It has been a while since the decision was made to cease writing and during that time many experiences, insights, and issues were presented.
So here I am, back at it, for what it is worth, sharing and learning, most of all, looking at things through a critical lense.... On that note...
There is a group of Karateka that train out of a fitness center to which I also belong and I decided to join in a few of their classes.
Fingers stiff, body sore from nearly two hours of rock climbing just a few minutes prior, donning the Gi given to me by Todd Sensei for Christmas just a year ago, chalk still fresh on calloused hands.
I had been invited to the group by a Yudansha a few weeks ago as I had trained for six months with the Founder of their Organization and, while a different lineage with differing methods, it was still Goju Ryu and an opportunity to expand my horizons.
I walked away from the experience with a particularly bad taste in my mouth. First they had me doing a drill where I would jump straight up in the air and spin to face the person behind me.... To avoid a sweep... Really? All that to avoid a sweep? This is not a Goju Ryu practice! Every ounce of me screamed farce as we continued with the drill. I gave it a chance because it was a good workout, but selling it as a practical sweep avoidance is quite a stretch.
In that same session there was also another drill that had us going through extremely long and deep stances, block and punch sort of stuff, good for training footwork and positioning, but it made more sense to me as simple throws and takedowns... Striking and entering to pull and finish sort of stuff, but that is just how my mind works and how it would be reworked were I to teach it.
Another session had me demonstrating our Hookiyu Dai Ichi Kata and re-learning their Fukyugata series, which are fairly similar to the Taikyoku Drills we do in the SRSK.
This was fine, I enjoyed the Kata training and went home picking apart their Kata looking for little gems of wisdom. Great stuff there when I modify the stances so they are not so deep and keep in line with the Atifa power generation structure within Sanchin Kata.
The next session had me paired up with a Senior Yudansha for Randori, which is a form of free sparring that is very light.
It was fun, but when I began utilizing Muchimidi (Chi Sao) as a tactic to get inside and take the center I was reprimanded and told not to do that. We reset and I refrained from using that tactic, instead utilizing a loose Sanchin Guard to take the center.
My elbows caught light strikes along with my forearms as I moved in. Again I was reprimanded, ‘don’t do that.’ Okaaay?
I was able to grip for throws, several openings for takedowns, great opportunities to test out Kata Bunkai, all of these things were prohibited. Basically I was to stand there, let the guy punch and kick me, move in, move out.
Besides this being one of the only opportunities for partner work, outside the jumping sweep avoidance on day one, most of this class was spent in line training, doing technique in the air and even imagining a Makiwara at one point... Yes, they instructed us to imagine a Makiwara rather than utilizing the time to work partner drills and actual full range Randori.
The mentality was that no one really knew any better and this was just how things were done, with ZERO explanation as to why, even less explanation on mechanics or principles.
Honestly, this type of thing right here is what gives Karate a bad name... I am not going to mince words on that, it doesn’t matter what the reasoning actually is, what matters is the fact that this approach is not practical and, while a great workout, serves no real purpose beyond that.
I am not meaning to be disrespectful, but it is really hard to avoid coming off that way. The attitude towards my presence was one of tolerance so long as I conformed and submitted to the way they do things... In a club that I pay quite a bit of money to be part of... Honestly I feel like there should be an option for me to use their facilities to train the way that I train.
As the Assistant Regional Director for SRSK in Washington State it would not be right for me to train with them and conform as though I am a member of their Organization, but Organizational Status aside, it would simply be wrong to train in a manner that does not sit well with me and does very little to yield any sort of practical insight.
When I trained with their Founder he came off as a very nice guy, with very brutal methods that made a bit more sense, very different to my recent experience. I parted ways with that guy due to the overtly cult-like status and control he maintained.
A bit of that remains with this group, but far less considering they are operating out of a health club and that may play a role in the reason their methods differ.
I witnessed someone get injured when attempting the full 180 jumping sweep avoidance, zero explanation from the Yudansha as to where his error lay, zero instruction on how to correct it and seemingly zero concern for the injury aside from a few comments at the end of class.
I am grateful for the opportunity to train with others, but this all goes contrary to every fiber of my being and I can still feel the cult-like mentality that is the legacy of their late Founder.
I will post more on the technical side moving forward.
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