Hanmi position in punches and blocks

I have been very interested inthe Hanmi postion as aposed to shoulders square to shomen on the execution of chudan tsuki. When I first started to train we stood with our shoulders square and our tanden under and facing shomen. From my training in Flynn, Shihan’s dojo I thought I understood that during blocking the body should be hanmi, and that the body should be "less than hanmi" for the tsuki, but not square to the shomen. From my last trip to Vermont, I took away from the first night, that during the third phase of the punch, Tomari-te, we should be very close to square, using the hiki-te to draw us back and also stabilize. I was wondering how you “stood”, full hanmi, less than hanmi on tsuki, square on tsuki?

I am thinking as I am teaching this last night...that this shomen vs. hanmi position may very some with time in karate-do. I am thinking or seeing that punching for the new student comes from power of the upper body, and that as we age it must come form koshi and the lower body. When I first introduce hips to students, I see far to much "gyration" in the movement. How I am losing my hips, and asking there role in the movements of karate?

I can not get the youtube to show on the blog entry...but please look at Kagawa, Sensei at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdIJVDKJ_Os&feature=related

Keeping a straight face （＾＾）

Keeping a straight face is hard to do! (^^)

I recall being at a demonstration in Japan. The Yokohama Dojo gave a demonstration of our karate style. Naturally from a staunch Japanese traditionalist point of view our style may have appeared to be rather lacking in strict decorum. (^^)

A group from a relatively well known traditional style did theirs with their Shihan, a very elderly gentleman, in presence. Everything was done with a military like discipline and cadence. It was almost like watching a drill team without the precision on occasion. After all, kids will be kids. At one point, Shihan got up from the VIP table and  berated his students. Hmmm. I guess he was not pleased with students movements. The Shihan then personally took over the demonstration without regard to his instructor in charge. Well that is his style.  His students accepted it and carried on. I won't do it, just like I won't hit my students with a shinai as an  incentive, but that was the Shihan's way. So be it. But, the funny part was when the Shihan tried to communicate in English (the demonstration was being done by a US base group). His commands and movements didn't match. I forgot what the command was, but, the students responded correctly but the Shihan wanted a completely different movement and would berate the students.  No one volunteered to correct the Shihan's English and we all  pretended nothing was out of the ordinary.

 Following this, a very unique Tai Chi instructor gave a demo. Well, he first sang a song dedicated to his Tai Chi Founder and to say the least, it was not comfortable to my ears nor to anyone else in the gym. Yachi and I were seated at the front table along with other instructors. Naturally I sat there with a stoic face. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Yachi was having a hard time keeping from cracking up. Further down the table I could see only one more stoic face, the previously mentioned Sensei. Across from me I could see my students losing the fight at self control. After the singing the instructor did a form and a break was called. All my students ran to the locker room and released their pent up laughter which resounded in the gym. Fortunately the Tai Chi instructor was out of the area. After the demonstration was finished for the day, I gathered all my students and admonished them for their behavior. Now I will admit I was flabbergasted as much as my students were with regard to the singing. But, I felt that it was from the bottom of his heart and pure in intention. No one has the right to laugh at that. Rather we should show respect for his efforts in expressing his thoughts about his instructor, even if it  takes discipline and self control that of a high Dan holder.  Even then it would have taken tremendous amount of  control. (^^)

Respect for other martial arts

Uchimata Throw (inside thigh throw)
Can you feel the impact when the guy lands on the mat? (^^)

I have a confession to make. (**:) I troll the many martial arts websites and forums on the Internet. Sometimes I find gems but alas more often than not the forums are filled with spite and belittling of martial arts which are not the commentator's own. BJJ vs Judo, Karate vs Tae Kwon Do, MMA vs traditional MAs, etc, etc. I am always saddened to read these commentaries full of hate and spite. It would seem that these type of commentators haven't received the basic of basics in martial art training. I, for one, will not have any of  my students have that type of mentality.
告白しなければならない。インタネットで武道サイトやフォーラムをトローリングしている。その中で良い物を発見するが、大体は投書者がやっている武術以外のものに対して嫉妬や軽蔑的投書が多い。BJJ対柔道、空手対テッコンドウ、MMA対古流武術等等。このように憎しみや軽蔑てきな投書は悲しい限りだ。投書者は武道に基本の基本をまだ学んでいない。自分の生徒にはそのようメンタリティを持ってもらいたくない。

It is good that one has pride in what he practices. But when that pride makes him blind to all else then his shugyo is for not. I have been very fortunate that all my instructors taught me to respect others regardless of their art and or technical skills (remember the pointing the finger?) How can we pursue the goal of Budo when our minds and souls are filled with negative thoughts and feelings?
人は自分が稽古をしている術に誇りを持つは良い事だと思う。しかしその誇りによって自分以外の修行が見えなくなった時それはすでに修行ではなくなる。自分は幸いに教えを受けた先生達からは常にどんな武道を修行していても、そして技術がどのようなのかを関係なく尊敬するようと学んだ。（指さしに話を覚えているかな？）自分の心と頭がマイナスな考えと気持ちが充満してたらどのように武道の目的を追求できらだろうか？

All the talk about "what if a judoka fought with ...or a kung fu practitioner met up with a samboist" is nonsense in my mind. Each of us chose a martial art because it provided us a path for whatever our goals are. For some it may be becoming a Champion in the Octagon ring, so others it may be to gain skills to become more self assured, to others if may just a recreational fitness program. For what ever reasons anyone may have it was their choice and hopefully it is satisfying their chosen path.
柔道家がだれと戦ったら。。。クンフーがサンボと戦ったらなどの話はノンセンスだと思う。
我々一人一人何かの目的で武道を選んだ。ある者にはリングの中でチャンピオンになるため、ある者は自信を持つ為、ある者には単なるレクリエーシオンフィットネスの一環として。どの理由にさよそれは個々の決めた事であり、運よければ選んだ道を全うできる。
I recall many moons ago, when I was still teaching Judo in Hawaii, one of my students who was a karate instructor asked me to visit his club and run his students through some judo practice. Apparently some of his brown belts were getting "cocky" about their karate skills and were pooh pahing Judo and other martial arts. Long story short, they were beat with just the ukemi, breakfall exercises. If any one has experieneced a regular Judo practice (a proper one), break falls are a given and if you are not used to it it takes a heavy toll. As the students were novices in Judo I naturally made sure that they were abe to take a fall before we moved on to anything else. This was followed by "uchikomi" or fitting exercises where you execute the form of a throw but not throw. This is to make adjustments in the off-balancing, placement of the body and balance. Now, pulling someone to off balance him requires the use of different muscles compared to hitting and kicking. Then comes nagekomi or the completion of the throw follows. Now throwing is exhausting but for beginners it is taking the fall that is exhausting. Get thrown, get up and get thrown again.
Needless to say, the brown belts quickly learned not to make derisive comments about another martial art they never had done before. Mutual respect.
大分前になるが、まだハワイで柔道指導してたとき、生徒の一人が空手指導をしてて、彼の生徒に柔道の手ほどきを頼まれた。それは彼の茶帯の生徒の中に自分達に空手に自惚れて柔道とか他の武道を貶す様になったからである。
話を短くするが、受身練習だけで彼らはばてた。通常に柔道稽古を経験した人には分かるが柔道には受身がつき物。そして慣れていないと大分来る。
皆柔道初心者だたので受身がちゃんとできるまでやらせた。それから打ち込み、投げ込みと続いた、体重を引く筋肉と突き、蹴りに使う筋肉は違う。まして投げるよりは投げられて直ぐに立ってまた投げられるのもしんどい。
まー。茶帯諸君たちは他の武道を批判する事はなくなった。お互いに尊敬の意を持たなければ。



心の内濁らず、広くして、広き所へ知恵を置くべきなり

Hmmm.I really need to get rid of my propensity for being a glutton for punishment. Sigh, perhaps its comes with having chosen a full contact style of karate, not to mention the years of being thrown around in Judo.
If you will recall I had written a short blurb on Kokoro 心and the difficulty of really translating the meaning.
Well, this time I offer you a blurb from the "Gorin Sho Mizu no Maki" 「五輪書　水の巻」by Miyamoto Musashi.  It is probably wise to say you would be better off reading a translation of the Gorinsho. I am pretty sure that there are many on the Internet available. For what its worth, I offer my interpretation.
First, the phrase
心の内濁らず、広くして、広き所へ知恵を置くべきなり
Kokoro no uchi nigorazu, hirokushite, hiroki tokoro e chie wo oku bekinari.
Whew, A mouthful isn't it? (**;) Well her goes my translation (no guarantee for accuracy)
Keep your soul from getting soiled, make your knowledge broad and encompassing.
Hmm, confusing. Well lets do it like Kata and break it down. A verbal bunkai, if you will.
Kokoro no uchi nigorazu. To me this equates to Fudoshin, the immovable spirit or soul. Not to be sidetracked by unnecessary thoughts. In facing an opponent your spirit/soul should be clear and focused.
You spirit should not move before the body.
Hirokushite, hiroki tokoro ni chie wo okubekinari . Once you have control of your soul/spirit, then you have the base from which to face the realities of "now". In other words be able to observe and dissect your current situation and be able to make right decisions.  By constantly "polishing" your knowledge and spirit, you then you can face your adversary better prepared.  In short, know your enemy.
So, how does this all relate to our Budo training. After all we are not in the era of slicing each other up. Or are we. Just replace all those things in your daily life that pops up and you find yourself scrambling to make things normal and right. I would dare say, Fudoshin will take away all those anxieties and pressures. (^^)
Like Kata I am sure there many other interpretations of his phrase by Miyamoto Musashi, but I thought I'd share with you mine. Thanks for reading!

Finger pointing

There is something about pointing a finger that is uncomfortable.

Everyone has experienced having a finger pointed at them. I would say that it is not a comfortable feeling.

Like any activity involving children, there are times when conflict arises and more often than not when an adult steps in, or in our case, the Sensei, both child would have their fingers pointing at each other and placing the blame on each other. (^^).  Well, kids will be kids. I, personally, do not expect them to be like angels 24/7, nor do I want them to be like robots. Fufu. Karate changes with each individual. It changes on the mood and mental condition at the time of practice. That is all natural and part of our training is to control those emotions and face whatever conditions that may be disturbing us. We have the option of reacting negatively or trying to resolve the issues in a positive manner. Budo training provides us the tools to act positively.

So, when kids get into an argument, I have them point their finger at each other and ask "How many are pointing back at you?".  The answer always comes back "3". Then I explain to them whenever they point their finger at someone, they must first ask themselves, "What did I do?" Everything has an action and reaction. I have them take a break and reflect on their own behavior rather than on the other child. It is not easy for children to do that. I know. Fufu. But I try to instill in the children the concept of being responsible for their own actions and behavior, so that when conflict arises, which it does, they will reflect upon themselves.

Hopefully none of the children will ask me about the thumb. (^^) I'll think of something sooner or later!

日体大「エイサッサ」

Here's the Ei Sassa!

団体形 Team Kata! (^^)

A great example of group coordination. If I am not mistaken the group is from NittaiDai 日体大、Japan Physical University. They are also well known for its
[Ei Sassa] エイサッサ
You can imagine the amount of practice they have to put in! Individual Kata seems
pre-school compared to this! 努力有るのみ。

A Moment of Prayer

Let us all take time to pray for peace and that people on earth can someday live in harmony regardless of race, creed or religion.  I hope that all leaders on earth lead their people by example and show the path towards world peace so that we never have to experience the tragedy of 9-11 ever again.

Let us also pray for the safe return of all our men and women who are currently serving in violent hot spots through out the world in the effort to bring about peace and stability to areas rife with hate, violence and death.

Let us teach our children peace and love not violence and hate.

Kata 形、型

Kata

Or is it 形? One means form or appearance , other  pattern or sample. So is it 空手の型 or 空手の形。In Judo it is 投げの形、柔の形、捨て身の形、護身の形、etc. Most Karate organizations go with 型。Why? I really can't answer that. Perhaps the Karate Sensei's wanted to stress the difference between karate and Judo. In the height of Judo's popularity, karate was the "Bad Guy". (^^) Did you know that? For reasons unknown to me, the Karate character was always a mean and dirty character, wearing a black Gi. Definitely should of being going to AA meetings. The Judo character was always clean and pure wearing a white Gi.  Fufu. Which makes me gray since I do both arts.

Back to Kata. Just as there are two ways to write kata in Japanese. There are countless ways in performing the same Kata. In some cases, especially in Kyokushin lines, the Katas do not resemble the original Katas taken form Goju and Shotokan. Perhaps Oyama arranged the original Kata in his own style and vision of the kata. No problem.
Kata even differs within the same system depending on the Dojo. Add to that competition Kata! The varieties are countless just in "traditional" katas. Now we have "free style" kata, influenced by Wushu with lots of acrobatics. All that is fine also. We must remember that no matter what "form" we take to do a Kata, the basics are the same. Balance/Coordination, Concentration, and execution of the technique.
One national level Japanese Kata competitor made an interesting comment. She stated that should she perform Kata as it is done in her style, she could not win. She had to do the Kata in line with competition requirements. In short, competition Kata was a different animal. Hmmmm. I am still pondering over her statement.
There are many karatekas that scoff or completely reject Kata as being useless. Many of these people are into the "reality" and "aliveness" mode. But wait a minute, they do prearranged drills as well, don't they?
The usual is"If this type of attack comes, then you do X, Y, and Z." Isn't that just a shortened Kata?
Kata is a series of movements which is repeated over and over. How is it any different from these "reality" "aliveness" training? Proponents like to say that they do not use compliant partners. So I say "What's new?" Nothing as far as I'm concerned.  Traditional kata is always broken down into smaller patterns, some call it one step sparring. You practice a certain move that is in the Kata until you can use it. Depending on the Dojo, the severity of the attack changes. At least that is the way I was taught in Okinawa. (^^). My right elbow is still out of alignment. Fufu.
One "reality based" or "aliveness" seminar is not going to make anyone invincible nor is anyone going to be able to effectively use the techniques that are taught. So what do you do? You go back to your own space and practice what you learned over and over. Repetition after repetition. Wait! Doesn't that sound like Kata? (^^)

　　　　　　　　

We got Daikon 大根

Ohayou Roushiichi and William, Shihandai.

Jen has done it! We now are growing, for the first time Daikon in our garden. We wanted it for several Japanese dishes Jen wanted to make. Daikon was hard to find in our markets for several months of the year. I never thought it be so large! Best I learn my Kanji...大根!! It would of help here. I like to learn how to make Takuan Pickles. We seem to have an abundance of the Daikon, and not sure if it can be stored for cooking. We are looking to the experts for help...smile. We are enjoying the learning...Thanks!

Kanji for the Month!

Kokoro

Darn, I am a glutton for punishment! (**;) I have chosen one of the most complicated and difficult kanji to introduce. But I chose this Kanji because in my humble opinion, it is the core and pillar of martial arts or Budo.

So what does Kokoro mean? It means a multitude of things. Some of more general translations are are heart, spirit, soul. And essence. Now I do not have a degree in linguistics, so I will stay away from any more translations as it would be impossible to explain the "why?" (^^)
Let me steal from Shohaku Okumura's article on the word Kokoro. Shohaku Okumura was ordained as a Soto Zen priest in 1970 by the late Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. He is the head of the Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington, Indiana. An excerpt follows.

"The Chinese ideogram for xin (Chinese for heart) depicts the shape of the heart—the actual organ in the human body. Since ancient Chinese people thought the heart was where psychological function took place, the character conveyed a range of meanings including the heart organ, heart generally, mind, feeling, intention, center, and core.
Originally, kokoro refers to all human activities affecting the outside world through intention, emotion, and intellect.
Kokoro, then, has three basic meanings: the heart and its functions; mind and its functions; and center, or essence. "

Now, can you see the Kanji looking like a heart?

So what does "Bujin no Kokoro" 武人の心conjure up? The answer lies in how you practice your martial art whether it is karate, judo, aikido or Iaido. We may all be practicing karate but our "souls" maybe different. To simplify, take the movie Karate Kid, the hero and Miyagi presented the "good kokoro", if you will while the antagonists presented the "sullied kokoro". One was on the correct path while the other on a misguided one. Both possessed the "Kokoro" that they trained in.

Each one of us should reflect upon our Kokoro.

押忍！

Traditions

Sorry! No can let u see.

Aloha kakahiaka (Good morning in Hawaiian) all! Rainy morning in Hawaii, but that's OK, it keeps everything nice and green.  I woke up and lo and behold, what awaits me on the Internet?!? Yes, a photo of  our beloved Yokohama Dojo Instructor in a "seira fuku" (^^). Hmmm not exactly the best of ways to start off a morning! Gahahaha. I was tempted to place the photo on this blog.....but my "wiser" self prevailed. Just imagine if you will Tony in a mini-skirt (Sorry Tony, couldn't think of a better way to put it).

But on the other hand you New Yorkers are probably used to such sights. (><;) I recall seeing similar sights when I visited Broadway many moons ago.

Now this "seira fuku" thing is like a tradition among the adults at Yokohama Dojo. I cannot exactly recall how and when this "tradition" started. I believe it started at a birthday party the students threw for me one year. (^^). Two of the mommies decided to wear their daughters school outfits as part of the      festivities. It was rather impressive that they could fit into the uniforms without busting the zipper! All in good fun. Other Dojos have its own unique traditions as well. I'll leave that for another time.

There are naturally formal traditions as well. For Kimura Dojo it is the New Years Day practice. We gather at the local park (Negishi Shinrin Koen for Yokohama and Ala Moana Beach Park for Hawaii) and greet the first sunrise of the year with meditation and a good practice. At Yokohama we made a pot of hot oshiruko (sweet bean soup) and mochi (rice cakes) to eat after the practice. It is cold on New Years Day at Yokohama. The picture on Kimura Dojo Blog is one of the New Year Sessions.

In Hawaii, I greet the sunrise on the beach. Why "I" ? Fufufu. I'm the only one so far that has shown up.

Da Boss remains curled up underneath her blanket with Yuta. (^^) As a matter of fact, I don't recall her being at any of Yokohama's New Year Day practice????? Hmmmm. Oh well.

I think traditions are good to have for building esprit de corps. Formal and Non formal traditions are excellent methods of reinforcing our commitment to the activity we are involved.

Unfortunately, there are some traditions that go beyond good common sense and is just a tool for Senpais to "bully" Kohais. One of these is the abuse of the word "Osu". we all know that "Osu" is an expression used to show our commitment to hard training. That is all it means. I sometimes think that "Osu" is used too often and like anything else the "quality" of Osu diminishes. "Osu" is not to be used to accept irresponsible tasking and or acts of bullying. Sadly we see some of this in Japanese High School and college activities, not just limited to martial arts. Even more sad is to see the senior advisers to these activities allow it to continue as part of "tradition". Now that is really wrong.

There is another Yokohama Dojo tradition called "Hansei Kai" [Critique Session] 反省会which follows every Saturday night practice. For obvious reasons it is held at a location closest to the homes of the Senior members known as the "Sounenbu Toku Toku Sei Gundan" 壮年部特特生軍団. To be fair to the group, discussions are held with regard to Dojo activities and future plans and scheduling are duly made while consuming liberal amounts of sochu and beer. (^^)