Tachi no Kata was taught this year. Shihan Flynn and his Students do this kata so gracefully. I unfortunately still notice that my sanchin back leg is not pointing toward my forward leg's big toe. Now I could blame this on my back leg and back problem, but since this issue is most likely here to stay with me, I will need to learn to adapt. I also notice that my forward leg's heal in Kokutsu dachi is very high. I am sure we can find many other problems.....
I had to cut the Tachi no Kata in half. We would turn and repeat the sequence of the dachi in reverse order back all the way back to hesokudachi. Shihan Quinn talks about this tachi kata in the back of "The Budo Karate of Mas Oyama. As I was learning this kata, I was thinking of the dachi drills that you gave me, and wondering if they came from this tachi no kata? I enjoy working on this with the new students, we have been working on it for about two weeks now. Hoping that they began to see the relationship of each dachi to the next dachi. Wonder what you think?? A few more thousand times and maybe I will get better dachi...(^^)
Following in Tony's steps, I have been converting my diet to a healthier one of less greasy burgers and more vegetables. (^^) As in any endeavor, moderation is the key. Extreme changes usually end up in failure.
But alas! (**;) For whatever reasons, there is a sudden surge in new burger joints opening up in Honolulu.
Worst yet, all of them espouse supporting the local agriculture and ranches. Being a dyed in the wool patriot I am naturally an enthusiastic supporter. HOWEVER, with the motto " Taegataki wo Tae, Shinobigataki wo Shinobu" I have faithfully adhered to my changeover. AT unexpected cost to my well being. (- -) Fufufu.
I have been the victim of constant "nature calls" the past few days. It appears my stomach is protesting the sudden input of healthy food substances! The carrots, celery, spinach, tofu, burdock roots the stomach could live with. But it appears the sudden input of okra and a spinach like leaf when chewed has the same consistency of okra was more then it was willing to take. On top of that I ingested quite of bit of Okinawan potatoes as snacks as it is very sweet and flavorful. Now I have to time my outdoor excursions with care!
Honolulu is now packed with "No Public Restroom" signs! Hmmmmmm.
I think this is the same with teaching karate to children or adults for that matter. Moderation is the key. The syllabus of Kyokushin lineage is very long. Normally just Kihon takes an average of 30-45 minutes. Half or more of the overall average training period. I am constantly reviewing my own training syllabus for children.
We need to ensure we do not overwhelm the students with an overload of techniques. Much of which outside of kihon they do not use in kata or kumite. I doubt there be a "Revolt of the Kiddies" but it would behoove us as instructors to keep a finger on the pulse of the students. (^^)
Don't forget! The Perseid Meteor Shower is early Wednesday morning! Probably a better chance of seeing it out at Mechanicsville than Honolulu or Yokohama. Too much city lights here....(- -#) Perhaps I'll drive out to the coast line and try to see it.
Kodomo was oya no senaka wo mite soidatu. Children grow up looking at their parents back. This may sound strange, as I cannot come up with a similar English proverb. I think it is also true in our roles as martial arts instructors. Our students learn by our example.
Take for instant, Samu 作務the habit of cleaning the Dojo before and after training. The purpose is to show appreciation for the place in which we train and not to lose the "beginner's spirit". It is not enough for instructors to command students to clean, we must be leading by example. I go to the Dojo about 30 minutes before practice to sweep and mop the floor. The floor is a common use area in which people come in with their shoes on. It is fairly large and I am grateful I do not have to put away tables and chairs! (^^). Every one has their own private schedules and I do not expect everyone to be able to come to the Dojo early, but when they do the students and their guardians participate in cleaning the Dojo.
I have one child whose grandmother brings him to class. She automatically offers to grab a mop and start mopping. The boy who is only 5 years old cannot handle he mop, but he looks for other ways to help clean the Dojo. I would like to think that he sees his grandmother and I cleaning, which causes him to to help clean the Dojo without having to be told. Of course, the attention span is short.... (^^)
On the other hand, wrongful behavior by instructors can set a bad example to follow. Vulgar language,
egotistical behavior, unnecessary roughness, and other negative attitudes and behavior can be easily mirrored by our students. That is not what we train our minds and bodies for. Negative attitudes and behavior should not be in Budo. Unfortunately they exists and it is our responsibility to guide our students to the correct path.
I recall back in the early 70's while stationed in Okinawa, a recently arrived co-worker had mentioned having practiced karate in the United States. I invited him to the Goju Ryu Dojo I was training at, but his response was shocking and sad; "I trained in XX style karate, the only real karate, this Okinawan karate is nothing and inferior to my style" I never the less invited him to come and take a look. His response was,
"My instructor told me that Okinawan karate was inferior and told me not to dirty my karate".
(**:) How sad indeed. A student following his instructor. I really felt sorry for him.
Does size make a difference? Definitely
As instructors, sometimes we forget that our students come in all sizes and shapes (^^).
When I try to teach a waza, naturally it is being done in accordance to my size. I would not expect Tony or Hama-chan (Yokohama Shidoin) to execute the waza as I would. That is where Kihon becomes important. Kihon is executed in accordance to the individual’s physical stature. The theory of a waza, take as an example, the chudan tuski (middle punch) is the same regardless of physical size. Everyone naturally punches to the middle in the manner most suited to them. The skill therefore remains the same.
Now in the application, we need to adjust the waza to each individual needs. At some point it may look different from what we do. But then should we expect a 5’3” individual do an age hijiuchi against a 6’4” opponent? Unless you are teaching the person to jump up, it is impossible. So what would we do?
Actually very simple, bring the 6’4’ down to where the 5’5” can make his age hijiuchi effective.
The same thing can be said about Kumite. In Kumite you use whatever advantage you have. If you are tall then it is natural that you would employ kicks to your advantage as you can maintain your own safety zone while attacking your opponent. Then what should a shorter person do? He knows that he/she has to get past the opponents reach in order to effectively attack the opponent. He/she needs to develop quickness in his entries and get out even faster before the opponent can react. Footwork.
In teaching Kata Bunkai and Oyou we face the same problems. As instructors we need to carefully see how the bunkai and oyou can be used by all physical statures. Most times we have the luxury of pairing off students of equal stature, so it naturally makes application of the bunkai and oyou smoother. Now try it with disproportionate sizes. It will be interesting. Normally bigger people would flow to using their power to apply a technique rather than the form. This natural, but how better it would be for them to able to apply the technique with finesse. On the other hand smaller people quickly realize that when going against bigger opponents, finesse is critical.
By the way, aside from the kicks you can see that the bigger opponent has some difficulty in using his punches (Kyokushin rules prohibit punches to the face).
But then what if punches to the face was allowed? (- -;) Scary.
How would you have fought this match?
I mentioned in a previous post about an ongoing battle of words in the local Yelp. It continued to escalate and the moderator finally deleted some of the comments from the thread. Naturally the commentator that was deleted started a new thread with regard to being deleted. On one hand , we are blessed with the freedom to express ourselves and I believe that is one of the great things of living in America. No secret police knocking at the door and hauling you away,never to be heard of again. On the other hand, I think we should all exercise civility and tolerance for another person's opinion.
This ongoing conflict on Yelp has turned my attention to MMA, UFC and the current popularity among the public. Many admirers of MMA probably do not do any martial arts. Some of you may wonder why I write this while teaching karate that has Kyokushin as part of its roots and is a hard hitting full contact style. Kyokushin is also popular and famous for its World Tournaments. Like MMA there are many non-practicing fans of Kyokushin world wide.
I started to develop my "distaste", if you will, of MMA productions back in Japan. The major fight productions took place on New Years Eve! Various major MMA productions set up matches with name value fighters to secure audiences. After all, they are profit oriented businesses. If there is a cosumer population for their production it is only natural to get a piece of the pie. But New Years Eve!! Aside from the countdown and partying, I strongly believe that New Years eve and New Years is a time for family to get together reflect upon the year going and sharing their hopes for the New Year. Of course, we cannot forget New Years practice out at the park! (^^)
Japan enters the New Year period from about Dec. 26th when most government and private industries go into New Years vacation. The New Year begins on or around January 6th. There is a massive shift of population from major cities to the country side as people return to their homes for New Years. Quality family time. Alas things change and now in Japan it is a 24-7-365 life style throughout the year and traditions slowly disappear.
My question is, why do people want to see grown men and women fighting each other on New Years Eve, much less any time of the year? What has happened to family time? Sort of reminded me of the era of Roman gladiators. The audience going into frenzy watching a guy get pulverized. To me that is sad. I find it incompatible with my belief in Budo. After all MMA is an extension of Budo, is it not? There are many opinions with regard to MMA and Budo and everyone is welcome to their own opinions as long as we are tolerant and civil about it.
Yuta, 13 years old is Yachiyo's baby. One of the prerequisite for marriage was to accept Yuta as well.
As you can see in the photo he now has cataracts in both eyes, basically blind. He is scheduled for operation in October (there is only one veterinarian who does eye surgery in Hawaii!!!). However it will all depend on his blood test (something connected to having to be anesthetized) one week prior to the scheduled operation so there is a chance that Yuta will have to continue to live with this condition.
Naturally Yuta has had to adapt to his loss of sight. He still has his smelling but that doesn't help too much other than finding his water and food bowls.
Yachiyo and I have found ourselves having to adapt our handling of Yuta as well. The "playing around" or picking him up now requires caution. I have already been bitten playing around with him. It appears that Yuta's tolerance level has definitely gone down. I suppose that is to be expected. His world has changed. I think it is the same in the Dojo. As Dojo mates, we all need to adapt to changes and be more tolerant of the changes others may be going through. As I wrote previously, the Dojo is like an extended family to me. It is not a place where people do their one hour or so and just leave. Members have their own lives outside the Dojo and at times things that affect them affect their training. Although there is a thin line as how much we get involved in personal matters, at the minimum, I would hope that students are comfortable enough to share their problems and seek help if need be.
We have now become seeing eye humans for Yuta during his walks outside. Yuta has slowly recognized that the pull on his leash equals avoiding collision with immovable objects. Coordination between us has begun to improve (^^). This has made me thankful for the cataract surgeries I had last year and the fact that medical procedures continue to make great strides forward along with gratitude that there people out there with enough smarts and skills to do the procedures. Heaven forbid having me handle a laser! (- -;)
By the way did you know cataract surgery for Yuta is more expensive than what it cost me??? No health insurance either. Oh well, time for instant noodles!! (^^) Have a good day! OSU!
