Una mattinata amichevole in cui si sono potute approfondire le tematiche di Kihon, di Kumite e di Kata grazie alla collaborazione degli amici della sezione Kyudokan del Piemonte.

Come da buona tradizione Kyudokan il tutto si è concluso con un pranzo a base di un buon risotto ai funghi porcini con un ottimo secondo di quaglie opera della cuoca sig.ra Zorzi.

Okinawa merupakan pulau kecil dari sekelompok pulau yang membentuk Jepang modern. Okinawa merupakan pulau utama dari untaian Pulau Ryuku yang membentang dari Jepang ke Taiwan. Di kelilingi oleh koral, Okinawa memiliki luas kurang lebih 10 km dan panjang hanya 110 km, terletak 740 km di timur dataran China, 550 km di Selatan dataran utama Jepang dan 550 km di utara Taiwan. Okinawa menjadi jalur yang disinggahi mayoritas rute perdagangan, sebagai titik peristirahatan yang pertama kali ditemukan oleh orang Jepang. Kemudian Okinawa dikembangkan menjadi pusat perdagangan di Asia Tenggara, perdagangan dengan Jepang, China, Indo China, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo (Kalimantan), dan Filipina.

Pada tahap awal, bentuk asli seni bela diri karate mirip dengan pertarungan dengan tangan (tapak) yang dikembangkan di Okinawa dan disebut Te atau tangan. Larangan penggunaan senjata, membuat orang-orang Okinawa terdorong untuk menyempurnakan teknik tangan kosong yang dilatih secara diam-diam. Penyempurnaan lebih lanjut muncul dari pengaruh seni bela diri lain yang dibawa oleh para bangsawan dan pedagang ke pulau tersebut.

Pengembangan lebih lanjut dilakukan selama bertahun-tahun, terutama di tiga kota Okinawa, yaitu Shuri, Naha, dan Tomari. Masing-masing kota ini merupakan pusat dari kelas masyarakat yang berbeda, masing-masing merupakan pusat masyarakat raja dan bangsawan, pedangang, petani dan nelayan. Karena alasan ini, terdapat perbedaan bentuk seni pertahanan diri yang dikembangkan di masing-masing kota, yang kemudian dikenal dengan Shuri-te, Naha-te, dan Tomari-te. Secara kolektif mereka disebut Okinawa-te atau Tode, “Chinese Hand”. Secara perlahan karate terbagi menjadi dua kelompok utama, Shorin-ryu yang dikembangkan di Shuri dan Tomari, Shorei-ryu yang dikembangkan di Naha. Shorin-ryu menekankan pada kecepatan, linier, dengan pola pernafasan natural sementara Shorei-ryu menekankan pada kestabilan dan pernafasan yang disinkronisasi dengan masing-masing gerakan. Menariknya, konsep dari kedua gaya ini juga terdapat dalam bela diri kungfu.

Karakter huruf China yang digunakan untuk menulis Tode juga dapat dibaca sebagai “Kara”, jadi nama Te diganti dengan Karate-jutsu atau “Chinese Hand Art atau Seni Bela Diri Tangan dari China” oleh para master dari Okinawa. Kemudian diganti menjadi Karate-do oleh Gichin Funakoshi yang mengadopsi arti alternatif dari karakter huruf “Chinese” yaitu “Kara” yang berarti “kosong”. Mulai saat itu istilah karate diartikan sebagai “tangan kosong”. Do dalam kata karate-do berarti “cara” atau “pedoman” dan sebagai indikasi tata tertib dan filosofi dari karate yang dikonotasikan dengan moral dan spiritual.

Do menjadi konsep yang lazim, setidaknya sejak kelahiran pelajar dari Okinawa, Teijinsoku pada tahun 1663, seperti yang dia tulis di puisinya:

Tidak perduli seberapa hebat seni Te Anda
Dan ilmu pengetahuan Anda
Tidak ada yang lebih penting dari perilaku Anda
Dan perikemanusiaan Anda dalam kehidupan sehari-hari
(Nagamine, 1976)

Pertunjukan karate di muka umum pertama kali dilakukan oleh Gichin Funakoshi pada tahun 1917 di Butoku-den, Kyoto (Hassel, 1984). Demonstrasi ini dan demonstrasi berikutnya sangat berkesan bagi banyak orang Jepang, termasuk Putera Mahkota Hirohito, yang sangat antusias terhadap seni bela diri Okinawa ini. Pada tahun 1922, Dr. Jano Kano, pendiri seni bela diri Judo Jepang mengundang Funakoshi untuk mempertunjukkan karate di Dojo Kodokan yang terkenal dan dia meminta Funakoshi tetap tinggal di Jepang untuk mengajarkan karate.

Sekarang terdapat empat aliran utama dalam karate-do di Jepang, yaitu: Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Shotokan, dan Wado-ryu.

Goju-ryu dikembangkan dari Naha-te, popularitasnya terutama karena kesuksesan Kanryo Higaoma (1853-1915). Higaoma membuka dojo di Naha menggunakan delapan bentuk yang dibawanya dari China. Murid terbaiknya Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953) kemudian mendirikan Goju-ryu “metode keras lunak” pada tahun 1930. Di Goju-ryu penekanan ditujukan pada kombinasi antara teknik tangkisan lembut memutar dan serangan balasan yang cepat dan keras.

Shito-ryu didirikan oleh Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952) pada tahun 1928 dan dipengaruhi secara langsung oleh Naha-te dan Shuri-te. Nama Shito diambil dari kombinasi karakter tulisan Jepang dari nama guru Mabuni, yaitu Ankoh Itosu dan Kanryo Higaoma. Shito-ryu banyak menggunakan “kata”, sekitar 50%, dan berkarakteristik penekanan pada penggunaan kekuatan dalam pelaksanaan latihan.

Shotokan didirikan oleh Gichin Funakhosi (1868-1957) di Tokyo pada tahun 1938. Funakoshi dianggap sebagai pendiri karate modern. Lahir di Okinawa dia mulai belajar karate dari Yasutsune Azato, salah satu ahli bela diri terbesar di Okinawa. Pada tahun 1921 Funakoshi pertama kali memperkenalkan karate di Tokyo. Pada tahun 1936, pada umur hampir mendekat 70 tahun, dia membuka dojo, yang kemudian disebut Shotokan. Shotokan Karate berkarakteristik teknik linier yang bertenaga dan cara berdiri yang kokoh.

Wado-ryu “jalan harmoni” didirikan pada tahun 1939, merupakan sistem karate yang dikembang dari jujitsu dan karate oleh Hienori Otsuka. Dia mempelajari karate dari Gichin Funakoshi. Aliran karate ini mengkombinasikan teknik pergerakan dasar dari Jujitsu dengan teknik menghindar, menekankan pada kelembutan, harmoni, dan disiplin spiritual.

(Diterjemahkan dari www.kungfulibrary.com)

Sejarah Karate di Indonesia

Di tahun 1964, kembalilah ke tanah air salah seorang mahasiswa Indonesia yang telah menyelesaikan kuliahnya bernama Drs. Baud A.D. Adikusumo(Alm). Beliau adalah seorang karateka yang mendapatkan sabuk hitam dari M. Nakayama, JKA Shotokan. Ia mulai mengajarkan karate. Melihat banyaknya peminat yang ingin belajar karate, dia mendirikan PORKI (Persatuan Olahraga Karate-Do Indonesia) yang merupakan cikal bakal FORKI (Federasi Olahraga Karate-Do Indonesia). Sehingga beliau tercatat sebagai pelopor seni beladiri Karate di Indonesia.Dan beliau juga pendiri Indonesia Karate-DO (INKADO)

Setelah beliau, tercatat nama putra-putra bangsa Indonesia yang ikut berjasa mengembangkan berbagai aliran Karate di Indonesia, antara lain Bp. Sabeth Mukhsin dari aliran Shotokan, pendiri Institut Karate-Do Indonesia (INKAI) dan Federasi Karate Tradisional Indonesia (FKTI), dan juga dari aliran Shotokan adalah Anton Lesiangi (pendiri Lembaga Karate-Do Indonesia/LEMKARI, yang pada dekade 2005 karena urusan internal banyak anggota Lemkari yang keluar dan dipecat yang kemudian mendirikan INKANAS (Institut Karate-do Nasional) yang merupakan peleburan dari perguruan MKC (Medan Karate club). Kabarnya, perguruan ini sekarang menjadi besar dan maju, tidak kalah dengan LEMKARI.

Aliran Shotokan adalah yang paling populer di Indonesia. Selain Shotokan, Indonesia juga memiliki perguruan-perguruan dari aliran lain yaitu Wado dibawah asuhan Wado-ryu Karate-Do Indonesia (WADOKAI) yang didirikan oleh Bp. C.A. Taman dan Kushin-ryu Matsuzaki Karate-Do Indonesia (KKI) yang didirikan oleh Matsuzaki Horyu. Selain itu juga dikenal Bp. Setyo Haryono dan beberapa tokoh lainnya membawa aliran Goju-ryu, Bp. Nardi T. Nirwanto dengan beberapa tokoh lainnya membawa aliran Kyokushin. Aliran Shito-ryu juga tumbuh di Indonesia dibawah perguruan GABDIKA Shitoryu (dengan tokohnya Dr. Markus Basuki) dan SHINDOKA (dengan tokohnya Bp. Bert Lengkong). Selain aliran-aliran yang bersumber dari Jepang diatas, ada juga beberapa aliran Karate di Indonesia yang dikembangkan oleh putra-putra bangsa Indonesia sendiri, sehingga menjadi independen dan tidak terikat dengan aturan dari Hombu Dojo (Dojo Pusat) di negeri Jepang.

Pada tahun 1972, 25 perguruan Karate di Indonesia, baik yang berasal dari Jepang maupun yang dikembangkan di Indonesia sendiri (independen), setuju untuk bergabung dengan FORKI (Federasi Olahraga Karate-Do Indonesia), yang sekarang menjadi perwakilan WKF (World Karate Federation) untuk Indonesia. Dibawah bimbingan FORKI, para Karateka Indonesia dapat berlaga di forum Internasional terutama yang disponsori oleh WKF.

Falsafah Karate

1. Rakka (Bunga yang berguguran) Ia adalah konsep bela diri atau pertahanan di dalam karate. Ia bermaksud setiap teknik pertahanan itu perlu dilakukan dengan bertenaga dan mantap agar dengan menggunakan satu teknik pun sudah cukup untuk membela diri sehingga diumpamakan jika teknik itu dilakukan ke atas pokok, maka semua bunga dari pokok tersebut akan jatuh berguguran. Contohnya jika ada orang menyerang dengan menumbuk muka, si pengamal karate boleh menggunakan teknik menangkis atas. Sekiranya tangkisan atas itu cukup kuat dan mantap, ia boleh mematahkan tangan yang menumbuk itu. Dengan itu tidak perlu lagi membuat serangan susulan pun sudah cukup untuk membela diri.

2. Mizu No Kokoro (Minda itu seperti air) Konsep ini bermaksud bahwa untuk tujuan bela diri, minda (pikiran) perlulah dijaga dan dilatih agar selalu tenang. Apabila minda tenang, maka mudah untuk pengamal bela diri untuk mengelak atau menangkis serangan. Minda itu seumpama air di danau. Bila bulan mengambang, kita akan dapat melihat bayangan bulan dengan terang di danau yang tenang. Sekiranya dilontar batu kecil ke danautersebut, bayangan bulan di danauitu akan kabur.

Adapun ciri khas dan latar belakang dari berbagai aliran Karate yang termasuk dalam “4 besar JKF” adalah sebagai berikut:

1. Shotokan

Shoto adalah nama pena Gichin Funakoshi, Kan dapat diartikan sebagai gedung/bangunan - sehingga shotokan dapat diterjemahkan sebagai Perguruan Funakoshi. Gichin Funakoshi merupakan pelopor yang membawa ilmu karate dari Okinawa ke Jepang. Aliran Shotokan merupakan akumulasi dan standardisasi dari berbagai perguruan karate di Okinawa yang pernah dipelajari oleh Funakoshi. Berpegang pada konsep Ichigeki Hissatsu, yaitu satu gerakan dapat membunuh lawan. Shotokan menggunakan kuda-kuda yang rendah serta pukulan dan tangkisan yang keras. Gerakan Shotokan cenderung linear/frontal, sehingga praktisi Shotokan berani langsung beradu pukulan dan tangkisan dengan lawan.

2. Goju-ryu

Goju memiliki arti keras-lembut. Aliran ini memadukan teknik keras dan teknik lembut, dan merupakan salah satu perguruan karate tradisional di Okinawa yang memiliki sejarah yang panjang. Dengan meningkatnya popularitas Karate di Jepang (setelah masuknya Shotokan ke Jepang), aliran Goju ini dibawa ke Jepang oleh Chojun Miyagi. Miyagi memperbarui banyak teknik-teknik aliran ini menjadi aliran Goju-ryu yang sekarang, sehingga banyak orang yang menganggap Chojun Miyagi sebagai pendiri Goju-ryu. Berpegang pada konsep bahwa “dalam pertarungan yang sesungguhnya, kita harus bisa menerima dan membalas pukulan”. Sehinga Goju-ryu menekankan pada latihan SANCHIN atau pernapasan dasar, agar para praktisinya dapat memberikan pukulan yang dahsyat dan menerima pukulan dari lawan tanpa terluka. Goju-ryu menggunakan tangkisan yang bersifat circular serta senang melakukan pertarungan jarak rapat.

3. Shito-ryu

Aliran Shito-ryu terkenal dengan keahlian bermain KATA, terbukti dari banyaknya KATA yang diajarkan di aliran Shito-ryu, yaitu ada 30 sampai 40 KATA, lebih banyak dari aliran lain. Sebagai perbandingan, Shotokan memiliki 25, Wado memiliki 17, Goju memiliki 12 KATA. Dalam pertarungan, ahli Karate Shito-ryu dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan kondisi, mereka bisa bertarung seperti Shotokan secara frontal, maupun dengan jarak rapat seperti Goju.

4. Wado-ryu

Wado-ryu adalah aliran Karate yang unik karena berakar pada seni beladiri Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu, sebuah aliran beladiri Jepang yang memiliki teknik kuncian persendian dan lemparan. Sehingga Wado-ryu selain mengajarkan teknik Karate juga mengajarkan teknik kuncian persendian dan lemparan/bantingan Jujutsu. DIdalam pertarungan, ahli Wado-ryu menggunakan prinsip Jujutsu yaitu tidak mau mengadu tenaga secara frontal, lebih banyak menggunakan tangkisan yang bersifat mengalir (bukan tangkisan keras), dan terkadang menggunakan teknik Jujutsu seperti bantingan dan sapuan kaki untuk menjatuhkan lawan. Akan tetapi, dalam pertandingan FORKI dan JKF, para praktisi Wado-ryu juga mampu menyesuaikan diri dengan peraturan yang ada dan bertanding tanpa menggunakan jurus-jurus Jujutsu tersebut.

Sedangkan aliran Karate lain yang besar walaupun tidak termasuk dalam “4 besar JKF” antara lain adalah:

1. Kyokushin

tidak termasuk dalam 4 besar Japan Karatedo Federation. Akan tetapi, aliran ini sangat terkenal baik didalam maupun diluar Jepang, serta turut berjasa mempopulerkan Karate di seluruh dunia, terutama pada tahun 1970an. Aliran ini didirikan oleh Sosai Masutatsu Oyama. Nama Kyokushin mempunyai arti kebenaran tertinggi. Aliran ini menganut sistem Budo Karate, dimana praktisi-praktisinya dituntut untuk berani melakukan full-contact kumite, yakni tanpa pelindung, untuk mendalami arti yang sebenarnya dari seni bela diri karate serta melatih jiwa/semangat keprajuritan (budo). Aliran ini juga menerapkan hyakunin kumite (kumite 100 orang) sebagai ujian tertinggi, dimana karateka diuji melakukan 100 kumite berturut-turut tanpa kalah. Sosai Oyama sendiri telah melakukan kumite 300 orang. Adalah umum bagi praktisi aliran ini untuk melakukan 5-10 kumite berturut-turut.

2. Shorin-ryu

Aliran ini adalah aliran Karate yang asli berasal dari Okinawa. Didirikan oleh Shoshin Nagamine yang didasarkan pada ajaran Yasutsune Anko Itosu, seorang guru Karate abad ke 19 yang juga adalah guru dari Gichin Funakoshi, pendiri Shotokan Karate. Dapat dimaklumi bahwa gerakan Shorin-ryu banyak persamaannya dengan Shotokan. Perbedaan yang mencolok adalah bahwa Shorin-ryu juga mengajarkan bermacam-macam senjata, seperti Nunchaku, Kama dan Rokushaku Bo.

3. Uechi-ryu

Aliran ini adalah aliran Karate yang paling banyak menerima pengaruh dari beladiri China, karena pencipta aliran ini, Kanbun Uechi, belajar beladiri langsung di provinsi Fujian di China. Oleh karena itu, gerakan dari aliran Uechi-ryu Karate sangat mirip dengan Kungfu aliran Fujian, terutama aliran Baihequan (Bangau Putih).

Sumber : Wikipedia dan http://harunhdr.multiply.com/journal/item/113/Sejarah_Karate

In my personal experience, it’s never easy to get any of my teachers to talk about Kung Fu; staying taciturn appears to be a common trait.

In fact, in one of my old schools, there was a big sign on the wall that said “Talk less and train more”. Talking was reserved for after-training tea sessions.

Asking about histories, concepts etc was usually met with “when it’s time, you will be told” and this is especially true with my Fuzhou teachers.

Even with my Sihing, it’s only in recent years that I am able to sit down, have tea and just talk, unreservedly. I don’t know, it could be because we are the only 2 left from the old school or even the fact that I have known him for some 20 over years now.

When I first broached the topic of writing a book about Fuzhou Whooping Crane, he added that we must get our only surviving Sifu, Li Wen Shi, involved.

A high-hand in both MingChiang and Putien Minghequan, I remember Sifu Li to be a strict authoritarian who discouraged “small talks”. I will not be surprised if that  sign on the wall was put up by him. Approaching him with question was always filled with trepidations….

Cannot begin to count the number of times he slapped my shoulders/back/hip and yelled “shong” during drills and forms.

So it’s with no less trepidation that I visited him with my Sihing on a mission to collect more materials regarding the early days of White Crane in Singapore.

The session turned out to be easier that I thought, maybe everyone does mellow with time.

Or it could be that it’s time for me to be told ……..

And I will tell you in the book that we are writing.

No 20 years waiting required.

É já no próximo dia 1 de Novembro que se vai realizar mais um Torneio Associativo da Liga Portuguesa de Karate.

Tal como em anos anteriores, a organização, o nível técnico e a camaradagem estarão, concerteza, ao melhor nível.

O local da prova é no Pavilhão Muncipal de Oeiras (Alto da Barra) e incia-se às 9h.

Para mais informações consultar: http://lpkarate.com/

Mapa de localização do evento

KUMITÉ EQUIPA da selecção juvenil formada pelos atletas do BELA VISTA Vasco Sequeira, Tiago Lopes e Diogo Cardoso obteram 1ºLUGAR MEDALHA DE OURO

ANDRÉ ROCHA  2  SEGUNDOS LUGARES  na prova de kata e kumite 2 MEDALHAS DE PRATA

VASCO SEQUEIRA 2º LUGAR NA PROVA DE KUMITÉ MEDALHA DE PRATA

DIOGO CARDOSO 3º LUGAR NA PROVA DE KATA MEDALHA DE BRONZE

Estes exelentes resultados é culminar de um enorme trabalho realiuzado por estes jovens em deterimento de férias em que o esforso deu estes enormes resultados.Estamos todos orgulhosos PARABENS RAPAZES

Some dietitians swear by Glutamine powder for reducing cravings and also improving nutrient absorption. For this reason it is helpful with focus, concentration, memory, intellectual performance, alertness, attentiveness and thus we see the popularity of glutamine among athletes/bodybuilders who follow low carb diets

If you try tyrosine to get a lift during low energy feeling or fatigue, take 500-2000mg (you may start with the lowest dosage and if that doesn't help, increase a bit) first thing in the morning, mid-morning & mid-afternoon. Though it is not recommended with meals. It's a stimulating and energizing amino acid so it competes with what it in protein. If you find you have trouble sleeping, reduce the dosage or eliminate the mid-afternoon dose.

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Some research has supported the use of 5-HTP for treating depression, but the studies are based on small groups of people, limiting the conclusions. Still it has been reported as a great supplement helpful in emotional disturbances and can help you if you are facing emotional and mental problems compelling you to overeat sweets, starches etc.

FLAXSEED OIL- While technically classified as a fat, flaxseed oil is actually an anti-fat. In fact, it can be the exact antitheses to the much maligned saturated fat. While saturated fat contributes to obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke and other degenerative diseases, flaxseed oil prevents these conditions.

CLA and GLA - CLA (conjugated linolenic acid ) prevents your body from storing fat. People lost between 9-to-11 pounds in 6 weeks while taking GLA (Gamma-linolenic acid) during a study done by Dr Mri - a researcher and consultant at the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff.

FISH OIL - Recent studies on fish oil for weight loss, fat burning and depression have shown that people who get the most fish oil with DHA burn more fat, have less obesity, weigh less and have less depression while dieting than those who get the least amount of fish oil.

HayashiHa Karate

HayashiHa Karate

one more reason that several people are fascinated in Martial Arts training is for self defense. Women's self defense or law enforcement has specialized particular classes that deal strictly with as self defense. Many of martial arts schools also offer self defense as an element of their programs.

When choosing a martial arts schools, you want to figure out what type of method of martial arts you would like to focus on. A few of the styles are stand up, weapons based, low impact and combating. The stand up style focuses on kicking, punching and blocking. During one of these classes you would be taught foot work and stance positions. A weapons based course would focus more on the exercise of particular types of weapons. Low contact martial arts can also be called Meditative. This technique deals more with breathing techniques, energy, stress relief and work outs.

A several tips to discovering a martial arts school that is just right for you would be to first discover one that teaches the kind of martial arts training you are interested in. You can look in the phone book or inquire friends. Then you want to set out to check out a class. Watching a class will allow you great insight into the mood and what is expected.

The next thing you should to do is contact the schools that you are interested in and schedule a free or reduced rate session. Most schools will be more than happy to do this for you.

After you take your introductory class from several schools, you ought to know which martial arts training that you are fascinated with. Before you signing up for any group, make sure and ask if there are any amount that must be paid, such as membership fees or organizational fees. You also need to ask about the dress code. Will you be required to purchase a uniform, special shoes or gloves. All of this adds to the price of the group.

HayashiHa Karate

HayashiHa Karate

When developing your muscles you will find there are many ways to do so. Experienced, well trained fitness trainers are one option; following your own workout routine at home can also give you the attractive, muscular body you want. For the newbies to bodybuilding it is always wise to seek expert advice from a professional trainer who can give you tips and techniques for developing muscle safer and faster.

To begin with, there are basic tips needed for the process of muscle building. In the beginning days of your training you will need to be careful about your diet and regular exercise. At this point a muscle building chart is a good idea. For your diet you can peruse muscle building articles to find the perfect diet. Your fitness trainer will have diet plans available, too.

Not all exercises are conducive to muscle building. Special bodybuilding programs are needed to make muscle building effective. Working on a fitness and exercise program is needed. In this sphere, a trainer can be your best friend. On your own you can peruse fitness magazines and research the thousands of articles on the web that give significant knowledge on muscle building techniques and exercises.

To make your muscle building successful you will need to have a stringent schedule. Mornings are a great time to workout and are preferred by bodybuilders. Make sure to follow your exercise sets carefully and take a couple minutes rest in between your sets.

You will want to chose a target point at this time. For instance, if you want to work on the calves, then work on this exclusively. When working on target areas make sure and don't work on more than two areas at once. During this time of muscle building you will need to reduce your fat intake, also.

Certain weight lifting exercises are to be done for your muscle building program to be successful. As in any exercise, you will need to see your physician to make sure you have no health issues that would cause the body to be overtaxed.

To have a successful muscle building program you have to realize that it takes time. Nothing can be acheived in a hurry. Indulging time and energy in the proper workout routine is absolutely essential for the muscle building process. Time takes time, and patience along with dedication is the way to develop that attractive, muscular body that makes others envy you.

HayashiHa Karate

HayashiHa Karate

"This method is called striking the opponent in the same breath (ichi byo shi). In executing this technique , you must  strike your opponent while he is still undecided about whether he should retreat, parry or strike" Go Rin No Sho, the Water Book by Miyamoto Musashi.

This article, I am afraid, is going to ring a wee bit hollow. It is all about initiating an attack, something that I am hopelessly weak at.  I will tend to rely heavily on both my training within Mr. Nishiyama's style and of course, Miyamoto Musashi. In fact, I suspect this entire article will be basically one great rehash of Go Rin No Sho and much of what we have already discussed.  I may have some new ideas, but if you are already a really great fighter, I doubt that I will impart anything much of value. Still, one must strive for completeness, so I really must discuss initiation of the attack.

Primarily, every fighter has to realize that absolutely no attack will succeed if the opponent is jutsu.  No matter how fast you are or how fantastic your favourite combination may be, if the opponent has a clear sense of your impending attack, he is likely to react and successfully counter-attack, probably using any of the timing schemes previously discussed.  I would think the previous statement should go without saying, but having watched many tournaments over the years, I am under the impression that many fighters do not know this concept.  I have often seen ill conceived attacks fired from an untenable distance at a fully prepared opponent. Most had the same predictable result: complete failure.   You need to attack when the opponent is kyo: either naturally vulnerable or you must create vulnerability.

Generally you are going to have either one of two categories of initiation: "kake-waza" or pure initiation or "shikake-waza", which really is the use of combinations to create opportunity.  When I use the term "combinations" I am using a very general sense of the word: anything that could be used in combination with a karate attack that will increase the likelyhood of success. I will come back to this in a few moments.  Kake-waza, of pure initiation, should be briefly touched on first.

First remember that all attacks must be done on a vulnerable opponent. I know this is a repetitive statement, but certainly it cannot be repeated enough.  Come back to my original statement that moments of kyo are usually transition points: the opponent is kyo simply because he is in the midst of either a physical transition or, more commonly, a mental transition. Let's look at some common examples.  Stance shifts where the opponent is stepping forward or backward, or merely shifting from a left lead to a right lead.  At these moments the opponent is committed to a directional vector (back, forward, sideways) and typically his mass is "floating" as one or both legs are travelling. These moments are excellent opportunities to attack with just about any technique but the attack must be initiated once the opponent is committed to his transition. Attacking a moving opponent is a great opportunity to attempt sweeps or reaps, attacking the travelling leg and either extending it's path (a reap) or directing it's path (a sweep), preferably into and through the position of the pivot (planted) leg.  The best sweeps I have ever seen have been instigated as the opponent stepped or shifted back, usually to avoid a jodan attack; the lead leg was scooped as it moved back and practically kicked into the static pivot leg of the opponent by a well timed low kick of the attacker.   Of course, this sort of attack assumes movement on the part of your opponent and will be far more likely to be successful if you can induce the opponent to move as you wish by a set-up technique (shikake-waza).  With regards to stepping actions and their vulnerability to sweeps, one should also consider the tendency of some fighters to actually bounce from foot to foot as they fight: each bounce represents a transition point where the mass is floating and the feet are free to sweep. Furthermore, the bouncing action tends to become rhythmic and thus predictable: bouncing back predicts a bounce forward and vice-versa. Metronomic, predictable movement is just as bad as complete immobility, perhaps even worse. One should always strive for broken, unpredictable un-rhythm (or, conversely, your own strategic rhythm that can become suddenly broken at will) 

 Mental transitions are also worth discussing. In fact, we have already looked at the most common transition: from defense to offense, where we would apply sen-sen-no-sen timing. The above quote from Musashi refers to this transition: the moment, the very moment, you sense the opponent shifting from defense to offense should be that moment you attack.  On the other hand, this statement assumes a couple of things.  The first assumption is that you will be in a position to attack, while the other assumption is that you are always prepared to attack.  Use these assumptions to form a strategy.  Consider distances: his distance, your distance, and the real interpersonal distance. Upon setting your strategy, keep his distance in mind and slip to the very edge of that distance. Once you have reached the edge of the bubble, then creep across the line into deadly ground, watching for your opponent's telegraphs of attack. Set your mind back into the binary system we discussed earlier: "Go" or "Not Go".  The "Go" nature of your mindset must be "attack" at the slightest feel of threat (nota bene: understand that I am referring here only if you choose to use kake-no-sen timing; if you choose to use a variation of go-no-sen timing, then the attitude remains the same except now the decision is to intercept your opponents attack rather than initiate your own attack.  Thus we always approach fighting with the same intent of full domination, just different strategies).  You need to go in without hesitation, set on attacking the opponent with greater speed and conviction than he.  This concept is covered by Musashi under "striking without thought and consciousness"  ("munen muso no uchi").  It is critical here to repeat: have the mindset that you will attack at the first threat rather than just react. This all comes back to my very early discussion on "intent": lack of intent can only result in failure. 

 Personally, this essay has been very illuminating for myself because I have finally realized what my major weakness in sparring has always been: I allow myself to creep out into deadly ground without any clear intention and then I am caught unawares by my victorious opponent when they  attack me.  Considering my many sparring losses, most of them resulted from attacks which caught me completely flat footed as I contemplated options within easy striking distance.  One should never enter deadly ground without a clear plan of action.  Finally, the most common form of transition point or kyo will be that transition from one technique to the next, which leads us to shikake waza, or set-up techniques. 

 One of the most common forms of shikake waza would be, as we have already discussed, sasoi-waza, or inviting the attack.  This concept deserves a second look in that it is a perfect illustration of what I mean by a "very general use of the term combination". In this case, the strategic fighter is going to create the appearance of weakness in his defense with the intent of drawing a specific attack when and where he wants.  Sun Tsu discusses this in detail:" therefor those who skillfully move opponents make formations that the opponents are sure to follow, give what the opponents are sure to take. They move opponents with the prospect of gain, waiting for them in ambush".  While the use of sasoi-waza is meant to result in an apparent go-no-sen timing counter-attack, used strategically it really is a form of primary initiated attack: you bait and force your opponent to move as you wish, thus being the true aggressor. The baiting is actually an integral part of the combination.  I do not want to belabour this point, but the acceptance that a strategic fighter is always striving to dominate, even while appearing to be defensive, is key to developing both superior strategy and better technical expertise.  I found, once I internalized the concept that all my blocks were actually strategic intercepting attacks, my blocking ability and timing improved dramatically and I seemed to have far more time for my counter-attacks. Again, here we are talking about intent; without the proper intent your karate will be hollow and weak.

Assuming that a fighter is capable of creating and/or recognizing kyo, the next element of an attack sequence must be combination training.  Mr. Nishiyama calls this Renzoku-kogeki-waza, or "continuing attack".  There are many elements of performance that need to be considered when using combinations, the most important, surprisingly, is the principle of ikken hisatsu.  This truly seems contradictory in every sense of the word: train so that each  single technique could end a confrontation yet train to flow seamlessly from technique to technique, linking several techniques in combination.  On the contrary: for any combination of techniques to actually work, the opponent must truly believe that each technique is dangerous and react appropriately.  As a strategy the use of combinations are three-fold: first you want to get ahead of the opponent's rhythm (and thus take advantage of his natural kyo that falls in the off beats of his rhythm), second you want to create openings in his triangle guard by drawing his guard to alternating and possibly disparate targets, and third you want to create a break in his jutsu by forcing movement (transition). The key elements in combinations have been covered well in the kihon basics section: complete each technique completely but do not pause between techniques, flow from one to the next seamlessly using the "pulse' of your abdominal contractions which control your breathing, link the techniques tightly with one breath-multiple exclamation marks type breathing, thus keeping your own transition kyo to a minimum.  The key point here is that the flow has to be so rapid fire that you overwhelm the opponent's defenses.  This ability will be absolutely dependant on how much the opponent believes each technique: if they do not convince the enemy, then the enemy need not react to them and may merely stand calmly, looking for his own opening. You cannot afford to let him be calm and find his strategy. 

 Part of every combination should be misdirection to break his triangle guard.  A good example of this would be the classic combination of jab face, reverse punch body.  The jab pulls the guard up, the reverse punch sneaks in underneath. Actually, this is an excellent and simple example of both step one and step two: if the opponent does not believe the jab, he will not break his guard and if your combination is not correctly linked, failing to get ahead of his rhythm, he will respond to both attacks successfully and be able to counter-attack at will. The final key to the combination attack is to off-balance by causing movement or retreat: the goal becomes not just break the rhythm but break the balance by driving the enemy back on his heals with the sheer momentum of your onslaught.  The feeling of the combination, in many cases, should be that of a locomotive driving full tilt down the track.  On the other hand, there might be some strategy to be found in the idea of broken rhythm.

Years ago I trained with a gentleman called Andy Holmes. Sensei Holmes was a British transplant to the West Coast of Canada and was really very talented. At one time Andy had been quite well known in the British kumite tournaments and he brought his skills and knowledge to Canada.  He introduced me to two ideas that I recognized years later as lifted from Musashi's book, whether Mr. Holmes knew it or not.  One of Andy's drills consisted of establishing a standard combination such as Jab face-punch body and repeating it perhaps twice with your opponent, producing a consistent reaction in the opponent. Once that patterned reaction was established, then Sensei Holmes would suddenly shift up the drill by altering the combination slightly to jab face, punch face.  The opponent, having established his routine previously, usually fell for the ruse by blocking the jab and then automatically dropping his hand to block the expected body shot. The face punch scored nearly every time, even when we all knew the trick.  Musashi calls this technique the "mountain to sea transition" and suggests that you should never repeat an attack more than twice and when you change the shift should be as different as the mountains and the sea.  Perhaps Mr. Holmes suggestion is not quite as different, but in this case it is the very similarity that makes the combination work: make the opponent expect the mountains but give him the sea instead.  Another strategy Mr. Holmes gave me would be comparable to Musashi's "Rhythm-timing of the second action" from the Water Book. Musashi's strategy was to strongly attack the opponent and incite a "flinch" reflex, only to pause for a moment after that strong attack. Most opponents will tend to relax just a little when they realize that the primary attack was cut short.  Musashi recommends to attack in the same breath as his relaxation, driving in to the finish.  Mr. Holmes had us drill this technique by doing full attacks in combination a couple of times, then applying the broken rhythm of the false attack (feint) followed by the slight pause and then attack.  The test runs of the full attack could be considered either establishing a pattern (which you will then alter by shifting from mountains to sea) or could be considered testing of the opponent to guage his typical reaction.  Again, referring back to Musashi, this may be considered "moving the shadow"; test the opponent to reveal his strategy, then use that knowledge to crush him.  The self defense members of the gallery should also consider the elements of combination training when they discuss the idea of continuity of defense: once you have entered the fight against an attacker you need to keep moving and attacking until the fight is finished.

One skill I have found that did help my pitifull sparring was, believe it or not, Tai Chi Chuan kata training.  I always  manage to "freeze" when I am sparring and, inevitably, get caught flat footed.  I earned the nickname "humanpunchingbag" the hard way.  Either way, a few years back, after a major surgery had sidelined me for several weeks, I returned to Tai Chi Chuan kata training to try to rehabilitate.  After over a month of wasting away around the house, I returned to karate and, eventually, kumite.  I expected to be a sitting duck for the first few weeks back, but low and behold, I was better than ever before.  Well, actually, I did not really score any more points against , but nothing and nobody was catching me in sparring. I had learned to "flow", moving smoothly from defense to attack, technique to technique. I credit the weeks of training in smooth, flowing kata, one finish of one move becoming the beginning of the next. 

 Philosophically, karateka should at least look at Tai Chi Chuan: it is both diametrically opposed to our style and yet a natural pairing with our style.  Karate starts our training by disassembling each technique to train techniques in detail, then perfecting each technique as an independent unit. As we improve, we attempt to link those techniques in to combinations, each technique perfect in and of itself and each combination complete and flowing. Tai Chi Chuan approaches the question from a different direction: start with the flow of one technique to the next and then slowly work to perfect each technique within that flow. Two approaches to the same question really. The nature of the Tai Chi Chuan training forces you to ignore what you are doing at the moment and always think one step ahead. Doing Tai Chi Chuan you have to trust your body to perform each technique without direct guidance from the cerebral part of your brain simply because the cerebral section of your brain is dealing with the next move down the kata embusen.  You can do this sort of training with karate kata as well, though most of us will find the years of hard training in karate difficult to overcome as we march through our standard short kata. 

The final concept I want to cover in the kumite section involves the concept of kuzushi-waza or breaking the balance of the opponent.  By definition this is yet another form of combination training, but in this case the initiation of the combination may be either a minor physical attack as a set up to a full attack or a psychological assault to break the focus of the opponent.  Read the section in Go Rin No Sho, the Water Book, called "Slapping Down Block" where he discusses establishing a rhythm beneficial to your strategy, then applying a moderately firm slab to the enemy's sword to pull it off guard, allowing an immediate attack.  Now take that suggestion and apply it to karate: as you initiate a full-on attack, rather than attacking the core, go after his forward guard, pulling it down or sideways with a hooking or slapping block and then feed the scoring attack into the breach created in his triangle guard.  The feel here must almost be a flowing block-attack: as you surge into the opponent your lead hand extends, contacts his guard and moves it down or off-center while the reverse punch is launched almost simultaneously.  Musashi  may also be addressing this same concept in the Fire book where he recommends "attack the corners" or go after the extremities.  Consider the strategy of "the Raging Bull" Jake Lamotta: he hammered away at the arms of his opponents until they simply could not defend against his direct attacks any longer.  I am certainly not recommending that approach, but it still is worthwhile to consider a "shocking attack" against a limb as a set up to a scoring attack against the core.  Another example of this sort of attack might be something like reaching out with your lead foot and giving his leading foot a little love tap on your way into a full attack combination: the love tap is to draw his attention down while your real attack is being delivered.  One strategy a good friend of mine used to do did not even involve an actual physical attack. Donny, who has since become a police officer, used to delight in just extending his lead fist into my face as he quickly advanced, only to pull it back at the last instant as he threw his real attack at whatever target I had left open while I was pre-occupied by the fist in my face.  Again, Musashi suggests a similar approach when he suggests "Stabbing to the Face": induce a reflexive flinch and use that flinch as an opportunity.  This might be considered a form of psychological fighting.

Of course you can always off balance the enemy simply by screwing with his mind. Two concepts that need to be addressed are "catching" ("utsuraseru") and "making the opponent nervous and upset", both well covered by Musashi. The concept of catching is an experience common to everyone: moods can be infectious.  Notice how sometimes at work or at school everyone seems to be in the same foul mood or the same buoyant mood. Often it only takes one person to infect the entire office with joy or ennui.  Take this concept to kumite.  If you practice you can "infect" your opponent with either an attitude or an advantageous rhythm.  In practice, try to alter rhythms from fast to slow or pressure your opponent one moment and back off the next. Watch their reaction.  Once you have learned how they will react to your changes in distance, timing and rhythm, then use that knowledge to your advantage.  One friend of mine, Lance, used to pressure me mercilessly while we sparred, then once I was completely rattled, suddenly back off. Almost inevitably, I would relax my guard when he backed off, on which he immediately attacked with a full driving combination. He had learned to control my mood and had attacked when he had "infected me" with relaxation.  The opposite of relaxation is being upset. Another strategy might be to rattle your opponent and force a mistake once he starts to become emotionally unglued.  This concept comes back to broken rhythm timing and perhaps a little shock therapy. Always be altering your distance and rhythm, lead the opponent in one direction, then shift to another the moment he gets comfortable. Perhaps use an unexpected kiai as a shock tactic as a pre-lude to an attack.  One might also consider the use of "kakegoe" while sparring, though this may not fit for everyone and it may only work in a few situations.

Kakegoe is the use of nonsensical vocalizations as you fight to set the tone and spirit of the match. The term kakegoe translates literally as "hung voice", though this should be loosely interpreted as meaning "ornamental or decorative" voice, very much the way you might hang a picture on the wall (kakemono: the art of picture hanging). Traditionally kakegoe is used in performance arts such as Kabuki as verbal encouragement from the audience or the theater wings. On the other hand, in kendo the term kakegoe suggests vocalizations by the participant to encourage himself, to bouy up his own spirit. Traditionally the use of kakegoe was restricted to local kenjutsu schools populated by the peasant class such as the Kashima-Katori-Shinto schools rather than the samurai favourites such as the Shinkakge and Itto schools.  As far as I can tell, kakegoe was used as a form of utsurseru to either lull the opponent into complacency or unbalance the opponent with anxiety. Musashi discusses using kakegoe in his section called "Three Combat Shouts" where he recommends using one of three exclamations to either demonstrate your fighting spirit, to shock your opponent as you attack or to proclaim your victory. In karate, the use of kakegoe may simply represent self encouragement, but it might also be used to set the opponent on edge.  You have to read each opponent: some will find the incomprehensible growling, barking and shouting to be unnerving while others will merely find it amusing.  Of course, if you get hit as often as I do, then you may want to go for amusing; at least it will make fighting more fun.  Certainly I do not suggest linking your kakegoe with your attacks: do not give the opponent any warning of any attack, especially not by barking or grunting faster and louder right before you charge.  On the other hand, perhaps you could use this concept to giving the impression of impending attack, then attack on the relaxation that might occur when no combination is forthcoming.  It is all a mind game.

Talking about mind games, the rest of this project is going to be dedicated to that part of karate that is best described as cerebral: kata and it's bunkai.

Whew.... back from another 2 weeks of meeting, playing and eating.... yeah yeah, I know it's a dog's life but somebody got to do it, right?

Okay, first I want to thank my 2 fellow shoemakers for holding the fort and then, I got to quickly go out and get myself a dictionary - Mark's english is so "English", you know what I mean?

For now, outline of events that transpired in Singapore and Penang (I am keeping to MA related topics) :-

• Recorded a TCMA performance held in Hong Lim Park in Chinatown area, Singapore. Frankly, I had no clue about this show until Ian Leong wrote to me about this. Not knowing what to expect, I just showed up and boy, what a pleasant surprise; Ah Teck (TaiZu), Sifu Ku Choy Wah, Zhou Jia, Saolim, Hungga, Sifu Liao Shong Fen/Hakka Boxing and a string of other TCMAs presented a 3 hrs show to a audience of about 500 - 1000. And all this in a downtown park too - what can I say?

• Spoke comprehensively to both Ah Teck and Sifu Ku Choy Wah regarding publishing books and I am really glad to say that the response is really affirmative....finally. So Mark/Russ, roll up your sleeves, we got "work" cut out in front of us - cancel all vacation plans and be prepared to come here!

• Visited one of my White Crane Sifus, Li Wen Shi together with my sihing. At 93, Sifu Li is still able to describe most of his training experience in Fuzhou White Crane. Listening to him is like taking a stroll through history during a highly capricious time when CKF masters were fleeing the mainland. His journey, alone, is sufficient to fill up an entire book about Fuzhou Whooping Crane both the MingChiang and Putien lines; personally, if you want to examine Whooping Crane, I say talk to this Master - even China wanted him back to restore Whooping Crane! So guys, more work......

• It's beginning to look like we will be kicking Muay Thai off soon (pardon the pun). Spoke to the relevant people and took a tour of a MT school run by a Thai coach, Bia.

I will be putting up pics and clips etc over the next few days.

Penang was equally hectic; starting with Por Suk's 63th birthday dinner. For those of you, who are thinking that this is a “formal” occasion, wait for the clips.

Instead of staying in a hotel, I decided to lodge at Por Suk hillside temple and for 3 solid days, we were going over plans of publishing his “Cho Gar Hay Bun Wing Chun”.

And it was also during these 3 days that I got a really close up view of his Wing Chun including his distinctive wooden dummy and sandbag drills – 3 days ain’t enough folks!!!

The purpose of the Penang leg of the trip is to talk to the right folks about next year’s event in Penang and I will expand on this in a later entry.

Before I left, I revisited GM Cheong Cheng Loong and mooted the idea of forming a “TCMA Research Fellowship” involving masters from the various families.

This concept received warm reception from GM Cheong and in fact, from almost all the masters I spoke to.

So fellow cobblers, yeah, you got it – more work :)

I got some pics here for you first – I shot Por Suk’s “13 Arrow Palms”, one of the essential forms in his line of WCK in preparation for the book that we’re working on.

Enjoy…..

We shoot action sports photography but we do love to bring our athletes into the studio.  Michael is a very dedicated Tae Kwon Do student so his parents wanted to have a studio session to show off his moves.

Congratulations on your achievements Michael - we're very proud of you!!!!

Yesterday all the JETs in the prefecture were invited to Aomori City to participate in Culture Day:  an educational event organized by our prefectural advisors designed to inform us about the culture of Japan.  Julie and I learned about the tsugaru shamisen, taiko drumming, karate, shogi, cooking, wooden horse painting, and how to make a decorative goldfish.

In this post I will talk about the forums I attended (shamisen, taiko, karate, and shogi) with an emphasis on the shamisen.  Julie is actually in Tokyo right now and will post her own entry on the forums she attended, and probably a few thoughts and photos from the trip she embarked on today, when she returns.

A Brief History of the Human Race

Julie and I attended the first session together, a 70 minute presentation on the history of tsugaru shamisen.  The shamisen is a three-stringed banjo-like instrument that is plucked with a pick (bachi) that resembles an ice scraper.  The tsugaru style is distinguished by a few characteristics, including a more percussive style of strumming.

After playing two songs, the performers put down their instruments and the man on the right began speaking in English.

"Hello!  My name is _________.  You can call me __________.  I don't know English, but I like English.  I hate Nihongo (Japanese)."

The last sentence genuinely surprised the audience and we responded with laughter.  He then went on to explain that Japanese is a hierarchical language.  For instance there are many forms of "I" depending on where you find yourself.  English on the other hand, he said, is very friendly.  There is only "you" and "I."  Therefore, he concluded that when we teach our students English we also teach them the friendliness of our culture, whether we are aware of it or not.  His insight gave me a completely new perspective of my job.

The man then walked over to a nearby table, grabbed a dry erase marker and said, through a translator this time, "It is written that we will learn about the history of tsugaru shamisen, but..."

He then proceeded to sketch a map of Africa on the dry erase board and informed us that we would instead learn about the history of humans.  It turns out this guy's other passion is archaeology.  Over the course of the next hour he brilliantly weaved together indigenous cultures, war, peace, snakes, religion, rope, music, art, archaeology, and mythology in a way only a seasoned college professor could do.  It was as if when he planned the presentation he said to himself, "if it's culture they want, it's culture they'll get."

I took notes on the lecture.  Here's a summary.  Please take it with a grain of salt as I have not taken the time to verify it with other sources.  If this happens to be your area of expertise, please correct my understanding by leaving a brief comment on this post.

If the entire history of our species is represented by 7 meters of length, then according to his calculations, a length of 3 centimeters represents the duration of time we have been at war with each other.  He demonstrated this with a volunteer and an actual tape measure.  The man said we are wildly off track, but he remains optimistic that we can get back on the road to peace.

What caused us to fall so far?  Snakes!  It turns out we can gain insight by exploring the role of snakes in ancient cultures.  The man said that snakes used to be revered in just about every ancient culture.  In Japan this is made evident in the pottery of the Jomon culture.  The Jomon era is the earliest in Japan's pre-history and the string-style pottery that the people created is famous.  Apparently their inspiration for the pottery came from the way snakes reproduce.  The man insinuated that it is a symbol of a time when we lived in peace with our environment -- a time when we didn't hate snakes.

The oceanic currents off the Eastern coasts of China and Korea drift towards Japan which meant eventually new people settled into the region.  Thus we enter the Yayoi period.  The man said that the new inhabitants, mostly people from modern day Korea, brought with them rice, iron, war, and a hatred of snakes.  His teacher, a man ten years his senior, proved they brought war by discovering motes, people buried with weapons, and a dramatic increase in the size of arrowheads dated during this period.

"The Yayoi and Jomon have two different faces and two different cultures," he said.  Whereas the Jomon people had large circular eyes, the Yayoi were more narrow.  The Jomon settled in the North and South and the Yayoi landed in the space inbetween.  He said if you look at eyes of some of the people in these regions today you can see evidence of this.

He went on to talk about the music of the two cultures and how they differed.  Basically Jomon art was more robust.  He also said that Japan's first name, Asaka, means "great fantastic place."

He concluded the lecture by reiterating that our world is in trouble.  As evidence he sighted continued war, global warming, and habitat destruction.  Yet he is optimistic.

"Remember," he said, "the most important thing is snakes!"

We clapped.  It was a great, informative, and entertaining lecture that made me realize just how ignorant I am when it comes to the history of Japan.  I have decided I need to do something about this and plan on reading more than just the occasional interesting article on Wikipedia.  If you have any book recommendations, let me know.

After lunch I attended sessions on shogi (Japanese chess), taiko (traditional drumming), and karate.  Taiko was my favorite of the three.  I hope to have a longer post dedicated to it in the near future that will involve a popular arcade game.  Shogi was interesting, but I still prefer Go.  I spent most of my time in the karate session reminiscing about my two years in taekwondo when I was in elementary school.

Before I sign off, here is a brief video of one of the shamisen performances.  It's our first attempt at embedding video on the blog.  Enjoy!

The show ended a year ago (it's only now being aired here), but here be spoilers, so be warned. Also remember that all in all, I prefer technique over force and self-defense disciplines, so my opinions are not supposed to impose on anybody, and do not reflect anything regarding the Krav Maga, Marine Corp MA, and MMA episodes.

In all honesty, reading up on the hosts' past in martial arts made me wonder how well fitted they were to do this. Bill is a towering fridge of a defensive tackle, and Jason, with backgrounds only in BJJ and MMA (two disciplines I find highly questionable in my ever-the-technical-utopist-mindset), made me doubt he'd be able to utter the humility to start from blank again every time the camera started rolling.

Surprisingly, Bill pulled through for me: somewhere beneath that gruff exterior, there was a happy sort of anxiety that he'd get to learn something new, the kind you normally see only in children. Bill WAS, in the end, a human wall, and therefore learning to unstick his limbs from his body was rough on him, particularly on flexible and fast martial arts like tae kwon do and muay thai, but he'd made an effort to adapt. That, if I may say so myself, is an admirable trait in any martial artist. I don't know if the shows were also recorded in the sequence they were shown in, but by the tae kwon do episode, Bill had become incredibly flexible for a guy of his complexion (although he remained mortally slow--which cost him a kick to the face and a TKO in the same episode).

Jason, however, was... in a completely different page as Bill, for lack of better description. Everything, in his opinion, was related to MMA, and he'd show it by becoming utterly useless when fighting in any discipline that did not involve falling on his back and choking his adversary or pounding his lights out. Even in judo, an art so closely related to the BJJ he started in, he did not realize that MMA routines on the floor are not an end-all, and it lost him the match. He also struck me as the kind that is all talk and no action--something closely related to the "my years of MMA training have..." line he'd say basically every show.

I found that although the show was nicely researched and produced, the things they'd demand of Bill and Jason were unreasonable in many cases; it was almost as if they purposedly ignored the basics of every martial art in favor of the showiest techniques. Bill, as a wrestler, had almost no kicking experience and could've really hurt his knees doing what it was suggested that he did--in tae kwon do, you don't start from flying kicks, you start from the floor doing roundhouses, hitting the side of the gut and the head, working on your accuracy. It wouldn't take 2 hours off their training schedules to have taught them the basics AND THEN flying kicks.

Jason, used to being on his back rather than on his feet, had many positioning mistakes that would eventually work against him. For one, they did not once show that they taught them to break a fall, the very basis of judo, and I recall Bill'd got winded once or twice.

They'd also, for sure, not get the rules of their matches drilled into them from day 1--such a mistake cost Bill the pancrateion match (as he lost point after point because of fouls he didn't know he'd had). One'd think this aspect is important, as they're holding a match on day 5, aren't they?

The funny part is, they are not bad martial artists (although I must insist Jason could use with a little humility, not to mention detachment from MMA), and the amount of stuff they'd retain from their lessons was pretty awestriking. Although Bill is primarily a grappler and was pretty bad at striking arts, he kept his ground pretty decently in karate, and although Jason was terrible with a weapon in his hands, he tried his best in ninjitsu.

The history and real life application part of every episode was really interesting, though. I learned thing after thing I did not know about pancrateion and sambo, both of which I only had a vague idea of, and definitely reinforced my knowledge about karate, tae kwon do, muay thai, and judo. Learning of all the forms of kung fu was also interesting, as the forms of it that I had never seen before came to form a slightly fuller idea of the chinese martial arts than I had before.

I'd recommend it to anybody. If not the best show ever made on the topic of martial arts, this one certainly had a respectable attempt at completeness. It is a shame it did not continue on to it's second season, but it seems you can make up by watching Fight Quest, a more recent show by the Discovery Channel which works on the same model as Human Weapon.

Then on Monday, Good Day Sacramento came to the school and did a segment. Guess who is famous now? LOL. Here are the links to see Chase (and Alan Sanchez, the tv personality) in action. Chase is working on his black belt and will be testing early next year.

Segment 1

Segment 2

Espero sus comentarios..... y ya nos leemos luego ¬¬

Creative Anti-Smoking Ads

You should visit eBaum's WORLD if you like crazy stuff like...

1. Yachan The Karate Monkey
2. The Retro Encabulator - This video reminds me of listening to George Bush. note: Wikipedia defines this contraption this way: The Turboencabulator or turbo-encabulator is a fictional machine whose alleged existence became an in-joke and subject of professional humor among electrical engineers.

]]> http://ibiketowork.wordpress.com/?p=514 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:06:03 +0000 plusran http://ibiketowork.pl.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/bike-to-work-day-100/ And what a beautiful day for it.  54F, high 70s no complains!

0:24'18, 6.74mi
avg 16.6mph, max 26.3mph
54ºF, Odo 2507.8mi
Cadence 67-100rpm

More later, including karate promotion.

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What a wonderful, warm and productive day.

0:21'15, 6.76mi (total 13.51)
avg 19.1mph, max 29.9mph
71ºF, Odo 2514.6mi
Cadence 78-110rpm

At the karate studio, there are several levels of teachers.  In order to progress from 'Teacher' to 'Full Instructor' you must write out, in detail, all of the material.  Every form and every technique.  Some people excel at physical motion and have to struggle with words (myself).  Some people struggle with physical motion and excel with words (my aunt).  Last night, after years of working on this certification, I passed! I'm now a First Level Instructor of Kenpo!  Yay!

Un brano dal libro di Dave Lowry "Lo spirito delle arti marziali" (Oscar Mondadori 1999, senza link perchè fuori catalogo), capitolo 24, Kamae: posizioni da combattimento.

Tutte le moderne Vie marziali presentano dei Kamae, posizioni di combattimento. In ciascuna disciplina, il praticante assume un kamae concepito per mostrare forza e spirito combattivo. Nel kamae di un praticante di karate o di judo non è possibile trovare un singolo bersaglio vulnerabile. Allo stesso modo gli studenti di kendo e di aikido studiano e praticano per rendere inespugnabili i loro kamae.
Al contrario, i kamae delle arti classiche del Giappone feudale sono differenti. In queste antiche forme, i Kamae spesso mostrano evidenti brecce, aperture in cui la spalla, il torso o le mani serrate sull’arma sono esposte al pericolo. Osservando queste posizioni, si ha la tentazione di immaginare che questi guerrieri fosseo suicidi, quasi volessero farsi colpire. In un certo senso, i kamae delle arti antiche sono effettivamente un invito ad attaccare. Un’esca. Una trappola mortale è celata in questi kamae, perché le brecce nelle posizioni delle arti classiche non sono errori strategici, fanno deliberatamente parte della strategia. Il kamae del guerriero induce a un attacco che egli è in grado di controllare. Esponendo uno specifico bersaglio, egli sa da quale direzione l’assalto arriverà, e da ciò si può avvantaggiare.

Questi contrastanti usi del kamae riflettono la differenza tra le arti di combattimento del XX secolo e quelle delle loro controparti storiche. Il praticante di oggi cerca di evitare il conflitto violento: il suo atteggiamento è difensivo, combattere è l’utlima possibilità, ed egli cerca principalmente di proteggere se stesso e gli altri. La professione del bushi consisteva nell’affrontare la battaglia. Doveva essere aggressivo in duello, o almeno doveva incoraggiare un attacco in modo che il combattimento potesse avere inizio. L’autoprotezione era sempre secondaria rispetto alla difesa del clan al quale il samurai apparteneva. L’interesse del signore veniva prima di quello del guerriero; non è una coincidenza, allora, che gli opposti atteggiamenti di guardia, kamae, dei praticanti di epoche differenti rivelino diversi scopi e caratteristiche.

Il kanji usato per indicare kamae deriva da due caratteri che significano “costruire con il legno”. Un kame marziale si costruisce, al tempo stesso, sia con la posizione fisica sia con l’atteggiamento mentale. La costruzione del kamae di un moderno bugeisha può essere considerata alla stregua di una solida fortezza, concepita per proteggere. Il kamae del bugeisha classico è più un trabocchetto, ideato per attirare l’avversario e intrappolarlo.

L'immagine è di shavanni, su flickr qui

We found a great article from a Martial Arts School in Virginia and while we've talked about mental and physical benefits of TaeKwonDo on our website and in our literature we have not gone into as much detail. It goes to point out that no one is too young or old to reap the spectrum of physical and mental benefits that Martial Arts Provides.

Martial Arts Training Mental Sharpness And Better Health
By Z Bennett

Martial arts, is one of the best physical and mental activities that it also can help the mind grow and develop. Martial arts, is physical but it is also mental the martial arts can benefit the whole person it can help with flood development. It is not just a bunch of kicks, punches and throws. The mental art can plays a very large part on assisting a person to become better people. When I say better I am saying that martial arts is 10% physical and 90% mental. Please remember the mind guides the body. Martial arts like Karate, Jujutsu are outstanding not only for health but for self-defense, self-confidence, self-control, balance, stress reduction, social skills, and conditioning. This again is not just in the body it is very much in the mind.

Even if you are not yet ready to start your martial arts training but have a real desire to learn martial arts. You have to believe that you are ready in your mind first. You have to have a keep a positive outlook and create positive ways of seeing yourself in everything. Martial arts schools like the San Yama Bushi and Combination GoJu school of Self Defense (SYBCG) can help you. IMAGINATION - A mind once stretched by a new idea. Never regains its original dimensions. We are like fine wine. We can get better with age under the correct conditions. You control the conditions. In the martial arts, one of the first things that you have to do is find the right school and the right person to train with to assist you in your goal. Look for school and instructors with a positive feel and way of thing. I by no means, mean find a candy land school or instructor. I am also not saying find a school that has a kill or be killed mind-set. My goal here is to point you at a school that meets your needs and is real. Most of us are not actively in combat situations nor do we live in a prefect harmless world. Find a school with a good sound balance. Martial arts school can give you a great work-out, it should also be a place where you feel comfortable. The school and training should help you in many ways on your way to the goals. Once you start working out on any physical program at any level you should take it slow. Here is an area that we all should make sure we paid attention to that is stretching not just on the physical level but also on the mental level. We all have a lot to learn. Those that stop learning stop growing. Many people young and old do not open their mind to enough positive things. We need to surround ourselves with positives on all levels, that is people, places and things. It would also be to our benefit to us all to understand that being right is not always important. We could benefit from learning to let it go. As we get older, we lose flexibility in more areas then just our physical bodies. This lost of flexibility is on a mental level.

[caption id="attachment_80" align="alignright" width="209" caption="Healthy Lifestyle"][/caption]

This again does not have to happen, however we see ever day in traffic, online, at home and in our schools etc. Just look at the morning news in the morning can be seen across the world. I have an instructor who is over 73 years of age he is in better physical condition then many 25 years old that I know. His name is Grand Master Reno Morales, he prefers Reno he is very active, so active that at his present age he is still ACTIVE as a bodyguard and his is an ACTIVE bounty hurter. I am not kidding. His have over 60 years in the martial arts. Please understand he trains everyday, eats correctly, has a positive mind attitude and has a fantastic memory. Please understand I am not saying that the martial arts, is the key to the fountain of youth, or that everyone that training has a positive mental attitude but I am saying that it has helped many. You mind and body, are very complicated machines if you do not take care of them they may not be able to take care of you. Keep them well tuned and in great shape. We at the SYBCG school of Self Defense work to assist all our students in always. We offer training is karate, jujutsu, cardio kickboxing, rape aggression defense, resisting aggression defensively, positive self-defense, DT and more. We also do want to help you to be the best person you can be as a whole person. Our school, systems and instructor are well rounded. Our training is in martial arts, martial arts sciences, natural health, reiki, mediation, personal fitness, trigger-point therapy, CPR, first aid, positive self-defense, etc. Please remember you can be better and improve your overall wellness. Martial arts can be a great path to better and longer good overall health and abilities. Keep this in mind. The thing is not what happens. It is in the interpretation of what we believe has happened means.

Life and time are precious lets use it and enjoy it for as long as we can. You are where you are by your habits. Change your habits change your life. Now let us change it for the better. Most of these changes are small but there effect can be huge. My oldest son is 24 my youngest is 9 years old, they are both in great physical health. I can present at 45 plus years of age out run them both. I can also keep up with all of my 4 children along with nieces and nephews in most activities. This to me is priceless.

By Zurriane Bennett
http://www.sybcg.com

]]> http://dkwatson.wordpress.com/?p=397 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:33:24 +0000 Dana http://dkwatson.pl.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/back-to-life/ I'm not dead, nor have I disappeared. Mark and I in fact returned from our honeymoon last Saturday, and we're working on getting back into real life. Some stuff I should blog about in more detail:

• the kitchen remodel
• the wedding
• both of these things together

And I do promise I will talk about them in great detail, with pictures! Probably soon to be followed with needing to talk about the yard, which is our next major house project. But first I need a chunk of time with my camera and my computer both in the same place.

In other news, the reason we came back from our honeymoon at Nags Head on Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday is that I've started teaching a women's-only karate class on Sundays, and this past weekend was the first class. We have a large Muslim population of students at our school, and the moms, older sisters, etc., can't take a class with men or boys there. As one of the only two female black belts at the school right now, I was nominated to teach. I'm kind of nervous about this, because I know I do some things quite differently from the way the owner of the school does, but as has been pointed out, he can't come to this class, so how will he ever know? And the other big black belts keep assuring me that I have a legitimate black belt in this style, whether I do everything exactly the same or not, so I need to be more confident in my opinions when asked for them. I never used to have this problem, but taking what ended up being an 8-year break from actual training and finding things had changed since then has been kind of disconcerting.

Anyway, for this class we now have some big curtains to cover all the windows along the front of the school, and I lock the door when it seems like everyone has arrived. There was only one woman at the first class, but it turned out that was because it was the day after the end of Ramadan, and most other people who had intended to come had forgot about it. I should have more students this coming weekend.

Speaking of the end of Ramadan, our sensei can now eat again, and as a result he seems to have decided to try to kill us on Tuesday. Why, yes, a high cardio class after I've been gone for most of month is just what I needed! In my defense, though, I wasn't the only one. There was one point in the class where I got dizzy first (probably due to dehydration), and then another student had to sit down right after me. His comment? "Two down! Let's see if I can get the other three of you! ... No, no, just kidding, everyone get some water." I go back again tonight; I wonder what we'll do this time.