AnonymousOne

http://www.okinawaprogram.com/index.html

I was taught a Kata by a distant relative of mine when I was in Okinawa. (I have Okinawan blood from 4 generations ago mixed with Irish and Scottish weird combination I know) called Arasu Yosai which means to "Lay waste or to devastate a fortress" Studying the Kata one can see a clear meaning. There are just some forms that baffle me as the how the names relate.

In my country you only have to worry about knives and such like. Having a gun here is near impossible. Even the Police dont carry them (accept for a special few). I agree defense against a gun is not good odds nor is some weapons that can be thrown from a distance, but I wasnt talking about weapons at all, never mentioned that. I was assuming a one on one weaponless fight. I have been involved in training our Special Army Forces (SAS) here in support of my Sensei 9th Dan. Hand to hand and self defence against weapons is part of what we teach them. Their needs in training is critical and they dont play games when they attack! I have had many of them start playing games when we use wooden knives for safety reasons . So the only solution is to put them in their place by bringing out a real knive and ask them to attack you with full force. Then you reverse the role by attacking them with a real knife. They soon get serious. I am very confident in my skills at dealing with weapons but as for a gun, never blocked a bullet myself hehe. The only solution is to get close and get them off guard. If they fire the gun from a distance you have no chance.

One needs to study history a little bit. Shotokan has not remained the same at all. There have been many changes and what Funakoshi taught in 1921 is vastly different from what is practised today. The Kata have changed, the stances have changed, Kumite has changed. In fact in 1948 things had got so out of hand after the war that Funakoshi got all his top instructors together to address the problem. I have trained under Kanazawa (in a seminar)and the way he teaches the Kata is different from other Shotokan teachers. Only slight differences, but differences do exist. One needs to thoroughly read all of Funakoshi's books to gain greater insight into the evolution of Shotokan. But lets get back to the issue. Lets just take one example: The Kata Jiin. Jiin means temple. Now does the word temple reflect what the Kata is teaching? What possible meaning has temple to do with this rather nice Kata? If you are not farmiliar with this Kata, down load it from here on video and tell me where you see the connection with 'temple'? http://ctr.usf.edu/shotokan/kata.html

Theres no such thing as a natutal fighter, they are either trained or untrained. But I am talking about a good traditional Japanese school trained Karate-Ka. Of course I know there are alot of very poor schools that produce very poor students and this is regrettable. They poor schools give the public a false idea of real Karate Some people may be aggressive etc but that doesnt make them a good fighter. Training and intense training is the only key to developing skills. Look at top class boxers training programmes, they are intense. No one can win without intense training. Look at the Special Forces in the Armies of the world, they must be intensely trained. No one has a natural ability to run a marathon in 2 hours and 5 minutes or so, it takes intense training. I would place my money on a trained man anyday. When I was in Japan for a year in 1982 I met tiny little guys that were but 5 feet tall that were nothing but outright lethal. My own teacher who is now 9th Dan is a scrawny little dude and very slim and I would hate to see what happened to any 'natural' fighter that would be stupid enough to attack him. It is well known, when you study it, that Bruce Lee was pretty average at martial arts in his formitive days, but when he started his intense training and study he developed himself in an incredible way. The human body can only move at certain speeds and exert certain forces of destructive power but with intense training they can eventually punch at 65 feet per second and exert tremendous destructive power as well as develop super fast eye body co-ordination, timing, balance and endurance, all the key factors needed for competant skills. Over all these years I have seen many many guys come to the Dojo who claim to be great fighters only to be humiliated by guys/gals who are far smaller and less aggressive. They never stay long. I think woman are an excellent example of what training will do. They are naturally less aggressive and not a strong as men but with training they become very competant. I have met some pretty tough dudes in my time. Big, mean, aggresive and not one would I place my money on against a trained person. But as I said, it does depend on the extent of training and the way one is trained. Our school is pretty brutal in its training and other schools like Gojuryu and Shotokan (the ones down here anyway) really train you hard. But some people cant hack this and go off to schools that arent really bonefide who train under teachers who tickle their ears rather than train them in the way that is needed. Its these students that get flattened in a street fight and conclude the martial arts dont work. This is cause for severe regret. [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-02-18 11:59 ]

A very wise and succesful man once said "Success is determined by your ability to endure and overcome pain" If you have strong goals, doing the tedious and boring tasks become easier. Often in my personal training I includes things I dont enjoy at all. But I know its the things that I dont enjoy that are the stepping stones that lead me up the mountain. In fact, the harder and more gruelling the training the more I like it, but not necessarily at the time. It really depends on what your goals are and we are all free to set our own goals. And thats how it should be.

Move faster Grasshopper - Kwai Chang Cain's blind Master LOL Woops - I wonder of some of you are old enough to remember that? [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-02-18 01:10 ]

Does that mean you feel Funakoshi was not respectful when he changed them? The Kata have changed again and again. Funakoshi said the Kata he taught was vastly different to the Kata he learnt we he was a boy because of the changes made. We also know that great Masters from Sakugawa, Matsumura, Gusukuma, Azato, Itosu, Higaonna and many others changed and adapted the Kata. The Kata has evolved and evolved again. The original forms are really not known. We dont even know, and Karate Masters today also admit this, that the Kata have changed so much that the original intent of the creator's of Kata may well have been lost. Not in all cases but in many cases. So what we practise today is a far cry from what it was. Whether this is good or bad one can only speculate. That being the case, today we practise and evolved form and I ask does the names really reflect the original intention? Also the salutation at the beginning of many Kata, the meanings of these have been totally lost. No ones knows what these mean, if anything. They are done purely out of tradition. Maybe they had some meaning in the past but today we know the meanings have not been past down. This is written about by many Japanese and Okinawan Masters. When I was in Japan for a year (in 1982) I often was able to discuss these issues with Kancho Sensei Sasaki 10th Dan and often I didnt get answers but possible speculations and they were not able to give firm answers because no body knows. Heres a little info: http://www.americanblackbeltacademy.com/ref-room/kataformsofkarate.htm [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-02-18 01:13 ]

I guess people asked me because they got to know me alittle and were aware of the years I have been training, my trips to Japan and my Dan Grade and experience in teaching, dispite this I take it as a high compliment. No I dont know everything and I know everybody is different in their needs, goals and desires. I can only recommend what has worked for me and what I feel has worked for others who I have taught back in the days when I was teaching. These days I only teach my son who is now Nidan (2nd Dan). One on one training cannot be beaten and I agree one must experiment for yourself. I developed my programme based on 28 years of trial and error and I would not expect anyone to train the way I do. Nor would I expect anyone to train exactly the way the Japanese do in the Dojo I studied at in Nippori, Tokyo. They are almost crazy and most western people wouldnt like that kind of brutality. Getting kicked, slapped, and dropped to the floor for making mistakes is something that western people would not take. There are numerous factors involved in developing a tailored programme and I recommend that you talk to your own teachers first. An internet Sensei is not really ideal because the first thing in the development of a good programme is being able to measure exactly where one is at. Thats almost impossible on the net. Only advice can be given based on verbal information and sadly this is not accurate enough. My son has a very uniquely developed programme we worked out based on his desires and goals. He only trains about 8 hours a week and its pretty intense. His programme is different to mine because his goals are different and his body is different.

In 28 years never, not overtly that I have ever noticed

The whole body. Getting hit is humiliating. Train so that no one can touch you! Impossible? Naaa takes years of intense training Think about the vast difference in skill between a good 1st Dan to a beginner and then the vast difference between a 5th Dan and an untrained person. An untrained person cannot get near a 5th Dan [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-02-18 00:21 ]

Yes I have that on video

Depends how you Jerk LOL

Thats an intelligent deduction I worked on the Kata Chinte about 20 years ago. Nice Kata

I totally disagree, he has had a tremendous impact on the Martial Arts, he was constantly challenged on his skill in the streets and off the movie set, I guess Bob Wall, Joe lewis, Steve McQueen, Chuck Norris,James Coburn, ad infinitum, made up their thoughts and feelings towards this ICON.. I seriously doubt your credibility in regards to anything "Martial Arts" If you wanna worship Bruce Lee thats fine but you are basing your evidence on heresay and other peoples opinions. There was never any actual measuring devise to determine Bruce Lees skill or lack of skill. Was his technique ever measured for how many feet per second he could punch? Was it ever measured how many lbs of destructive force he could do? Was it ever measured how quick his eye/body reaction time was? A living person is easy to measure and a dead man is easy to make a martyr of. It would be so easy for me to say Azato, Itosu, or Aragaki were far superior but how could I prove it? They are all dead!! Base reality on evidence at hand. Bruce Lee was not a God and I have no doubt that there are many other's that have surpassed him, from ancient times and now. How can one measure this? It cant be done. But never the less, build your alter if it makes you feel good

Gojuryu is a great style. Although I am basically Shotokan, I have attended several Gojuryu training camps and seminars and enjoyed them immensely. I have several friends who are Gojuryu teachers. I have learnt all the Kata and practise from time to time for a change

I agree Funakoshi had a huge influence. He basically bought Karate to the whole world

Bruce Lee only had a small effect. Man kinds need for self preservation existed long before Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee's skill was never actually tested apart from some loyal followers and movies. Bruce Lee has become a legend more because of his death than anything, there is nothing to measure his skill or lack of therein

Only a fool could be beaten by a 5 yr old.

Develop your skills so that you are so fast you never get hit. A good martial artist would never get hit by a street fighter they are too fast

Never did me any harm, but then again I dont place a huge emphasis on stretching. I mean to the point where you can do a front kick and hit yourself in the butt. hehe I never kick above the stomach although I can easy kick to the head. When I was young I liked all that 'showy' high kicks. Not into that now. Prefer to work with more practical tools.

Its not the card and chockies he was missing I dont think LOL

I have seen the site and all the video's. Its ok.

Its better to concentrate on your hip and legs muscles.

You sure? LOL http://ourname.50megs.com/ [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-02-14 00:01 ]