Spartacus Maximus

Simple translation from Japanese: chudan=mid level. This height is the level of one's own solar plexus. Soto=outer or outside. This means your arm starts from your centre and finishes to the outside. Contact is made with the side your thumb is on. Uchi=inside or inner. This means your arm makes contact with the little finger side. The arm travelling towards the inside, slightly angled with the fist stopping at the height of the opposite shoulder. Source of information is my Okinawan teacher who was taught by Chibana's senior student and successor.

That is quite an entertaining story. If a perfect stranger showed up at my newly opened business or dojo claiming I needed permission from his boss or sensei to be at that location, I would probably laugh him out the door. This sounds an awful lot like a scene from a gangster movie where the Mob boss sends goons to the new business in town to get a cut or extort profit. Unless there is some kind of city by-law there's nothing stopping anyone from opening a dojo right next door teaching the same style. Same goes for regular businesses and it happens all the time. If there is some sort of by-law in effect, it is safe to assume a letter or visit from city hall instead of some random bloke off the street showing up. The sheer number of weirdos in martial arts never ceases to amaze me.

The fact that the individual seems mainly concerned with earning rank to "pad his resume" or add to his "game" would not make him an ideal student. Karate is not a game! Learning karate is a serious endeavour that requires dedicated practise and sustained efforts over years of training. Unless this MMA type is ready to set aside and forget his "background" , it is highly unlikely that he has the patience or mental fortitude needed to progress beyond just picking up a few techniques and leaving to move on to whatever his next "stripe" might be.

What JR has said is one of the single most defining part of modern culture. People in general crave instant gratification and quick results with little effort other than just "showing up". Everything must be quick, easy and cheap. This attitude is so common that it makes people forget the value of dedicated hard work and patience. When people don't get instant results, they give up and move to the next hot item. They see experts doing something and foolishly believe that they can do the same because it looks easy. They forget that it looks easy because the person is an expert who has trained often decades through pain, frustration and countless failures before being able to do what they do. Karate is NOT easy and it cannot be mastered in just a few short years twice a week. It is hard, it is boring and repetitive and painful. Progress is sometimes so subtle as to be practically unnoticeable to the one training.

Motivational tools? I met several sensei in Okinawa who used a shinai for a motivational tool. Motivation should first come from within one's mind. If it is not there in the first place or strong enough, no manner of tool or outside force will be effective in bringing it forth.

Martial arts schools having parties or events are often an idea associated with the larger modern day dojo. However, it is far from a new concept. In the smaller traditional schools with fewer students it is commonplace for students to have certain celebrations or social events. The dojo where I train has had parties for the Year End, New Year and birthdays. There are only two or three children/youths the rest are all adults. What makes these events enjoyable and worthwhile is that they are always done after everyone is done the day's training, which always seems harder than usual on that particular day.

Everyone who has been practising karate for a few years will probably come to a point where there is a gap between what they know and what they can do. After training and practising for 3 years I find that I am less and less sure of any progress I may have made. My techniques feel weak as if devoid of any power and seem clumsier and more awkward than when I started. Although I understand the instructions, descriptions and explanations of my instructor, I just cannot do anything in the way he says. Assuming I am not the first or the last to be frustrated in this way, what would be the most sensible solution. How does one know when one is doing something correctly when the instructor is not there to comment? From an instructor's point of view, what advice would help a student in this stage of training?

My instructor also cares more about making the most of any time one has to practise. Nobody is ever asked any reason for being late, but everyone is expected to follow the protocol and get started as soon as that is done.

Back when I started karate two kinds of gloves were used. One was a dipped foam type that covered the whole fist with a sleeve for the thumb and a strap for the fingers. This is the basic type available almost everywhere. The other type we used was a thinner glove that resembles a mountain bike glove or weight lifting glove with extra padding on the fingers and knuckles. Now I use only bare hands. Everyone is expected to condition their hands to at least withstand the impact of hitting something and to learn to make a proper tight fist to avoid injuries.

Explaining how to do a technique, how to use it and how it works always sounds easier than actually doing it. When my instructor explains things to me I understand what he is telling me but when it comes to doing what he says, I find that I get less and less certain of whether or not I am doing it correctly. I do seem to get some techniques right some of the time because he will comment on them, but I cannot do it consistently or consciously. Being unsure of my technical skill level is the biggest problem I have with the idea of teaching anybody anything. I am not exceptionally good at explaining or teaching but I like to help however possible.

There is not nor has there ever been any sort of explicit or implicit rule that prevents martial arts schools to organize social events. Socializing is part of any group activity and there is nothing really wrong with holding these non-training events as long as they do not interfere with the main activity, which in this case happens to be the practise of martial arts. Birthday parties, barbecues, haunted dojo's, whatever. If everyone trains seriously and with honest effort when it is time to do so, whatever happens afterwards may as well be fun. Traditional or not, most schools have a student body made up of children and youth. A majority make more than 80% of their income from these students. It only makes sense to appeal to these ages groups.

Perhaps the key to knowing and keeping one's role is knowing when it is one's turn to listen. People who know when to listen, usually are most aware of what role they must take and what role they are expected to have in interactions with others. A fathers must listen when his child comes to him for advice, just as it is the child's turn to listen when the father speaks with the voice of experience. If either fails to, or refuses to listen; eventually at some point there will be somebody to remind the person of their role. Depending on whom is doing the reminding, it may or may not be very gentle.

Buddhism is a lot more common outside of Asia than it was only a few years ago. When I was a student, only large cities had some kind of place or resources for people to learn about and practise it. Only the largest and most common currents had any kind of presence. The tibetan school, Zen/Chan and maybe one or two more were on or near campus. Now there are all sorts, but one should be careful and thoroughly research before getting involved. There are many sects and branches that are not recognized and exist only to take advantage of naive people and the weak-minded searching for alternative spiritual endeavours. True Buddhism is not restrictive of dogmatic. It can be philosophical or spiritual. Sometimes it is both at the same time. All that matters is that one reaches an enlightened state of mind where selflessness prevails over selfish unnecessary wants for the betterment of oneself and the lives connected to oneself. All Buddhist thought stems from this fundamental principle.

Shito-ryu was, as you might know, developed by an Okinawan called Mabuni while he lived on mainland Japan. His teacher and fellow students where of the Shuri-te school as well as his contemporary, Funakoshi who is known from Shotokan. In other words, all styles, and there are dozens; originating from shuri-te would have many similarities with Shito-ryu. The most similar would probably be Shotokan and all the Shorin-ryu styles which are much older. The pinan kata as well as the Naihanchi series are all included in some form in all these styles. The techniques differ out the pattern and order remain exactly the same making these kata easily recognizable. Whatever the choice, it is best to trust and listen to ones teacher once one has chosen which style to practise.

It would probably be accurate to say that if the karate one has been learning does not include any kind of trapping, locking, throwing or take-downs then, either it has not been taught correctly or one is learning a system adapted to sporting competition. This is not a bad thing so long as one realizes that original karate was never intended for sport and there is a whole world of difference between sport matches and defending oneself in order to survive and escape violent encounters that may come unexpectedly.

Years of experience training under native Okinawan teachers who spoke only Japanese tell me that they cared far more about passing on karate correctly than how well their foreign students could pronounce japanese. They certainly are surprised, proud and thankful if one can but they rarely insist on it. Having learned to speak and read the language as personal but separate endeavour, I have come to the conclusion that it is both unfair and idealistic to expect people to pronounce the native terminolgy precisely and it would be somewhat pompous and futile to attempt to insist on correcting them. Then again I have been told that I have "gone native" more than once.

The size of the dojo and number of students can also determine how loyalty develops. The one I attend is very small with a total of less than 25 regular students. Weekend sessions are semi-private with five or less showing up and about three who are there each and every time. After training there are always some students who stay to have supper together and drink while discussing karate and anything else interesting. Very much a family-like atmosphere.

Loyalty and how it is expressed depends largely on the type of social relationship one has with one's instructor. It can be as superficial as a customer or as deep as a filial bond. It also depends somewhat on individual personalities of both student and instructor. Filial type loyalty were and are most common in the past. Even in the cradle of most martial arts, these types of relationships are rare. In any case loyalty and the expression of it is something that develops over time. A student who has been training under the same instructor for a decade will have a completely different social relationship than one who started 6 months ago.

There must be something an instructor sees in a student that said student does not or cannot see for the instructor to trust that student to teach. Perhaps it is a question of confidence, but at this point I do not trust my own judgement or evaluation of skills.

Unless one trains under a Japanese or Okinawan sensei, it matters very little if terminology is not correctly pronounced. What is important is for everyone to understand one another and most of alll being able to do the techniques. It is karate and not a language lesson. It is not very reasonable to expect people to correctly pronounce terms in a language they do not know. Learn and use the correct way for yourself but do not expect or attempt to change what others say. Not everyone is able, willing or even interested in changing anyway, especially if it is something they learned a certain way from their own teacher who probably was not a Japanese speaker themselves anyway.

Assisting and helping during practise was always a part of the dojo training. In Okinawan style dojos it is expected that each karateka help those at a lower skill level whenever asked by the instructor. However this is entirely different than the responsibility of teaching. To teach a system, one must have a solid understanding and grasp of all the fundamental principles and techniques as well as being able to demonstrate these. Self doubt about these skills tell me that I have not yet begun to really get it. At 1 kyu and nearing shodan there is no way I am qualified to teach anybody anything about karate. Maybe 5 Dan is good enough but will I "get it" at that level? How does one know when one is "doing it right?". Difficult to ponder indeed.

Training and practising are part of my daily habits. Summer is the longest season and it can get dangerously hot and humid. It regularly reaches up to 35 degrees in the shade. There is no need to reduce intensity if proper precautions are taken against overheating or heat stroke. Summer usually means drinking more water more often and eating salt rocks. It is also a good idea to avoid the hottest time of day whenever possible.

For anyone teaching, a couple questions: was the teaching role your own choice or initiative or were you asked or encouraged by your own sensei to teach? Was there a time when you doubted whether you were able, qualified or good enough to be teaching others? How did you deal with it and what dan or level were you at the time?

Probably not ever. Ever tried to explain or discuss martial arts with someone who is not interested? Or with someone who insists that popular depictions and misconceptions are accurate no matter how little sense these make?

Not particularly fond of the idea of wearing any martial arts clothing or martial arts themed apparel. Judging by the wide variety of items available from suppliers such as Century, the idea seems to appeal to some people. My interest in and practise of martial arts is not something which I care to advertise, flaunt or make obvious for all to see. I might wear part of a gi or something with the dojo logo, but only at specific times and never as regular clothing. Having said this, free range of motion and comfort are definitely how I choose my regular clothes. With obvious exceptions, I refuse to wear any clothes that might restrict my movement or get caught. I especially loathe tight collars, neckties and suits with jackets.