Learning to Breakfall

Recently I spent some time this weekend with my Uncle Pat; we had a good old time and reminisced about when we were growing up.

When I was little, Pat spent a period of time living with us and studying karate with my father. Pat actually started karate a few years before me and was my senior for several years, we have always had a very close relationship, almost more brother like then uncle and nephew.  Pat took some breaks from karate along the way, due to family obligations and work obligations, but he always comes back around.

I have a lot of stories about Pat and I, but one of the earliest I remember was when we were younger and we were upstairs at our home and Pat asked me, if I knew how to break fall, I said yes, dad has showed me, Pat then shoved me down the stairs and as I rolled to the bottom and landed all sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs, I remember him saying, well you didn’t learn very well, come back up here, so you can try it again.

This is just one of the many things that Pat did to me over the years, I took many an ass whooping from him while we were growing up, and hated fighting him, but I was determined to give one back to him, and continued to come back time after time, I remember when we were both brown belts, that I finally stood my ground and gave him a beating as good as he gave me that day. He just looked at me and said I am proud of you, I have been kicking your ass for years, it is about time that you kicked mine.

Pat was the one that drilled me over and over on basics, he was the one that continued to be tough on me and never let me settle for less than my best, while my father was my teacher, Pat was also instrumental in helping shape me as a young man and in helping me develop who I have become today, for that I am eternally grateful.

Thoughts on Bunkai

I have always wondered why many instructors either do not do bunkai, or only use the punch, kick, block method.  Then there are the instructors that teach the old, you have four people around you and they are attacking you one at a time in the order of the kata. Really?

I personally feel the pattern of the kata is not essential to the bunkai and that more than likely the whole kata is against one person.  My father was never really big on teaching bunkai, neither was Keeney Sensei.  In contrast Lloyd Johnson Sensei liked to teach bunkai.  I remember working with Kimo Wall Sensei once in Peoria, Illinois and he told me that he taught 5 levels of bunkai kumite for his katas. Terou Chinen Sensei also has some very nice bunkai applications for the kata.

One of the things I like to do is get the yudansha together and pick a series out of the kata and just kind of round robin the ideas. Have each of them tell me what they think the bunkai could be. I personally try to find the most effective and devastating applications that I can find. In my job, I deal with life and death situations, so I want to find the nastiest, meanest applications I can. I want it to be quick and devastating.

I attended class this evening at my father’s dojo and we did the usual training, but then he turned to me and said, we need to do more bunkai, like you do at your dojo. They really need to know it. So we worked on it.  

I really have a lot more to say about bunkai and my thoughts on the matter, but It will have to wait for another time, as I have other matters that I must attend too.

Correction and Apology

It has recently come to my attention that in my book, I have used material from Mr. Garry Leaver and his book “Wondering along a Dark Path” and that I failed to give him proper credit for it. In the section on the Dojo Kun, there are sections that was a significant amount of the text that was not properly cited.  I used several sources and I tried my best to reference those materials and give credit to any works or sources that were used. I did cite both of his books in other sections, but failed to do so in this section, I did not intentionally seek to use the information without giving credit or intend any dis-respect for his excellent work and I would like to apologies to Mr. Leaver for my mistake.

Sincerely,

Mike Jones

Shodan

Shodan, or what is commonly referred to as the 1^st degree black belt, does not actually mean first degree black belt at all. Shodan literally means 1st level (or step). It implies that a student is officially at the first level. To the Okinawan and Japanese Sensei, all the obtaining of a Shodan means is that one is now ready to learn. Too many people receive their “black belts” and think they are now qualified to teach, or that they even know enough to comment on budo. They think that the “black belt” is the equivalent of the Holy Grail or some such non-sense.

I have heard my father tell his students (hundreds of times) the following “You have no opinion about anything until you reach Shodan, and then you only have an opinion about the kyu grades”.  I also once heard him tell another yudansha (holder of a dan grade) that when he had 25 years of training, that he would consider listening to his opinion. Now I know someone is going to say something about what an ego, or something derogatory, but what he meant by that is that until one has spent 25 years of austere training, on the dojo floor, that they have not earned the right to have an opinion.

When I was in the 8^th Grade, I lived in Phoenix, Arizona with my Mother. While there I had the opportunity to learn karate from several teachers, Robert Trias, Jiro Shiroma, Al Sadler. I remember going to my Father’s to visit for the summer. After he picked me up at the airport, on the drive he asked me about how my training was going and what I had learned, we had a nice conversation and when we arrived at the dojo, he asked me – Do you remember   Seiunchin, do you know it?”  Seiunchin kata, was my favorite at the time, and I practiced it every day, so I replied “Yes, I know it”, his reply threw me a little; he said “Really, because I have been practicing at it longer then you and I still don’t know it, I know of it, but I don't know it”.

It really wasn’t until years later, that I truly understood what he meant. Since then as I learn something, I have found that even thought I have been doing Gekisai Dai Ichi and Sanchin for almost 35 years, each time I practice them, I find something else hidden with-in, I peel away yet another layer of it.

Today, I see to many dojo ran by people that have only trained for a few years, when you consider that the average person now gets their shodan in 2 or 3 years, then they run out and open a dojo. My father trained under his teacher for 10 years before he was allowed to open a branch dojo, I trained for 17 years before I opened my first dojo. People today are in too much of a hurry to get to what they consider the end.

This may be harsh but shodan’s need to just keep their mouths shut and train. As a shodan, you have not even been shown anything of substance yet, let alone do you have any authority to offer an opinion on anything. Karate (or any martial art) is and should be a lifelong endeavor. Pace yourself and enjoy the view, because it takes years to see any real knowledge. I have been at it on a daily basis for 34 years and 10 months, and I still don't "know" anything, I know of it, but i am not sure I will ever truly know it.

Little Gems of Wisdom

Every once and a while, when surfing the web, I will stumble on something that I find worth while.

Recently I stumbled onto a blog written by Mr. Giles Hopkins, a senior student of Kimo Wall Sensei.  Hopkins Sensei has some interesting thoughts and at least for me, some of his writtings have invoked some deep thought. If you get a chance I would suggest that you take a look and see what you think.

Goju ryu Blog