Unsu and Jion

These are old katas, and look very Chinese to my eyes.

O'Sensei home movies

I have never seen this before. The title claims this is from Hanshi and Okusan, and was just posted in August 2020.

Gung Fu no Kata

This video is on Facebook.

 

https://m.facebook.com/tkiinternational/videos/dr-chitose-84-years-old-gung-fu-no-kata/412500605983679/

What is Chito Ryu all about?

The following is excerpted from the "Founders Forum" pages at chito-ryu.com:

         WHAT IS CHITO-RYU ALL ABOUT?

1. IT IS AN ART OF SELF PROTECTION WHERE THE STUDENT'S SELF PERFECTION IS OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE.


2. IT IS ABOUT A STYLE OF SELF DEFENSE WHERE SELF DISCIPLINE IS OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE.


3. IT IS ABOUT HEALTH AND LIVING A PROPER AND FULL LIFE, SO WE CAN BENEFIT ALL MANKIND.


4. IT IS ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY, AND BEING IN CHARGE OF OUR LIVES. IT IS ABOUT NOT BLAMING OTHERS FOR OUR FAILURES.


5. IT IS A SEEKING OF THE TRUTH, BOTH WITHIN AND WITHOUT OUR BEING.


6. IT IS SEEKING OF A ONENESS WITH ALL CREATION, A UNIVERSAL ONENESS.


7. IT IS A KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS VIRTUE IN BEING WHO YOU ARE, AND NOT WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE.


8. IT IS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT MONEY CAN NEVER BRING HAPPINESS, OR ENLIGHTENMENT.


9. IT IS AN UNDERSTANDING THAT IF WE TAKE CARE OF THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE, THE BIG THINGS WILL MOST LIKELY TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. LIFE WILL THEN FLOW VERY NATURALLY.


10. IT IS AN UNDERSTANDING THAT LEARNING IS A LIFE LONG PROCESS (JUST LIKE KARATE KATA) AND WE MUST EACH AND EVERYDAY LEARN AND PRACTICE OUR LIVING SO TOMORROW WILL BE A BETTER DAY AND WORLD BECAUSE OF OUR LIVING A HUMBLE AND LOVING LIFE.


11. IT IS ABOUT O-SENSEI AND THE GOALS HE HAS ESTABLISHED FOR US TO ACHIEVE THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF CHITO-RYU.


12. IT IS OUR PRACTICE. OUR FAILING, AND THEN STARTING AGAIN.


13. CHITO-RYU IS NOT WHAT WE MAY THINK OR SAY. CHITO-RYU IS BEYOND MERE WORDS AND THOUGHT. CHITO-RYU IS A DOING, A LIVING, A BREATHING THING. THIS WILL BE TRUE AS LONG AS WE LIVE AND PRACTICE CHITO-RYU.


14. LET ME FINISH BY SAYING THAT: "Chito-ryu is __________________________________"

William J. Dometrich, Hanshi
Co-Founder U.S. Chito-kai

Kime exercise

"Snap," or Kime

Another good video from Jesse Enkamp:

The Oldest Kata in Karate-Do is...

...Seisan. I thought it would have been Potasi. H/T Tim

If you have not seen Jesse Enkamp's Karate Nerd in China, I would recommend that you check it out below:

Hiki Te Blasphemy

Be warned, this view of  Hiki Te (Withdrawing Hand) is not what is commonly accepted!  Still good stuff, however.  From Iain Abernethy:






Part 2:

Kata Demonstrations in Naha City

Some of these are pretty good, especially the boat oar kata.  For your enjoyment and edification:

Video Message from Iain Abernethy re: Coronavirus

From Iain Abernethy:




Considering current world events, martial arts are not that important in the great scheme of things. However, they do matter to martial artists! They are part of your identity and a major part of your lifestyle. For some, martial arts are also your profession and how you provide for the needs of your family.


In these abnormal times, anything we can do to maintain any sense of “normality” will be good for us physically and mentally. We martial artists seek to develop an indomitable will and to rise to challenges. We are also a strong community who seek to support our brothers and sisters in arms. In these challenging times, I’d like to share a few thoughts that I hope our community will find useful.


 This video is about:


1) What students can do to keep training and progressing
2) What instructors can do to help students keep learning and progressing
3) What students can do to help instructors
4) What professional instructors can do to help deal with current financial difficulties and prepare for future growth.


You’re not alone. We are all in this together.


All the best,
Iain


IMPORTANT: This video contains no information about the virus itself. I am a martial arts instructor and I know to keep in my lane. For that side of things, my strong advice is to follow the official guidance in your locality. Ignore the musings of the unqualified, the ill-informed, the triumphantly complacent and the hysterically unhelpful.

Breathing Exercise

Sorry if Jesse Enkamp bothers anyone, but his stuff is always good.  In this video, he describes a breathing exercise that is rather simple, but gets your body and your brain working together to achieve what he calls "peak performance," also known as optimum output.  If you have ever had a cramp in your side from running or doing any type of cardiovascular exercise, that is your diaphragm telling you it does not like how you are trying to use it! 


This exercise does not require any space or special equipment, so it is easy to do just about anywhere, perfect for out mandated stay-at-home world.

10 Karate Home Training Exercises

...from Jesse Enkamp.  He demonstrates these in a small hotel room, certainly less space than most of us have in our homes! No excuses for not training! :-)

Masters of Okinawan Karate - International Episode - Doug Perry

Masters of Okinawan Karate - International Episode - Neil Stolsmark

Masters of Okinawan Karate - International Episode - Cezar Borkowski

UPDATE: I forgot to add in the original post that if you look closely at some of the old photographs shown in the first few minutes of this video, you will notice Dr. Chitose in them. He is not mentioned by name, however.

Masters of Okinawan Karate - International Edition: Arcenio Advincula, Isshinryu Karate, Ryukonkai Kobudo

This episode is a little longer than the others, but at least it is in English - no subtitles to read! Great advice here, especially about telegraphing moves!

Old School Karate-Do

For your edification:

Okinawan Karate Masters, Vol. 6

"So dojos were all small, they were usually practicing in gardens."

Okinawan Karate Masters, Vol. 5

Tenshin

This is the San Dan (Black 3) test kata.  In the first video, the performers show far too much of the English homophone to the Japanese name of the kata - tension!  Maybe because this kata is done here by-the-count?  Anyway, the correct moves and sequences are all present:








Once again, her is Dr. Chitose's son Yasuhiro performing many Chito Ryu kata. The whole video is worth watching, but Tenshin starts at the 8:48 mark.

Shihohai

...is the second test kata for Green 2.  The video below is a group performing the kata 100 times as part of a fundraising challenge.  There are many experience levels here, and the camera moves around giving multiple angles of view.

Kusanku

This is another very old kata which exists in many versions and in many styles.  Named after a Chinese Tang warrior, the idea behind this kata is attack and defense in the dark, or at night.  Handed down from Master Sakugawa, this kata was taught to Dr. Chitose by Kyan Chotoku.


Here is a link to the Mukashi School of Karate, part of the International Chito Ryu Karate Federation website where a good version of this kata is presented in two different angles.  Sorry, but this video is not available to be embedded:

http://mukashikarate.com/kihon-katas/kusanku/

Here is Kusanku performed by Dr Chitose's son, Yasuhiro:



Sanshiryu

Sanshiryu is a very old kata.  According to the USCK Black Belt Manual, "[m]any people have attempted to master this kata, but only a few have been successful."  I believe that applies to most katas, especially the very old ones.


Chito-ryu kata Sanshiryu at a tournament in Tochigi, Japan:




...Sanshiryu performed by Stéphane Joyal:



Terry Valentino, chief instructor at the Koshin-ha Yoseikan Karate Dojo in Marshall Twp PA demonstrates several applications from a signature movement in the Chito-ryu version of Sanshiryu kata:



Disclaimer: I do not know this kata nor the performers, but these videos appear legitimate.

When Coronavirus closes the dojo...

While we who study Karate-do appreciate Chinese influence on our martial arts, we do not take so kindly to a Chinese virus that closes our dojos and forces us to train elsewhere!  For many of us, a closed dojo means we will have to suspend training altogether.  Of course, Jesse Enkamp has produced a short video to help keep your body, mind, and spirit going in the direction of the Karate way:

Kihon Kata San

Kihon katas are katas of basic techniques, of which there are three.  These are supposed to be taught at the "two" level, that is, Green II, Brown II, and Black II.


The link below goes to a page with video of kihon kata san, produced by the Mukashi School of Karate, which is apparently part of the International Chito Ryu Karate Federation.  I do not know anything about this particular dojo, but the USCK split from the ICKF back in the 1990s.  Unfortunately, I cannot embed the video here, but it is definitely a Chito Ryu kata.  The nice thing about this link is that the kata can be viewed from two different angles.

http://mukashikarate.com/kihon-katas/kihon-kata-san/

A big hint was dropped at the March clinic that kihon katas will be included in the testing before the national board in October.  Anyone testing for Ik Kyu should be familiar with the first two kihon katas, and I will try to find video to post for these.  The first two are certainly less complicated than the third.  

Kakatebiki, or "Kakiya"

While much of Karate practice is done in the air, a very important point to remember is that for your practice to be effective "you have to hit stuff."  Sometimes this is done with a partner, and sometimes this is done using training equipment such as a bag or makiwara.  Recently, I was made aware of a rather esoteric piece of equipment called kakatebiki, or more commonly, kakiya.  This is a counterweighted (or spring loaded) arm connected to a striking post similar to a makiwara: 





source:  https://www.chrisdenwood.com/blog/kakiya-the-okinawan-wooden-man


The idea is to perform a blocking/grasping/striking action against the lever arm and post.  This is a very Okinawan idea reflected in much of our intermediate and advanced kata, such as the three outside haito strikes and grasps in Seisan, the te hedoki grasp and punch into a "T" stance in Chinto, and the double hand grasp and kick in Passai, to name a few.


Most of the drawings of kakatebiki I have seen only have a wrapping for a strike below the lever arm.  This would indicate the importance of using leg and foot techniques.  As the wrapping is shown going around the entire lower portion of the post, it would stand to reason that the leg and foot techniques could be performed from any angle, suggesting a movement around the outside or to the inside of the opponent.  The leg/foot technique could be a strike or kick, or a trip or sweeping movement.


Many possibilities exist for using this piece of equipment, and it is unfortunate that it is not as common as the makiwara.

Kime, or Chinkuchi

We often speak of "kime" in our classes:  The focusing of power at the end of a technique, at the moment of impact.  It is a sequence of relaxation / tension / relaxation which happens almost instantaneously in more advanced practitioners. This is a difficult concept to understand for a beginner, and one which needs constant attention and refinement for the more experienced student.  The beginner tends to have far too much tension in the body for kime to be effective.  This not only slows down the technique, but it can actually be damaging to the body.  There is a good article in the Shotokan Times discussing fascia - the covering of organs, connective tissue, and muscles which is found throughout the body - and its relationship to Kime.


In Okinawa, there is a slightly different term regarding this concept:  Chinkuchi.  It is the process of near instantaneous tension and release throughout the body, which must be learned by physical practice over a period of years before mastery can be approached.  Jesse Enkamp describes this as a feeling like a sneeze.


A really down-in-the-weeds examination of this subject can be found in an article published in the research journal Body and Society.  This article is rather esoteric, but it can be summarized thusly:  Kime is a body consciousness which is achieved through repeated thoughtful practice of the body in motion.


Obviously, the key to achieving Kime - and anything else in Karate - is PRACTICE.  Regular, dedicated, intentional practice. 



Get on the deck and sweat.




  

Iron and the Soul, by Henry Rollins

The following is an essay by Henry Rollins, (the last) lead vocalist of the punk band Black Flag.  This story is about his life as an adolescent finding purpose, confidence, and resilience through physical training.  I wish I had a Mr. Pepperman in my life when I was at that age!  I have found that training in Karate-do has the same sort of effect as what Mr. Rollins calls the Iron.

"I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself.


Completely.


When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me “garbage can” and telling me I’d be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn’t run home crying, wondering why. I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.


I hated myself all the time. As stupid at it seems now, I wanted to talk like them, dress like them, carry myself with the ease of knowing that I wasn’t going to get pounded in the hallway between classes. Years passed and I learned to keep it all inside. I only talked to a few boys in my grade. Other losers. Some of them are to this day the greatest people I have ever known. Hang out with a guy who has had his head flushed down a toilet a few times, treat him with respect, and you’ll find a faithful friend forever. But even with friends, school sucked. Teachers gave me hard time. I didn’t think much of them either.


Then came Mr. Pepperman, my advisor. He was a powerfully built Vietnam veteran, and he was scary. No one ever talked out of turn in his class. Once one kid did and Mr. P. lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the blackboard. Mr. P. could see that I was in bad shape, and one Friday in October he asked me if I had ever worked out with weights. I told him no. He told me that I was going to take some of the money that I had saved and buy a hundred-pound set of weights at Sears. As I left his office, I started to think of things I would say to him on Monday when he asked about the weights that I was not going to buy. Still, it made me feel special. My father never really got that close to caring. On Saturday I bought the weights, but I couldn’t even drag them to my mom’s car. An attendant laughed at me as he put them on a dolly.


Monday came and I was called into Mr. P.’s office after school. He said that he was going to show me how to work out. He was going to put me on a program and start hitting me in the solar plexus in the hallway when I wasn’t looking. When I could take the punch we would know that we were getting somewhere. At no time was I to look at myself in the mirror or tell anyone at school what I was doing. In the gym he showed me ten basic exercises. I paid more attention than I ever did in any of my classes. I didn’t want to blow it. I went home that night and started right in.


Weeks passed, and every once in a while Mr. P. would give me a shot and drop me in the hallway, sending my books flying. The other students didn’t know what to think. More weeks passed, and I was steadily adding new weights to the bar. I could sense the power inside my body growing. I could feel it.


Right before Christmas break I was walking to class, and from out of nowhere Mr. Pepperman appeared and gave me a shot in the chest. I laughed and kept going. He said I could look at myself now. I got home and ran to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I saw a body, not just the shell that housed my stomach and my heart. My biceps bulged. My chest had definition. I felt strong. It was the first time I can remember having a sense of myself. I had done something and no one could ever take it away. You couldn’t say sh–t to me.


It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.


It wasn’t until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can’t be as bad as that workout.


I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.


I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr. Pepperman.


Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.


Yukio Mishima said that he could not entertain the idea of romance if he was not strong. Romance is such a strong and overwhelming passion, a weakened body cannot sustain it for long. I have some of my most romantic thoughts when I am with the Iron. Once I was in love with a woman. I thought about her the most when the pain from a workout was racing through my body.


Everything in me wanted her. So much so that sex was only a fraction of my total desire. It was the single most intense love I have ever felt, but she lived far away and I didn’t see her very often. Working out was a healthy way of dealing with the loneliness. To this day, when I work out I usually listen to ballads.


I prefer to work out alone. It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you’re made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live. Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.


I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron Mind.


Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.


The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.


The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.


https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/henry-rollins-iron-and-soul/

Butoku

Butoku means "martial virtue."  The following is from the late Shuri-te Karate expert Chibana Choshin, 1885-1969, founder of the Kobayashi-ryu style of Karate.  The article was assembled by an unknown person from quotes and teachings of Chibana Choshin.


"The great master Itosu Anko studied Karate very hard. He was not only a great Karate expert, but a scholar and excellent calligrapher. I first visited Anko Itosu in 1899 and asked him to teach me Uchinan-no-te [an old name for Karate].


Twice he refused me, leaving me waiting at his entrance gate. Only upon asking him for the third time did he finally accept me as a personal student.


He taught Karate secretly at his home to a select group of about six or seven followers. They trained in Bu (Karate as a martial art), not as sport, as they do now. During that period of time I, too, kept my training a secret, even from my family. In 1903, or 1904, Itosu sensei began to publicly teach Karate in the school setting. It was at this time that I told my parents that instead of going to school I had been practicing the art of “te.”


In 1918 a group of Karate enthusiasts (Hanashiro Chomo, Kyan Chotoku, Miyagi Chojun, Mabuni Kenwa, Go Kenki, Oshiro Chojo, Yabu Kentsu, Kyoda Juhatsu, Yabiku Moden and myself) formed a group for Karate study since the two greatest teachers had died (Itosu Anko and Higaonna Kanryo both died in 1915). It was called the Karate (written as Tode) Kenkyukai which was established in Shuri City.


This was the first time that practitioners of different methods (Shuri, Naha and Tomari styles) met to train together and exchange information. Each time we met one senior would lead the training and all would benefit from their knowledge. This lasted until 1929 when, because of the popularity of this art, we all became too busy with our own students to train collectively.


I first began to teach Shuri-te Karate-jutsu in 1920 but by 1929, at the age of 44, I opened my first training hall (dojo) in Shuri City. In 1933 my good friend and colleague, Magusuku (Miyagi) Chojun, and I registered the names of our respective teachings with the Dai Nippon Butokukai (Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association). I called my teachings Shorin-ryu meaning the “small forest style.” My colleague, Chojun-sensei, called his style the Goju-ryu meaning “the half hard and half soft style.”
We were good friends and he died in 1953. He was a good colleague and a friend to all Shorin practitioners. He is missed.


Both Bucho (Bushi) Matsumura and Itosu Anko were poor. When I spoke of this to Itosu he told me that this was not a universal truth, that is that a martial person is poor. He stated that Okinawan bushi (warriors) were poor because they did not know how to handle money, as was the custom back then.
A true Okinawan martial artist makes his living away from the martial arts. They should not concern themselves with the making of money out of teaching the martial arts. A martial person must make their living away from the martial arts so as not to contaminate it through the influence of “making money” in order to “make a living.”


This is the Okinawan way.


Karate, as it is transmitted, changes every few years. This is a common phenomenon. It happens because a teacher must continue to learn and adds his personality to the teachings. There is an old Okinawan martial arts saying that states that Karate is much like a pond. In order for the pond to live, it must have infusions. It must have streams that feed the pond and replenish it. If this is not done then the pond becomes stagnant and dies. If the martial arts teacher does not receive infusion of new ideas and/or methods, then he, too, dies. He stagnates and, through boredom, dies of unnatural causes.


I remember learning the kata Tawada Patsai (Passai/Bassai) from Tawada-sensei. At that time I was receiving instruction from Itosu and he, too, taught a version of Patsai kata which he called the Matsumura Patsai, which I learned.


In 1913 or 1914, having practiced the Tawada-no-Patsai with all my heart, as was the custom back then, I approached Itosu and advised him of this. He asked me to demonstrate the kata for him. I did and Itosu then stated to me that was the finest performance of this rarely seen form that he had ever witnessed.


He then told me that this form must be preserved and passed on to future generations and to add it to his (my) teachings. So [in Kobayashi-ryu] the Matsumura Patsai is now called the Patsai-no-sho and the Tawada Patsai is called Patsai-no-dai.


Many of today’s practitioners are too timid in their training. They train with only the thought of being able to finish and not with the thought of progressing – pushing yourself to become better. You must train hard if you want to progress otherwise you are just a mediocre practitioner, and there are many of them.


If you wish to learn mediocre karate, go some place else and do not waste my time.
If a teacher teaches with his heart he can only expect the student to train with their heart. It is only right – then both the teacher and the student progress. The student motivates the teacher and the teacher teaches the student the correct attitude and spirit of the Okinawan martial arts. This is good training – the student and the teacher progressing together!


When you train you have to devote yourself only to the way of Karate – think of nothing else. Do not think of others, or what they may think. You must develop the ability to focus your mind, hands and feet strongly. You must not only learn body movements but also research and study the art itself.


You should develop and improve yourself before you reach the age of fifty. Your body naturally begins to deteriorate after fifty years old so you must then adjust your training accordingly. If after fifty you still train every day then you may not decline so much. I noticed a slight decline at age fifty, but I don’t think I declined much at all between fifty and sixty years of age.


Of course, you cannot help deteriorating to a degree but if you continue training you will not age so rapidly, even between seventy and eighty years of age. Therefore, train continuously.
In the old days we trained at Karate as a martial art, but now they train at Karate as a gymnastic sport I think we must avoid treating Karate as a sport – it must be a martial art at all times!


Your fingers and the tips of your toes must be like arrows, your arms must be like iron. You have to think that if you kick, you try to kick the enemy dead. If you punch, you must thrust to kill. If you strike, then you strike to kill the enemy.


This is the spirit you need in order to progress in your training. The effort required is great, and you can strain the body by doing too much. So keep in mind your own physical condition and train accordingly.


Years ago I decided that through my own hard training I wanted to leave my name connected with Okinawan Karate-do. I trained hard and taught to the best of my ability and talent. Now I think that my name will remain a little in the history of Okinawan Karate-do.


Not only do we need physical training, we need to think for ourselves, studying and researching the kata and their applications.


It is vitally important to understand kata and train your body to develop the core of Karate. You can achieve a five or six times increase in your body power if you train hard. Naturally, if you do this you will be pleased with the result, so train very hard.


Whether you become great depends on only two factors – effort and study. Your movements must be sharp – never be slow – and when you train at kata your eyes will get sharper and your blocking and striking will get stronger. Even when you reach the age of seventy or eighty you must continue your research with a positive attitude, always thinking “not yet, not yet…”"


h/t Jesse Enkamp

Dojo Kun

Dojo Kun are general rules of conduct for students of martial arts.  Many dojo have these rules posted in a conspicuous place near the entrance, and everyone from the most senior Dan rank to the newest white belt are expected to adhere them.  Here are ours, from O'sensei's book Kempo Karate Do.

Dojo Kun

Dojo Kun are rules governing conduct of students training in a martial way.  The following is from O'Sensei Chitose's book, Kempo Karate-Do:

 

1.  Always maintain respect for courtesy.

 

2.  Always have a serious attitude.

 

3.  Always use polite language.

 

4.  Always maintain a high spirit.

 

5.  Always maintain a high level of cleanliness.

 

 

 

Those who study Karate-Do must take these five principles to heart.

Karate Nerd in China

This is the first in a series of videos from Jesse Enkamp about his trip to China to explore the Chinese origins of Okinawan Karate.  Much of what he is shown from a master in White Crane Kung Fu looks very similar to some of the moves in our kata Ryusan, and our Hen Shu Hos:





NB: The story of the origin of White Crane Kung Fu can be found in Patrick McCarthy's translation of the Bubishi.

Wash Your Gi

Class is over, you change out of your gi and stuff it in your bag, leaving the dojo until the next class.  You don't feel like doing laundry that night, and maybe sensei went a little easier than normal on the class so you did not sweat that much.  Your gi will be fine until the next class!  You do this a few times, it becomes more of a habit than not, and then you start to wonder why your gi smells like roadkill wearing dirty gym socks. 


Bacteria are on everything.  The roadkill gym sock smelling bacteria thrive in a warm, moist environment, a.k.a. the skin of your body, and must be washed off regularly in the bath or shower.  Your gi picks up this bacteria along with sweat, body oils, and dead skin cells that you produce when you exercise.  When you take off your gi and stuff it in your bag, not only is the bacteria and its food present on your gi, the moisture from your sweat does not get a chance to evaporate, creating the perfect environment for bacterial reproduction.    








Of course, most of us do not have access to a drying cabinet, so we hang our gi to dry.  You should use heavyweight hangers, as a gi made of 12oz cotton is pretty heavy when it is wet.  Heavy hangers for your gi are definately worth the investment.  I have an antique hanger from an old defunct cleaners for my jacket.  It is essentially a heavy wooden dowel curved into a bow shape with a stout steel hook for the hanging part.  I hang the pants on a separate hanger with clips.  Slapping and straightening the gi after it comes out of the was makes it much easier to fold.  We do a lot of line drying at my house, so I have a garment rack that I hang my wet gi on. 


While we are on the subject of caring for your gi, properly folding your gi after it is washed and dried will give you at least the physical appearance of knowing what you are doing, even if you do not.  This might not be so important in day-to-day class at the dojo, but for a test, especially before the national board, you want to put your best foot forward.  Imagine how it looks (and smells) to a test board to be evaluating someone in a dirty, rumpled gi!  A neat and clean appearance conveys one's humility and respect for others that all true martial artists strive to embody.  An added bonus to folding your clean gi properly:  it turns into a neat compact bundle that fits easily into your bag.








Think of folding your gi as a mental preparation for your next class.  This is what people who practice Iaido (drawing and cutting with a katana, or "iaito" as it is called) do when they fold the hakama, which are the multi pleated skirt-like pants that are worn in that art.  You are making a cognitive shift to focus only on the task presently before you, which is what we are doing during "mokutso," the silent meditation before class begins. 


Folding the Karate gi is so much easier than folding a hakama.  Check this out:






Clean body (and clothing), clean mind...

New Podcast on Sidebar, Victor Moore

Please note there is a new podcast on the sidebar, "Chop Talk," by Nate England (NOTE: this podcast has not been updated in over 6 months, however, the material is still good and available for streaming or download).  Sensei England is an instructor at the Kosho School of Karate, where Shuri Ryu Karate, Judo, Jodo, Iaido, and Kobudo are taught.
 


There are a few episodes with Sensei England interviewing a man named Victor Moore.  For those who do not know, Sensei Moore is the only man to have successfully blocked a punch from Bruce Lee during a live demonstration.  There is much dispute over this, as a biographer who wrote some time after Mr. Lee's passing tried to promote the idea that Moore had not blocked Lee's punches.  There is plenty of video on YouTube if you care to see for yourself.


What is most important to our style is that Sensei Moore is from Cincinnati, right across Ohio River from Covington, Kentucky.  Sensei Moore knew and trained with Hanshi Dometrich, and later, O'Sensei Chitose.  It is worth a listen not only to hear those stories, but to hear about the racial discrimination that went on in the world between black and white, and in the martial arts world between Asian and non-Asian.

Muk Yan Jong, or Mu Ren Zhuang (木人樁)

This is the wooden dummy that is present in so many Kung Fu movies.  I have always wanted to try this ever since I saw Bruce Lee use one in Enter the Dragon.  OK, I admit to being a big Bruce Lee fan.  When I was about 10, I had a poster of him from the same movie, holding nunchaku in a ready stance, hanging on the wall of my bedroom.  It was included in the story about him in Dynamite magazine.

I know nothing about the person making the presentation here, but his instruction makes sense - especially the part about keeping your shoulders down!  This post is really just for fun, but there is some good information here:






We use makiwara in our dojo as a means of developing strength and stability in the hands, wrists, arms - really, in the whole body.  If you want to know more about the makiwara, including plans to build your own, you can use this link.  Some of the pictures of the old masters using the makiwara are not that great - one even shows a hyperextended elbow!  The information is solid, however.  If you are really adventurous, here are plans for building your own Muk Jong


Finally, while we are having fun and reminiscing about Bruce Lee, here is a collection of scenes from the Ip Man movies.  In case you did not know, Ip Man was Bruce Lee's teacher.  Enjoy.

Ryusan, again

☺...for certain individuals who may or may not be demonstrating this kata as part of a formal group!

Motivation, Training, and Success

The following was sent in by Kohai Tim, who holds a Dan rank in the Isshinryu style of Karate.  Isshinryu is a traditional style, just as Chito Ryu, so the ideas presented here are absolutely compatable and transferable:



Isshinryu Training and Motivation to Succeed, By John E. Hughes


People have built-in feelings and perceptions regarding Karate training, exercise, and the ability to learn.  Most Americans are brought up to want to succeed quickly.  Karate is an art that is taught using a number of methods.  Some dojos test the student at regular intervals, fees are paid and the student is promoted.  In other dojos, the student signs up for a period of time and at the end of the contract, the student is granted the promotion.  Also, there are training methods where the student trains and when the level of proficiency is attained, the student is promoted.  THE TRADITIONAL ART DOES NOT GURANTEE PROMOTIONS [emphasis mine].  It does promise to help the individual improve physically, mentally, and emotionally; if the student trains properly.

Training methods are learned at the hands of a qualified Sensei, whose attitude, encouragement, and teaching methods help the student to identify the skills, abilities, and values needed to learn.  Motivation is the heart of learning and is dependent upon the purpose for learning.  The nature and extent of the desire to learn will influence the degree of motivation.  The degree of student motivation will determine the extent of personal involvement and help to create the persistence to overcome difficulties and frustrations. 

Motivation and learning are experienced intrinsically and extrinsically.  Extrinsic motivation comes from outside the individual.  The incentive may be to gain prestige, approval, or promotions.  Intrinsic motivation is derived inside the individual due to the enjoyment of the art for its own sake. The individual derives enjoyment, relaxation, physical benefits, challenges, and an expression of “Self” from the study of the art.  Intrinsic motivation does not depend upon what rank a person is but upon the values and abilities that the individual achieves.

To learn, a person must be patient.  To learn, a person must know that there is something to be learned; knowledge to be gained.  The person must add enthusiasm and the will to learn.  Karate is a progressive art.  One starts training with the basics and then proceeds through kata.  The ultimate goal is for the student to gain an understanding of how one’s body, mind, and spirit may be strengthened.  To this end, direction and guidance are added by the Sensei, while motivation and dedication are added by the student.  With continuing effort and desire, the student will be guided to understand what is required to become a “true” Karate student, who is a credit to the art.

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I would like to add here that just as successful training requires intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, one's training should never be limited to what happens inside the dojo.  External learning must also take place, including solo practice (this is where kata are particularly useful) and non-physical study, i.e., reading and watching videos.  If you are a reader of this blog, you probably realize this already.  To be successful in your Karate training, regular dojo attendance must take place.   For a deeper, more meaningful, and more internalized experience DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF to the two or three hours you may spend at the dojo each week.

Karate can kill

This is something interesting that makes the point of "original intent" in karate:  It was meant to be a deadly and violent form of unarmed self-defense against an untrained and villainous opponent or opponents, not a sport or a form of physical fitness.


https://www.karatebyjesse.com/2-okinawan-karate-deadly-techniques/