The wooden shim at the top between the two post boards causes a louder sound which was useful for Nodan's demonstration purposes. The un-spaced posts in the "Building a Makiwara and Board Holder" video are much quieter and less likely to "disturb" others. Besides this, the spaced post board variation allows for a little more flexibility which is not necessarily more advantageous.
Master Nodan, thank you very much for this idea on how to construct a home makiwara! I built a very similar one, based on your suggestions in this vid. One can indeed get all the parts required at any Home Depot store. Couple of points, if I may. After some use, I tweaked mine to actually reduce the resistance - I used a wooden planer to shave off some wood and "taper" the boards, to make the resistance to punch more gradual. This is basically due to me being a beginner and also because one of the boards I used is oak, others may find this not necessary... Another point, is to use a good Dit da-Jow liniment once in a while, to prevent bruising (I think you also mention this in your books). Overall, it's an awesome design. Once again, many thanks for sharing these videos and for the excellent books. Very grateful!
Great design built one. It works great. Made it tight at the bottom didn't need the bolts. I am a journeyman carpenter that may help but thanks for the great design
Each "1 inch" thick pine board is milled to 3/4 inch at North American lumber mills (see the video "Board Strength and Breaking Difficulty"). So, two 1x 8 boards will have an actual thickness of 1 1/2 inches. A 10 inch wide striking post will give more resistance than an 8 inch wide board.
Yes, Nodan used construction adhesive on this particular makiwara base but, while adding additional strength, it is not necessary if the parts are securely fastened with the bolts.
You are correct, the original Okinawan makiwara did have some give in it but, when compared to Nodan's flexible post, the traditional striking posts were rather stiff. Perhaps we should have said "relatively stiff when compared to Nodan's striking post?" Peace.
The higher you marry the boards the stiffer the post. Each practitioner must find their own comfort zone. In his films, Nodan used a split board post, which increases its flexibility. Nodan's makiwara training technique was based on "graduated resistance" and "follow through." (See his comments on The Five Principles and the makiwara in the Appendix portion of his FREE online book.
I practiced Okinawan Karate, the traditional way years ago from early childhood till me late teens. Later in life I had a medical test done called a needle EMG. It tests the nerves and the conduction to the brain of the individual nerves. To their surprise I had equal nerve damage (bilateral) in both arms and hands. It did build callouses and the power of the blows I could deliver were phenomenal, most opponents in tournaments were taken down with only one blow. I'm glad this has changed.
nodan-- Awesome video! Could you please tell me- how far up the 1"x8" (x2) striking post do you recommend screwing them together with wood screws? For example, should I marry them for the first foot, the entire length, etc. Also, I noticed in some shots there appears to be a small spacer between the striking boards at the very top-what is its purpose? I love your videos, and the message they carry. Thanks!
The original makiwara was *never* a rigid post. It has always been flexible and offered graduated resistance. In fact, the original offered even better graduated resistance due to its tapered design (being thicker on the bottom). It is great that you took the time to share your design. I'm sure many folks have benefited. .
One recommendation I have is. Frame out the base, from the bottom with 2x4 wood. This will give the base extra added support, and something more to bolt the base of the makiwara to. Thank you,
thank you =) i realy needed to know this and im realy focusing on my karate. im only orange belt in wadokai and getting 14 this summer but i train a loot of karate now. 2 days with kids my age and 2 days with adults and aloot at home. a week.
Exactly this is what I was looking for. Never figured out this ingenious trick to mount on a plywood base to get around the need to dig into the ground, aka my basement floor. 🤓
i use a 4x4 stud and just sanded the sharp corner edges of the wood and wrapped with 1/8 soft foam and black weather tape...i practice straight punching and muy thai kicking...old man u got some power there how often does the post u show produce hand injures if practiced daily for one hour of punching and kicking
hello mr. nodan, in some video you show "something" between the two planks of the makiwara, can you please explain me what it is? do you use any kind of dit da jow before and after the training? thanks you very much :)
??? On the contrary! Nodan designed the flexible post to work as a "graduated" resistance through each movement while protecting the hands from developing large callouses and calcifications (See his "Makiwara" page in the Appendix of his FREE online book at the nodan-karate website). The Editor
It would be most helpful if you listed the defects and posted your design for a better makiwara on your channel site. We looked but, we could find no indication that you know anything about makiwara, so please advise us. The Editor- Lighthouse Productions
Potentially, yes. But, it is assumed that the practitioner will have his eyes open and will be looking at his target area, which is HUGE! (8 inches x 12 inches) and very hard to miss.
Mr.Nodan, could you write for me your video spech for the best undestanding you. (Sorry for my english, I am interested in sizes of makivara items and which type of wood I can use for makivara)
+Akal Ulyadurov The wood used in the flexible post is light weight soft pine. But, any soft wood can be used. The important thing is to use a striking post that flexes (bends) approximately 12 inches at the top. Also, use soft rubber padding to protect your hands from injury.
The wooden shim at the top between the two post boards causes a louder sound which was useful for Nodan's demonstration purposes. The un-spaced posts in the "Building a Makiwara and Board Holder" video are much quieter and less likely to "disturb" others. Besides this, the spaced post board variation allows for a little more flexibility which is not necessarily more advantageous.
Master Nodan, thank you very much for this idea on how to construct a home makiwara!
I built a very similar one, based on your suggestions in this vid. One can indeed get all the parts required at any Home Depot store. Couple of points, if I may.
After some use, I tweaked mine to actually reduce the resistance - I used a wooden planer to shave off some wood and "taper" the boards, to make the resistance to punch more gradual. This is basically due to me being a beginner and also because one of the boards I used is oak, others may find this not necessary...
Another point, is to use a good Dit da-Jow liniment once in a while, to prevent bruising (I think you also mention this in your books).
Overall, it's an awesome design. Once again, many thanks for sharing these videos and for the excellent books. Very grateful!
Thank you for your insightful suggestions and reminder to beginners to use flexible boards.
Great design built one. It works great. Made it tight at the bottom didn't need the bolts. I am a journeyman carpenter that may help but thanks for the great design
Each "1 inch" thick pine board is milled to 3/4 inch at North American lumber mills (see the video "Board Strength and Breaking Difficulty"). So, two 1x 8 boards will have an actual thickness of 1 1/2 inches. A 10 inch wide striking post will give more resistance than an 8 inch wide board.
Yes, Nodan used construction adhesive on this particular makiwara base but, while adding additional strength, it is not necessary if the parts are securely fastened with the bolts.
You are correct, the original Okinawan makiwara did have some give in it but, when compared to Nodan's flexible post, the traditional striking posts were rather stiff. Perhaps we should have said "relatively stiff when compared to Nodan's striking post?" Peace.
The higher you marry the boards the stiffer the post. Each practitioner must find their own comfort zone. In his films, Nodan used a split board post, which increases its flexibility. Nodan's makiwara training technique was based on "graduated resistance" and "follow through." (See his comments on The Five Principles and the makiwara in the Appendix portion of his FREE online book.
I practiced Okinawan Karate, the traditional way years ago from early childhood till me late teens. Later in life I had a medical test done called a needle EMG. It tests the nerves and the conduction to the brain of the individual nerves. To their surprise I had equal nerve damage (bilateral) in both arms and hands. It did build callouses and the power of the blows I could deliver were phenomenal, most opponents in tournaments were taken down with only one blow. I'm glad this has changed.
nodan-- Awesome video! Could you please tell me- how far up the 1"x8" (x2) striking post do you recommend screwing them together with wood screws? For example, should I marry them for the first foot, the entire length, etc. Also, I noticed in some shots there appears to be a small spacer between the striking boards at the very top-what is its purpose? I love your videos, and the message they carry. Thanks!
The original makiwara was *never* a rigid post. It has always been flexible and offered graduated resistance. In fact, the original offered even better graduated resistance due to its tapered design (being thicker on the bottom). It is great that you took the time to share your design. I'm sure many folks have benefited. .
One recommendation I have is. Frame out the base, from the bottom with 2x4 wood. This will give the base extra added support, and something more to bolt the base of the makiwara to. Thank you,
Bklyn James Excellent suggestion.
Thank you..!!
Nice work! Used to train a lot in the Makiwara back in my trainning days..
thank you =) i realy needed to know this and im realy focusing on my karate.
im only orange belt in wadokai and getting 14 this summer but i train a loot of karate now.
2 days with kids my age and 2 days with adults and aloot at home. a week.
In his FREE online book, "The Power of The Way," Nodan describes breaking a makiwara striking post on two different ocassions.
Exactly this is what I was looking for. Never figured out this ingenious trick to mount on a plywood base to get around the need to dig into the ground, aka my basement floor. 🤓
i use a 4x4 stud and just sanded the sharp corner edges of the wood and wrapped with 1/8 soft foam and black weather tape...i practice straight punching and muy thai kicking...old man u got some power there how often does the post u show produce hand injures if practiced daily for one hour of punching and kicking
hello mr. nodan, in some video you show "something" between the two planks of the makiwara, can you please explain me what it is? do you use any kind of dit da jow before and after the training? thanks you very much :)
@sum41foreverown happy to hear that! Enjoy your journey in karate!
??? On the contrary! Nodan designed the flexible post to work as a "graduated" resistance through each movement while protecting the hands from developing large callouses and calcifications (See his "Makiwara" page in the Appendix of his FREE online book at the nodan-karate website). The Editor
It would be most helpful if you listed the defects and posted your design for a better makiwara on your channel site. We looked but, we could find no indication that you know anything about makiwara, so please advise us. The Editor- Lighthouse Productions
Potentially, yes. But, it is assumed that the practitioner will have his eyes open and will be looking at his target area, which is HUGE! (8 inches x 12 inches) and very hard to miss.
me nodan good evening. so if i have well understood there is no need to make any hole on the floor? it would be great
can anyone tell me what thing the makiwara train's????
Is the post holder glued to the base ?
Is this makiwara tapered?
Mr.Nodan, could you write for me your video spech for the best undestanding you. (Sorry for my english, I am interested in sizes of makivara items and which type of wood I can use for makivara)
+Akal Ulyadurov The wood used in the flexible post is light weight soft pine. But, any soft wood can be used. The important thing is to use a striking post that flexes (bends) approximately 12 inches at the top. Also, use soft rubber padding to protect your hands from injury.
It depeneds on the way u want to use it
you look like the old kungfu man from tekken:-)
mafiouso-you are what you eat
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but is this sensei being funny? can't tell?
The "Nodan" character is a disguise. See Nodan's free book @ nodankarate.org. for an explanation.