Seisan Bunkai, and call for Bunkai Submissions

The video below is a bunkai from the Isshin Ryu version of Seisan. While the Chito Ryu version employs a double block rather than a single at the beginning of the sequence, the idea of blocking, grabbing, and pulling is the same. This is important to note: Not all moves in a kata are strikes or blocks, or strikes and blocks alone. One should examine grappling, locks, and using the body as a fulcrum to manipulate an opponent when considering bunkai.

I would like everyone who reads this to think about bunkai. Spend some time doing a little research on youtube, and see if you can find a video which demonstrates a particular bunkai for a kata which we do in our style, or for a series of moves in a kata from another style which is similar to something we do in our style. To be clear, this does not have to be a Chito Ryu person doing a Chito Ryu kata - as we see blow, Seisan is a kata in our style, but it is also a kata done in Isshin Ryu, and the moves here are very similar to ours. Please leave a link in the comments section if you are so inclined. If you don't have a link to share, please at least be thinking of bunkai for your next test kata. When test time comes, you will most likely be asked to demonstrate for the test board!



Thanks Tim

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. 

New Podcast - the 10 Minute Dojo

There is a new link on the sidebar to the "Ten Minute Dojo" podcast, by Lee Taylor from the UK.  Each episode is around 10 minutes or less - a nice format for people who don't normally listen to podcasts or don't want to commit to the time required to listen to a lengthy discussion. 


I found the latest episodes (14 and 15)to be very helpful and insightful regarding overcoming depression and anxiety.  Worth a listen.

Master Wang Reveals His Secrets

This is "Article 2" in the Bubishi, also known as the Laws of Wisdom.  Master Wang was the second master of a Chinese fighting style known as White Crane Gongfu.

1. Let anger be your enemy.
2. Remember, an empty vessel makes the most noise.
3. Patience is the foundation upon which security and long life rest.
4. Know well your station in life.
5. Trustworthy reputations are only gained from virtuous merit.
6. Success is the fruit of the strong and wise.
7. Delay is the best remedy for anger.
8. Those who will be enlightened are the ones who live moderate lives, consume natural foods, and pursue the wisdom of the sages.
9. Remain honest in your heart, true to your discipline, and refrain from overindulgence, and you will enjoy great rewards in life.
10. Mind your manners and your own business.
11. Discretion is the better part of valor.
12. The barriers of human achievement lie only in the mind.
13. An idle mind is a demon's workshop.
14. Justice exists for those who live according to the Way, as these are one and the same.
15. Be happy without cause and make the best of what you have.
16. True friendship knows no boundaries.
17. It is a humble virtue to be wealthy and not affected by it.
18. Cause and effect are mutually consistent.
19. Despair is the conclusion of fools.  Tomorrow's success is built upon yesterday's failures.  Live in the here and now.  Do not seek more, but learn to enjoy less.

Self Defense and De Escalation

While self defense is always on our minds in the dojo, either consciously or unconsciously, something rarely discussed yet of paramount importance to self defense is de escalation.


There is a tale of a conflict in feudal Japan that is recounted in Dave Lowry's book, Moving Toward Stillness, in the chapter, "Strategy for the Modern Day Battlefield," which may provide some insight to this subject:

"Bokuden, this legend goes, was aboard a ferry in Omi Province, sharing a ride across the lake with several other travelers.  One of the men aboard was a particularly loud and belligerent samurai.  He was extolling his martial skills and was evidently entertaining the fondest of hopes that one of the other passengers would challenge him to prove himself.  When Bokuden reacted to all of these boasts by turning his back on the bully, the samurai approached him.  "How about you," the samurai snapped at Bokuden.  "You're wearing swords.  What school are you from?"

"I practice the Mutekatsu Ryu," Bokuden replied, meaning the 'style of winning without a sword.'

"What!" scoffed the bully samurai.  "Absurd!  I've never heard of such a ridiculous school."

This went on and on until Bokuden realized the bully would not be shut up and could not be talked out of fighting.  He agreed to a match and suggested that the ferryman steer over to a sandbar where a suitable spot for a duel could be found.  The ferryman complied.  When the prow of the boat struck the sand, the samurai leaped out and began pacing up the slope to get to level ground.  Bokuden took up an oar, and still standing on the boat he pushed it back into the lake.  As the ferry slid away from the sandbar, stranding the bully, Bokuden shouted to him, "There you have it.  An example of the techniques of the Mutekatsu Ryu!"

This is not so much de escalation as de confliction, but the point is made.  While we prepare and train for fighting, and must always be ready to use whatever skills and techniques we have at our disposal in order to win a fight, the best way to win a fight is to not have one in the first place.  This takes an entirely different skill- and mind-set, which we rarely have time to address in our training.  If you are looking for a fight, you will have one, and you may lose.  Badly.  If you want to avoid a fight, you may not be successful every time, but at least you have given yourself that chance.  The Japanese have a saying, Saya no uchi de katsu, which roughly means, "Victory is in the scabbard."  This has several meanings which the reader should endeavor to find through introspection.


Below are some links which you may find useful.  I know nothing about the writer of the last, only that what I have read comports with what I have been taught in my role as a security officer regarding de escalation with the caveat that street fighting self defense was not to be used in that case.  Otherwise, I found the information useful. 


Your mouth can get you into trouble if you do not use an emotion filter, but it can also save you if you don't let emotions get in the way.

Iain Abernethy Podcast on De Escalation

Calm Down, Please.  Part II

Women's Self Defense from SEPS

Sport Karate, 2020 Olympics, and being an (older) "amateur" karate-ka

Whatever your take on sport karate may be, it will be included in the 2020 Olympic Games.  While I do not believe that sporting events, or even competitions, reflect the true purpose of karate, anything which presents karate in a positive light is a good thing.  Increased awareness leads to increased interest, and hopefully an increased number of people practicing and studying karate.


That said, sport karate is not about fighting or self-defense.  It is about winning competitions.  "Real" karate is a traditional fighting system having as its purpose combat effectiveness in a self defense situation, which is quite different from getting in punches and kicks for a judge to score.  Whether these punches or kicks would actually work on the street is not taken into consideration.  It is considered bad form to bloody an opponent, or even to cause minor injury.


Learning a traditional form in a traditional dojo is a fortunate thing.  The techniques we learn, recorded in our katas, are the same tested techniques which have been handed to us through the generations and across nations.  When we practice an old kata like Chinto or Bassai, it is almost as if the old masters are teaching us directly.


Most people who enter a dojo end up dropping out of practicing karate for various reasons.  Most of us who continue to study karate will never reach the level of competence where we would be considered a "professional."  Many who do reach higher rank and continue their study past 35 or so are considered senior citizens in the martial arts world.  This is fine, as karate should be a lifelong study. 


The future is uncertain, and the end is always near, especially on the street.  Olympic karate, I am confident, will be an entertaining spectacle for those interested in martial arts.  It is reassuring to know, however, that what I have been taught will give me at least a fighting chance in a self defense situation.  There are no silver medals in a street fight.  The "winner" gets to survive.  In that light, being an old amateur is not so bad.

Bubishi

Anyone who has had even the briefest introduction to the history of karate understands that the roots of the art are in China. The Bubishi is the "ancient Chinese secret" of karate, a text of techniques and philosophy, that was handed down on Okinawa from master to student. In many cases, the old masters whose names are familiar to us today made hand copies of the text that their teacher themselves had copied. This information was considered top secret until the early 20th century, about the time when the kanji name for the Okinawa fighting system was changed from "Chinese Hand," or just "Hand," to "Empty Hand," and karate was introduced and popularized on the Japanese mainland. Featured in the video below from, who else, Jesse Enkamp, is a teacher of karate named Patrick McCarthy, who has made a recent translation of the Bubishi. He demonstrates some of the techniques in the video, and explains a few of the colorful names. I especially like "Monkey picking the peach."