It is 8.45 pm and am still at work at the moment! I will probably be at work for a while... This is one bad thing aboubt being a Lawyer. But 95% of the time work is fun. (Note: 95% may or may not be an accurate figure)
Being a Tuesday I usually try to get to a MMA class at Brazilian Top Team followed by a Gi BJJ class for about 3 hours of training total. Tonight there was also our monthly Advanced Karate seminar which was on a special Kata that catalogues all of the blocks of Karate. It is being presented at the camp this weekend and the test run was tonight. Unfortunately I could not get to any training tonight :(
I had some urgent work come up and so had to skip training. Work comes before training unfortunately. To make it worse the work is basically administrative work and will probably not be billed (so no happy time sheet). And I still have heaps to do...
Thankfully while I am waiting for documents to print and scan I am able to do some Kata practice in the hallways. I am working on Shisochin at the moment, and have managed to fit it in between the desks in my office because of the symmetrical nature of the Kata. The only modification I have to do is not extend my legs for the Mae Geri (front kicks), otherwise I will knock over a filing cabinet and/or put a hole in the wall! I am also practicing the Kata quite slowly so as not to sweat in my business attire (or rip it).
The Kata is definitely being used as a moving meditation (and is helping keeping focus on a mundane task), but I am also thinking about bunkai (applications) and so am mentally going through self defence applications. While this is probably not as good as lots of hard training, it certainly is more useful than pacing up and down the hallways.
Osu!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Practical Kendo
While many people take up Karate or BJJ for self defence, very few people take up Kendo for self defence - and for a good reason: there are not too may Samurai walking the streets these days.
However because of the interest in the Japanese sword arts (Iaido, Kendo etc) and their availability to the public the incidence of violence occurring involving a Katana ("Samurai Sword") is surprisingly high. Here is a quick article that has compiled a few incidents in one area. While I cannot find the news article anymore there was a gang fight in Sydney a couple of years ago that involved two gang members facing off with Katanas. If I recall correctly one gang member had their wrist severed (or at least badly injured) and each had some bad cuts. Humorously my initial thought was scoring with Kote!
There has been quite a bit of writing in the last few days about the incident involving a Johns Hopkins University student who slew a burglar with a Katana. Here is one example news story for the details. Further details state that the Katana wielding student scored a Kote, dealing alot of damage to the thief's hand and cutting into the thief's chest. While some think this is cool I am not going to make any jokes here. As some have already mentioned, this incident will probably scar the victim student psychologically.
Perhaps that is where Kendo is really practical in an incident like this: providing a physical release from stress and cultivating a strong mind and spirit. If one accepts completely committing to a technique and applies it to their life by completely committing to their actions then perhaps they will accept and deal with the consequences easier.
However because of the interest in the Japanese sword arts (Iaido, Kendo etc) and their availability to the public the incidence of violence occurring involving a Katana ("Samurai Sword") is surprisingly high. Here is a quick article that has compiled a few incidents in one area. While I cannot find the news article anymore there was a gang fight in Sydney a couple of years ago that involved two gang members facing off with Katanas. If I recall correctly one gang member had their wrist severed (or at least badly injured) and each had some bad cuts. Humorously my initial thought was scoring with Kote!
There has been quite a bit of writing in the last few days about the incident involving a Johns Hopkins University student who slew a burglar with a Katana. Here is one example news story for the details. Further details state that the Katana wielding student scored a Kote, dealing alot of damage to the thief's hand and cutting into the thief's chest. While some think this is cool I am not going to make any jokes here. As some have already mentioned, this incident will probably scar the victim student psychologically.
Perhaps that is where Kendo is really practical in an incident like this: providing a physical release from stress and cultivating a strong mind and spirit. If one accepts completely committing to a technique and applies it to their life by completely committing to their actions then perhaps they will accept and deal with the consequences easier.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Contact in Karate
Last weekend (when this was written, though the time of posting is a couple of weeks after that) we were fortunate to have a 6th Dan from our network fly in from interstate and conduct as a grading for the Adelaide Dojos and do a seminar on Kumite (sparring). At the end of the seminar there was naturally some Kumite matches, and in one of them someone's Mae Geri (front kick) got blocked too hard and they asked for the match to be stopped. Actually the kick was not blocked that hard, but there was a pre-existing injury on the leg and the block aggravated it.
Anyway Shihan said that even if you get injured in Kumite you should not show it or stop the match, unless the injury will require hospitalisation or some such. Even then you should try to remain as composed as possible. The reasoning for this had a street application: if you are attacked and you show that you are injured then the attacker will be encouraged to attack you further because they can see that you are being beaten and are weaker than them.
Showing strength and determination even when in pain is also related to Zen because of the drive and focus to achieve the end goal. Just as a punch requires full commitment to be effective, so to does all aspects of Karate, including training with commitment to the Kumite match.
Shihan mentioned that in the past Dojos he has trained in bouts were not stopped even when teeth flew onto the floor! I can think of several examples told to me by people I have trained with of a similar acceptance of punishment while still sparring, but most stories occurred in or before the 1980's - well before my time. Comparing these stories (which, because I have heard them from such a variety of sources I assume to be a true contrast to today) with Kumite today it seems that there are many more people who train with much less contact.
The interesting discussion is how much contact is the right amount of contact in Karate?
Firstly I would like to say that I think that "Non-Contact Karate" is really not appropriate. While it goes without saying that Kids training should be non-contact, and there is no harm in not contacting a beginner, if black belts are not familiar with contact (of any kind) and able to accept it I think that Karate would actually be making their life more dangerous for them (and possibly others) from a self defence point of view. If someone thinks that waving their fists and feet around doesnt cause pain they are going to be in for a rude shock if they are ever called to use their skills. If someone has gained confidence from Karate to face an attacker but does not realize how much it hurts to get hit then their confidence is going to take a massive shock, and so not only would they being more confident than they should be, they are also doubly scared and demoralized. They would have been better off being sure that they knew nothing.
At the other end of the scale I think that the core demographic of Karate students are not interested in "full contact", at least not initially. Naturally I am excepting Kyokushin from the definition of Karate that I am using, not because it is not Karate, but merely because it attracts a different demographic. I think that in the western world the core demographic for Karate are middle class suburbanites. Ignoring kids the people that make up Karate classes are teens, Uni students and people over 35 who approach training with a more mature mindset. For differing reasons each of the groups do not want to turn up to work/study the next day with a broken nose or barely able to walk. Therefore training with full contact is not appropriate.
I would like to seque here and note that even in full contact Karate (Kyokushin) they do not have 'full contact' matches every class. They usually spend most of the class doing bagwork, sparring drills, conditioning drills, basics (kihon) etc. Similarly other full contact styles (eg Muay Thai) do not pound each other 'full contact' every class. One quite simple reason for this is that even a strongly contitioned human body can only take so much damage. It is usual to have months between full contact matches to have time to re-cuperate and train for the next match.
An interesting proposition that arises from the fact that full contact training does not involve full contact each class is that by definition a student must be able to train (to a certain extent at least) like a full contact fighter without being subjected to the rigerous bodily punishment of a full contact match. Obviously there is a huge amount of experience to be gained from the actual matches that would be missed, but I wonder how much the correlation would be from training. Would someone who trained at a Kyokushin dojo but never entered any full contact matches be 90% as good as someone who has trained for the same length of time but who enters full contact matches? Put another way, what proportion of the skill of a 'full contact fighter' is attributable to experience in full contact matches, and what percentage is attributable to training methods that are less than full contact? I might hazard a range of 10%-30% of skill being attributable to the full contact matches. I really dont know for sure. Moreover it would be difficult to measure.
But unless the actual 'full contact fighting matches' accounted for the majority of the skill in full contact fighting a student can still get most of the way there, without actually 'stepping into the ring'. This is a reasonable proposition because of the amount of time full contact fighters spend doing 'non-full contact' training.
On the other hand it cannot be said that martial arts would be the same if no-one did full contact fighting, because how would it be known which drills and training prepare people to deliver and receive that type of impact? It could be guessed, but never known for sure. Also, the challenge of competition encouraages the development of new fighting training methods.
Therefore a club that has exposure to full-contact fighting via a couple of its students (but not all) could train the rest of the students most of the way to the skills of full contact fighting, without the other students having to compete in full contact fights.
Sequeing back to the topic I like the level of contact that it seems that our network has - low/none for beginners and increasing to a quite strong contact (expecially to the body) for more senior ranks. While this not necessarily the only "happy medium" level of contact, it seems to me to address all of the points that I raised above, namely:
-Dont have useless/deluded black belts
-Dont damage people who need to take a 'pretty face' to work/study the next day
-Practicing committment/follow through with techniques
-Having people with the knowledge of the drills necessary for more contact orientated fighting and their effectiveness who can disseminate the training methods to the 'non full contact' students. (Including having people who have experience in the full contact arena, although I will continue to decline to name people in this blog)
What do you think?
Anyway Shihan said that even if you get injured in Kumite you should not show it or stop the match, unless the injury will require hospitalisation or some such. Even then you should try to remain as composed as possible. The reasoning for this had a street application: if you are attacked and you show that you are injured then the attacker will be encouraged to attack you further because they can see that you are being beaten and are weaker than them.
Showing strength and determination even when in pain is also related to Zen because of the drive and focus to achieve the end goal. Just as a punch requires full commitment to be effective, so to does all aspects of Karate, including training with commitment to the Kumite match.
Shihan mentioned that in the past Dojos he has trained in bouts were not stopped even when teeth flew onto the floor! I can think of several examples told to me by people I have trained with of a similar acceptance of punishment while still sparring, but most stories occurred in or before the 1980's - well before my time. Comparing these stories (which, because I have heard them from such a variety of sources I assume to be a true contrast to today) with Kumite today it seems that there are many more people who train with much less contact.
The interesting discussion is how much contact is the right amount of contact in Karate?
Firstly I would like to say that I think that "Non-Contact Karate" is really not appropriate. While it goes without saying that Kids training should be non-contact, and there is no harm in not contacting a beginner, if black belts are not familiar with contact (of any kind) and able to accept it I think that Karate would actually be making their life more dangerous for them (and possibly others) from a self defence point of view. If someone thinks that waving their fists and feet around doesnt cause pain they are going to be in for a rude shock if they are ever called to use their skills. If someone has gained confidence from Karate to face an attacker but does not realize how much it hurts to get hit then their confidence is going to take a massive shock, and so not only would they being more confident than they should be, they are also doubly scared and demoralized. They would have been better off being sure that they knew nothing.
At the other end of the scale I think that the core demographic of Karate students are not interested in "full contact", at least not initially. Naturally I am excepting Kyokushin from the definition of Karate that I am using, not because it is not Karate, but merely because it attracts a different demographic. I think that in the western world the core demographic for Karate are middle class suburbanites. Ignoring kids the people that make up Karate classes are teens, Uni students and people over 35 who approach training with a more mature mindset. For differing reasons each of the groups do not want to turn up to work/study the next day with a broken nose or barely able to walk. Therefore training with full contact is not appropriate.
I would like to seque here and note that even in full contact Karate (Kyokushin) they do not have 'full contact' matches every class. They usually spend most of the class doing bagwork, sparring drills, conditioning drills, basics (kihon) etc. Similarly other full contact styles (eg Muay Thai) do not pound each other 'full contact' every class. One quite simple reason for this is that even a strongly contitioned human body can only take so much damage. It is usual to have months between full contact matches to have time to re-cuperate and train for the next match.
An interesting proposition that arises from the fact that full contact training does not involve full contact each class is that by definition a student must be able to train (to a certain extent at least) like a full contact fighter without being subjected to the rigerous bodily punishment of a full contact match. Obviously there is a huge amount of experience to be gained from the actual matches that would be missed, but I wonder how much the correlation would be from training. Would someone who trained at a Kyokushin dojo but never entered any full contact matches be 90% as good as someone who has trained for the same length of time but who enters full contact matches? Put another way, what proportion of the skill of a 'full contact fighter' is attributable to experience in full contact matches, and what percentage is attributable to training methods that are less than full contact? I might hazard a range of 10%-30% of skill being attributable to the full contact matches. I really dont know for sure. Moreover it would be difficult to measure.
But unless the actual 'full contact fighting matches' accounted for the majority of the skill in full contact fighting a student can still get most of the way there, without actually 'stepping into the ring'. This is a reasonable proposition because of the amount of time full contact fighters spend doing 'non-full contact' training.
On the other hand it cannot be said that martial arts would be the same if no-one did full contact fighting, because how would it be known which drills and training prepare people to deliver and receive that type of impact? It could be guessed, but never known for sure. Also, the challenge of competition encouraages the development of new fighting training methods.
Therefore a club that has exposure to full-contact fighting via a couple of its students (but not all) could train the rest of the students most of the way to the skills of full contact fighting, without the other students having to compete in full contact fights.
Sequeing back to the topic I like the level of contact that it seems that our network has - low/none for beginners and increasing to a quite strong contact (expecially to the body) for more senior ranks. While this not necessarily the only "happy medium" level of contact, it seems to me to address all of the points that I raised above, namely:
-Dont have useless/deluded black belts
-Dont damage people who need to take a 'pretty face' to work/study the next day
-Practicing committment/follow through with techniques
-Having people with the knowledge of the drills necessary for more contact orientated fighting and their effectiveness who can disseminate the training methods to the 'non full contact' students. (Including having people who have experience in the full contact arena, although I will continue to decline to name people in this blog)
What do you think?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
End of Financial Year - Finally Posting Kendo
Have been supremely busy with end of financial year tasks at work - and have even missed a few trainings! Terrible, I know, but work must come before fun...
I am going to finally post about the great time I had at the 34th Australian Kendo Championships on 11th April 2009, and have finally compiled the videos that I took. At the moment I will just post the 2 matches that I was in due to time constraints (because blogging is inherently narcissistic), but I got a few Kyu individual matches, especially of the South Australian team so if someone wants a copy please let me know. There was also someone at the Adelaide Dojo who was going to compile the video that they took into a nicely edited DVD of the Nationals and they were going to incorporate the video I took, but they have been busy/not at training the same time as me and so am not sure of the status of this project.
Video is uploading to Youtube as I type, though I am getting tired and may not post it today.
At the Seminar we had 2 visiting 8th Dans from Japan and I will write about a couple of the most important points that I picked up from them (I have several pages of notes, but most are probably boring/personal).
- There are many ways in which a person can be taught Kendo, and there is not necessarily a "right" way. There are many ways to climb a mountain, but all of the ways lead to the same summit/peak.
- It is important that the distance that Kendoka start away from each other is 9 paces. At that distance you are wary of the opponent. Further than that and you are not in danger. Once you are at 9 paces you each take 3 paces in and you are at To-Maai and are dangerous to each other.
- When you lift your Shinai you keep your arms in the same position as Chudan-no-kamae and do not move past where your shoulders naturally allow. Your strikes should be relaxed and natural
I am going to finally post about the great time I had at the 34th Australian Kendo Championships on 11th April 2009, and have finally compiled the videos that I took. At the moment I will just post the 2 matches that I was in due to time constraints (because blogging is inherently narcissistic), but I got a few Kyu individual matches, especially of the South Australian team so if someone wants a copy please let me know. There was also someone at the Adelaide Dojo who was going to compile the video that they took into a nicely edited DVD of the Nationals and they were going to incorporate the video I took, but they have been busy/not at training the same time as me and so am not sure of the status of this project.
Video is uploading to Youtube as I type, though I am getting tired and may not post it today.
At the Seminar we had 2 visiting 8th Dans from Japan and I will write about a couple of the most important points that I picked up from them (I have several pages of notes, but most are probably boring/personal).
- There are many ways in which a person can be taught Kendo, and there is not necessarily a "right" way. There are many ways to climb a mountain, but all of the ways lead to the same summit/peak.
- It is important that the distance that Kendoka start away from each other is 9 paces. At that distance you are wary of the opponent. Further than that and you are not in danger. Once you are at 9 paces you each take 3 paces in and you are at To-Maai and are dangerous to each other.
- When you lift your Shinai you keep your arms in the same position as Chudan-no-kamae and do not move past where your shoulders naturally allow. Your strikes should be relaxed and natural
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Brace for War - Silvester Lidicky (Integrated) VS Kane Gehling (Brazilian Top Team)
Recently one of the guys from BTT competed in a MMA tournament up in QLD. Unfortunately South Australia has restrictive laws and we cant have this much fun down here.
Kane did a great job, although he lost on points.
Watch what I believe is Round 1 here
Osu!
Kane did a great job, although he lost on points.
Watch what I believe is Round 1 here
Osu!
Current Training
I haven't been posting much because I have been doing alot of training at the moment. Also, I have had lots of work and family commitments. I was going to post the videos that I took at the Kendo Nationals, but haven't had time to edit them yet. Also someone from the Dojo is going to more professionally edit the videos that they took with any other they can get (including mine) for a DVD for everyone to reflect upon.
Therefore I will most probably just edit video of my matches so people can see me get defeated - this keeps my humility and is in line with the narcissistic nature of blogging. I shall also try to post some comments about what happened, and especially the semiar with the 2 Hachidan's, which was one of the most significant martial arts experiences I have had, ever!
In the meantime I suggest you have a look at Vivian Yung's write up of her experiences of the Kendo nationals. I have been reading her blog for a while and we discussed blogging at the nationals. We naturally discussed Kendo too!
http://nintai.blogspot.com/2009/04/34akc-shomen-ni-rei.html
At the moment my training regime has been approximately this:
Monday: Kendo. (I missed the last 2 weeks due to work/injuries and did a 9 km run instead)
Tuesday: Weight training.
Wednesday: 9 km run (though this week Kendo because I missed Monday's training)
Thursday: No Gi BJJ; Gi BJJ - 3 hours total!
Friday: 9 km run or kata and kihon. Try for Kendo kihon inside
Saturday: 3-4 hours bunkai research at night
Sunday: 2 hours normal Karate class + 1 hour informal kata training with seniors (Sanseiru at the moment) + 1 hour of bunkai and conditioning with students or 1 hour bag work at home
Therefore I will most probably just edit video of my matches so people can see me get defeated - this keeps my humility and is in line with the narcissistic nature of blogging. I shall also try to post some comments about what happened, and especially the semiar with the 2 Hachidan's, which was one of the most significant martial arts experiences I have had, ever!
In the meantime I suggest you have a look at Vivian Yung's write up of her experiences of the Kendo nationals. I have been reading her blog for a while and we discussed blogging at the nationals. We naturally discussed Kendo too!
http://nintai.blogspot.com/2009/04/34akc-shomen-ni-rei.html
At the moment my training regime has been approximately this:
Monday: Kendo. (I missed the last 2 weeks due to work/injuries and did a 9 km run instead)
Tuesday: Weight training.
Wednesday: 9 km run (though this week Kendo because I missed Monday's training)
Thursday: No Gi BJJ; Gi BJJ - 3 hours total!
Friday: 9 km run or kata and kihon. Try for Kendo kihon inside
Saturday: 3-4 hours bunkai research at night
Sunday: 2 hours normal Karate class + 1 hour informal kata training with seniors (Sanseiru at the moment) + 1 hour of bunkai and conditioning with students or 1 hour bag work at home
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sanseiru/Sesan combination in Goju Ryu
One of the key techniques in Sanseiru is the Uchi Uke/Mae Geri/Empi/Gyaku Zuki (outer block/front kick/up elbow/reverse punch) combination that is repeated 4 times. I started looking at bunkai for it but haven't found too much material on the internet (my primary research source) beyond the Higaonna bunkai and the Goju Kai bunkai for this combination and I so broadened my search from Goju bunkai on Sanseiru to other styles. Here is the Goju Ryu version for reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdosSNtzZ0
Uechi Ryu has a kata of the same name, but which visually looks quite different. However it does have a similar technique combination in it: Kake Uke/step forward/Empi/knuckle strike/ippon ken sen (grabbing block/step forward/elbow/knuckle strike (or backfist)/ single knuckle strike). The technique is not however repeated 4 times like in the Goju version. See Kanei Uechi do the technique at 38 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey_dIRzffNc
The next thing that I did was look at the video of Uechi Ryu Seisan because it looked interesting to see this old footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd5YdEkmQxo
I was surprised to see that at 50 seconds the same combination appears!
Going back over Goju Ryu Seisan at a similar part of the kata, albeit facing the opposite way, the combination step forward/ura zuki/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki appears (step forward/uppercut/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). There is even the left hand in a blocking/deflecting/checking position before the combination is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxnKhAJby8
What that lead me to think is that perhaps the 'Goju Sesan' combination and the 'Goju Sanseiru' combinations are actually from the same source and were once performed more similarly. Looking at the combinations they are quite similar in their nature:
First: a block or check with the left hand in a manner that would usually block from inside to outside and which could also be a grab (ie Kake uke).
Second: mae geri or stepping forward with the right leg.
Third: upward strike
Fourth and Fifth: Sesan only
Sixth: Gyaku zuki
While the fourth and fifth techniques of urken (backfist) and gedan barai (lower block) only appear in Sesan, the combination also appears in other kata.
Looking at Superinpei a similar combination appears at 1.38 and 1.57: Kake uke/mae geri/empi/uraken (grabing block/front kick/up elbow/backfist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_pfELVkhA
The Goju Superinpei combination appears much closer to the 'Uechi combination', being different only in the omission of the ippon ken sen (single knuckle strike) at the end (done with the right hand). Supposedly there was a fourth Uechi kata named Superinpei, although Kanbon Iechi did not have time to learn it. For those who are not familiar with the theory that Kanryu Higaonna only tought Miyagi Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei, published in an article a in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (16:4, 2007) entitled “A Preliminary Analysis of Goju-Ryu Kata Structures” by Fernando Camara and Mario McKenna have a look at the following summaryavailable online.
http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/05/origins-of-goju-kata.html
That the three Kaishugata (kata with open hands: combat application reference kata) from the same system had a similar combination that appears in each would not be surprising - there are several other similarities between the three kata such as the opening using the 3 'Sanchin' punches, asymmetry, finishing with either mawashi uke or morote ko uke (double wrist block) etc. If the Goju Sesan, Sanseiru and Superinpei 'combinations' are actually derived from the same combination, I would think that the version that has survived in Superinpei would be more original for the simple reason that less people learn the higher level kata and so there are less people for it to evolve through. Perhaps also with higher level kata peope learn them much later into their practice and are less likely to change the kata at this stage (though this is just a quick postulation/musing).
If you look at a more 'modern' kata in the manner of Gekisai, you can see the following combination: uchi or kake uke/mae geri/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki (outer or grabbing block/front kick/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). Because this kata was created by Miyagi it exposes his thinking on how the style of Goju Ryu fits together. He could have easily not have included a Gedan Barai and Uraken and made the 'Gekisai combination' simpler and more like Goju Sanseiru. Alternatively he could have switched the empi (elbow) for a ura zuki (uppercut) and made the combination more like Goju Sesan. I think that the choice of techniques in Gekisai shows the crossover in the combinations: that they are essentially the same thing.
One thought though is that in Gekisai Dai Ni, where the Uchi Uke (outer block) are exchanged with Kake Uke (grabbing block) and the Yama Zuki (double punch/mountain punch) is exchanged with a Mawashi Uke (circular block) to make the Kata more 'Okinawan' perhaps that 'Gekisai combination' could have been changed as well? It could have been made into the 'Superinpei combination' or the 'Uechi combination' perhaps. Say with the empi done into the left hand, or the gedan barai exchanged for an ippon ken sen.
In other Goju kata the 'Goju Sesan combination' appears in Seienchin and the 'Goju Sanseiru combination' appears in Shisochin and Kururunfa, although there is no Gyaku Zuki (reverse punch) at the end in any of these three kata. However the other hand is cocked and rotated ready to do a punch. A gyaku zuki (reverse punch) can very easily be implied into bunkai at the end of these combinations.
Interestingly Saifa and Sepai are the only 2 Goju Ryu Kaishugata (note Sanchin and Tensho are Haishugata: kata with closed hands - training kata) which do not have this combination. I think that the absence of the combination in these two kata is an additional factor of support for theory (see McKenna article, above) that Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei are 'H1' kata, ie passed down from Kanryu Higaonna to Miyagi, and that Saifa-Seienchin-Shisochin-Sepai-Kururunfa are 'M1' kata, ie kata that Miyagi derived from another source.
However on the basis of the inclusion of the combination one might further differentiate the M1 kata. Perhaps the exclusion of the combination signifies that Miyagi learnt Sepai and Saifa from a totally different source as all the other Kaishugata, say on his travels to China. Following through that line of thought one can see that the combination appears in some other Okinawan kata, such as Niseishi. There is a discussion that Nisheishi is a forerunner of Goju Sanseiru here:
http://cyberdojo.ning.com/group/gojuryu/forum/topics/how-much-of-aragaki-seishos?page=3&commentId=2954669%3AComment%3A4882&x=1#2954669Comment4882
Personally I agree, and by looking at Niseishi it seems to me to be a bridge between the otherwise very different Goju and Uechi versions of the kata. At 35 seconds and 41 seconds the 'Gekisai combination' appears in Niseishi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjsJJ4xqxKY
There is written record of Seisho Aragaki performing a kata named "chisaukin" at a demonstration in 1867 and this could quite likely be the kata Shisochin. In his book “Okinawa kempo” Choki Motobu mentions the kata seisan, seiunchin and naihanchi as kata that were in existence in Okinawa long before Kanryo Higaonna’s trip to China.
“Among those styles or katas which have been used in Ryu Kyu from ancient days are:
Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan, Seiunchin, Ippakku-Re-Hachi, Naihanchi (Ichidan, Nidan, Sandan), Passai, Chinto, Chinte, (bamboo-yari spear style), Wanshu, Rohai and Kusanku.
And especially the three styles Nai-Hanchi, Passai (great and small), and Kusanku which are very widely known to many islanders." http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/08/origins-of-goju-ryu-kata-part-2.html
Therefore one can deduce that the kata Shisochin and Seienchin have Okinawan histories, even if they were not passed on by Kanryu Higaonna. They can be contrasted with the Saifa and Sepai which have different sources. It is difficult to say where Kurununfa fits in: that is a discussion for another post (when I know more about it!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdosSNtzZ0
Uechi Ryu has a kata of the same name, but which visually looks quite different. However it does have a similar technique combination in it: Kake Uke/step forward/Empi/knuckle strike/ippon ken sen (grabbing block/step forward/elbow/knuckle strike (or backfist)/ single knuckle strike). The technique is not however repeated 4 times like in the Goju version. See Kanei Uechi do the technique at 38 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey_dIRzffNc
The next thing that I did was look at the video of Uechi Ryu Seisan because it looked interesting to see this old footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd5YdEkmQxo
I was surprised to see that at 50 seconds the same combination appears!
Going back over Goju Ryu Seisan at a similar part of the kata, albeit facing the opposite way, the combination step forward/ura zuki/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki appears (step forward/uppercut/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). There is even the left hand in a blocking/deflecting/checking position before the combination is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxnKhAJby8
What that lead me to think is that perhaps the 'Goju Sesan' combination and the 'Goju Sanseiru' combinations are actually from the same source and were once performed more similarly. Looking at the combinations they are quite similar in their nature:
First: a block or check with the left hand in a manner that would usually block from inside to outside and which could also be a grab (ie Kake uke).
Second: mae geri or stepping forward with the right leg.
Third: upward strike
Fourth and Fifth: Sesan only
Sixth: Gyaku zuki
While the fourth and fifth techniques of urken (backfist) and gedan barai (lower block) only appear in Sesan, the combination also appears in other kata.
Looking at Superinpei a similar combination appears at 1.38 and 1.57: Kake uke/mae geri/empi/uraken (grabing block/front kick/up elbow/backfist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_pfELVkhA
The Goju Superinpei combination appears much closer to the 'Uechi combination', being different only in the omission of the ippon ken sen (single knuckle strike) at the end (done with the right hand). Supposedly there was a fourth Uechi kata named Superinpei, although Kanbon Iechi did not have time to learn it. For those who are not familiar with the theory that Kanryu Higaonna only tought Miyagi Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei, published in an article a in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (16:4, 2007) entitled “A Preliminary Analysis of Goju-Ryu Kata Structures” by Fernando Camara and Mario McKenna have a look at the following summaryavailable online.
http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/05/origins-of-goju-kata.html
That the three Kaishugata (kata with open hands: combat application reference kata) from the same system had a similar combination that appears in each would not be surprising - there are several other similarities between the three kata such as the opening using the 3 'Sanchin' punches, asymmetry, finishing with either mawashi uke or morote ko uke (double wrist block) etc. If the Goju Sesan, Sanseiru and Superinpei 'combinations' are actually derived from the same combination, I would think that the version that has survived in Superinpei would be more original for the simple reason that less people learn the higher level kata and so there are less people for it to evolve through. Perhaps also with higher level kata peope learn them much later into their practice and are less likely to change the kata at this stage (though this is just a quick postulation/musing).
If you look at a more 'modern' kata in the manner of Gekisai, you can see the following combination: uchi or kake uke/mae geri/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki (outer or grabbing block/front kick/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). Because this kata was created by Miyagi it exposes his thinking on how the style of Goju Ryu fits together. He could have easily not have included a Gedan Barai and Uraken and made the 'Gekisai combination' simpler and more like Goju Sanseiru. Alternatively he could have switched the empi (elbow) for a ura zuki (uppercut) and made the combination more like Goju Sesan. I think that the choice of techniques in Gekisai shows the crossover in the combinations: that they are essentially the same thing.
One thought though is that in Gekisai Dai Ni, where the Uchi Uke (outer block) are exchanged with Kake Uke (grabbing block) and the Yama Zuki (double punch/mountain punch) is exchanged with a Mawashi Uke (circular block) to make the Kata more 'Okinawan' perhaps that 'Gekisai combination' could have been changed as well? It could have been made into the 'Superinpei combination' or the 'Uechi combination' perhaps. Say with the empi done into the left hand, or the gedan barai exchanged for an ippon ken sen.
In other Goju kata the 'Goju Sesan combination' appears in Seienchin and the 'Goju Sanseiru combination' appears in Shisochin and Kururunfa, although there is no Gyaku Zuki (reverse punch) at the end in any of these three kata. However the other hand is cocked and rotated ready to do a punch. A gyaku zuki (reverse punch) can very easily be implied into bunkai at the end of these combinations.
Interestingly Saifa and Sepai are the only 2 Goju Ryu Kaishugata (note Sanchin and Tensho are Haishugata: kata with closed hands - training kata) which do not have this combination. I think that the absence of the combination in these two kata is an additional factor of support for theory (see McKenna article, above) that Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei are 'H1' kata, ie passed down from Kanryu Higaonna to Miyagi, and that Saifa-Seienchin-Shisochin-Sepai-Kururunfa are 'M1' kata, ie kata that Miyagi derived from another source.
However on the basis of the inclusion of the combination one might further differentiate the M1 kata. Perhaps the exclusion of the combination signifies that Miyagi learnt Sepai and Saifa from a totally different source as all the other Kaishugata, say on his travels to China. Following through that line of thought one can see that the combination appears in some other Okinawan kata, such as Niseishi. There is a discussion that Nisheishi is a forerunner of Goju Sanseiru here:
http://cyberdojo.ning.com/group/gojuryu/forum/topics/how-much-of-aragaki-seishos?page=3&commentId=2954669%3AComment%3A4882&x=1#2954669Comment4882
Personally I agree, and by looking at Niseishi it seems to me to be a bridge between the otherwise very different Goju and Uechi versions of the kata. At 35 seconds and 41 seconds the 'Gekisai combination' appears in Niseishi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjsJJ4xqxKY
There is written record of Seisho Aragaki performing a kata named "chisaukin" at a demonstration in 1867 and this could quite likely be the kata Shisochin. In his book “Okinawa kempo” Choki Motobu mentions the kata seisan, seiunchin and naihanchi as kata that were in existence in Okinawa long before Kanryo Higaonna’s trip to China.
“Among those styles or katas which have been used in Ryu Kyu from ancient days are:
Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan, Seiunchin, Ippakku-Re-Hachi, Naihanchi (Ichidan, Nidan, Sandan), Passai, Chinto, Chinte, (bamboo-yari spear style), Wanshu, Rohai and Kusanku.
And especially the three styles Nai-Hanchi, Passai (great and small), and Kusanku which are very widely known to many islanders." http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/08/origins-of-goju-ryu-kata-part-2.html
Therefore one can deduce that the kata Shisochin and Seienchin have Okinawan histories, even if they were not passed on by Kanryu Higaonna. They can be contrasted with the Saifa and Sepai which have different sources. It is difficult to say where Kurununfa fits in: that is a discussion for another post (when I know more about it!)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Update on Karate Bunkai in BJJ
At training on Thursday I did the no-Gi followed by the Gi session for a total of 3 hours of BJJ - completely exhausting. I also have several scratches because one of my rolling partners didnt cut their nails enough.
Anyway, I tried out my Sanseru bunkai guard pass (see previous post) against our second highest instructor (a BJJ Brown belt, say equivalent of Shodan/Nidan Karate skills due to different ranking system). It sort of worked, but he asked me "what the hell was that crazy shit you used? It wasn't BJJ!"
I was very fortunate to be able to discuss the technique with him and our black belt (20 years training, highest ranked in Adelaide) and the following is what I derived from the discussion.
- Using the 'step over guard pass' exposes the back. You are completely exposing it and are in a bad position if the opponent is fast.
- The technique applies pressure towards the knee. Therefore if done wrong may injure the knee.
The opponent can avoid the guard pass by pulling the attacked leg back, and then can take advantage by pressing it towards you. However I suggested that one would only use this technique when the guard is difficult to pass and the closed guard is firmly on. Perhaps to counter a retraction of legs one could hold onto the attacked leg?
- The opponent can base themselves with arms out and prevent you flipping them.
- It was noted that this is similar to the 'spine breaking' technique that occured in the infamous youtube video.
While this is slightly different to the bunkai (because the opponent who got badly injured here was holding onto a leg) the point remains, and one would have to be very careful to make sure that one's opponent does not have their neck in the wrong position.
- However it was noted that although an opponent could avoid the guard pass it could be an effective "once per match" move. It was also agreed that the move was a very effective move for use on the street.
What a great opportunity it is to be able to use on art to test another!
Osu!
Anyway, I tried out my Sanseru bunkai guard pass (see previous post) against our second highest instructor (a BJJ Brown belt, say equivalent of Shodan/Nidan Karate skills due to different ranking system). It sort of worked, but he asked me "what the hell was that crazy shit you used? It wasn't BJJ!"
I was very fortunate to be able to discuss the technique with him and our black belt (20 years training, highest ranked in Adelaide) and the following is what I derived from the discussion.
- Using the 'step over guard pass' exposes the back. You are completely exposing it and are in a bad position if the opponent is fast.
- The technique applies pressure towards the knee. Therefore if done wrong may injure the knee.
The opponent can avoid the guard pass by pulling the attacked leg back, and then can take advantage by pressing it towards you. However I suggested that one would only use this technique when the guard is difficult to pass and the closed guard is firmly on. Perhaps to counter a retraction of legs one could hold onto the attacked leg?
- The opponent can base themselves with arms out and prevent you flipping them.
- It was noted that this is similar to the 'spine breaking' technique that occured in the infamous youtube video.
While this is slightly different to the bunkai (because the opponent who got badly injured here was holding onto a leg) the point remains, and one would have to be very careful to make sure that one's opponent does not have their neck in the wrong position.
- However it was noted that although an opponent could avoid the guard pass it could be an effective "once per match" move. It was also agreed that the move was a very effective move for use on the street.
What a great opportunity it is to be able to use on art to test another!
Osu!
Feedback vs Correction
Have a look at this article
http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2009/02/21/how-to-coach-advanced-karate-students/
Personally one thing that I have found unhelpful in training is for Sensei to say 'do as I say'. As I was recently told at the Kendo Nationals seminar by a Hachidan (8th Dan) "there are many ways to climb a mountain. You can go up one way, or another. However all these roads lead to the top of the mountain". I apologize if I have paraphrased the learned Japanese Hachidan but I think that I enunciate the point clear enough: there are many ways to achieve the same thing; other paths than the one you are currently on may be equally correct and lead equally to the same destination.
When I teach advanced students I try the best that I can to show them the things that I know and let them absorb it into their view of the martial arts. For example last Wednesday I visited our sister Traditional Japanese Karate Network Dojo, Magill Shito Ryu, and I took the senior part of the class for what I would decide as a 'boxing session'. We did boxing style punches, and focus mitt and bag work which was practically unknown to the students. My aim with the training was not to say "this is a better/more correct way of doing things" but rather to show a way that other people use. The students can then reflect upon what they have trained in and see how to use their own training to counter it. They are best placed to know how to use their own training to counter a new 'threat', and hopefully I have made a useful contribution to their training. My stated goal at the outset was to show them how work around the Jodan 'boxing style' combinations that my students use and so hopefully beat them at the next inter-club kumite.
Naturally our club has been working on strategies to defeat their 'chudan centric' manner of sparring. This minor inter-club rivalry benefits all participants.
My first training with our Shihan upon joining the TJKN was an excellent demonstration of the benefit of feedback, as compared with correction. Having never seen my training before, Shihan was able to give me several points of very useful 'feedback'. Of particular note was the manner in which he demonstrated his knowledge. While he could have said "X is the best way of doing this" he instead said "I see you are doing Y, you could also do X (addressing the students who do X), but since you are doing Y, here is how you could improve it".
The real honour in a situation like this is upon the instructor who not only demonstrates their knowledge of 'X' but also of 'Y' and other methods. It is one level of instruction to say "this is how I do X, copy me" and completely another level to be able to say "X is one of many ways of doing something and since you are doing Y this is what you should be doing". The difference in knowledge is exponential. Using the mountain analogy, it is like knowing many different ways to the top of the mountain.
An example of the feedback was for Shihan to say that when moving from kihon-dachi to Zenkutsu-dachi one should slide their front foot upon the ground - moving in the most direct method. However an alternate manner of doing this is by stamping the front foot. This 'stamping' method is slightly slower but still provides the forward motion that the transition demands.
I had been using the latter method, mainly due to my training in Kendo. It would have been perfectly acceptable for Shihan to correct me and say 'this is how you do X'.
As an insight into student psychology I would have done what I was told, and then thought deeply about which is the correct manner of doing things later should I have been corrected. I don't know what my final answer would have been, but if it had been conveyed that using a fumikomi (stamp) did not have the adequate forward motion this would have been difficult to reconcile, especially since I can see how it is correct and applied well in Kendo.
However as a result of getting 'feedback' I could not only refer back to my Kendo training as to how I may improve my forward motion with techniques through fumikomi, (and thus improve my technique) I can also see the benefits of using a more direct movement. I will also examine the sliding movement and try to understand where it may be more appropriate than a fumikomi.
Whilst giving 'correction' would have resulted in a student doing what they are told (perhaps begrudgingly) by giving 'feedback' the result is a student looking to improve on what they are already doing, and also looking to incorporate the alternative way of doing the technique. The student's impression of the instructor is not one of "this person knows a path to the top of the mountain" but instead "this person knows my path, and many others, to the top of the mountain." This is exponentially a higher manner of viewing an instructor.
Importantly, whenever I am explaining how to make the transition from Kihon-dachi to Zenkutsu-dachi, I will show my 'fumikomi' method of transition, but I will also show the alternate method of 'sliding transition' and will explain that while this is not the way that I do the technique, this is a perfetly acceptable alternate manner of doing the technique.
Hopefully I can teach as well as I have been taught.
Osu!
http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2009/02/21/how-to-coach-advanced-karate-students/
Personally one thing that I have found unhelpful in training is for Sensei to say 'do as I say'. As I was recently told at the Kendo Nationals seminar by a Hachidan (8th Dan) "there are many ways to climb a mountain. You can go up one way, or another. However all these roads lead to the top of the mountain". I apologize if I have paraphrased the learned Japanese Hachidan but I think that I enunciate the point clear enough: there are many ways to achieve the same thing; other paths than the one you are currently on may be equally correct and lead equally to the same destination.
When I teach advanced students I try the best that I can to show them the things that I know and let them absorb it into their view of the martial arts. For example last Wednesday I visited our sister Traditional Japanese Karate Network Dojo, Magill Shito Ryu, and I took the senior part of the class for what I would decide as a 'boxing session'. We did boxing style punches, and focus mitt and bag work which was practically unknown to the students. My aim with the training was not to say "this is a better/more correct way of doing things" but rather to show a way that other people use. The students can then reflect upon what they have trained in and see how to use their own training to counter it. They are best placed to know how to use their own training to counter a new 'threat', and hopefully I have made a useful contribution to their training. My stated goal at the outset was to show them how work around the Jodan 'boxing style' combinations that my students use and so hopefully beat them at the next inter-club kumite.
Naturally our club has been working on strategies to defeat their 'chudan centric' manner of sparring. This minor inter-club rivalry benefits all participants.
My first training with our Shihan upon joining the TJKN was an excellent demonstration of the benefit of feedback, as compared with correction. Having never seen my training before, Shihan was able to give me several points of very useful 'feedback'. Of particular note was the manner in which he demonstrated his knowledge. While he could have said "X is the best way of doing this" he instead said "I see you are doing Y, you could also do X (addressing the students who do X), but since you are doing Y, here is how you could improve it".
The real honour in a situation like this is upon the instructor who not only demonstrates their knowledge of 'X' but also of 'Y' and other methods. It is one level of instruction to say "this is how I do X, copy me" and completely another level to be able to say "X is one of many ways of doing something and since you are doing Y this is what you should be doing". The difference in knowledge is exponential. Using the mountain analogy, it is like knowing many different ways to the top of the mountain.
An example of the feedback was for Shihan to say that when moving from kihon-dachi to Zenkutsu-dachi one should slide their front foot upon the ground - moving in the most direct method. However an alternate manner of doing this is by stamping the front foot. This 'stamping' method is slightly slower but still provides the forward motion that the transition demands.
I had been using the latter method, mainly due to my training in Kendo. It would have been perfectly acceptable for Shihan to correct me and say 'this is how you do X'.
As an insight into student psychology I would have done what I was told, and then thought deeply about which is the correct manner of doing things later should I have been corrected. I don't know what my final answer would have been, but if it had been conveyed that using a fumikomi (stamp) did not have the adequate forward motion this would have been difficult to reconcile, especially since I can see how it is correct and applied well in Kendo.
However as a result of getting 'feedback' I could not only refer back to my Kendo training as to how I may improve my forward motion with techniques through fumikomi, (and thus improve my technique) I can also see the benefits of using a more direct movement. I will also examine the sliding movement and try to understand where it may be more appropriate than a fumikomi.
Whilst giving 'correction' would have resulted in a student doing what they are told (perhaps begrudgingly) by giving 'feedback' the result is a student looking to improve on what they are already doing, and also looking to incorporate the alternative way of doing the technique. The student's impression of the instructor is not one of "this person knows a path to the top of the mountain" but instead "this person knows my path, and many others, to the top of the mountain." This is exponentially a higher manner of viewing an instructor.
Importantly, whenever I am explaining how to make the transition from Kihon-dachi to Zenkutsu-dachi, I will show my 'fumikomi' method of transition, but I will also show the alternate method of 'sliding transition' and will explain that while this is not the way that I do the technique, this is a perfetly acceptable alternate manner of doing the technique.
Hopefully I can teach as well as I have been taught.
Osu!
Grading Highlights 29 March 2009
Below is the highlights from the grading in March so that students may review what they have done. Congratulations to all those who have graded.
In regard to the grading the panel members especially noted the strong improvement that many Junior students had shown, challenging themselves to be able to demonstrate some very complex Kata, Ido (moving combinations) and showing good co-ordination. The panel members also note the strong focus that was displayed by the junior students.
For future improvement the panel members suggest continuing to practice Kihon (basics) because these are the building blocks of all a student's karate.
The panel members commended the high standard of the adults grading, and especially note the high standard of Kata from the Magill Dojo. Also commendable was the strong kumite from the Seacliff Dojo.
One point of discussion among the panel was Ippon Kumite (one step sparring). Here it was noted that the use of principles from Bunkai (application of kata) could assist students in broadening the techniques demonstrated. Also, students should use strong Zanchin: focus and committal to the technique in order to conquer their opponent.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=537E5227D52FBF60
In regard to the grading the panel members especially noted the strong improvement that many Junior students had shown, challenging themselves to be able to demonstrate some very complex Kata, Ido (moving combinations) and showing good co-ordination. The panel members also note the strong focus that was displayed by the junior students.
For future improvement the panel members suggest continuing to practice Kihon (basics) because these are the building blocks of all a student's karate.
The panel members commended the high standard of the adults grading, and especially note the high standard of Kata from the Magill Dojo. Also commendable was the strong kumite from the Seacliff Dojo.
One point of discussion among the panel was Ippon Kumite (one step sparring). Here it was noted that the use of principles from Bunkai (application of kata) could assist students in broadening the techniques demonstrated. Also, students should use strong Zanchin: focus and committal to the technique in order to conquer their opponent.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=537E5227D52FBF60
Monday, April 13, 2009
Kendo Nationals in the news
The ABC came to do a story on the 34th Kendo Nationals that were held this Easter weekend.
Here is a link to the story they did. Below is the transcript, for future reference in case they remove the story (it is exciting to have the club in the news!).
I will post more on the Nationals shortly...(watch this space)
Here is a link to the story they did. Below is the transcript, for future reference in case they remove the story (it is exciting to have the club in the news!).
I will post more on the Nationals shortly...(watch this space)
Over 150 of Australia's best blade fighters are heading to Adelaide for the National Kendo Championships.
"Kendo is based on the Samurai schools from many hundreds of years ago," explains President of the South Australian Kendo Association, Brian Balshaw.
Transferring from steel blades, to wooden swords and now bamboo poles, Kendo has risen in popularity in western countries after troops became exposed to the style whilst serving in Asia in World War 2.
Unlike other styles of martial arts, Kendo participants do not visibly show their grading, making it a little unnerving for those first witnessing it performed.
"You wear your grading in the way that you play," Brian reveals.
"It's very humbling in that way, but the grading system is still very similar to most martial arts, where you have ... kyu grades and you have black belts."
Although a relatively new martial art to Australia, numbers have recently started to grow.
"In Japan, there are a million people or so that do Kendo, in Australia there is about a thousand."
With the South Australian arm of Kendo having only 60 to 70 members, the hosting of the National Championships on 11 and 12 April, 2008 has been a huge accomplishment for the club.
The 34th Australian National Kendo Championships will be held in South Australia for the first time in its history, at Immanuel College Sport Centre on Morphett Road.
"The national body saw us as strong enough now to be able to hold the national level event ... it is a great honour to hold it."
Having a home town advantage for the SA team is something not lost with Brian, but with the lower numbers of members in SA, he remains quietly confident the local squad will perform well.
"We'll struggle to match up against some of the larger states, but in certain areas we do have a couple of key people in our state that are very strong and could be very serious contenders."
The National titles will be held from 9:00am on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April 2009, with over 150 competitors vying for titles.
Spectators are welcome.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Karate Throws
In the last post I finished with the quote "Ain no wrasslin in karotty". I had taken this from another blog post I read a while ago which detailed some karate throws, which had the quote as it's title. Unfortunately I am unable to find the post as I hoped I would be able to. However here are a couple of other resources which detail the throws in karate:
http://www.iainabernethy.com/books/chapter_throws_and_strikes.asp
Here is one that even references the Bubishi nicely
http://www.karateblogger.com/stari/articles/48%20techniques%20part%203.htm
And another well thought out article
http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=77
A couple of others links that might be useful
http://www.theshotokanway.com/throwsandlocks.html
http://karatejutsu.blogspot.com/2006/07/throwing-techniques.html
This one is one of my favourites
http://okinawakarateblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/raslin-101.html
And, quite naturally, if you look at the bunkai videos on our website you can see heaps of different bunkai that use throws
http://www.downloadkarate.com/index.asp?Sec_ID=156
http://www.iainabernethy.com/books/chapter_throws_and_strikes.asp
Here is one that even references the Bubishi nicely
http://www.karateblogger.com/stari/articles/48%20techniques%20part%203.htm
And another well thought out article
http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=77
A couple of others links that might be useful
http://www.theshotokanway.com/throwsandlocks.html
http://karatejutsu.blogspot.com/2006/07/throwing-techniques.html
This one is one of my favourites
http://okinawakarateblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/raslin-101.html
And, quite naturally, if you look at the bunkai videos on our website you can see heaps of different bunkai that use throws
http://www.downloadkarate.com/index.asp?Sec_ID=156
Karate Bunkai in BJJ
I have been practicing my kata bunkai and have been thinking about if I could use any of them in my BJJ. In BJJ I have spent the last month or so of rolling (sparring) working on my open-guard, because it was a bit of a weak point, but last lesson I decided to go back to normal rolling, and not just start from open guard.
BTW if you dont know what open guard is, check this link http://www.grapplearts.com/Glossary_BJJ_Open_Guard.html
So instead of just pulling guard straight away, I tried to take the opponent down first. Note that we start 90% of rolling from a kneeling position, and so 'take them down' means knock them off their knees to their back, not a judo style takedown from the feet. Anyway, I thought that I might try a bunkai from Shisochin. It is a very simple bunkai - one hand (for me mostly left hand) swats the opponents right hand, pushing it down, while the other hand (usully right) pushes straight forward under the chin and drives them back. From there I passed straight past guard most of the time, right into side control. I was really amazed that it quite consistantly worked for me - 4-5 times over our 40 minutes of rolling (tried it against 3 or 4 different opponents).
Here is an example of Higaonna Sensei (10th Dan) doing Shisochin. The technique in question is demonstrated at 45-50 seconds, and the bunkai at 50-55 seconds.
And the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPoZgm9cHTI
Obviously it works as a stand-up takedown as well, as demonstrated by Higaonna Sensei (and how I have been practicing it). It is certainly not a regular grappling takedown, and I wonder how it will work against a standing opponent who is a grappler (as opposed to a striker). I think that the big risk is that it would be seen by a referee as a strike (which it could indeed be used as) an therefore get penalized. The other risk is that the opponent's head goes straight down and they arch their back and land with their whole bodyweight on their head - very dangerous. I think though that if you stop pushing after you have broken the opponents balance they will try and stop falling and right themselves and will naturally avoid landing on their head - I guess this is why we do heaps of breakfalls in BJJ! However I guess that is also why Shisochin is usually taught around brown belt level - so that beginners dont use this bunkai.
The second bunkai I used to great effect last BJJ class was one out of Sanseiru. Obviously if you cant get straight past guard with the takedown you have a fun fight trying to do that fundamental BJJ activity of passing guard. Now this bunkai I usually use as a takedown - in Judo the first part of it is called Morote-Gari, and can extend to the full range of double and single leg shoots.
Here is a quick video of Morote-gari
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN5qpGuseMs
However the second part is my favourite part of the bunkai, and it is probably my favourite bunkai of all at the moment.
Firstly, you can see the kata technique demonstrated here by Gosen Yamaguchi at 1.15 to 1.17.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCcAu8mgwbo
Basically it is a downward (gedan) X-block (juji-uke) from shiko-dachi, then turn around and another gedan juji-uke. The first juji-uke is the Morote-gari as you cross your arms under the opponents legs and grab them, but the critically cool part comes from the step turning around to do another juji-uke. With that step you turn over a prostrate opponent onto their stomach while completely controlling their legs. If you lift them up while you do it they turn over on their face! Muahahaha!
The only online video I could find of this is the below one, although I swear I have seen it in a Goju-Kai bunkai demonstration somewhere. I have also seen it in 3 or 4 Zen Do Kai 5th Dan gradings I have watchd videos of. Unfortunately I cannot find any of them online after a brief search.
Have a look at Bob Jones demonstrating the technique (in very bad skinny jeans) at 6.48-6.52
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZUJiJYhj88
The cool thing that I discovered about this bunkai is that it also works as a guard pass!
For those whoe dont know what a guard pass is, he is the first demo I found on the net (BTW this is a really good website - I subscribe to it, and you should too if you do any martial art)
http://www.grapplearts.com/MMA-Guard-Passing.html
Importantly, the bunkai works *really* well as a guard pass. This is how I used it in BJJ - at least 3 times last class!
While I dont do like Bob Jones and sit on the person a few times after flipping them(nor do I train in those horrible skinny jeans), once you have flipped them onto their stomach with you sitting on top of them you are spoilt for options. If you follow the bunkai of the kata strictly, you will most likely apply the second juji-uke as a leg lock (probably as a figure 4 style undernath the calf or ankle) however white belts are not allowed to use leg locks. All I can do is curse taking 2+ years per belt in BJJ (but the curseing is for this instance only, it is actually fun being a white belt). Insead, after initially pausing and being amazed at how well the bunkai worked, I slid off onto an easy side control on top of the opponents back. Such an excellent position to be in!
On the street I would probably just strike someone in the nuts, which are presented so completely to strike...
Encouragingly the guard pass worked against even strong opponents, and I managed to amaze someone with it (and my Shisochin bunkai) who is usually a very close match in all of weight, height, and skill level.
And who was it that said "There ain' no wrasslin' in ka-rotty"?
BTW if you dont know what open guard is, check this link http://www.grapplearts.com/Glossary_BJJ_Open_Guard.html
So instead of just pulling guard straight away, I tried to take the opponent down first. Note that we start 90% of rolling from a kneeling position, and so 'take them down' means knock them off their knees to their back, not a judo style takedown from the feet. Anyway, I thought that I might try a bunkai from Shisochin. It is a very simple bunkai - one hand (for me mostly left hand) swats the opponents right hand, pushing it down, while the other hand (usully right) pushes straight forward under the chin and drives them back. From there I passed straight past guard most of the time, right into side control. I was really amazed that it quite consistantly worked for me - 4-5 times over our 40 minutes of rolling (tried it against 3 or 4 different opponents).
Here is an example of Higaonna Sensei (10th Dan) doing Shisochin. The technique in question is demonstrated at 45-50 seconds, and the bunkai at 50-55 seconds.
And the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPoZgm9cHTI
Obviously it works as a stand-up takedown as well, as demonstrated by Higaonna Sensei (and how I have been practicing it). It is certainly not a regular grappling takedown, and I wonder how it will work against a standing opponent who is a grappler (as opposed to a striker). I think that the big risk is that it would be seen by a referee as a strike (which it could indeed be used as) an therefore get penalized. The other risk is that the opponent's head goes straight down and they arch their back and land with their whole bodyweight on their head - very dangerous. I think though that if you stop pushing after you have broken the opponents balance they will try and stop falling and right themselves and will naturally avoid landing on their head - I guess this is why we do heaps of breakfalls in BJJ! However I guess that is also why Shisochin is usually taught around brown belt level - so that beginners dont use this bunkai.
The second bunkai I used to great effect last BJJ class was one out of Sanseiru. Obviously if you cant get straight past guard with the takedown you have a fun fight trying to do that fundamental BJJ activity of passing guard. Now this bunkai I usually use as a takedown - in Judo the first part of it is called Morote-Gari, and can extend to the full range of double and single leg shoots.
Here is a quick video of Morote-gari
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN5qpGuseMs
However the second part is my favourite part of the bunkai, and it is probably my favourite bunkai of all at the moment.
Firstly, you can see the kata technique demonstrated here by Gosen Yamaguchi at 1.15 to 1.17.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCcAu8mgwbo
Basically it is a downward (gedan) X-block (juji-uke) from shiko-dachi, then turn around and another gedan juji-uke. The first juji-uke is the Morote-gari as you cross your arms under the opponents legs and grab them, but the critically cool part comes from the step turning around to do another juji-uke. With that step you turn over a prostrate opponent onto their stomach while completely controlling their legs. If you lift them up while you do it they turn over on their face! Muahahaha!
The only online video I could find of this is the below one, although I swear I have seen it in a Goju-Kai bunkai demonstration somewhere. I have also seen it in 3 or 4 Zen Do Kai 5th Dan gradings I have watchd videos of. Unfortunately I cannot find any of them online after a brief search.
Have a look at Bob Jones demonstrating the technique (in very bad skinny jeans) at 6.48-6.52
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZUJiJYhj88
The cool thing that I discovered about this bunkai is that it also works as a guard pass!
For those whoe dont know what a guard pass is, he is the first demo I found on the net (BTW this is a really good website - I subscribe to it, and you should too if you do any martial art)
http://www.grapplearts.com/MMA-Guard-Passing.html
Importantly, the bunkai works *really* well as a guard pass. This is how I used it in BJJ - at least 3 times last class!
While I dont do like Bob Jones and sit on the person a few times after flipping them(nor do I train in those horrible skinny jeans), once you have flipped them onto their stomach with you sitting on top of them you are spoilt for options. If you follow the bunkai of the kata strictly, you will most likely apply the second juji-uke as a leg lock (probably as a figure 4 style undernath the calf or ankle) however white belts are not allowed to use leg locks. All I can do is curse taking 2+ years per belt in BJJ (but the curseing is for this instance only, it is actually fun being a white belt). Insead, after initially pausing and being amazed at how well the bunkai worked, I slid off onto an easy side control on top of the opponents back. Such an excellent position to be in!
On the street I would probably just strike someone in the nuts, which are presented so completely to strike...
Encouragingly the guard pass worked against even strong opponents, and I managed to amaze someone with it (and my Shisochin bunkai) who is usually a very close match in all of weight, height, and skill level.
And who was it that said "There ain' no wrasslin' in ka-rotty"?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Grading Sunday 29 March 2009 - Kumite videos
Congratulations to all who participated in the grading today the standard was very high and all of the senior ranks and the spectators were very impressed. Well done!
As you may have noted I was videoing parts of the grading for later reference. I have got videos of everyone doing a few things, which total about half an hour or so. I have started uploading the videos to Youtube so members of the club (and anyone else who may be interested - eg other members of the TJKN) may reference what has been done.
The easiest videos to upload were the Jiyu Kumite (free sparring) because they were broken up into 2 minute packages and so I have done those first. I will add the other videos as soon as I am able.
Here is a playlist of the Jiyu Kumite
And the link
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5CAEFCF6C4105A5F
As you may have noted I was videoing parts of the grading for later reference. I have got videos of everyone doing a few things, which total about half an hour or so. I have started uploading the videos to Youtube so members of the club (and anyone else who may be interested - eg other members of the TJKN) may reference what has been done.
The easiest videos to upload were the Jiyu Kumite (free sparring) because they were broken up into 2 minute packages and so I have done those first. I will add the other videos as soon as I am able.
Here is a playlist of the Jiyu Kumite
And the link
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5CAEFCF6C4105A5F
Thursday, March 26, 2009
How not to do Tensho
Normally I avoid making negative remarks about demonstrations of techniques, because firstly it usually causes people to get defensive and not listen to the feedback, and secondly there is often something to learn from other people that I have not realized yet.
And then every so often along comes someone who deserves to be bagged...
Apparently this version of Tensho was taught by a master of Bullshido, who probably learned it from secret ninjas in Okinawa 200 years ago in the cover of darkness while becoming enlightened by mystic monks who could levitate through their breathing techniques, but in actual fact only hopped in crossed legs.
(I hope all readers know that Tensho was created in the 1920's by Miyagi Sensei)
What truly takes the cake (besides the fat guy in the video) is combination of the garish uniform, the bad music and the mystical rubbish. The part that scares me is that I have seen this disgusting trio of offenses rear their ugly head at purported Dan gradings before. *sigh*
Even though I normally am fairly understanding of stylistic differences (especially when they have an explanation, other than "uhh, I dont know, I just changed it to make it pretty") and beginners not doing things well (especially kids) I must give a warning to any of my students reading this post: performing kata like this is a great way to instantly fail your grading, or whatever else you are doing!!!
Watch and laugh (and pity the poor student as well)
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCtxpI2TCmY
And then every so often along comes someone who deserves to be bagged...
Apparently this version of Tensho was taught by a master of Bullshido, who probably learned it from secret ninjas in Okinawa 200 years ago in the cover of darkness while becoming enlightened by mystic monks who could levitate through their breathing techniques, but in actual fact only hopped in crossed legs.
(I hope all readers know that Tensho was created in the 1920's by Miyagi Sensei)
What truly takes the cake (besides the fat guy in the video) is combination of the garish uniform, the bad music and the mystical rubbish. The part that scares me is that I have seen this disgusting trio of offenses rear their ugly head at purported Dan gradings before. *sigh*
Even though I normally am fairly understanding of stylistic differences (especially when they have an explanation, other than "uhh, I dont know, I just changed it to make it pretty") and beginners not doing things well (especially kids) I must give a warning to any of my students reading this post: performing kata like this is a great way to instantly fail your grading, or whatever else you are doing!!!
Watch and laugh (and pity the poor student as well)
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCtxpI2TCmY
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Kendo Senpai...and feet
Last week at Kendo I got to be Senpai! (I missed training this week due to Adelaide Cup Day public holiday)
There is a bit of a roundabout reason for this.
[Discussion of my feet ensues - you may skip to next brackets to avoid]
I have been having a lot of problems with my feet because of Kendo - every week I get a massive blister that consumes the entire ball of my left foot. I have kinda got used to this after nearly 3 years of training but about a month ago I got some additional blisters on some of my toes and elsewhere on my feet. Normally the blister on the ball of my left foot breaks and comes off by the next training - so I am constantly growing new skin on the same place every week. However the other blisters (which were also on my right foot) caused heaps of additional skin to peel off. Then at my next training even more skin came off from around where the blisters has been.
To make matters worse other training started to cause my feet to peel - skin forcefully came off my toes at BJJ so much that I started bleeding and had to tape them up heaps (which was a pain because the tape kept slipping off due to the friction of the mats).
In summary my feet looked like the feet of a leper.
To remedy my feet I skipped a week of kendo and cut off as much skin as I could off my feet. My feet were doing better, until last Monday at kendo when I started to get a blister. I decided to wuss out (and let my feet recover) and so halfway through Kihon I stepped out and asked if any help was needed with the beginners.
[End references to feet]
At Kendo they only have beginner intakes at the beginning and the middle of the year. This means that Senpai are not spending all their time instructing new people on basics like how to hold a shinai, they just do it twice a year.
Last year the intakes were unfortunately a bit small, but a couple of good students joined out of them. When I started there were about 25 new people. Out of them only myself and another (who is an awesome kendoka) remain.
At this intake there were over 30 new people!!!
The other senpai found my big voice useful (and I have been teaching karate for 5 years not so I have a couple of tricks for keeping people engaged). Within a couple of minutes I went from assisting with a couple of students to taking the whole 30!
I tried to keep up the spirit of the class and did lots of big kiai's with the cuts. I think we even gave the seniors a run for their money! It was heaps of fun and there are lots of promising new potential kendoka. I really quite enjoyed being a Kendo senpai and wouldnt mind doing it a couple of more times during the beginner course.
Fortunately with kendo they really look after peoples training and it is unlikely anyone at the club will get stuck teaching and therefore miss out on their training. Everybody trains, every week. Even when we get visiting Sensei the highlight of the class will be doing 'Sensei-Geiko' (sparring against Sensei).
Everybody traiing is one reason why there are no Fat Sensei at the kendo club!
There is a bit of a roundabout reason for this.
[Discussion of my feet ensues - you may skip to next brackets to avoid]
I have been having a lot of problems with my feet because of Kendo - every week I get a massive blister that consumes the entire ball of my left foot. I have kinda got used to this after nearly 3 years of training but about a month ago I got some additional blisters on some of my toes and elsewhere on my feet. Normally the blister on the ball of my left foot breaks and comes off by the next training - so I am constantly growing new skin on the same place every week. However the other blisters (which were also on my right foot) caused heaps of additional skin to peel off. Then at my next training even more skin came off from around where the blisters has been.
To make matters worse other training started to cause my feet to peel - skin forcefully came off my toes at BJJ so much that I started bleeding and had to tape them up heaps (which was a pain because the tape kept slipping off due to the friction of the mats).
In summary my feet looked like the feet of a leper.
To remedy my feet I skipped a week of kendo and cut off as much skin as I could off my feet. My feet were doing better, until last Monday at kendo when I started to get a blister. I decided to wuss out (and let my feet recover) and so halfway through Kihon I stepped out and asked if any help was needed with the beginners.
[End references to feet]
At Kendo they only have beginner intakes at the beginning and the middle of the year. This means that Senpai are not spending all their time instructing new people on basics like how to hold a shinai, they just do it twice a year.
Last year the intakes were unfortunately a bit small, but a couple of good students joined out of them. When I started there were about 25 new people. Out of them only myself and another (who is an awesome kendoka) remain.
At this intake there were over 30 new people!!!
The other senpai found my big voice useful (and I have been teaching karate for 5 years not so I have a couple of tricks for keeping people engaged). Within a couple of minutes I went from assisting with a couple of students to taking the whole 30!
I tried to keep up the spirit of the class and did lots of big kiai's with the cuts. I think we even gave the seniors a run for their money! It was heaps of fun and there are lots of promising new potential kendoka. I really quite enjoyed being a Kendo senpai and wouldnt mind doing it a couple of more times during the beginner course.
Fortunately with kendo they really look after peoples training and it is unlikely anyone at the club will get stuck teaching and therefore miss out on their training. Everybody trains, every week. Even when we get visiting Sensei the highlight of the class will be doing 'Sensei-Geiko' (sparring against Sensei).
Everybody traiing is one reason why there are no Fat Sensei at the kendo club!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Fat Sensei
One of my pet hates in the martial arts is what I call "Fat Sensei". This meaning does not incorporate all Sensei who are overweight. Not all Fat Sensei are themselves overweight (some are skinny), it is just that the type of people whom I am trying to describe are often Sensei who are, well, fat.
A Fat Sensei is a Sensei (instructor) who no longer has the drive or passion for learning martial arts, has achieved some kind of authority and rank, and continues to partake in martial arts notwithstanding their diminished interest. Typically a Fat Sensei was once passionate and skilled and trained hard but now just instructs (or referees or whatever). Their body weight is usually symptomatic of their lack of training (as opposed to them being naturally large), however if a Fat Sensei had a fast metabolism they might just lack co-ordination, or muscle strength etc as the symptom of their lack of training instead of being fat.
A Fat Sensei might have some of all of the following attributes:
- Repeated reference to past accomplishments, even in reply to unrelated situations. e.g. "I know how to teach street self defence - I was the 1989 regional point sparring champion"
- Reluctance to train or do other physical activity. They may get Senpai (senior students) to teach most the class or do any demonstrations, and/or may wander around and point their finger alot.
- Big ego
- Bad martial ethos. For example they may have a profit motive that overrides the maintaining of standards amongst students.
- Reluctance to have their teachings questioned. (While you shouldn't talk back to your Sensei, if someone teaches something that is useful, that use should be explainable and be able to withstand honest examination)
- Justifying theories in untestable ways. For example they may reference everything they teach to some kind of pseudo-mystic concepts which have not been obtained by anyone but the Sensei.
- Fancy costumes and/or titles. A Fat Sensei will often be "Kancho, 10th Dan, 1989 regional champion, Founder and Master of Fat Sensei Martial Arts Dominion". They will probably insist that people use their full title as much as possible.
- Generally dis-interested in the class. I have had a couple of Fat Sensei say to me that martial arts no longer interests them. One Fat Sensei even hated martial arts! But they still ponced around with all their fancy titles.
Here is an example of someone who appears in this video to exhibit the traits of a Fat Sensei.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HgzfikdJL0
He is clearly disinterested with what he is doing, comes up with some rubbish about knocking people out with ki energy (try that one on a resisting opponent...) has a fancy uniform, he is even wearing sneakers and a watch - perhaps so when it is time to skedaddle out of the seminar he can make a quick exit. I am sure that if he actually had to use any of his martial skills he would be in big trouble. Worse though, any student of his who tried to use their skills cound find themselves in a very bad situation...
This is the reason that Fat Sensei bother me so much - what they teach would probably be dangerous for any student hapless enough to have to rely on it. Imagine being assaulted and trying to rely on your "Kyusho Jutsu : knock-out just by looking" - the misplaced confidence in the non existent ability could seriously aggravate the danger faced. This also brings martial arts into disrepute, or even specific styles.
Unfortunately Karate has a large amount of Fat Sensei. Many martial artists often think of Fat Sensei that they have encountered when they think of Karate, which is unfortunate (both for them and for Karete). However I think that this large amount of Fat Sensei is probably due more to the popularity of Karate than some style-specific defect - I have seen one Fat Sensei in Kendo, and have read about one in BJJ (and have seen lots in other styles which are more popular here, such as Taekwondo).
I should note, however, that you can still benefit from training with a Fat Sensei, especially if you are new. They will usually have some level of skill in basics that they can pass on, and it is better that you learn this initial material from a Fat Sensei than not learning it at all. They might have Senpai who are quite skilled and you will probably meet other martial artists when you disclose that you train and can get opportunities from there.
Unfortunately some students of Fat Sensei go on to mimic their teacher, and teach the same rubbish that they were taught. Actually, because the Fat Sensei don't train much, they don't advance their skills, and so their ability actually deteriorates. This will mean that the student can never achieve the peak of the Fat Sensei, because when the student is ready to train to that level, the Fat Sensei no longer has the skill to take them there.
Many students of Fat Sensei become disillusioned with the Fat Sensei and quit training. Hopefully, the student will retain an interest in martial arts and seek out another instructor, who will be less flawed, and will stimulate their interest in training. Indeed, some of the best martial artists I know used to train with Fat Sensei!
Fat Sensei are not completely useless, it's just that the martial arts would be better off without them.
A Fat Sensei is a Sensei (instructor) who no longer has the drive or passion for learning martial arts, has achieved some kind of authority and rank, and continues to partake in martial arts notwithstanding their diminished interest. Typically a Fat Sensei was once passionate and skilled and trained hard but now just instructs (or referees or whatever). Their body weight is usually symptomatic of their lack of training (as opposed to them being naturally large), however if a Fat Sensei had a fast metabolism they might just lack co-ordination, or muscle strength etc as the symptom of their lack of training instead of being fat.
A Fat Sensei might have some of all of the following attributes:
- Repeated reference to past accomplishments, even in reply to unrelated situations. e.g. "I know how to teach street self defence - I was the 1989 regional point sparring champion"
- Reluctance to train or do other physical activity. They may get Senpai (senior students) to teach most the class or do any demonstrations, and/or may wander around and point their finger alot.
- Big ego
- Bad martial ethos. For example they may have a profit motive that overrides the maintaining of standards amongst students.
- Reluctance to have their teachings questioned. (While you shouldn't talk back to your Sensei, if someone teaches something that is useful, that use should be explainable and be able to withstand honest examination)
- Justifying theories in untestable ways. For example they may reference everything they teach to some kind of pseudo-mystic concepts which have not been obtained by anyone but the Sensei.
- Fancy costumes and/or titles. A Fat Sensei will often be "Kancho, 10th Dan, 1989 regional champion, Founder and Master of Fat Sensei Martial Arts Dominion". They will probably insist that people use their full title as much as possible.
- Generally dis-interested in the class. I have had a couple of Fat Sensei say to me that martial arts no longer interests them. One Fat Sensei even hated martial arts! But they still ponced around with all their fancy titles.
Here is an example of someone who appears in this video to exhibit the traits of a Fat Sensei.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HgzfikdJL0
He is clearly disinterested with what he is doing, comes up with some rubbish about knocking people out with ki energy (try that one on a resisting opponent...) has a fancy uniform, he is even wearing sneakers and a watch - perhaps so when it is time to skedaddle out of the seminar he can make a quick exit. I am sure that if he actually had to use any of his martial skills he would be in big trouble. Worse though, any student of his who tried to use their skills cound find themselves in a very bad situation...
This is the reason that Fat Sensei bother me so much - what they teach would probably be dangerous for any student hapless enough to have to rely on it. Imagine being assaulted and trying to rely on your "Kyusho Jutsu : knock-out just by looking" - the misplaced confidence in the non existent ability could seriously aggravate the danger faced. This also brings martial arts into disrepute, or even specific styles.
Unfortunately Karate has a large amount of Fat Sensei. Many martial artists often think of Fat Sensei that they have encountered when they think of Karate, which is unfortunate (both for them and for Karete). However I think that this large amount of Fat Sensei is probably due more to the popularity of Karate than some style-specific defect - I have seen one Fat Sensei in Kendo, and have read about one in BJJ (and have seen lots in other styles which are more popular here, such as Taekwondo).
I should note, however, that you can still benefit from training with a Fat Sensei, especially if you are new. They will usually have some level of skill in basics that they can pass on, and it is better that you learn this initial material from a Fat Sensei than not learning it at all. They might have Senpai who are quite skilled and you will probably meet other martial artists when you disclose that you train and can get opportunities from there.
Unfortunately some students of Fat Sensei go on to mimic their teacher, and teach the same rubbish that they were taught. Actually, because the Fat Sensei don't train much, they don't advance their skills, and so their ability actually deteriorates. This will mean that the student can never achieve the peak of the Fat Sensei, because when the student is ready to train to that level, the Fat Sensei no longer has the skill to take them there.
Many students of Fat Sensei become disillusioned with the Fat Sensei and quit training. Hopefully, the student will retain an interest in martial arts and seek out another instructor, who will be less flawed, and will stimulate their interest in training. Indeed, some of the best martial artists I know used to train with Fat Sensei!
Fat Sensei are not completely useless, it's just that the martial arts would be better off without them.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Kendo Injuries
Last night at training I came pretty close to copping a Shinai in the face! The Shinai came up under my Men (helmet) and pushed it off. Lucky my training partner had good control...
The moral of the story: tighten up my Men!
It is imperative that all armour (or other training equipment) is kept in good order and used properly. The purpose of training equipment is to prevent injuries. If it is not used properly then it might not prevent injuries as well as it could. I probably didn't have my Men on tight enough, and that is why the Shinai could come up under it and run along my face. (Scary)
In pre-war Kendo I understand that one of the allowed attacks was to rip the opponents Men off. This would certainly encourage you to have your Men on properly!
Unfortunately, not all injuries are able to be prevented. The worst injury I have seen in training is someone broke their collarbone in BJJ. The funny thing about it was that they did it during the warm up, as they were jogging! They just tripped over, did a forward roll, and then lay there in pain! They could have done the same thing as they were jogging to get some milk from the shops.
Here is a pretty unfortunate Kendo injury - Scrotum Tsuki. (Tsuki means thrust) I actually came close to being hit in 'Scrote' a couple of weeks ago, but just ended up with a bruise on the inside of my thigh - which incidentally matched the bruise on the outside of my leg from a very misplaced Do(body) shot.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMbTHgnXudI
I can feel the poor Kendoka's pain.
The moral of the story: tighten up my Men!
It is imperative that all armour (or other training equipment) is kept in good order and used properly. The purpose of training equipment is to prevent injuries. If it is not used properly then it might not prevent injuries as well as it could. I probably didn't have my Men on tight enough, and that is why the Shinai could come up under it and run along my face. (Scary)
In pre-war Kendo I understand that one of the allowed attacks was to rip the opponents Men off. This would certainly encourage you to have your Men on properly!
Unfortunately, not all injuries are able to be prevented. The worst injury I have seen in training is someone broke their collarbone in BJJ. The funny thing about it was that they did it during the warm up, as they were jogging! They just tripped over, did a forward roll, and then lay there in pain! They could have done the same thing as they were jogging to get some milk from the shops.
Here is a pretty unfortunate Kendo injury - Scrotum Tsuki. (Tsuki means thrust) I actually came close to being hit in 'Scrote' a couple of weeks ago, but just ended up with a bruise on the inside of my thigh - which incidentally matched the bruise on the outside of my leg from a very misplaced Do(body) shot.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMbTHgnXudI
I can feel the poor Kendoka's pain.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tensho
I am halfway through a couple of posts at the moment - I have just been busy with family and work and havent had time to finish them off.
I was requested to put up a video of how we do Tensho, so my students could see.
Here is a video of Morio Higaonna, who just got promoted to 10th dan the other week! All his kata are so unbelievably good. I understand that even in his 70's he trains all the time!
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ghvx5vN0vA
We don't do the bird thing at the end, but this is an excellent version of the kata.
Here is the Shito-ryu version for comparison:
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGeIuc0wNOg
I have a personal preference for keeping the elbows in and the other subtle differences in the Goju version.
EDIT - fixed the embedding. Also found a couple of other videos that might be of interest
Here is one of Mas Oyama, founder of Kyokushin.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqQ8Bqq9UAs
It is definitely a different emphasis to put on the kata, and I am sure he misses out a technique at 44 secs.
Here is one more version
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0D6VYrXTVU
I was requested to put up a video of how we do Tensho, so my students could see.
Here is a video of Morio Higaonna, who just got promoted to 10th dan the other week! All his kata are so unbelievably good. I understand that even in his 70's he trains all the time!
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ghvx5vN0vA
We don't do the bird thing at the end, but this is an excellent version of the kata.
Here is the Shito-ryu version for comparison:
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGeIuc0wNOg
I have a personal preference for keeping the elbows in and the other subtle differences in the Goju version.
EDIT - fixed the embedding. Also found a couple of other videos that might be of interest
Here is one of Mas Oyama, founder of Kyokushin.
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqQ8Bqq9UAs
It is definitely a different emphasis to put on the kata, and I am sure he misses out a technique at 44 secs.
Here is one more version
and the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0D6VYrXTVU
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Training in the Heat
Last week I was speaking to Kendo Sensei and we both had the same answer to the following proposition: There is only one thing to do on a hot night -
Train hard!
Actually, the answer would have been the same no matter what the situation (cold night, raining, feeling tired), but it really illustrates that you should train hard every time you train. Being very busy at work (and at home) I often find it hard to make my trainings during the week. This has really motivated me to train extra hard when I can get to training - I might not get to go next week. I am lucky that the clubs that I train at (and where I teach) the students all train really hard. This makes training with them so enjoyable. Also, everyone accomplishes so much more!
I must admit when I was younger I used to train nowhere near as hard as I do now - I was the student who constantly looked at the clock to see how much of class I still had to go through! I guess for that reason I can understand when students (usually kids) ask how much longer there is of class. I know that one day they are going to 'click' and will train really hard.
We did a really good training today, the first class back for the term. I was considering cancelling it because of the record-breaking heatwave, but my students really wanted to train. Actually it didnt seem as hot today as the class we had last February during that record breaking heatwave. I guess it will take the Sun exploding until we cancel class.
We were sensible and had a slower class doing Sanchin Dai Ichi, as well as heaps of Bunkai for it. It is amazing that a 12-13 move Kata can have so many applications! Lucky we had training or we would have missed out on all this fun.
Hot Summers Nights
Living in Adelaide, we often get very oppressively hot days, like the heatwave of 5 consecutive 40deg plus days we are currently experiencing. However we are also blessed (?) with really warm nights. You can be very comfortable in thin clothing outside at night. Last New Years some friends and I even slept on the beach wearing just t-shirts and shorts - it was magical!
Anyway, one of the things that I love about the warm nights is returning home from training, covered in sweat, feeling the night air. I used to ride home on a push bike, and now I ride a motorbike, and love getting cooled down by the wind after a hard workout. Beautiful!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Posture
Posture is such a fundamental thing and so often people don't pay attention to it. I am no exception.
Kendo Sensei gave me heaps of help after class tonight and one thing he did was improve my posture. He pushed my lower back forward and made me stick out my stomach. Pulling my chin back and leaning back a bit I have really straightened my spine. From these adjustments my shoulders automatically fall back and my arms hang loose. I can feel more relaxed already.
Having good posture is also good for breathing (it is easier to fill the lungs properly with a straight back) and is good for focus - my eyes look straight forward and my head feels clearer.
I tried keeping a good posture on the way home and felt more alert on the road. I will try to keep better posture at work as well.
Posture is so fundamental.
Blocks are too advanced
Last week Kendo Sensei gave me some really helpful tips on my technique after Ji-Geiko (free sparring). I always get told to stretch out and relax, as these are massivie problems of mine. However this time I also was told to be more aggressive and don't block - blocks are too advanced!
I have been training 2 1/2 years (3rd Kyu) and I find that somewhat hilarious that I have not been training enough to block, but Sensei was correct. Afterwards I have tried to concentrate on just attacking and keep up lots of spirit while attacking and this has been really helpful.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Training in multiple clubs part 2
I am trying not to write essays, hence I have broken up the post into more manageable pieces
By this I don't mean to blindly accept whatever rubbish they tell you (and some instructors can certainly talk crap!) but do not come into someone else's club and tell them how to do things. If you ran a club and and someone new told you that what you are doing is wrong, you will probably get your back up.
If you think that the instructor is wrong in something that they say, ask them to explain it in more detail - maybe you don't understand this particular context. Or, maybe *gasp* you are wrong, and further explanation will help you understand what they are saying.
If what they are doing it merely different to what you are used to, do it their way while in their class. If you are lucky, they may be interested in discussing with you 'your' way of doing it. But certainly don't' expect that they will change to accommodate you.
What if you don't find the instructors explanation of a particular thing satisfactory, and you still think they are wrong? For example I know of a club that teaches people to do mawashi-geri (roundhouse kicks) with the foot that is on the floor facing forward while the kick is executed. Besides not enabling the kick to work properly, it is also very damaging to the knee joint. If you find yourself being taught something like this, try and avoid doing the 'wrong' thing in class and practice it your own way at home. However if you are being taught crap, vote with your feet and don't train there any more.
Nevertheless, no matter how right you are, when you train somewhere, the instructor is always right.
Training with multiple clubs part 1
Most people who train in martial arts end up training with multiple clubs. Usually this is sequential, that is they train in one place, then another. Some people, such as myself, train at multiple clubs concurrently. When you train at multiple clubs here are some tips that might come in handy:
1. When you start you are probably going to be at the bottom of the class. This is especially the case in different styles of martial arts, although it also applies across different organisations/affiliations. Each club has its' own expectation of standards and its' own interpretation of whatever curriculum they follow. The instructor will probably not know where you fit in. You might have a black belt and 20 years experience, but it may turn out that you dont know a critical part of their curriculum.
Also, rank is often an indicator of social status within the club (wether or not this is a good thing is a different question) and so students will not want to 'lose status' to a newcomer. If you have the skills that the club is teaching you will advance pretty quickly anyway, so don't worry.
Also, use the experience of being 'at the bottom' to work on basics and things that you might ordinarily neglected, and to train without having any of the responsibility that sometimes comes with being more senior of rank (such as supervising junior students).
Finally, use the oppertunity of being 'at the bottom' as a lesson in humility, because there is always more for you to learn, and there is always someone out there better than you.
Osu!
Monday, January 5, 2009
1 hour, 2 Hours and 2/3rds
I have been told a couple of 'rules of thumb' that have helped me clarify how much training Kareteka (practitioners of karate) need to do. Rules of thumb are not absolutely certain rules but are good rough measures of action and effect: if something happens, then by applying a rule of thumb you will be able to understand roughly what will be the result. The first one goes like this:
"To maintain a skill at least 1 hour of training in that skill needs to be done each week. Any less and the proficiency in that skill will decrease."
Therefore if you do less than 1 hour of Karate a week you will begin to forget it! I have experienced that this is true, for example after school holidays when we have a break from training any students who have not kept up training have forgotten things. I have even seen black belts forget basic kata because they haven't practiced it for a long time!
The good news is that learning something for the second time is easier than the first time that it was learnt. Further, the more times that something is learnt the easier it is to re-learn it. This can be seen easily in anaerobic skill (that is, how fit they are) of Kareteka. The first time fitness is built up, it is really hard to get. Running, jumping, push-ups etc are all really hard to build up. If someone doesn't train for a while then they will lose their fitness, and they wont be able to do the things they did before (e.g. number of push-ups). But getting fit for the second time is easier than the first time (e.g. it will take less time to get back to the number of push-ups done before). And it will be even easier the third time, and so on.
However, ideally, students will not lose their skill and have to train to regain it. Therefore you will do at least 1 hour of training a week. But what if you want to increase your skill in karate? How much training will you need to do? This brings us to the second rule of thumb:
"To increase a skill at least 2 hours of training in that skill needs to be done each week."
Immediately I think of how this applies to the students who only train in karate once a week! Can they never progress? I have noticed that students who train only once a week, and do no other training in karate, do not improve very much. They progress very slowly through the ranks, and will often forget the things they have previously learned. They might learn a new Kata , but at the same time forget other ones!
Does this mean that training once a week is bad? Or not worthwhile? Absolutely not! What it means is that the extra time to make up the 2 hours will need to be done outside class, at home. Therefore if you train for 1 hour a week at the Dojo, you will need to do 1 hour a week training at home (see below).
What about instructors? They spend their time instructing people in karate, and often this will mean that they don't do training themselves. Does this mean that their skills will deteriorate? Yes it does!
The skills instructors learn while they are teaching students (this includes students teaching students) is that of instructing. If an instructor only instructs during class, they will need to do 2 hours of training outside class to improve their skills. This may be fine if the instructor has plenty of time to train, but there is a temptation to count the time spent instructing as time spent training. Counting the time spent instructing as training time will be false, unless the instructor uses the third rule of thumb, the "2/3rds rule", which goes like this:
"Instructors should do 2/3rds of the training that they ask their students to do in class."
Therefore instructors should aim to do 2/3rds of the exercises that they get students to do. The rest of the time (1/3rd) they can spend evaluating the students and offering feedback. A good way of meeting the 2/3rds rule is to demonstrate the technique out the front of the class as the students do it, so that the students can adjust what they are doing to do it the came way as the instructor.
This rule of thumb can even apply to penalties given to the students, such as impositions of push-ups and sit-ups when students aren't paying attention or are dithering on an instruction. I find that this can be a good gauge of how harsh the penalties are (if you can't do the 100 push-ups you told the students to do, chances are they can't either), is a good way to keep humility (so the instructor is not ordering people to do things they wouldn't/can't do), and helps students realize that the penalty is actually beneficial for them (such as building strength from doing push-ups).
By applying the rules of thumb I can see that when I took a break from karate for two years I lost much of my skill. I had to regain my fitness, but picking things up was much easier than the first time round. It took me about 6 months of training to regain what I had lost even though it took me 4 years to reach that level the first time around.
Before I was an instructor I was training 3 times a week, for 1 1/2 hours, making a total of 4 1/2 hours training, and so was improving (quite quickly). However when I became an instructor I wasn't improving nearly as fast, and in fact in some things (like fitness) went down. This also applied to the assistant instructors in the class. I realize now that I wasn't doing enough training to increase my skill, even though I was still going to the same amount of classes. I started trying to join in more in training last year, and limited the amount of instructing I delegated to assistant instructors (incidentally I said they can do a maximum of 1/2 hour in a 1 1/2 hour class).
Since learning of the 2/3rds rule a few months ago have tried to use that to guide my participation level in class. It is important for instructors to maintain and improve their level of skill so that they can continue to teach skills to students (and not forget to teach things that they were taught) and so that the skills they teach are progressively getting better. This will ensure that when students progress in rank they will still be able to learn things from the instructor, and will keep the instructor happy: most instructors (myself included) teach because they enjoy training and learning in karate, and start teaching because they want to share that joy of training and learning with others.
Training at home: 1 hour
Some easy ways to do training at home for 1 hour are:
6 minutes, 10 times. This is a very easy way to train at home. 6 minutes is about the length of an ad-break between TV programs. During the ad-break you might stand in horse stance and do traditional punches, or lie of the floor and do leg lifts, or do a Kata a couple of times, or shadow-spar against an imaginary opponent etc.
10 minutes every morning. This is enough time to do a warm-up and stretch, or as many push-ups and sit-ups as possible (keep going until you cant do any more), 3 sprints of 100 metres and jogging back to the start, or 10 minutes repetition of techniques. Have a break from training once a week. I currently train 10 minutes every morning.
30 minutes two times a week. You could go for a jog around a few blocks or go through a more structured session which might include weights, Kata, punching bags, skipping etc.
Visualization of techniques is also very good. You might sit on the bus to school or work and go through a Kata or other techniques in your head. Picture watching someone else doing the technique, again and again, and look at every part of what is being done by the person you are picturing. Imagine them doing the technique perfectly (and think as they do it, what exactly is the perfect way to do the technique), and if necessary picture the person redoing things that were not done right. Once you have pictured another person doing the technique correctly several times, imagine yourself doing the technique, repeating it in the same way in your mind as before.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
1st BJJ Tournament
Happy New Year!
Cleaning up things I have been meaning to do from last year, here is a post about the first BJJ tournament I competed in.
On Sunday 31st August I competed in my first BJJ comp, entering in the 85-91kg white belt division and the open weight white belt, both with gi's. For those who dont know BJJ progresses through the ranks slowly and a person will usually be a white belt for 2-3 years. 90% of the competitors were White Belt, which is normal for Australia, for which BJJ is comparatively new. There was also no-gi competitions, but since I have never done no-gi before (and I was exhausted) I didnt enter them.
Although I dropped from about 101kg to about 92kg after starting BJJ, making weight was still a bit daunting, especially since I havent done it before. I got some dietary advice from a rower friend of mine at work, especially since I had put on muscle to be about 93. I did a couple of 10km runs (I had bever run that far before!) and was well on track, and was on weight on the Tuesday before the match. On Thurday I asked my 'dietary consultant' if I was allowed to eat sushi at a seminar we were at, and got the OK, and promptly gorged myself (its healthy, right?). On Friday morning I was suddenly 1 1/2 kg overweight!!! (It was probably the sodium in the soy sauce). I was placed on power bars and sustagen until weigh in... :-(
Power bars suck for a number of reasons. Firstly at $5+ each they are an overly expensive way of eating. Secondly, some of them taste so bad I wouldnt feed them to my dog. Fortunately I dropped 2 1/2 kg in 36 hrs (without doing any exercise) and could relax on my diet a bit, making weight with about 200g to spare.
In my first match in my weight division I grabbed the opponents gi and 'pulled guard' (wrapping my legs around his torso) and took him down into guard. I attacked with arm bars, triangles and then finally got a cross collar chooke happening and he tapped out. (i.e. I won)
I moved to the next round, and I cant remember how we got to the ground, but once again I had the opponent in guard. He tried to 'stack' me several times, but I stretched out and avoided it. He was attacking with a very simple one handed lapel choke, but as his arms were as long (maybe longer?) than mine it was quite effective. I had him with a cross collar choke for a while (and he told me after the match I was very close to getting him out...) but eventually he submitted me. (Cant quite remember how though...probably the choke?) I tried to armbar his hand choking arm (it was set up for it) but couldnt pull it off properly as he applied alot of strengh against it and I dont have the technique yet to beat that. Overall it was an very even match.
In my weight division I came 4th.
In the open division I got to watch my opponent compete in another match, and he had a really good stand up game (and ground game, but I wanted to know how to start first, and wanted to get into a good position). His low posture meant I couldnt pull guard, and my handfull of throws probably wouldnt work either. So I tried for a double shoot to the legs. I had done a little practice on this the day before, but he avoided it and got me in side control. I managed to get out of an Americana lock and some chokes, but couldnt get out of his really tight moves. Then he got mount and it was pretty much over, him finishing me with a choke.
He pretty much owned me, but he also 'owned' everyone else as well, winning the open weight (even dispatching a fantastic fighter from our team, Remo, at a later round), so that makes me feel a bit better.
Two of my friends from karate, Renee and Jon were at the tournament and videod my pwning but not my earlier win - how unfortunate! However it is good to be able to review something so that I can learn from it. For everyone else, it is probably pretty funny to see me get pwned.
There were 96 fighters overall, for 156 matches, and many fighters were from interstate (which was great to gain exposure to different peoples approaches to BJJ). There was a really relaxed and friendly bunch of competitors which made it a real pleasure to participate.
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