Issin-Ryu karate helps soccer team

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Girls score with whole new kick

Stafford soccer team takes karate to strengthen its game

By REBEKAH ELLIOTT

Date published: 5/4/2005

Soccer team tries karate for power

One punch, one kill.

The motto comes from Issin-Ryu, one of Okinawa’s forms of martial arts.

Imagine that kind of focus and power concentrated on a soccer ball.

Stafford Freedom U-10 girls soccer coach Dan Visone has seen that kind of power improving his daughter’s soccer kicks and now wants his whole team to try it.

“Jessica went from being a pretty good kicker to being one of the best,” Visone said.

Because it is a pilot program, the team is taking it slowly with classes only twice a month. That, though, is one of the question marks about the program: How many times a month of class are necessary to see a difference? Visone’s daughter goes twice a week.

The first class, the girls told karate teacher Mike Steele they couldn’t feel anything and all was well–until the next day, that is.

The team had a game so Visone was able to see the results first-hand and relate it to Steele.

“It was good to hear they were sore, so I know I got to them,” said Steele, a trifle gleefully.

The second class with Steele, the girls didn’t profess all was well or easy.

Ponytails bobbed and bodies wobbled as the girls tried to remain balanced, kicking with one leg horizontal to the red-bordered blue mat. Bursts of congenial laughter popped out here and there, but the group remained focused throughout the 50 repetitions.

Do this and you’ll improve your kicks, Steele promised. He told them before they knew it, he’d have them breaking baseball bats with their shins.

Not only does Visone credit the karate class for his daughter’s tremendously improved kicks, but he has seen changes in her focus, endurance and strength.

“If I didn’t think this was a good thing for my daughter, I wouldn’t have my team doing it,” stressed Visone.

“You’re teaching girls some protection, they’re building leg strength and working on stamina,” he said.

Steele is quick to add that karate is about core body strength, meaning the center of the body, with the power radiating from that point.

And, he’s not surprised it has helped Jessica with soccer.

One sport complementing another is not new, and karate has already been tried and proven true in complementing another sport: football.

The San Diego Chargers went from a 4-12 record in 1986 to 8-7 in 1987. One factor attributing to an improved season was Issin-Ryu, taught to the team by Arcenio Advincula.

Advincula comes into the picture in this story, as well. He’s Steele’s sensei, or teacher. However, Steele has never propounded karate as a complementary sport for others, despite his knowledge of Advincula’s role with the Chargers.

Steele’s focus has remained on the pure love of karate in and of itself. But, when approached by Visone, he was open to the idea.

“I’m expecting to see some positive results from these kids,” Steele said.

“[Karate] is applying power at the right time, right place,” he said. “It’s like taking a funnel and pouring water through that tip. It’s more powerful.”

Karate kicking the soccer ball. The soccer ball just might better watch out, and maybe the other team, too.

To reach REBEKAH ELLIOTT: 540/374-5524 relliott@freelancestar.com

Date published: 5/4/2005

Original article and picture at
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/052005/05042005/1750191

Balance training exercisese are great, but I sure hope they aren’t kicking air too much.

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"Ponytails bobbed and bodies wobbled as the girls tried to remain balanced, kicking with one leg horizontal to the red-bordered blue mat. Bursts of congenial laughter popped out here and there, but the group remained focused throughout the 50 repetitions.

Do this and you’ll improve your kicks, Steele promised. He told them before they knew it, he’d have them breaking baseball bats with their shins."

Student: “After how long Sensei?”
Sensei: I will show you the day after I pay off my house and car debts young one… and after you fill out a contract relieving me of any personal damage you may suffer as a cause of it…and I will have medical personnel very close by.

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I never imagined i’d see “one punch one kill” associated with girls soccer.

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I can see the concept of kicking through the ball. We train to penetrate with our kicks as well.

But the form is totally different. And the baseball bat comment was just dumb.

I would think that in the first little while, the girls might actually get worse before they start gettng better.

I wonder if Ronin has any comments.

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I don’t think it’s really applicable, at least not instantly apparent. When my friends and I mess around with a soccer ball, I can’t kick it any harder normally, but I can toss it up and thai-kick it pretty well. Completely useless but fun.

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Shaolin Soccer meets Samurai Soccer.

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What a waste of time. I can see the physical benefits from doing karate carrying over to soccer (played from 5 to 19, refereed for a couple of years) but not much else. You may be trying to penetrate the ball like a torso with a kick but in soccer you follow through and land on the kicking foot and in most karate that I am aware of you snap the kick back. This would probably be a detriment to the girls kicking ability.

These girls look like they’re around 10 to 14 years old (hard to tell from the photo). At that age they would probably benefit so much more as a team from studying positioning and formations rathering than doing karate together. Most girls teams in that age group are just now developing their abilities to understand their role in whatever position they’ve decided to focus on unless they are in a select league.

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When I played soccer in Portugal, I was also doing karate and boxing and judo ( ah the energy of a teenager).
If I tried to kick the soccer ball with a “karate kick” my Brasilian coach would have made me wear everyones cup on my head.

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The high socks weren’t enough?

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Brilliant. Dilute their soccer training with training in an irrelevant sport.

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Mr. Arsenio Advincula, referenced in the article, is supposedly pretty bad ass.

Otherwise, chalk it up to the placebo effect.

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Amazing. I was just thinking that the thai round kick would be more appropriate for some of the soccer type kicks and field goal kicking in REAL football for that matter.

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I studdied this style as a kid. My sensei was a great guy. He didn’t charge for lessons and only asked that we would do the same if we every progressed far enough. The lessons took place in his basement on a carpet. He really was a good guy. I just didn’t stick with it long enough I guess. Kinda wish I did. The founder of this style was a total badass. I can’t remember his first name but he was known a Master Shimabuku. I remember seing pictures of him punching phone poles or something.

I don’t know how practical this style is, but I can say that it did not help me with gettin bullied around in grade/middle school.

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Yeah, I always thought it was “Isshin-Ryu” with an “h”.

One of the tough Okinawan systems, known for the vertical fist.

Also known for its emblem…based on a vision one of their masters had.

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Ha I had that patch on my gi. Yes the punch in this style was verticle with the thumb bent behinf the forefinger. I think there were 14 basic moves. There was a pretty cool black belt kata that i observed at a tournament. I was all about strength. The sensei would break boards on the extended arms/legs of the performer. He would also jump on the back of his knee to make sure his stance was strong. Pretty cool stuff, but like I said i’m not sure how practical it is.