Using the tools

Training in Karatedo can be compared to buying a new drill. 

You go out and buy this new drill because you think that it looks good, and its something that every man should have.  You probably paid a lot of money for this drill and may be feeling pretty proud of it.  You might get it out every now and again to show your friends when they come over, and you might talk together about the pro’s and cons of your different drills.  When your friend leaves you’ll probably put it back in the box and shove it in the cupboard, out of the way.   Aside from the dust that it collects from being left inside the cupboard, this will probably be the only dirt that gathers on the drill as it stays in the box and is never used.  Only occasionally is it brought out to show off.

Another person might buy the same drill and really throw themselves into using it, drilling holes in everything, much to the annoyance of their neighbours who are sitting quietly trying to watch the TV.  With no idea of how to use the drill properly, they think up new inventive ways of using the handle to hammer in nails, they decorate it with fancy stickers and slogans, and use every opportunity to show off their new toy.  Feeling very pleased with their efforts they congratulate themselves on their own success and then take to teaching everyone else about how to modify their drill to use it as a saw, a wrench or a high powered toothbrush.

Another person might choose not to bother with all this.  He is happy using his old battered drill that whilst not pretty, he knows it does exactly what he wants it to do.  He uses it regularly for odd jobs around the house, and for his work.  He has an intimate knowledge of how to handle this drill and is quietly confident in his ability to do a good job with it.

It is the third person that we as followers of karatedo should strive to be like.  Many people involved in the study of karate are happy to turn up once a week for training.  They’ll take their karate out of the box like the unused drill, blow off the cobwebs, and then play at doing karate for an hour or so.  Whilst I’ve no doubt that karate can still have value to people as a once-a-week passtime, such a practice cannot be regarded as budo. 

Neither is budo corrupting your art to find all sorts of newfangled ways of doing things, ignoring the basic truths in an attempt to add a bit of spice to you art to get it noticed.  Many of the trendy ‘bunkai masters’ fall into this category.

The pursuit of budo is in learning how to apply your chosen martial art to your everyday life in a way that it enriches your existence.  I have discussed before about how there must be more to training than mere physical activity.  Look to the tool that is your karatedo and find out what it is trying to teach you.  How can the action of daily training enrich your way of life and refine your character.  If your school has a dojo kun, study it deeply and reflect often on how your character and way of life reflects those principles, and if it doesn’t, why not?

For karatedo to have worth, it has to be about more than the ability to deal with the threat of physical violence.  If you spend everyday training in anticipation of an event that never occurs, what a waste of a life.  If however, karate is used to tackle everyday problems that each and every one of us is forced to confront on a daily basis, karate has value.  If we can learn to be courageous in the face of adversity, patient, tolerant, courteous, modest etc, we will be well thought of by the people around us, and will display qualities that are sadly much lacking in todays society.

Strive to make karatedo something that is carried with you at all times, not just a tool left alone to gather dust.

Shinsokai winter gasshuku

Last weekend the annual shinsokai winter gasshuku was held at my dojo in Brentwood, with Richard Barrett Sensei visiting from Spain to provide instruction to the small group who had gathered to train.

The first session began with junbi undo, with Barrett sensei taking time to fully explain each exersise and how they related to kata movements. He stressed the importance of learning about the anatomy of the human body, and knowing what each exersise was trying to achieve. The cat stretch, otherwise known as the goju ryu push up, was given particular attention and the students were urged to look for the Go and Ju in each movement. This then progressed onto abdominal exersises with first the reverse cycle being revisited in detail, and then lots of sit-ups using the kongoken to provide added resistance.
With the practitioners now fully warmed up, we began to practice Sandan Gi – the three stage blocking practice performed in both a static and a moving form. We were urged to look at the differences between the static and moving set, and see what each was trying to teach the practitioner. Although on the surface both are fairly simple exersises, when you began to look for the deeper lessons you see just how much they have to offer and how important their correct practice is to developing a good understanding of the defensive principles of Goju Ryu. The rigid three stages of the exersise (jo, chu, and ge) were then broken up to a more random nature of attack, and the defender was forced to react in a more instinctive manner as he now could not be sure what strike would be coming. By applying the principles learnt earlier in the structured form of sandan gi, the practitioners were able to successfully defend against attacks of a random nature without any major incidents occurring. Following this, we were encouraged to add a counter technique, and the class was then gathered around after each technique to discuss the pros and cons of the techniques, strategies, and target areas used, and how they related back to the classical kata of Goju Ryu.

The second session of the day began with Sanchin training. Barrett Sensei has many theories regarding the practice of Sanchin which were discussed and practiced in depth. It is often said that Sanchin is the most important of all of the Goju Ryu kata, but it appears that often this kata is only paid lip service, and the limited understanding that we have of this kata now reveals this. Often you hear that in the old days students would learn only sanchin for three years. Just think how much further developed your Sanchin would be if you were lucky enough to have practiced only this for three years to the exclusion of all else!
After Sanchin we worked on linking the feelings developed through the training, with the practice of Kakie. The students were encouraged to find ways of breaking their opponents balance and structure without pushing or pulling. This required a great deal of sensitivity to the opponents movements, and a good knowledge of how your own bodyweight is affected by your offensive movements.

The following day we began once again with junbi undo, and then moved straight onto kata practice. Each student was assigned a kata to study on their own, and Barrett Sensei was on hand to assist with correcting technique. One of the key points of the weekends training was looking at how everything related back to Sanchin, and the students were encouraged to question every area of their art to look for answers in order to progress their study. To just turn up and train is not enough, a conscious effort must be made to actively study the art and try to learn the lessons that it atempts to impart. By training in this manner karatedo remains an art, a science. This is the difference between sports karate and martial art.

The final session of the weekend worked toward combining everything that we had covered previously into one practice. We looked at how Sanchin, ashi and tai sabaki, kata, sandan gi and kakie are all related to the act of self defence. To think of each exersise as a seperate entity is wrong, they are all one and the same. Each relate directly to the defensive principles and strategies of the Goju style and should be practiced to the point where they become instinctive, working in the same way as the human bodies natural flinch response. The students were asked to defend against random combinations of straight punches, hooks and kicks, and to counter against an uncooperative opponent using techniques from the classical kata of Goju Ryu. This exersise revealed the level of urgency needed in the counter attacks in order to prevent the opponent escaping to launch a further attack.

As always it was a great weekend of training, and I think that everyone in attendance came away with a better understanding of the defensive principles of Goju Ryu, and lots to work on for over the winter period.

A big thank you goes out to Richard Barrett Sensei for taking the time to visit us again in the UK, and for all of his efforts teaching over the weekend.

sanseiru tou drill

Here is a short training drill that I have developed for sanseiru kata, using the Tou.

Dispelling myths

The problem we have with this subject is that everybody loves a fairy tale.  Like a child who suddenly realises that santa claus doesn’t exist, its a sad day indeed when we realise the truth behind some of these stories.

The okinawan’s love to grossly exaggerate stories relating to the past masters of karate, and most historical questions are answered beginning the sentance with ‘mukashi’……..a long time ago……..from there it all goes a bit star wars.

The intention behind such stories is good.  They are meant to inspire and encourage the practitioner to try that little bit harder in the hope that one day they might be able to match such feats of strength.  The fact that you may never be able to perform such feats is irrelevant, the important thing is that you keep trying, keep training and keep searching.  This unfortunately is something that many people these days have stopped doing, so maybe such stories are no longer having their intended effect?

These stories only become a problem when they get blown out of all proportion, and people begin to take them as truth.  If a human being was capable of kicking through an oil drum with their toe, or crushing a length of bamboo with their grip, why can nobody do this now?  And actually……mukashi……….why could every master you seem to read about crush a length of bamboo with their grip?  Maybe bamboo is built much stronger these days?

There was ’something’ that was very special about Miyagi Sensei.  If video footage existed of him performing, I’m sure his performance would probably be not as visually impressive as say Morio Higaonna, and there would be a lot of disappointed people; but in the tradition that Miyagi Sensei passed on, and his teachings as preserved in the few written peices from him, and the various dojo kun of his students – this is where we can find what was special about him.

Mario Mckenna has been writing a number of entries on his blog lately relating to goju ryu.  I must admit that I got completely the wrong impression at first about these articles, and thought that he was just having a bit of a bash at goju ryu.  Now, a few articles down the line, I can see and completley support Mr Mckenna’s reasoning. 
The time has come to dispell of the myths surrounding the arts and take a good hard look at exactly ‘what‘ we have in our hands today.  Get completely rid of all the nonsense relating to sucessors, secret teachings, family styles, lost kata etc.  All of this is irrelevant.  The sooner we can move beyond such obstacles, the sooner we can begin to start understanding what we actually know to be true about the arts.