Machite kakete 巻き手 掛け手
There is machite and kakete, machite is when the opponent strikes first, kakete is the opposite. Correct timing is of the essence. If you timing is off, the enemy can adjust his movement and your movement can be intercepted. A feint or tactical move is good to draw, force or freeze, which means that your movement should hold sente.
Sente 先手
In Okinawan karate ‘karate ni sente nashi’ is a common maxim. Karate ni sente nashi means that one who practices karate never attacks first, mentally nor physically. However, ‘sente’ which is commonly translated as attack actually means initiative. Wado has its roots in Japanese koryu, which refer to the old styles. Those styles where not based on self defense (like the Okinawan systems), they were based on warfare. If your karate does not hold sente, then this means that your karate is a passive and waiting shape. Sente is active and continuous. Even far before
any sign of battle your mind must be in sente to feel, adapt and lead instantly. Do not take a passive
attitude and wait for the attack to come. In Holland we call this ‘walking behind the facts’, or in other words, you are always behind on schedule, never (hardly ever)
being able to catch up and sufficiently take hold of the
situation. Such an attitude lowers your percentages. Make sure to approach battle instead of having the battle approaching you. Of course, sente doesn’t mean to take initiative to beat other people up without reason. Warfare is a tool to preserve peace. The kanji for ‘bu’ means to stop the spear. The actual physical act is a process all together and if you look at it like this way: beginning – process – end, then you should try to sense that beginning and or transform/bend/break/manipulate that process into another result than the physical act. However, you transform/bend etc. This process by taking initiative, not by waiting and hoping that the process leads somewhere else then the first strike being launched.
Go no sen 後の先
This is one of the machite. You should receive the attack with the intention to put ukemi in a weak position and counter immediately afterwards. You should act before the opponent has regained his strength and launches his second attack. As in maegeri uke, after performing uchi harai uke, gyakuzuki should be done before uke regains his balance.
Sen no sen 先の先
The principle of sen-no-sen is to receive the attack and attack the opponent at the same time, which can be seen in kihon gumite ipponme for example. The whole of receiving and delivering blends into one movement, this is also a machite.
Sen sen no sen 先先の先
This is the kakete. In sen-sen-no-sen your attack is delivered when your opponent starts his attack. Actually you have to attack when your opponent has committed to his intention. You have to read his mind in order to know when your opponent will attack, of course ideally force or draw the attack. In other words, you have to sense his intention and read his body language. His eyes tell you what he will be going to do. Take advantage of his suki.
PRINCIPLES