Lessons From The Kihon Kata #3 - Movement Pathways.

Maybe this is an ‘aside’ or a ‘backtrack’ and ‘correction,’ but still very much part of this deep dive adventure beginning with the Kihon Kata.
I have to remember that the Kihon Kata were made specifically for school children and had a lot of the ‘higher force’ techniques omitted and a lot of what was taught with them, as far as two person drills, were created towards those same ends and, often, later.

So the Education given was specifically starting with Kata, not with Application (and it is doubtful that application itself was ever incorporated, judging from the state of sport Karate).
No real skills were taught beyond punching, kicking, and blocking, all done at unrealistic ranges in unrealistic ways.

Does that mean they are useless or useful? Just because something was not explained or highlighted does not mean it is not present.
How do we fix this? First, the opponent, forget the idea of ‘opponent’ and start thinking more of an ‘assailant’ and forget about doing a specific technique against a specific attack, the ABC method is out the window because it sucks and does nothing to prepare people to face assailants when or if they should have that displeasure.

How does the assailant move? They are certainly not going to assume a position akin to Zenkutsu Dachi in a Gedan Uke ready position with their attacking hand in chamber so that you know where it is coming from and what they are going to attack with so that you can apply your cookie cutter response.
Karate does not begin with Kata, it ends with Kata. Training should not be based on training, it should be based on creating competency, skill, and strategic thinking ON THE SPOT!

Taking this into account, you are slammed into a wall violently, maybe even jerked back up with one or two hands on the scruff of your shirt or jacket. What skills do you employ?
Me? I would likely move with it and head but the guy, assuming he is taller it would hit the nose region or just under with the combined momentum of his jerking me up and my push into it. Shoot my hands up center and out to slam his arm or arms away, pop him a few times in the abdominal section then sweep his arm through while he is still disoriented so that I gain the flank and he is either hitting the wall or passing to one side giving me the position of advantage.

See that? I aggressively stepped forward to close the distance while using it to assault his face then bring both arms up to get his hands off me (Morote Kamai from Gekesai Dai San, Gekesai, Kakuha).
Gaining the flank and allowing him to pass through maybe be further bolstered if I just help him along the way by adding momentum with a weight drop while grabbing the back of his neck to pull him down either face first into said wall or follow up with an interesting arm crank or a takedown. Same type of sequence as shown in Gekesai Dai San, but same movement as the previous post? Maybe? What skills is this teaching as opposed to the previous?

We have taken into account the ways in which an assailant will move or assault you in one instance, what they do is not as important as how they do what they do or, in other words, the feel of it.
They are going to jerk you around, grab and tear at clothing and skin, they are going to be bigger (possibly, at least in my case), and they are not going to leave their arms out for you to apply anything, they are going to do everything they can to stop you from applying anything.
What skills are useful with this? Sensitivity and blending, using what the opponent gives you is not just in or on their bodies, but in the movements themselves, the jerking and thrashing, the momentum, the back and forth.
What YOU do may not be what I do and what WE do will not looking like Kata, nor should we strive for that.

What else? Striking to disrupt and disrupting to strike and closest weapon closest target, head butt with a punch combination follow-up while on the inside, what this also tells us is that the inside is dangerous because all of their weapons can still reach us, so keep moving and causing damage vying for a dominant position.
This segment also teaches us entering aggressively, closing the distance and throwing off their timing by taking their initiative away from them.
Next it teaches us to clear their arms and allow them to pass through with whatever defense they muster so that we gain the better position by flanking them, taking at least half their weapons away by means of positioning.

We then continue the motion with a weight drop and forceful pull using the hand on the neck (Koken Uke) as a delivery system for the downward and backward force of the whole body.
With this we can use the wall to hit them, in this scenario it shows us that the environment is a weapon too, but this is not specifically called out in Kata, thus, this illustrates what one limitation that is seldom addressed.
It shows us using our whole body with momentum of the assailant and the importance of mobility with stability and elevation within footwork.
(Pretty sure I can word that better)

The main points, as you can hopefully see, are not in the techniques, but what they are meant to illustrate and to work those principles rather than perfecting and getting attached to technique.

More to come. Thank you.

Lessons From The Kihon Kata #2- Sensitivity, Flowing, Locking, and Striking.

How often does the sequence ‘stepping forward into Sanchin Dachi while performing Chudan Uke’ appear throughout Goju Ryu? It does not matter the lineage, the answer is A LOT.
It is in every Kata, whether it be open handed, closed fisted, it does not matter save the context, which means it is a primary principle of the system, indeed, it seems to be a primary principle in just about every incarnation of Karate in one form or another (an interesting aside is that Jodan Uke is not particularly prevalent in Goju Ryu as a whole and is seemingly a secondary principle that utilized similar mechanics to Chudan Uke - in my view the Kihon Kata are primarily for teaching, not for application, as such this seems to be a way of telling the student to be mindful of different elevation zones).

After the initial movement (in Toguchi Goju Ryu) there is a half step at a forty five degree angle with a pivot to the right whilst performing a Jodan Uke.
In Kata performance this seems choppy and broken, but if we take that out it would show a seamless flow from one to the other with a ‘spinning top’ principle at play.
What does this say? What is the context here? In my view it is to train sensitivity to a changing situation, as is prevalent throughout Goju Ryu also as a primary principle, while also training clearing, striking, and lock/flow in response to how the opponent might react after the student has put them on the defensive.

Clearing the initial attack the student gains the flank on the opponents’ right side while moving in and taking the center.
While footwork they also assault the legs and lock; the opponent may freak out and step back, pushing or attempting a strike or guard with the other arm.
In clinch or near clinch range contact is maintained in order to feel these responses as the ‘feeling’ sense is faster than what the eyes can capture, at least at close range.

The main point is to feel the shift and respond, basic infighting; as the arm is presented the student shifts, clears it through overhead (Jodan Uke), grabs and rolls their ‘punching’ arm through into an arm at.
Yes, this all seems rather formulaic, but again, the underlying principles are the important point of focus here.

Sensitivity.
Clearing.
Flowing and Locking.

Wait. Where are is the striking? In a previous post I pointed out that the mechanics for what we often call Punching in Karate are not really conducive to good Punching. Yes, one can punch if they choose or if a punch is called for, but generally the striking occurs in transition (at least what I have found).
This is something else the Kata calls our attention to. In the ‘clearing’ sections of Chudan Uke and the transitional ‘clearing’ to Jodan Uke one can find many strikes moving towards the centerline targeting the softness that is the general area of the throat or beneath the jaw line (striking hard to soft and employing closest weapon to closest target).
There are also forearm strikes to the assailing and pushing arms (attacking the weapon) with a sweet spot halfway between the elbow and the hand on the outside of the opponents’ forearm (think Kotekite).

These things can, and should, all be trained in isolation THEN re-deployed in conjunction within free-form ‘play’ (a Rory Miller term).

More to come. Maybe going to take all the opening sequences from each of the Kihon Kata and see how context changes from Kamai to Morote Kamai and dictates either Jodan Uke Principles or Koken Uke Principles, both from a Nissan Dachi and Shiko Dachi weighted principle and how these work.

Thank you for tuning in with me on this journey. It will take some time, a lot of training and visualization, a lot of back tracking, a lot of correcting, and a lot of Coffee.
Hopefully I can add some pictures soon to show more of what I am talking about from a visual medium, but I hate drawing on digital programs, so maybe not and this forces us all to use our imaginations.

Thank you.

Lessons From The Kihon Kata #1 - Opening Movement Analysis (Single Kamai).

The notion is to get beyond thinking about the shape our bodies take at the end of a movement, which we now call ‘technique,’ but to get at how those principles can function strategically towards an end goal.
The first movement in the Kihongata series is a step into what is called ‘Kamai’ (probably not spelling that correctly) and what many take as a ‘ready position,’ but we have to examine this deeply in order to get at the essence of it without getting too hung up on it.

I would NOT guard my head with only one hand up at chest level and one hand in chamber, so what is going on here?
First, when practicing solo we tend to do things against our own imagination which assumes our own approximate height and weight, so the chest level movement against a larger opponent might adjust to a higher level or even a wider level, within reason as there is a point beyond which the movement loses its’ applicability.
The solo form or the training form is an ideal to teach the principles, not necessarily something to expect. Rather like Tsuburi Training in Kendo.

The movement itself is not just a movement of the arms, but of the whole body in a specific way that encompasses each ‘zone’ as part of the whole.
Stepping out into a crescent shape with the feet while moving the left arm to meet the right in the center, then completing with right arm out in what we call a Chudan Uke. The body itself DOES perform a slight weight drop then rises up into the ‘final’ shape of the first position.

What is the opponent doing? Perhaps an attempted grab or shove? Perhaps an attempted sucker punch? A general idea leads to insight regarding the strategy, but it is not dependent on one specific act of the opponent other than the opponent is moving on you from the front somehow.

Taking this into account we move to implementation:
Closest Weapon/Closest Target coupled with Aggressive Forward Pressure and Clearing.
Attacking the Posture by rotating via leverage or attack on the arm while assuming a flank on the outside by the very rotation implemented.
Couple this with the footwork, stances are NOT static positions, they have a purpose. With aggressive forward motion we, at the same time, lock-up the leg of the opponent as a point of leverage in the overall attack.
Chamber hand is part of the overall movement as well, taking place and near Clinch or Clinch range, it is generally a grab and pull coupled with the motion of the opposite hand - the application of Yin and Yang as complimentary forces.

The success of the first motion is not guaranteed but also not ruled out which is why the Kata continues, the main point is to steal the initiative/steal the opponent’s mind and put them on the defensive, at the very least, but to END the altercation first and foremost.
There are other aspects in the motion that include striking the arm of the opponent with the offhand as it meets the right hand in the middle, which then catches and rotated the opponent, plus a small kick implied in the step for Sanchin Dachi before catching, trapping, and locking... The kick would be the set-up to get the necessary leg, otherwise a legitimate attack as feinting is not an option.

This movement can be examined in even greater depth from various angles that can fill volumes upon volumes of books and that is just one movement.
The movements themselves are only few, and the principles employed are even fewer, as we waddle things down we can see that Martial Arts are really only a few principles applied in varying ways with differing goals.

Take away for me here is;
1) Aggressively Close Distance.
2) Closest Weapon/Closest Target. All Zones.
3) Get to Flank.
4) Disrupt with pain to gain leverage or rotation points.
5) Attack posture.

The main point. Get the other person to defend.

More to come, possibly on this, maybe on the next movement, maybe both with some corrections for myself.

Introduction - Lessons from the Kihon Kata.

Approaching this subject I have chosen to view Hookiyu 1 and 2, Gekesai 1,2, and 3, Gekiha 1 and 2, Kakuha 1 and 2 all as part of the same set of strategic principles with an emphasis toward variation within those principles.
Basically they are all the same Kata, they are not meant to be separate, but progressions. Originally created as a means of Physical Education for Okinawan School Kids, they are simple in what they have to present as far as lessons, yet not completely devoid of what makes Karate effective as a means of self-defense.

Toguchi Sensei built upon the groundwork started by Miyagi Chojun Sensei by creating additional Kata in progression, which is the beauty of the approach he passed on to those of us that study these, yet they were meant as an introduction to principles, not as a means themselves.
Kris Wilder Sensei once explained to me that these Kata were like the first steps in writing basic alphabet and grammar while the Koryugata were more along the lines of cursive. Perhaps that is true, but maybe a more apt view would be as learning the rules of mathematics, then applying the rudimentary skills, then moving on to algebra with a good base in fundamentals.

The take away I have from this, while I continue my deep dive, is that there are really only a few base movements in Karate, a few base principles, these principles are worked differently or varied depending on the problem presented.
It is not merely X does Y so you should respond with Z, it is in Z itself taking different forms within a sentence structure in order to formulate a word.

The basic movement of Jodan Uke is not fundamentally different from a Hammerfist strike, the context changes certain things, but the fundamentals of the movement remain the same.
Open hand versus Closed Fist is not a matter of Advanced versus Intermediate either, the principles remain the same, the only difference is the context, which will require one or the other, nothing more.

Ultimately there are sweeping principles, swinging principles, clearing principles, striking principles, projecting principles, sensing principles, positioning and timing principles, and control/neutralizing principles.
This list may change, but this is what I have found for myself in this deep dive and I feel these do not fundamentally differ from Kata to Kata, they are the same things applied in different ways.

These first Kata show us aggressive advancement into near clinch range in order to flank and neutralize, sometimes with simple projections.
The feet are involved as weapons throughout as well as the upper body, including the head and torso. The main point being continuous aggressive movement attacking from all levels systematically utilizing sweeping, striking, sensing, locking, clearing, Timing, positioning, ect.
All are present in their most rudimentary form.

Each aspect can be isolated and trained, indeed, months, even years can be spent working each aspect of strategic principles to proficiency, but months and years are not necessary for effective application right away so long as one does not get caught up in the ‘preservation of Tradition’ mindset and work from a strictly technique or form oriented approach.

Each in this series of Kata are meant to cover differing variations of the same problems, albeit the variations are meant to maintain the upper hand based on the many ways an opponent/assailant will react, though not exhaustive.
Another key point would be mindset, quite likely the key most principle, aggressively getting ahead of the curve and stealing the initiative in order to put the opponent/assailant on the defensive.

This is a brief introduction and I will go in more depth later. I will cover each principle I have mentioned with further explanation based on what Kata presents us.
A key to remember is that the Kata are the culmination of lessons that should be learned, they are a tool to give us some direction, but are not the means or even the end and as new lessons are learned perhaps new Kata should be created to illustrate what may not have been previously taken into account.

More to follow.

Musings on Principles Based Deep Dive.

Deep diving into the notion of Principles Based Training has really brought some new angles to light and raised some really great questions.
These questions may not be appreciated by everyone, but ultimately that cannot be helped and, regarding reactions, may give rise to more questions within each that reacts, questions like 'why do I feel this way about what he just said?' or 'Why is this causing such a reaction within myself?'

To start... We tend to focus on the end result, or shape, of each principle and label that as the primary thing, like Jodan Uke, rather than taking what the whole body is doing into account, or even what our opponent is doing.
'Jodan Uke' is a label given to classify something that was not previously isolated and classified, isolation of an end shape may be the ideal shape we wish to achieve, but it is not important in the grand scheme of things.
Does it work? How? If not, then why? In what context did it work and in what context did it not work? What is the 'it' to which I am referring? Is it the end shape or the total movement as it is happening?

In conflict there are no 'end shapes' other than the end goal, which is to end the conflict and/or escape the situation altogether.
If something works to that end then it is correct, if it does not, then it is not correct. Whether it LOOKS the way it is supposed to look is not the point.
Are standards imposed from the outside important? Maybe to a certain extent, but more as guideposts, not as the immutable rule, mainly because everyone is different and the lessons learned for each person, even from the same principles, will be different.

Preservation of a system for the sake of preservation is not really doing the system justice, and maybe we need to stop thinking in terms of systems in the first place because such a thing implies 'programming' or 'programmable' responses, which are counter-productive to effective application.
Going along with the answers being within, there is nothing to teach, but lessons to learn, and this begins with learning the lessons, not with how someone else learned the lessons.
What would the role of a Teacher be in this instance? As a guide, to pose the questions and get the student to think, to question, to understand what it is the moment has to Teach them about particular principles being worked.

I tend to agree with Patrick McCarthy Sensei and many others in that Kata are a culmination of principles, first learn the principles, learn what those principles mean to YOU, then check out the Kata, but don't get hung up on it.
What do Kata include? The lessons can be isolated insofar as one focuses on principles rather than 'snapshots' or 'end shapes,' because these really miss the point. Mabuni Kenwa Sensei even stated that there are no 'static positions in Karate,' so this idea MUST be thrown out because it was never an original part of it.
Karate is NOT a system, it may contain schools with different approaches, some having different Kata representing different lessons learned, and this is fine, but these are not the main focus, nor, even, necessarily of any real importance beyond being tools to lead towards one's inner way and manifesting THAT into the world.
What good is preserving a System or Tradition if it is not used to Educate (to draw out) what is within?

Belts are an artificial method of measuring progress and, more often than not, just a commercialized device to gain more revenue for the school or the Organization.
Tests, as they are practiced in Karate today, require the memorization of rote forms, single and two person, great if you are just training to test, not so good if you are training for practicality, functionality, and even personal health, it is not really a good approach.
BJJ, Judo, and similar arts have a system that basically requires students to perform principles in matches against resisting opponents, albeit there is some memorization of 'techniques,' the shape of the technique has little to do with the successful application of the technique, at least when it comes to looking EXACTLY like the technique.
Something different needs to give in Karate overall. Performance and function need to determine good form, form should be functional and effectiveness coupled with experience and understanding should be the measure upon which we recognize an individual's growth... Perhaps belts should be thrown out altogether, at least for adults, the kids like them.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as my deep diving into this stuff, more to come, next article I will focus more on my discoveries in the principles of Kata, starting with Hookiyu Dai Ichi and Dai Ni (Toguchi lineage).

Good day.

What Is Already Present.

There is a point where one really has to look at what they are doing, what they have been taught, and really ask themselves why?

When we break things down to their base principles three hundred things become two, maybe three things and that is really all one needs in order to be safe, to defend and get away, even to take it to a level of putting someone down if necessary.

It is not complicated and, deep down inside, we all know this as we are the product of many generations whom have effectively applied this in order to stay alive long enough to pass on their genes.

None of this is new, it is already there within, maybe a jumbled unfortunates mess and atrophy if we have not been forced into situations that require these things (and many haven’t), but they are there nonetheless.

Striking. Grappling. Throwing/Takedowns.

Awareness. Assessment. Engagement.

My own take is that we train to hone skills already present on a barely conscious level and these are not just physical skills.

Most approaches are as though they are ingraining something not yet ingrained, rather than waking something up they are building something up.

Perhaps both approaches may be valid? Maybe. What I am most concerned with is cutting through to the core that can be readily used.

Training three hundred responses to one thing might be fun, but is it useful? For me it would be more useful to bring out what is already there, to get to know the principles, and not really care what the assailant does other than getting the assailant down and getting away.

For this I only need to know maybe two or three things and maybe I do not even really need to know them on a conscious level because thinking is often too slow and stands to get you maimed or murdered out there.

In contrast I am also a Kata guy; I find great value in analyzing those principles, maybe I find the exercise to be a lot of fun, but fun is how humans internalize things. Very similar to how baby animals play fight.

They do not learn a specific way of doing things, no techniques, they just learn to flow and the principles tend to come naturally.

These two things seem mutually exclusive unless you START with free play, move to examine the principles of Kata, then go back to free play and really start to see some amazing things happen.

Break it down and focus on specific things, I do not just do rote Kata for the sake of performing a pattern to perfection as I am not a tournament player.

Focus on locking principles one week, focus on striking another, muchimidi another, practice against a wall, around tables and chairs, with stuff strewn all about the floor, sucker punched or attacked from behind, ambushed rounding a corner, practice escape and running.

All very important stuff, shift back to Kata with new eyes, then shift back to play.

Some might prefer a more technical or technique based approach, which is fine, some might prefer something else.

I once heard a story of an Okinawan Karate Sensei that would teach simply by saying ‘do this’ in whatever language it was and then demonstrate, straight to the point.

Drills and routines serve as tools to hone our understanding of principles, which are nothing more than physics in action. 

Some train to fight, some train to compete, but when you remove both from the equation what is left? A predator is not looking for a fight, they are looking for an opportunity. We are not Samurai, we are not Kung Fu Killers, most of us are just people looking to survive and navigate a world that can be very treacherous, although not always.

So while I do train Traditional Drills and Kata, interspersed with some other things I pick up and notice to fill in the holes, I do not train to preserve a Tradition. I train to put things to use and, I feel, this is how the Old Dogs would have wanted it.

Shihan Roseberry preserves his Teacher’s Teachings and built upon them, even creating new Kata based on what he had come to understand.

His Teacher, Seikichi Toguchi, had done the same prior to him. Roseberry Shihan’s last great lesson that I took away from his last International Convention, besides spirit and endurance through extreme fatigue, was ‘If it makes your Karate better then use it.’

Words to live by. It is and always has been MY Karate. Dascenzo Sensei, Roseberry Shihan, Todd Sensei, Iller Sensei, and Wilder Sensei only guided me to what was already present.

Gassho.

Context, Concept, and Mechanics.

When we finally get beyond ways of thinking and training that are set in concrete standards of classification and can get beyond any sort of stylistic notions we may truly begin to find what is useful within what we are doing.
Approaching from a conceptual standpoint, with an open mind, yet grounded in context with respect to basic laws of motion nd the focus/intent behind each within said context will do FAR more for understanding than approaching from a technique oriented mindset for the sake of technique and style preservation alone.

Because 'Sensei says' is far too often a mantra in Dojo that purport to teach self -defense and this really does a disservice to students who leave thinking they have any understanding at all when no real explanation has been given... No real instruction has been rendered.

Going through mindless repetitions of choreographed drills only does so much and really only shows that one can memorize choreographed drills.
When these drills become more important than actual skill you can rest assured that you are no longer studying a self-defense oriented system.

Are we thinking about the mechanics behind what we are told is a punch or are we just accepting this at face value?
Look at a punch in context, what does an effective punch look like? We would be drawn more towards boxing style punches as effective and start to realize what we are doing is not necessarily inclusive of effective punching mechanics.
This is true of we are only taking certain aspects into account, forgetting the chamber hand, body alignment, and footwork, nevermind the formation of the fist, which can also seem like a grip.

Context, concept, and mechanics are more important than rote memorization of technique names and choreographed drills.
As Karateka we need to get out of this trap and start growing in order to make Karate what it once was.

Building Bridges between Chaos and Order.

I have been absent from writing here for a while as I took some time to think, learn, and grow in the wake of Shihan Roseberry's death.
My practice has continued, my teaching has continued; these last few weeks have been full of insights as far as Karate is concerned as well as life in general.

To start off I would like to just dive right in...

Life is seldom neat, life is seldom orderly or categorized. Each person walks their own way, at their own pace, with their own attitude.
Why should there EVER be a one size fits all approach to anything? What does it mean to do something correct? Why is THAT way correct and THIS way incorrect? Yes, there are universal principles across the board because we all have two arms, two legs, one head, a neck, and a torso, but it gets complicated after that.
Do we seek to be defined by what we do or do we seek to define what we do by who we actually are? Who are you? Do you even know?

When training, do we think of Jodan Uke as a block or as something else? Why? Is it because we are told this is how it is based on what we have come to call it? How did this come about?
In a time, not long ago, there were no names, no techniques, just principles, and they had variations from person to person based on things like body type, taking into account injuries or other sort of mobility limitations.
In short, things were not so neatly packaged in a commercially branded box for consumption by all with the actual meaning of things completely lost, but not forgotten.

Yes, the path does have to begin somewhere. Yes, there IS a proper way to do things and YES learning at the feet of a Teacher IS REQUIRED (you cannot just pick this stuff up on Youtube or via Video at any given time and actually think you are following the way).
HOWEVER, that being said, do we continue to walk a rigid cobble-stone path or do we take what we learn and dive deep within ourselves to learn what is there? Do we even know how to do this? There are some that do and, giving respect where it is due, we can learn A LOT from people who spend their time focusing on principles in ROLLING practice utilized in Brazilian Jujitsu, among other arts.

Keep it simple. Keep it practical. These are the words of Shihan Roseberry. Do we simply mouth the words as a Mantra we do not fully understand or even practice or do we put those words into practice as actual principles to live by?

The idea is to actually forge ahead, to grow, to meet yourself at every turn, to overcome that and become better, to incorporate what is there, to brave the chaos inside in order to bring out the best of ALL aspects of yourself.
Not simply to carry on a cookie-cutter Tradition, a dead Tradition is not a Tradition at all. It is simply going through the motions.

A couple things to impliment...

1) Forget the names of techniques or stances and zero in on the principles behind them, not just looking at one single aspect (ie; the arm), but taking the WHOLE BODY into account and really digging deep into those mechanics (Taisabaki).

2) Implement a practice that forces you to move without thinking, see how you respond and start to put things together in a Kata that is YOUR Kata. Utilize other Kata as Teaching aids, guides for proper movement and function. Gage your progress by how you respond spontaneously and whether or not it is in-line with what Kata and your Teacher have been teaching you.

3) Utilize your heart and mind as one. Practice bag work, utilize your heart and mind in each strike so that each strike can be a knock-out strike. Each movement can be devastating.

This is nothing new. This is nothing special. It is just getting back to the roots of what we actually do, at least in my own opinion, based on my own observations in regards to the state of things both within myself and in others.

Take it for what it is or leave it. The choice is yours. 

Common Sense.

There are cults in the Martial Arts; personality cults around which small followings grow in which worship is in the form of someone presenting themselves as having something others do not... The one true way.
This tends to appeal to that part of the psyche that needs to feel special, privy to information no one else has, part of something greater than the self, and this is normal human behavior, but it is a huge flaw, a weakness upon which these sorts of people prey.


Certainly they may not make any money at these things, but it does make them feel greater than they actually are, charimsatic attention seekers that they are, they really cannot help themselves and, more often than not, will never recognize that there is a problem (believing their own stories so whole heartedly that, even when they are shown the truth, they have justifications ready to reinforce the story when it is shattered).


There is NO one true way. A correct and original way are not the same thing and what is correct for one person is not necessarily correct for another.
There is NO pure way, each walks the path in their own way, this is why variations pop up, sometimes from the Teacher, sometimes from insight, but no one EVER does things EXACTLY as their Teachers have done, it is simply not possible.


One can usually tell when someone else is a part of something like this, they make claims, they argue against someone else's claims with their own claims, but they seldom actually back up those claims, simply saying things like, 'If only you knew who I knew.'
Basically a cop-out, but they reinforce their own story in their heads this way and do not elaborate further.


My advice? Stay away from groups like this and, if your curiosity gets the better of you, keep a reasonable mind about your shoulders, remain a true skeptic, take what is useful and remain honest about the rest, do NOT give your mind and heart over to these people.
Often they speak very well, they have stories they share, most of which are embellished, but in the end, none of them really have any idea what they are talking about and, when one looks more closely at the information they provide they will find gaping holes... Heed these red flags.


Stay safe in your practice. The best self defense is simply having common sense.

The Devil is in the Details.

Karate is a life long journey in which the destination is unimportant, goals may be made, but they are only there to provide direction and people tend to focus on these so much that they forget to focus on each step of the journey.
Some people chase rank and collect all sorts of things under their 'belt' as a sign of authority, really it is just to puff up the ego, some people have taken the time to really study and these people can truly perform, they do not get caught up in things and everything seems to fall in place naturally, whether they are of high rank or low rank.

There is so much to be gained from even a single movement if a Karateka has the patience to really pay attention.
It is never about quick learning, it is always about the journey, and even in a single movement is a lifetime of study.

Tonight I was focusing on the Morote Chudan Kamae, a position that so many of our Goju Ryu Kata take as a starting, the first movement after the bow and Yoei.
One person with whom I am acquainted is a long time student of Kayo Ong Sensei who states that Kata are a Mandala and they begin with Prayer, as expressed in the intention behind this movement, which does have some validity, depending on one's reasons for training, but I feel this is something that can be applied regardless of reason.

In my own practice, today, I was working on the mechanics of pulling back, punching, and returning to Kamae, fairly simple stuff, at least on the surface, but the mechanics are profound in the fact that these must be done in a way that is harmonious with the way the body is built.
Pulling back into Chamber, leading the motion with the breath, followed by the elbow, the forearm, the fist, then extending outward leading with intent, breath, fist, elbow, and the shoulder rotating slightly forward.
Returning to Kamae, rotating the shoulder back slightly, pulling the elbow into position, the hand following and slightly rotating back into position.

Adding to this the rest of the body, from the ground up, pushing with the heel and pulling with the ball of the opposite foot, shifting from pulling with the front foot and pushing with the back foot to pulling with the back foot and pushing with the front, depending on whether you are pulling to chamber, moving into a punch, or returning to Kamae, all the while rooted with the foot as if they are clay mashed into the ground.
Moving upward from there you have the knees, thighs, and hips adding to the motion, the spine straight as a current to the arms that carries the intent/energy in a flow that executes technique in such a way so as to expel the most power without losing energy and maintaining stability of the entire frame.

This has to be understood for each and every movement before one can move on to the quicker performances in Kata such as Seisan, Kakuha, Gekiha, Gekisai Dai San, Suparempei, or in anything that utilizes mechanics, which is to say ALL of Karate as a whole.
My own Sensei used to have us perform certain things at a Tai Chi like pace and another of his Students, a Sempai to me, Kris Wilder Sensei, always says to go slow in order to learn fast.
These days people tend to go straight to the quick and explosive stuff without truly thinking about, let alone focusing on, what it is they are actually doing, and this is true of any art.

This is why it took so long to learn even a single Kata in Okinawa Te before the onset of modernized and Japanized Karate, which is fairly modern and mostly seen as a sport.

Empty of Definition, Filled with Everything.

Karate is a very subtle art with focus more on aspects that cannot readily be discerned; this effectively removes it from the realm of combat as most who wish to learn would expect to learn something they can use right away.
Certainly one can gain this from Karate, but as a whole Karate is the long way, there are other things out there a person could study that do not take near as long to understand in order to apply and many of them are able to be directly applied.
That is not the point of Karate, the point is much deeper... Will Karate work? Yes. Again, is that the point? No.

Karate is a core focus that can and should be applied to everything, from cooking and cleaning, to sports, to the way one behaves and, finally, to combat.
If that is the main focus why would a person look at the mechanics of a single punch, or posture, in Sanchin Kata, or the rotational aspects of Seipai??
These things are training tools and meant to focus on different things that can carry over to combat.

The focus many have on Karate is strictly as a Martial Art, or a Civil Defense Art, the latter certainly applies, but they get stuck here, they begin to identify as what they are doing rather than looking at it as something they do to improve themselves, to ground themselves.
The idea is not to limit oneself to a certain thing or a certain identity or to limit what one is doing to a specific focus, but to allow it to exist as it is and allow it to do the work it is meant to do.

At the same time a deeper aspect is to unify with it, to become the center, the dancer and the dance, while at the same time not identifying AS the thing or as SEPARATE from the thing.
Internalizing what you are doing will come out when thought ceases, when expectations cease, when everything is allowed to fall into place rather than forcing something to do a specific thing you think it should be doing... That is like trying to pound a square block into a round hole.

These days Brazilian Jujitsu and Muay Thai are very popular through MMA Training, trends come and go because people have these expectations and these are not wrong, but they do show a lack of depth as one thing comes and another goes.
Enrollment in Karate is at a low in some areas, a high in others... At what used to be our Hombu Dojo Karate is no longer the main attraction, most go for Judo, Jujitsu, and MMA type stuff, these things pay the bills while Karate exists as an aside, which is a much better way for it to exist because it is allowed to be what it is meant to be rather than a means of keeping Students walking in the door in order to pay the Dojo bills.

Karate is a path of peace and self cultivation... You study the kick and punch in order to understand the hug and handshake, to shut conflict down before it even starts while at the same time you have the tools to deal with things should confrontation be the only possible option.
This is not just Physical Conflict, this is all aspects of Conflict, and this is certainly lacking in many Dojo these days, but it takes more than just physical conditioning and skill, it is mostly a mental thing.

Focus.

Foot Work.

Lately I have been thinking about Footwork versus Stances after going over some basic Aikido footwork in the eight directional diagram.
There is a basic 'Guard' called Hanmi one takes up and moves through at various points, but really no stances, just Footwork.

This is where Karate is confused, I feel, because there was the imposition of standardization from outside which inhibited the natural way of doing things, thus, things became more rigid and we ended up with various names for things in order to accommodate standardized syllabus.
The Japanese love their Standards and the Okinawan Karateka were very keen to be seen as fully assimilated to Japanese Culture rather than be shunned, some of them even receiving payment for their loyalty and efforts to promote assimilation into Japanese Culture and Customs.

This is not meant to be an Anti-Japanese rant, that is there to light the way back in order that we may understand just what it is we are doing as, obviously, the way of Aikido is a Japanese way based on Japanese Standards and is NOT as rigid as Karate had become, thus leading one to feel that the Okinawans were a bit over zealous in their efforts.

What happens when we remove the word 'Dachi' and replace it with something like 'Ashi' similar to the way Aikido utilizes terms like 'Ayumi Ashi' to describe a principle of motion, like stepping, or Tenkan for turning, or Irimi for stepping inside, or Irimi-Tenkan for stepping inside with immediate turn??
What happens when Sanchin Dachi is no longer seem as a 'thing' but a 'process??' Does this take away from Karate or add a deeper level of understanding?? Most would cry foul because it is 'not a traditional way of looking at it,' to which I argue it is a deeper level of understanding a VERY traditional concept.

What happens when Zenkutsu Dachi becomes just a long forward shift and you look at it more in terms of, say, Irimi??
Saifa, for example, has an example of where it is utilitzed as Irimi with partial Tenkan into what we, presently, call Musubi Dachi before dropping into Shiko Dachi.
Drop the 'Dachi' and find another way to describe these movements as less static and rigid, more dynamic and alive, more to do with the movement of the Center, or Hara, and not so much as 'fixed positions.'

Sensei once said someone about the 'formless form' and had pointed me towards a book called 'Kodo: Ancient Ways' written by Reverend Kensho Furuya, a Zen Priest and Aikido Sensei.
This was my first introduction to the idea of Shu, Ha, and Ri... One learns to emulate, one learns to variate/deviate, then one breaks free and is no longer bound by outward forms, but internal Principles that have become their own.
In this way ALL ways become one way and there is no differentiation because they all apply to one another to varying degrees based upon the manner in which they are applied by each individual.

Knowing the Difference.

Years ago Competition used to be the main point of training and we went to quite a few beginning in early Spring, running through June, all over the Region, and Nationals, first time in Chicago, second time in South Carolina.
My first competition I was ten years old and had barely even been training for two months. My right foot was taped up because I had cut it in a piece of metal in the bleachers, and I had nothing but my Gi, no Sparring Gear at all.
There was a spare head piece that was way too big, kept slipping down every time I would step in, getting sweat in my eyes to boot.

My first and only match in that tournament, the Yakima Open, was against a kid from the UKO, a Shito-Ryu stylist under Minakami Sensei's old Organization.
It was brutal, he saw my foot and used it by stepping on it, which only pissed me off, but since I could barely see it was hard to do anything about it, but I ended up leaving the match with two points to his three.
While I lost I certainly felt good about it.

My ribs were nearly cracked during my second go at Nationals as a thirteen year old Green Belt, and boy was I full of myself!
The kid that beat me was a Japanese kid from Hawaii with some very fast kicks. I walked away from that competition with a Silver Medal.
After that I focused on the deeper mechanics of what I was doing as I felt there was something more to it... While most people think of Karate as synonymous with competition, like a sport, nothing could be farther from the truth.

My Sensei would have me go through repetitions of Kata over and over, pointing out minute aspects of each movement while also detailing some deeper aspects of focus, to forget before and not worry about what came next, to be fully present in each and every aspect of the Kata.
This was to further carry over to life in mindfulness of cooking, cleaning, studying, thinking, speaking, everything!
Yes, there is a combative aspect of it, and this came out when Sensei had me fight one Student, bare knuckles, during this guy's test as a means of getting him out of his shell... Everything was automatic, and since I had been working Saifa, every automatic movement was based on that and I understood why Karate's combative aspects could not be watered down for sport in that moment.

There are people out there who teach Tournament Karate as though it is the same thing as Self Defense, but winning a Trophy is not the same as winning your next breath.
There are many out there that also believe so-called 'Street Fighting' is the same thing as Self Defense, but this so-called 'Street Fighting' is often just people facing off in mutual combat, while there may be injuries, there are usually no deaths and it does mirror what we see on Television in the form of Cage Fighting... Nothing wrong with it, but it is still more akin to Sport than Self Defense.

Training methodologies are often determined by the goal... If a person is training for Sport then their methods will reflect their aim and will not be the same as those training for Health.
If a person is training for the Cage Fighting aspect of Sport then they will include those methods of training that will stand them a better chance of actually winning, but if the aim is Self Defense it is something else entirely.
In the first aspect, basic Tournament Training, you are training to gain points in Sparring and Kata; Sparring, or Kumite, is a game of tag, even if it does allow for contact and knockouts, there are still rules to follow for safety and you are still going for points in rounds of elimination where there are judges and a referee.
In the Cage Fighting aspect you are training for one on one combat against someone who trains in a similar fashion, no weapons, and still rules for safety, but you are not training for points, you are training to knock the other person out or make them submit, and this is based on whichever your main focus might be.
People who train for Health might only focus on Kata and a little bit of the Combative aspect, but really only do that stuff for a good workout... Their goal is to stay healthy and training in a Martial Art is a unique way for them to do so, which may also give them something to talk about at social gatherings... Nothing wrong with that either.

Knowing the difference in aims and methodologies is as vital as knowing what actually qualifies as Self Defense, legally, because someone cannot get into a shouting match and meet someone in the parking lot for a 'good go' and have that qualify as Self Defense... No, that is a fight.
Self Defense situations happen unexpectedly and are hard to actually prepare for because training can never fully encompass things that might be experienced in a real situation, which is why people need to be aware of the limitations of their training and hold no false pretenses that what they do in the Dojo is complete unto itself.
In the Dojo we are always pulling punches, even just slightly, in order to avoid permanently injuring and maiming our partners... A good way around this is to include the follow-through in our minds, because visualization is a great aspect of training, which has also helped Olympian Athletes achieve pique performance.
In a Self Defense situation there may be two on one, three on one, with weapons, heck, I have even seen assailants themselves carrying pepper spray and make-shift weapons!

Down at the Plaza a guy was fighting with some other guy, so the second guy's buddy pulled out some pepper spray and sprayed the first directly in the face while he was distracted, then the second guy pulled out a huge knife.
This is NOT an isolated incident and some of these types of people even carry tasers... You can actually make cheap tasers with disposable cameras and no one would be the wiser.
People also do not think about things like training for defense against swords to have any carryover in the modern world, but people use Baseball Bats, Pipes, and Machetes!
There was an incident on the corner of Regal and Everett here in Spokane, just across the street from a place called Agnes Kehoe, where twelve people attacked our Apartment Building, armed with pipes, bats, and machetes.... There were four of us, including myself, defending the building, which had women and children inside.
Many people in the area can verify this, and if anyone questions the incident I can certainly provide the names of those others who were involved and at least one witness... I've already named the area... The attackers had the wrong address, they were looking for a guy that lived across the street.

The point is that there is a huge difference between one type of training and another, and a larger difference between training, competition of whatever kind, and actual Street Assault.
Street Assaults are ridiculous and if something sounds far-fetched you cannot count it out because it probably happened.
There is even a difference between Street Assault, Domestic Violence, and Warfare... They are different aspects of Violence that do not really have a lot of carryover... Warfare is not often fought in close quarters, it has not been for a very long time, thus very little time is focused on actual hand to hand combat, while the majority of training is focused on weapons and technical skills of each individual MOS, after boot camp, which is about building a warrior... Huge difference.

Going back to the deeper aspects I found after competitions had run their course, I could see how competitions were becoming the sole focus of most Karateka, mainly the Kumite aspects, which is actually a fairly new aspect of Karate.
The spirit is fine, but when this becomes the sole focus it tends to kill the actual art and it makes people belligerent, especially if they do not know the difference between Tournament Fighting, Cage Fighting, and Self Defense.
Karate Ni Sente Nashi means 'there is no first attack in Karate,' which means it is meant, specifically, for Self Defense... Can it be trained for the other aspects? Sure, but the main and original aspect was Self Defense.
If a person trains for Tournament play they should be aware that what they are training for, primarily, is not the same as Self Defense in the street and, thus, they cannot judge others by the same standards because they are two different things.

Good sources on this for further study are Rory Milly and Marc MacYoung... I suggest not only reading their work, but seeking them out for training.

The Slow Lane.

Sometimes it is best to slow down and really look at the nuances of every single centimeter of movement in order to truly have an understanding.
Most people say stronger, harder, and faster, but that only works best when things are done correctly, after all, if you do a technique five hundred times incorrectly you are only practicing five hundred incorrect techniques.

Each and every person is convinced of the correctness of their own path, and they should be, because it is their own.
Each person has a unique way of doing things, whether they realize it or not, and these are the unique things that one must come to understand when they are slowing things down in order to really look at what is there... Maybe a better term would be to listen to what their body is trying to tell them.

Some people are naturally bigger than others, some people are naturally smaller, some people are good in short bursts of speed, some people can go for the long haul (depending, also, on how they train... At least in respect to this).
All of this also must take Physics into account... There is no one uniform approach, only uniform restrictions and regulations under which individual principles can be applied.
Apply harmoniously with the laws of Physics and things work out great, but try to do something outside those laws and things go terribly wrong on so many different levels.

My Sensei introduced us to doing Shisochin as Tai Chi on a beach during a Regional Sho Rei Shobu Kan camp out many years ago.
I thought this was cool at the time, it really showed how to move in a way that did not break alignment, to move free, but within the bounds of the movements' mechanics.
Kris Wilder further drove this home with his 'Go slow to learn fast' teaching as we went through Sanchin in the old basement Dojo I had at my old house in Suncrest.
The idea was to really slow down, to take your time moving so that the ENTIRE movement could be felt through ALL of its' moving parts and, in this way, one could feel how each aspect linked and supported the next in almost instantaneous succession (once sped up and done at full force after grasping and ingraining what was gained through the slow aspect).

Anyone can learn a thousand different things in a thousand different ways, but a person really only needs to know two or three things extremely well in order to succeed.
This is true in life as well as Karate, attention to detail and, as Shihan Roseberry is fond of saying, 'Do a little, but do it often.'

By Their Fruits Shall They Be Known.

It is said 'never judge a book by its' cover' and sometimes that is true, but more often than not, in my experience, I find the first impression is usually the correct impression.
There is a book on this written by Malcolm Gladwell called 'Blink' that explores this topic in depth and this is not the main point of this article.

The main point is in appearance, yes, appearance, which is the doorway of our perceptions, before any other faculties come into play to add to the impression we first experience the world through sight (at least the majority of us do, for the Blind it is usually sound and touch, and this actually gives them even more of an edge in first impressions).
The reason I bring this up is because most times I meet people that are supposedly 'Masters' who are often out of shape, which tells me they spend very little time actually training or working on themselves.

Does this mean they have no skills? Of course not, and some people are actually naturally bigger than others, so this is not necessarily a great indicator of the kind of shape a person is in, although in most cases this is true.
Sometimes another indicator is in watching these people give demonstrations, one can pick things up, either overt things or covert things, like Students trying to be polite and make their so-called 'Masters' look good or the 'Master' themselves performing a Kata that leaves something to be desired (to put it mildly).
Sometimes they perform superbly, but again, in most cases they are winded afterwards.

Sometimes we find these 'Masters' were once in superb shape, performing at pique levels, but then something happened, long strings of injuries that may or may not be related to their training.
This would indicate something is amiss with their training or the way they are training, perhaps with the way they were taught, which carries over to their Students and this is where the cycle of damage perpetuates itself.
Maybe their Teacher died of complicated health issues that may or may not have had to do with their training or lifestyle choices, and maybe, just maybe, that person did not actually care enough to pass on anything correctly, and maybe they did not know themselves, but were only interested in making a profit and/or making a name for themselves.

Sound familiar? This story is rampant throughout the Martial Arts world, and something everyone should be aware of.
There are many great Teachers, some of whom will not fit any preconceived notion of what a good Teacher should be or look like, others will fit in perfectly with the above and those should definitely be avoided.

If they do not have time to work on themselves and their Teaching has not promoted any significant increase in health or physical conditioning in their Students then it is best to turn around, walk out the door, and find something else... Regardless of what type of style it is (or is not).
The fruits of a person's abilities and their Teachings will be readily apparent at first 'blink' and may, or may not, be backed up by some official looking piece of paper, with or without some Traditional looking Kanji to make it pretty.

Internal/External - Hard/Soft.

When I began Karate training I was uncertain of things, but I was also a child, yet when I took up Zenkutsu Dachi to hold the punching bag for my Dojo mates I was known to have the most solid stance among the juniors of that class.
Funny thing about it was I just kindof let it settle without even thinking about it and the force went through me into the floor... I was doing then, without thinking, what Wilder Sensei encourages Karateka to do now through Sanchin Principles outlined in his book 'The Way of Sanchin Kata.'

As a Karateka moves up through the ranks we tend to assimilate to those around us, to our Sensei and our Sempai, and things become less natural, more forced until one day the pendulum starts to swing the other way, if it is allowed to do so.
There is a reason for the way things are done in a Dojo, most times it is easier to teach everyone in a uniform manner, and this is often the best way to approach basics, if one knows what they are doing, but often no one ever moves beyond this point.

Going through some Kihon tonight, after going through some Kata, I was looking deeply at the mechanics behind what it was I was doing and was reminded of those days back in the junior children's class at the Olympic Martial Arts Center when I would just settle into the ground.
Instead of 'step then punch' I began to move in a way where the body moved just a couple seconds before the arms and the lead foot and the punches landed at the same time, sinking into the ground before drawing up from the ground again to move.

Keeping Weight Under Side involves more than tension, in fact, tension itself is counter productive to the principle and tends to take away power from technique as the mechanics become jumbled.
These also relate back to allowing things to flow through and sink - with tension things tend to become stuck, the body becomes broken, the focus, incomplete.
All is Sanchin, as the old saying goes, but more to the point, all is in timing and direction of intent, for lack of a better way of putting it.

The broken way of moving is an instructional tool to lead the way and must be left behind once a student starts to get the hang of things within the first few months.
Just as the Kata point beyond themselves to something more unified, universal, and personal, so, too, the Kihon point beyond themselves to the same thing, it all comes to a head when one point is achieved... Expressing back through the avenue of Kata makes the experience entirely different from this end of the spectrum.

Force Fed Citizen Patrols.

A few years ago I attended a seminar with some of the greatest Martial Arts and Self Defense Instructors in the world, including Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Al Peasland and Iain Abernethy, called Crossing the Pond Martial XPO, put on by Kris Wilder Sensei and West Seattle Karate.
Marc MacYoung can be found on an Episode of Pen and Teller's 'Bullshit' where they covered Martial Arts, a great Episode and some great insights into the fact that most of the ideas and notions we get from our training are, just that, pure Bullshit.
Rory Miller is an expert on Violence in a way that most cannot even fathom and he often echoes this sentiment when he talks about the stories we tell ourselves, stories that are often shattered in the aftermath of real Violence and the fact that most people do not have to put their stories to the test by facing said Violence, but when they do it can be devastating.

There are many other experts in the world that one can look up and gain some sort of second hand insight if one seeks to prepare oneself.
Most simply ignore the ugly truth of Violence, they fail to see exactly where their training is lacking and the fact that all training is, ultimately, flawed... Why? Because it can never be anything more than training, with safeties to guarantee no one is injured.
Experience is not training and training does not yield much in the way of experience and a person needs to understand and acknowledge this difference if their training to be of any benefit at all.

There is a group of people that volunteer to perform patrols late at night throughout the city, commendable and admirable, I agree with it to a certain extent, but certainly have my concerns, especially when I found out one such group (on their first patrol ever) sought to interrupt some suspicious activity right across the street from my bedroom window.
Did they know what was going on? Did they have inside information and foreknowledge as to whether or not these people had guns or any type of weapon for that matter? NO!!!
Are any of these people trained Police? Do they have Police Tactics training? The 'Commander' of this particular Patrol is a young guy who teaches Wing Chun farther up the road, but that is hardly Police training and hardly qualifies anyone to initiate such actions.
I may be reading into this, maybe they did not initiate anything, maybe they just sat and watched, but I was informed these groups do not just sit and watch, and they do not run... THAT is scary.

My concerns are that my young daughter sleeps in that room and, while thick, the walls of these apartments, and many apartments and houses for that matter, are not solid, they do not stop stray bullets, and some guy who is overt, does not just sit and watch, and does not run, comes up on some drug dealer in the late night or wee hours of the morning, seems a bit sketchy.
The fact that this group is lead by a guy who seems to think he is trained for this sort of thing because of his Martial Arts background and whatever else he may have is not comforting in the least and may actually do more harm than good if the guy sees something and does not back down, with a lack of experience, getting himself and other people hurt or killed in the process.

I have been in situations where I have had to stand my ground because other people have counted on me and the aftermath was never pretty, never anything to brag about, I almost quit training because I wanted NOTHING to do with violence or the promotion of violence... I still do not think it is wise to play with fire if you have never been burned, and even then, you gain a quick respect for the flame.
What is even more frightening is that, when inquiring as to this person's experience with such things, I was told, basically, that it was none of my business and, by others, to shut my mouth regarding my concerns... And these people are patrolling the area without consent of the area itself.

When asked to respect the area and the people that live here by giving for-warning and seeking out some contact within the area itself, my reason being that having more witnesses is better and having backup that lives in the area is best, I was basically told this did not have to be respected.
I am pretty sure one of them drives a huge truck and made a point to park by the Park and rev their engine in order to make a point, sitting there for a few minutes before driving off, but that could just be me.
One of them has reached out and seems to be pretty respectful, but there seems to be a bit of animosity of some sort among others with the concerns I have raised.
At one point I had even asked to just leave the neighborhood watch up to those that lived in the neighborhood, but was told they did not have to do this either, so basically there is no choice in the matter for the people here.

I would love to get involved with neighborhood and community safety on a wider scale, but this is ridiculous, and what is more they had been operating under the assumption that Washington is a Stand Your Ground State, which it is not, it is a Castle Law and Necessary Force State.
Some of these people did not even know what that meant and thought they could just go out and get involved in Crime Stopping Violence if need be, without consequences.

I was invited out on a Patrol tonight, but had to decline because the Fiance is not feeling well and we have our small daughter, plus I do not know these people yet.
This is why, if you are teaching a Martial Art or Self Defense of ANY KIND, it is a good idea to include more than just physical techniques. 
The Wing Chun Instructor in question is also now offering discounts to all members of this Citizen Patrol Volunteer Program and is passing it off as 'Self Defense' like most, more of a commercial opportunity in that regard and, perhaps, well-meaning, but more commercial.

I guess what bothered me the most is A) if someone is patrolling the area where my family lives I would like to know who that person is and B) if that person is properly trained, not Kung Fu trained, I need to know they are not going to do something extremely stupid.
They need to know the difference between training and reality and they need to respect the area in which they are operating so that the area (ie, its' people) can respect them and back them up, otherwise it is not going to work.
They also need to have some set boundaries and procedures, they cannot just say 'We don't run' because that qualifies as doing something extremely stupid.