junbi undo and blocking

Junbi undo dai san are the breathing exercises from the warm-up routine created by Miyagi Sensei.

In these exercises the idea is to lead the movement of the arms by using the hips, tanden and breath whilst relaxing the body and exploding through the movment to the kime point.

I think the same thing will apply to techniques such as age uke.  The movment of the hips and tanden, combined with the breathing should fire the arm up to make the initial contact with the opponent.  Kime then occurs at this point.

In the case of this block (age uke), the initial movment of the hips, tanden and use of the breath replicate that of the second exercise in junbi undo dai san, where you drop your hips and fire the arms vertically upwards.

The movment of the arm is completely different, however, the feeling within the body is the same.

Kime

The breathing exercises in junbi undo dai san are a way in which we learn to link the hojo undo to sanchin and then to applied technique.

The kime lasts but a split second.  Just long enough to transfer the energy into the opponents body.  If you hold this tension for too long, it comes right back at you, and lessens the impact upon the opponent. 

The machiwara teaches this feeling.

Strength in softness

Something which has always intrigued me when practising with more experienced practitioners is the way that they always seem to use a lot less effort in order to get a much bigger result. 

You, as practitioners, have probably also felt this sensation when practising an exercise such as Sandan Gi.  When you compare the blocking techniques of an advanced practitioner to those of someone with less experience, the biggest thing you notice is how you hardly seem to feel the block against your striking arm.  The timing, their command of the ma’ai, and the smoothness of the blocking technique allow the receiver to blend with the attack and guide it away from its target.  And it seems that the more powerfully you try to hit him, the more off balance you end up as your strike is gracefully brushed aside. 

The blocking action of the inexperienced practitioner is very Go, but as he progressess his blocks will attain more Ju characteristics.

Miyazato Ei’ichi Sensei said that if you try to do Ju techniques with too much power, they will be ineffective. 

Techniques such as Uraken, Tettsui Uchi, Furi Tsuki, and Gedan Barai all rely on the loose whipping action of the arm, and te relaxation of the muscles and joints until the point of contact.  If you try to do these techniques with too much force, you naturally tighten up the muscles and slow the movement to the point where it becomes a dull impact.

This point can be seen most easily against the machiwara.  If you strike with uraken properly the machiwara will spring and vibrate back and forth rapidly as a result of the strike.  If you perform the same strike again, but this time with tension in the joints you will see this dull impact, and there will be much less movement in the machiwara. 

Uraken is a different kind of strike to a straight forward tsuki technique, and relies on a different way of transferring force into the target.  Too much hardness prevents this force transfer, and results in a less effective strike.

In relation to all of the techniques of Goju Ryu there is Go and Ju, and each contain certain characteristics of the other.

Achieving a balance

Over the past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time at my sensei’s home, during which we were able to train together, and I was able to receive more direction with regards to my personal training.

One of the major things that was pointed out to me was my balance, or lack thereof.  Now I’m not talking about balance with regards to standing on one leg, or transitioning between movements.  The balance I’m referring to is the balance between Go and Ju.  Hard and Soft.

I’ve always found it much easier to obtain Go attributes in my karatedo, but the Ju takes much more effort.  My training over the past year has been focused on getting stronger, faster and more powerful.  In order to work towards these goals I have been doings lots of hojo undo and conditioning.

This is all fine, as generally speaking you cannot train too much on one area.  However, it does become a problem when you do too much of one thing at the expense of something else.  With me it is my lack of flexibility, which in turn has also affected my speed,  one of the areas I was trying to improve in the first place!

Everything needs balance.  If you think of your training as a spiders web, with each individual strand of the web relating to an area of your training you can see the problem.  If one strand is much longer than the others, the shape of the web will dramatically alter, and may become weaker as a result.

This also relates to matters of the character.  Again, my problem is that Go attributes have always come much more easily than Ju attributes.  Too much hardness tips the balance and can cause you to swerve from that middle path that you are trying to walk.  As a result you can become a hard and calloused individual with little regard for anyone but yourself.

The challenge of karatedo is achieving balance in all areas of our lives.

Admin stuff

Hello all,

Just a quick note to inform you that I will be away from the computer for a week while I visit my sensei in Spain.  As a result there will be no new material this week.

I will resume writing when I return.

Thanks for reading and visiting the site,

Garry

Remembering Miyagi Sensei

Today marks the 54th anniversary of Miyagi Chojun Sensei’s death.  As a mark of respect for Chojun Sensei, yesterday I held a special training session at my dojo.

My Sensei, Richard Barrett always used to hold a gasshuku in October and April, coinciding with the dates of Chojun Sensei’s birth and death.  With my Sensei now residing in Spain, I have decided to do the same in the UK along with my sempai and my student.

We met up yesterday morning, and after bowing in, practiced junbi undo as a group.  the next couple of hours were spent on individual training with the various hojo undo equipment, and repetitions of Sanchin kata.  Following this we practiced kakie, ude tanren, and sandan gi. 

We then practiced the various kata of the Goju Ryu system and finished up with bunkai for Seipai kata.

At the conclusion of the training session I spoke at length about Miyagi Sensei and his various achievements before pouring each of us a small cup of awamori to toast to Chojun Sensei.

I feel that it is important for practitioners of karatedo to have a good knowledge of where their art has come from.  I can remember one occasion on a seminar where the visiting Japanese teacher was presented with a lovely colour painting of Miyagi Sensei as a gift.  I can vividly remember overhearing one practitioner with a faded black belt say ‘who’s that guy?’.

It’s quite shameful that a Goju Ryu yudansha would have no idea who the founder of his system was.  I would expect all black belt holders to have at the very least a basic knowledge of their arts history.

By following my sensei’s example of dedicating those two dates a year to the memory of Chojun Sensei, I feel that I am in some small way fulfilling my obligation both to him, and to the art of Goju Ryu. 

Every practitioner that walks through the door of the dojo immediately has giri, an obligation. 

As a beginner your immediate obligation is towards your sensei.  You trust him or her to teach you, and to steer you in the right direction.  As you walk further along the path of budo you collect more and more obligation.  You are forever indebted to the art which you have chosen to pursue, and it becomes your further obligation to preserve and pass on the tradition from which you will have undoubtedly gained so much. 

Miyagi Chojun Sensei planted the seeds of Goju Ryu all those years ago, and I’m sure that even he would be surprised to see how the flowers of his art have spread.  Now entrusted to our generation, it is important that we take care of Miyagi Sensei’s contribution and not allow the flowers to become overrun by weeds through neglect and carelessness.

Nigiri Game

When I think of Okinawan Karatedo, two images which spring most readily to mind are that of the Machiwara and the Nigiri Game. 

Uniquely Okinawan, these tools conjure up images of a tradition passed on through the ages with great care.  With every strike of the machiwara, and each step taken with the nigiri game, today’s practitioners are doing their bit to keep this tradition alive, following in the footsteps of the legendary bushi who have gone before them.

With this in mind, it saddens me somewhat to hear how few people see training with the nigiri game as an essential part of their training.  Outside of Okinawa it is very rare to see people who use the gripping jars within their dojo, and dare I say it, even in Okinawa I saw few people who would use them regularly!

Maybe this is to do with the exercises being quite basic, or maybe the fact that finding a set of nigiri game can be quite difficult for most?

Training with the nigiri game has the following benefits;

Improves grip and finger strength

Improves core stability

Helps the practitioner develop a strong rooting into the ground

Strengthens shoulder and forearm muscles

Helps with the even distribution of weight during stepping movements

Assists with learning correct body alignment

It is also important to bear in mind that whilst all of the hojo undo equipment assists with improving grip strength, the nigiri game differ greatly.

Training with the chiishi or ishi sashi strengthen the muscles required for grasping onto an opponents limb, such as in situations where you block an attack before seizing the opponents arm and striking.  The nigiri game focus on strengthening the muscles required for grabbing skin, flesh, muscle and tendon.  Training with the nigiri game will give you the finger strength that is required to be able to seize into vital areas and create a pain response from the opponent, opening targets to then exploit and attack.

Most Goju Ryu practitioners will be aware of the stories relating to Miyagi sensei’s extraordinary grip.  In fact I was told by Kinjo Seikichi Sensei that Miyagi Sensei would train with nigiri game which weighed a staggering 90 lbs each!

Whilst the sceptic in me wonders whether the truth may have been somewhat exaggerated in true Okinawan fashion in order to inspire us to try harder, I also wonder what if…..

So with this in mind I recently had a new improved ‘monster’ set of nigiri game made to my exact measurements by a very skilled master potter by the name of Richard Baxter who has a lovely workshop in Leigh on Sea.  His website can be found at http://www.richardbaxter.com/index.php 

Over the course of the next few years I will be focusing on gradually adding to the weight of the nigiri game by filling them with sand, rocks, small children etc, and testing for myself whether 90lbs might have been possible.  A good side effect of this experiment is the fact that I will also be improving on all of the areas mentioned above as I go along.

Wish me luck!