Hints from one who walked the walk 1

  

I was just reading an article from the HUE Journal of Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences, Vol. 22 No. 2, September 2019. It was titled ‘Talking with the Senior Practitioners of the Martial Arts: Hiroshi Kinjo’ ,written by Masatosho Taya and translated by Mark Tankosich.

 

Hiroshi Kinjo began his studies in school in 2^nd grade and then continued for a lifetime. His training was in the the art created by Anko Itosu Semsei, studied with Hanshiro Chomo  Sensei. The art of karate as combat technique-based physical education.

 

In particular this section caught my eye:

 

Q” Is there a difference between kata now and kata in the old days?

 

“They’re completely different. In the old days, kata, were done faster than they are now. That’s because you didn’t adjust the [execution of ] techniques to your breathing, you adjusted it to the opponent’s timing . Because with kata, if you’re not conscious of the opponent, it not [really] kata you know? Tuned in to the opponent’s timing, after you knocked [his opponent’s timing] away in a flash, you’d immediately throw a punch. If you set up climatic places [in the kata], like [people do] now, it was considered no good.”

 

That change which occurred in so many karate systems, makes the question of the kata being traditional a question to consider anew.

 

 

 

For more reading on Kiroshi see this link by Andreas Quast

 http://ryukyu-bugei.com/?p=1060

 

 

The Spirit of Karate

 

Today I am thinking about the Spirit side of Karate for I have found that without developing one's spirit behind karate, it is far less likely to work.

 

My own spirit was forged under the instruction of Tom Lewis at the Salisbury Dojo.

 

Just to be clear I first became aware of the idea when I read an article about the Isshinryu patch, it described the 3 stars in the sky as having multiple meanings. The one behind my thoughts is the stars represented the Physical, Mental and Spiritual attributes of karate.

 

Not that Lewis Sensei ever gave us a lecture about spirit. In fact no instructor I have trained with in any arts gave such a lecture. I came to realize how real this was over time, much time. But it was a real component of my training none the less.

 

In the paradigm of training at the Salisbury dojo it was instilled into up by being continually facing those better than us during kumite and continually having the lesson knocked into us. Those that understood kept at it and worked to improve.

 

Then when Charles Murray took over my training those poundings continue at a higher level. I never liked them but I continued to work to improve.

 

I was never inspired at kumite, but there were occasions when I went beyond what I could do, opening manifestations of my spirit rising to the occasion.

 

As in any martial endeavor there is not one answer, but gaining the drive to move forward is a large part of the key behind Spirit.

 

The day when I started understanding how it worked came many years later.

 

I was working with a group of my black belts on application potentials within Seisan Kata. They were all over a decade working on Seisan and knew it quite well.

 

As I was working with them a new application potential for the movement series we were working on came to me. I asked one of them to step in and strike at me (just a tool to begin study with) and he did so. I applied what came to me and I disrupted his attack the first attempt.

 

So then I asked another to attack me, and again I made it work. I realized I was on to something.

 

So then I demonstrated what I did to the group. Then I went through it 10 times, even in very slow motion to be sure they understood what I had done.

 

After that I asked them to try and do it against slow attacks.

 

They felt no pressure from the attack to interfere with their mind.

 

But when the attack came, every one of them did something else. Even feeling very low pressure from the attack, they switched to their favorite answer and did that.

 

As for showing effectiveness each one of them would have stopped a very vigorous attach with what they did. It’s just what I wanted them to do was not what they did, instead they did something else.

 

I did not lecture them as I realized they showed me something. Exactly what that was I would go to sleep still thinking about.

 

The Physical – with over a decade of work on the kata, they all were proficient in their execution.

The Mental – I had clearly explained what I was doing. Even to slow motion demonstrations.

The Spirit – This was where the difference lay. I knew I could make the application work. When slightly pressed with the punch stepping in, they did not believe in the technique so they did something they believed in. The reality that I could do it had not transferred to their spirit so they responded where their spirit led them.

 

I am glad they could stop that attack competently. But I already knew that.

 

That showed me I had to work harder to get across their faith in their own spirit to make a technique work.

 

My belief in myself was forged so long ago. I needed to work harder to help them forge their own spirits.

 

An example of where this applies goes to the crux of kata application studies.

 

Showing what is possible is but a part of the journey. The study of Application Potential. It can lead drills of course, but do they lead the spirit behind what is shown.

 

Once one grasps the Potential the real work begins The larger study to reach kata Application Realization.

 

When I hear many talk about ‘bunkai’ the discussions most often centers around the use being shown. Almost never heard is the work to forge the spirit to actually make that technique work against every potential attack. That is a much longer journey.

 

The union of the Physical, Mental and the Spiritual involves far more than this brief discussion. It involves each aspect of our arts.

 

How you forge the Spirit is as important as how he forge the Body and how you forge the Mind.

 

Chaos Theory

 

From Wikipedia

Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics focusing on the study of chaos—states of dynamical systems whose apparently-random states of disorder and irregularities are often governed by deterministic laws that are highly sensitive to initial conditions.^[1][2] Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary theory stating that, within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnectedness, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization.^[3] The butterfly effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state (meaning that there is sensitive dependence on initial conditions).^[4] A metaphor for this behavior is that a butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause a hurricane in Texas ^[5].

Small differences in initial conditions, such as those due to errors in measurements or due to rounding errors in numerical computation, can yield widely diverging outcomes for such dynamical systems, rendering long-term prediction of their behavior impossible in general.^[6] This can happen even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior follows a unique evolution^[7] and is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved.^[8] In other words, the deterministic nature of these systems does not make them predictable.^[9][10] This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos. The theory was summarized by Edward Lorenz as:^[11]

Chaos: When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.

Whether in personal confrontation or concerning city wide conflagration

The strongest answer is not always overwhelming force.

 

A portion of our training ought to include being aware of small events that can yield greater results.

 

Remaining Aware

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time I was teaching a seminar at a summer camp for a martial arts group.

 

I was presenting a mixed bag of applications from several arts, among them several empty hand uses for the Bando Short Stick form I taught. Additionally I covered a group of uses for several t’ai chi techniques.

 

The last one was a demonstration of the use within the Yang T’ai Chi Pull Back.

I explained it in great detail then showed it use.

 

When I concluded a young man from a different martial tradition challenged that I could not drop him with that technique.

 

He had just joined the US Marines and was home on leave. He was about 6’6”, taller than I was and he was in quite good shape.

 

So I accepted his challenge and asked him to step is with a vigorous strike towards my face.

 

He did so and I slam dunked him.

 

He had not paid attention to what I explained was within that movement.

 

As he started punching toward me, I simply stepped toward him and delivered a finger tip strike to his face, that stopped him cold. Then I stepped forward and executed the sequence I had demonstrated putting him down with control present.

 

As he got up I reminded him of what I had said, “Remember Snakes bite. “

 

His mistake was assuming what he saw and not listening to my description of what was taking place.

 

Unfortunate for him, I did remember what I said.

 

Another example.

 

 

One time I had 3 friends join my program. They had not been training long, but as I always kept my adult program members continually off guard, this evening I was showing how a striking potential from Aikido worked.

 

I had covered the technique in great detail. Not leaving anything out.

 

I did not expect they would retain what they were shown, more done to keep their minds alive than anything. I never wanted them to believe they could anticipate what was happening in class.

 

After class was finished, they went on the wrestling mats to continue to train.

 

One of them had fairly received brown belts in 3 arts. But because of life’s moves was unable to stay in place to complete training to black belt.

 

What I observed was he was demonstrating his jumping spinning crescent kicks toward them, and they far less skilled were always backing away.

 

So I approached them and suggested I they had been paying attention to what I had been showing them that night, they could readily stop his attack and put him down.

 

As beginners they were in disbelief at what I told them. The individual throwing those kicks even more.

So I suggested why don’t you come at me with those kicks and see what I mean.

 

He took up my challenge and began coming at me with his jumping spinning crescent kick.

 

He expected I would stay there, unfortunately I stepped into his attack and as he rotated with his kicks, my right hand struck out delivering an atemi flow strike into his trachea.

 

The result of which caused him to fly back away from that strike. Into the wall and then to slide down.

 

I made my point it was what they had been shown that night.

 

I guess you could say, once again the snake bites.

 

The lesson is not that I can make what I choose to work, it is the student must pay attention to what they were shown. Believe in it and of course practice, practice and practice.

 

Judo Koshiki-no-jata ad Ju-no-kata

From Wikipedia

 

Koshiki-no-kata (古式の形, Traditional forms). Derived from Kitō-ryū Jujutsu, this kata was originally intended to be performed wearing armour. Kano chose to preserve it as it embodied the principles of judo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jū-no-kata (柔の形, Forms of gentleness & flexibility). Fifteen techniques, arranged in three sets of five, demonstrating the principle of Jū and its correct use in offence and defence

 

 

 

 

Drinking Alone by Moonlight

 

 

 By Li Po

 

A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
I drink alone, for no friend is near.
Raising my cup, I beckon the bright moon,...
For her, with my shadow, will make three men.

The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;

Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
I must make merry before the Spring is spent.

 

To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
In the dance, I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
While we were sober, three shared the fun;

 

Now we are drunk; each goes his way.
May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.

 

Kime no kata (極の形) - Judo

 

From Wikipedia

 

Kime no kata (極の形) is a series of self-defense oriented katas in judo.

 

Kime no kata, also known as Shinken Shobu no Kata (真剣勝負の形, "the kata of real fighting"), was developed at the Kodokan around 1888.

 

The series is composed of 8 techniques from a kneeling posture (idori waza), and 12 techniques from a standing position (tachi waza).

 

Both sets of techniques contain defenses for both armed and empty-handed attacks.

Looking at the various Judo kata, we see a similarity to karate. But Judo developed from Japanese not Okinawan sources. Knowing what other do makes us more knowledgeable about what we may face.