There is a boxing phrase, “Leaning into the punch”, which my dad used to say sometimes when I was practicing at home. Now Dad wasn’t a boxer, but when he was a teen, he and his neighborhood friends used regularly box and spar with each other. This was way back in the 1930’s (no video games back then). He had picked up the phrase from an elderly man who lived nearby and would sometimes watch and advise them. He professed to having been a boxer years earlier.
Like most teens, I didn’t pay too much attention to my Dad’s old boxing story. Many years later, I watched a karate master demonstrating that very advice with live action. A large group of black belts were gathered at a seminar given by senior JKA instructor, Akiyama Sensei. Sensei Peter and I both remember him looking tall and very fit for an “old man” (probably only in his sixties back then). It was a memorable training session, as he never gave the “Yame” command to allow us to return to the Shizentai (normal rest) position – we were in stance for the entire, rather lengthy class. He walked around us, stick in hand, to ensure we never deviated from proper zenkutsu-dachi. Anyways, at the end of class, he came amongst us and requested that a volunteer come up to assist him in a demonstration. After some hesitation, a big, burly black belt (I believe he was from the mainland) raised his hand and came forward. Akiyama Sensei asked him to launch a full-power oe-zuki at his torso. After the first rather tepid try, the sensei exhorted him to “Go harder!” The volunteer did so with vigor several more times, to no effect. Afterwards, the sensei explained that he had subtly shifted towards his attacker just before impact, thereby changing the focal point and negating much of the full impact of the punch. I then realized that he was showing us what my dad had been trying to explain to me so many years earlier – when a punch is unavoidable, the boxer will sometimes have to lean/move into the punch to reduce its effectiveness.
Ironically, when we perform kata and all of the basic kihon associated with it, proper posture is usually the upright position. Learning to move with power and speed in the manner prescribed by our style of karate is a way of achieving control and coordination over our joints, tendons, and muscles big and small. These forms of practice, however, involve “air” techniques where throwing one’s weight behind the punch/kick and the follow-up focus/distance are not the prime considerations. In real-life, with solid targets in mind, the focus changes, and requires one to lean into the attack to throw one’s weight into the fist/foot and to maximize impact. Note how the two karateka in the photos below, instinctively “lean in” at the point of impact – though the flying front kick (Mae-tobi-geri) had to be done with extra care so as to not rearrange the partner’s face.
Regular training in the dojo can be great for strengthening one’s body, increasing one’s flexibility and balance, and achieving great speed. Keep in mind, however, that striking a solid target involves the additional dimensions of accuracy, focus, distance, and throw-weight.