When the Chairman of the Karate Union of Great Britain walks into your dojo, you pay attention. When Sensei John Bruce, 6th Dan, Chief Instructor of Sendai Kushiro Karate Club and internationally acclaimed competitor, starts teaching, you take notes. Last night at Bath Karate Club, he delivered a session that had students rethinking everything they thought they knew about stances and power generation.

Sensei Bruce opened with a question, ‘How do we generate maximum power, where does it come from?’ Hip? Legs? Both?

The answer is simple, but also nuanced: Punch with your legs. Not just your arms. Not even just your hips. Your legs drive everything – but, everything must be connected through the hips. John broke down front stance like a biomechanical engineer—alignment of knee and toe, hip positioning, the kinetic chain that transforms the leg drive into the ability to deliver powerful strikes. The transition between stances became a masterclass in hip rotation and the crucial connection between lower and upper body. Simple adjustments but visible results.

Moving into Heian Shodan, Bruce delivered another distillation of his karate philosophy; ‘Consistency is the difference between good and very good.’

His focus? Every technique should be delivered exactly the same, and complete the full technique. Too many karateka rush to the endpoint, missing the power and precision embedded in the journey of each movement. Every technique in every kata should embody the principles drilled in kihon—stance, alignment, power generation. No shortcuts, no compromises.

The session closed with kumite and pairwork, kizami zuki attacks that put theory into practice. Body rotation, hip movement, leg-driven power—everything connected. This completed the session, from stance fundamentals to why this is important in kumite.

As John closed the session, he challenged us all to take responsibility for our own development and progression:
‘This is a journey, we are all on it but are in different places. As long as you understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ and practice it, then you too are on this journey.’

Suddenly, the grade on your belt mattered less than the quality of your understanding. From novice to senior Dan grades, everyone is a student of karate, all progressing, all improving.