When I was fighting lots of tournaments, fighting on the door, and sparring in the school – fighting was fighting was fighting. I did not vary very much from the way I trained and fought. Sure in a real fight I would end up knocking out my opponent instead of holding back a bit […]...
In my previous post on Rohai kata, I provided the historical background to it as explained by Gohakukai founder Tokashiki Iken as well as a video performance of Tokashiki Tadao at Kinjo sensei’s 40th anniversary demonstration. It is hard to capture the details of kata by video alone, so in this blog post I’ll provide a detailed explanation of how... Read more → ...
The best book on Okinawan karate history I've ever read As a writer I read a lot. The truth is, if you don't read then what you write is pretty limited. I'm fussy about the books I invest my time in though, and like a good many of you reading this blog, I've graduated from reading everything I could get my hands on about karate, to avoiding most of what is now published on the subject. In truth, in...
Me after morning training at the Higaonna dojo, Makishi, Okinawa, 1984 George Bernard Shaw once said, " All progress is made by the unreasonable man ." His point being, that if you accept the status-quo then you are destined to remain forever in whatever situation you happen to find yourself. Progress, he contended, is made by the seemingly "unreasonable" man, the individual who asks questions...
The other night I was practicing Tou’on-ryu Sanseru kata in the dojo and although I am still not very good at it, I enjoy the challenge of doing it. Somewhat ironically it was one of my least favorite kata when I learned Goju-ryu, but this all changed when I learned the Tou’on-ryu version. At any rate, after practice my mind... Read more → ...
They say you should treat rudeness with kindness or some such notion. I believe more in instant karma. I also believe in standing up to bullies. The guy in the suit babbled away on his mobile about “securities plays” in a loud voice hoping to impress everyone around him, rushing ahead of me to get [...]...
Once when I was standing in the road I saw a street fighter hitting my friend who was bathed in blood so I needed to help him. I told the street fighter...
Goju-ryu uses a heavy, hard and slow San Chin kata for training and conditioning the body, but it was not always this way. We all know that Higaonna Kanryo altered the San Chin that he learned in terms of speed, breath and muscular tension (and later on so did Miyagi). I believe that Higaonna did this to emphasize the conditioning... Read more → ...
Training with a student, original Shinseidokan dojo, Perth W.A. c1996 After a Summer that was relatively free of visitors to the dojo, the onset of Autumn has proven to be a little busy. Not everyone has come from a different school or dojo, but the net result has been the same, recently I've spent a lot more time teaching karate than I like to. When visitors are Shinseidokan students from the...
As readers of this blog know self defense issues are near and dear to my heart. Often times I read other websites recounting rules of self defense strategies and I wonder – what? I mean often times there are no hard and fast rules. I see non-fighters talk about yelling fire, or kids grabbing […]...
A few weeks ago I was driving home from Kobudo practice with one of my students and we started talking about how Karate-do and Kobudo teachers in the West have a tendency to affiliate themselves with well-known Japanese or Okinawan teachers and their respective organizations. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but some of these same teachers will state that... Read more → ...
What a great morning. Our electrical issues move on apace. Now the guys have signed off (see previous blog) we are as few as two steps away from a Smart Meter, barring any territorial disputes over which company is responsible for detaching which end of the cable. Such matters are strategic, business planning, top end […] ...
In our case we move on, wearing lightly our designated stigmata of being upper class, Grammar School educated, perhaps just a little too courteous, a little too aspirational, a little too focused and any other unfashionable attributed sins a Trendy-Left educationalist might pin on us in their relentless enforcement of equality for all. ...
When you walk into a karate school, one of the first things you notice are weapons on the walls. There are also trophies and pictures but the weapons are what I noticed right away. After watching karate movies and seeing how deadly weapons could be I wanted to learn how to use them! […]...
I am a Torksey Dragon. A student of Sensei John Viney 3rd Dan-in-Waiting, with Life Membership and regular one-on-one tuition as part of the deal. I am fortunate. Why have I chosen John as my teacher? He is a good communicator, not overly sensitive, robust, plainly spoken, loyal, fearless, energetic and reliable. All the qualities […] ...
I have an appointment with the excellent Sports Physiotherapist Michael Clark of Response Physiotherapy, on Wednesday 5th March, 2014. The pain on waking in my right thumb joints is remarkably similar to the damaged Rotator Cuff in my right shoulder, which Michael treated with astonishing effect in 2013. Curiously the pain is at its most […] ...
Here is another exert from Toyama (Oyadomari) Kanken’s Okugi Hijutsu Karatedo. This section outlines a rather nasty double strike to incapacitate an attacker, but more interestingly (for me anyway) provides a means of reviving the attacker – something that is rarely described in modern Karatedo. I hope you can see a technique from your own kata that is similar to... Read more → ...
s surprising how often I hear things like, " You should have asked that sensei about... " In other situations too, people are frequently comfortable enough about their own lives to offer me unsolicited advice on how I might live mine. I don't mind taking advice, but only from folks who are good examples of it themselves. It is so often the case these days, that the more I talk with karateka the...
Finally, I must mention bladed weapons. An altogether specialist subject. How to deal when threatened with these? Book a lesson or two with Simon Oliver Sensei of the JKR. It helps. ...
I thought I would continue with some additional writings of Toyama (Oyadomari) Kanken. The section below is from the same book as his essay on Karate styles. In the example I have translated below, Toyama explains a technique for freeing yourself from a rear bear hug. He does not state which kata (if any) this technique comes from, but since... Read more → ...