Hawkmoon

... well, how did it go?

100% ! Name a contact sport, there is a need to use power, so MA here is no different here, in fact its implied you are training to fight after all! Its the sport side that drives the light contact we see and watch on YouTube as karate fails etc etc.The two are very different, and both sides of that coin need to keep that in mind. Not all sport fighters can walk in to a full contact bout and expect to win, sadly some do, and likewise for the full contact fighter! I'm not saying its wrong, far from it, it can be exciting to watch sport fighters fighting, coiled snakes or cats ready to pounce, a flurry of action an explosion ending in a punch or kick....and with all that control! Some people take up MA as a sport, and why not its works and is fun to boot! there is a smaller group that take up MA and think they are the next Bruce Lee..... This smaller group and that sort appear in both camps that need more guidance, I'm not so sure that they get the 'help' they need to be honest.

Question: (to all) Some of the posts in the thread speak about a person private/personal view of MA and there involvement. Some speak about a public advert of MA and there involvement? Some speak of a desire just to train, be this 'hiding in plain sight, or training in the dojo. So the question ... What is it that has you consider how you train in public? Not a shame or poke fun direction here. Consider: In Japan to run around in you Gi in public to train is looked upon very much like a person is looked playing football (soccer) or cycling with all the gear on etc but this is a not Japan so to run around in jogging shorts and a tee in the western world is how its done ... ... is it acceptable ... is it embarrassment ... just your way ... being humble ... driven by the area where you live etc I wear shorts and a tee when I run, I don't go around boxing the air or kicking at trees. However, I run in an area I consider private, and off the beaten track. If I ran around in my Gi, I'm sure some would consider me mad or daft, but I do not do this as to me its the fact to me its just plain not right to do so outside the dojo. A soccer player doesn't go dancing in his stud boots, so why would I go running in a Gi?

(Good pics, lots of happy faces..worth seeing again!) Well done sir well done indeed! Worth the time and effort to have 'that feeling' and change the belt color has now your middle is different from everyone else's! Congratulations !

28/6 2 hr swim. - leg streches (fyi: @ shallow end ) - kicks - - - Kin geri - - - mai Geri - - - Yoko Geri - - - chudam Mawashi Hand/hold the side @ the deep end, do sets per leg, swap and repeat. (Kicking under water...good core work..try it!) I'm sure a few thought I was nuts....

26/6 2 mile run

yes, & yes, & No! Its a real conundrum .. sort of a 'who should have blinked first' type of thing. As a warrior you would show respect and 'honor' to another warrior just as you suggest. That goes both ways! ... so ... Yes! On the flip side however, there is no glory or honor to be had defeating the weak! Who has stood on the mat or in a ring only to be given a 'by' because the other guy didn't turn up? Look at the 'tap out' like this To steal from a king is the same as to steal from a blind child beggar, you are a thief. However, stealing from one will have some praise your bravery, your guile the other just painted a target on your head ! I'd offer that Pantangco felt it more important to perceived as doing the 'right' thing rather than what was expected, and so not risk causing serious injury etc etc to his unprepared opponent and then he have to suffer the fall out form that. So did Rasner do the wrong thing? Absolutely, 100% yes. He showed a complete disrespect and disregard to the other 'warrior'. A bit harsh I think.... Should Rasner have tapped out? (difficult to admit your failings when your are so hyped up to see past the rewards!) No. IMHO Rasner should not have been there at all! Here I'd offer it was not him we should blame, it is not him that we should be looking at and pointing the finger of shame at in anyway! No, no no, we should be looking at the coach, the manager, the instructor, one, some or all of these failed this guy. They built him up, pushed him and his ego to new highs over time, they worked with him, they told him he could beat Pantangco they were the only voice of reason rasner had to guide him and they ... ... couldn't? ... wouldn't? ... didn't? ... consider him at all.

Your welcome sir! ..and yes I do feel if a student is 'good enough' and so on an instructor will ask (or tell ) a student to grade when the time is right!

Hope that helps!

Hey! Safroot! I'll share a story form last years 'Summer camp' here in the UK. The summer camp allows attendees to experience Karate 24/7 for a week. You live, eat, do, sleep karate through this time, you train with Hanshi and his Shihans doing kata, combat & kihion. The Summer camp is also a students chance to take the national grading and become a Black belt ! The story goes that of a group of about fifteen 1st kyu students from various dojos were seeking promotion to Shodan, one student was very clearly not ready and had not prepared for the grading! The student was being corrected all week about this or that move or kata step, they were always seeking direction, asking to be shown kihon and bunkai application and execution and use. Come the grading itself, the student was spotted and watched performing poor kihon, bad execution and pausing to copy other students as they followed instruction. The following day all students ( as is normal) were lined up, and the ones that were promoted to Shodan were called out one at a time and awarded there certificates in front of everyone. The ones that failed were also informed. There was only one student fail (I understand) and it was the unprepared student! There is one point I've not mentioned here, this student was asked earlier in the week who there sensei was as it was deemed important to alert them to the this students chances and so on and not embarrass anyone (Hanshi, the sensei or the student). The student is reported to have replied: 'He is not here, he said I wasn't ready, so I came any way because I want to prove to him I am ready!" I'd opt for option 1. For sure ask if you can grade, and accept his response no matter what it is! Its not a race, never was,

What is done today I cannot say to be honest, I've not competed in a kata competition for years! ...and am not actively seeking to compete in them just now... My return to Kyokushin after my overly long break has shown me a few things that have changed, and I suspect the way kata competitions are run is possibly another change I've yet to experience! Years ago when I was competing in kata competition we were judged by the the "scoring system" you describe but it was done over two rounds. The second round would be the top scorers (Top 6 if I remember correctly) from the earlier round compete with a second kata.

hehehe ... see to me there is an oddity here, and hence the 'private joke' comment I made earlier. This 'osu' word/sound when spoken in the Martial arts sense is like a little piece of Japan and Japanese culture alive and living in the hall down the road! As a Westerner I hear that word and romantic images of Japan come to mind, warriors standing firm at sunrise against impossible odds, quiet, confident no question in them about there assured victory this day! The polite, humble peaceful homes and people nestled against the valley wall and so on and so on .... When we watch movies, see TV dramas and so on we hear that word (also pronounced incorrectly in many examples) and we all see and maybe 'feel' some Japanese culture wash over us! 'Osu!' the word we all hear, the word we all understand (... and some of us pronounce it wrong) but no matter what its the one word we accept as 'correct' in a dojo. Now watch a documentary about Japan or Tokyo, and we see this person or that person when addressed bow and say '"Hai!" ...we don't bat an eye lid the person didn't say 'Osu!' Its like the Audi advert and there slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik", it roughly translates to "Advancement through technology", yet needs to be said correctly according to some Germans I work with else its just a meaningless collection of words and sounds!

Thank you! Seriously hoping this will not be so short lived like it was in the 2013 Tournament! LOL!

25/6 2hr kihon & kata

Posts I've put up previously about up-coming tournaments have all shown me getting all excited and fidgety and struggling to contain myself waiting for the day to arrive, well another date has been set for an upcoming tournament and ... Yup!my name is down and I'm all fidgety again! BKK British Open Knockdown Tournament 2014 Incorporating the 6th Cup of Europe Saturday 11th October http://www.bkk-britishopen.co.uk/ This one is a big one for me not because its clearly a national tournament, that's bad enough, no this tournament will mark the end of my 'novice' fighter status! After this tournament if I wish to compete I do so as an 'Open' fighter! (Mind you in saying that, at my age this may signify the end of my fighting career! ...time maybe for me to consider kata tournaments again and look towards a future shodan grading !)

23/6 2hr kata + kihon 24/6 2 mile run

Yes. I've said it before, I'll say it again, mind set! There is no glory in ending a persons career or god forbid life. There is honor respect, maybe as this thread and the media coverage shows a certain glory to be had in simply doing the right thing! Like others have posted, its Bushido, its honor its respectful. There is no reason to put an opponent in hospital, no reason to hurt the other guy...just because! That's for the street, that's for your defense, the defense of your wife, children and family .... There is an aspect of 'sport' vs 'warrior' to take on board here! Win sure go for the win, but to quote a line in from that article: That line can be read to mean many things, but there is one thing clearly stated and clearly the desire and drive here, the word beating. Consider this an alternative to the tap out: Win yes, ..... spectacle, beating, seriously? ..... mind set!

To train to not train. Your body is and always will be the best guide! Train as often as you feel happy to, sure, if you do not feel fatigue after the second of third day, why not? Well to me that's the issue. If you are not fatigued you didn't push hard enough the first time, push harder. The body will tell you when it needs to rest; - the longer sleep, - the deeper sleep, - the aches and pains that simply do not get better, maybe even worse! nature (your body) is the best answer, work hard be happy, rest when its time to rest. nature has been doing this for a long long time...its been right so far, I see no reason to second guess the best adviser ever to grace the surface of this planet! 'IF' you train to keep yourself ticking over keep a higher level (not top level) body condition running, routine is IMO the best thing you can do, familiarity, commitment to keep you going is fine IMO. You need to decide what you are doing? If the plan is to train to add, enhance you, supplement the dojo...(upcoming grading, tournament) Push yourself. If the plan is to maintain a high personal standard.... Its up to you to push or simply keep a regular routine going. My personal feeling is a regular routine all times NOT leading to a grading or tournament! Come grading and tournaments...time to push!

100% There is clearly something messing with here in the background that drives this behavior. It may well be something she doesn't want to share, or talk about just now, or maybe ever but ..... The knowledge that there is help and or support around, just extend your hand to have it caught is what starts to open that door in her mind! Tread carefully!

one more game to go.... I only take an interest in football when its the national side, I much prefer Rugby, more work less crying! anyway, I'm sitting here in the office and can't help but over hear a couple of eternal optimists going on about just how England can make it through! ...make it through to the next stage of the world cup..... ....to make it through... said with real conviction! huh! what, who, purple! Don't you have to win to get through? Was I watching a different side of something?

Nice article love its honesty and open directness! It I feel can be easily transferred to other arts easily IMO. There is no mysterious or magic conjuring of some secret power, kata/patterns/forms what ever you call them is a training tool for the student to learn to learn what, why and how! The article maybe short, but to me, it needs to be little more than what it is, open, honest and direct. No need at all for any padding, any artistic flare, that I feel is what the western world has implied and been adding over teh years! Can't say I agree with that direction but development and evolution have a habit of correcting themselves over tiem.

hmmm... 'Oss!' (spelt Osu) is one of the things I love about MA! I cannot decide if its not got or rather if it does not hide a 'in house' joke that only a Japanese person would understand. (aka a joke that pokes fun at westerners) One attempt to explain 'Osu that I have come across says: I like this as it does make use of descriptions and translations and so on that I've come across or read or had explained to me over the years! Its origin is not to be found in the home of Karate (Okinawa blah, blah..) true, that single point comes up each and every time, what also comes up every time is the military and/or docks connection and origin. The Kyokushin connection is mainly due to Sosai use of it in his training and teaching of Karate. The connection here is WWII, Sosai famously said in a television interview, "Itsumitemo Haran Banjyo" (Nihon Television), Osu is common in MA, in as well as outside Japan, but even so it is still considered by some to be 'guttural' (harsh) less than perfect respect, and in Okinowa its association with the underworld persists even to this day!

16/6 2 hr kihon + kata 18/6 2 hr kihon + kata

ye good old piece of history !! I have to admit I much prefer the tactics of the battlefield, the generals view of war as it were than the 'fighter' and what or how they did stuff...BUT.... The article is a very good read, really worth the few minutes it will take read it and consider and compare the skeletons and the percentage of injury's recorded! Its not my kind of interest in history, but I must admit it raised a question or two which I really think would be worth a compare etc! What I would like to see is a like comparison between warriors from different cultures .... worlds apart cultures! The Samurai, the Chinese swordsman, Roman solider, Egyptian warrior, Turkish warrior and so does warrior who wields the sword of long knife attack the same areas as the medieval warriors of European note?

Hehe Love the world cup, the best players in the world doing what they do best...fall over there own shadows and cry when a blade of grass brushes past there knee! LOL! I'll be supporting my home nations team, so I only have three games to watch !!! HEHE