Forget Bunkai, analysis is a conscious thing... Train to work outside of thought in continuous flow of the void.
Understanding that most cannot have a partner right now due to Social Distancing, I am fortunate I can just grab my nephew and throw him around in the back yard whenever I want, but the imagination is useful, as is a bottle of water suspended by a string and swung at random.
Irikumi is something I first experienced (outside of point sparring) in the Dojo of Gene Villa Sensei, prior to that it was Randori in Aikido and rolling in Jujitsu (although I did learn to utilize a very slow form of Randori/Irikumi in Gene’s Dojo as well).
The point is, don’t train by analysis, train by doing and allow things to unfold out of the endless sea of motion, the back and forth, the pushing and pulling, the striking, the attempted throws, etc.
The form of Irikumi I see practiced in Genten No Ti is a VERY effective training tool in order to bring things to the surface along the lines of the mechanics taught and the modes of attack. Very strategic in nature and requiring very little thought, everything just flows out from the source (Genten).
I experienced this sort of thing for the first time many years ago. I was a member of the testing board at the Evergreen Learning Center and a green belt student of my Sensei’s was testing for his next rank.
He was older than me, but had a younger sort of vibe, so I can say that he was a shy kid, trapped in his shell much like I was at the beginning, although not as extreme as my shell had been.
Sensei wanted to break him out of that shell so he turned to me and said, ‘We are going to break from Tradition today,’ I simply stood there waiting to see what he would say next, ‘Jiu Kumite’ he said, it was not a question or suggestion.
I nodded and stepped onto the floor, bowed to my opponent, let out a kiai, and attacked without warning.
It took a few moments, but our Shy Guy started to fight back, and fight back hard... It was actually a pretty amazing thing to behold... He was on the offensive and was actually attempting to take the initiative and control the fight, mind you neither of us were wearing any sort of protective sparring gear.
He was taking hits, hard hits, I was taking a few as well and they were getting more and more powerful as we went, ‘Fight me,’ I would whisper under my breath, ‘You got this.’
At one point he landed solid on my ribs, which snapped something in my brain, after that, he landed nothing.
I was twisting and turning, letting him pass and landing elbows simultaneously, as he tried to back up I would follow with a barrage of backfists, hands sweeping in circular form on their own.
Afterwards I was complimented by a guy in the audience who said I moved really well and he liked what I was doing... I had been working nothing but Saifa Kata (some say a variation on Naifuanchin) all that week and it all flowed from there... No analysis necessary, just endless flow from the void. Nothing exists, until it does.
That is something Jan Sensei said at one point, regarding the void, that will stick with me forever.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Monday, July 20, 2020
Genten No Ti.
Most things, over the years, have seemed redundant. There are easier, more direct ways to study this stuff and it need not take years to become competent at utilizing any of it... Mind you that does not imply proficiency.
Having studied, and cross studied to depth and death over and over again from varying angles many things became apparent, but something was always missing, yet blatantly hinted at within every single aspect.
I found some of it, to varying degrees, in various sources. Then I reconnected with an old friend and Dojo Brother, Sandifer Deer, who felt that I should become acquainted with Okinawan Ti to further my study, to breathe new life into it.
This led me to Genten Kai and a man named Jan Dam, a Policeman in Denmark, a wealth of deep old school knowledge in Okinawan Ti, having learned it directly from a family lineage into which he had been taken by his Teacher.
Now my Karate is forever flavored by this study. The Ti he presents draws off of Naifuanchin Kata, but goes back before Kata were even an aspect of the Okinawan Military Training.
Genten, itself, refers to a ‘source’ in more ways than one and I do not fully, or even partially grasp everything or anything about it to any degree of proficiency, but, it is straight forward and easily applicable once one begins to study and practice the principles imparted.
From active footwork to shapes, lines, power generation, body mechanics, it barely even begins to scratch the surface, but the basic stuff is enough to blow anyone’s mind.
Karate is the surface level art. It was never an art practiced in secret, it is highly influenced by the Chinese and, to some degree, it was influenced by Ti, but Ti is Ti, incomparable with Karate. There is no concept of Bunkai because there is no need for it.
As Jan constantly states, nothing exists in Ti... Drawing from this, everything exists because it is not bogged down by points of focus, rather, lines of execution, circles, locking, throwing, taking down, striking, deflecting.
Ever flowing and moving, brutal in its’ execution and beautiful to behold. One can apply it to Karate and deepen their understanding, and one can also study Ti in its’ own right and be able to understand, to great degree, aspects of Karate just by witnessing.
Carrying to daily life one can apply the mechanics of Ti to everything and utilize their motions to greater effect whilst safeguarding their overall health.
If you want to go to any great depths then go straight to the source... It still exists and it is definitely NOT what we have been told.
Having studied, and cross studied to depth and death over and over again from varying angles many things became apparent, but something was always missing, yet blatantly hinted at within every single aspect.
I found some of it, to varying degrees, in various sources. Then I reconnected with an old friend and Dojo Brother, Sandifer Deer, who felt that I should become acquainted with Okinawan Ti to further my study, to breathe new life into it.
This led me to Genten Kai and a man named Jan Dam, a Policeman in Denmark, a wealth of deep old school knowledge in Okinawan Ti, having learned it directly from a family lineage into which he had been taken by his Teacher.
Now my Karate is forever flavored by this study. The Ti he presents draws off of Naifuanchin Kata, but goes back before Kata were even an aspect of the Okinawan Military Training.
Genten, itself, refers to a ‘source’ in more ways than one and I do not fully, or even partially grasp everything or anything about it to any degree of proficiency, but, it is straight forward and easily applicable once one begins to study and practice the principles imparted.
From active footwork to shapes, lines, power generation, body mechanics, it barely even begins to scratch the surface, but the basic stuff is enough to blow anyone’s mind.
Karate is the surface level art. It was never an art practiced in secret, it is highly influenced by the Chinese and, to some degree, it was influenced by Ti, but Ti is Ti, incomparable with Karate. There is no concept of Bunkai because there is no need for it.
As Jan constantly states, nothing exists in Ti... Drawing from this, everything exists because it is not bogged down by points of focus, rather, lines of execution, circles, locking, throwing, taking down, striking, deflecting.
Ever flowing and moving, brutal in its’ execution and beautiful to behold. One can apply it to Karate and deepen their understanding, and one can also study Ti in its’ own right and be able to understand, to great degree, aspects of Karate just by witnessing.
Carrying to daily life one can apply the mechanics of Ti to everything and utilize their motions to greater effect whilst safeguarding their overall health.
If you want to go to any great depths then go straight to the source... It still exists and it is definitely NOT what we have been told.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Modern Karate - A Tool Towards Social Conformity.
The Mob Mentality is an interesting thing to behold; taking otherwise reasonable, intelligent people and turning them into their polar opposite.
Human nature is social at it's core, emotional, and conformist when it comes to the way of what is perceived as the majority in whatever tribe the individual identifies with.
Defend it tooth and nail they will, regardless of right or wrong, even when faced with truth... The crowd is an organism that has no use for truth, fact, or even solid morality, although morality will be twisted and utilized to justify conformity to the butter end.
Many Organizations seem to bolster this conformist tendency in nearly every way.
The individual must submit to the group as a whole, must never question, must always do things as they are taught/told without fail.
Perform everything in exact detail the very same as everyone else, although some variance will creep in, ultimately what is correct is correct without question and very little, no, or inaccurate explanation.
When reality rears its' ugly head this is written off as either lack of experience or glossed over and forgotten entirely with many different excuses.
The individual's shouts get drown out by the crowd and the individual themselves get ostricized, or worse... Banishment is still a very real threat, at least at the core of our base human nature, a Psychologically ingrained need to belong based on millennia worth of necessary traits for survival.
Banishment, failure, denial of moving to a better position within the group heirarchy... Conform or else.
This may not be something of which the leadership of any Organization are even aware, but it is there none the less, and common practice seems to reinforce it.
Some are aware and outright seek to manipulate it. Cults do this all the time, as do Politics... The entirety of our society as a whole functions through its' lense and our schools seek to reinforce it as well.
On the flip side we are capable of being truly individual as people, thinking for ourselves when outside the 'hivemind' standing on our own two feet.
We are capable of discernment, of learning and growing, of facing reality and correcting course when necessary.
Able to take what is useful and discard what is not in light of new information as we face the truth in reality rather than shunning it to remain in compliance with the group.
We are capable of being Self reliant, even capable of passing this on to others in a coherent fashion with good understanding whilst allowing those we teach the individual freedom to explore for themselves.
On an individual level we do not tell others what to think, but teach them HOW to think, learn, and grow for themselves without enforcing rigid conformity to some system, form, or Organization... People like this are often called heretics, eccentrics, odd, insane, crackpots, cooks.
They do not tow the line, they have no real line, the line goes them and they move in unison with it (or sometimes against it as the situation dictates).
This should be the true aim of our journey, or not, depending on what you might seek, maybe you don't know? Best not to let someone else tell you what you are looking for and actually look for yourself, even if it puts you at odds with everything and everyone.
The individual values truth above all else, the group values itself above all else and despises truth.
Why are you practicing specific Kata? Do you even understand what you are doing? Do you fiercely defend what you are doing despite your lack of understanding?
Waking up is sometimes hard to do if you have fallen into specific habits and unconsciously conform. It is one of the most painful processes in the world, and costly in the extreme.
Expect fierce resistance, from the group AND your own heart and mind, they will fight back as you seek to rebel.
Human nature is social at it's core, emotional, and conformist when it comes to the way of what is perceived as the majority in whatever tribe the individual identifies with.
Defend it tooth and nail they will, regardless of right or wrong, even when faced with truth... The crowd is an organism that has no use for truth, fact, or even solid morality, although morality will be twisted and utilized to justify conformity to the butter end.
Many Organizations seem to bolster this conformist tendency in nearly every way.
The individual must submit to the group as a whole, must never question, must always do things as they are taught/told without fail.
Perform everything in exact detail the very same as everyone else, although some variance will creep in, ultimately what is correct is correct without question and very little, no, or inaccurate explanation.
When reality rears its' ugly head this is written off as either lack of experience or glossed over and forgotten entirely with many different excuses.
The individual's shouts get drown out by the crowd and the individual themselves get ostricized, or worse... Banishment is still a very real threat, at least at the core of our base human nature, a Psychologically ingrained need to belong based on millennia worth of necessary traits for survival.
Banishment, failure, denial of moving to a better position within the group heirarchy... Conform or else.
This may not be something of which the leadership of any Organization are even aware, but it is there none the less, and common practice seems to reinforce it.
Some are aware and outright seek to manipulate it. Cults do this all the time, as do Politics... The entirety of our society as a whole functions through its' lense and our schools seek to reinforce it as well.
On the flip side we are capable of being truly individual as people, thinking for ourselves when outside the 'hivemind' standing on our own two feet.
We are capable of discernment, of learning and growing, of facing reality and correcting course when necessary.
Able to take what is useful and discard what is not in light of new information as we face the truth in reality rather than shunning it to remain in compliance with the group.
We are capable of being Self reliant, even capable of passing this on to others in a coherent fashion with good understanding whilst allowing those we teach the individual freedom to explore for themselves.
On an individual level we do not tell others what to think, but teach them HOW to think, learn, and grow for themselves without enforcing rigid conformity to some system, form, or Organization... People like this are often called heretics, eccentrics, odd, insane, crackpots, cooks.
They do not tow the line, they have no real line, the line goes them and they move in unison with it (or sometimes against it as the situation dictates).
This should be the true aim of our journey, or not, depending on what you might seek, maybe you don't know? Best not to let someone else tell you what you are looking for and actually look for yourself, even if it puts you at odds with everything and everyone.
The individual values truth above all else, the group values itself above all else and despises truth.
Why are you practicing specific Kata? Do you even understand what you are doing? Do you fiercely defend what you are doing despite your lack of understanding?
Waking up is sometimes hard to do if you have fallen into specific habits and unconsciously conform. It is one of the most painful processes in the world, and costly in the extreme.
Expect fierce resistance, from the group AND your own heart and mind, they will fight back as you seek to rebel.
In the end we all walk alone, matching to the beat of time's finite drum until death takes us... Did you seize the day for yourself?
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