Ryukyu Martial Arts and other great blogs

For the few that follow my blog, I would like to point out an excellent resource that (if I haven't pointed out yet in a previous blog) I would like everyone to visit and examine.

Ryukyu Martial Arts

Ryan Parker Shinshii (Sensei in Okinawan) is a great wealth of information, from conditioning to application of techniques to research and development of bunkai.  The world could do worse to have more like him.  I would greatly recommend following his blog, or looking him up on youtube - he is a rare person who shares his knowledge freely and has a keen mind that cuts through the BS too often associated with the martial arts.

While I am at it, I would like to point out some of my favourite blogs.  Please excuse any repeats from previous posts.  These are ones which I visit and revisit regularly and find something new or important every time.  The world definitely needs more people like this.

Classic Budoka

Kowakan

The Way of Least Resistance

Shinseidokan Dojo

Karate by Jesse: Articles

Japanese Jujutsu

Bujutsu: The Path

Be Not Defeated By the Rain

Karate Thoughts Blog

International Ryukyu Research Society

Sanzinsoo's Blog

Fighting Arts

As always, yours in training (where you will find the way)...

Kempo Hakku and Chinese Influences

I have been thinking again about the Kempo Hakku found in the Bubishi.  For those who do not know about this document, it is the so-called Bible of Karate.  It contains references to pressure points, philosphy, ethics, forms and useful self defense techniques that can be found in (some of the) kata of differing karate traditions.

I have decided to write a brief post about these 8 Lwas of the Fist Way, and compare some thoughts I have found about Chinese Quan Fa.  Regardless of the actual connection between Karate and Quan Fa, I think this comparison might be interesting and at least useful as a recording of my own thoughts.

First, let's give the 8 Laws of the Fist Way, then some principles that some may be familiar with.


1. Jinshin wa tenchi ni onaji. -The mind is one with heaven and earth.

2. Ketsumyaku wa nichigetsu ni nitari. -The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon.

3. Ho wa goju wo tondo su. -The way of inhaling and exhaling is both hard and soft.

4. Mi wa toki ni shitagai hen ni ozu. -Act in accordance with time and change.

5. Te wa ku ni ai sunawachi hairu. -Techniques will occur in the absence of conscious thought.

6. Shintai wa hakarite riho su. -The feet must advance and retreat, separate and meet.

7. Me wa shiho wo miru wa yosu. -The eyes do not miss even the slightest change.

8. Mimi wa yoku happo wo kiku. -The ears listen well in all directions

You can find similar translations all over the place.  Perhaps a better translation is found here:

Kempo Hakku - Nox Dojo

And now, here is an excerpt on the methods and 'secrets' of quan fa from another excellent blog, Be Not Defeated By the Rain:

From another perspective, 「直橫」is a boxing mnemonic, and is one of the most important principles in Southern kung fu, like  swallowing and expelling「吞吐」floating and sinking「浮沉」twisting and turning「擰轉」it describes how to use the body. The martial artist form Lingnam Lee Sai Wing states in his work 《工字伏虎拳拳譜》 states:

"The Art of Boxing is easy to learn and hard to attain its essense, one has to first understand its rules and practice its standards, afterwards one has to train the qi and power and be proficient in receiving the enemy's attacks. Understanding this, one's kung fu increases, from this [basis] one seeks the straight and sideways, swallowing and expelling, forward and retreat, entering and exiting, the secret of the four places, the method of the five gates, the shape of the eight faces, the road of life and death"

One can see from this that straight and sideways is an important wushu concept, and to treat it as standing up or lying on the floor is to distort its original meaning. The literati have always liked to play with words but to deliberately distort an important martial concept is to me unnecessary and seem to be intentionally misleading.

from: The Grandmaster

Here is a brief summary of the methods or movements key to Quan Fa:

• Straight and Sideways
• Swallowing and Expelling
• Forward and Retreat
• Entering and Exiting
• Four Places
• Five Gates
• Eight Faces
• Floating and Sinking
• Twisting and Turning

So, I would like to draw attention to the most basic of these, floating/sinking (Heaven and Earth) and spitting/swallowing (I see a clear reference to inhalation and exhalation, aka Goju).  It seems clear to me that these four basic methods of dealing with an attack are found in most, if not all, of karate's kata.  But we also see examples of certain other aspects in some of the forms as well.  Sideways is obvious in Naihanchi, and things such as forward/retreat and enter/exit (either of these two could be linked to Sun and Moon, but more obviously a reference to the feet meeting and retreating from another) as seen all over the place.  Twisting and turning are found in kata from all styles of karate (Taikyuko, Heian, Saifa, Kururunfa come to mind off hand).  What I can't place is the 4 places and 5 gates.  8 faces seems to hint towards the eight basic directions of attack (N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW) and also the directions in which the ears should listen.  Interesting...

At any rate, it is late, and I have to think more on what all of this means.  I hope to cover my thoughts in more detail in later articles.

As always, the way is in training...

Don't Forget to Remain a Student

Just a micro post to highlight a great post over at Shinseidokan blog:

Making a Stand

The title of my post is taken directly from the end of this blog post.  Mike Clarke Sensei says:

In the rush to be a karate teacher, don't forget to remain a karate student.

Excellent words to live by!  As always when I hear such good and simple advice, I am humbled and glad to be able to study something I love to much.

Importance of Weapon Training

This post comes from a variety of thoughts circulating in my head recently.  It has come as the result of recent discussions with those wiser than me in karate.  And that topic is of the importance of weapons training.

Now let me preface all of the proceeding writing with information about my current state.  I have been doing karate, in some form, for the last 15+ years, more than 10 of which have been in my current style of Goju Ryu.  In those 15 years, I have studied at least 4 years of Iaido and at least 10 years of Saijutsu (as a component of karate).  I have also have the opportunity to play with tai chi sword, butterfly sword, nito (Musashi's two sworded style), eskrima sticks, butterfly knives and bokuto/bokken.  I have use briefly also a bo.  So I am not a stranger to weapons training, but definitely not well experienced in anything but sai and iaito, which I would claim some measure of capability.

But specifically I have been really thinking hard about learning traditional Okinawan Kobudo.  Not only would this reinforce my interest in Okinawan Karate, it would directly benefit it.  It can be seen as a form of strength training at the least, but this would be a poor reason to study it.  It is an entire history of the islands I have come to respect with lessons that reinforce what I know and would let me learn that which I have yet to imagine or comprehend.

Recently (I mean for the last 50-100 years) karate has been taught separately from kobudo, despite there being a solid history of their combined methods being taught together.  In fact, many of the greatest names in karate have kobudo kata named after them.  This alone should give any karateka pause to consider studying kobudo.

But beyond this, I don't want to learn just any weapons.  I want to learn the most esoteric.  I have recently seen some great applications of weapons forms.  Here is an example of applied nunchaku or surujin technique:

Applied Kobudo technique

I have also come to the realization that much of the island's bo techniques are based around not just the staff (what in Chinese Quan Fa is called the Grandfather of weapons) but also the oar (eku) and spear (yari).  So much of what I want to learn is the technique and application of armed combat from the masters of armed and unarmed combat from the Ryukyu islands.  I see and sense a great depth there which I have yet to tap or understand, and hope to in the future.

Anyways, this leads me to the question: why did the split happen?  Why is karate taught alone, and kobudo the same?  I ask this because I ask myself what I would want to teach.  My answer is always a complete art: one with strikes, locks, throws, weapons (improvised or otherwise), escapes, restraints and healing technology.  When I look at the curriculum of a other martial arts, I see the inclusion of at least a few weapons forms/techniques/styles.  Why should I or my students (should I ever have any) be any less demanding of our art?  When I look to the past, this is what my lineage should hold: all of the above.  The history of karate is deeper than the common place "peasant/famer's art" that is considered standard history: it is one of police and palace guards.  It is one of such depth that I hope to one day see enough to consider myself a true student rather than someone lost in the deep end of a swimming pool.

The way is in the training, as always...

Fighting taller and stronger

This is an old post I meant to post months back, but I am finally posting it as something to think about.

I had a dream.  The details are somewhat fuzzy, but I think I was bicycling past some guy, who hits me in the back of the head as a I go past.  My male ego flares up, and I stop and ask WTH that was about.  He responds that he thought I was a boxer based on my reaction.  I proceed to try to hit him in the face, unsuccessfully.  I woke up, realizing how stupid this situation and my reaction are/were, and calming down to realize this was a dream and not real.

My reaction to all of this was multi-fold.  First, I need to ensure I always check that ego at the door - it serves no purpose but to escalate primate behaviour with no good plausible outcome.  Second, I need to examine my own technique and be aware of using my own height and weight as an advantage - technique should trump physical characteristics and should work without those advantages.  Third, what the heck am I going to do against someone who has reach on me?

The first point I think is self explanatory - I strive to be a humble person, but there is always an element of pride in one's skills as a martial artist.  Be humble!  Don't rise to the bait.  Best to be more aware, more careful, and avoid going past some smartass.  And if it happens, get away!  The goal isn't to dominate or prove who is the alpha male - it is to get home and protect those I love!

The second requires some clarification.  I am one of the most senior karateka in my dojo.  Also, at 5'11" and 205 lbs one of the heaviest.  It is easy to become complacent with one's skill and (without ego) superiority over others when you have all the advantages (experience training, reach, mass, strength (theoretically)).  I need to strive to avoid that - break down what I do and how I do it so that it will work for even the lightest, smallest person.

The third now also becomes obvious.  If I rely on mass and technique, I just need to find someone with comparative experience and greater height to end up on the losing end of an exchange.  I need to work my techniques and polish up my bag of tricks to deal with those situations.  Case in point, there are probably 4 people in the dojo with greater reach or strength or mass that I would be hard pressed against.  Am I preparing against an opponent like them?  That is the test of my skill I should strive to best.