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T H E O N LY M A G A Z I N E D E D I C A T E D T O A L L K A R A T E K A
TRADITIONAL
KARATE Vol. Vol. 22 22 No. No. 06 06 April April 2009 2009
Chris Denwood Respecting What is Old; Creating What is New
Karate’s Silver Fox Roy Fox 6th Dan
The Last Karateka Retaining The Samurai Spirit
Visit the Traditional Karate magazine website at www.karatemag.co.uk
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Karate’s Silver Fox by Trevor Streets
My Good Friend Roy Fox 6th Dan Roy, firstly let’s start with the usual, name rank and serial number. ROY FOX: I’ve been studying Shotokan Karate for more than 35 years and have been graded to 6th Dan.
35 years, which puts you as starting in the very early 70’s. ROY FOX: A lifetime ago although I have a great archive of those days and a huge amount of photos and cine film (for those who remember what that is!) I started because a pal at the time was a yellow belt and kept on and on to me to have a go, so off I went. The club was called Chester Shotokan and was run by the late Colin Williams in Cheshire and affiliated with the KUGB at that time. I was hooked!
Hard times? Good Times? ROY FOX: Yes, to both. I’m not one to get sentimental about these things but training then was, to be honest, brutal. If you didn’t get it right or block quick enough you got smacked. Simple as that. Quite rightly you can’t to that today. Then no-one gave a thought to health and
safety, correct stretching, warm ups and the science behind sport. It was the old adage “no gain without pain” not bright and it lead to a lot of injuries. What it did do was breed a generation of karateka that had true passion and spirit. The camaraderie within most clubs was fantastic, always evident in major national competitions like the old Chester and North Wales Open. I need say no more. Just ask some of the older senior instructors.
You say the club was affiliated to the KUGB at the time. Did this change? ROY FOX: Yes we were with the KUGB, hence training with the great Terry O’Neil and good friend, the late Steve Cattle. We then joined Thames Karate after which Colin Williams set up his own association. Some years later I decided to move on to pursue Karate in a way more appealing to me. I’m now a senior instructor in the Shotokan Karate Schools of Wales under Chief Instructor Roger Williams 7th Dan (no relation). Roger and I have been friends for many years and when I needed to find a home he welcomed me with open arms.
I know you’re very active in the refereeing. How did this come about? ROY FOX: I spent a great deal of time competing when I was younger and was fortunate to travel all over the world training and competing with a fare share of success. As Chester A won the UK National Championships so when my competing time came to an end I wanted to stay involved on the circuit. Refereeing is the most direct way to do that. It’s a thankless role in many ways but essential for the future of Karate. I originally had an international qualification under FAJKO but since moving forward have ripped that up and gone back to school to learn the WKF rules. It’s no easy process believe me but then again being tutored by World Referee Chico Mbakwe and EKF referee Jason Ashcroft is a major plus. I am now a National Referee. TS: You’re also involved with the Welsh Karate Governing Body Ltd?
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ROY FOX: Indeed. I’m not a political animal by any means but got involved through accompanying Roger to meetings all over the place (Roger is Chair of WKGB Ltd.) Many people sit on the sidelines bleating about this and that but unless you get involved and affect decisions being made about your karate future then you can’t criticise those that do. In the last 6 years the Welsh Karate Governing Body made big strides forward and has done wonders for Karate in Wales setting standards which are being adopted by other sport governing bodies.
Given your traditional Shotokan upbringing yet your involvement in modern competition where do you stand on the Olympics question? ROY FOX: I’m all for it although I doubt whether we will see it come to fruition within the next decade. But it will. Those who give grants to karate, i.e. sports council will push it forward. They will want to see gold medals as a return for their investment. I don’t think that the traditional side will be lost. It’s up to the instructors to maintain the positive qualities associated with traditional training. Respect,manners etc. Just because the emphasis is changed it doesn’t follow that all that good stuff is out of the window. At the moment about 85-95% of karateka are children; of those around 10% continue on through to their teenage years and adulthood. The challenge we should be looking at is to capture and nurture this talent. Develop it with a combination of modern coaching knowhow and traditional values and outlook. Anyway, I need to get off my soapbox now before I get a nose-bleed.
OK slightly different line. Who inspired you then and now? ROY FOX: Easy, Mr Kanazawa, Ronnie Colwell, Terry O’Neil and Steve Cattle. It would take me days to write a list of the rest. Kancho Kanazawa is in my eyes simply amazing and the epitome of what a karateka should be.
Inside the dojo his skills were jaw dropping but outside the dojo he was very easy to talk to and would give of his time freely. I feel very privileged to have spent time with him. A very special and modest man. As you know I was very excited to train at Kancho Kanazawa’s SKIF headquarter dojo in Tokyo recently. I enjoyed superb but hard sessions under Kancho’s sons Nobuaki and Fumitoshi. Talk about chips of the old block! They are fantastic. Terry and Steve are both legends and fully deserve their accolades. Steve’s passing was a great loss to English karate. I’ve been training under another legend Ronnie Colwell 8th Dan for countless years and consider him not only my senior but also my elder brother. Ronnie is President of the world-wide Japan Institute and his passion and knowledge of budo and kobudo in particular is unrivalled. Another great man I have trained and spent time with is Harada Sensei, recently awarded an MBE for his services to karate. There are many more and I could go on and on.
What does the future hold for you? ROY FOX: More of the same! I want to continue to develop my refereeing and be a credit to my peers. After our fantastic time in Japan I also want to keep those relationships going and build those for the future.
Thanks Roy. And do you remember that 5000 yen you borrowed in that bar in Shikkoku, can I have it back now!! Assistant to the British WUKO Delegate Graduate Japan Institute (est. 1956 by K. Yoshida Sensei) Chief Instructor To the Kobukan Institute (GB Section) Certified member Shubukan Honbu Japan Seibukan Kokusai Kyokai Federation English Karate Organisations English Karate Alliance International Instructor and Examiner
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The Last Karateka Only a fool believes that the Japanese still live as they are portrayed in films like ‘Shogun’, or ‘The Last Samurai’. Yet there is an area in which they retain the Samurai spirit - even now, here in the 21st century. Each society generates a set of moral values that define ‘the good’ and ‘the bad’ in that society. Normally these align with the laws of the country, though there are always areas in which they do not. To put it simply, it may be illegal to drive a 60mph in a 30-zone but it’s probably not immoral or unethical to do so. In like manner, it might be immoral to covet thy neighbour’s wife - but it isn’t illegal. I would like to suggest that the Japanese code of ethics has changed less than other elements of life in that country - and that is why the Japanese still make formidable martial artists.
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Nowadays, Western nations like those of Europe and North America - give the individual a great deal of status. Much is talked of ‘individuality’ and ‘the rights of the individual’. Here in America, the legal system - at least in theory - is biased in favour of the individual as opposed to the needs of society. For example, there’s a big argument going in the US of A right now because the President authorised the National Security Agency to, in effect, spy on members of the public without any kind of a Federal warrant being issued. We in the West speak of individual acts of heroism and we often
portray the individual as standing against the flow of society. Such concepts are rare in The Land of the Rising Sun - then as now. But to continue - the Western nations have a professional armed service - a force of Samurai - who are trained to be effective warriors. This is actually an important issue because it begs the question: can you actually train someone to be a warrior? Or can you simply equip him or her with the techniques of being an effective fighter - and hope they will use those techniques effectively? Probably the latter. But the soldier is, as they say here in the States, ‘A Force of One’; an individual in an arena where the actions of that individual may have less tactical or strategic effect than a group of people acting in unison and without regard for self as individuals. This is the Way of the Samurai - Bushido. And it is alive in Japan today in the sense that modern people there see themselves as a contributing unit of Japanese society and less as an individual. The feudal Samurai was one who served; one who had a primary duty to do what he was told regardless of the consequences of that act. And if the Samurai gave less than 100% in performing that act, then they were expected to commit suicide. The torture and illtreatment of prisoners was of no consequence - just the obeying of
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orders. So if the platoon sergeant ordered his men to charge a machine gun emplacement, then there was no argument - just a competition to see who could demonstrate their total loyalty best by getting as close to the machine gun emplacement as possible before being mown down. Contrast that with Vietnam and the phenomenon of ‘fragging’. This was when the commanding officer of an active unit was murdered by his subordinates so they could avoid placing themselves at risk by following what they regarded as dangerous orders. They were thinking of themselves as individuals, and their first loyalty - as individuals - was to themselves. That is why, to Western society, the Japanese culture of obedience has often been seen as a hive, in which the mindless herd simply follows the orders of the rank above them. The herd uncritically accepts the orders of someone who may be a total sadist, mass murderer
and/or a complete maniac - but that doesn’t matter because they are not taught to see the person who outranks them in any sort of a critical light. The person outranks them. Period. And their morality places blind, unquestioning obedience above anything else. It is no surprise, then, why the Japanese warrior of past and present was formidable. What sort of
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defeated not by warriors of greater skill and ferocity but by a larger force of warriors bearing superior arms and better armour. It took fire bombing and atom bombing to subdue them finally. When you teach karate to a Japanese person, you are giving an individual with less thought of themselves than any Western person, the techniques needed to fight. Is it any wonder that Japanese karateka are so tough? Ask those who trained and fought in Japan in the major schools what it was like. Many of our people stayed there and gave as good as they got - better in some cases - for though we are a nation of individuals, not all those individuals are wimps. We have some great karateka in the Western world - as good as any in Japan - but we do not have the sheer numbers of karateka who train harder and are as focused as those who train today in Japan. That is because their ethic is different to ours in the ways I have suggested.
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Is it any wonder that Japanese karateka are so tough? Ask those who trained and fought in Japan in the major schools what it was like Western Warrior would follow the dictates of the Hagakure Bushido and ‘struggle insanely in the jaws of death?’ Yet that is what they did - right up until 1945 - and not just the kamikazes but the rank and file soldiers who refused to surrender, even when the outcome was an obvious death. Such soldiers were
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FEK001/01
Federation of English Karate Organisations International In direct membership to the World Karate Confederation and English Traditional Karate Body
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Federation of Martial Arts In direct membership to the F.E.K.O Int’l Criminal Records Bureau registered for Disclosure including outside groups. NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document A Federation of over 70 Karate Associations plus other Martial Arts Groups (16,000 members)
If you are a 3rd dan or above with a group of at least 100 members then join a truly democratic long established organisation but still retain your independence. Each Association has a representative on the Federation Council to form the Federation policy. You decide on the future direction of Karate within the Federation. You elect annually the Executive Committee for the day to day running of the Federation. Smaller groups also catered for. No interference in running your own group - Freedom to conduct your own gradings - All grades recognised - Dan grades registered, recognised and certificated - All your training premises covered for £5,000,000 public liability - Full insurance cover for all registered members - Instructor/Coaching/Assessor qualifications - To be able to work within the law we have CRB Disclosure - NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document - National/International Refereeing courses and qualifications Junior & Senior National/International - National Children’s Championships - National Senior Championships - Plus local championships with member groups etc
Federation of Martial Arts. Many karate groups also train in other Martial Arts including Kick boxing, the FMA offers the above benefits to those members with membership to FEKO Int’l or direct membership to the FMA for non Karate groups For further information contact Alan Carruthers FEKO Secretary 198 Meadow Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1JR Tel/Fax 0115 9250167 E-mail mail@feko.co.uk Web site www.feko.co.uk BUT001/01
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Calling ALL
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SHOTOKAN HORIZON In a series of interviews shortly before his death, Vernon Bell, the founder of the British karate movement, described, in some detail, what he taught his earliest students, before his encounter with Master Tetsuji Murakami, in Paris, in August 1958. Shotokan Horizon, therefore, is concerned with the karate that Bell learned from Henri Plee and Hiroo Mochizuki, whilst under the auspices of the Yoseikan dojo, in Japan. The book thus concentrates on the period 1956-1958 and makes for a truly fascinating read.
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RESPECTING WHAT IS OLD; CREATING WHAT IS NEW With Chris Denwood
Deficit, Desire and Drive (Part 2 of 2)
Last month I began to introduce what I call the three D’s as ‘deficit’, ‘desire’ and ‘drive’ and explained how these three components are necessary to ensure a positive environment for future growth and development, not only in karate, but in all life pursuits. Each training session in the dojo should be a challenge either in a physical, mental and/or spiritual sense. The fact that we train at all means that a specific deficit must be present and the quality of our desires will dictate the way in which we progress positively in the art. This month I intend to finish off my introduction by discussing the third ‘D’ of human drive and how all three components together can represent the most fundamental basis of karate, the way in which we train for constant daily improvement and the
relationship between what we do both inside and outside the dojo.
Drive In short, ‘drive’ takes hold of the deep desires found within our mind and throws them out to materialise within the physical playground of life. During my time in martial arts, I have come across many individuals who have realised deep deficits and possessed huge desires, yet regrettably lacked any form of drive whatsoever. As a result, their progress ends up becoming severely limited because without the impetus to move forward, desire on its own becomes inherently disempowered. For example, there are some who would really like to get into better physical shape, but find it exceptionally hard to make either training or main-
Taken after the Butokusai (festival) held by the Dai Nippon Butokukai in 1938, this picture shows a room full of people who fully understood how deficit, desire and drive come together to produce human progression at its most highest form - karate is essentially one representation of just what can be possible. Pictured are Ohtsuka, Konishi, Mabuni, Yamaguchi, to name but a few. Oh how I’d have loved to be a fly on that wall (one literate in Japanese of course!)
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taining a healthy diet a priority in life. Amusingly, there are also those who will habitually pay a fortune for gym membership each year, only to spend their valuable workout time either chatting to their friends or sitting in the Jacuzzi, or enjoying the visual stimulation of the opposite sex - whilst still (ironically) complaining everyday that the only pounds they’ve lost are those from their pockets! The first two D’s offer us all a huge amount of energy that if unutilised in a positive way and left to stagnate, will invariably vent towards a negative outlet (usually in the form of stress) and eventually coagulate to cause depression. Drive allows us to focus our energies towards a specific positive goal and is not something that we should wish for or hope to possess - it’s our god given right and available to every one of us. Let’s face it; training to make physical improvements through any skill is invariably going to be hard work and as human beings, we will always naturally look for the easiest route possible (efficiency). Not a problem in theory, but couple this with fast paced modern living (what I call ‘microwave life’) and the promise of a beach physique in two weeks and ‘hey presto’ - you have a goal based on absolute nonsense and the evolutionary drive for efficiency toward it misshapen into cultural laziness. In reality, anything of any real worth will by and large require a hearty degree of effort, hard work, dedication and persistence. Otherwise we’d all be fantastic examples of perfection wouldn’t we? Self drive is something that few of us utilise fully and in a positive way, but we all can possess it nevertheless.
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Usually, our drive is angled towards the attainment of some sort of third party reward, but to accomplish a meaningful aspiration with no external prize is a far greater task and one that reaps the greatest benefits. This is because in our current culture, we’re often far too focussed on how many ‘brownie points’ we can collect and throw out to others in order to show how good we are - this generating only a superficial sense of pride. In my view, there is absolutely nothing selfish about wanting to do something meaningful for you and you alone, because if this is a genuine attempt for positive progression then more than likely, it will also have a positive effect on others around you. If you accomplish something wonderful and it’s an honest representation of your own genuine nature, then it will always have a positive effect on others, there’ll be little need to push it out there. This internal drive for something more becomes far more satisfying because it’s real and not manufactured only from external influences.
The three D’s in Karate If trained correctly, karate will reveal you deficits clearly, as well as challenge your desires and drives with the utmost potency. It will provide a platform to positively develop and take what you’ve learned to enrich many other aspects of your life. The challenges that karate can offer will test you initially via a physical way, towards your personal goals. But nothing is every simply physical. As you progress in the art, your mental and spiritual pathways are also stretched, because in order for us to consciously move so much as a single inch, we must first
utilise the mind and place it forwards, outside of the body to create the initial potential to grow. Intense physical exertion is much more of a mental pursuit. When you’re absolutely exhausted and nauseous through physical effort in the dojo, your mind is trained ‘under fire’. Having this state imposed on you is one thing, but to actively search for it is something completely different. It’s true that in terms of self-protection, we must always work towards resisting the circumstances that may bring physical violence into our lives. But of course, as we all know, it’s is not always possible to achieve this. If we can still see our deficit, cling on to our desire and salvage every ounce of our drive whilst under extreme physical and mental challenges, then this is where these qualities are tempered into a weapon that can then be wielded in every other aspect of our lives. The principal goal for most aspiring karate-ka is attaining the coveted ‘black belt’. However, after years of arduous training, bouncing back after countless personal failures and enduring persistent and long term focus, those who are trained correctly will realise that the rank of Shodan only represents the first rung of a very long ladder. They should come to realise that it is the journey that should be cherished, not the reward at the end. To me, Shodan should quite ‘eloquently’ prepare the student by challenging their three D’s under pressure and provide them with a glimpse of what can be achieved in future training through the combination of these together. Now that I’ve set the basis for progression, over the next few months I thought it would be useful for me to
focus on a single basic technique found in karate and begin to analyse it from a multitude of angles, in order to bring out some of the more important general principles of traditional pragmatism and hopefully show how the essence of a whole art can easily be found through the austere practice and open questioning attitude towards one movement. This of course is also directly relevant to how we should also aim towards solitary aspiring goals that together can form a solid framework for a better existence. Until then, thanks for taking the time to read my words - I hope you’ve found them of use. “The greatest thief this world has ever produced is procrastination, and he is still at large.” - H.W Shaw Chris Denwood is Chief Instructor of the Eikoku Satori Karate-Do Kyokai and a senior instructor with the British Karate-Do Chojinkai. He is also a nationally qualified fitness coach and ‘Extreme Kettlebell Instructor’, specialising in the use of kettlebells as a supplementary training device to help enhance the core principles of the applications found within traditional karate kata. His training methods are based on revealing an adaptable way of fusing both the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ viewpoints of pragmatic karate as a means for civilian self-protection, personal growth and positive challenge. For more information about the E.S.K.K, to enquire about upcoming events or to book seminars and workshops etc, please call 07801 531 914 or visit www.eskk.co.uk, where you can also join our free mailing list, read articles and download useful media.
The three D’s can be likened to a long bridge situated over a deep valley. Deficit is represented by the huge void separating one side (where you are) from the other (where you’d like to be). Desire corresponds to the bridge construction itself, which allows possible passage across. Finally, Drive is symbolised by the fuel required and utilised by the vehicles whilst attempting to cross over.
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Kumite From Start to Street
By Andy O’Brien 5th Dan. Technical Points from Mike O’Brien 8th Dan Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Wales
“Most people have some phobia that ‘pushes their button’. If yours is not snakes, it might be spiders, heights or darkness. However, one phobia that pushes almost everyone’s button is interpersonal human aggression. That is the “Universal Human Phobia”. - Lt. Col. Dave Grossman from his superb book, ‘On Combat’ Some people take to confrontation like a fish to water; it is a natural part of their psyche, something they relish in and enjoy. Unfortunately, for the rest of us that do not, the people that fall into the fight-addict conflictloving bracket also includes the bullies, thugs and sociopaths of our world. Unless we regularly practise desensitising ourselves to ‘interpersonal human aggression’ and overcome the ‘Universal Human Phobia’, when the proverbial brown smelly stuff hits the fan and starts flying, we will come a very sorry and possibly even fatal second. As Martial Artists we have a distinct advantage over the majority of the population. From the moment we step into the dojo as a raw beginner, we are thrown into progressive
stages of ‘interpersonal human aggression’. We are immediately confronted with an aggressive and bellowing Sensei (at least I was, Dad!). The second we begin basic kumite we are faced with an opponent bellowing an attack at us and delivering it screaming like a banshee; then likewise we are taught to reciprocate with equal aggression. For the beginner this can be a terrifying experience but before long, they realise that they are performing a set technique and that providing they execute their part of it correctly, everything will be ‘hunky dory’ (as long as their partner does their job correctly!). They’ve become desensitised to that particular confrontation and then it’s time to ‘up the ante’ again and again and again etc.
This is exactly how I will approach the subsequent articles in this series. Starting with Ten No Kata Ura.
Ten No Kata Ura Now you have familiarised yourself with the Omote form of the Kata it is time to ‘grab a partner by the hand’ and give the techniques the ‘acid test’ by performing the Ura section of Ten No Kata. Ten No Kata was created by Funakoshi as the first rung of the kumite ladder and therefore can also be used as the first step to controlling the “Universal Human Phobia”. As with the Omote section of the kata, the attacks should be performed on the right then left alternately. Yoi (Pics 24 - 25 & 24 again) Technical Tip 1: Start from a close position. Step away, bow and say Oss clearly then return to close position.
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Oi Zuki Gedan (Pics 26 - 27 & 28) Technical Tip 2: Note how the attacker’s front foot is positioned inside the defenders. This ensures that all his
power is going directly at the defender and if the block had not been successful contact would have been made adding to the pressure element.
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Oi Zuki Chudan 1 (Pics 26 - 29 & 28) Technical Tip 3: Maintain a serious attitude throughout all kumite. Attacker and defender should kiai on striking technique Pic 28
Oi Zuki Chudan 2 (Pics 26 - 30 & 31) Technical Tip 4: Note defenders front foot inside on execution of the block due to inside movement of front foot into Kokutsa Dachi as shown in Omote section. The defenders front foot then steps around attackers giving a better line and adding more power to the counter. Can also serve to trap attacker’s foot or add pressure to knee to affect balance.
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Oi Zuki Jodan 1 (Pics 26 - 32 & 33) Technical Tip 5: Blocking arm cuts through elbow joint area of attacker (important for later). Also note Jodan counter as per Omote Oi Zuki Jodan 2 (Pic 26 - 34 & 28) Oi Zuki Jodan 3 (Pic 26 - 35 - 36 & 37) Technical Tip 6: Note Soto Uke preparation. Although not practical in reality, all of this motion can be used effectively in self-defence scenarios. Technical Tip 7: All of the above defences should also be practised on the outside of the attack as below. Soto uke (or uchi uke, depending on style practised) is already blocking to the outside so does not need to be
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altered. It is not as effective when used inside as it leaves you open to a secondary attack. In the Tenno Kata Ura Section of Karate Do Kyohan, Gichin Funakoshi says: “When performing, both attacker and defender should exert themselves with seriousness and to their utmost capability” To me this says that the attacker should execute the techniques with the full intent of utterly destroying your opponent. Therefore, if the defender does not perform he will pay the consequences. A good attitude adds pressure to the exercise and keeps you on your toes. Master Funakoshi also says in the same paragraph: “Ones inten-
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tion must be to practice so that the block and attack are executed as one movement.” In order to achieve Master Funakoshi’s “one movement” block and counter, Kime (focus) is not required on the blocking element. It slows the all important opponentdestroying counter down and gives away advantage. Kime should be implemented on blocks during line work. However, when followed by a counter, kime should be reserved for the impactive and destructive counter-strike. Next month I will look at the various forms of kumite from Gohon to Jiyu Ippon.
ura out 5
ura out 6
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