Karate - A Positive Note

While Karate may not be what it has been made out to be, this does not mean that it has not, or cannot, be utilized for something better.

I may not have all the answers, but a Student CAN use the framework to find the rest AND learn something not readily addressed on the Dojo Floor.

In this way the answers are always on the floor.

How the Karate student applies themselves, based on their discipline, spells the difference between success and failure.

Whether that be in Self Defense, Shop Class, or a Board Room Meeting, how they apply themselves is everything.

There is carry over in all aspects, despite what anyone says or writes.

Those who are successful in negotiation tend to be pretty aware outside that board room.

Those with training tend to gain confidence and rise as Leaders in their field, despite being the lowest on the proverbial totem pole.

I am a Leader in Security and head the Security Force on a Government Site, I started as an Officer with some pretty strange cases.

I am now sitting in on executive meetings, identifying areas of Security Concern, handling Client Concerns, working towards better Security Practices and identifying problem areas while handling finances for the account.

Anyone can do any of this with the right mindset, but more, with the right foundation.

Foundation is key, but to rise above and put it to work, that is the lock.

 ck.

Karate in Reality.

What does Kata Saifa tell you about collecting antibiotics from the source?

What does Kata Seiyunchin tell you about skinning animals or setting up a shelter?

These are not brought up as realistic examples, they are meant to be extreme examples of how Karate does not address everything.

Kids are impressionable and will often accept the answers they are given. Karate Sensei like to come off as all knowing and deserving of respect.

Karate Sensei do not know everything and, in my experience, even fail at the basics, like marriage.

They may have the answers to violence, or maybe not, they may have the answers to success in modern life, or maybe not, but if they claim to have the answers to everything, you need to put on your tin foil cap and listen with skepticism.

One Karate Teacher I knew was a womanizer and alcoholic, he had his leg amputated because he couldn’t get his act together, but his family benefited from his enterprise.

In the end, he lost his life, but his family endured… So one might say he was smart and selfless in that regard.

I see another Karate Organization ripping itself apart while it’s’ founder is alive.

That person named someone else as Chief Instructor, but when his own monetary value was decreased he decided to break away, he forbid anyone in his old Organization to use even his picture and formed a new Organization based in Okinawa, because that is where the money is, and with his name… Despite having cut his own Teacher out of his named Lineage.

Karate has always been a place of questionable character.

Toguchi was an alcoholic chain smoker, Higa was an alcoholic Chain Smoker, money is money and people make it where they see opportunity.

Karate was, once and still is, the study of Police,Thugs, and Gangsters. 

Not the art of character development. That is a marketing ploy of our modern era, based on movies.

Karate is also effective. Based on the fact that GSP, Bad Rutten, Machida, and even Connor McGregor utilizing it to gain fame, money, and titles.

Karate is not what it seems and is certainly not an art meant for children.

Reality Over Fantasy.

Our Karate, we are told, is battlefield tested, it is ancient.

Most don’t buy that crap even today. 

Karate is a twentieth Century invention and we are told it is based on a mix between Chinese Quan Fa and Okinawan Ti.

What does this even mean?

Karate, as our bias would have us believe, is central to trade and cultural exchange between the Okinawans and Chinese.

It would seem that more cultural exchange would be focused on actual trade and other things, like education.

Maybe not so much, but the Chinese felt it necessary to send their performance artists and low level dissidents than their actual Military heads.

Seems a practice that has continued to this day.

Jumping forward a bit… Why would an occupied country want to give up their secrets to those they view as an occupying foreign force?

They wouldn’t, if they were smart, and even today there is a movement in Okinawa that views both Japan AND America as occupying foreign forces.

Karate at its’ present stage, as it is presently taught, is exactly what it is meant to be, benign.

Although there are many MMA practitioners who count on Karate as their base, from Bas Rutten, GSP, Machida, and even Connor McGregor… They show Karate has effective roots, but they miss out on the entirety of the effectiveness of Karate.

I have never met Jan Dam in person and am hardly an expert on Ti, I left Jan’s group due to an Illness and the expensiveness of his seminar, but Jan introduced me to another side of the equation.

Thanks to modern technology I was able to learn from this man.

Ti is not Karate and Karate is NOT Ti. The flow of entry has a place and a study, it has nothing to do with technique or set Bunkai. It has nothing to do with X versus y answering with z.

No. That is not how boxing does it either, no getting hung up on techniques, forms, or how it SHOULD look because violence is never calculated, it is always messy.

This falls short as well.

Do you learn to use your window reflection? Are you trained to hear the extra sounds around you? Do you look for extra shadows, are you trained to hold your head on a swivel? 

There is even a smell. Do you know what it is?

How about the timeframe of violent interactions?

Two to three movements. Kata is a whole slew of movements. What about the variables? The struggle? Where will you flow to next?

Violence is the game. Prevention should be the name.

Most schools focus on when prevention fails, they do not address anything else. Head block? Failed self defense. Reverse punch? Failed self defense.

What do you do when your assailant doesn’t just stand still?

Also a failure.

Fairbairne is a good starting point. Forget styles and Organizations if they do not have your well being at heart.

Rank means nothing if you cannot defend yourself.

Identity

The more I discover the more I realize how little I truly know and, more than that, I don’t know what I don’t know.

The romanticization of the wise sage-like Karate Sensei, Kung Fu Sifu, or what have you, is a fantasy.

No one has all the answers and while the answers might be on the floor, what is the floor?

Can one learn Carpentry or the skills of an Electrician on the floor?

They can certainly learn the focus necessary to obtain such knowledge as well as strategic methods of approaching such studies, but no, the floor cannot teach you to be a Carpenter or Electrician.

Identifying solely as a Martial Artist is fine, but many cannot obtain a balance necessary to live a good life if that is their sole focus.

They can learn to be good parents, good citizens, good Leaders, good Students, good Mentors, but they have to actually go out into the world and do the work.

When being a Carpenter, be a Carpenter during the timeframe you have to be a Carpenter and then, when you get home, be at home, be a good Parent and Mentor to your children, be a good Husband or Wife.

I am still working on this.

I am NOT just a Martial Artist. I am a writer, sometimes (and not necessarily a good one), and Artist, a Father, a Mentor, a Leader in my field, a Husband, an Uncle, an advocate sometimes.

We all wear many hats, Martial Arts is a small part of that, but it should be foundational for how we approach things, how we execute tactics and strategy when tackling things.

It is not life, it is just a way to approach life that gives us tools.

Good for thought.

Book Review: Book Not Named

Running on a lot of coffee, vape, and rage today…

Reading a book that someone recommended I read by someone we mutually knew.

Not necessarily someone I liked when they were alive, although at first they were fine, but as time went on I got to know just what type of a person they were.

That has nothing to do with the book, however, as I have found insightful books by absolutely dreadful people in the past.

This book, however, was clearly written by a, then, bitter old man succumbed to absolute Nihilism regarding their own life, circumstance, and some of the life decisions that may have been the roots.

There are some good points in this work, such as finding a balance between life and Martial Arts, that Martial Arts are not life, but can be a tool for improving life and facing things head on… Which the author did not do.

There is also the point about the evolution of training as one ages since age changes us all and we are not as young as we used to be… It MUST change and evolve.

The author seems to have learned this at a point that was too late and they were certainly bitter about that.

The author comes off as some sort of authority on Martial Arts when, in truth, they had only been training a couple years longer than myself.

My own Sensei gave them glowing praise as a Budoka, but the author trashed my Teacher, and their own, at any chance they got.

The take away of the book, what little of it there is, did not require so many pages and is certainly not original to the book itself.

The ramblings of a bitter person who could not cope or accept the circumstances of their life and face it accordingly… Which is fine, maybe the book was their final attempt to cope, or, more likely, a means to make more money and gain more of an air of authority on a subject they were clearly not following enough to speak as such.

Anger and bitterness are brutal bedmates, yes, we all face this at one point or another, but it is never anyone else’s fault but our own.

I am forty, I don’t train like a twenty year old. It is THAT simple.

I can certainly recommend this book, but I am not going to for the simple fact that one should not have to pay for common sense… Common sense is free.

I am not going to name the book or the author either as that would be disrespectful since they have since passed on from this world.

What I can say is that I hope they finally found peace.

The Necessity for A Study in Violence.

 It is more than painfully obvious that crime is escalating, criminals becoming more brazen in their activities and actions, despite any polling, it is plainly obvious by just paying attention, by listening, watching, and communicating within the community (funny how both contain 'commune').

It would be foolish to question the place of violent study in the grand scheme of things, just as it would be foolish to question the necessity of food and water.

From empty hand, to blunt and edged weapons, to non-lethal items such as mace or bear spray and Tasers to Fire Arms. Police are under staffed, under funded in a lot of places, and only arrive AFTER a crime has been committed. 

Being pro-active in our own protection and the protection of those whom depend on us (even those who don't) is our responsibility, as is knowing how to operate within legal parameters and the Psychological Ramifications of doing so. 

Just yesterday something went down outside of the school my children attend.

A registered Sex Offender was confronted and subsequently arrested after casing the parameter of the school, in broad daylight and in view of a number of witnesses. 

This is not an isolated incident and there are more examples of brazen criminal behavior from which I can draw to justify that it is utter irresponsibility to put off an understanding of Self Protection to an outside Organization. 

Especially when it comes to those you love. 

Temperance and Fortitude.

Not so deep inside every man is a savage flame that cannot be tamed, only directed. 

There is no need to fight this, only a need to temper and hone it like the blade of a sword in the fires of a skilled metal worker. 

Raw, unformed, this energy is wild, chaotic, without direction or control, it does more harm than good.

Temper that energy, direct it by reason and wisdom, it does more good than harm. 

Every boy must face trials to put what they discover about themselves to the test and temper those discoveries further with experience. They must face these trials in order to become complete. 

This is lacking, even in many Martial Arts Schools where they should not be lacking. 

I realize this is one-sided and focuses solely on Boys and Men, but in this day and age, it is a focus that seems necessary as many are demonized for this when it should be treated as sacred to be a keeper of this internal Savage flame. 

Something that is truly necessary. 

To my Son, Geoffrey.

Fatherhood is the greatest thing one can achieve as a Man, it is also one of the hardest things to endure. 

My Family is everything to me, my Wife, my Children, my extended Family, whether by blood or by shared experience, it is the single most important pillar of my being, my reason for existence in this world. 

My Son Geoffrey is an accomplished Trick Scooterist in his own right, extremely skilled, dedicated to his craft, even going so far as to try new things in the form of Skate Boarding, though he does not enjoy Skate Boarding as much as he enjoys his Scooters. 

Some of the things this young man can pull off boggles my mind and his dedication to this Art is, indeed, not something to be scoffed at. I am truly proud of his achievements in this. 

The mindset it takes to pull off even the simplest of things is on par with any Martial Artist worth their salt. 

I recently had an exchange with Geoffrey that hit harder than any punch to the face I have ever taken. 

There is no Custody Battle, and the years have gone by without incident until recently. He is approaching his eighteenth birthday, so there really is no point in pursuing that, nor would I ever want to take him away from everything he has come to know. 

Someone told him otherwise, and he believed it. 

"The court case," he cited as his issue, "Stop trying to take me, my brother, and my sister away from everything." 

This was in response to my having reached out to him to make sure he was okay after having seen him take a hard hit to the head by concrete attempting to ride a Skateboard on his friend's Youtube Channel.

I explained that I was not trying to take him away, that I was only trying to visit with them all during my allotted visitations in the Parenting Plan and had always returned them.

Some of the other things that came out of his mouth were pretty vulgar, with one racial 'n' bomb dropped that really caused concern as I had never used that term.

The take away from this is that kids will be kids, he knows I am always there for him, no judgment, regardless of what was said or what he chose to do. 

We all face challenges in our lives, the best way to deal with those challenges is to push forward, accept them as they come and allow them to make us into better human beings. 

Also, remember, family is everything, regardless of how said family might feel in the moment, time heals all wounds. 

Training Mindset - Not Style or Concept.

It is human nature to overcomplicate things to absurd levels...

In Martial Arts there is one underlying truth, Martial Arts are not some self-help or spiritual path, that is all an aside based on personal experience and life choices. 

The simplest way of putting it, if someone attacks me then they need to regret that decision. 

There is no need for added 'woo' nonsense, there is no need for over complicated concepts that force overthinking in order to bolster student retention and revenue come test or seminar time. 

Cut out all the bullshit and what is left? 

"You cannot do that until such and such a level of understanding" says the person attempting to put on airs of being a wise Sensei or Sifu. 

I call bullshit on that. 

I've been in fights, I've lived in rough neighborhoods where adherence to this nonsense will get your face rearranged and your lifespan shortened to a matter of seconds. 

I've been training in Martial Arts for over thirty years as well and the quickest way towards something applicable can be found in the Boxing Gym, on a Wrestling Mat, in a Brazillian Jujitsu or Kickboxing Gym. 

Yes, many still disparage these things in the Traditional World, but mainly because it is true and the results are readily discernable almost from day one. 

My Son Garretty was a Regional Wrestling Champion by the time he was nine years old, on the Mat the kid is a phenom, he can lay waste to adults, let alone kids his own age. 

I learned the basics of Wrestling when I was about five or six years old from my older brother Frank and it helped me tremendously in dealing with bullies at school. 

Am I here to disparage Traditional Karate? Not at all. My knowledge of Traditional Karate, bolstered by the likes of Practical Minded Teachers such as John Roseberry, Kris Wilder, Iain Abernethy, Charles Todd, Michael Dascenzo, and Gene Villa have helped me tremendously and, indeed, helped me coach my Sons on the sidelines at Wrestling Matches when their Coaches failed to provide any sort of Strategic Guidance. 

Even a six month exposure to Brazillian Jujitsu has proven far more useful than any sort of exposure to overly complicated 'woo' concepts. 

I am, by no means, an undefeated and elite fighter, but I can and have held my own and kept my wits during some pretty extreme situations that could have proven fatal otherwise. 

No one can really say what will work and what won't until the rubber hits the road and we are forced to apply what we have learned, if we make it through, then what didn't work really needs to be discarded while we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to what proved useful, even then, it may not prove useful all the time.

Fighters such as Machida, Ruten, and GSP have all proven that Karate is nothing to scoff at. 

While they did make modifications to make their respective areas of study more applicable to the Cage, what they do is still Karate at its' core, but they did take what worked and discarded what didn't. Bas Ruten is so dedicated to the art of Karate that he created a fight league based solely on Karate. 

The training methodology may change, but the core remains the same, it has just allowed itself to shed all the nonsense that holds it back. 

Although mostly focusing on punching and kicking, this is mainly due, primarily, to experience in the Sport Karate arena where stand-up grappling and throws are, for the most part, ignored. 

Many of these figures have also given up the study of Kata or relegated it to the realm of being a 'good workout.'

I am a proponent of Kata, but we need to get beyond the bullshit and look at what is there. 

Wrestling concepts exist, clinch fighting exist, throwing, takedowns, and defenses against the same exist, these can be found in the realm of Kata, but the approach to Kata needs to change. 

Kata is not just a set of prearranged dance moves and should not be trained as such. 

Individual Kata routines are more of a modern invention by respective 'founders' of 'styles' and these have become cemented into set routines based around set styles that do not exist. 

Jan Dam has opened the way for me to explore my Kata in a way that is more fluid, based around principle and strategy than one will find in any modern Karate school. 

However, that being said, there is still much work to be done to break away from a mindset that is overly complicated, overthinking, and, frankly, impractical. 

I am not concerned about lines and circles so much as I am with taking the other individual down and putting them out of the fight as quickly as possible. 

There are much faster ways of achieving this than moving toward ever more complex concepts. 

Fighting/Combat is simple. It has to be, otherwise you won't live through the ordeal to tell your Grandkids about it years down the road. 

Warriors and Military would not waste their time with something that is not readily applicable in a short amount of time. 

The idea that Soldiers would spend years learning something that they cannot apply in the first five days is laughable because they need to be combat ready at any given moment, the same with Police and Security. They are not going to waste their time. 

The idea is to build a Soldier that is battle ready from day one and to make them ever more competent over time, which is usually accomplished by drilling down simplistic basics over and over. 

The only complexity comes in greater understanding of said basics and basic strategy that evolves over time. 

Endless stances, endless concepts that require ever more complex discussion, these things only detract from actual training that should be aimed at building the Soldier up both mentally and physically into an elite combatant in order to meet the enemy with something truly formidable. 

This goes for weapons, this goes for hand-to-hand defense. If we look at the way of war, weapons have been simplified over time, maybe not in design, but in use... It is not necessary for a Soldier to understand how a Missile is built, unless it is their job to apply said knowledge in the upkeep of said Missile, it is only necessary for them to know how to enter codes and push a button. 

A far cry from Swords, Axes, and Spears... Even the use of these were not overly complex, just endless variations on strategy that apply pretty much the same basic principles in different ways from different angles. 

These were not even ruled by a specific way of doing things, one was trained to think in the moment and apply according to circumstance... The training? They trained by DOING in a controlled environment. 

There is zero substitute for this.

One needs to break free of concepts like 'style' or even 'level' within said 'style' and just train. 

Forget all the 'woo' bullshit, there is very little of that that is applicable, most of it will get you hurt. Yes, there are some mental aspects of training and some training methods for the mental aspect that are useful, but don't get lost in the rabbit hole of complexity. 

Khabib is one of my favorite fighters, a Daghastani Wrestler from a family line who is undefeated in the Cage. 

His was more about mindset coupled with physical technique and brutal training in which he wrestled bears, trained with large stones at high altitudes and at the end of the day if he said he was going to Maul you and Rearrange your face HE MEANT IT and he DID IT. 

Get in that mindset. 

Karate is NOT Special

"Karate" is a silly thing, a silly word, and a silly way of life. I remember going to an airport to attend a big Karate event and being greeted by a guy that bowed to us... He was not Japanese and I felt a bit silly about the whole thing, we can just shake hands or fist bump, that is fine. 

We can bow in the Dojo, that is proper, unless we are in Japan where it is not only socially acceptable, but part of the social make-up of the country. When in Rome. 

Will Karate teach a person how to calculate a formula or invent some grand thing? No. Karate does not have all the answers, not all the answers can be found on that floor and, no, Sensei is not all-knowing and full of wisdom. 

Karate, or any type of training that requires effort for that matter, will provide ways in which resilience can be cultivated and taken from the floor into all other aspects of life, but one does have to put in the work. 

You can get this from lifting weights, a good hike, rock climbing, dance lessons, it does not necessarily need to be from this thing with which many have come to identify as a key element of their persona. 

Perhaps it makes them feel special? It certainly is an interesting and unique niche, or at least it used to be, although now it is viewed as something mostly for children and is often dropped as soon as the child hits a certain age and finds something else. 

"Karate" is a very silly thing indeed. It is certainly NOT who I am as a whole person, it is only a very small part of that and, perhaps, it gets far too much attention, far too much focus. 

There are many other aspects of life that are far more important. In my case, being a Father, being a Provider to my Family, a Leader at work, an Artist, a Friend, sometimes a Mentor, sometimes a Student, a Third Degree Knight of Columbus through the Church with a focus on helping others less fortunate. 

An example to my Children, which does not always work out. 

One does not need to put on a Karate Gi, bow, say things in Japanese, kick and punch air up and down a wood floor in order to work towards becoming who they are meant to be. 

Most challenges are thrown at us outside the Dojo, off the Floor, in a world where that training is not respected, where your title and your rank mean nothing, where people are going to disrespect you and try to tear you down, for real, in every way possible. 

So what is the point of all this? 

Karate is not special, it does not make a person special, it does not give a person any sort of special abilities or special insights. 

If you think you are special because of Karate I would say you need to drop it and find something else to do. 

I have met great people in Karate circles and I have also met people that were truly just assholes in Karate circles. What does Karate have to do with it? Nothing, they just happened to train Karate. 

The people that were great seemed to realize this. The people that were assholes let it go to their heads as though it reserved for them some place on high and everyone else was beneath them.

Then there are those who grasp to Karate as a special thing because they are not happy with their lives, however, I feel like those assholes with inflated egos also fall into this category, but they try to put on a good show.

There are people truly worthy of respect that may happen to be skilled at Karate and should be respected for sharing their time and knowledge, as well as for the effort put in to gaining the knowledge they are willing to share. 

The relationships, the bonds that are formed, those are special, Karate is not. 

 

Unplug and Reconnect.

 

With each passing moment the realization comes that Social Media is killing society, not just society, but our small Community. 

Rife with Ego, rife with marketing according to some big trend, regardless of what is practiced, it is all about getting noticed, all about 'me.'

This is the 'Selfie Generation' and it is no less prevalent in the Martial Arts Community where people seek such attention in order to promote themselves and their brand. 

So much ego, yet still these are skilled individuals with much to teach, but can one truly take them seriously? 

Going back and forth with the idea of just shutting down all of my Social Media accounts and really unplugging from the rat race, as it has become, to refocus, to center and reconnect. 

This will naturally cut me off from some things that are only available to me via Social Media, but that is okay, I have everything I need right here, right now. 

Social Media is poison, it seeps into our hearts and minds, our thoughts, our emotions, our opinions, these are no longer our own and, much of the time, it seeks to make us feel like we are less than we are, especially in light of advertising and content. 

We are not lacking, we just need to unplug and reconnect with our true selves in the moment, away from the screens, the keyboards, at least for the majority of the time, when such a thing is possible. 

Who are you? What are you doing? Do you have your own dreams and goals? Is what you are doing furthering you towards said dreams and goals? 

Are your thoughts your own? Are your feelings and opinions your own? Are you self-sufficient? Are you spending as much time training as you feel you should? 

Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, but can you truly be sure if you do not truly know who you are?

Unplug.

Stoic Karate - No Styles, no Rigidity.

 

What a nice day for yard work and Training outside! Taught lessons of body mechanics with a rake and broom for my son and daughter without anything particular in mind, then broke out three Jo and taught them a little bit of Jo basics which, naturally, translate to SOME sword basics. 

So caught up in the media sometimes that we all forget to enjoy the little things by stepping away, getting out, getting dirty, sweaty, and wearing ourselves down. 

We also tend to take ourselves a little too seriously a majority of the time and THAT is when stress gets us. 

In the community it is about style, about lineage, about whatever, we forget to step away from all of that and just train, enjoy training, realizing that we don't need to be so proper or 'Traditional' and rigid in what we are doing.

There are no styles, there is only the way.

This is the way.

Stoic Karate - Questions to Self.

What is the point of this? A question I often ask myself regarding many things, not the least of which is Martial Practice.

A funny way of wording it, ‘Martial Practice,’ gives it a special air, a place of seeming esteem.

What is the point though? To pass on a Tradition? Plenty of Traditions to pass on without the baggage. To Defend oneself? There are more direct ways of achieving this, also without the baggage.

‘This is the most direct no-nonsense method,’ is something I have heard time and again regarding many systems of Martial Art.

Is it really? Is there possibly some bias at play? Often I can think of more direct approaches.

‘This is a Military Combative Art’ is something else I hear often.

Really? Would a Military waste their time training in something that takes years to understand and apply? Would they not just cut the fat and go with something they can use to train their Soldiers to be battle ready in a few weeks to a couple months? 

Fairbairne’s approach doesn’t take much time at all.

It all seems rather silly to me when I really think about it.

What IS the point here? Maybe it boils down to who is teaching, their level of understanding, and their approach.

Maybe it also boils down to WHY anyone would seek it out to begin with?

I enjoyed Competition when I was a kid, even winning a National Silver Medal as part of the Olympic Martial Arts Center Tournament Team under the guidance of Michael Dascenzo Sensei.

That was a long time ago and I am no longer a child, priorities change, people change.

I WANTED a Black Belt back then, I bought the whole style and Organization ideology back then.

After my Teacher quit Teaching I was left to my own devices, although I have not stopped training for a single day since then, it was just me.

I eventually ran a School where I had twenty students at any given time, teenagers mostly, but a small adult class as well.

My Teenagers ranged from 9th Kyu to 4th Kyu.

Then I closed the school to deal with Family stuff.

What was the point of it? Really? It was great to teach, I love it to this day, and to teach without an Organization to tell me my standard, free to explore. 

What was the point though? Priorities change.

Thirty years on, I am still here, practicing and teaching, though more practicing than teaching, questioning whether it is even worth the effort as there are clearly more direct ways to achieve things.

Even learning the root of the art I have trained for so long, Ti, though still not as direct as I would have hoped… Likely due to my lack of understanding and limited exposure.

What is the point of any of it? 

People get hung up on superficial things, arguing about this, bickering over that, ‘no, it is done this way’ or ‘that’s not right, it is done that way.’

Why? 

Full of armchair historians, keyboard Karateka, plus the two inch Sensei who moves a fist two inches to the right or left with no explanation.

What IS the point? 

Maybe Dascenzo Sensei had it right when he left and gave away all his books, weapons, Karate Gi, and just walked away? 

I won’t do that, however, because this is who I am, who I have been, and who I will always be.

Although I will NOT participate in ANY Organizational Politics, I will NOT abide any of that mess in my life.

No patches, no real affiliation other than loyalty and respect to those who take/took the time to offer me their knowledge, guidance and made me work for it.

Combatives vs Non-Combatives III

 

Where do we begin when teaching or training? What is our focus? In many cases, when it comes to Karate, it is first on stances; walking, turning, proper form, etc. 

From there it is on to punching, blocking, and kicking, moving basics/Kihon, then Kata, then into partner drills, sparring down the line, which is often taught with a different set of principles.

There was a conversation with someone a while back, someone that runs their own school who stated that their focus, now, was 'more combative' and that they were 'reworking everything with combat and real fighting in mind.' 

Okay? So that goes right back to previous posts on this subject, what do you mean when you say that? What, exactly, is being reworked? What, exactly, are you changing? Are you also getting into fighting shape? 

Many pay this aspect lip service, seldom knowing what it even means, mostly it is just to sell an angle to get more students through the door because bills have to be paid.

Looking at their page, nothing has really changed about what they are doing, it is still Karate, they are still doing things the standard Karate way, even if they pay lip service to being different. 

What do I mean by this? They start with stances, moving drills while punching and kicking the air, lots of Kata, lots of talking, very little on actually concepts that could serve a person who winds up in an actual violent situation, or even a person who chooses to enter the Ring or Octagon. 

All they are doing is repetitive Kihon/Kata type training, zero Kumite or Iri Kumi from what I could see and the 'stop and go' aspect of basic Karate remains, they have not broken that habit.

In my opinion, if we are going from a more Combative angle, the concepts that would serve someone in a Combative situation should be taught first and remain central to the training with everything else taking secondary supportive roles. 

Those things which do not serve to support these concepts and principles should be dropped entirely, especially if they only cause confusion and work against the more Combative concepts. 

Stances are good for training, building up muscle, and they do have combative aspects to them, but to approach the Combative side we need to forget all about stances and focus more on footwork, positioning, rhythm, and timing. 

Form is important only insofar as it has a function, most of what is taught is NOT functional. You cannot just throw your hand out and call it a strike, there are mechanics that serve a proper strike which are meant to deliver more heat into the opponent whilst protecting you from injuring yourself.

Kata? I do believe in the combative usefulness of teaching and training Kata as it does teach quite a bit about positioning, functional form, footwork, proper mechanics, etc., but not really much in the way of rhythm and timing that one would get from partner work and sparring with a live resisting opponent. 

That said, Kata is more for solo work, while class would be focused on taking the lessons FROM Kata and applying them wasting very little time on punching or kicking air, little time on lecturing, more time for actual work. 

I watched a video from Ramsey Dewey on Youtube in which he had sent out a poll stating 'the Average Martial Artist can't fight,' a good percentage of people agreed, myself being one of them. 

It is a true statement, the average Martial Artist CAN'T Fight and would be made to look like a fool if they were every attacked by an assailant in the street, or even if they stepped into the Cage without prep work, even by an untrained attacker. 

Mr. Dewey brings up three ingredients required to be good at fighting; 

* Technique

* Athleticism

* Aggression

He is correct in saying that if any one of these are missing then there is going to be a problem. 

Technique is only one third of the formula, if you have technique, but lack conditioning you MIGHT win based on your aggression, but if the other guy has conditioning AND aggression they may well steam roll you as if you weren't even there. 

I would say that there is a fourth aspect of this formula, namely Strategy, Tactics would fall under Technique and Technique would be more principles and concepts driven. 

Just some food for thought. 

Stoic Karate - Note to Self

 It has been an interesting couple of months for me.

Moving forward, assessing core values, goals, their alignment, to seek where things are lacking in an effort to improve.

To see why certain things are done while other things neglected.

Is this really serving a valuable purpose, or is it merely an effort to avoid that which is unpleasant? 

What does this have to do with training? Everything.

Training does not end at the edge of a smooth wooden floor or tatami mat.

It does not come merely as punches, kicks, locks, throws, or submissions.

All of life is training, one day at a time, moment by moment.

There are many forks we come across on this road, we make our choices, but do we choose wisely or poorly? Why? 

Do we take the easy path because we do not like the idea of the hardship ahead? Fear based decisions tend to be future based while decisions based on true intrinsic core values/virtues we each hold tend to be more focused in the now.

It is not the destination, but the journey, as the old cliche goes.

The funny thing is that we can tell a lot more about our true intrinsic values by our actions, not our thoughts, nor even our words.

What do you avoid? Why? What do you tend to do? Why? Where is your focus? If you had no impediments how would you act? What would you do?

Is training something that springs from core values/virtues, or is it merely a Vice? Something that you do for your own sake, or something you do to shout ‘look at me! Notice me! I am special!’ 

Here is a secret, no one cares. If all you try to do is grab attention, recognition, then all you are doing is stroking a fragile ego and you will be disappointed when no one really takes an interest.

That is a weakness, not a strength. Seeking that extrinsic value is fleeting in the long run, true value is found within, as is your true opponent.

What do you do when you hit an obstacle? How quickly do you give up without further effort or examination? 

Obstacles are not stumbling blocks, they offer more than you may realize.

Obstacles are our truest Teachers, they lead to, and advance, the way.

The only way forward is through.

How do you deal with irritation, frustration, and anger?

Yes, these are hits that hurt. Work them out, something we all deal with.

Do you seek to lash out? To gain the upper hand? To control the situation through force and intimidation like an animal? Seeking to establish your dominance and destroy the annoyance?

Maybe turn inward? Acknowledge? Accept? Then you might be able to choose how you respond rather than reacting based on chaotic emotional heat.

Yes, there will always be emotion, and many do not have a good handle on that, but that does not mean getting a handle on yourself is impossible… It is the only thing you really do have ‘control’ over.

How does any of this play out on the floor? How do you fair in, say, sparring when you have a hot head and your opponent remains level, centered, and cool?

What happens when you allow too much thought to seep in to your training? What happens when you see an obstacle, such as learning a new lock, throw, or strike as being impossible to grasp and you give up?

It is really obvious how this plays out on the floor, how it plays out in life, even in drastic situations that could spell life and death… Panic and you die… Lose your cool and the assailant has you.

Train with that in mind, and treat each moment as a little death to maintain the reality behind it, because you ARE dying in each moment as you creep steadily closer to that last breath you will ever take on this Earth.

How much more are you willing to procrastinate? How much more time do you actually have? 

Now, RIGHT NOW, is the time… 

Combatives vs Non-Combatives II

 This is to add to a previous Blog Entry...

Him Down Now... This is Self Defense, not Combat, not Fighting. You do what it takes to take the Fight out of the person attempting to assault you and get away to safety in order to call the Police. 

Him Dead Now... This is Combat, you seek to take the enemy out in whatever way possible, you seek to demoralize, to dehumanize, and to kill them, not simply take the Fight out of them in order to get away and call the Police. 

To add to that, a Fight can be Combat that does not seek to kill a person, but Self Defense is never about Fighting, it is about getting away and calling the authorities. 

If you seek to kill someone when it is not legally warranted in the civilized world, you will be prosecuted and sent to prison. So what does 'be more Combative' mean? This is a question that needs to be answered by those who make such a statement.

Not being able to answer this shows ignorance in both. 

What is more, being vague is like having someone wax your car and expecting them to block full force punches with the motions of waxing without giving ANY instruction or hands on experience to help them work it out. 

I can have you wax-on, wax-off my car all day long without giving an explanation; if I attacked you at random, out of nowhere, you would likely get fucked up real quick. 

This isn't the movies, there is no wax-on, wax-off here. Not without some direction that gives the mind something on which to focus, some sort of understanding that directs the Student in their endeavor to build skills necessary to deal with that sort of attack.

This isn't the 1980's either, we have all seen the UFC, we have all been exposed to that poor SOB in his Karate Gi that got wasted in the original UFC. 

We have the Internet as well, we have all seen videos of assaults with commentary, and SOME of us have actually experienced it enough times to call out bullshit when we see it. 

Karate IS effective when trained correctly, especially with knowledge of Ti thrown in there that goes more towards Principles Based training rather than perfecting technique for performance sake.

I have ZERO patience when people state such things, but do NOT know the difference.

A True Sense of Personal Karate.

 At a recent seminar I attended we all lined up according to rank and the Sensei of the Dojo, whom I have known for a very long time, gave me a compliment.

'David should be a much higher rank, but he is like Kris when it comes to testing.'

This was the greatest compliment I have received, coming from a place of respect and understanding, and it is absolutely true. 

I spent twenty years as a Shodan before testing for my Nidan, one of the last Yudansha Promotions given by the late Shihan John Roseberry, my Teacher's Teacher and a direct Student of the late Seikichi Toguchi. 

It has been a few years since THAT test as well. I am not big on testing, as one can notice by the above, I am bigger on studying, practicing, and learning from the art itself. It is not that Rank means nothing, nor is it even about the tremendous monetary cost of receiving a certificate of Rank.

I can, and have, taken a single Kata and studied JUST THAT Kata for years on end, then moved on to another only when it felt right to do so.

I am also not very big on Organizations, I dislike them in the extreme due to the emphasis on hierarchical structure, often cult-like deference that can lead to inflated egos, a sense that one knows more than they do, which, in turn, leads to some very dark places in extreme instances. 

It has nothing to do with thinking I am better than anyone else or above anything, on the contrary, the more I learn, the more I know that I know nothing, and THAT feeds my curiosity and thirst for knowledge on a level that leads me to some interesting places and introduces me to some interesting, and extremely knowledgeable, people. 

I do not seek to change anything, I simply seek to understand everything which, in turn, changes me to the core with each trip down the rabbit hole. 

Organizations are a fine place to start, especially if you have a good Teacher, as I did, but Organizations serve to promote and protect the Organization itself and are not really open to anything different. 

Rank might provide me with official recognition, but I really don't care much for striving to achieve a piece of paper that costs hundreds of dollars a pop, I seek only to learn, to understand, and to be able to pass on what I have learned and understood... Which is not much in the long run. 

I have been training for over thirty years now in Karate, about twenty five years in Aikido, I have learned to use a Katana, I have learned to use Bo via Kobudo, I have learned a little bit of Escrima, I have learned a little bit of Boxing, a little bit of BJJ, a little bit of Muay Thai, and spent about two and a half or three years learning Genten No Ti.

All of this adds to my understanding, my core, which cannot really be defined by a System, Style, Organization, or even a specific Kata. The main goal is to get beyond all those trappings and truly discover myself through these things. 

The study has led me to explore Soto Zen practices, to learn the Culture from which the primary Art I study comes, which, in turn, has led me to an exploration of my own Culture. 

It gives me a deeper respect for people, a sincere sense of gratitude towards my Family, towards my Teachers, their backgrounds, and a will to be courteous, to show manners, to show respect, even when no respect is given in return. 

Karate opens the door to friendship and a sense of family that extends deeper than blood at times with people whom I otherwise may not have had the pleasure of meeting. 

Crossing hands goes beyond words, it goes beyond Organizational Boundaries, beyond Rank. 

Even a White Belt can defeat a seasoned Black Belt if they dedicate themselves to deep study.

Combatives vs Non-Combatives.

"Make your Kata more combative"

What in the world does that broad statement even mean? Sure, it sounds great on the surface, but in what way? Based on what does one make the judgment that something is not 'combative' enough, if at all?

The above is taken from something that was shared with me, told to the sharing party by one of their Seniors after a test which they had not passed. 

Are they looking for mindset? How do they gauge mindset? Are they looking for something specific in the Kata itself? What are they looking for? 

This has been rattling around in the back of my head since the day it was shared with me. 

This, coupled with the state of Karate as a whole, begs the question... What does it mean to be more 'combative?' Also, why such a vague and broad statement without specifics to work on? Is it considered Teaching when nothing is actually taught? It seems to me to be more confusing than enlightening, unless the party that made this statement did not fully understand it themselves? I doubt that is the case, considering who said it. 

Combatives imply a very different emphasis from Sport or even Self Defense. 

The emphasis is important, as is being direct and detailed by what you mean when you explain something so that the Student walks away knowing exactly what to work in order to improve.

If we are being vague we are doing no service to our Students, our Art takes a huge hit, and people walk away throwing up their hands.

Zen Masters we are not, but we can seek to improve upon ourselves, although in Combatives that is NOT the main aim of Training.

So what does it mean?

Some will give more vague statements at this point; they don't really know what they are talking about, they are just trying to seem hardcore and mysterious at the same time. 

If THAT is the case, run, run as far away from those people and that place as you can because all they want is your money and some form of influence over you in a role they do not truly deserve. 

Maybe they have competed in a Tournament or two, maybe even have a whole Competative Career to back them up, but that just means they understand the Sport Emphasis.

While there is some carry over, there is a huge difference insofar as the emphasis. 

Sport Karate is a game of tag, Judo is a game of pushing, pulling, and imbalance, Jujitsu is a game of submissions, in Combatives there IS no aim to make anyone tap out, nor to target soft, medium, or even hard punches along a specific 'T' shaped area along the body with other areas being illegal. 

No, we should not hurt our Training Partners or Students, but the focus, the mindset, the emphasis is completely different. 

HIM DOWN NOW is very specific. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy, no vaguely cool-sounding riddle to solve... It is simple and to the point; YOU AIM TO PUT HIM DOWN RIGHT NOW!

The mindset itself changes the focus, changes how things are trained, you cannot achieve something truly Combative Oriented if nothing else changes. 

Sure, you can emphasize a ferocious mindset, but most don't really know how to do that either.

Let's face it, most who go to a nice Dojo that can afford the Tuition, along with the various costs of testing on top of that, they are not used to being in situations that require a complete mental shift from their suburban middle-to-upper-class lifestyles. 

Most I know have degrees, which is nothing to sneeze at as that is quite an achievement, which also takes time, money, and dedication, but these are also people who live in nicer areas of town, some even business owners, who really don't have to deal with day-to-day violence.

Not to stroke my own ego, but I have never been that type. Everything I have I have worked for, with the help of others looking to see me better myself and my status, to whom I am extremely thankful. 

Most of my life I have lived in rough neighborhoods, I have experienced Drive-by Shootings, I have experienced a Gang of twelve Red Boys storming our Apartment Building armed with pipes and, eventually, a machete, while four of us stood them down in the street. 

I have experienced meeting School Bullies after school, fighting it out, and becoming friends afterwards as well. 

I have been nearly gutted by a drunk wielding a curved shard of broken glass more than a foot long from a broken glass table they had fallen into seconds prior. 

I have had a gun held to my head, a knife pulled on me, I have been sucker punched in a shady area of Downtown Spokane, and my brother was beaten in the back of the head with a retractable baton in that same area. 

So what does it mean when you say 'Make your Kata more Combative?' 

What is it you are looking for when you give that directive to the person who shared this with me? 

That is like moving a fist that has been punching air for an hour two inches without explanation, the two-inch Sensei, what is the reasoning behind it? This is why the art of Karate is suffering in the image people have of it. 

People believe it to be an art that is good for children, but nothing more, without even paying lip service to Karateka that have been successful in MMA... The likes of Lyoto Machida, GSP, Bas Rutten, etc. 

Here is a hint... Your Kata will look a thousand times different, the emphasis moves from 'technique' to 'concept and principle,' from stances to 'footwork and positioning,' from form to 'function,' and from Style to 'Strategy.' 

You may not even practice Kata at all at this point, it does not really matter, or you may still practice Kata, but on a different level, from a different perspective. 

You will certainly no longer perform 'techniques' the way you once did, you will not spend a tremendous amount of time punching air, you will hit the Makiwara, the Heavy Bag, and a Training Partner who fully resists in sessions of Iri Kumi. 

You will not be aiming for specific techniques, you will only seek to take what your opponent gives you, you will seek to take them down NOW. 

There are no blocks, there are no punches, there are only various ways to get the job done. 

So what, exactly, is the person who made the statement looking for? What exactly are they meaning when they say they want to 'See Kata become more Combative?'