Zanshin

First of all, well done with the grading. I take it that "Shikon" is the association that your Sensei has moved to, (and not the one you were previously with). I have not trained with Steve Rowe, but one guy that trains at our Dojo did a stint with Shikon in the past, and he speaks highly of them and of Steve Rowe. I understand they are Wado based but, I think you are correct that, they are not connected to any of the main international Wado groups. They are like a number of Karate associations in the UK that base their "curriculum" on Wado and that’s not a bad thing I suppose. As long as they teach you that Wado is all about how to move; you will be on the right road.

It's a tough call, although my inclination would be to go with the association rather than instructor. I notice you are a wado-ka from London. All of the three Major Wado Groups are represented in London, WIKF, Wado-Ryu Renmei and JKF Wado-Kai. I would do my homework on the association your instructor is migrating to and see if they are part of one of these groups. (I think that when you refer to UKGB, you mean EKGB which is actually defunct now, but regardless of this they were the Karate Governing body and had very little to do with the running of any associations. If the association you are with at the moment has better credentials, and would serve you better as a student in the long term, I would stick with them. It’s a hard one though. Let us know how you get on.

This may be of interest. Tobin Threadgill is an exponent of Shindo Yoshin Ryu Ju-Jitsu. This footage was taken at a Wado Ryu Karate Demo in the US: As a Wado-Ka I love to see the association between Karate and Sword work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Ma0Aefggo Another Good vid I found was this one. I dont know a lot about Okawa Ryu but looks impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0z77DzmzyE&mode=related&search= As far as locating a suitable school, you could start by contact your national Kendo association. In the UK its the BKA

I am not surprised. "Tai-Sabaki" as a principle, is inherent in most styles of combative martial arts. It may be applied to achieve different objectives, but at some stage all fighters will almost certainly use it.

I don’t think that makes you impatient, just keen to learn, and that can't be a bad thing. Bear in mind that the study of your chosen art form is a lifelong thing, sometimes with no immediate or absolute answers. Also many things within martial arts can not be taught as much as "experienced" through on going study and practice. You can be shown how to do something but it can take many years of practice, to make the technique work for you and you can always do it better the next time.

Can you expand on this? Interested in your view.

No problem at all. The only reason i knew those ones existed is because i was involved in both. If you read anything from them and want to comment on it, or further question something this might be the place to do it. I have one question. Does anyone know the reason why the Maxim of "Karate ni Sente Nashi" was adopted in the first place, as it is quite clear to me (and most of the forum members it would appear), that the pre-emptive strike is (and always has been) the preferred option? One account I have heard is that as Karate grew in popularity in Japan, street fighting competitions got a bit out of hand and ultimately started to give Karate a bad rep. In an attempt to stop the negative press, the Karate authorities came up with "Karate ni Sente Nashi" and “professed” that it was the code that all true Karate-ka should live by. Has anyone else heard of this?

Thanks Cross, You are right. It has been covered in great detail, and there are some excellent posts there. Sorry if I have brought out the cracked record....again!!. I promise to check more thoroughly next time

What is your honest view? We all know the doctrine of "there is no first attack in karate", but is this true? Naturally, I know we are all nice people and that we don’t go around starting fights, but how important would the doctrine be to you, if you found your self in a true fight to survive scenario. Is it best to adopt the defence and counter approach, or do you take the initiative and strike first. The latter of course being very Budo in its origins.

Spot on in my opinion. I practice kata primarily to learn good form, and I practice Kumite (ippon, ohyo, kihon, jiyu etc.) in order to learn how to apply the techniques. In this way Kata and Kumite compliment each other. I appreciate that ultimately, all kumite techniques have been extrapolated from kata, however, I think that using kata as a way to try to interpret individual combat scenarios is wrong. To me, kata has a greater value in terms of applying the principles of movement; the key fundamental required to be a good fighter.

For me, the situation is clear. I think if, after trying your best with disruptive students, he / she won't change their ways, you are well within your rights to ask them to leave the club. Remember, as a teacher you have an obligation to your other students to deliver the best possible instruction to them. I am fortunate that I do not "eat from karate" as it were, but I have to say that in the few cases that that I have come across this problem, the student in question has left of their own volition. Personally, I wouldn't mess around. I would just show the student in question the door!

This could really be a topic all by itself. The traditional Japanese way of applying themselves to learning a discipline or art form seems to be very much based on "doing, without thought or question".It’s the "purposeless art" thing I suppose. A concept that our culture in the west simply doesn't embrace. Personally I try to apply this principle to certain activities within the Dojo IE kihon, as I feel that the relaxed and empty state of mind helps foster better ingrained techniques in the long-term. Sometimes too much thinking and questioning can paralyse your Karate and rather than advancing it, sends it backward. That said however, I think it is always healthy to experiment a little with what you are learning, otherwise you are not growing as a karate-ka and finding the best way for you. Each to their own ability! Definitely gone way off topic now!

Since you are Wado ryu, I highly recommend Iain Abernethy's site, as he's a Wado practitioner also. Hi Guys, Just to clarify a point about Wado Kata and "Bunkai". It is not disregarded but generally, it is taught slightly differently. The process in a traditional Dojo is broken down into three stages:- Kaisetsu = Application Where individual techniques are broken out of the Kata and performed against an opponent, but still in the correct "basic" manner. Kaishaku = Interpretation Where the moves are less formal, more relaxed and "realistic" according to the scenario in question. Bunkai = Analysis Where the Karate-ka can be "creative" and inventive, and ultimately make the techniques in the Kata more applicable to combat. Generally speaking however, it is my understanding, that in the three major Wado Groups (of which I don't know which one Mr Abernethy belongs to), "Bunkai" in the "Okinawan" sense, is not prescriptively taught. In Wado I think its more about how you apply the core elements of the Wado style, which, being based in "Yoshin Ryu" are about efficiency of movement and using this to your advantage. Wado Karate-ka and Okinawan Karate-ka are never going to agree with one and other on the subject of Bunkai, but there is a common ground there really. All Karate styles have a slightly different way of operating to one and another, and as Karate-ka we should respect that.

Can you explain this further? I've been thinking about this term lately and wondering about the origin of it. I think it's due to the abstract use of the term. If you asked an English speaking person (who didn't do Karate) "what does knife hand mean", they would probably look at you blankly! Where as in karate circles we know what the term refers to. Its probably more of a colloquialism than a direct translation.

Many words / expressions that we take as granted as being "Japanese" (because we do Karate); do not actually make a lot of sense to a non karate practicing Japanese person. Take the word "Shuto" for example; often described as "knife hand", most Japanese people would not understand what you were talking about, because it has been taken out of context. To an extent this is the same with the word "Osu". But also, I think that some styles / clubs place greater emphasis on its use than others. Doesn't really bother me one way or another. I think that if your Sensei is ok with you using it then fine. Just be aware maybe that if you train outside of your club / style that it may not be received in the same way.

Hi P.A.L, Thanks, that was really interesting to watch. I am a Wado person and a lot of our Karate is descended from Shorin-Ryu. I think you can see the similarities, certainly with the more upright stances and fluidity of movement. It’s a bit of a shame the camera lens seemed to fog over towards the end of the Kata. Or was that just my eyesight

Indeed, don't get me wrong you must be able to apply what you learn from kata and it must have purpose, it's just how you interpret it! Whether it is specific techniques, or educating your body to move correctly. Both have a purpose - to survive in a fight. Same end, different means perhaps?

At most of the Wado Ryu dojos that I have trained at, Bunkai has not been at the top of the agenda as far as Kata is concerned. In fact in many cases it has almost deliberately been avoided. For years I wondered why this was, but didn’t really question it, as just learning the Kata was hard enough for me The penny started to drop one day however, when my Sensei explained that we practiced Kata for "good form" - correct movement, stability, balance, timing, co-ordination, awareness etc. Personally I think if there are secrets in Kata they are the core principles of Karate, rather than individual techniques and how to apply them to specific individual scenarios.

Although thinking about it, dropping is more specifically "Tai-Otoshi" Both create inertia however.

Tai-sabaki is also used to generate additional power, by adding further inertia into the technique, such as dropping or falling into a move for example.

Although I think we are all talking about the same thing, strictly speaking "Tai-Sabiki" means "body shift" or, in the case being described, to move your "chu-sen" (the centre line of your body) away from your opponent’s attack. It’s not quite the same as a hip twist or a dodge to avoid an attack as it does not have the same "intent". Whilst it can be used as a movement away from an attack it should be more accurately used as a simultaneous "take" and "receive" movement (sen-no-sen). IE. Attacker moves forward to hit you in face, at same time, you also move your body weight into an attack but equally, take your body out of the opponents line of attack. The combined affect is landing a technique with good timing with your weight behind it (and your opponents). This is a classic Budo principle of using an opponents force against them Easy to talk about but in reality very difficult to do.

So how did you refer to him/her, in the context of MA?

I think that if you teach at a university, that would be the assumption, but I think that definitions 3 and 4 at dictionary.com (though not most common) show that the term does not necessitate the degree. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=professor Granted, strictly speaking you need no formal qualification to be referred to as a "professor", however the title is one that most people would associate with "academia" and not the "martial arts".Is it therefore OK to give this impression? Z

Thats my point. How many of these "Professors" have a genuine university Phd, which is what the title infers. Z

Hi, Why is it that many senior grade martial artists refer to them selves as "Professor"? Although not limited to the US it seems that this practice is more common in America. I guess it is in an attempt to distinguish between ordinary Sensei (teacher) grade and senior or head teacher, but there are Japanese titles for this - IE "Hanshi". Z