Junbi Undo part 2

The late Seikichi Toguchi Sensei, a student of both Chojun Miyagi Sensei and Seiko Higa Sensei, further developed the junbi undo he taught within his Shoreikan dojo, adding several yoga like exercises to form what he called, Daruma Taisho.

The junbi undo is the first in long process towards martial arts proficiency. It is critical, at the beginning stages of training, for a student to attain a full understanding of his or her body. Further, it is essential that a practitioner adapt his or her body to meet the particular requirements of the art, which they have chosen to study. The warm up, when performed correctly, is an ideal training tool to accomplish these needs. Put simply, the warm up contains a methodology for training a student in the ways of their chosen art.

You should remember that before you can exert yourself, you must warm the body up. When exercising, do so correctly and with purpose. Your frame of mind here will affect the rest of your training for the session. If a particular exercise causes pain to an injury, seek out Sensei advice on how to modify it. Remember each person has different levels of fitness and flexibility. Listen to your body. This is especially so as a beginner and after an illness.

Stretching must be done in the following order

1-body joint mobilization

2-static stretching (floor first, then standing)

3-developmental stretching (done after body temperature has risen, i.e., after exercises)

During junbi undo, movements should be slow and with maximum control of body weight and movement; slow, passive, controlled three stage breathing should be used. Stretching should be stopped immediately if any sharp pain occurs.

To me, Junbi Undo is very wonderful contribution to the art that evolved from Naha-te. Miyagi Sensei was way ahead of his time when he developed Junbi Undo. Even when I do not feel well, or my batterd body is revolting against me, I can alsway count on junbi undo to get me on the right track. To this day I still do these exercises regularly (every day); I love the way it makes my body feel. Starting from the feet, making their way up the body and up to the neck, loosening the joints, stretching the muscles, coordinating the movements with the proper breathing raises the pulse and it opens the body so one is ready for Karate training or any kind of training. Particularly as we age it is important to keep the body fit for life. Junbi undo can be a great contribution.

I was suprised that Glyn Jones on his Shinkenkan Blog also was writting about Junbi Undo, his is an excellent article and I recommend that you give it a read. Glyn Sensei was kind enough to point out that I had not cited some of my source. In my defense I had written the junbi undo article as a whole and at the last minute decided to split it in half. The article is taken from my book "Entering Through the Gateway of Gojuryu" and in the book I did cite my sources but I failed to do so when posting here, so please accept my appologies, part of the article is from (and credited too) Higaonna Morion Sensei - Traditional Karate do- Okinawa Goju Ryu- Fundamental Techniques 1.

While I am on the subject there are currently two other books that give a detailed explination of Junbi Undo those are "The Art of Hojo Undo" by Michael Clarke Sensei and "The Essence of Gojuryu Vol. 1" By Richard Barrett Sensei and Garry Leaver Sensei.