Why Are There So Many Irritating Men In Karate? There Goes Another Olympic Bid!

Controversial title and I'm not picking on men, it's just that there's so many more of them in martial arts than women - they stand out. I should define 'irritating' further. It has a variety of forms that you may recognize. For example, those with the idea that there is only one way of doing something - their way. For example, after move x in kata y the right hand should finish in a fist facing upwards. While it's quite reasonable to teach one way for simplicity, good teachers appreciate this is not the only way. It exemplifies the total failure to understand that the point of move x. If it was to, for example, block a strike to the face and the issue of importance is it's effectiveness as a block rather than where the limb ends up! This resolute adherence to the poorly thought out exemplifies 'irritating'. A further example would be the ability to disagree with your Sensei and set up your own (slightly different) club. So that over time, more and more, slightly different clubs emerge. Granted, some may be well thought through developments that are well run and adhere to strong principals, but most are founded on ego alone and second rate. The Sensei is the one who shows the way, not the one in it for themselves. This sort of irritating behavior is much more dangerous to karate since it turns the sport into an amateur shambles that has just got knocked back (again) from being accepted as an Olympic Sport. Worse, it exposes novices to bad teaching and this is much more unacceptable, particularly since to the man in the street it appears to teach violence. It's a bit like the building trade, you only need one or two cowboys to make the rest look bad.

So why is this? In part it's human nature - none of us are perfect, we all want it to be about us, our success and our importance. Ironically, this is the very opposite to the very founding principals of karate - humility and respect. There is however another truism about karate - it can be a solitary practice and solitary practices always attract those who could never succeed in team sports ie those with restricted social skills. I don't mean to imply that everyone choosing to practice a martial art is on the autistic spectrum, far from it, look at you and me, we're extremely sociable! But, it does have a higher proportion than say football. Although, on the plus side karate has avoided drugs, drink and sex scandals so far and can only look on with envy as cricketers and footballers keep making the tabloids. Anyway, back to the point, what can be done? Regulate, regulate, regulate! This is getting better, slowly and those at the top know this of course - the problem is, getting all those 'irritating men' to agree to follow one coherent plan! Catch 22.

Kata By Opponent

There are many ways to think about kata; in terms of precise movements or the reasoning behind the movement eg a block, strike etc. They are relaxing, exhausting and fun all at the same time. They were once a way of training warriors in fast, fatal hand to hand combat and a means of maintaining family honor and status. Initially, we all start out by just trying to remember the moves in sequence. After this we can move on and focus on what it's really about. After some thought I've decided that although kata is a form with many benefits, it is simply about one thing - effectively fighting opponents. A perfectly executed kata with not a limb out of place would be useless without effective power, no more than a dance. Far better to go out there with spirit and blunder through an imperfect reproduction with one or two effective moves than to dance across the Dojo. My Sensei often refers to a students less than perfect kata as 'having spirit'. By this he means it was really pretty bad, but at least you tried. However, his response to a move-only kata performance evokes a mixture of annoyance, disappointment and nausea in him all at the same time followed by a 5 minute lecture on the importance of 'technique' by which he means making moves that generate effective power. After I've learned the move sequence, I want to understand the opponent sequence and try to visualize finishing of each one.

Kata - Not Really Getting The Detail

I like kata. The problem with karate classes from my point of view is that it's easy to get stuck focusing on just the moves of the kata. I find this in my class, particularly as a beginner. In addition to the 5 Pinan katas which I know pretty well, I reliably know the moves to 2 advanced katas - Bassai Dai and Annan and intermittently know / forget 2 others - Matsumura Rohai and Seienchin. This is because I don't do enough practice. When it comes to kata practice I believe that on a non-class day even bad practice ie just walking through the moves in front of the TV is better than doing nothing - at least you remember the moves! My Sensei would be horrified! Despite this sometimes the TV or life wins completely and no practice gets done.
However, the numerous higher grades that make up the class know loads of katas, so it's easy to understand why the Sensei will go over 5-10 in the last 40 minutes of a class for the benefit of various individuals who are grading soon or doing a competition. But I can't learn them that fast, indeed it would be useless to try so many at my stage, so like others at my level, I sit out those I can't do (usually glad of the rest). Occasionally we'll go over one in really good detail and get a chance to learn it, but then it's back to making a fortnightly or monthly appearance. It's amazing how long it takes to learn a kata and how fast it is to forget it!

Separate kata classes would help, but most students prefer sparring and the bottom line it that for my club not enough students would attend to justify keeping a kata class running. Perhaps time will help and I will gradually learn more and more, but kata is not just about knowing the moves, it's about defeating opponents. 

Super-Fast Kata

I had a great class the other day - really fantastic. The decision had clearly been taken at the top to work us all hard and for two hours we did. Two men had to drop out for a rest. It was mostly the usual stuff but for longer. Lots of basics, variations on basics and featured prolonged techniques in horse stance etc. However we did something new to me - kata slow, then kata as fast as you can do it. Not a way to execute perfect technique or display kata correctly, but really hard and fun. Additionally, you really have to know your kata very well to get through it. At the end I was really exhausted. Now I do know that kata is not about going at it really quick - it's all about the opponents and effective techniques - but what a great way to exercise, try it!

Exclusivity In Karate - Why Can't I Cub Hop?

When it comes to karate clubs, you'll be in one of two types - those who let you train with other clubs and those who don't. The former say that the more experience you get and different teachers you encounter, the more you'll learn. This is undeniably true. The latter say that loyalty is of primary importance and if your club competes in competitions (and you're a competition candidate) clearly club-hopping represents a logistical problem. I see their point. So when does expected club loyalty become weird control freakery? This is not as easy to answer as it first appears. Initially as any Westerner would be, I was deeply suspicious of controlling behavior. Surely, I should be free to learn from any number of Sensei? However, the origins of karate demanded from a student deep loyalty to both their club members and Sensei and this in turn would be rewarded. The point was that karate clubs back in the day, were a bit like an old fashioned marriages - for better or for worse and till death do us part. Only in this way do you get the full reward of life-long partnership but at the expense of short term fun. Your choice, it's a hard one.

Mokuso (Meditation)

Some martial arts classes begin and end with Mokuso or meditation. Why is this a common part of club discipline when clearly in the 25-40 seconds allocated by the senior student is clearly inadequate to achieve any level of meditation? In short, I'm not entirely clear and it's not  a topic I've wanted to stray onto with my Sensei when a better use of his time is improving my technique. I suspect there are a number of reasons why we pseudo-meditate at the start and end of each class? Perhaps because it's traditional, it provides a nice beginning and end to the session, setting down a marker of where serious training begins and the rest of your life stays behind and lastly it's important in some way to developing your art and as such, should be represented within the class. So lets focus on the last aspect. There's an entire culture behind meditation derived from Zen Buddhism about attaining higher levels etc, but karate is not about religion. We know this because Gichin Funakoshi said so and he also said "The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of the participant." In setting down his principals of karate he based them heavily on Bushida (the Samurai code of conduct) and the Zen school of Buddhism where meditation is central. Meditation in simple terms clears the mind - freeing the body from the slowness that accompanies fear and tension and allowing the body to react automatically (without conscious thought) to new situations. So overall quite useful for combat. However, it can't be done in 30 seconds - even by the most enlightened and certainly not by me. So it's inclusion in most Western classes is symbolic. However, I do think it is worth doing at home on your own (it's not really a group activity) and working at it because as well as being a useful asset to martial arts training, it also will reduce stress in general and that can only be a good thing.

Dojo Etiquette - What Is It All Aboutt?

Dojo etiquette - the set of rules that most martial arts students follow while in the dojo - goes far beyond bows and kneeing at the correct time. Remember that dojo means 'place of the way' or where you learn the way. It goes beyond meditation and focusing your mind on training. It stems from the original fact that karate developed not for sport or to keep fit, but as a program to simultaneously train mind, body and spirit. It's fine to enjoy it as a way to keep fit or because you enjoy the point scoring system of sparring (which contains little in the way of karate moves), but that was not the original point. Most Western classes are run much like any other keep-fit class on the surface. You pay your money and you get a session. Martial arts classes however are not like a body pump class - there's a lot more going on besides the technique and calorie burning. It takes a while to realise this and this is often the bit many people struggle with. For example most classes are not that commercially orientated. Our sensei mostly doesn't charge as long as his costs are covered - this, oddly is very common. Training in karate (and other martial arts) requires dedication, hard work, commitment and loyalty from you to your club and sensei (within reason). While you are unlikely to be thrown out if you come when you can and don't practice in between classes, you won't really be doing karate. Look at the seniors in your club - they're probably very committed to both training and the club. The philosophy behind their training dates back to Bushido or way of the Samurai. The level of formality (kneeing etc) in a club does not necessarily correlate to the depth of its philosophy and it's important not to confuse the two. Also a sensei should not abuse his position to manipulate their students. These things said, the study of karate is a marathon not a sprint and the understanding of the ethos behind it is important and often confused.