Preparing for conflict

One of the more common reasons that people to begin studying the martial arts is to learn how to defend themselves in a self defence situation.

Whilst training in karatedo may, and I stress may, make the person a little better prepared than the average person on the street, it cannot guarantee this.  Learning how to strike vulnerable targets on the human body with power is one thing in the dojo, but being able to apply this is an entirely different matter.

You can hit the makiwara, strike the heavy bag, practice two-man drills, engage in heavy free sparring, but all these things lack one thing – the stress of actual combat.

Many people will probably disagree, but I don’t believe that the feeling of actual combat can be accurately reproduced in the dojo environment.  The intensity, tiredness, will to win etc, can all be reproduced in the dojo to some extent, but it is still entirely different to the real thing as you always know in the back of your mind that there is someone nearby to stop it if it gets out of hand.

I am fortunate in a way that my occupation brings me into contact with violent confrontations on a regular basis.  Although I’m now fairly familiar with the stress this places on the body, and the feelings which you encounter prior to, and during conflict – I don’t believe that you can ever become comfortable with these feelings (unless you’re mentally deficient).

For practitioners that do not come into contact with violence, how can they be expected to effectively defend themselves against a suprise attack from a violent robber high on crack with no moral values whatsoever, and a desperation to steal whatever you have in order to get his next high?  Add to this the possibility of a knife, gun or multiple attackers and the situation now begins to look even more desperate.

I think that the best way that you can assist your students is to teach them about avoidance, awareness, pre-emptive striking, and more importantly how to run away quickly!  I will talk more about avoidance and awareness in future articles.

Regarding what happens to the body and mind in times of conflict I strongly recommend the publication Dead or Alive – by Geoff Thomspon.  Familiarity can sometimes disperse some of the fear so it is important to learn about what you are likley to be feeling in such situations.  This book is one of the better ones on the market that cover this subject in depth.

Weight training and karate

I was asked recently if I thought modern weight training would be beneficial to a persons karate practice.  I have mixed thoughts on this.

Training is training… and the fitter, stronger, faster, more flexible you can be, the better equipped you will be to engage in karate practice. 

However, for most people the amount of time that they have available to spare for training is quite small.  It can be difficult trying to fit in all of the kata, bunkai, conditioning, strength training, partner drills, etc, into this spare time.  If you then add further demands such as a regular gym session, then your cutting your practice time even further.

Sensei Mike Clarke wrote an excellent article regarding time management called Big Rocks which I urge you to read at his website which can be found on my links.

Anyway…regarding modern weight training I feel that its beneficial, but not at the cost of other areas of your training.

An area of traditional training which is often overlooked, shunned, disliked or misunderstood by most is the hojo undo – the traditional weight training implements unique to Okinawan Karatedo.

The physical condition of karate practitioners  was what prompted the Okinawans to include its training within their school curriculum’s, bringing karate out from behind closed doors and into the mainstream. 

This lean muscular physique developed through using the various hojo undo tools however is only a by product.  The real aim of the training is to develop the correct feeling within the various strikes and blocks.  I’ve written before about how you need to learn how to connect the striking limb to the floor making it rock solid.  The hojo undo tools teach you how to do that so that whilst you are developing your muscular strength, you are also performing movements unique to karate and making these movements more powerful and more grounded.

The fighting mentality of Goju Ryu is very assertive.  We block moving forward, keep our shoulders square regardless of how big a target we present to the opponent, knowing that our attack will be so strong that they will have no chance of blocking it.  He can be wearing a suit of armour for all we care, we’ll strike straight through it! 

However, this mentality is useless if you do not have the physical strength and ability to implement it successfully.

Kaizen

The term kaizen translated at it’s most simplest means patience. 

Patience is a virtue which seems to be rapidly losing popularity in the modern world.  People want immediate results, and when they do not get what they want, will lose their tempers and make a scene in order to show the world around them how important they are.

This appears to be becoming the accepted norm.  When people come to the dojo they bring these same traits with them.  The great thing about budo is there are no shortcuts, and no amount of losing your temper will change that.

I decided to name my dojo using the term kaizen as I think it accurately describes the disired attitude of a serious practitioner.  The term kaizen translated at its fullest means ‘the willingness to constantly pursue improvement a small step at a time’.

This is the key thing about budo and what it can intstill in the practitioner. 

There are many rewards that can be gained from practice, although none will come quickly and without a dedicated effort on your part.

The budo can build strong bodies, develop characters that will be benificial to society, and forge the mental toughness to endure hardship without complaint. 

All you have to do to achieve this is continue your training with patience one small step at a time.