Linear Karate

Shotokan has often been called Linear Karate. I’m not one who believes in the power of a straight line any more than a circle or visa versa.  I feel that if it works it works.
However there is no quicker way to get from A to B than a straight line. A straight punch will beat a hook punch in speed and is also more difficult to block. The claim that we are linear is overrated in my estimation. Many of our blocks have circular elements to them. All of the blocks travel in a semi circular arcing motion. It is impossible to throw a front kick without the foot traveling in an arc.
Now back to linear karate.  I teach that we need to refine our stepping punch to the point that our line of energy is traveling in a straight line. I had a student that had trained in another art that doesn’t teach punching that well and he made the remark that there is no practical use for a stepping punch. I said well tell that to the guy I beat for a National gold with a final point using a stepping punch.
To maximize your stepping we must eliminate extra and unnecessary movement. Any action that does not propel you forward slows you down. Any action upward or a wobble to the side while you step also slows you down. Think of the stepping and punching action like a fencer. The purpose of his forward movement is to move his foil in a straight line an get it on target as quickly as possible.
We must think of our movement as 2 planes or lines of movement. One plane is horizontal and the other is a vertical plane. When you think of the point where those 2 planes cross we now have a point. If you continue forward with this point you now have a straight line, just like a laser beam. Now if you add a wobble, either up or down, you now have a line similar to a radio wave or sound wave. Now we all know that a laser beam is faster than a sound wave. Heck we have planes that can travel faster than the speed of sound.
Now start the process of eliminating unnecessary motion and moving like a laser beam!
Linear karate has it’s good points!