Gone fishing

Just a quick notice to let you all know that I am getting married tommorrow and will be away on honeymoon until mid June, so there will be no new content for a little while.

Please visit again soon.

Best regards,

Garry

In praise of the Kongoken

Of late I have been training a lot with the Kongoken.  These days it seems very few people dedicate any serious amount of time to training with this piece of equipment, myself included.

So upon realising that I don’t spend enough time training with this tool I’ve made a concerted effort over the past couple of months to dedicate more time to it.

As a result I have noticed a difference already in the way I ‘feel’ a lot of the techniques. 

The awkward shape, the heaviness, overall size of the Kongoken can provide a formidable opponent in your own training.  It seems wherever you try to move the Kongoken, its weight will try to pull against your stance, trying it’s hardest to uproot you.

This trains your core strength in a way quite unique to this tool.  Take for example the exercise where the Kongoken is held vertically with one arm gripping it at chest height.  You then use your grip strength and forearm strength to spin the Kongoken to flip the other side back toward you on that vertical plain.  (Hopefully you know what exercise I’m talking about?  I had no idea how difficult that would be to explain!!).

As the Kongoken spins back toward you, it’s weight will be pulling against your tanden, and your connection to the floor.  In order to resist this pulling, your body automatically reacts by activating muscles in a way identical to the kime you feel at the point of punching. 

When you transfer this feeling to Sandan Gi, Kakie or even striking the Makiwara, you are able to feel a much stronger connection between the rooting of the feet and legs, the firmness of the tanden, and the connection of the striking arm to that core.

Given time, and a certain amount of patience and effort, working this exercise alone with the Kongoken will do wonders for your ability to connect the arms to the tanden. 

There are still a number of traditional exersises which we are fortunate enough to have had preserved for us to practise today.  I wonder, with the decline in popularity of the Kongoken, how long it will take before some of these exercises are lost to antiquity the way they have with tools such as the tetsurin (iron rings)?

Masters of making money and remembering techniques!

Whilst reading through Miyazato Eiichi Sensei’s book ‘Okinawa Den Gojuryu Karatedo’ I came across the term ‘Hachindi’.  Miyazato Sensei explains this term as follows;

There were some who had learnt a great number of kata, and while they boasted about what they knew, their knowledge could not be transferred into real life situations.  Such people were called Hachindi (masters of making money and remembering techniques) and were treated with contempt.

It amuses me to see that Okinawa had the same problems in the 19th century as we do today!

These days with platforms such as this blog, and various internet forums, it is very easy for people to proclaim great skill and knowledge in the martial arts, whilst staying safely hidden behind a keyboard and computer screen.  The problem is though, these days such people appear to be treated like gods rather than the fraudsters that they actually are. 

I’m becoming quite sick and tired (as you have probably gathered from my previous posts) of titles such as Proffessor, Grandmaster, Soke etc.  These often self awarded titles are common place now, and no longer raise an eyebrow. 

The term Soke has no place in Okinawan karatedo.  What little understanding I have of this term suggests to me that it refers to the inheritor of a family martial arts system, handed down through generations with strict documentation to detailits passage through these generations.  This term would be appropriate in the Koryu (ancient stream) systems of Japan, not so in karatedo where recognised individual styles only came about during the early part of the 20th century.  I am not aware of a single student of ryuhafounders such as Miyagi, Mabuni, Funakoshi, Kyoda, or Uechi proclaiming themselves to be Soke.  If this is the case then how can 3rd or 4th generation students be claiming such things?

I know the reply which I will receive from such people.  It will be along the lines of – ‘but because I have created my own system, that automatically entitles me to use the term Soke as I am technically the head of my own school’.  If you people need such titles to satisfy your ego’s, then please crack on, and justify it to yourselves in whatever way you can think of to hide your shame.

Likewise with the term Professor.  Professor in what exactly?  Is there such an academic qualification in the martial arts?  If not, then maybe these people are Professors in the academic field, maybe in science or history?  If the latter is the case, then what exactly does that have to do with the budo?

If a person is a builder, a road sweeper, or a postman, you don’t see them plastering those titles across the backs of their dogi do you?  How stupid would I look if I introduced myself as “Milkman Garry Lever (soke 12th dan- I’ll claim that one too!), I’m here to teach you about karate”.  The fact that I might be a milkman is irrelevant, as is the case if someone is a professor.  As I have said, if the title is awarded through actual academic accomplishment then, congratulations it’s a great thing that you have achieved.  If not, then who are you kidding?

Such people are Hachindi and are only interested in promoting themselves and their warped versions of the martial arts in order to make money and gain recognition.  Such people are an embarrassment to the budo and have no right claiming to be teachers of it.

The measure of a budoka is not found in their rank, title or what achievements they claim.  The true measure is found in their heart and how well they walk the middle path. 

Zen in the art of archery

The following passage is taken from the book ‘zen in the art of archery’.

How far the pupil will go is not the concern of the teacher.  Hardly he has shown him the right way when he must let him go on alone.  There is only one thing more he can do to help him endure his loneliness; he turns him away from himself, from the master, by exhorting him to go further than he himself has done, and to climb on the shoulders of his teacher.

I thought this passage very nicely explains the role of the sensei. 

Taking responsibility

I was talking with my friend a few days ago about how he felt now that he had earned his black belt.  I take an interest in this because when most people begin karate, their immediate goal is often to earn their black belt.  More often than not though, they find out that it’s not all it cracked up to be, and sometimes feel a lot of added pressure.

He told me that he was suprised that he didn’t feel any different, and in a strange way actually preferred being a mudansha (non dan holder) as he preffered being told what to do in his own training, and having something to work toward ie; a black belt grading.

I think he struck on an important point in that as a mudansha training is fairly easy in that there is always another kata to learn, another technique to learn, someone called sensei taking responsibility for your training and telling you what you should be working on.  As you become a yudansha, you now should have a basic understanding of what you should be doing, and the onus is very much upon you to further develop and improve your karatedo.  Sure, your seniors are there to assist, giving advice and pointing you in the right direction, however you are now in a position where lower grades now look up to you, and aspire to earn what you have.  The pressure is on to keep moving forward, keep improving, and the responsibility for making sure that this happens is yours.

Keeping the motivation to train can somtimes be difficult when there is nothing to train for.  In karatedo there is no tangible opponent.  It is not a competitive sport where you can always be training toward your next fight, knowing that if you miss a training session, it is one more sessions worth of experience that your opponent will have over you.  That could mean the difference between victory or defeat.  Training in this scenario is easy because there is something to work toward. 

In karatedo the only goals that you have to work toward are the ones that you create for yourself.  There is only you with your little hammer and chisel to keep tapping away at the big ugly rock that is your karatedo, trying to create a thing of beauty out of it.  A thing of beauty that has the hardness to endure its suroundings.  It’s down to you to decide how much you are willing to chip away each day.

Endure!

Nin = To endure / perservere

The above character hangs on the shomen wall in my dojo, next to a picture of Miyagi Chojun Sensei.

I had a number of reasons for choosing this particular kanji, however first I’d like to explain why I chose to place it next to Miyagi Sensei.

Miyagi Sensei dedicated his entire life to the development of Karatedo in order to ensure that it was preserved correctly and passed on to future generations as a cultural asset belonging to Okinawa.  In doing this he preserved classical kata and training exercises unique to Goju Ryu, as well as developing new katain order to preserve his own particular theroies and ideas in the form of Tensho, and for further promoting karatedo among school children in the form of the Gekisai kata.

Goju Ryu, and Okinawan Karatedo now enjoy a popularity greater than what Miyagi Sensei could have ever imagined, however, it could have been very different if not for Miyagi’s strength of mind.

War came to Okinawa on October 10 1944.  This battle was to see some of the fiercest fighting of WWII, and almost 200,000 people were to lose their lives in this conflict.  Miyagi Sensei lost his home, and numerous students and friends including, his top student Jin’an Shinzato.  Miyagi Sensei was also tragically to lose his third son, and two daughters.

The aftermath of war left Okinawa in ruins, with food in short supply.  It must have been an extremely difficult time for the Okinawan people who now had to pick up the pieces of their lives and rebuild their homes.

According to Miyazato Eiichi Sensei, Miyagi Sensei had no enthusiasm for karatedo at this time and nobody came to train.  Miyazato Sensei, along with other friends and students helped to rebuild Miyagi Sensei’s home so that they would have somewhere to train, in the hope that Miyagi Sensei’s enthusiasm would return.

Over time due to Miyagi Sensei’sstrong spirit in being able to endure great hardship and overcome personal loss, he was able to resume teaching at his garden dojo and continue to further develop and refine his Goju Ryu for the benefit of future generations.

The kanji for Nin is made up of two different parts, the first being the character for sword, and underneath is the character for spirit or heart.  Together they imply the ability to endure or persevere under harsh circumstances. 

The character is particularly appropriate for followers of the budo as it is this very ability that we seek to develop through the many years of hard training.

Sometimes it’s very easy to feel sorry for yourself when you feel you are dealt an unfair hand in life, or when things don’t seem to be going your way.  Whenever I start to notice these feelings in myself I am immediately reminded of the hardships that Miyagi Sensei had to endure when I see this Kanji next to his picture in my dojo. 

I then feel very embarrassed at the insignificance of my own problems when I remember what Miyagi Chojun Sensei had to overcome in order to achieve what he did.

Pre-war footage

In his book ‘The history of karate’ Morio Higaonna writes about video footage which was shot in 1940 by Dr Muneyoshi Yanagi 1889-1961.  This footage can be seen on the DVD Jundokan Karate Vol1 which can be purchased from the Jundokan Honbu (the link can be found on my blogroll).

The footage consists of histoical sites around Okinawa such as the Kinjo stone pavement, Shuri castle and the Royal Tombs.  It also shows traditional Okinawan dancing.

The part of most interest for budo practitioners however will be the karate section.

The karate section lasts about 40 seconds and contains footage of Hojo-Undo (supplimentary weight training), Kururunfa kata, Tensho kata, and a small part of Seiunchin kata.

Hojo-Undo: Practitioners demonstrate the use of the Nigiri Game (gripping jars) walking through sanchin dachi.  Another pracitioner uses the Ishi-Sashi (stone padlocks) to strengthen the palm heel strike techniques from Shisochin kata.  Two different practitioners also use the Tan (barbell) rolling it up and down their backs while stood in Shiko Dachi (horse stance).

Kururunfa: Unfortunately I’ve been unable to find out the identity of this practitioner.  He starts the kata with the traditional yoi, pulling the hands to the side by his hips.  The pressing action with the elbow in the first blocking technique is done from inside to outside, rather then lifting high from outside, dropping down past the eyes and then pressing out.  This is slightly different to how it is performed at the jundokan presently.  The hands are also held further apart during the sukui uke (scooping block) techniques, nowadays we are advised to keep a distance of two fists between the hands.  There is a nice flowing action to his movements.

 Tensho: The section dedicated to Tensho kata shows the double handed crane movements.  There is less hooking action from the sanchin kamae, the hands rotate and pull straight back to the sides rather then performing a hooking motion.  The way the hands are held bears a remarkable similarity to tiger form gungfu.  The breath is co-ordinated with the movements and again there is a very nice flowing action to his movements.  What is also very evident is the superb physical condition of the pracitioner.  This demonstrator appears to be the same person who performed Kururunfa kata, and the Tan exercise where it is rolled down the back.

In Hokama Tetsuhiro’s book ‘100 masters of Okinawan karate’ in Japanese, he includes three still photographs taken from this video footage.  One of the photo’s is of the practitioner rolling the Tan down his back.  The caption underneath the photograph says that the practitioner is Miyagi Chojun Sensei.  I showed this photograph to Kinjo Seikichi Sensei, a former student of Miyagi, and he confirmed that the man in the picture was Miyagi Sensei.  However much I’d like to believe that this is indeed footage of Miyagi Sensei, having watched the footage I personally have too many doubts.  I agree that the photograph bears a remarkable resemblance to Miyagi Sensei, however when you watch the footage and the angle changes, it appears to me that the man is not Miyagi Sensei due to his age (remember this was shot in 1940), and the shape of his head.  It also looks as though this pracitioner is the same person to later demonstrate Kururunfa and Tensho.  The man performing these kata’s is clearly not Miyagi Sensei.  But I’ll leave you to make up your own mind…

The second photograph shows a man in Sanchin Kamae and the caption underneath states that the practitioner is Kyoda Juhatsu Sensei, but from 1925 onwards all photographic evidence of Kyoda Sensei shows him with a moustache.  Also, if the footage was shot in 1940, the practitioner is far too young to be Kyoda Sensei.  In addition, there is no evidence to suggest that Tensho kata was ever actively practiced by Kyoda Sensei.

The final section of the footage a small section of Seiunchin kata is shown, but it is shot from too far away to be able to ascertain any of the pracitioners identities.

The footage, in my opinion, is the single most important piece of video documentation as to how Miyagi Sensei’s karate was being taught and practiced around the period of 1940.

I’d be very interested in hearing other peoples views about the footage, particularly in relation to Miyagi and Kyoda.  Please contact me if you think you can assist with the identities of some of the practitioners in the footage. 

I ken no kon

In Nagamine Shoshin’s superb book ‘tales of Okinawa’s great masters’ he writes that Higashionna Kanryo Sensei used the following phrase to describe the purpose of the martial arts;

I ken no kon

Train one fist to penetrate the spirit

Who’s spirit is the martial artist to penetrate?  Does this relate to striking an opponent with such force so as to disable or discourage him from mounting a further attack?

Or does this relate to using the martial arts as a tool of self improvement?

I think it means both of the above.  As I have stated before, fighting is to be avoided, however should the worst case scenario occur and you are forced to protect yourself or your loved ones from a violent attacker, it is important that you are able to dispatch him quickly and with as much force as he would be prepared to use against you. 

Through training the tools of the body on the makiwara we aim to develop such power in our strikes that the outcome of a battle can be decided with one decisive blow (well that’s the ideal anyway..!).  I ken no kon in this case bears a similarity to the phrase i ken hissatsu – one strike, one kill.  Using one fist to penetrate the spirit of the opponent means immediately seizing the initiative and putting the opponent on the back foot, giving you that much needed split second to decide whether to press forward your attack, or create enough space to escape. 

However, I think the phrase i ken no kon also carries with it a much deeper meaning.  Whilst training our fists to penetrate the opponents spirit, we are also unknowingly training it to also penetrate our own spirit.

Hard and austere training brings out the qualities in the practitioner needed to survive harsh circumstances, whether it be matters of self defence, or day to day problems relating to relationships, work, or bills etc.

These qualities lie in every one of us, however like the raw piece of steel, they need to be forged, tempered and polished in order to get rid of the impurities, and reveal the true beauty which lies within.  There is no shortcut to this, and the only way is a harsh one.  The piece of steel feels sorry for itself as it’s being put through the hardening process, but the polished sword looks back and knows better.

My sensei used to split the years training into two half – summer and winter.  During the summer months our training would focus mainly building correct technique, and training would be more relaxed whilst still having purpose.  However, during the winter months training would be extremely difficult and we’d be pushed to our limits every session.  Simply making it down to the dojo became an effort in itself as my mind would suggest countless excuses for me not to go, fearing what lied ahead.  I’d come home at night and be unable to support my weight on my arms as I leant against the wall to remove my socks.  Despite all of this, I am truly grateful that I was given the opportunity to be put through this kind of training, as I feel without it my personality would be very different. 

Sensei worte on the whiteboard in big letters ‘do not give up’.  That would stay on the board until the winter months passed and summer training resumed.  The phrase ‘do not give up’ is now firmly imprinted in my head, so much so that it feels as though its tattooed on the inside of my eyelids! 

I realise I’ve now gone off on a bit of a tangent, however, I think that the above is the best way to train one fist to penetrate the spirit.  Training without this kind of intensity will get you so far, but its only when you really push your limits that you start to truly learn about yourself and what you are capable of achieving. 

Saifa bunkai

 Here are some of the ideas I’m working on at the moment with saifa kata. Saifa contains techniques for getting off of the center line and following up with loose whipping strikes such as uraken, tettsui, and haito.

Apart from the morote zuki, it appears that once one hand makes contact with the opponent, you maintain contact either through pulling onto strikes, or switching hands to change the gate of attack (inner or outer).

After striking uraken (right side), swap hands so that right hands grasps opponents arm and left hand seizes behind left shoulder (same as double blocking kamae). From this tie-up, strike hiza geri. The kick may have to come from left leg depending on angle of opponents body as he will be left leg forward.

Morote zuki (from clinch) use pull back to grab clothing and jerk opponents weight forward and down. What targets does this expose for follow up double strike? Punch into points below nipples, gouge behind cavicle, or double strike into catrioid artery in neck. Follow up with tettsui then double leg takedown.

Use tettsui uchi to get off centre line and block and strike in one motion from a relaxed arms by side posture (as if caught unaware from a neutral position). After pulling opponents head onto uppercut, use  haito uchi to whip around front of opponents neck, step behind the opponent as in kata and secure rear choke. Neko ashi dachi pulls opponent further off balance, placing his weight onto your front knee. This balance displacement further secures the choke.

Unique punch in the form of left gyaku tsuki at shoulder height. Fist is palm down throughout, why? Does this expose the throat by jerking his head back after grabbing and striking in the previous movement?