Groinstrike

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. The word shugyō when translated to English basically means deep, prolonged training of both the body and the mind. Using this definition, we can see a wide array of training activities that could be considered shugyō. For example, both a three hour marathon belt test and a day at the pistol range could both be considered shugyō by this definition. The term musha shugyō refers to a samurai warrior's pilgrimage or quest in which they would wander the country side dueling, training and expanding their skill set. My question is this: What role if any should shugyō play in modern martial arts? As I said previously, shugyō can take on many forms. Physical shugyō can be used to strengthen a martial artist's resolve through intense and repeated training sessions where a martial artist is asked to push his or her limits. It can be difficult to truly know what you are capable of until you are bloodied, exhausted and bruised. I also believe spiritual shugyō has an important place in strengthening any martial artist. We must meditate on techniques, values and situations where our courage, honor and integrity may be tested. It is important that a martial artist thinks deeply on "what if" scenarios in order to prepare one's self for a worst case scenario. I would make the argument that training should be in all things and shugyō should be in all things. We as martial artists do not have the luxury of thinking like a normal human being. In every part of life, we should see an opportunity to learn. We should also not learn passively, we should seek out these opportunities as a pursuit of knowledge and higher understanding. As human beings it is very easy to fall into a rut in training, to get in a comfort zone. That is why it is so important to travel in our training. Visit different schools, train with different people - there is an opportunity to learn in all things. If you're a grappler, check out a Goju ryu class. If you're a kickboxer, try some tai-chi. Once we understand that an open mind is necessary to receive knowledge, we stop being dismissive of other styles and schools. I see so many martial artists who are only willing to train one style with one group of people; due to this they are stunting their growth. One must not be afraid to step outside of their comfort zone. Yes, there is a possibility one may be put in a situation where they will be outclassed on the mat; this is a good thing. We learn much more from a defeat than a victory in my opinion. Shugyō can also be a useful tool in creating a "warrior mindset." If you have never experienced what it is like to throw your best technique at someone and have your opponent crash right through it, you have never experienced shugyō. The phrase "adapt and overcome" has become a popular mantra for many units in the United States Marine Corps; this idea should be at the heart of every martial artist. No fight will ever be the same, a fight is constantly changing so as martial artists we must always be willing to adapt to any situation. Your opponents will always have different strengths and weaknesses. If you fight the same no matter the situation, it is likely that you will not be able to adjust when the situation changes. Shugyō is key to this thinking. Learning how to fight while exhausted, to keep fighting while cut, bleeding and dying, to learn that it is a real possibility that no matter how often you have practiced a technique, it can fail when you need it most. These are all things we must meditate on and accept. Shugyō is necessary in order to illicit fear and pain responses during a combative situation. Being outmatched in a fight is a scary situation, but by putting ourselves in an uphill battle in training. we may save our lives when faced with it on the street. This is where we learn to change tactics, to escalate or deescalate a situation, to accept the fact that we may have to kill another human being to live. We must accept that being in a fight, a true fight, is not a fight at all. It is combat. When training we must harden our bodies and minds in order to deal with the fact that the world we live in can be a dangerous place. We must meditate on the harsh realities of life on earth. We must embrace the scary fact that no matter how much training we have had, no one of us is invincible and no magic technique or no-touch knock out will save us against a determined assailant that lacks fear or reason. In these situations, we must use our most basic, brutal instincts to survive. You may not be able to execute that great powerful hip toss when you need it the most, it may very well be that the only thing that can save you in a fight for your life is the realization that you must brutally maim or kill your opponent by any means necessary. This means clawing, gouging, ripping, tearing, biting or stomping your opponent until the assault has been stopped. Anyone who has not thought deeply on this subject has not practiced shugyō. Shugyō should not be an excuse to simply beat up on those students ranked below us. Long training sessions filled with sweat, blood and vomit can bring a group of students closer together. Believe it or not, it can be fun to push yourself. I prefer to view shugyō as a way of obtaining a higher consciousness and understanding of ourselves and our arts. Some of the most important times in my martial arts career have involved me barely being able to stand, swinging wildly at an opponent as we are both snarling at each other like dogs. As you will find, clean crisp techniques often go out the window when fatigue sets in. Instead what often results looks more like a hockey fight than a sparring session. Other times I have found myself standing in sanchin-dachi, taking repeated throat strikes in order to build durability and the ability to breathe through punishment. All of these experienced have made me a better, more well rounded and humble martial artist. This brings me to my conclusion: I believe the most important thing shugyō can give a martial artist is humility. It can be a pretty humbling experience to have your clock cleaned over and over again for 3 hours. Too often we live in a martial arts landscape ruled by ki-knockout artists, hot shot point fighters, thugs trying to pass themselves off as amateur MMA fighters, and "masters" that are too "dangerous" to even spar with their own students. Shugyō has a way of weeding out those with no humility and this, I believe, is what shugyō does for us as martial artists. It finds our weaknesses and exploits them, making us stronger the next time. Thanks for reading, take care and be aware!

3/12 los Triques formula drills -Drive by -Lower canine -Diamond footwork drills

I was privileged enough to partake in Warrior's Weekend and I agree with Tallgeese it was a very rewarding and energizing experience. Definitely got me fired up to get back into weapon based arts.

Sparring....a lot.

60 minute freeroll, focusing on guard retention angle drills, knife defense, knife defense with handgun retention.

The 870 really is the AK-47 of the shotgun world. Also, my off duty concealed choice is usually my glock 23 or my S&W model 37

4/28 helped out masterpain at a seminar he was running. We helped some youngsters learn how to fall down and not get punched

two situations in my career i have had to go hands on with a female subject, both times grappling and small joint manipulations I.E pain compliance came in very handy. A woman can kill you just as easy as a man if she is willing and able. everybody be safe out there.

First off, yes i consider proficiency with a firearm to be just as much a martial art as throwing a good jab. For the firearms enthusiasts on KF. what is your loadout. Right now im running a Rock River AR-15 A4 with my Sig Sauer 1911 and Glock 22 Gen 4.

I guess i really dont have a favorite. whatever gets me on top is my favorite at the time.

2/6 sweeps, taking the back, recovering guard from half 20 minute freeroll choked unconsious Tallgeese, bummer about the shoulder

Ive been training in firearms for longer than martial arts. Since i was about 12 years old. Once again the question isn't that i haven't trained the right things, its is will i be able to apply it in real combat. Paper targets or one thing, human beings are another. I think this is when the use of simunnitions comes in handy in what Grossman calls "combat stress innoculation".

I have been training 3-5 days a week for over 5 years now. I also have begun a career in law enforcement. I find myself having thoughts about getting into situations where my training fails me and wondering if i have trained hard enough or in the right areas to win a true blue knock down drag out brawl. I of course know the answer is yes, however i find myself still having doubts. I understand it is normal to have these thoughts. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman in his book "On Combat" stats that based on his research most warriors have initial doubts in there training. I think most warriors have the dream where they are in a fight and cannot hurt their opponent, or cannot pull the trigger on their weapon no matter how hard they squeeze. I find myself struggling with these doubts, I have yet to be in a real fight in my life and i sometimes find myself bummed out after training if i feel i have not grasped the skills presented to me. I can think of no greater fear than failing in an engagment after years of training. Bujin Bugei Jutsu has been one of the few constants in my life in the past few years and I feel that it would not be the art that failed me but myself that failed the art. My question is can we truly know ourselves and our arts until we have been thrust into the nightmare realm of combat. I think the answer in no. We can train, sweat and bleed but we cannot truly pressure test our skills until we have been exposed to the unpredicable realm that is a fight to keep yourself from great bodily harm or death. As a LEO I have already made the choice that if i must take a life, I will without hesitation. What i am struggling with is when the chips are down and you are losing the fight, have i worked hard enough at my training to pull through. That is the real issue here, the concepts and the techniques that have been made available to me are without question effective. I doubt my fortitude, resolve and work ethic. Sorry if these is less of a topic and more of a airing of my self-consiousness.

no overreaction at all, guy in obviously an egomaniac. I try not to train with people like that.

Thats funny, any time my sensei gets out of position during sparring you better believe he will be recovering with a vicious spinning back elbow. As far as banned techniques, the only thing i really have a problem with is sparring without control. I can trust my sparring partners to throw axe kicks, elbows, groin kicks, stomp kicks to the leg etc. because i know they are not trying to cripple me with them.