Let's KISS, Shall We?

I hope you didn't pucker up...

What I meant was: Let's Keep It Simple Shotokan (practitioner).

When looking at realistic applications for kata techniques keep in mind if they are ever to be useful in a self defense situation, they need to be simple: simple to understand and simple to apply. Think gross motor skills being applied under potentially very stressful situations.

One aspect of self training I enjoy is coming up with applications which, to me, meet the above criteria. One way I accomplish this is thinking of each technique being used in an attacking manner, rather than defending then attacking. When breaking down kata into bits and pieces my goal is to start with strikes of some sort followed by a control or throw, ending with retreating.

For me, there are no "mysterious and secret" techniques in kata, just straightforward applications with the intent of ending the conflict as quickly as possible. While I acknowledge there are more sensitive areas of the body better suited for attacking, in a self defense situation under extreme duress I believe hitting anywhere hard which has presented itself as an opening will suffice to, at the least, present the more vulnerable areas for attack.

That's all for now.

Training in Street Clothes

I've been self training for nearly four years now and the vast majority of it has been done in comfortable street clothes - foot apparel of all types included.

I train on numerous surfaces: tennis courts, asphalt parking lots, grass, gravel trails and thin carpet in my garage. Typically I wear either track pants or jeans with light minimalist sneakers, but I also wear other foot gear I own such as boots, loafers, sandals and other types of sneakers. I may be wearing a tee shirt, under armor, or a button down shirt.  In the cold weather I'm using a fleece pull over, or light and loose jacket.

Footwear, especially, has an impact on training. Footwear for hiking, for example, has a stronger grip, so caution must be taken when pivoting until using them in a karate framework becomes second nature. I have three pair of minimalist sneakers I cycle through. Two of the pair are so worn down they have no tread left. They're great since the smooth surface enhances pivoting, but they are slippery too under some circumstances - great for balance practice while kicking though.

Pants also have an impact on technique. I have two types of denim jeans I wear: loose fit all around and a tighter fit around the hips and thighs. Stating the obvious, the tighter jeans do slightly restrict my kicking and deeper stance techniques, not enough to be an issue though for self defense purposes. The loose jeans are as comfortable as my track pants and wearing a thick belt with a larger buckle offers a minimal amount of protection.

Wearing light pull-overs or jackets also has a slight impact on technique, particularly around the shoulders. Another aspect to consider with any long sleeve apparel is the sleeves offer a target to be grabbed in a self defense situation. Good if you are doing the grabbing to control while attacking, but bad if the reverse is true. Keeping this in mind, it is even more vital to keep the returning arm powerful in its draw back so protect against control attempts by your opponent.

Well, that's all for now...

The Beijing Subway

In July of 2011 my father-in-law very generously took our entire family to China for a ten day vacation.

Part of the vacation was spent on a personal-style tour of the City and environs of Beijing.  On the first night we decided to visit a famed area of the city where all sorts of things are sold down narrow alleys. To get there we took the subway since it appeared to be the quickest way from the hotel. What we didn't realize was how incredibly busy it was: literally wall to wall humanity hustling and bustling down tunnels to and from the trains.  My elderly father-in-law was very nervous so I acted as his buffer to keep the crowds away from him as best as possible.

This was about a year and a half since I had restarted self training, so I was being particularly aware of the situation, while in a controlled and relaxed state. It's interesting how the practice of delivering great force while remaining mentally calm and in control can be put to use in different situations.

Today, while working on Heian Yondan and Sochin, I thought about that time and how difficult it would be to apply self defense techniques in such a confined situation. It's situations like this where instantaneous self defense may become necessary. High stress situations can easily become violent so mental preparation is tantamount. Be very aware and maintain a low profile.  Stay calm in potentially volatile situations and remember apologies are far safer than engaging in physical brutality, even if not the instigator.

One other aspect to consider though, is how to actually apply self defense techniques, if necessary, in a crowded, tight place. It's with this in mind that all techniques must the thought of having close-quarter applications.  In fact, many Shotokan karate-ka believe nearly all kata techniques have close-in fighting as the primary applications. This is my belief as well.  Strikes, controls, breaks, throws and take-downs all are found where the assailant is nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with the karate-ka. You have to imagine that you can nearly whisper in the assailant's ear as you're about to snap his elbow for attempting to pickpocket your wallet.

Well, that's all for now...

Peaceful Kata

The five basic kata of Shotokan karate are Heian One through Five.

They were created by Anko Itosu around the turn of the twentieth century as a means of teaching a hybrid of Okinawan karate to the masses through schools.  The meaning of these kata is often misunderstood though. Heian references a peaceful state: a place where you feel secure because you are prepared and alert.

In essence, truly understanding these five kata for all the varied applications in them is almost daunting. But with a firm understanding, and practice of these kata, and their bunkai and oyo, one's knowledge of karate is greatly enhanced.

All sorts of strike/take-down/finish combinations are found through out them.  How one mixes and matches them in real world applications is up to the practitioner.  It must be understood though that the finishing techniques found within them are brutal and lethal, so great care must be taken to practice them with fellow karate-ka.

For the balance of my outdoor training I'll be working diligently on the five Heian kata of Shotokan. Each in depth study of these kata brings forth new understanding of their applications. It should be a fulfilling next two weeks or so at the local parks.

Well, that's all for now...

Where Are The Throws (And Take-Downs)?

Well they're everywhere in Shotokan Kata.

You just have to know where and how to look. Every pivot, every turn is an opportunity to take your opponent down using a variety of techniques. Strikes always are complemented by body control techniques, whether grabs, twists, controls or whatever.  With one hand already in control it's much simpler to attack your other hand in a controlling manner achieving a preparatory stance for a throw or take-down.

For me kata is a series of integrated techniques with the formula of: attack, take down, ensure down, retreat. As your familiarity with the kata continues to grow, these sequences become natural extensions of your karate mind: the mind which controls your attack oriented self defense scenarios. In self training these scenarios are your reality: similar to a gamer becoming the character being played.

Aside from kata I use a standing training bag which has a spring mid stand, so it bends nicely.  It's excellent for feeling the proper body alignment for throwing - if I'm off in any way I have no leverage so bailing is the only option. But when the hips are aligned, and the body movement is flowing, you can feel the power of these techniques very well.

That's all for now...

Don't Lose Those Glasses!

Autumn is traveling fast through Pennsylvania this year.

It's already mid-October which means in a few weeks I'll be losing my after work park time as we switch back to standard time. For the remainder of my Lower Perkiomen Valley Park training I've decided to continue through Heian 1:5 both sides once after a ten minute dynamic warm-up, then focus on each advanced kata five times each side (one per day).  Focus will be on breathing into each technique with increasing tension, so kata will be performed at fifty percent speed for the remainder of the month.  As I've been doing I'll finish with five to ten full intent repetitions of Nijushiho as well.

With this in mind, the reverse of my last post becomes important. Losing your glasses with slow, focused, forceful techniques means you're going too hard. When performing kata as a mental exercise the head must be still, the eyes intently focused on your adversary before you.  Turns of the head are crisp, deliberate and with intent: in other words they are steady and controlled.  You are flowing into each technique, not acting as water crashing over boulders through the rapids.

Understanding the meaning of the technique as you move into it allows you to better perform it in a thoughtful and realistic manner. Repetition of an understood sequence helps make it real for you: you can see where it has real world applications.  As in any subject, understanding leads to long term learning; learning which eventually becomes second nature, and with more time and thoughtful repetition the kata becomes part of you.  As a martial artist isn't that what we strive for anyway?

Well that's all for now.

You're Gonna Lose Your Glasses

Violence is violent.

I wear glasses - have since I was in 7th grade. Currently I have two pair, both fit well, but when training in karate I'll take them off if I know I'll be going hard. All too often I've sent them flying when doing a quick pivot or spin technique, so eventually I've learned to remove them before I reach that level. Whether using my heavy bags, working on kihon or kata, I know that applying violent techniques will send more than my opponents flying.

Today I worked on kata at the local park on my way home from work.  Since I was sick the last couple of days I wanted to work through everything slowly, but near the end I decided I felt well enough to blast the last five or so repetitions of Nijushiho full force, so I took off my glasses and placed them on my outerwear I had laying on the grass.  While doing so I realized if I was ever attacked I was "gonna lose my glasses", whether by the attacker or myself retaliating, so just deal with it and keep on fighting. In other words, bad things may happen if ever attacked, but they must be ignored in your fight for survival.

That's all for now...

What Is Your Intent?

Every action has a reaction...what is your intent in your actions found in kata?

Mindless movement is meaningless, at least when it come to kata. Instead understand that each movement, each action, has a purpose - often hidden in plain sight! Think through each technique while moving slowly and with increasing focus to complete tension for each movement: feel the elbow snap, the jaw break, the knee buckle.  You must envision your intent in such a way that it is real to you.

This is not easy though.

There are many distractions - face it life is distracting!

Focusing the mind is paramount to learning the true meaning(s) of kata. Physics is displayed in artfully brutal ways: there will be damage done by the time a kata is completed.  That damage all depends on the intent of each technique.  Did your 180 degree pivot into a downward strike represent attacking an opponent who is attacking from the rear, or did it represent grabbing the person you just struck with ferocity, and throwing them hard on their head to incapacitate them.

See what I mean?

That's all for now...

How I Learn New Kata

It's simple: I learn from the Masters of Shotokan Karate.

Thanks to Youtube that is...

The twenty-first century is amazing - think of how we gather knowledge and learn compared to the late nineteenth - early twentieth century methods of learning kata.  We have Youtube and they didn't.  Thanks to uploads from around the world the best former and current masters of Shotokan are available for viewing and reviewing.  Download the videos and play them in slow motion, or reviewing a sequence repeatedly, aids tremendously in learning a new kata.  It's how I've learned eleven of the eighteen kata I currently know.

I agree with the maxim "simply performing a kata isn't truly knowing it...".

I will review a kata by as many Shotokan masters I can find on Youtube.  I download the videos and compare each technique and sequence among three to four masters and continue from there.  After dozens and dozens of reviews I walk through the kata in my mind dozens of more times - actually I'm doing this as I watch the videos as well.  Next I start walking through the kata in one of my study locations - typically outdoors at Lower Perkiomen Park in Upper Providence, PA.  With each new kata I find the learning process improved due to the foundations of the previous kata I have (and continually...) learned.  the most recent kata I'm learning is Nijushiho, which is considered an mid-to-advanced Shotokan kata.  I began learning it in mid September of this year and have performed it with varying intent well over one hundred times so far.  Each session (typically 1:00 to 1:15 hours after work M-F and 1.5 on one weekend day) I've been ending with ten repetitions in full - the first five are 3/4 drill and the last 5 are with full intent.

The important part is the next step:

Learn the bunkai and make the kata your own.  I'm finding within a month of learning a new kata the mind is able to grasp many of its intents simply because it's so new and mentally invigorating.  Movement isn't simply for movement's sake though.  The self-defense purpose must be understood and ingrained in your mind, body and soul.  Practicing bunkai as a self-training student is admittedly difficult, but with the aid of  standing and hanging heavy bags I can accomplish enough to understand the intent well enough I believe.

Well that's all for now...

Make Kata Work For You

Life is full of variety, and so is kata.

Each kata has its own unique personality: from the forceful yet simple brutality of Heian Shodan to the intricacies and intimate fighting nature of Tekki Sandan.  And like a good friend, each kata can be treated differently, depending on the goals of knowledge being sought.  Relaxed and gentle, like cool spring day, the focus can then be on breathing through each movement - finding the flow of power through the dance of the breath and body dynamics.   Without abandon, crashing through each technique like your life depended on it working, Nearly ready to collapse as if you just ran the 400 meters in the best time of your life.

Notice I described Heian Shodan, first kata learned in most likely all Shotokan syllabus, as forceful and brutal.  One tenet I subscribe to is that each movement throughout each kata has real life purpose: whether to attack, or to prepare for attack.  Another tenet of mine is that each combination of "mini-katas" found within each kata must finish a self defense scenario.  It's these frames of mind, plus a myriad of other mindful practice scenarios that allow one to make kata practice one's own.  That's how I view kata.

Like nearly all endeavors in life, kata practice is more mind than matter.  Surely an hour or so working through various combinations of kata will make you sweat buckets, but the intent must always rule.  What is the frame of mind while preparing and performing each kata.  If your mind is on the pint of Guinness you'll be enjoying later, then kata at that time is next to meaningless in my opinion. I'm not saying you should be the warrior every time, but have a learning purpose for each performance.  I think of each performance of a particular kata as a building block for that kata. You want to build a strong tower, so each block must be strong: if the intent desired was learned then that block is as strong as it needs to be.

That's all for now...

How to Stay Motivated When Self Training

Let's face it self training in any discipline is difficult. Distractions and doubts, injury and illness, plateaus and personality all come into the mix of success or failure.  My self motivation was exercise and self discovery through something familiar, yet from the distant past.  It evolved soon enough to become a passion rediscovered.  Invigorated in spirit by its depth and breadth in martial arts study I began digging into understanding the reality behind each movement.  The wealth of quality teaching is found on Youtube with a bit of trial and error.  Once good pages are discovered they are favorited and often visited.  John Burke, OneMinuteBunkai, ShotokanSensei, Iaian Abernethy, KarateByJesse, Andre Bertel, any H. Kanazawa, T. Asai, or old Shotokan masters found on Youtube are such blessing to watch.

For me motivation is found on multiple fronts: one is performing the kata in such a way the masters of old would approve.  Two is understanding the kata in real world context: at least a couple of real world applications per series of techniques.  Three is the health benefits -  powering through a 20 to 45 second kata with full power and intent is very physically taxing.  It's a full body attack sequence lasting long enough to end an accost with no other alternative. Think of it, the typical attack is over in a few seconds: distraction and attack almost simultaneously then quick retreat - hopefully without knives or guns involved.  Kata teaches one to attack intensely for a period of time sufficient to end the altercation and initiate retreat.

The other method I employ to keep the motivation is structured training.  I have a set number of kata I know.  Currently the number is eighteen: Heian 1:5, Tekki 1:3, Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion, Enpi, Wankan, Hangetsu, Gojushiho, Sochin, Meikyo, Nijushiho.  These kata are a complete system of fighting with numerous applications of disabling and killing techniques.  Remember, each technique combination has multiple levels of meaning.

I systematically work through all the above kata in different numerical phases throughout the year. Spring is the reintroduction outdoors of the kata so all are done in low repetition, five typically, cycled through over the course of a month.  In the summer I work on getting creative - more heavy bag used for distance and timing rather than impact is practiced. Kata is outdoors and cycled through at varying intensities to feel the interaction of the entire body as one cohesive unit in attack mode: very terminator! Fall is now the time to learn new kata: this September it's been Nijushiho, which is considered an advanced black belt kata in Shotokan karate.  I believe it is fast becoming my number one kata due to its fluidity, beauty and intensive attack sequences.

Winter, well winter is interesting.  This is when my garage door is often closed - often it is opened too, even on the coldest days.  This is the time I work on the higher level interpretations of the kata, again in a cyclical methodology.  Where breaks, twists, cranks, throws, take downs, etc... are practiced. This is the heart of karate jutsu!

Well that's it for now...

Why Kata Is Important

Kata, or similar training methods, have been around for centuries for all martial arts discipline.  I won't go into detail, since I'm not a historian, but just envision any ancient army practicing for battle.  Their "kata" may have looked vastly different, but it's underlying purpose was the same: to rehearse predefined fighting principles in an orderly fashion.

Modern martial arts kata most definitely have an important purpose in teaching their respective arts.  Key fighting principles can be found within each technique, regardless of how insignificant the technique may appear.  Often these techniques are hidden: whether by design for artistic or protective purposes, or due to the ignorance of the person practicing, learning, or viewing the kata.

My original aim in January 2010, when I decided to relearn the seven kata of my youth, was simply to test myself in my physical ability compared to my youth.  I quickly decided though to make the study much deeper: I consider myself immersed in a self study course comparable with any high level in depth discipline. There is a wealth of good information online via blogs and Youtube. Think of it: we can watch the masters of our martial arts disciplines over and over - in slow motion, pausing and rewinding.Couple this with the excellent writing found relating to martial arts study and the modern intelligent student can gain great insight in their discipline: even redefining it based on their own needs (as I am doing with Shotokan) by studying other related disciplines.

For me, kata is the life-blood which connects me to the thread of Shotokan karate, through it's nearly 100 year history.  Certainly it has evolved from when Gichen Funikoshi brought his Okinowan karate to Japan and began the process of molding it to the Japanese way.  Apart from this lineage connection though Shotokan karate is much more: it's a way of viewing life from a "movement" perspective.  What I mean is kata teaches a way of moving the body to accomplish protective tasks: whether they be strikes or kicks, throws or take-downs, grappling or breaking. All kata movement has meaning: in may cases multiple - it's all up to how you interpret and practice.  It's this freedom to interpret, test and practice which makes kata study so intellectually stimulating.

That's all for now...

Why I Started Self Training in Shotokan Karate after 28 Year Hiatus

A little about my Shotokan Karate history first:

I started training the winter of 1979/80 at American Karate Studios in Glenside PA - actually the studio was in Jenkintown when I started, but moved to a larger space in Glenside a few months later.  Marc Steiner was the owner and main Sensei.  He had trained under Teruyuki Okazaki, who is the leader of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF).  Our studio was an independent school though (as best as I remember).  I trained there for about two and a half years, then at a local YMCA for a few months before stopping for various reasons (mostly busy with college and work).  I had reached the rank of 3KYU and had learned all the Heian katas, as well as Tekki Shodan and Bassai Dai.  All in all it was a good experience with good camaraderie among the students and teachers.

Fast forward to January 2010...

For whatever reason I wanted to show my wife Tekki Shodan so I looked it up on YouTube and felt an immediate connection to my youth training in Shotokan Karate.  I decided then to relearn all the katas I learned in my youth and it's been a blast ever since.  I was rather surprised how quickly they came back to me with the aid of Sensei Youtube.  My goal was to learn each kata in the order I originally learned them, but to also learn them in mirror image equally well.  By the summer I had learned all well enough to take on the task of learning a new kata.  I researched all of Shotokan's 26 kata and decided to learn Kanku Dai. Since then I have added in order: Enpi, Jion, Tekki Nidan and Sandan, Wankan, Gojushiho Dai (based on Kanazawa's naming), Sochin, Meikyo and most recently Nijushiho.  Simply learning the kata wasn't enough I learned along the way, since we all can agree kata without meaning serves little purpose other than exercise. I also began the quest of searching Youtube for meaningful bunkai videos, as well has martial arts blogs focusing on practical karate from a traditional perspective.  Thankfully, while the bunkai videos where relatively few, the blogs weren't so my education was greatly improved.  I learned soon enough to broaden my perspective of understanding techniques from a strictly Shotokan perspective (as least as taught to newer students) and began looking at kata movements in the light of standing grappling, throws, controls, breaks, as well as strikes.  I've tried interpreting each movement from an offensive/attack perspective as well.

That's all for now...more to come...