A Rose by any other name…..

The eternal question of what is real karate. When in a century karate has gone from a practice by what several hundred school boys on Okinawa to something millions practice around the world

 

While there were instructors with serious training backgrounds, most of the instruction provided at the elementary schools were instructors trained at the Teacher College what to teach and how to train the kids.

 

Recognized by the Japanese School board, overseeing all instruction in Japan approved karate as a type of gymnastics.

 

And while some of those practices made their way into many other programs which adopted the name of “Karate” over the long haul their training did not really resemble the school gymnastic karate either.

 

Nor did the teachings that made their way to Japan follow the original Okinawan school karate.  Each with their own root studies .Those instructors changed or did not change what their programs taught.

 

Then over time more and more groups/schools got with the program and called what their school was teaching ‘Karate’, And the die being set, change went on and on and on unto the ends of the earth.

 

But you know Real Karate only needs 3 kata.

But you know Real Karate teaches Sanchin kata.

But you know Real Karate teaches Naifanchi kata.

But you know Real Karate incorporates the makiwara.

Face it the Real Karate list of qualifications goes on and on…..

 

Face it Real Karate is whatever your instructor tells you it is.

 

I have seen programs of all sort which produce incredible individuals because of the training they received from their instructors. And many of those teachings do not follow the above rules either.

 

Programs that in actuality only teach kata with no kinship to those developed on Okinawa.

Programs that do not incorporate Sanchin or Naifanchi.

Programs that do not include makiwara.

 

Let’s take just one to discuss. That topic is makiwara.

 

I was never TOLD makiwara was necessary but my instructor;s school had one, and I remember striking it often before class.

 

Then when I moved and had to change programs to that of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, that school had 2 incredible makiwara. And for the most part no one used them. Before and after class I made serious use of them. I know because of that use I began to develop calluses on the palms of my hands from the striking. That continued for two years, until I separated from that program. But the benefits from my use of that makiwara striking practice continued to exist in my striking for decades.

 

When I was able to return to my Isshinryu training, my training took place in the basement of my instructors church. We did not have the availability of a makiwara, but the training took place never the less.

 

I was renting then and did not have the capability ot have a makiwara at home.

 

When I began teaching youth at the Boys Club in Scranton it again was not an option. That remained the case when I relocated my program to the Boys and Girls Club of Derry. I was not an option neither for the youth or the adults I trained.

 

Frankly I do believe proper work with a makiwara is a great training adjunct to a program.

 

But whether intense makiwara, light makiwara or no makiwara one's training can still produce greatly skilled martial artists.

 

 

For all the positive benefits from Makiwawa, there are just as many ways to make karate work even without makiwara. It just requires a separate focus to make it work.

 

Focusing on the correct answer, which may be the correct answer for you, does not mean other answers are less correct for others.

 

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2019/03/and-from-these-roots-modern-karate-was.html