ryanryu

This situation sounds untenable, Revario. I don’t know how long you can continue in such an unhappy situation so I’d recommend doing two things – 1) Determine what you want to learn, specifically. What techniques, requirements, drills, do you think this teacher has that you need to learn? Set something specific to work towards. 2) Give yourself a period of time where you will be “The Perfect Student”. 3 months? 1 month? 15 classes? Whatever it is. Just get with the program, go to class, and do what the Sensei wants. His ideas, not yours, for a finite amount of time. Then reevaluate. You could do one or the other, possibly both at the same time, but I think it may help your mindset by having a plan like this. I had a very difficult Sensei who I clashed with in exactly the way you describe. Clones, not students. It was easier for me to move on when I set a specific goal (to learn a final kata). Another alternative - would this Sensei be willing to teach you privately? Perhaps he doesn't like the questions in his classes, but would be more open to your ideas in a private lesson? Still, if your philosophies are as different as you say, I'm not sure how long you can walk the path alongside this person.

I think I do a little bit of everything mentioned here. The first kata students learn (after Sanchin) is Taikyoku and we don’t practice bunkai for that kata. It’s introduced mainly to get students familiar with what a kata is and to help them move their body across the floor. The next kata we practice introduces the concept of bunkai- that the kata movements correspond to fighting applications. This bunkai is of the most basic block-punch variety. And that sort of repeats through green belt/5th kyu. That is when the student gets to the classical kata and they’re getting much more robust bunkai. Those kata each have a “theme” or lesson that they’re trying to teach the student and the bunkai are organized around that theme. As an example, Saifa is full of techniques where you are breaking loose from someone trying to grab you, so the theme is escaping or tearing free. Each subsequent kata, up to shodan, explores a different theme and they all build together to create a well-rounded karate-ka. These themes are just a teaching aid that I gravitated towards to counterbalance the “every move can be anything” style of bunkai interpretation. I found that overwhelming when I was a student and I wanted to provide more direction on what to focus on for that period of time at that rank. After black belt, the training wheels come off and the themes go away. Here we are working on assembling a deeper level of bunkai that follows the strategy of the style and good martial principles. For Goju, I think the fighting strategy is Counter, Close, Control (which may be accomplished in only one or two moves in some cases). Each kata in the style should follow the strategy of the style, as well as good martial principles like… move off the line, allow only one attack, etc. So a good bunkai will check as many of these boxes as possible and, I think, will more accurately reflect the core of the kata. I think those “core” bunkai are harder to do, and more dangerous to your partner, so it’s appropriate to not introduce them until the black belt ranks. If you arrange the teaching like this, then one could say that you're not really doing the bunkai of your style until shodan... but that makes me feel like Ben Kenobi saying "from a certain point of view". I’m not going to claim this is the right way or the best way, but it reflects my own journey with bunkai in a way that I hope will prevent my students from diverting down all the side trails and dead ends of the modern karate landscape. That's the main thing for me - whatever way bunkai is being taught, at whatever rank or speed, more thought needs to be given to the students learning it. Do they understand how the sensei approaches this topic? How does it fit into the rest of the training activities? Are the students learning what the teacher thinks she is teaching? I think many of the problems today with kata and bunkai trace back to massive differences in teaching style between the East vs. West as well as simply poor teaching practices.

Yes, I definitely feel this way. I haven’t been in any real confrontations to speak of (and I don’t intend to be), but if I was, I would be afraid of delivering more damage than I intend to. It’s trying to have control over something wild and chaotic and unpredictable. What is extra sobering to me is that while a lot of advanced techniques are clearly dangerous, some of the most basic ones can still do serious damage. I’m thinking of all the videos I’ve seen of a reverse punch/cross knocking someone out cold… and then they faceplant into the pavement. Or a leg sweep like osoto gari, a basic judo throw, can really mess someone up. Same with the knee-joint kicks in Goju. You are learning powerful techniques in karate and that needs to be tempered with self-control and wisdom. We would talk about this from time to time in my old dojo, but I’ve tried to introduce it up front with my students to get that seed planted… probably before they’re even capable of doing the techniques effectively. But I think it helps foster an appropriate mindset for the training.

I found the essay that sparked my imagination on this one. It’s from a collection of essays by Garry Lever titled Karate Parting the Clouds with Empty Hands. The essay is titled “Kata According to the Elements”. It’s a bit much to explain without writing the entire essay again, but basically he ties together ancient Chinese views on nature, Yin-Yang, and the 5 Elements with the Goju-ryu kata. For example, if we take the duality of the seasons as representing: Winter – Yin Spring – Yin to Yang Summer – Yang Fall – Yang to Yin Then in each season you would focus on the kata that expresses or favors the corresponding concept. Something like Sanseiru, a very Go/Hard/Power/Yang kata, would be the focus in summertime while Seipai, a Ju/Soft/Supple/Yin kata would be more appropriate for the winter. Of course you can also divide an individual day according to Yin Yang as well. Midnight is Yin, Noon is Yang, 6am and 6pm are transitioning between them. So you would practice the corresponding kata at the corresponding times. I don’t think this is true, really, but many of the Okinawan karate masters lived in this sort of pre-modern world and probably wouldn’t be phased by this. And I can’t help but wonder if I’m being subtly influenced by the time and day when I’m deciding what to practice. I do often choose kata based on what feels right in that moment... I’m going to have to set a calendar reminder to practice Seipai at midnight on the night of the Winter Solstice.

Great comment from Bushido_Man. I didn’t even think about this stuff until I already had my black belt and looked it up on my own. It’s really really REALLY worth talking about. Even #2 in the original post – how you recognize the different types of violence is something that should be talked about at some point in most dojo. I’ve made it a requirement for my students to read Kane & Wilder’s Little Black Book of Violence because it’s a good introduction to a lot of this. But I think, at least for my style and in my training, you are working to develop a flexible response to violence. Part of this is by training a lot of bunkai from different kata in order to “see” different options for your counterattack. Same for the two-person drills. Then there is also the karate ideal of being able to develop your skill to such a level that you can defuse the situation without harming your attacker. I see a lot of value in this because, like you say, how often are you going to need to throw it all down vs. get through a lower-level of interpersonal violence? Especially a situation where you don’t want to or can’t afford to hurt the other person. (Drunken uncle, dementia parent, special-needs teen, etc.) On the other hand, I think the environment has changed a lot in the past 10-15 years for fist fighting. Nowadays so many people have seen or trained in MMA that I can easily imagine an opponent trying to ground-and-pound or choke you out, even in what was or used to be a lower level of conflict. I don’t think people realize how escalatory or dangerous those moves are, especially younger people in their teens and twenties. I read a story last week of a high school fight where one kid was throwing leg kicks to the knee. That is a seriously dangerous attack! I worry about martial artists who think they’re engaging in one thing but find themselves actually in something else. I feel that you need to train the full spectrum of responses.

I was thinking a lot about this part when deciding how to structure my kobudo curriculum because I see a lot of truth to what Booth says here. You start with the bo, which is generally the "simplest" weapon to get introduced to and acts as a proxy for all sorts of things - sticks, pipes, whatever. You next learn sai, which isn't a great analogue for anything I can think of, but it gets the range much closer, gets you to strike with specific parts of the weapon, and gets you used to manipulating the tool into different configurations. I think tonfa also builds on this. So this broadens the improvised weapons a lot - a glass bottle, a vase, a textbook, I'd expect someone trained in the complicated Okinawan short weapons to be able adapt most of these effectively. I'd put eiku, the oar, next. Obviously an oar may show up depending on where you are, but it's really a proxy for any long weapon that's heavier on one end. A shovel. A rake. A vacuum cleaner. (I don't train with the kuwa (hoe), but it seems like the same sort of thing, a mid-length weapon that's much heavier on one end.) Nunchaku gets into flexible weapons, so a variety of chains, ropes, maybe towels, etc could work here, but also other flail-like items like a belt with a heavy buckle, or a bag filled with small heavy items. The kama (sickle) introduces a cutting edge, but also serves as a proxy for anything short and heavy on one end - so hammer, hatchet, ladle? spatula? So yea, I think training in the traditional weapons both opens your eyes to the fighting possibilities of objects around you while also giving you some capability to handle those objects effectively.

Thank you Patrick! I promise to use this power for good!

I love this site! I am so grateful that I rediscovered it after so many years away AND that all of you were still keeping the lights on. I think the forum format lends itself well to deeper conversations on topics (certainly deeper than other social media) and I’ve learned so much from the back and forth. Seriously, I’ve been diving into the old posts on here and the accumulated knowledge is immense. We need to find an anthropology student to study this stuff. There’s probably a few PhD dissertations buried in there…

I’ve unearthed this one from the vault because I’ve been training at all sorts of times lately. How has this changed for you all over the years? Right now I train from 8-9pm, which is a sweet spot for me in terms of being late but not too late. I also insert a midday session when I can – pre-lunch is my best training, but more often I train a few hours after lunch, in the midafternoon lull when my energy is lowest. The workout will pep me up, but I’ve never felt that to be high quality training. Finally, I usually do a brief stretch and warm-up session in the morning, but I have never expanded this into a serious training session in the morning. I don’t know how well this would work for me, given my commute and work schedule. I know one thing that did not work was a previous dojo I trained at that held class from 830-10pm. I could never calm down enough after class to fall asleep before midnight and would always end up being a zombie the next day. The old chain has some interesting comments about what to train at which times… I’ve come across these ideas before and I’ll see if I can dig up the book I had on it. I don’t put much weight into the idea that certain kata are better trained in the morning or evening, mainly because most of us don’t get to choose our training times that freely.

I'm right there with you on this one. Explain stuff! Sometimes students won't understand it yet, but someday they might and it'll help them move a little further down the road. For now, I have less virtues and more philosophies, I’d say. My starting point was the 2nd Goju-ryu Precept – GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO IS THE MANIFESTATION WITHIN ONE’S OWN SELF OF THE HARMONIOUS ACCORD OF THE UNIVERSE. Yea it’s a mouthful and sounds very 19th century. But I believe that it means that there is a balance in the natural world, an orderliness, a “harmonious accord”. And Goju-ryu, as the hard-soft style, is a tool/method that practitioners can use to develop the same balance within themselves. One of the sayings that I first heard from Frank Van Lenten was that you should be as hard as the world makes you be and as soft as it lets you be. Obviously, this proportion varies for each of us, and it probably changes over time, but being able to harmonize the hard and soft is the final goal of Goju-ryu. I take that as more than just being flexible in your techniques, but knowing yourself and being in control of yourself enough that you can find that equilibrium. There’s another prominent idea in the martial arts that I think dovetails well with the idea of balancing hard/soft – that the Budo mentality is a harsh battle with yourself. For example, Shoshin Nagamine wrote that: “Karate may be referred to as the conflict within yourself, or a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training, and your own creative efforts.” That resonates with me. It is really easy to follow your whims and avoid doing anything too difficult, but for those who learn how to endure, how to commit, how to take little steps consistently, it is so empowering. Of course, a student doesn't need to believe any of this to train. I've just found it enriching to have a bigger philosophical framework around my training. I've struggled to learn and articulate this aspect of my training, but it's really the core of why I've found karate to be so useful in my life. If I had to name specific virtues to support this, it’d be similar to what you have – perseverance, integrity, consistency, honesty (esp. with yourself), and courage. Perhaps temperance, prudence, patience as well? Martial arts training is powerful so a lot of these virtues exist to develop a sense of responsibility in the student.

Funny finding this thread, I was just talking about this in class. Right now I train on two surfaces – the standard high school gym floor which is wood covered in some sort of polyurethane sealer and a concrete floor covered by those thin stick-on carpet tiles. The concrete floor is unforgiving on my feet and knees and I was hoping to get some tile mats to cover the space, but I don’t want to drop the cash right now. The space is also in my home so I use it for shorter training sessions and can always put on shoes if I want. BUT I’ve trained in two dojo that both had beautiful floors that I’d consider to be the gold standard for each style of training. The karate dojo I grew up in had a “sprung floor”, which was a thick (~1.5’’or so) gray foam pad underlayer on top of which were wooden slats, maybe ¼’’ thick. So the floor felt solid and firm for kata, but had some give when you did throws, breakfalls, or even a hard stomp. For karate, I thought it was the best of both worlds. You didn’t even realize the level of support it was giving you. I also trained briefly in an Aikido dojo which had a central training area bounded by this wooden frame. Inside the frame was a thick pad, maybe 3 inches?, but still firm, covered in a canvas that was pulled tight and lashed to the wooden border frame. It was solid enough to walk on and move around easily, but had the right amount of give for the rolling and falling that was the bulk of the training. And I thought the canvas cover helped prevent sticking or sinking into the padding itself. I think you have to tweak the training to fit the surface and other features of the training space. Seems like another aspect of being aware of and adaptable to our surroundings.

The idea of an endless journey is something that resonates with those who continue to train past black belt, but I think it falls flat with most people. The black belt is a tangible goal, a status symbol, and, imo, a real measure of skill. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of and also seems like a natural breaking point in training. Yes, it would be bittersweet to see a student leave at that point. If only because of the bond you’ve formed with them over the time spent training. It is like how any graduation is bittersweet, honestly. In my mind, if we’re comparing situations, the bigger tragedy is if a student leaves in the high ranks just before black belt. There’s something about the validation, the confirmation, the “sealing” of things that comes with a black belt. It seems a shame to come so close and walk away without that "final" experience.

I’m going to agree with crash on this one. If you are running a full-time, stand-alone dojo, these strength and conditioning classes seem like a very obvious thing to add to the schedule. Maybe you’ll need to develop your own skills to teach fitness classes like this, or hire a group fitness instructor to teach them, but I think any martial artist would benefit from a heavy bag workout, a punching mitts/padwork workout, HIIT, yoga, etc. etc. etc. I don’t run a full-time dojo so the limited classes I have are focused specifically on the martial arts. Although even then, some sessions are more focused on conditioning and others are more focused on skill-building. There’s a mix, but it skews heavily towards skill-building. I spent a few years regularly attending one of those boxing fitness clubs and I’d say at least half of the customers were the people who would’ve been training in a dojo 20 years ago. It was actually fascinating to see customers start, get some skill, then plateau, lose interest, and leave. They came for the workouts initially, but I think they would’ve stayed long term, say 3-4 years instead of 1-2, if the boxing fitness included more skill development. That development is something martial arts do really well. So, from the “martial arts as a business” perspective, I think adding this type of stuff to the class schedule could be really effective.

As a Commanders fan, I still can't believe the turnaround. I didn't think they'd have a winning season, let alone make to through several rounds of the playoffs! But with a new owner, new GM, new coaching staff, and 60% turnover of the roster from last year... plus the 2nd overall pick and a ton of other draft picks... plus the most salary cap space in the league going into this year... I just don't think any other franchise has ever been in the position of having THAT much change in a single year. And it worked! Absolutely a fun team to watch, win or lose. I think they have a great chance against the Eagles! It's really the Bills that scare me. They just seem like the most complete team left.

Welcome! I am in a similar situation with my work after starting a job in a new field. It is really frustrating to want to be better, but just not be there yet. I've been trying to do 2 things - 1. Take small steps. Just focus on a small portion and get that down first. Once I understand that, I can get the next building block. 2. Give yourself time. Literally, put a timeline on it. I've given myself X months, X weeks even, to just work at it then I'll re-evaluate at the end. The martial arts are very complicated to learn and, in my opinion, everyone will go through a period in their training like you are now. I certainly have. But I think in a lot of ways that ability to be bad at something and just stick with it is a major benefit of training. It can be a grind, but it is very empowering when you get to the other side. There is a common Japanese saying that I put in my training space that captures this idea - Seven times down, Eight times up. Good luck!