What are the basic Karate moves for beginners?

When it comes to learning Karate, the beginner’s phase is always tough in terms of understanding certain moves and techniques. What is often taught to Karate beginners is that the basic, fundamental moves will be used from white belt all the way through to black belt. In other words, there’s no need to learn anything too fancy in Karate – and often the less flashy, basic moves are the best.

With this said, we’ve created a list of the best moves for Karate that can be done by all, regardless of age, ability, or gender. One thing to add is that if you really want to improve your Karate quickly, then practicing Kata as much as possible is a great way to learn. The reason for this is that it will basically drill the core moves into your head quickly. Whilst training Kumite is also important to pressure test your Karate moves, Kata often serves as the basic platform for learning. Here’s a list of Karate techniques for beginners.

Basic Karate stances

In Karate, a stance is often how you begin during Kumite. In short, this is something that can be a neutral, offensive, or defensive position. This requires thinking about your arms, legs, and head which are all important and will serve as the basis of beginning the rest of your moves. Learning Karate stances is important as the stance acts as the main base to then start from.

Musubi Dachi

Musubi Dachi starts with your feet facing away from each other, with your heels connected. Your upper body and knees are straight with your arms on your side, as if you’re about to perform a bow. Typically, Karatekas will use this stance when beginning a class as it is done when bowing. Although this stance isn’t used when fighting, it is still an important move to learn as it is commonly used in most Karate classes when greeting your sensei.

Natural Stance

The natural stance often follows the Musubi Dachi and basically expands on the original position. Here, you will open your legs and arms outwards so there’s space in between your limbs. Often, your fists will be clenched as if you’re ready to fight.

Horse riding Stance

As this stances name suggests, this mimics a horse rider. This means having very wide legs with your hands on your hips. The Horse riding stance is a good example of why it’s important to become flexible when training Karate. Of course, you’ll want to widen your legs without feeling a burn on your groin which is why flexibility is important.

Front Stance

By far the most commonly seen stance in Karate is the front stance. This is often used offensively and can act as the basis to throw punches. Even if you’re not very well versed with Karate, the chances are you’ll have possibly seen this stance used at some point. When doing this, you’ll have one elbow tucked to your side, with your forearm and palm facing up. On the same side of the body, your leg is stretched back and the other leg will have your knee bent with your arm facing downward.

Basic Karate punches

Whilst many people associate kicks with Karate, punches are also equally as important and are very effective. In short, if you plan on training Karate then learning how to punch is imperative. Here’s a list of the three most commonly used Karate punches.

Straight Punch

The straight punch is exactly that. Here, your legs should be slightly apart and straight at the knee, as should your spine. Your one arm is then glued above your hip with the palm facing up, whilst your other arm punches forward. You may have figured by now that this position often follows on from the Front stance.

Reverse Punch

The Reverse punch is like a Front punch but is thrown in the opposite way. For instance, with a Front punch, your punching arm should be thrown with a bent knee on the same side. The Reverse punch is the opposite of this, so your punching arm is on the same side as the resting leg.

Front Punch

The Front punch looks kind of similar to the Straight punch and once again comes from the Front stance. In fact, the end result should look quite familiar. The difference is that your arm should be straight when thrown instead of resting. Remember to throw your hips into the punch which is a common technique used in Karate as it generates more power.

Basic Karate kicks

As you may have thought, Karate is pretty big on kicks and these are some of the most commonly taught moves. Like a decent punch, a Karate kick can end a fight instantly, so they’re worth learning.

Front Kick

A Front kick is where you kick your leading leg forward with your toes curled, whilst your rest leg should stay straight with your toes facing forward. This requires bringing your kicking legs knee upwards and then snapping the lower part of the leg and foot forward. Obviously, the quicker you can do this, the more powerful your kick will be.

Side Kick

The Side kick is done from the Horse stance, which makes sense seeing as both positions use wide legs, to begin with. To do this, it’s also important to face yourself at an angle when your sidekick lands cleanly. When doing this, you’ll want to keep the same side arm next to your kicking leg with your resting legs toes facing away from the opponent. Remember to keep your resting arm facing up in case you need it to punch or block afterward.

Roundhouse Kick

One of the most commonly used kicks in Karate and martial arts is the Roundhouse kick. Here, you’ll need to lean back on your resting leg and then bring your kicking knee up to load the chamber. Then, you can point your leg in a slanted position with your toes pointed upwards. The Roundhouse kick can be used to kick the head or body of your opponent.

Basic Karate blocks

Another key part of Karate is learning how to block. Whilst the above moves are mostly offensive, good defense is crucial as well. Imagine Kumite when someone is trying to kick and punch you. Hopefully, you can block to defend yourself.

Inward Block

The Inward block is designed to block strikes from the inside. This goes for punches and kicks. An Inward block is done by leaning your one leg forward whilst having your same side arm up. This is done to block strikes to the head and body.

Outward Block

The Outward block is basically the opposite of the Inward block and is useful to defend against certain types of strikes that the Inward block is incapable of defending. Remember to close your fist whilst doing this block, in case your fist gets hit. If the fist is clenched whilst hit it’s more likely to soak up the damage compared to a flat fist.

Upper Block

The Upper block has a straight stance with most of your body upright. You should then use one arm which goes over your head in a bent motion. The point of this is to directly block and defend against strikes to the head. Ideally, after blocking the head you should then divert your arm down which may open up the opponent to a counter strike.

Lower Block

The Lower block often comes from the front stance. Imagine getting your bent leg kicked at. To defend this, you should place the same side arm down towards your leg which should hopefully block the kick. Of course, when blocking your legs you will need to be wary of strikes to your head and upper body.

If you’re interested in learning more about Karate then check this book out.