Hojo undo

Following on from my recent post regarding the Go and Ju of hojo undo.  Here is a short video which shows some of the main exercises practiced within the Shinsokai using the various hojo undo tools.

 

Training according to the time of day

I’ve always been fascinated by the phrase from the bubishi which reads ‘the circulation of blood in the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon’. 

I remember reading in a health magazine a few years back that energy levels for men are at their lowest around 1pm.  It’s interesting to see how western and eastern ideas often compliment eachother.

In relation to Goju Ryu, it is rumoured that Miyagi Sensei would alter his way of training according to the time of day and the seasons, also training in different natural environments.  I wonder how influenced Miyagi Sensei was by Chinese theories such as the above phrase from the bubishi.

According to Taoist theory, the day is divided between Yin and Yang.  The day being Yang, and the night being Yin.  Yang energy begins to grow at dawn, becoming stronger and peaking at noon.  Yang energy then begins to subside and Yin energy begins to grow from around sunset, peaking at midnight.

The sun is considered to be Yang, and the moon considered to be Yin.

According to Qigong theories, practice should be divided equally between dawn, noon, sunset and midnight in order to get an equal balance between yin and yang energy.

It is my opinion that Sanchin is the moving Qigong of Goju Ryu and should be practiced at various times of the day in order to help nourish and energise the body and mind.

The Go Ju balance of Hojo undo

Although most authentic systems of Okinawan Karatedo include some Hojo Undo within their training curriculum, there are few which cover the subject in quite as much detail as in the Goju Ryu.

Whilst it may still be fairly common to see tools such as the Chiishi or Nigiri Game, more obscure items such as the Tan, Kongoken or Sashi Ishi are not nearly so popular, and in years to come may become such a rarity that their future is uncertain.

The benefits of Hojo Undo training are well documented, and contrary to what many believe, I don’t think that modern weight training comes even close to providing a way of exercising that is so specific to karate technique. The important thing to remember here is that the Hojo Undo are not intended to build large muscles. For this purpose modern training methods are undoubtedly much more effective. The purpose of Hojo Undo is to help the practitioner realise a ‘feeling’ for specific technique. The muscle building and conditioning element of hojo undo is, in my opinion, a welcome side effect of the training.

The various tools of Hojo Undo within the Goju Ryu system can be split into light items and heavy items. Regarding this I refer to each category as Ju and Go.

Within the Ju category we find exercises using the Chiishi and Ishi Sashi. The various exercises for these tools are mainly intended to develop the muscles and tendons around the joints of the wrists, elbows, and shoulders; all of the important muscles and joints concerned with supporting a punching or blocking arm.

Within the Go category we have the heavier tools such as the Tan, Kongoken, and Sashi Ishi. The exercises for these tools work toward strengthening the muscles and tendons in the back, chest and hips. The overall aim of the heavier equipment is to help the practitioner learn how to connect the limbs to the torso, creating that chain linking effect so that there are no weak links between the contact point of the arm, and the power generation area of the tanden and hips.

Finally we look toward connecting the limb, to the body, and then to the ground. We achieve this through use of the nigiri game, developing the feeling of having your weight pulled down through the body in one straight line, into the feet.

Simplified, the theory looks like this;

Ju – Contact point of limbs

Go – Connection from limb to torso

Nigiri Game connects the above unit to the feet and the ground, moving as one unit.

In my own personal training I try to keep an even balance between all three areas so that I do not create any weak links by overtraining one area. Each session I’ll choose one Ju tool and one Go tool, using nigiri game in between repetitions of kata to get a good feeling of connecting my body to the ground.

Sanchin Shime, makiwara and kakie practice give the practitioner an opportunity to feel the interaction of each area of the link, and to see where his weak areas lie.