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. 21 21 No. No. 2 2 October/November October/November 2007 2007
online
The Principle of Perfecting Principles Reduction! Dilution! Pollution! Solution? Do vs Jutsu Origin, Practicality are They Effective?
Is The Future of Karate in Safe Hands?
Two Sides of The Same Coin?
Aaron Gould
Shotokan’s Elite Youth To read the Aaron Gould article in full pick up a copy of Combat magazine available from W.H.Smith and all good newsagents
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TRADITIONAL
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contents
08 DO VS JUTSU 10 REDUCTION! DILUTION! POLLUTION! SOLUTION?
pg.08
By Lyndon Nelson-Allen & Chris Bird
16 LOCAL KARATE MARTIAL ARTIST ACHEIVES A 6TH DAN IN KARATE Tony Boyer
20 THE PRINCIPLE OF PERFECTING PRINCIPLES Bending With The Winds Of Adversity
24 TEAM SHINDO KAI Capital 3 Challenge - 1,000 Mile Bike Challenge in 5 Days!
28 2nd SOUTH WEST OPEN KARATE CHAMPS By Martyn Skipper
36 YAMAGUCHI GOJU KAI
pg.26
European Championships
39 TEKKI BUNKAI COURSE FBSKUI St. Ives Leisure Centre
42 AUSTRIAN JUNIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS The Hills Were Alive With The Sound Of Kiais for details of this month’s printed version of Traditional Karate magazine please turn over...
check out this month’s issue of
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2 Sensei M alcolm Ph nd Dan with Seis and Hem hinkai Sh ipps 7th el Hempst otokan K Dan, the ead dojo arate Inte worldwid s. rn e Chief In structor to ational and trains with his SSKI in h is Slip En d, Luton Many wo men wou ld enough. Not so fo find holding dow n a full ti r Rachel World C me job a Elwood, hampion nd being who is no ships in It a mother w back in aly, in O to a lively ctober. C full trainin ombat ca todler ch g , in orde allenge ught up w r to comp ith her in ete at the a brief g next WTK The follow ap in her A ing techn busy sch iques, to of the 20 edule. the best o th. Centu f ry Okina China by wa and m my knowledge ca visiting O n trace th ay have kinawan been intr eir roots martial a oduced fr back to th rtists. om Fukie n provinc e turn e, Approxim ate put togeth ly three years ag o I was c er a flow hatting w sy technique ith s of the fi stem for the Heia n Kata, te a well known sen ve steps in respon ior martia aching st se to hab udents ho l artist an itual acts w to flow d I menti of violen oned tha from one ce. tI move to another w had Neil, con ithin the gratulatio ns on yo with a 10 ur recent se big w were also cond knockout of the seaso in at Cage Rage a last min 22 in We n ute subst mbley Are itute, is th ed Cage Rage an d Pride fi at right? na. It wa ghter Jam s es ‘Coloss a very impressive us’ Thom debut pson. I b This is th elieve yo e first of u several a This mate rticles ria Power by l consists of excerp investigating San ch Kris Wild ts of vari ous sectio in Kata, its origin er. ns from th and app lication to e book T he Way traditiona of Sanch l karate. in Kata: The App In this tw lication o o part se f ries I wa frequentl nt to cha y viewed ll e n g a e some o s brutal co f the com mbat syst kata for children monly he or beginn em. The ld beliefs first thing ers, it is about the my belief I want to that the P Pinan / H call into question inan seri is the me es represe eian series. Altho aning of ug nt a holist “Pinan”. ic and fre h quently By John Van Wee nen - Ka ge-Zuki to rea Hook-Pun d thes ch
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Aaron Gould Shotokan competitor elite! (All photographs by kind courtesy of DE Photo) Young Aaron Gould (14) is a 2nd Dan with Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International and trains with his instructor, Sensei Malcolm Phipps 7th Dan, the worldwide Chief Instructor to SSKI in his Slip End, Luton and Hemel Hempstead dojos. If you attend the major Shotokan tournaments in this country you will know Aaron Gould as the most successful kata competitor in the under sixteen years, senior grade category in this country for the last few years. His success is phenomenal. He has just taken the Shobu-Ippon senior kata title for the third year in a row. Every year has been tough but this year there were over sixty competitors in his category alone and all very good. He has taken the Legend Open kata title for the last four years and has taken the SEKU Portsmouth Open title on a couple of occasions. In 2005 Aaron won the prestigious IKA World Championships in Sardinia and in 2004 he won the WTKO USA Open Championships in Staten Island, New York. He has taken the SSKI National Championships kata title for the last three years and in 2005 he won the WTKO UK kata title. These are just some of his more important successes, as the list seems endless (See below). Aaron has trained in Shotokan karate for just over seven years and passed his shodan grade in June 2003. He then went on to pass his nidan exam two years later in June 2005. He started competing at the turn of the century and took his first trophy in the 2000 SSKI under sixteen years, kata tournament, where he took the bronze. This was just the start of a very promising career... To read the rest of this article make sure you get this months Combat available from W.H. Smith and all good newsagents TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 7
Do vs Ju
It’s an old argument, which is better, the do - or Way - or the jutsu - or skills? This article isn’t about that. Normally, when we see these terms bandied about, it is the proponent of one of the terms decrying the other and its followers. Those who practice do arts (Judo, Aikido, Karate-do, Kendo etc) are said to be using watered down techniques. They are accused of only being interested in sport, or only in the spiritual side of the martial arts. As if those two things are the same. They are accused of being far removed from the practice of real self defence and the original barbaric techniques contained within the techniques of their chosen arts. Those who practice jutsu arts (ju-jutsu, Aiki-jutsu, Karate-jutsu, Battojutsu, etc) are said to be missing the character developing aims of their arts, concentrating in a paranoid fashion upon an assault which (for most of us) will never happen. Not wishing to get involved in their arguments, my question is whether the two terms are really mutually exclusive at all? One of my students told me of a Japanese black belt instructor who berated a student in front of her because the fellow was interested in sport Karate. The instructor declared that sport sparring was “just jutsu. Only technique, no do involved”. The instructor (who is still alive) took the position that his Karate was all about the Way, and that this did not involve sport. He also seemed to think that it was about reality. This would seem to be contrary to
the way that most people see the separation of do and jutsu. Apart from any discussion about the merits of sport and the spirit of the sport’s participants, we must see that practice just for sport is the practice of only those skills that will enable one to win any particular contest. This, then, makes redundant all of the skills that are not applicable to contests, and therefore pares down the art.
Some would say that this streamlined art is all that is necessary, and that it is better to have one formidable, “always count on it” technique than it is to have a hundred techniques and suffer from “log-jam”. And indeed, it does take some commitment and drive to attain the skill levels necessary for winning in competitions. So what’s your point, then? I can hear murmurs from the back. Do isn’t sport. Jutsu isn’t self defence. The practitioner who bashes away with their best intent at trying to discover the heart of his art may or may not be wearing a white gi. They might practice hour upon hour of dynamic basic techniques in a long front stance, but it isn’t even this practice that will decide whether they are do or jutsu practitioners. The practice of those basics to produce a winning technique would be a jutsu; the practice of those basics to produce drive from the hips for powerful self defence would be a jutsu. Those same basics, practiced in order to hone the body and concentrate the mind, might be considered a
do; as might the training those techniques in order to “lose yourself” in moving meditation be considered a do art. But what of the person who takes part in sport in order to better themselves - seeking the challenge, but unaware of the glory of winning or the ignominy of defeat - merely looking for the information on how they can do better and testing their assumptions?
Do or jutsu? What of those of us who practice those pressure tested methods of defence - making sure that our techniques work in terrible conditions - who maintain that we practice for the sake of practice; and try to be better human beings. Sometimes we are so scared by the ease with which human beings can be hurt that we are forced to carefully consider our position on matters of self defence. Do or jutsu? I practice Karate-do. The Way of the Empty Hand. I practice harsh applications to the techniques I do, and I have little interest in sport. Colleagues who train the same way I do have called their arts after all sorts of Jutsu lineages, and they ask me why I don’t say I do Karate-jutsu. The answer is “because it’s Karate-do”. The “way” in question is constant training because I enjoy it, but the effectiveness is a built in part of that training. It’s something to think about, something to test the mind, the body, and the spirit, and with a depth matched only by my interest in the subject. The point, then, is that it isn’t the name of the art or the uniform that you wear; it isn’t whether you say “oss” or bow that makes what you do a do or a jutsu. You do that. Your outlook, your drive, your determination, the results that you crave, and the physical and psychological tests that you put yourself through in order to become what you want to be. That’s what decides whether you are taking part in a do or a jutsu. John Burke is available for courses and seminars on Kata applications internationally. Call 01626 360999 to arrange a seminar at your dojo. John’s book “Fortress Storming” is available from www. karateacademy.co.uk monabooks, Amazon, and all good bookshops. He teaches fulltime at his 4 schools in Devon, and can be contacted on sensei@karateacademy.co.uk
Page 8 TRADITIONAL KARATE
FEATURE / DO VS JUTSU
tsu
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 9
Reduction! Dil
Pollution! Sol By Lyndon Nelson-Allen and Chris Bird The 80’s has finally caught up with the Martial Arts - Corporations, Franchises and Chains are rapidly gaining prominence, whilst the little, unique and traditional are being squeezed, replaced and forgotten - the age of Mac-DoJo is upon us. It’s true, simply look around and you will see marketing and commercialism have taken a strangle hold of the combative and martial arts. Whichever way you turn, you know there is a franchise just down the road. Virtually over night there are groups of clubs springing up in the inner cities and suburbia - sporting flashy names, clever slogans and marketing ploys such as “fast track black belts” and “run your own club”. The question is, what is worse... the fact that this is happening now, or that it is our own fault? That’s right - it is our fault! By being careless and reckless, we have encouraged these “growths”, permitted them to take hold and force our well tended styles and systems to start withering. How? That’s a dangerous question to ask, and you are not going to like the following general answers - so if you have an ego, believe you are superior and think others have deficient systems or styles... then I suggest you accept the answer of Reduction, Dilution and Pollution, and stop reading now! For those of you that have continued reading, I shall offer a somewhat unpleasant explanation... and what I hope is a possible solution.
Yet over time, nature took its course, and things altered. Some went towards becoming sports based; others became focused on certain types of moves or techniques. The pool of knowledge being passed on got smaller. This is Reduction. An easy way to spot that this is true is the latest explosion of Mixed Martial Arts. It’s not new; it was previously referred to as cross training. Long ago, it was common for people to be handed from one school of training to another, the instructors knowing that someone else could better teach what they themselves couldn’t. Looking back, you’ll see that Boxing was closer to wrestling, that Karate does have grappling and ground work, that there was Combat Judo etc. The second major cause isn’t just happening now - it’s been happening from day one, and has been escalating over time. As previously mentioned, no matter what you practice and teach, it’s likely to be knowledge that you were once taught. It is the nature of information that over time, it degrades a little, warps a bit or changes a tad.
“
The first major cause was only natural, and was bound to happen due to social, and cultural changes. Look to the roots of your current style(s) and/or system(s). If you look back far enough, a little research will show that many of us practice something that once included a large variety of moves and techniques. Most combat and martial arts included a varied mixture of strikes, kicks, locks, holds, throws and in many cases weapons. Yet Page 10 TRADITIONAL KARATE
how many of us actually practice all of those things? Most of the original stuff was purely combat based or had its root in the martial world.
An easy way to spot that this is true is the latest explosion of Mixed Martial Arts
”
Now consider the information and knowledge that is lost. It will occur under what I view as accidental or intentional conditions. Consider the amount of information that isn’t passed on due to innocent occurrence; shortness of time, illness causing lessons to be missed, seminars not attended due to inability to travel, even
the passing on of an instructor or teacher. You can see how little bits get lost. Yet more is lost due to the second type of occurrence. Through misunderstanding, personal preference and lets face it, ego, pride and fear; our arts have lost a huge amount of information. This is Dilution. A prime example of this is, whilst attending a seminar, being told by a prominent, renowned and respected UK martial artist that you should never teach more than 30% of your knowledge to any one person, lest they leave you or replace you. Do the math folks! If you have 3 generations of instructors, each teaching the next, the third instructor is only going to have around 11% of the original instructors knowledge - so much for some of our peers. The third major contributor to our current sorry state of affairs may actually occur due to a mix of the previous two, and some of the negative parts of human nature. I’m guaranteeing that you’ve encountered it. You’ve at least heard of the type, if not met them. Boldly passing on the hidden moves, secret techniques and quite often telling of occurrences that I’m sure were in several badly dubbed 1970’s movies. Too many of us, they may just be pathetic, stupid or damn right annoying - but have you stopped to consider the damage that those people are doing? Those that don’t know any better believe them. In many cases they view them as a peer and heed the “advice” and the “lessons” being taught. Thus junk moves, rubbish techniques, dangerous thoughts and idiotic things are passed on to others, and believe it or not, some are actually being taught! They are handed around like forbidden chewing gum in school, practiced out of sight of the instructors... and can actually lead to some misguided soul trying to use it in a self defence situation.
FEATURE / REDUCTION! DILUTION! POLLUTION! SOLUTION?
ution!
ution?
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Cage Rage is at the forefront of the UK’s mixed martial arts scene
”
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 11
NAK001/05
FEATURE / REDUCTION! DILUTION! POLLUTION! SOLUTION? This is Pollution. I can think of at least two examples that should ring true for most of us. The first is for those that are older or training for sometime - do you still get those strange envelopes with the funny seals, containing long lost wisdom, mentioning secret and highly destructive techniques? The second, for those that go out and attend seminars or conventions, you are bound to think of at least one person, who in somewhat confidential and hushed tones made mention of being invited to some special instruction group and being taught wondrous techniques that aren’t shown to lesser mortals due to their sheer power. Of course, there may be some readers who have no idea of either of these things. To those, oh so lucky few, count your selves lucky - you’ve obviously never needed to shovel your way out of such a conversation or slap your forehead for signing up to such a group! All of this is how comes many of us are left standing here, looking at an ever increasing number of Mac DoJo’s... wondering what the hell happened! For those of you unfamiliar with the term, (I admit to borrowing it), Mac DoJo is a derogatory term used to refer to certain styles of clubs, institutions, teaching methods and the practice of running the arts in a certain business manner. Please be aware that I am not labelling all such franchises, chains and organisations as providing lesser amounts of knowledge, giving poorer instruction, permitting easier grades or generating false senses of security in the misguided, unknowing or unsuspecting members.
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I’m certain not all such clubs and groups are purely in “the business” to make easy money, hand out grades for students actually bowing correctly or figuring the really difficult first two stances, nor suggest that students may do better by sharing the knowledge with others by knocking on doors and inviting them to attend. There are also those that ban members from training if they discover that a student has also taken up another style or training at a second club, simply out of fear or ego. They aren’t all bad, not all of them. There are those out there, even within such groups, that hold true to more practical, realistic, traditional and generally, in my view, better and honest ways. So again, they aren’t all bad.
The secret of real training is practice, practice, practice, then practice some more
”
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 13
HAM001/15
FEATURE / REDUCTION! DILUTION! POLLUTION! SOLUTION? So, you may be asking how to fix this? Well, the title did state the three main problems and hinted at a solution. Surprisingly, the only way I see to combat what is occurring, is to use what we are losing - information. Now that may sound a little odd, even a bit esoteric, but the only way to stop information from disappearing, stem the tide of lost knowledge and prevent the inclusion of falsehoods in future generations is to ensure that what we know is continued as fully as possible. Teach what you know, don’t hold back out of fear, ignorance or greed. Show others what you have learned, whether you like the technique or not. If you are unsure or simply don’t know, say so, you are not lessened by such admittance. By providing such information, you are doing your duty and ensuring that our arts continue their existence - providing future generations with the knowledge, pleasure and satisfaction they should fully receive and skills that they may one day need! Warn your current students that there are some people out there that want their money simply for the profit, not to pay for the rent of the hall whilst imparting knowledge and training. Tell them there is not such thing as a “fast tack”, only a “short track”. You may have the belt at the end of it - but is it worth it. Ask them what it means to have a black belt, and in all seriousness - if they deem it that important, give them a black belt. Then ask them if that makes them any better than they were five minutes ago. Share you interests and information attend seminars, meet new people, learn new skills, share in the vast wealth of things you don’t know - if you’re willing to put aside what little fears and ego you may have hidden, you’ll be amazed at just how ignorant we all are. That is the solution. I would like to end with an apology. I would like to make it clear that this is not meant as an offensive article - it is not aimed at any one person, club or body. I admit that in some ways it is grossly general, so please think it through. That said, to those of you feeling outraged, indignant and defensive regarding what I have said - I suggest you start asking if your students want fry’s with their black belt. I have trained with a lot of instructors, some well known, and some not so well known. The general standard has always been high, and there is always something
to learn. I have also trained in quite a few dojos, and I have found, in a general sort of way, there are two types. Business types, and, training types. Large organisations do not mean money orientated groups; there are many well known and respected large groups. Their investment is in training and continuing the traditional of martial arts. I have seen money obsessed instructors, and they have all had the same basic tag line. We are better than anybody else because....... There are far too many groups enticing away students with a promise of high and easy grades. Due to modern consumerism, the want it now mentality has gained a firm foot hold, and sadly this is now making the move into martial arts. There has been and will probably always be the proverbial cowboy and this is true for any walk of life, but there are not anything new, or limited to any culture. (During a conversation online with a Japanese student, he remarked that there were just as many cowboys there as there was here).
“
By providing such information, you are doing your duty and ensuring that our arts continue their existence
”
I know of at least 3 after school special dojos in my immediate area, and I do actually get a lot of their students come to us after a few months because the parents don’t like the sausage factory mentality of the training. Too many people are placing the emphasis on a black belt not really knowing what it is. People want them for different reasons, and it is quite often a personal thing, but usually that is the only gaol, and when it is achieved, they leave. I always remark that to me, a black belt is a symbol that I am now not a novice, but a beginner. Each person has their own idea, as do each group. I personally do not believe in holding back knowledge from students, but, I am careful as to what I teach to each student, regardless of grade.
sometimes driven by their ego; it can be a good and a bad thing. It is hard to admit not knowing something, or not being as good as someone else, especially if they are a lower grade, but an ego can drive us to do better, and be a better person for it. If we allow ourselves to be set by our own limitations, we will lose out because of it. Training is an investment, but we have to invest to succeed. Time is quite often the limiting factor, along with partners, children, and work and so on. To fully understand what we are learning, we need patience with ourselves and our instructors. Due to the busy rituals of our life styles, many people want that quick fix; the now, now, now mentality. I once read that there are two routes to a given way, the quick way, and the correct way. The right path to take is a hard one, but it is the ultimate goal, and how we got there that is important. I don’t believe that grades are a commodity to be bandied about like a free gift in a cereal packet; grades are not the be all and end all, A while back, we trained with several instructors over a period of 6 months. Each different instructor taught us something different, a new principle if you like. After applying three separate pieces, we produced a whole technique/principal. By being shown a separate piece over a period gave us to to assimilate and apply the principles taught. When training again with the same people, they did things the same way, but by being given the principle in the smaller stages, we were able to fully appreciate, and utilise the information. If, however we had all the information in one hit, this would not have happened. We had to be patient, and understand the complete concept before moving on. If we attended a McDojo, all this would have been lost for the sake of a meaningless piece of cloth to hang around my waist.
I have been invited to “secret” sessions, and was quite frankly bored. I am not diminishing the relevant people, but as has been said, one mans basics is another mans advanced. As to the question of secret knowledge, I only know one and I impart it as often as I can. The secret of real training is practice, practice, practice, then practice some more. People are TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 15
Local martial
artist achieves a 6th Dan in Karate Tony Boyer is one of the country’s top martial artists. He trains in Wado-Ryu karate which is a style that emphasises speed and movement as opposed to strength and force thereby lending itself to all exponents. Tony has just been awarded his 6th Dan black belt (Rokudan) by the chairman of the British Karate Association (BKA) Brian Seabright. Brian says “It was a great pleasure and honour to present Tony with his 6th dan on behalf of the British Karate Association. Tony Boyer truly embodies the ethos of Karate-Do and his diligent training for more than three decades is a testament to his dedication to Wado - Ryu karate. I’ve known Tony for many, many
Page 16 TRADITIONAL KARATE
years and regard him as a good man, an excellent coach and a great karate ka.” To appreciate Tony’s achievement you have to understand the Karate grading system. There are 9 Kyu grades (Yellow to Brown belts) to pass before you can take your first black belt grading, then Black Belts run from 1st Dan up to 10th Dan, 10th Dan being the highest grade reserved for the founder or chief sensei (Instructor) of that style usually from Japan, 9th Dan is reserved for their immediate top one or two students and so on. In this country to achieve 6th Dan is a considerable achievement and means that you have been practicing karate for a long time, in Tony’s case over 34 years, and that you have significantly contributed to development of your chosen art.
Tony commenced his martial arts career with the Sei-Do-Kan karate school at the Sale Leisure Centre back in April 1973. Over the years Tony has competed in many competitions both in the UK and overseas and has built up a tremendous understanding of karate. During this time he has remained loyal to the Sei-Do-Kan Karate club and this loyalty was rewarded with the passing over of the stewardship of the club to Tony in September 2006. Brian Seabright “The fact that the Sei-doKan club in Sale has been teaching karate continuously for 35 years is an indication of how well the club has been run and the quality of the instruction.”
FEATURE / LOCAL MARTIAL ARTIST ACHEIVES 6TH DAN Tony has recently embarked on a new venture, he teaches Karate to years 3,4,5 and 6 at Lime Tree Primary School in Sale. In addition Tony also runs an after school club where 5 of the students have just been awarded their yellow belts and 4 pupils have progressed to orange belt. Head Teacher Simon Beswick knew Tony and felt the discipline, confidence and fitness Karate offered would be good for the children so agreed to introduce it into the curriculum. Simon Beswick says “This has been a brave step for our school but we felt sure that the discipline required, both mentally and physically, would help engender an ethos of commitment and perseverance that would pervade the whole school. I can honestly say that the introduction of karate within our curriculum has helped, with other initiatives this year, to raise both our attendance and levels of attainment beyond our wildest dreams” The British Karate association are in agreement according to Brian Seabright “With so much emphasis in the media at the moment on health and the fact that we live in a more violent society means that the martial arts are becoming even more popular. Karate training involves fitness, competition, self-defence and for juniors especially, it instils respect and discipline, which are important aspects of a traditional karate school. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so many schools are now including karate as part of their curriculum or after school activities.” Tony’s work with the children at Lime Tree School has been so successful that now it is planned to run lunch time sessions for children at the St Bernard’s RC school in Burnage from September 2007.
5th Kyu Blue belt Keith Hague explains “having Rob and Roy at the club is a real benefit, Karate is about basic technique and then adapting that technique to what suits you best as an individual, Tony, Rob and Roy are all great martial artists in their own rights and have developed their art to suit them and to get slightly different takes on the application of a technique really helps.” The club is recruiting new members throughout the summer, as well as offering tuition and regular grading in traditional karate the club also teaches self defence and weapons training as well as
helping students achieve competition standards or refereeing should students choose to. Students must be over 7 years old but apart from that all levels are welcome, male, female or families. Training is a great way to maintain a certain fitness level but progression is very much tailored to the individual and the club is geared to accommodate all levels of ability. To find out more about the club call Tony on 07764 459856.
The Sale Sei-Do-Kan karate club, train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings 7pm to 9pm at the Lime Tree School, Budworth Road, Sale and at Bramhall Recreational Centre, Seal Road, Bramhall on Saturday afternoons at 1pm to 2.30pm. 5th Kyu Blue Belt Mel Storer enjoys training regularly with Tony. Mel says “training with Sensei Boyer is a real honour, his skill, experience and ability to explain techniques really help you to develop your Karate.” The club also boasts 8 black belt sensei including Tony’s chief Sensei Rob Sills and Roy Gallagher both 3rd Dan Black belts. TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 17
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FEATURE / THE PRINCIPLE OF PERFECTING PRINCIPLES
The Principle of Perfecting Principles Bending with the wind’s of adversity Part 1 - By Chris Denwood Over the last fifteen years or so, karate seems to have been strapped to a roller coaster of a ride. All of a sudden, an emphasis on original practicality has become much more evident. In recent times, more and more karate-ka (karate students) are making an active effort in their study to bring the art more in line with its most important historical objective, as a civilian fighting system. This has created the need to concentrate on closer range combat applications, which when equated towards many of the movements in karate, all of a sudden help make the art come alive and prove it to be practically worthwhile once again. Others have chosen to practice karate for other reasons, may thoroughly enjoy and would rather stay with the more modern longrange sporting emphasis. Some may practice simply for the fantastic health benefits it offers. I personally think that the art of karate as it stands today has room for everyone to practice and take from it what they feel is personally appro-
Fig 1: Training in repetitive motion using ‘kihon’ (basic techniques). Page 20 TRADITIONAL KARATE
priate. With the art now as widespread as it is, I don’t think any person should have the entitlement to say what’s right or wrong, apart from what may be personally acceptable to them. Similarly, my own views of karate have changed a great deal since I embarked on my first karate lesson almost eighteen years ago. Personally, I have little time for sport. I don’t even watch it on television. I’ve therefore always considered myself a traditionalist and tried to centre my training towards the kata and the way the art was originally intended. This is what drives me towards my own constant study. I don’t think of it as being right or wrong, just my own individual view. Others may decide to share the same reason(s) to train - others may not. In this article, I’d like to present some of my own thoughts based around the study of principles within karate, in a hope that others may be able to use my words to help them towards their goals as dedicated karate-ka.
No matter why you decide to study karate (be it for sport, self-defence, health, enlightenment or a combination of these) there will be always something for you. This is because over time, the art has been able to develop in order to cater for the masses. Just look at how popular karate is now and the many varying reasons why people decide to train. In order to become competent in any physical skill though, you have to engage in what is termed ‘repetitive motion’. This is something in which the practice of karate has a large abundance of. In order for an action to become ingrained into your subconscious, it has to be repeated many times. As they say, ‘practice makes perfect’. A prevalent dilemma with karate though from a practical point of view is how we can actually perfect the technique(s) of something (fighting) that is by nature so diverse and ever changing. Before we take a look at this specific issue in more depth, it would be worth discussing at this point, what actually happens to us when we engage in any type of repetitive motion, be it through training or during any other everyday occurrence. By continually undertaking a certain movement over and over again, our brains (over time) become more accustomed to the motion, thus it becoming more deeply rooted in our consciousness. This neural activity in the brain and how it can react and adapt to different stimuli is what makes our learning process so special. The more we repeat a physical movement (or rehearse a mental visualisation in the mind), the more we get used to it. The brain slowly builds neural pathways using synaptic connections and each time that a specific movement (technique or behaviour) is repeated; these pathways are made more efficient by matter, which is released by the brain called myelin. This substance is made up of lipids and proteins and lines the nerve fibres to protect and insulate neurons. This proves essential in the accurate and smooth transmission
of electrical data from one nerve cell to the next. When we repeat a given sequence many times, myelin acts to increase the speed and ease of this ‘travelling’ information between dendrites, which are in general terms, the transmitters and receivers of the brain’s neurons. As we continue to repeat a movement more, a reduced amount of brain processing is required due to the pathways already constructed and effectively maintained through the role of myelin. This phenomenon is usually referred to as ‘muscle memory’ and gives us the freedom to then concentrate on further factors such as (in terms of karate) applying power, speed or increased complexity. It’s usually deemed that an average of at least fifteen or twenty minutes of continuous repetitive practice is required to ensure that your body and mind has fully absorbed a given movement. This is why I think that practice in the dojo alone cannot support the attainment of efficient muscle memory, since its normal for far less than fifteen minutes to be spent on each individual technique during a lesson. Consequently, the more we can repeat a given movement over a longer period of time, the more spontaneous we’ll be able to act towards a reflex action. However, although this is a vital aspect, this is not the only factor to consider when effectively learning movements. For instance, the presence of adrenaline can seriously hamper fine motor function and make you act almost like a beginner again. This is seen often in top sports events such as golf, where masters at the top of their tree can sometimes make silly mistakes and lose the championship due to the uncooperative effects of stress. There has to be an infinite number of negative factors to consider when engaging in self-protection. So much so that to think of these at length would be quite perplexing indeed. Consequently, as we all know, the amount of response techniques required to balance out every combat situation would be truly staggering and simply too much of a challenge for us mere humans to sift through in such a high risk situation. I appreciate this being familiar ground for many and I can hear you all strongly confirming your acknowledgement to this. The generally accepted answer then - trying to dig further to uncover the common core principles of movement will as a net result, help us to react (or pro-act) much better to aggressive stimuli. This is because in theory, we’ll be able to move freely according to any situation and have the adaptability to apply our ingrained principles to develop the techniques required in order to nullify the threat. Nevertheless, if this is so, I find it hard to accept why so many
Fig 2a & b: Learning to think outside the box...
of us still depend entirely on the individual advancement of discrete karate techniques without having the vision to link them together via their common threads. In particular, learning how to apply core principles correctly so that your movements become more efficient and relative should really be at the top of every traditional practitioner’s wish list. In the widespread modern dojo however, students still spend many hours perfecting the outward presentation and ‘look’ of techniques, without ever applying these (or their associated principles) in a functional manner. Without attempting to answer the ‘why’ and ‘how’ during our training, we leave ourselves wide open to a life sitting on the fence, denying us the ability to drop off either side so that we explore the many vast pastures that lie just ahead of us. A key problem with centring your study of karate according to mere technique alone is that by nature, you miss out a critical link and this in turn, creates numerous inevitable limitations. If instead, you start to look at karate as a collection of common related principles and body movements, then the art in itself becomes endless (as it should). This is because we can then adapt an infinite amount of techniques based on only a few core concepts and motions. The realisation of equating principles first struck me as being significant a long while ago when I was teaching a small class of black belts. We were practising some renraku waza (combination techniques) and I decided to change the movements around a little to make them appear outwardly different. By utilising the same principles and gross movements,
...The principles of movement provide the key to unlock potential.
I changed the ‘look’ of the combinations and asked my students to perform them. All of a sudden I could see as clear as day, the primary limitation of learning techniques for technique sake. Almost all of the black belts became instantly confused and frustrated because their bodies could not do what I asked of them well. The movements in essence were no different since I simply asked them to employ identical principles, only using different techniques. The students were so conditioned to moving in a particular way (technique) that their ability to ‘break free’ was seriously hampered. Likewise, dissecting certain basic movements that had been repeated thousands of times before and analysing the different principles for application proved also quite demanding for the class that day. It seemed to me that the inability of the class to adapt techniques for changing situations through common attributes was not a fault of their own, but a fault with how they had been taught in the first place. If you learn only to stay on a particular path (conditioned discrete techniques), you won’t really know how to get back onto it if you ever get lost (having to adapt). By stepping off the path now and again (learning to adapt), you will become free to roam around, your leash will be slackened considerably and if you do in fact find yourself lost, you’ll have a much better chance of returning home safe. When Bruce Lee talked about this way of learning when developing his Jeet Kune Do in the sixties, it was seen by many, as a revolutionary way of thinking. In actual fact, Lee had done nothing more than place emphasis on a vital element within TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 21
CIM001/11
FEATURE / THE PRINCIPLE OF PERFECTING PRINCIPLES traditional martial arts training (the equating of common principles and movements) that had been and still is by many, commonly disregarded by our own modern ignorance and misunderstanding. Contrary to uneducated belief, the mastery of specific techniques does not hold amazing secrets. It is my opinion that the real secrets of karate are found within its own fluid adaptability. Studying the principles of karate instead of technique alone will (as the famous Okinawan master Chokki Motobu once so eloquently put it) allow you to “bend with the winds of adversity”. It’s been proven countless times over thousands of years and throughout many different species, that if you can’t learn to adapt and evolve through life, you risk facing almost guaranteed destruction. This has never been more evident than in our own beloved art of karate. For karate to survive the modern era, it had to become accessible for the masses to learn. Therefore, we know that Master Anko Itosu altered many of the techniques in such a way to become more ‘safe’ to learn. However, Itosu was certainly very clever in his approach. He not only succeeded in providing catalyst for karate’s future popularity, he also ensured that the alterations he made still held the core principles of the devastating fighting art he taught. Consequently, he effectively allowed the practicality of the art to remain dormant until a point in which a particular student was either responsible enough to learn or experienced and open minded enough to develop for him/herself. Without the ingenious foresight of Itosu, karate would more than likely have been lost forever.
make pages and pages can make whole books. Throughout the numerous lives before us, making use of those mere 26 characters of the alphabet has created many timeless masterpieces. Looking at the study of karate, we can easily equate ‘books’ to ‘techniques’ and the ‘characters of the alphabet’ to the ‘core principles’, which hold the art together. It would be incredibly difficult for anyone to consider writing a book by hand, if they did not first understand the alphabet of their own particular language. Likewise, many karate-ka attempt to consciously learn a definitive number of techniques, without having the real ability to ‘read’ the essence of them. It is often said in writing cliques that ‘a new book is nothing more than a bunch of old books’ (a collection of old information re-generated into a new format). This is also very true when developing techniques in karate. We can use similar principles to create many varied movements and motions. In this way we are no longer restricting transience, be it consciously or
subconsciously. This thought alone leads us now into a very interesting question. Why then do you suppose we are bound by a historic syllabus of definitive kata and kihon within our art? So far we have discussed in depth about the idea and importance of principle based training. In part two of this article, we will expand this idea further, answer some of the questions that have already been naturally raised and explain how this strategy can be implemented into your everyday training. Chris Denwood is the Chief Instructor of the Eikoku Satori Karate-Do Kyokai (E.S.K.K), a small, recently formed group dedicated to the research and practice of what he has termed, ‘adaptable karate’. In addition, he also works as a Senior Instructor for the British Karate-Do Chojinkai, one of the most successful associations in the U.K. To find out more about Chris’s approach to karate, you can call him on 07801 531 914 or visit the club’s web site at www.eskk.co.uk
As with everything in life, conditioned techniques without an understanding of the underlying concepts simply do not have the ability to adapt and respond in changing circumstances. They are forcefully set in stone. In reality though, everything is transient. Principles therefore, always give birth to technique and a particular technique cannot grow initially, without strong principles (roots) to sprout from. Thus techniques should be in actuality, the transient parts of the actual application. As a comparable, I prefer to liken the study of karate principles to the wonder of the written word. As we all know, the English alphabet is made up of 26 characters (A to Z). By putting certain characters together in a specific order, we can create words. By putting certain words together in a specific order, we can create sentences. By putting certain sentences together in a specific order we can create paragraphs. I’m sure by now you can all see where this is going. Paragraphs can
Fig 3: Correcting technique is only useful if the student is also exposed to the why’s and how’s. TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 23
Team Shindo Kai Capital 3 challenge
1,000 mile bike challenge in 5 days! van would travel 10 miles down the road, park up and wait for the riders to come in, the next 2 riders will take over the bicycles and they too will travel 10 miles, this rotates 24 hours a day. We sleep in the van whenever we can; we bike through the night non-stop for 4 days (120 Hours). It actually took us 91 hours and 22 mins.
What was the challenge? On Saturday the 21st of July 2007, a team of 10 cycled 1,000 miles in 4 days, that is 250 miles every 24 hours. The team consisted of men & Women whose are from the Shindo kai karate association, they ranged from Kyu grade to Dan grades. They set off from Barnsley town hall at 10.00 am Saturday the 21st of July and cycled Scotland & has photographs outside Edinburgh Castle, then moved South on a 400 mile Journey to Cardiff’s millennium stadium, we moved east cross the seven bridge and went to Buckingham palace in central London, then up north to good old Yorkshire and back to Barnsley, finishing on Wednesday the 25th July 5.22 am. (3 capitals, DONE!)
Who were in the team? John Tumman 6th Dan & chief instructor to shindo kai, Joice Tumman Johns wife and 1st Dan, Richard Sainsbury 1st Dan, Lisa Bates 1st Dan, Craig Burke 3rd Dan and Paul Newby 2nd Dan are all Instructors with in Shindo Kai Steve Addy, Simon Weigold, Paul Mc Nicholas, Keith hill are all kyu grade students.
A team of 2 riders set off and travel 10 miles in hopefully 1 hour. The support
Why are we doing it? I ask myself the same question at 6.30 am
Back row left to right; Steve addy, Joice Tumman, Paul newby, John Tumman (ME!), Craig Burke, Simon weigold, Paul Mc Nicholas. Front Left to right; Richard sainsbury (Ming), Lisa Bates, Keith Hill. Page 24 TRADITIONAL KARATE
when I’m on the bike in the pouring rain training!. Over the years we have walked from John O Grotes to lands end and raised £12,000, then we walked from Newcastle to Gretna Green in 22 hours, Both events Traditional Karate covered. While our knees are still up to it we would like to raise as much money for charities as possible before time takes its toll on our joints and we have to call it a day. What are the charities? Some are local charities like hospice and local kids that are terminally ill, others are national Charities like Marie curie cancer care or the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, & also the karate clubs themselves will get sponsorship for equipment for the students to help their training. In total our group has raised £44,000 over
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / TEAM SHINDO KAI CHALLENGE the years and still going strong thanks to individual & corporate donations. We always get good press & radio coverage whenever we take on a sponsored event. How much did we raise this time? As a group we raised £9,000, bringing our total for all our sponsored events over the years to £44,000! Who has helped us? Our own karate students, Family’s, friends & Work colleges have donated to the cause. We also would like to thank the following business that have donated equipment; Karate kids, Asda, Blackford Sports, O Dwyer’s public house, Next, Leeds Building society. Darton Van hire. KIT for the bikes and SYP for Diesel. All we asked for in our prayers was; NO RAIN, NO INJURIES, well we had no injuries but plenty of rain, in fact it rained every day! we did the challenge when the great floods came upon us down south, it was a night mare. Getting up at 3.00 am to put your water proof gear on and cycle 10 miles in cold wet rain, the water got through every thing and we were soaked to the bone. No one could dry their gear and we had 10 people in a 12 seater mini bus. The smell was awful but being true karate ka we got on with it. No one moaned about injuries or the conditions I was very impressed by everyone’s resolve, shindo kais motto is ‘’winners never quit, quitters never win’ how true this team lived up to those words. Here is my Diary of the event; Saturday 21st July 9.00 am. Everyone met up at my Dojo the Barnsley Karate Centre, we loaded the 12 seater mini bus with food & drink supplies, 10 bags full of clothes and of course 2 main riding bikes and 2 spare bikes (just in case!). At 9.45 am, we set off up to the town Hall, had the local papers down and radio, had the usual photos taken then at 9.55 am, Myself and my wife Joice sat on the bikes, we were the first 2 to set off, both of us were buzzing & ready for our 1,000 mile adventure to begin, ‘’every journey begins with the first step’’ I said to everyone, around 30 people had come to see us off, we pushed the pedals round and we were off. 4 months off planning, organising, meeting after meeting had now come down to this. We set off at a furious pace and the adrenaline was pumping around our bodies, very soon we hit our first hill and the reality of ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint Johnny boy’ came into my head and we calmed down to a
steady pace. Our first change over was in Wakefield, we had just done our 10 miles. The other 2 riders (Lisa & Simon) we kitted up ready for the change over, lifted or lowered the seats and they we off around 1 minute after we pulled in textbook change over! 10 miles then change, 10 miles then change again and again. We went through Pontefract, Wetherby, Harrogate then it started to rain, oh how it rained, (Little did we know we would not see a break in the rain for another 48 hours!). It was coming up to 9.30 pm on Saturday and we were across from Newcastle, we put the lights on to bike and Paul & Craig set off on their 10 mile stint, Craig Burke is 6 foot 4 and Paul Newby (W.K.F World light weight karate champion 2004) is 5 foot 6, Craig’s legs went round majestically, Paul’s little legs were going 10 to the dozen, he looked so funny riding into the sunset, but he just like the 9 others gave it 100% every change over. It’s still raining and we are on the A68 now, a long road into the middle of Edinburgh. The last time we came down this road was when we did the end to end challenge of John OGrotes to lands end in 2004, this time we were doing it in the opposite direction and I knew we had carter Bar to climb, this is the English / Scottish Border point, right on top of a Big, big hill!. Everyone was working out who would get it, well it was myself and Joice who dropped for the thing. It was
now 1.30 am, Pitch black in the middle of no where and my front light went out! All I could do was follow joices red backlight but it was dangerous & we still had 6 miles to the change over. I Hit the curb a few times and phoned the support bus up to come and get me as it was too dangerous. They came back, but true to our motto, Simon and Lisa took over from us and slowly and carefully went up carter bar to the very top, down the other side but then they too nearly came a cropper and we decided to park the van up at the side of the road and wait for the first signs of day light. It was 3.50 am and I woke first to see that the bikes could be ridden. Richard and Steve put on their
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 25
waterproofs and set off towards Edinburgh. Lisa and Simon took the bikes up to Edinburgh castle and we had our photographs taken, Edinburgh done! Sunday 22nd July1 0.00 am We stopped for an English breakfast in Edinburgh then set off south on the longest part of the challenge, 400 miles down to Cardiff. We headed out on the A702, the sun came out for a brief period then it was back to the rain. We hit the M74 and our road mirrored this for a long time. Down past Lockerbie, through Gretna green (this is where we finished our east to west in 2006). We went through Carlisle at 7.00 pm and rode straight passed the sports centre we were at for Doug James cumbrian open a month earlier!. Down through Penrith, we were flying now. We must not go under 10 miles an hour, going up hills you were down to 5, down the hills you we up to 20 or 30 miles an hour. We hit Lancaster at around 11.00 am and got plenty of abuse from the pubs relelers ‘’Idiots, get Page 26 TRADITIONAL KARATE
youeslves home!’’ we all thought they were right, its 1.00 am night time and it started raining again!. We parked the van up where ever we safely could, this time it was on a grass verge at around 2.00 am, the riders came in, change over went fine, but as the bus went to set off it got well stuck in the mud. We all had to get out and after 10 minutes we got the van back on tarmac, lesson learned!. Through Preston, Wigan, Warrington then onto the A49, this would take us into Cardiff now
stadium at (9.00 pm Monday evening). Cardiff Done! We has the photo taken to prove we had made it, got some hot food in us and off we went to cross the severn bridge. It was Midnight and we could not find the crossing for the bikes, for the bus it was easy the main M48, but the for the bikes we rode round and round and wasted 2 hours. Enough and we put the bikes on the roof rack and crossed the bridge on the bus, we could have still been there now looking, but it was pitch black, and raining and we were all very tired. We averaged 2-3 hours sleep every night and it starts to catch you up. Back on the road again and hit the A4 road, this would take us into London. We were heading for Chippenham at 3.00 am, I was driving the van and noticed a man lying on the grass, he had a pair of shorts on and a luminous tabard. My God someone’s been knocked down, so I pull in. It was in the middle of nowhere and not a street light in sight ‘’Hi Mate are you okay’’ He sat up like Frankenstein and asked’’ do you have a pen and paper so I can write things down so I don’t forget’’ Ohhh where’s the Mother ship for this guy! ‘’Okay Pal’’ and off we went, I looked in my mirror and the guy set off running after the van, ‘’get ya foot down Johnny boy’’. Well after a few miles we pulled in at Chippenham, nice little town. We waited for the next 2 riders to come in and just all settled down and tried to catch some shut eye. ‘’BANG. BANG, BANG’’ The window nearly exploded, this guys stood at the front of the van now. ‘’You forgot my pen and paper’’, Oh no he’s a Psychopath axe murderer’’. He was around 50 years of age and had shorts, Tabard with teddy bears stuffed down his shorts and a funny hat on, cant be too dangerous. I got out of the van, and started to talk to the guy, he wanted us to put our head lights on and he happily danced for us, and showed us how fast he could run around the van, MMM! Time to move on me thinks. He said his goodbyes and set off running into the dark. Where do these people come from!
Saturday 23rd July, 9.00 am. We pulled into a café and had another good breakfast and it really gets you up and going having some hot food and drink in your stomach, through Shrewsbury, Leominster ad at 5.30 pm we are at Hereford. We start to see some of the flooding that had happened, field covered in water, rivers full to bursting. We thought the challenge may be off if it got any worse, but we put our heads down and soldiered on. Through Newport and finally we pulled up at the Millennium
Tuesday 5.00 am 24th July. We passed reading around 6.00 am. The sun was coming up, rabbits all around and for once it was flat and sunny, come on! Through Slough, Hammersmith and its getting busier and busier. Paul and Craig dropped on taking the bikes to Buckingham Palace. They we in and out of traffic like no ones Business, getting piped at but they gave back just as good!. They pulled up out side the palace and rang us to come and get em. God the traffic was shocking, we went passed Harrods
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / TEAM SHINDO KAI CHALLENGE and were looking for signs for Buckingham palace, being northerners we don’t have a clue about London, in the end we pull round and its there. Paul and Craig were waiting, so were around 3,000 other people. Think it was the changing of the guard, it was packed. We pull up the bus outside the main gates and run out for a quick photo. The next thing we know we are surrounded by Serious looking police officers, they gave us 5 seconds to move or we would be arrested!. Craig and Paul jump in, Myself an joice jump out, 4-3-2 off they shot, legs hanging out of the van and we are left with 2 bikes, no map, no mobiles and not knowing which way the van had gone to catch them up. We walked with the bikes through a park and hit a big round about, M1, ‘’that it Joice we are going this way and hope to god we see the team’’. We got to a place called Cricklewood and to our great surprise the van was there waiting for us oh! Thank the lord!. We were now on the A5 and heading home, upt North. St Albans, Dunstable, Milton Keynes flew passed. We were going home and everyone knew it. We were all so tired we would sleep any where we could, in the van, outside the van, on the pavement, you just dropped to sleep every time you sat down.
At Nuneaton we got off the A5 and headed towards derby, it was getting dark now, so lights & tabards on. We got lost a few times now and we were off the main roads and on back roads, the van kept turning around looking for 2 lonely riders in the dark, found then and pointed the way for the next 10 miles. Wednesday 25th July, 1.00 am We hit the A61, we knew this would take us home, through chesterfield, Sheffield, its raining again but who cares! Barnsley 12 Miles, wow, we must be doing 18 miles an hour on the flat now, eating up the road, we get 3 miles from the finish and let Paul and Keith take over to bring us home. Off they go, we get in to Barnsley town or ‘’Tarn’’ as we say. Wait a few minutes and the lads pull up, touch the wall and we stop our watch on 5.22 & 22 seconds in the morning. No one there this time to meet us, its still raining. A woman walks over to the town hall with a set off keys in her hand ‘’what’s this all abart then’’ in a Yorkshire accent.’ we have just biked from Barnsley to Edinburgh, then to Cardiff, then to London then back up to Barnsley in 5 days! ‘’Oh that’s nice love, nar move thi van before I get police to move it!’’ yes I’m home Yipeee!
Days after I keep waking up and the middle of the night, wake my wife up ‘’where’s the van ,its time to change over’’ Go back to sleep, we finished the ride days ago. Suppose it will take me some time to realise its over. We had a great party on the Friday at a local pub and everyone came for a great night, looked at all the photos and remembered all the hard times but the good times and great friendships we had forged. Richard and Steve for there determination, Lisa & Simon for always getting lost, Paul and Craig for sleeping and boxing day & night, Paul and Keith for amusing us all, Myself and Joice for, well I don’t know what the rest thought of us, but we did the job asked. Next year who knows but our knees are getting worn out, so a few more trips then we’ll call it a day. If you need anymore information, please call; 07814 078 787 or e mail; shindokai@tiscali.co.uk Our web site is; www.shindokai.co.uk here we have a page on our other challenges. Many thanks John tumman (Team organiser)
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 27
2nd South West Open Karate Championships Weston-Super-Mare 17th June 2007. Photos and report - Martyn Skipper
S
port, as ever, is a “funny old game”. Whilst English karate at top level flounders outside of World recognition, with power struggles in its aspirant management, and Welsh karate enjoys a golden period, what is happening to so-called “grass roots”? The AMA’s national kumite coach, Simon O’Brien has his ideas, and is prepared to put his money where his mouth is to put them into practice. “There are not many competitions”, he told me, “between club level tournaments and national or regional events to prepare the up and coming competitor for what competition karate is really like. Too many competitions are run on tatty mats held together with gaffer tape, in school halls with flip-over hand-written scoreboards and officiated over by the instructor’s brother-in-law”. Simon’s vision is to give novice and up-andcoming athletes the same quality of management and presentation they can expect when they hit the big time, so there are no surprises when they progress through the ranks. He certainly delivered with this tournament. Five international standard tatami, sporting electronic scoreboards were officiated over by National qualified referees and officials. The event was staffed by uniformed personnel looking after security, catering, and all other backroom issues. Grandstand bleacher seating was cordoned off from the competition areas and all medallists were presented with their trophies on a custom-designed podium. Whilst some elite athletes were present, including England Internationals Loxley Simmons, Samantha Cannon and Collin Heath, Simon proudly pointed out that some 700 competitors in all had signed up, including representatives from Ukraine, India, Russia and South Africa. Simon’s aim for “quality, so there’s no culture shock when competitors enter the top level events” was bang on target. A film crew from HTV News was in attendance and the event was sponsored by local electrical firm Denmans. Seemingly no expense was spared in making this as professional a venture as possible. “A team of 10 put up the seating rigs. It’s better than at many national events.” Simon explained. Medical support was provided by ERS- a professional organisationbetter trained and equipped than the usual volunteer groups, to provide a higher level of support at matside, though thankfully their services were little required. Page 28 TRADITIONAL KARATE
The South West Open is not run by any association or club, it is a true “open” event with no political stance or allegiance. Simon pointed out that there would be no club or association league tables published at this event. Competitors were welcomed whatever their allegiance- indeed a significant contingent from FEKO was in attendance- and that the day was all about the competitors taking away the best possible memories and experience from the day. Special events in the schedule included a Parent and child pairs Kata category, and an international friendly team kumite match between England and a Rest of the World team of adults and children, male and female. The male kata final saw EKK’s Dean Cunningham against Toyakwai’s Harry Cannon. Despite only recently returning to competition after a spate of injuries, and the pressures of recently sitting GCSEs, sixteen year old Cannon impressed the judges with his Chatanyara Kushanku, beating Cunningham’s Suparinpei by a unanimous three flags. It is interesting to note that the epic Naha Te kata featured heavily in the day’s entries in all categories- a fact that this writer applauds. Goju and its relatives are indeed alive and well in the competition scene both nationally and internationally. In the senior female kata event Mandie Read impressed your reporter, beating Sam Cannon in the early rounds. The final provided an interesting contrast, as Claire Bonello of EKK faced FEKO’s Cheryl Hart. Both women chose Suparinpei. Hart in red stepped up first. Her strong, assured powerful rendition of the form looked every inch the acme of the Goju Ryu canon. Petite Bonello’s interpretation was lithe, graceful and precise, and her 3-flags to nil victory did not give sufficient credit to her opponent. I spoke with Claire after her victory. She told me she had been out of action for much of this year, her health dogged by what is apparently some sort of food intolerance, though medical opinion appears to be at best divided, at worst uncertain as to the exact nature of her condition. Although she won the AMA International Open earlier in the year, she pulled out of the English championships, having passed out on the mat! She admitted to being “still not 100%”. Nevertheless she continues to train “almost every day” making the 100 mile round trip to Enzo Quirino’s Surrey dojo for the privilege. Aficionados of
team kata will be pleased to know that the EKK female team is coming back together, Claire being joined by old team mate Olivia Kolbe-Booyson, - just back from her gapyear travels - Hanna Clevely, and Sophie White, just turned 16. Given Enzo’s track record I am sure this will be a squad to watch in the near future. I asked Claire if there were any new talents to watch out for in the EKK ranks, and she drew my attention to her nephew, 6 year old Michael Holmes. I shall follow his career with interest. To other events. The team kata (all ages, male, female or mixed) final was between Barking Abbey Ishin Ryu, wearing red and performing Annan, and Khalsa Karate of Kingston, performing Bassai Dai, in blue. The judges gave the title to Harry Cannon’s Khalsa, two flags to one. The boys’ 8-9 kumite matched brothers Cuba and Bleu Parris in the first semifinal. Victor, Bleu was, conveniently, to wear the blue belt in the final against Sam Waters. The nine year olds showed maturity and composure in the bout. Bleu Paris took the lead with a chudan gyaku counter with just 18 seconds left on the clock. That single ippon was sufficient to give him the bout, and the title. At lunchtime the proceedings were halted for a special international kumite event. Originally slated as a Great Britain v a Rest of the World team match, a change of plan was needed when it was apparent that the Indian team would not be able to get there in time. Two of the Welsh contingent crossed over to the other camp, and the match became England v RoW. The England team wearing blue was coached by Higashi’s national coach Mike Harris. Each bout was set to 90 seconds duration. The visitors’ coach was the formidable looking Ukranian coach, Alex Krysko, a regular visitor to our shores. First bout in this seven header team event pitched Volodymyr Romanchenko against Camoran Butcher. Both combatants came out heavy, and Camoran’s early head punch cost him immediate hansoku chui, and nihon score to his opponent. Soon after, Volodymyr struck his opponent with jodan mawashi geri and reciprocated with ippon penalty. 2-1 to the visitors, all through penalty scores. Aka’s chudan mawashi geri made it 4-1, but the plucky Butcher continued to attach. A further uncontrolled head pnch from the Ukranian
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / 2ND SW OPEN KARATE CHAMPS
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 29
gave another two points away, and with just three seconds on the clock, Romanchenko scored another two points with a midsection round kick. First bout then to the tourists 6-3. Second bout was coach’s daughter Oleksandra Krysko v EKK’s Eliza Jones. Jones went straight on the attack and forced her opponent out of the shiaijo for a cat 2 warning (chukoko). Both girls showed composure and skill. First score went to England with a right jodan mawashigeri, but this was quickly replied to with a jodan uramawashi (hook kick). Final score 3-3. Next bout pitted Ukranian Vladslav Kis against Welsh Bushi Kai’s Corey Tamlin. An early chudan gyaku tsuki gave the first ippon to Tamlin. He followed up with a chudan mawashi that dropped his opponent. Medics were called on but the plucky tourist got to his feet. This heavy contact merited keikoku, so the score was levelled at 1-1. Tamlin continued to attack but next score was a jodan counter punch and Kis took the lead. A pair of Cat 2 penalties for mubobi (turning away) by the home athlete made it 3-1, but with the clock ticking away. With just 15 seconds to go Corey equalised with a chudan geri. The final five seconds was an epic all of its own. A backfist from Corey made contact and thus did not score. Similarly a Ukranian reverse punch made contact with Tamlin’s head and a cat 1 warning was given against aka. In the last second both boys struck chudan gyaku tsuki. Ao was adjudged to have made the score, taking the bout 4-3. So with one bout tied and one win each, bout four was sure to be interesting. Eduard Myronenko carried the expectations of the tourists and Jordan Twamley represented Vale Karate and the “home” team. Half way through the contest there was no score on the board. A chudan gyaku from aka made it 1-0 to the tourists. With 23 seconds remaining a beautiful right leg roundhouse struck Myronenko firmly on the jaw an earned it’s perpetrator a chuoku penalty. With 9 seconds on the clock the Ukranian backpedalled and was penalised keikoku, levelling the score. Thus emboldened the Welsh lad stormed in with a chudan tsuki, the clock displaying just four seconds. This being a junior bout the contact was deemed too heavy, and a second cat 1 penalty gave a point - and the match to red, 1-2. The fifth bout was the last of the junior matches. The visitors now led two matches to one and the aggregate points score was 14-11 in their favour. England needed this one to get back in to the match. Alfie Wise carried the flag for England, and Pavlo Koloyanov the RoW team. This one-sided affair saw Wise pick up four singles with head and body punches, and concede one cat 1 warning for contact, in the first minute. With 31 seconds remaining red struck blue jodan gyaku for a cat 1 chukoku. Blue continued Page 30 TRADITIONAL KARATE
his attack despite a comfortable lead and forced a cat 2 penalty on red. Red’s attempted jodan mawashi was dodged and countered gyaku tsuki. 0-5 to England. A further series of attacks gave another cat 2 against red for 0-6 and a dying seconds jodan punch ended the bout 0-7 to the home team. Now the contest was drawn in matches but the home team led on points. The last two rounds were senior male events. Imperial’s Steve Ackland wore blue, and Welsh Bushi Kai’s Adam Barber, red. Both men played a cagey game for the first half and no score was recorded. With 42 seconds to go Barber’s chudan tsuki took first blood. Twelve seconds later Ackland levelled with the same technique. Blue attacked with a right roundhouse to the body which struck the ribs of the Welshman but the counter punch had already found its mark and the point went to the RoW. Another Barber gyak’ and it was 3-1 to the visitors, and the lead once again in matches. Last up was the formidable Mark McMahon foe RoW, and England international Loxley Simmonds for the home team. The tourists led by one match but were 17-19 down on aggregate points score, so this really was the decider- a fitting end to an exciting, good natured encounter. Despite - or maybe because of - his significant size disadvantage, Simmonds came out on the attack and after 20 second scored ippon for jodan tsuki over the top of the Welsh guard. Lox tried everything but seemed unable to get close again. At one point, perhaps in desperation, he slid in with a left lead-leg jodan mawash, but McMahon evaded, and Simmonds ended up unceremoniously on his backside! Most of the rest of the bout saw Simmonds attacking with hands and feet, but unable to penetrate the Welsh defence. Nevertheless a single point lead was all that was required for the match. The tournament attracted some prestigious guests, including AMA Vice President Peter Allen. Other dignitaries included Welsh Wado legend Ritchie Noblett, and WKU chief Alan Flook, of whom more later. Noblett, 8th dan was amongst the very first wave of practising karateka in Great Britain, first entering the dojo in 1964, alongside such luminaries as Ticky Donovan, John Smith and Peter Spanton, and under the tutelage of Tatsuo Suzuki, Steve Arneil and the late Toru Takamizawa. He is credited with bringing karate to Wales. For many years he was Welsh national coach, and continues to train today, running the highly successful Afan Lido club, teaching both karate and, separately, kickboxing. In his youth he was famed for his flexibility, and he assured me than he can still achieve the splits. In conversation with him
this affable character invited me to train at his South Wales dojo, an invitation I hope to take him up on, it is hoped accompanied with an interview. Today’s tournament included a popular event, the family pairs kata event. This years event was won by Father and daughter Paul and Chloe Fry of Vale karate. Chloe also took bronze in the under 10 years old individual kata. The senior men’s kumite saw Dean Draper of Wales Budokan beat Ishin’s Chris Bennett in the over 75kgs final. The lightweight title was taken by Elkai’s Collin Heath, an outstanding athlete and former world champion under the WKC code. Special awards were made to outstanding young competitors. First, Aled Thomas Samuel was recognised for his performance in the 5-7 years kumite. A member of the Welsh Bushi Kai, young Aled received the “Spirited Fighter Award”. The Kata award went to Vale Karate’s Hanna Gibbon. Their prizes of top-of-the-range Arawaza karategi were presented by Shirley Lord, of sponsor Kachi Do. Western Karate Union Coach Alan Flook took time out to speak to me. Alan was Simon O’Brien’s Sensei for 15 years and Simon still regards Alan as his main inspiration. Simon added “The bond between senior student and instructor can never be broken regardless of where your paths take you”. Alan, 7th dan, parted his group from Pete Spanton’s Higashi around four years ago. Probably his most famous student is former WKF World champion Rory Daniels. Daniels was unfortunate to be denied the opportunity to defend his openweight title in Tampere last year on health grounds - he sustained a blow to the head in the eliminations of the team event. Alan told me Rory is in good spirits and is determined to go to Tokyo in 2008 to reclaim his title. I asked if the WKU had any up and coming talents to follow in the footsteps of Rory. He ruefully replied that most succumbed to other distractions by the time that the opportunity presented itself. Recognising the relatively short span of time presented by a competition career, Flook pointed out that his training regime still included a significant proportion of kata, kihon, and ohyo, ensuring that his karate could cater for its practitioner outside of, and beyond, any sporting element. Simon’s own group Imperial as expected were there in numbers with over 60 of his club members competing. Pete Jefferies also of Imperial took charge of the running of the event with his usual efficiency. With such high calibre patronage, and the professional ethic of organiser Simon O’Brien, the South West open looks to have
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / 2ND SW OPEN KARATE CHAMPS
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 31
a promising future. I for one look forward to returning in 2008. For more information on Simon and his tournament go to http://www.imperialkarate.com/ South West Open Championships Results KUMITE Senior Men 3rd Kyu And Above +75k Dean Draper Budokan Wales Chris Bennett Ishinryu Barry Meawell Wado Kai England Jerome Kumedzina Elkai Karate Senior Men 3rd Kyu And Above - 75k Colin Heath Elkai Karate Shaun Langston Clevedon Wku Steve Ackland Imperial Jacade Simpson Wado Kai England Senior Men 4th Kyu And Below Tim Sullivan Imperial Matthew Barnes Welsh Bushi Kai Mark Phillips Imperial Andre Moses Elkai Karate Cadet Male 16-21 Years Anthony Bridge Welsh Bushi Kai Rhys Edwards Welsh Bushi Kai Steve Ackland Imperial Adam Barber Welsh Bushi Kai Cadet Female 16-21 Years Sarah Clark Oldmixon Kerry Mccormack Bristol Wku Sarah Beresford Imperial Shannon Parsons Wado Kai England Senior Ladies 3rd Kyu And Above +60k Cheryl Hart Goju Kai Shannon Parsons Wado Kai England Trish Roadhouse Hakken Do Paula Jones Welsh Bushi Kai Senior Ladies 3rd Kyu And Above -60k Becky Hill Wado Kai England Mairi Kerin Wado Kai England Sarah Beresford Imperial Mel Phillips Imperial Senior Ladies 4th Kyu And Below Lisa Holmes Ekk Sarah Mitchel Oldmixon Boys 10-11 Years Christian Decosta Kye Callaghan Robson Fry Daniel Creighton Boys 12-13 Years Jordan Harris Howard Pinnock Luke Davies Nathen Waters Boys 14-15 Years Rhys Davies Alex Sell Ryan Lambert Scott Seville
Scorpions Imperial Imperial Su Ha Ri
Welsh Bushi Kai Scorpion Vale Welsh Bushi Kai
Suhari Kaizen Kai Wado Kai England
Page 32 TRADITIONAL KARATE
KATA Boys & Girls Under 10 Years Vale Welsh Bushi Kai Ekk Imperial
Girls 10-11 Years Chloe Walsh Natalie Williams Jodie Hanham Danielle Duke
Su Ha Ri Vale Imperial Su Ha Ri
Girls 12-13 Years Hayley Henry Emma Bradnick Sophie Reynolds Amy Nichols
Wado Kai England West Bromwich Kihon Karate Welsh Bushi Kai
Senior Men 3rd Kyu And Above Harry Cannon Khalsa Karate Dean Cunningham Ekk Arron John Tai Ryoku Kai Ashley Jones Goju Kai
Girls 14-15 Years Sarah Peachy Amy Wright Dalila Gorda Stephaine Walker
Kazen Kai Wado Kai England Elkai Karate Feko
Senior Ladies 3rd Kyu And Above Clare Bonello Ekk Cheryl Hart Goju Kai Ashton Tansey Kobe Osaka Mairi Kerin Aiwa
Boys & Girls 5-7 Years Aled Thomas Zak Wood Christian Copus Nathen Booty
Welsh Bushi Kai Goju Kai Goju Kai Goju Kai
Boys 3rd Kyu And Above 10-15 Years Alex Sell Shuhari Perrie Wilson WKC John Green Goju Kai Mark Hansford Ishinryu
Boys 8-9 Years Bleu Parris Sam Walters Cuba Parris Stephen John
Ekk Welsh Bushi Kai Ekk Welsh Bushi Kai
Girls 3rd Kyu And Above 10-15 Years Emma Lucraft Ishinryu Hannah Gibbon Vale Rachel Newey Khalsa Karate Charlotte Vowie Ekk
Girls 8-9 Years Eden Griffiths Olexsandra Krysko Eliza Jones Ashleigh Keely
Welsh Bushi Kai Ukraine Ekk Tai Ryukyu Kai
Senior Men & Ladies 4th Kyu And Below Sian Scott Ishinryu Lisa Holmes Ekk Mark Phillips Imperial Robert Norman St Patricks
Senior Male Team Elkai Wado Kai England Bristol Wku Feko Senior Ladies Team Oldmixon Imperial England Wado Kai Budo Juku Boys 13-15 Years England Wado Kai A England Wado Kai B Scorpions Imperial Boys 10-12 Years Oldmixon West Bromwich Ekk Feko Girls 13-15 Years Kumite Elkai Imperial England Wado Kai Tokon Girls 10-12 Years Kumite Su Ha Ri Imperial
Boys & Girls 4th Kyu And Below 10-15 Years Chloe Read Chase Wado Kai Kate Bryant Imperial Kirsty Butler Gola Chloe Pharo Ekk Boys & Girls 3rd Kyu And Above Under 10 Years Nick Sherin Brad C’forato Jess Kinson Chloe Fry
Vale Vale Vale Vale
Boys & Girls 4th Kyu And Below Under 10 Years Nathen Booty Goju Kai Eduard Myronenki Ukraine Eliza Jones Ekk Lauren Woodhall West Bromwich Team Kata All Ages Khalsa Karate Ishinryu Imperial Dudley Parent & Child Kata Pairs (1 Senior + 1 Junior Same Family) Fry Vale Basingstoke Ekk Hanham Imperial Phillips Imperial
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 33
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Yamaguchi
Goju Kai European Championships Gasshuku Bern Switzerland 2007
O
n July 7th 2007 the England Yamaguchi Goju Kai karate team left Stansted on a two hour flight to Geneva. In total 36 athletes lead by Shihan Tony Childs and Assistant Chief Instructor Mark Adams (Competition Coach) were in attendance from various UK dojos, along with many other members to support the team. We arrived in Bern after a 2 hour coach excursion where we were staying in a large hotel complex close to the main arena. The complex was nice and created a welcoming atmosphere where all teams were in the same location. Our rooms were quickly arranged as we had to attend the official weigh - in and obtain competition passes. All members retired early as the competition was due to begin the following morning. Tournament Day: The tournament day begun at 9am, with the official opening and walk-on by all com-
Page 36 TRADITIONAL KARATE
petiting countries. This gave us all a chance to see our possible opponents, and to compare team tracksuits! After opening speeches by Shihan Horst Baumg端rtel, Shian Ingo De Jong, and Saiko Shihan Goshi Yamaguchi it was time for the competition to begin. The first events were the junior Kata events. WKF rules were applied however both competitors performed Kata at the same time. England were off to an excellent start with Stacey Cheesman outperforming the rest achieving Gold in her debut European Championships alongside Kostas Dellas achieving Silver, Amy Lively, Stephen Norman, George Mole, Jack Lloyd achieving Bronze and John Green and Elias Dellas achieving 5th place. Following the Kata was junior Kumite where again the juniors gave an outstanding performance where Kostas Dellas achieved Silver, Yanoula
Dellas Bronze and John Green and Elias Dellas achieving 5th place The day was quickly moving on to the Bunkai event. The Bunkai event was split into Male and Female teams with England representation in both categories. Both teams were slowly moving through the rounds confidentially with the Male team Sensi Mark Adams and Sensi Kevin Alderton settling for a well deserved Bronze. The Female team Sensi Cheryl Hart and Sensi Lauren Adams found themselves in the final where the team performed Suparumpei Bunkai to an extremely high standard earning them a well deserved Gold. Individual and Team Kata was next on the agenda. Again same WKF rules applied with both competitors competiting at the same time. England had heavy representation in the Kata categories by both Male
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / YAMAGUCHI GOJU KAI and Female competitors. Elite Male Kata was the largest category overall with Sensi Kevin Alderton achieving a well respected Bronze. Sensi Lauren Adams displayed perfect Kata achieving Gold along with Sempai Lauren Shelborne achieving Bronze. British competitors in the Senior Male Kata also found the podium with Sempai Steve Dobson achieving Silver and Sensi Mark Adams achieving 5th place. After the individual warm up it was time to form the Kata teams and combine talents. The Female team represented by Sensi Lauren Adams, Sensi Cheryl Hart and Sempai Lauren Shelbourne found the way to the final to meet the Italian team. Both teams performed Suparumpei with the majority of the flags going to England. The Male Team Kata represented by Sensi Kevin Alderton, Sensi Mark Purcell and Sensi Aaron Milan - Vega met the Italian team however were not so lucky with the majority going to Italy leaving England with Bronze. As the day reached early evening the Elite and Senior Kumite events commenced. The lightweights were first called upon where Matthew Rixson who has only trained for about a year achieved Bronze along with Sensi Aaron Milan Vega achieving Bronze. As the weight categories went up Sensi Jason Cosentino competed in the -80kg category however narrowly missed out. Sensi Paul Cosentino competing in the +80kg category where he ended up in the final achieving a well deserved Silver. The Female kumite commenced with Sensi Lauren Adams competiting in the junior Kumite event achieving Bronze. Lauren was able to compete in the Elite Kumite where she battled her way into the final eventually adding another Gold to her collection. Senior Kumite Gold both Male and Female event went to England. Sensi Cheryl Hart gave her usual performance securing the Gold. Sensi Mark Adams went through the rounds with ease finally winning the Gold. Team Kumite was the final event with the Male team Sensi Jason Cosentino, Sensi Kevin Alderton and Luke Adams all giving an excellent performance however just missing out in the first round. The Female team Sensi Lauren Adams, Sensi Cheryl Hart and Sempai Lauren Shelbourne battled there way into the final with a few hiccups along the way making the most of the warning system. However despite controversy still achieved Silver.
as many competitors from England competed in more than one type of event. At the end of the medal ceremony it was the early hours of Monday morning where we all finally had a celebration drink and retired to our rooms. We are all back up bright and early to commence training with Saiko Shihan and all of the European Shihans. The training was as good as usual covering all aspects of Khion Kata and Kumite. Tuesday followed more training where we were able to develop basic Kata into more advanced Kata drills using the basic movements. We were very fortunate to be taken into Bern main town in the evening by our Swiss friends who gave a guided tour. In true English style we were shown all the best bars in this historic picturesque city. Wednesday was an important day for Sensi Mark Adams as he was due to take his 5th
Dan grading. All thoughts were with him as he was put through his paces in front of Saiko Shihan and the European Shihans. On Wednesday night we attended the sayonara party where we strengthened friendships and formed new ones with the help of the hotel bar. It was a time to celebrate our success at the competition and to celebrate Sensi Mark Adams passing his 5th Dan. Thursday arrived to soon where we had our final training session and closing ceremony. As usual we said our goodbyes until 2008 where England will be hosting the next European Gasshuku. Overall the trip to Switzerland was extremely successful both in competition and traditional aspects. In total England achieved 27 medals the most achieved by any one country. All of the English team would like to express our thanks to Goju Kai Switzerland for hosting a successful 2007 European Championships and Gasshuku.
The competition run a combination points system for competitors competing in all three elements. This included Kata, Bunkai, and Kumite. Overall in the Female combination system Sensi Lauren Adams was successful taking the top spot throughout the event. This achievement highlighted the strength of Yamaguchi Goju Kai in England TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 37
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TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / TEKKI BUNKAI COURSE
Tekki Bunkai Course FBSKUI St. Ives Leisure Centre - April 28th & 29th 2007
S
KC St. Ives once again had the honour of hosting another in the series of Sensei Mark Carroll’s Kata Bunkai Courses.
Karateka from most clubs in the FBSKUI plus some visitors from Cornish clubs attended, along with a large contingent from St. Ives. The course was based on Sensei Carroll’s interpretation of bunkai from all three Tekki katas - Shodan, Nidan and Sandan. Once again the course was videotaped for production into an instructional DVD, the series of which is proving very popular inside and outside the FBSKUI.
Into threes now and one partner wore a focus mit, the other held a striking pad. It was made awkward for the person in the middle, who struck the focus mit with uraken held closely just over their shoulder, and then struck the other pad with ura-tsuki.
In Tekki Shodan the first move, haisho-uke, then pull to the hip, can be a strangle with the forearm across the throat. The person should be in kibadachi and drop their weight below his centre of gravity, dropping back and controlling.
Street kata then the dojo kata were performed. Sensei said we should see our own interpretation, ask where you are going with, for instance, gedan barai, in this scenario. The class really threw themselves into their interpretation of this. Sensei said you should see a marked improvement in the dojo kata.
Sensei said that to him the first half of Tekki Shodan is like having a human shield or fighting two people, so you could be holding one person from behind in a strangle hold and the arms can be switched to attack the other person with uraken. The person being held in the strangle hold must be controlled.
Starting with Tekki Shodan, the course kicked off with uraken with students working on their own, striking out and moving back, then in partners. Sensei Carroll said not to move back and forth mechanically, move around, make it realistic. Moving on then to ura-tsuki - upper cut punch - aiming under the chin or in the ribs. Sensei said not to stand there like a target and to react and play act as if in a real situation. Demonstrating with pads, he said to generate as much power as possible. Ura-tsuki was then practised with one partner holding two focus mits, one on top of the other facing down at chest height, for the other to strike. Then thinking about the head and body, one partner held a focus mit in one hand and striking pad in the other, uraken then ura-tsuki again using as much as power as possible in quick succession. The pad holder then pressurising the striker, physically and verbally, sometimes backing away, sometimes advancing. Sensei Carroll chastised the group for acting like typical Shotokan karateka, bouncing back and forth in front stance. He said to act more naturally like in a real street situation. Ura-tsuki can also be used to come over the top at jodan height as well as up into the ribs. This was also practiced. Going back to the dojo kata: age-tsuki, step across uraken, uchi uke, pull back ura-tsuki break or strike. These techniques can be executed from different ranges, you need to pick your target depending what is happening. TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 39
the back up movements; Realism: Always train with as much realism as possible, always pressure test. 1. Posturing/space invasion, 2. Poke/push/grab, 3. Punch, 4. Headlock, 5. Kick, 6. Tackle. Learn: Work through all the movements until you’re happy with them. Practice: Practice and refine until you have confidence that they meet your requirements. Drill: Build a training regime so you can drill your techniques and habits until they become second nature. After this it was back to more bunkai. Sensei Carroll believes that some movements from all the Tekkis are from the floor. So lying on the floor in a kibadachilike position another leans over to strangle. You can then push away one leg, using nami-ashi and roll them over. Control their hands. Everyone found rolling around on the floor tiring and uncomfortable! But this might be something to face in reality Sensei said you never want to be on the floor, your intention is to get back to your feet as soon as possible. You don’t want to grapple, you want to punch, headbutt, elbow. You don’t want to control or lock him up, you’re trying to hurt him.
Sensei Carroll said that in his opinion kata is the beautiful exaggerated story of a scruffy event. Telling the story to yourself is street kata then telling it to someone else is the dojo kata. The class then performed the three forms, with an opponent, the street kata and the dojo kata. Some of the seniors then demonstrated this and sensei said, ‘Maybe their kata won’t win the next world
championship but to me they are so much better than just a shell.’ Sensei Carroll then made a presentation of his ‘Probability Theory’, the top ten list of what to confront in a real situation. These were: HAOV - Habitual Acts of Violence; Decide which HAOV the movements of the kata are going to counter, decide what are
From this position ura-tsuki and uge-tsuki were performed five times before rolling the opponent over. Sensei said it begins to come more scruffy and hopefully you start to get a real feel for it. ‘Your beautiful well formed kata has now become an ugly, sweaty, grappling, nasty, horrible mess!’ Students then performed Tekki Shodan. Sensei said he not looking for a gold medal winner, just the one with most intention. Some moves from Tekki Nidan were then explored. The first few moves of the kata were translated as an in-your-face grapple and pull down, then a knee to the body. Using the striking pads for practising the knee strike, students really got a feel for this technique. Practising the next two moves of the kata - side step and arm strike, someone grabs your hand and the first priority is to free that hand, so pull away and strike. Maybe these moves could be linked with the previous bunkai, so attack with the knee, see how they react, look for an opening then strike uraken or empi. Don’t necessarily rush into the next technique, look for an opening. To finish the day there was a punching exercise which was about looking for your targets. Four students stood as targets. First kizami-tsuki, step choku-tsuki, step gyakutsuki, grab ura-tsuki and kage-tsuki. This was practised with karateka moving through the four targets quickly in turn. Day two started with walking through Tekki Shodan as a warm up, then going through
Page 40 TRADITIONAL KARATE
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / TEKKI BUNKAI COURSE the applications performed the previous day. Then through the dojo kata followed by the street kata. Finally a re-cap on the applications from Tekki Nidan. Sensei Carroll then moved on to the next part of Tekki Nidan - empi and hiza-geri (knee strike) followed by skame-uchi and hook punch. Hiza-geri is what the kata tells you to do but it could be the start of miageri. What is the possible outcome of miageri? After being kicked miageri, the opponent could stay put so attack with empi then skame-uchi, throwing him to the floor and gyaku-tsuki. If he drops back attack skame-uchi to the face followed by empi. Sensei Carroll said that there were two schools of thought about the Tekkis. One is that they were one kata which were split into three sections for teaching eventually becoming three katas. The other is that they were one - Tekki Shodan - which the other two came from. He said that it doesn’t really matter as he was treating them as one on this course.
Then the class moved on to Tekki Sandan. Partnering for the first piece of bunkai, Sensei Carroll said not to keep it too pretty like the dojo kata as it was going to be a scruffy grapple. He said to try not to get into the habit of behaving like trained karateka. Role play to some degree as it’s unlikely you’ll be facing a trained fighter. With one person on the floor the other partner had a focus mit and a strike pad. With the same fist strike first choku-tsuki, then hook punch to the focus mit. This was difficult as feet were not planted on the floor. Once understood this was tried without the pads, then five times with the pads, five times without, roll over to end up on top of the opponent. When someone is on top of you it is no good trying to push them off, your strength will die, make them one with you and manipulate them. Sensei said kata is all about real fighting, if you only get the pretty bit you miss so much more. In many dojos a lot of time is spent making sure feet are in the right posi-
tion, etc. But not much time is spent on, say, work from the floor. They don’t see the whole range of the kata, just the dojo version and it is so much more. The session ended with the class doing any one of the three Tekki katas trying to put feeling into them from the inside. Sensei ended by suggesting that training in kata gives you a complete self defence system. He has practiced judo and jujitsu simply to understand Shotokan. The important thing is to keep bunkai as real as possible. Defending against a spinning back kick is extremely unlikely, whereas practising defending against a punch is far more likely - that’s the one to work on. Sensei Steve Matteson of SKC St. Ives thanked Sensei Carroll for another fantastic course and also the visiting karateka who had supported it. DVDs of all Sensei Carroll’s bunkai courses are available or are in production and will be available soon.
TRADITIONAL KARATE Page 41
Austrian Junior Open
Championships The hills were alive with the sound of Kiais
S
alzburg in Austria, made famous from the ‘Sound of Music’, renowned as the birth place of ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’ and now host to the Austrian ‘Golden League’ and ‘Austrian Junior Open Karate Championships’. Two students from Shuhari-Kai Karate Club, brother and sister Alex and Aimee Sell, travelled to Salzburg to participate in the Austrian Junior Open Championships being held on 23rd June 2007. For Alex this was his first visit to Austria and was keen to pit his Karate skills amongst some of Europe’s finest. For Aimee, this was her second visit to Austria having competed in last years championships and collecting a Silver in Kata. She was hoping to go one better this year but having just celebrated her 12th birthday the week before she found herself officially competing in the 12-13 years category for the first time and was obviously the youngest competitor in this group. Why this particular tournament? With 10 nations competing (Austria, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Latvia, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Romania, United Kingdom and Slovenia), 815 entries, and only two other UK clubs attending - Vale Karate and Jishin, both from Wales, this was going to be a true European test. The organisation on the day was second to none. Six mats run continuously throughout the day, each mat manned by five judges, electronic Kumite scoreboards on each mat, large electronic tournament board indicating current category on each mat and next scheduled category with estimated start time, competitors assembled and checked for the next category before the previous one had even finished - efficiency at its best, also the standard was high, very high. The tournament commenced with an opening ceremony, each nations flag paraded followed by the participating competitors. After a few speeches to the assembled audience, the participants were dismissed and the tournament began with Page 42 TRADITIONAL KARATE
the Kata events. The rules for the children’s Kata categories were straightforward enough; each competitor had to perform a minimum of three Kata and not perform any Kata back-to-back. Sounds easy but very difficult to pick out your three best Kata and plan which order to perform them in especially as the opposition was totally unknown. WKF rules would have made it easier to plan. Aimee was competing in the Girls 12-13 years Kata category and with 55 competitors in her group had the largest field to deal with. The group was split into two pools to speed up the category with Aimee in pool 2. Aimee was drawn ‘OU’ (blue) to perform second and performed Bassai-Dai as her opening Kata. Aimee won the round 5 flags to 0. Aimee’s 2nd round opponent failed to show providing Aimee with an automatic bye into the 3rd round. Aimee found herself switching the order of her Katas due to her bye and so performed Annan Kata after being drawn ‘AKA’ (red) this time. Aimee once again won the round 5-0. The 4th round saw Aimee drawn ‘OU’ (where she remained for the duration of the contest) and performed Chatanyara Kushanku Kata completing her three mandatory Katas. Once again she secured an impressive 5-0 win. The 5th round was the pool final and overall category semi-final and Aimee switched back to perform Annan Kata again. Once again she secured a 5-0 win the make the final against her pool 1 winning opponent. After pool 1 had completed, Aimee had to switch mats to compete in the final on the mat where her pool 1 opponent had just won. Aimee’s Austrian opponent performed Jion Kata
whilst Aimee performed Chatanyara Kushanku. Aimee took the title winning 4 flags to 1 dropping her only flag of the day. A great achievement from the youngest competitor in the category and certainly made up for last years silver indicating that Aimee is continually improving and getting even better. Alex was also in action on the mat next to Aimee competing in his Kata event at the same time. 15 year old Alex had 48 competitors in the Boys 14-15 years against him and like Aimee had a six rounds to negotiate with the category split into two pools. Alex was placed 2nd on the draw list meaning that after the 1st round, where he was ‘OU’, he would be ‘AKA’ to go first for all remaining rounds which put him at a huge disadvantage as the competitors didn’t have to specify their Katas before hand, they could simply decide which Kata to perform based on the performance of their opponent. Alex opened up his account with a narrow 3 flags to 2 win over his opponent after performing a good Annan. This category looked like it was going to be tough not knowing exactly what these judges were looking for made things interesting. The 2nd round saw Alex perform Chatanyara Kushanku. The judges liked this one and all 5 voted for Alex giving him a 5-0 win. Alex had done his research before hand and knew his 4th round Swiss opponent medalled in this category last year so he chose to perform Unshu Kata in the 3rd round leaving his hardest Kata for the next round. A gamble, but one that paid off as Alex once again secured a 5-0 win which also saw him complete the third of his mandatory Katas. As predicted the
TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / AUSTRIAN JUNIOR OPEN 4th round was indeed tough with both boys performing Suparimpei Katas, however, Alex’s performance was judged the best yet again he secured a 5-0 win leaving his opponent to gain a bronze once again as he did last year after winning the repechage event. The 5th round and pool final saw Alex switch back to Chatanyara Kushanku Kata and secure his place in the category final as his Kata impressively secured all the judges flags once more giving him a 5-0 win. Unlike Aimee’s event, the final wasn’t held straight away, but was held at the end of the day in a showcase spectacle. For Alex his medal tally hadn’t been finalised as he knew he’d definitely gain a Kata medal, but his Kumite event looked like another tough event. Like his Kata event, the Boys 14-15 Years, U65kg Kumite event was split into two pools with Alex in pool 2 this time. Alex won his opening round fight 8-3 but found the rules based on WKF Cadet rules. Twice he was caught in the face and twice points awarded to his opponent. Alex duly returned the favour but with intent to the extent that he was penalised 1 point straight off. At least his opponent stopped making face contact as too. Alex’s 2nd round match saw an entertaining encounter with Alex opening up a sub-
stantial lead swarming all over his opponent before getting caught by some Mawashigeri kicks late on allowing his opponent to close the gap a little. Alex managed to maintain a gap till the end of the fight winning by 13 points to 7. The 3rd round saw Alex perform much better and although the score line was much lower with Alex winning 4-1, the fight was much more controlled this time. Alex’s 4th round opponent was a tall German who used his reach well to beat Alex to the front had punch opening up 3-0 lead early on. Alex pulled back some points but the score finished 4-2 against Alex leaving him in the repechage final for a bronze medal play-off. Alex made up for his earlier loss winning the repechage final 8-0 in convincing style to claim the bronze and his second medal of the day. The only thing that remained was to determine what colour his Kata medal was to be. After a long hard day following Alex’s Kumite and earlier Kata exploits, the Kata finals finally got under way approximately 9:15pm. Alex found himself drawn ‘AKA’ as usual and facing a good Italian opponent. Alex performed Suparimpei in front of the 5 judges, whilst his opponent performed Kanku-Sho. Alex won the match 5 flags to 0 in impressive
style to take the title in his first attempt ensuring the only flags he dropped were from his opening round Kata. Both Alex and Aimee were extremely pleased with not only their performances, but their tactics too. Alex’s Kumite medal was hard earned and well deserved but the Kata Golds from both kids was impressive. Their Kata coach, Ishinryu’s Jonathan Mottram is obviously doing something right if he can produce Kata students of this quality, part of ‘Mottram’s Marauders’, capable of blowing away all European opposition before them. Big mention to the kids’ Sensei Richard Burridge too who has also trained them and encouraged their specialised Kata training. The only representatives from England, they carried the flag well and let’s hope they get the chance to compete for their country in the WKF European or World Championships sometime in the future if English Karate can sort itself out. What a shame it would be to waste such talent, not only them but lots of other children competing regularly in England if politics rob them of their chance. Shuhari-Kai can be found at: www. shuharikai.co.uk Austrian Open details can be found at : www.austrian-open.info
FIGHTING ARTS ORGANISATION OF GREAT BRITAIN Britain’s Premier All Styles Martial Arts Group The FAOGB is a Multi-Style Group with clubs throughout the UK teaching various styles of Karate, Kempo, Aikido, Judo, Jijitsu, Kempo Jujitsu, Goshin Jutsu, Atemi Jitsu and Kung Fu. We accept all clubs who teach self defence regardless of which Martial Arts or Style you practice, we have access to the Worlds leading self defence masters and offer: Insurance and Licensing, National and International Grade recognition from the relevant governing bodies, National and International Seminars, Newsletters and Non Interference but help of any kind is available. Why not share your knowledge and work with other like minded people.
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The Kempo Jujitsu system as taught by Hanshi P Browne 8th Dan is practical realistic and effective street self defence and has no sporting applications. Kempo Jujitsu self defence classes are held in London at the following locations: Wanstead leisure Centre Waterfront Leisure Centre Redbridge Lane West E11 High Street Woolwich SE18 Tuesday & Thursday 8pm-1Opm Sun 8pm-1Opm Wed 8pm-1Opm Colombo Centre Colombo St Blackfriars SE1 Mon 8pm-1Opm Sat 12pm-2pm
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