Spartacus Maximus

For modesty's sake and reasons of privacy I avoid naming my instructors. For reference though, all of them were trained as lifelong students of Chibana Chosin's most senior students. I met many instructors with a very wide variety of backgrounds and never at any time did any of these martial artists present what they taught and practised as something mysterious, mystical or spiritual. It was always directly to the point.

The very last thing a test needs is an audience. In fact the less people present the better it is for everyone involved. Anyone who is not being tested or doing the evalution has no business being there.

The instructor is the heart of the dojo and everything ultimately depends on that one person. A school can have all the best facilities and equipment but if the instructor is not good, it will fail. Martial arts skills are but one piece of the puzzle. Personality is another and neither can be bought.

The fact that such schools exist is not any surprise and could be considered one of the stranger, more marginal aspects of the martial arts. What is worrisome is the situation where every school seems to have jumped on the New Age/Spiritual bandwagon. Perhaps it is just a passing fad or a "sign of the times".

Bleach does something very nasty to cotton. The chemical is very harsh on cotton fibers and it only takes a couple of washes to ruin a quality 100% cotton canvas dogi. I found out the hard way a few years ago and now I completely avoid using it. There is no sure way to know if a colour will bleed, so washing separately is the best way to avoid a brand new pink dogi.

Nearly all of my training in Okinawan karate up to this point has been under native Okinawan instructors all of whom were very attached to the physical as well as philosophical aspects of the system they taught. In all instances there was emphasis on martial philosophy(i.e. When it is morally acceptable to use what we train) but the main focus remained strictly functional techniques for skills in defense against attacks, strength and living a longer healthier life. Never was there any mention of a specific spiritual belief system. There is severe digression from purpose when martial arts cease to be recognizable as such because they are taught in pursuit of a specific esoteric, spiritual or religious belief system. What I saw looked and felt foreign to me though not born and raised in East Asia. If I had been, I would have had rightly felt resentment. A martial arts school is probably not the best place to go seek answers to issues related to one's personal spirituality. It is much more sensible to discuss this or esoteric practices with an expert on the topic. To expect a martial arts instructor to do that is ignorant and misguided.

Following dojo traditions and protocol or martial philosophy is one thing and New Age mysticism, esoteric or spiritual belief systems are another. While there is nothing wrong with any belief systems, it highly unethical and disturbing for anyone to teach martial arts as the expression and practice of these. It is a question of false representation and image. Perhaps the phenomenon is the product of over-enthusiastic instructors who are just following the popular interests. That however, does not and must not make it acceptable.

After visiting and observing most martial arts schools in my area, I realized that a majority of these seem to be heavily steeped in New Age or esoteric theory. The worst ones were almost cult-like in the way they taught and practised. The general impression is that the martial arts are some sort of marginal cult with weird rituals. Even acquaintances who were more or less familiar with martial arts seemed to think that. The biggest issue with this and what was really shocking and disturbing to me, was the fact that I could not recognize what I saw as martial arts. Practicionners were way too preoccupied with whatever spiritual doctrine the school taught. The physical aspect and actual purpose to the movements was almost downplayed. This is very strange and foreign to me and nothing like the martial arts I observed in Okinawa, Japan and China. Martial arts are a physical discipline and were never intended to be a belief system or religion. It seemed to surprise many that these two things (MA and spirituality/religion) are not the same and are mutually exclusive. This made me rethink my plan to start teaching and served as proof that there is much work to do to restore the image of martial arts. The way it is taught and practised in that city probably makes many people very uncomfortable. How common is this phenomenon in martial arts elsewhere? Any impressions or ideas to share? Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

Nothing is more important than stability because that is what keeps the dojo running. If very few join and people stay year after year, there is little growth but it means the dojo stays open. That alone is a sign of success. Turnover rate ceases to be relevant when the dojo retains enough members to remain active. The key number of members is determined by the dojo's vocation.

Compared to the other Okinawan styles it is not as widespread, but it is very likely to have a presence in the USA. There is a good book by M. Bishop which includes a section on this style and also several websites easily found with a quick search. The best source, however, is an instructor of this system.

Coloured dogi seems like more of an American trend and was more than likely started in the late seventies. White is still the standard and most common colour by far, with black used by a few schools. It is very difficult to know exactly when or who began this trend, but Century is likely one of the very first suppliers to offer a dogi in a colour other than white or black.

If they are able to do that and still have enough people willing to pay their price, then the owners must indeed be shrewd in business. Whether or not their martial arts skills are as sharp as their business sense is a separate question. What is good for business is not necessarily good for martial arts. The opposite is also true.

That's probably why "mcdojos" are so successful...zing!

The best kind of ceremony is very short and simple. There really is no need for it to be a big event with all sorts of elaborate or overly solemn decorum. Currently, all promotions are announced after an official evaluation before peers. This is just a formal recognition of skill level because the students tested have already been evaluated by the instructor and informed that they are to demonstrate before the senior levels and the instructor. Belts and recognition certificates are handed down and announced officially at the end. The entire ceremony is about 15 minutes long, more or less depending on how many are going through it.

Neither horses(pretend or otherwise) or playing have their place in a serious training environment.

Precisely. There must be exchange and practise at a certain point in order to fully grasp the meaning and purpose of training

It appears that the rule and so-called tradition mentioned is specific to the school of karate consernced. Sparring or kumite exercises where only one side ever strikes is not a very productive way of training. Unless the point is to take turns or isolate specific elements for understanding and analyzing. In prearranged kumite, for instance. As for free sparring, there is not now nor has there ever been any custom or rule as described in the first post. In any serious dojo, everyone is expect to treat their fellow dojo mates with respect and exert an appropriate level of control when performing contact drills or kumite. The higher the level, the more control one is expected to have.

With children strict rules are a must for ensuring everyone stays safe. Older teenagers and adults have no excuse for irresponsible or dangerous behaviour because martial arts is a serious activity requiring concentration. There is no place for horseplay when practising techniques that can potentially cause great damage to another person, even when there is no intent to do so.

People will invariably base their opinion about something on what they have seen or heard most often. If the only aspect of karate they have ever been exposed to is a children's activity, then they think that is karate and all there is to it. The general public has no reason to consider anything else, unless of course they become interested in learning martial arts themselves. If I were to say that I am an archaeologist, how many people would imagine that I spend my time running around in far away lands looking for golden relics and lost arks like Indiana Jones? There's no reason to be bothered by people who are only improperly informed on something they have nothing to say about.

Maybe it is somewhat extreme, but there are some people who choose their shoes and other clothing based on how well one can move in them and how little they might restrict movements. These people avoid wearing anything that might slow them down in case a situation required them to react to any kind of sudden hazard. Of course women enjoy a bit of fashion and some social occasions require it. When going out to a party or other such social function, having to run for safety is not the first thing that comes to mind.

It makes much more sense to teach both instead of waiting until a random arbitrary level. Learning the sequence and choreography of numerous kata without any idea of how the techniques work is like learning a dance. If one knows exactly what each move is meant to be, it gives the necessary understanding required to correctly learn how to use the techniques. That is the first step in developing skill with it. Otherwise one remains stuck at the outer form with a lifeless shell and a meaningless pantomime. Kata is dead. It must be brought to life and bunkai is the process by which it is brought to life.

The situation is much akin to an unemployed dropout telling an honour student that studying and going to school is for nerds. What is the merit in listening to people who are not in the least informed enough, let alone qualified to discuss karate? Karate is not any more or less of a children's thing than hockey or baseball or cricket. People who have this concept of karate or martial arts in general have only the most superficial familiarity with the subject and their shallow opinion is only a reflection of the flawed image propagated by popular culture and the entertainment media. They just repeat what they heard or interpret what they saw in a strip-mall dojo when they happened to walk by during the little dragons class. This is just one of many arguments for keeping karate a personal secret.

The essential point that must be considered above all else is that the skills one does or does not develop are entirely dependent on how one trains as well as the focus and purpose of one's training. Everything else is mere detail. To be able to defend against a violent physical attack, one must train for that purpose. It is very different than training to win a sporting match. There may be some overlapping, but the training and practise must fit the goal. Mentality is the main difference and is more important than physical techniques. One simply cannot expect to become a tiger if one trains like a sheep.

Heels are a strange bit of fashion and besides supposedly enhancing the appeal of how women walk, they are not of much practical use. They impair walking and make running very dangerous with the awkward position in which the shoes force the entire leg and put heavy stress on the ankle. Especially the tendons of the heals. Wearing heels habitually for long periods can cause stress injuries in that area. High heels are for looking good, but probably the last pair of shoes a woman would want to be wearing if she had to go any faster than a brisk walk. Never mind trying to run away from something or someone. The first sensible thing to do with heels is to remove them. They are more useful off than on.

Identifying techniques and decoding kata can be very confusing without the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor. Teaching kata without anything more than a general explanation is unfortunately the norm in the majority of dojo. A few go as somewhat more in depth with interpretations, but in these cases what is shown is at best one of many application possibilities and at worst the result of misinformed guesses. Often there is also a certain tendency to look for specific applications instead of trying to find the principles and main idea that make the techniques work. If one learns principles instead of individual applications, the possibilities are endless. For the sake of training, though it is best to start with the simplest techniques first and move on to more variations after having grasped the common principle. To become truly effective and usable, applications must be drilled individually and independently instead of a sequence with a prescribed order as in the kata. Doing this allows one to develop the ability to extract and use the techniques contained in kata. A recommendable book on the subject is "the way of Kata" by Lawrence Kane. It is focussed on Goju ryu, but the information it has on how to understand and analyze kata content is excellent and works for all karate or other form-based systems.