Timing in Martial Arts

Today, we practiced timing throughout our karate class. In martial arts strikes, defenses and counterstrikes, timing is essential. Our instructor Sensei Brandon compared the timing in music and martial arts strikes, very interesting analogy: to compose a beautiful piece of music, you want keep it at certain rhythms, rhythms can change, but relatively stable. So is dancing. When you dance, your steps and gestures should stick to certain rhythms, so that it makes sense to the audience.

It's a different story in martial arts. If you attack or defend following certain rhythms, it makes it easier for your opponents to figure out your next move, and thus harder for you to be in an advantageous position. That's why we use combine different moves, using different timing, so that we can surprise the opponents and catch them offguard.