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"Some people think a martial artist has to be tough against everybody
- that's not true at all. A martial artist has to be strong against
bad people. But we must also be able to know and understand the
feelings, moods and mentalities of good and bad individuals before we
can comprehend when to be strong and when to be gentle."
- Tsutomu Ohshima
"Each one of us starts Karate with some particular reason: to be a
good fighter, to keep in good shape, to protect oneself. I wanted to
become very strong myself when I first began. But Karate training
soon teaches that real strength is facing oneself strictly, with
severe eyes. This is the first condition of martial arts training.
Therefore, all SKA members must be strong inwardly but quite gentle to
others. As we train together, each contributing to a good atmosphere,
let's try to bring out that serious strong mentality from deep
inside."
- Tsutomu Ohshima
"Both in fighting and in everyday life, you should be determined
though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly,
your spirit settled yet unbiased. Even when your spirit is calm do not
let your body relax, and when your body is relaxed do not let your
spirit slacken. ... An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is
weak."
- from The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi, translated
by Victor Harris
"To practice kata is not to memorize an order. You must find the kata
that work for you, understand them, digest them and stick with them
for life."
- Gichin Funakoshi
On tournament fighting: "Focus on your preparation, confidence
and strategy before each match and your mentality during the match.
Don't wait for the outcome to interpret your skill level."
- Tsutomu Ohshima
On gambatte: "Forget your sadness, anger, grudges and hatred. Let them
pass like smoke caught in a breeze. You should not deviate from the
path of righteousness; you should lead a life worthy of a man. Don't
be possessed by greed, luxury, or your ego. You should accept sorrows,
sadness and hatred as they are, and consider them a chance for trial
given to you by the powers... a blessing given by nature. Have both
your mind and your time fully engaged in budo, and have your mind
deeply set on bujutsu."
- Masaaki Hatsumi
In Okinawa, a miraculous and mysterious martial art has come down to us from the past. It is said that one who masters its techniques can defend himself readily without resort to weapons and can perform remarkable feats - the breaking of several thick boards with his fist or ceiling panels of a room with a kick. With his shuto (sword hand), he can kill a bull with a single stroke; he can pierce the flank of a horse with his open hand; he can cross a room grasping the beams of the ceiling with his fingers, crush a green bamboo stalk with his bare hand, shear a hemp rope with a twist, or gouge soft rock with his hands.
Some consider these aspects of this miraculous and mysterious martial art to be the essence of Karate-do. But such feats are a small part of karate, playing a role analogous to the straw-cutting test of kendo, and it is erroneous to think that there is no more to Karate-do than this. In fact, true Karate-do places weight upon spiritual rather than physical matters. True Karate-do is this: that in daily life, one's mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility; and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
In November of 2000, Ken Osborne, an outstanding leader and 5th degree black belt (godan), led a series of practices in Vancouver, B.C.. Shotokan practitioners from throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada West came out for this event. Following is an article that Ken handed out to people at that event.
We spend years trying to perfect our Art. Learning how to make the perfect stance, the perfect block, the perfect punch and the perfect kick. And then, we spend untold time trying to make the perfect Kata. We are constantly trying to polish ourselves, both physically and mentally. Some people spend untold years on all of these things but still don't have a clue on how to apply all these things in a real situation or a Jiyu Kumite match.
From the beginning, our training is focussed on being very structured and traditional. We train in a class atmosphere with many other people, doing the same things over and over again. Many people get stuck in that mental approach of training. At some point, each person has to break away to start using their own ingenuity. There should be no limits to your mind and how you approach the strategy of engagement. If you stop to think about it, you could purchase the best equipment in any sport, whether it be golf, tennis, anything, but no matter how good the equipment is, if you as an individual cannot make it work for you, it is useless. The mind is a powerful thing and each one of us has to start looking at our practice in this way. You have to break away and find how to make things work for you. This is the hard part, everything else becomes secondary. Strategy has always been the secret weapon of engagement since the beginning of time, in war with untold thousands, down to the individual. You must find out through trial and error how to make your art, Shotokan, work for you.
For every action there is a reaction. Just like in the game of chess, the initial movements may be leading your opponent into a false sense of security, letting them believe they are in control when in actuality, you are leading them down a path of no return. We are all creature of habit and a lot of the time to our own deprivation. Some of the best fighters I have known over the years were very calculated. They had a way of sizing up their opponent in a very short time, they found their opponent's strengths and weaknesses and knew how to exploit them in short order. There is no substitute for a hands on approach to this part of practice. I believe a lot of people feel uncomfortable about this part of practice, either out of fear or not wanting to look foolish. So they don't spend much time on it. I believe the best approach is to find a good friend who is also interested and practice all of your ideas about strategy and application with each other out of the normal class time. I was fortunate in having Caylor Adkins and Tom Muzila as good friends and there were many times we would lock the doors of the Dojo and spend hours just fighting and experimenting.
I personally feel very fortunate that when I first started training in the early sixties, I had to hit the ground running. I was thrown into the world of tournament fighting early on. I also had the good fortune to being exposed to some very talented individuals. I have never looked at myself as having any special talents, but the one thing I had going for me was that I was never afraid to try or experiment with total commitment, no matter what the consequence.
You should remember to never be afraid to try anything that comes to your mind. I know that Master Funakoshi looked at fighting as the very last thing, but we all know that he himself had to use his skills in his lifetime. I believe that if you have spent many years training, that you should be able to use all your skills in a very effective way. If you feel this is a weak part of your practice, get started and remember the mind is a very powerful thing.
I always dreaded going to Special Training. As a white belt, I wanted it to end as soon as possible. After each practice I would congratulate myself for making it through another, and always count the number of practices left. For me, Special Training was like going to the dentist - unpleasant, painful, but necessary.
For the last couple of days, I have been thinking a lot about Special Training. What is its purpose? Why should I go? What should I get from it? Special Training represented a physical challenge when I was a white best. For the first few years of Special Training, I constantly asked myself these questions: Would I make it through eight very tough practices? Would I still give my all when my limbs were physically tired and I was mentally exhausted? Would I succumb to the desire to coast during the last couple of practices? After surviving several years of Special Trainings, I learned that I can push myself even when I am physically exhausted.
Although the physical challenge still exists, it is now being replaced by another one. As I am preparing to attend Winter Special Training in Canada, I find myself excited and frightened at the same time because my motivation and goals for attending Special Training have changed. Instead of dreading the eight practices, I'm looking forward to them. I look forward to the sore muscles, the exhaustion, and the physical demands of the Special Training. I look forward to them, not because I am a masochist, but because only in this state do I have the opportunity to shed the mask I have created for myself and confront the face that my Creator gave me. In this state, I will be too tired to deceive myself. Instead, I must face myself.
The difficult situations we confront in life teach us many important lessons. I am convinced that Special Training is meant to teach us many of these lessons about ourselves. Whether we have a white, brown or black belt, Special Training offers us opportunities to learn lessons appropriate to our specific level and needs. When I was a white belt, I strove merely to survive. When I attained my brown belt, my goal was to thrive. As a shodan, I want to use Special Training as a measure to help me learn about myself and confront my demons.
Japan is a country of great affluence, industrially as well as culturally. It has enriched the Western world with the introduction of sushi, Nintendo, Godzilla and Ichiro, but many argue that its greatest gift to the world is karate.
The UW Shotokan karate club takes advantage of that gift and works to prolong the popularity of martial arts.
Created in 1987, the club's main goal is to introduce interested individuals to punches, kicks and spiritual development. However, before people enter the club, they must make sure that the discipline appeals to their particular needs.
"I would recommend anyone who wants to practice in a particular dojo, to sit through a lesson and see at how the instructor leads his students and how the students respond," said Shotokan dojo leader John Gosink. "Some organizations emphasize competition, while other ones emphasize spiritual development in hopes of creating a perfectly harmonious person with the universe. In short, you want to think about the proper philosophy."
The Shotokan club practices in a traditional style of karate and teaches the philosophy of martial arts and Bujitsu, an actual application of proper physical movements.
"We're teaching students not only individual techniques but also trying to give the students the flavor for Japanese martial arts," said Gosink. "It's a rigorous discipline."
The benefit of learning martial arts with the Shotokan club is the sense of projection of self. Students who attend practices regularly learn to throw away unnecessary stress and fear while revealing their natural personalities.
"Any martial art you do is not a matter that you can fight off a ninja and save the city from narco-terrorists. You will go through life just like everybody else, but you'll be able to do it more cleanly," said Gosink.
Members of the Shotokan karate club agree that knowledge and appreciation of the art of karate improves a person's behavior in the world.
"When we're fighting in Kumitei, we learn to relax our minds," said black belt Joe Tanimura, who is a graduate student obtaining his Ph.D. in business administration. "During intense situations, people tend to panic and tighten up. Martial arts teaches you to mentally relax and perform tasks more precisely and effectively."
The cost to join the club is just $20 per quarter. Membership with the national Shotakan Karate of America gives students a lot of perks. Students are free to transfer to other universities and continue practicing because many of the clubs throughout America are joined with the Shotokan Karate of America organization.
"We have special training twice a year at a gorgeous YMCA camp in British Columbia. It lasts for about three or four days, when all you do is practice," said Tanimura. "The point is to practice karate in complete serenity and learn to focus. There are about 85 or 90 people of all levels who come there from all over the Northwest."
"It's great," said newcomer Ashish Sabharwal, a computer science and engineering grad student. "You wake up at 5:30 in the morning, eat and practice. The great thing about it is that you're in the middle of nowhere, so there's nothing to distract you from karate. It's sort of crazy, but it's fun."
Worrying about injury is completely unnecessary. According to Tanimura, the worst that happens is sometimes people step on each other's feet. The Shotokan club is basic and traditional, and leaves no room for Hollywood-type flying kicks and spins.
So, if you're interested in finding inner peace and learning to kick butt, then check out the UW karate club.