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/