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?'