Hobbes

Heh, this is so true. My sensei always say... best defense.. no be there. strategy no.2 dig hole... introduce opponent to hole run

Sloppy isn't the meaning I was conveying her. Sub-maximal technique may result from consistant and long term 100 kick drills. Additionally, one has a hard time learning new tasks when tired. This isn't what I mean, but I will explain further down. I don't disagree with this, but I will guarantee that if I hooked you up in the lab and you did 20 maximal kicks, the next 20 are going to be much less powerful, and the next 20 and so on. This is just the way it is. Some students are lazy.. unfortunately this is so.. can't change that.. but if you encourage muscle memory by doing only long exhausting drills than this isn't balanced training. The statement of becoming a better MA and it means many different things to many people is an area which we can"Agree". I never suggested that you should remove the aerobic component in training. Quite the contrary. The aerobic system allows the anaerobic pathways to replenish their supply of adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine and to deal with lactate, which attaches to free nerve endings and disrupts the nervous transmission causing that wobbly feeling. I'm not going to bore anyone with the details, but karate is primarily explosive in nature with strategic periods of rest. There is also a significant delay before the aerobic system can start supplying the body with sufficient energy to maintain high levels of work. These systems are overlapped, they are not discreet systems. This is boring unless you are a true egghead like myself so the verdict here is, that we only have enough juice to do maximal work for 10 seconds on the very outside and that’s if you are a world class athlete and at the peak age. The rest of us have about 7(not exact) seconds before we MUST reduce the intensity of effort as the next energy system kicks in, then we have about 40~50 seconds. At that point the third system (aerobic) is beginning to kick into high gear, but it still hasn’t reached maximal output for another few moments. Ever wonder why when you start exercising you feel like crap for the first 10 minutes and then all of a sudden you feel fine? Refer to Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch ( a good reference often used in universities) Online reference: http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/energy.htm Decent graph and average times for the utilization of high energy molecules in the human system. What I'm suggesting here is that if we don't balance our training to mind these things, then we teach our students to practice a certain way. If you habitually do 20 minutes of steady and intensive drills, and the students know this, they aren't going to train themselves to deliver maximal techniques (85%maximal effort *diminished returns). They will drop the intensity so they can make to the end. We need to manage and plan our classes so you can get them to max out their techniques and then rest by doing stretching etc. I have to disagree with one statement however.. Karate is not a marathon, it is a sprint *context must be recognised however* if you haven't dispatched with your opponent within the first 120 seconds or if you are against multiple assailants you should be running for your life. Actually what I mean here is that an engagement from the point of threat to the point of conclusion can last quite a while and without a single blow from either side. I'm referring to 120 seconds of constant physical effort with no rest. Sorry folks its not like the movies. in reality engagements occur in spurts with a lot of rest in between. Its up to us a MA managers to use strategy and tactics to maximize our energy reserves and replenish them when we can. ie(1~2 second engagement with 4~7 seconds of relative submaximal work). Wrestlers know this very well. If they aren't aerobically conditioned, they can not go the distance.. kata is brilliant, its a ballet of explosive and calm. Next installment: diminished returns... increase effort->decrease performance

I've seen my share of dojo that buckle under a demand from a student to test... comments? I my self have been doing this 26 years and I have failed kyu tests despite the fact that my technique was ready, the rest of me wasn't. The never fail rule is... well insulting. The teacher can show you the door, but its the student who has to walk though it and do it with poise and grace. Tripping and falling though is not passing. I've seen other's tested and pass who "SHOULD" be shodan ... but their technical ability is not as strong as it could be, but they passed for *softer reasons... One can only hope that they will evenually rise to to challenge.

I agree with the last poster. If you think sticking the landing like a gymnast is a must then you could be in for serious injury. You have to use your body as a natural shock absorber extending your feet and legs down before landing and then decelerating your body until you reach the conclusion of your jump. If you're landing hard on your ball of your left foot I think you are landing with too much weight on that foot. In a jump such as yours, equal weight is not distributed on both feet. The majority is on the right foot (approximately 80%) as measured by force plates in a locomotion lab. This varies from persons to persons and style-to-style but this is a general reference for kosa dachi. Keep in mind that in Heian Godan, its often interpreted as a transitory stance to front stance. Another thing I’ve seen is that the left foot remains tucked as the right foot absorbs the impact of landing. When the body suddenly stops or slows significantly the left foot is often still somewhat tucked and above the landing surface. The momentum of the deceleration brings the ball of the left foot into forceful contact with the floor. If you hear two distinct sounds of the feet landing, this may be suspected. One of the best ways to see what you are doing is to video tape your jump.

Once had a situation where a guy backed into me at a bar.. He was upset that another guy was eyeing his GF. Turned to me and decided to take his frustrtions out on me. Why?? no idea, didn't meet the guy before then and I did nothing but get backed into. ( I was standing still ). Guess he though that I pushed him... dunno. He took a swing at me and all I could do was head butt his fist and hope that he wasn't wearing a ring. His second fist hit me on the jaw. Now he didn't even realize that the first blow had (as I found out later) broken every metacarpal in his right hand, so the second blow felt like getting smacked my a bean bag. Point is, he didn't realize his injury at the time,but I can assess from his look on his had that he had no idea why his punch was so ineffective. My buddy's girlfriend told me later that after he hit me on the jaw, I just turned around and sipped my beer like nothing happned. I recall it differntly, however. I recall turning taking a drink of my beer and looking for the exit to leave which is what I did. Heh, anyways, when people are mad, angry, drunk or high, they don't even realize they've been hurt. A hail of bullets can be as dangerous as a single well placed shot. If you assume you will hit and accept that fact then you may have a better chance to interupt the barrage. in order for an engine to run you need spark and fire. Take away his breath and his balance and you then have the advantage.

Here are a few comments on this topic. 1. Many people have a strong fear of being hit. 2. An observation of training practice (drills) leads to sub maximal delivery karate moves. 3. Definite lack of a strategic frame work from which to practice. Now this is a huge area of debate and I'm not covering much here, just a few thoughts regarding these three points. 1. (Many people have a strong fear of being hit.)When a person’s mind is preoccupied with "being hit" it disrupts the natural flow of things... Focus is divided and it reduces the chance of success. Its been my experience that this either results in the person fulfilling their worse case scenario of "being hit" or a technique that is weak and ineffectual. I always stress upon my students that being hit is an eventuality, and that one does not have to "like" being hit, but rather accepts that it "will" happen.. The best we can do is prepare our selves as best we can and deal with the situation as it unfolds. I have always believed that "chance favours the prepared mind". 2. (An observation of training practice (drills) leads to sub maximal delivery karate moves) In many a dojo, the number of techniques done in a row requires a student to "pace" themselves. This pacing results in sub maximal techiques. It frustrates me that I've had others say that I'm in poorer physical condition then themselves, since I am nearly exhausted after 20 kicks while they think that 100 gives better benefit. What is the objective of the training here... a). Aerobic conditioning??? b).explosive technique delivery. No marathoner would suggest that a 100meter sprinter has poor physical conditioning. Most instructors are amateurs who have been trained by amateurs... They are not exercise physiologist or certified coaches with knowledge of training methodologies and the physiological processes that govern energy production in the human body. next thing to point out is that few of us have exercised to our maximal ability. Pushing that boundary requires a level of effort, which many people can't or don't want to experience. (had a 16 year old lad decide that the drills were to hard so he walked out of class without a word... it was the wrong class for him anyways as he never cared to do more than necessary) 3. (Definite lack of a strategic frame work from which to practice)Most good fighters kind a just "GET IT". training strives to provide a structured framework to develop, analyze and correct training errors so that we can move forward (for those of us who don't quite "GET IT" naturally). A lot of energy goes into style Vs substance and what is overlooked is what drives technique. Context drives Strategy which drives tactics which shapes techniques. This in turn generates results. Hopefully for the better.. trying to use a technique out of context will most likely result in failure. There seems to be never exhaustive end to the possibilities and the decision to use "what ever" variant in "what ever" situation is only less correct if it failed to achieve the objective. Running for you life is a fine technique with an important objective but if the context was that you ran into the fire rather than away from it, then the technique of running is of little use. A potentially helpful suggestion is to train with the frame of mind that you are always attacking, even when blocking. We've all heard this before, but injuring an assailant with a block disrupts their focus and concentration. You have controlled where their mind has gone and you have an edge. In competition, when blocking a leg (for example), you can make the person think twice about kicking you again. Keep the mind in offensive mode, the block merely becomes sono aiita. Think of it like this.. A good footballer drives for the goal and his objective is to kick the ball into the net. Everything that happens to this end is between where he is at and his objective. He's not concerned about the individual techniques with regards to foot work, he just does it, without much conscience thought. He’s formulating strategy on the fly to get around apposing players, while still focused on the objective of taking a shot on goal. One's blocks should thus become so automatic that they become facilitators to a defensive attack. a footballer driving for the goal is constantly defending his position to gain a tactical advantage while all the while looking to attack. In many dojo, I’ve seen the blocking techniques practiced such that, everything is broken down step my step and it stays that way well into the upper ranks. While I don’t totally disagree with this, the discreet separation of one movement to the next seriously disrupts rhythm and flow. The timing between the techniques is artificial imposed by a “count” and can be counter productive. Finally, there is no such thing as a counter in my dojo. Only attacks. If a person grabs me and raises a fist, they have already warranted an all out defensive attack. I do not need to wait until they have struck me with their pudgy little fist.

some people start in a style and stay with it for life, others need to move around until they find a home. I've often said that styles of karate are like coolaid. Its 99% surgar and water, the flavor and the color is a matter of personal choice. May I suggest that you think about the context with which you would like to train. If fitness and and some basic self defense is what you are after than you can focus your efforts to find a dojo that does those things. If yoiu are looking for sport, then there are places that fit that bill. No one style is (by itself) better than another, but depending on the context of the training one may better suit your needs.

Now first of all, bunkai is limited only by imagination and experience. Official bunkai is simply bunkai, which is recognised by a particular body as standard and ought to be known, practiced and tested as a common denominator. It certainly is not the only bunkai. Some see it as seed bunkai while others rarely tread far from the officially sanctioned path.

Words like true and traditional really bother me since they rely on interpretation. They are soft words and mean many things to many people. Kata is important, but that importance can be very diverse. Kata is, unfortunately, rather ambiguous. There are more difficult kata and as skills increase, one can perform these kata with skill. Kata is all about context and depending on the practitioners life experiences, the context of the kata can change. Bunkai is, arguably is an expression of context, and the official bunkai is the accepted context that ought to be kept in mind when practicing kata (according the governing body connected to the style). A study in traditions of all kinds illustrates just how eager we are to apply meaning to things and this isn't restricted to only karate, but it can apply to any part of our lives, Christmas traditions included. My sensei taught me Juni no kata at 1st dan while the itosu-kai people I'm familar with teach it as a low kyu kata. My teacher learned juni no kata from the founder mubuni sensei, so it was important for him. His precieved value of the kata influenced when he decided to teach it.

well lets expand this a bit further. what is correct, short pants vs long pants, "traditional" pant ties vs elastic waist, cotton or polyester blend? Perhaps velcro will be traditional one day and some one will be in an argument about that vs electro static polymer mixing.

Well, like most things, the cris-cross issue is a little thing in a sea of little issues. Styles change, likes, dislikes change, new traditions are born, old ones die. Ok I'll take a step back... if a teacher in my organization cris-crosses, he likely goofed.. not realy fair to apply that unilaterally. Do what your school requires. I was at a seminar with Mabuni Sensei, and he had his belt cris-crossed in back. Next thing I knew many of the blackbelts were imitating him. Then I heard him comment one day about all these sloppy cris-crossed belts by his upper ranks. Its like a bloody disease... once it starts... there are all kinds of pet theories that keeps it going... Heh.. I think its a riot. So what's correct? a half windsor or a full windsor... the debate has been going on for decades.

I, as many of you here, have over 25 years practice. Frankly (no offence to frank), there has always been a "flashy" side to MA. The flash factor usually grabs the crowd and holds the greatest interest. A lot of writing has been done with regards to such phrases as: "back to basics", "old school" and words such as "Pure", "Traditional" etc... Lets face it, those who can will never be able to convince those "who think they can". Perhaps its a waste of energy trying. My wife has a M.Sc ,is an expert in biochemistry, and a RD (registered dietitian). She teaches graduate students at a top ranked university. When it comes to nutrition and diet, who wins? The guy in the "Natural Nutrition store" with a weekend course in basic pill pushing, or her? You guessed it, its not my wife. People have been lured for centuries by the quick fix. Its an interesting study in human psychology to say the least. So is "old school" really better? What are we talking about here? Has our knowledge about who the human body works increased in the last 20 years. You bet! have there been parallels in other sports, yup! So what is the heart of the matter? What I've seen over the last few years is that overall decrease in patience. People are wanting more, sooner, while doing less to get it. I can't blame them, but that only works with certain things. Getting a black belt isn't the same thing as being a black belt. Proficiency in something is a lot different than mastery, so if getting a black belt these days means I can do a double somersault, triple backflip spinning middle toe kick that will woooo the crowd, then many are very good black belts. If a persons objective is to get a BB as fast as possible, they may not master anything. My objective in my training is multi faceted. The end goal is to survive, ... period. Kill or be killed, but that's just me, however my emphasis has changed as I wind down the path. The social interaction of the club is a powerful motivator, the desire to pass on something to someone else is also a major factor. For me, I've realized that people train for all sorts of reasons and its up to me as a teacher to realize that this is a reality. These days I try to separate the style from the substance. Context drives tactics and strategy, which in turn drives technique. If someone kicks high with a flipper kick to score the point, then the context has dictated this. As a kid I would shoot tin cans with a pellet gun and slingshot. When it came time to pick up a rifle in a combat context, the skills transferred reasonably well. Most adults have not had the experience of being in a real life hand to hand combat situation, which I hope remains the case. I had a student who practiced for three years and was pretty good, but the only contextual experience she had was dance. This was the frame which which she understood everything we did, until the day her now ex-boyfriend beat her to within an inch of her life. She, being the fighter she is, experienced a drastic and radical change in her kata, and practice. The shift in context was remarkable. I saw determination, focus, fierceness, speed, power, patience, explosiveness go off the charts overnight. To her, karate became a therapy, and a shield. I would not wish this to happen to anyone, but she had confided in me that her practice gives her a greater sense of dimension. I could never have trained this experience into her and if I tried to push her too far (previous to this experience) I would have lost a good student. Now, she drives herself and has since become a police officer. With great power comes great responsibility. My Sensei always say: Don't use canon to hunt squirrel.

The "paint my numbers" approach to karate is unfortunate. Kata satisfies many needs of the past and of today. In the old days how did you record information? You either wrote it down or you had an oral tradition of story telling. I find people like the simple answer and when it comes to kata, they have a hard time accepting what kata does. They are too quick to dismiss kata as being useless. When kata is practiced well, it serves as an excellent foundation to everything else. Kata is a living record of karate or any other system. There is nothing hidden in karate kata as most would like to think, there is no deception or secrets. Kata trains the body and mind and suggests strategies and methods of attack and defense. The possibilities are endless. The reason that kata works so well is that techniques are transitory and its effectiveness lays in the transition, which may not be obvious. I can see how to someone who thinks of technigues as snapshots of kata can miss what's in-between. When we speak, have we not had the experience that what was said *literally, was not the actual meaning. It was how it was said, and the context that gave use the actual meaning. This is also true of karate. Practicing out of context causes so many problems. Practicing "by the numbers" takes the "ART" out of martial arts. Having said that, I don't mean to insinuate that one can do what ever they want. Biomechanics, context, strategy, tactics all influence technigue (amounst others). To focus only one one aspect limits you. What gets lost along the way is the intended context, so we subsitute our own so that we can continue practice. I've only touched the surface of the value of kata, but keep in mind that its a much more complex animal than it first appears.

Part of the martial arts experience is exploring what works for you. I do not know of one master that has not learned something from someone else from a different style or system. Its been my experience that the Sensei Kohai relationship is fine as long as the Kohai does not question sensei too much. One of the privileges of rank is the ability to ask the question "Why". Karate training has many facets, and one of the facets is political. With many teachers, they do not like to be challenged, and this is unfortunate. Tradition is a nice way of saying.. "its done like this because this is the way it was always done". Tradition used as an answer is inadequate at best. The trick to dealing with teachers is to bring your why questions to them in private so you don't cause them to look incompetent infront of their students. If they are unwilling to admit that they don't know, and pretend its some guarded secret, then this is a red flag. No teacher knows it all, and even the masters of old got it wrong from time to time. A good teacher, even a 8th dan will admit that they don't know anything, but will endevor to research the question and find out. After all, expert doesn't mean you know it all, but rather you know as much as the current body of knowledge and experiece allows. There is always room for improvement.

I've seen many students of late in a number of dojo that have demonstrated some bad habits such as not tying their belts, leaving their clothes (when they change) lying on the change room floor and tossing their shoes any which way at the entrance. I wish that this was only the children, but adults also do this. As far as the belt cris-cross issue, the obi should be straight all the way around the back. It has no practical reason other than it demonstrates neatness. As with all things, changing styles with changing attitudes have resulted in many students tying their obi in a cris-cross fashion with both ends uneven. If nothing else, this demonstrates a casual attitude, which may not be desirable. This falls into the same category as personal hygiene and freshly laundered uniforms. In the business world, a sloppily tied neck tie, tattered suit, body odor, scuffed and dirty shoes and or unshaven would not stir confidence in a business meeting. Taking some pride in your appearance demonstrates personal character and professionalism. Poorly tied obi screams... "I don't really care". If you see an 8 dan with a cris-cross, he has most likely goofed.. we are all human after all. The bottom line is, if your sensei says cross over, then follow him/her. For me, I will continue to tie my obi the way I always have. I have never been told once, in all my time in Japan that I was incorrect, but I have been commented on with regards to the fact that I was always neat and tidy and a good example.