate between mobilizers and stabilizer muscles? [There is no such thing!]
11. Do these muscles and their activation actually become noticeable or can be felt tactilely causing loss of balance in an adversary? [No, balance is disrupted by the actions you take, not the way you activate the muscles as to dynamic tension vs. positive relaxation. You have to have trained your entire body to move and act in ways that will allow you to adhere to fundamental principles so that you can apply the appropriate methodologies to reach your goals in self-defense. Everything else is just rhetoric and fluff, although in many or most cases unintentional, that are used by the inability to relate the essence of such concepts, etc.]

Muscle Roles: Roles are what we use to describe how we use our physiokinetic principled-based muscles, skeletal and chemical systems to achieve goals in self-defense karate and martial arts. 

Note I: There are many sites, especially health and fitness programs, that use such terms as mobilizer, stabilizer, agonist, antagonist, fixator and/or neutralizer to describe how the muscles work to achieve certain goals. These types of descriptive terminology may or may not actually meet the medical and scientific description of muscles but they are adequate to help the laymen to understand certain concepts achieved by such actions and practices as sanchin’s dynamic or isometric tension programs, etc. The recommendation I always advocate is to research any term that relates to the physical body or mind at medical sources, a variety for spice, to achieve a better understanding. Do NOT just ACCEPT anyone’s or any terms just because they seem ot make sense, this could lead you down the wrong path to understanding - validate and confirm original sources with at least three other bonafide and medical/scientific sources with appropriate references and sources of study, etc.

Note II: When I searched out types of muscles, almost every single site said there are three types as I presented in this article. All others even when termed a descriptive of a muscle were actually roles of the muscles where the skeletal are dominant for our purpose of karate and martial arts.

Note III: What we can add is there are two roles of skeletal muscles involved called slow-twitch vs. fast-twitch and this concept of muscles actions can be important to karate and martial arts for self-defense. To discover just how valid this concept is about skeletal muscle see my upcoming article on, “Muscles that Twitch: Karate Value.” 

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