Speed and Fluidity

Speed is generally a misunderstood aspect of proper execution. Too often beginners think of "being fast" as a highly important, or even the ultimate goal of karate training. Being fast has benefits, and being faster has benefits, but striking at the appropriate time and place is more important than getting there in a hurry. If you go fast and miss, or use improper structure, you fail or are injured and you open yourself to be countered. Your timing in combat is also heavily dependent on the timing of your opponent(s). You can only understand and appreciate this by interacting with a resisting opponent. It's not just about being able to move your limbs quickly. Your opponent will be moving around and in and out of range and acting and reacting and altering his speed all the time. And you have to make all the same adjustments and alterations simultaneously. Or faster. But that means more than just having "speed."

There are ways to change the amount of time it takes for your body to move through empty space, and there are ways to program your brain to act or react in association with certain stimuli faster than others, and with specific pre-programmed responses. But you must also learn when to move, which is far more important and more difficult to understand. Swinging your limbs through the air as fast as you can may make you faster, but it won't necessarily make you more effective. Instead, learn that there are times to go fast, and times to go slow, and times to move first, and times to move second.

Sometimes you hear people talk of "speed" and "fluidity" as though they were interchangeable concepts. These are really two different things, although they are linked. Speed is all the things that have been discussed. Moving fast. Thinking fast. Prediction. Proper form and accuracy. Timing. But fluidity is the result of relaxation, breathing, energy flow, creativity, muscle memory, strength, flexibility, and technique. Like everything else in karate, they are affected and influenced by one another. When you are fluid you are fast, when you understand timing you are fluid. When your mind is free there is a counter to every move but when you introduce intention you inhibit action. There is only so far you can move your arms and legs, and stretching and strength training can safely increase that range, but it will always be finite and while generally the same still specifically different to each of us. Moving limbs requires muscle activation. Some limbs have more mass than others. Some muscles are stronger than others. Developing range and strength can increase both speed and fluidity, but that doesn't make them the same thing.

Understand too that it is important to be able to correctly alter your speed in combat to interact effectively with your opponent. Sometimes you wanna get high, sometimes you gotta start low. Dramatically shifting your speed will make it more difficult for your opponent to predict your actions. There are ways to disguise your speed as well and appear slower or faster than you really are. Read your Sun Tzu. And move linearly in and out of range while maintaining a consistent relative height to the opponent. The human eye is designed to recognize movements and changes in light. Changing your profile dramatically in your opponent's field of vision, with large up and down motions or wide sweeping strikes, will make it easier for his brain to recognize and interpret your actions. Moving in straight, direct lines makes it more difficult for the opponent to accurately gauge and adjust to your speed. But moving along angles makes it more difficult for the opponent to accurately gauge your position. Learn how to marry the two, and make it more difficult for the opponent.

My advice would be not to worry about speed. Worry about form. Practice your techniques as correctly as you can as often as you can. With practice, proper form will begin to result in proper accuracy. You'll hit the targets you aim at more often, because you are trying to hit them correctly. Correct technique results in correct contact to correct targets. And with accuracy comes speed. The more often you are able to hit something correctly and accurately, the faster you will be able to do it. It will require less time mentally, and physically, and will continue to improve with every repetition. And the faster and more accurately you hit something correctly the harder you are able to hit it. Power is the natural outgrowth of the combination of Form, Accuracy, and Speed. But it all begins with doing it right and righter all the time. We all have a long long way to go. Focus on doing things right, you'll never regret it. Speed and power will come with time.

That's the best thing about karate.

It works.

Drills-
Beginner: Practice each technique, as slowly as you can do it correctly, ten times. Then practice each technique with steady, practiced timing, ten times. Then practice each technique as fast as you can do it correctly, ten times.

Intermediate: Practice dynamic stretching before your workout to increase blood flow and muscle pliability. Practice static stretching after your workout to increase overall flexibility. Practice strength training and calisthenics to increase athleticism, range, and power. Improve yourself through diligent effort and your karate will improve, but understand that there are natural limitations to the human body. Do not fight them. Instead learn how to be the most effective within them, and how to take advantage of the opponent when he goes outside them.

Advanced: Learn the counters to the counters. Practice each possible position change from each possible position. Understand which grapples can be defended with which strikes, and where the opponent can move to when pressure is applied from every angle. When you know how he can react, you know how he will react. Prepare for his reaction. Stay ahead of his O.O.D.A. loop and force him to try to catch up with you mentally and you have already defeated him physically.

How the Ninja Rids Himself of Desire

Stephen K. Hayes is a recognized American Ninja Master. He trained under Masaaki Hatsumi, the Master of the Bujinkan Organization, an international martial arts organization teaching nine styles of ninjutsu. While there is some disagreement about the origins of the Bujinkan and the legitimacy of it's historical ties to the ancient ninja, Master Hayes has been teaching his own style of ninjutsu techniques based on the knowledge transmitted to him from Master Hatsumi since 1980.

In his 1981 book, The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art, Master Hayes discusses the importance to the ninja of ridding one's self of desire, and how that lesson was conveyed to him by his instructor.

Chapter 7
The Realm of the Spirit
Pg. 134

"The first step to spiritual power is to rid yourself of desire." Hatsumi Sensei's face held an expression of solemn authority. He spoke with conviction.

I was disappointed almost to the point of contempt. Hatsumi Sensei was supposed to be introducing me to the fourth of the nine levels of development, and he had begun with a cliche that I could have gotten from a cheap Hong Kong kung-fu thriller. Rid yourself of desire. How will that help in the real world? How could one develop the power for which the ninja were famous, without desire?

I nodded gamely for the sake of fitting in. "It's a common thing in the States, desire. Everyone wants a big car, a big house with a pool, lots of money," I agreed amicably. After all, the man was my teacher.

There was an odd pause. The master seemed to be looking for words. He tilted his head slightly and continued his explanation. "Well, yes, those are desires. But those desires are superficial and rather easily overcome. What we are talking about are the desires of the personality. Demanding that things be ways they are not."

"Oh, I understand now. It's wanting to be famous, or rich, or powerful," I said.

Hatsumi Sensei smiled wearily. "Well, yes, those are desires, too, but not . . . this is difficult to explain." The master ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. "Let me phrase it this way. You must clear your mind and being of preconceived impressions of the way things are. Many times there is a great difference between what we want to believe and what is real. We can be so caught up in what we want to see, that we are prevented from seeing what is really there. There are the desires that cloud the mind and prevent it from being in touch with the world."

I slowly realized that I had not been allowing the master's words to sink in because of my preconceived notions of what he was saying. I had read his words the way I wanted to, and had missed the meaning entirely.

Hatsumi Sensei went on. "When I say we desire that something be a certain way, I do not necessarily mean that we want it to be that way. We want to think it is that way. If you think of a certain man as your enemy, then anything he says or does will be examined and found to be an insult or a threat. The identical words or actions on the part of a beloved friend would carry far different meanings. We have a saying: "Suspicious eyes see only evil." The unenlightened will see only what the desire to see."

"We human beings choose to see things as we wish. Few people seem to believe this, though. We decide to be jealous, or angry, or depressed, or happy, or bored, and these choices are often based on our biased interpretations of the thoughts of others. It is amazing how much psychological control many people relinquish to others. If we think that someone else disapproves of us, we are worried. If we think that someone else is pleased with us, we are happy. If we think that someone else holds views contrary to our own, we are insulted. If we think that someone else is contemptuous of us, we are angry. With all these others determining how we feel, it is sometimes difficult to find the actual self."

"These are the desires of which I speak, these mental barriers that prevent us from accepting fully all that life has to offer. If a man wasted his time in emotional indulgence, he will be forever preoccupied and will miss much that could be his."

"Wouldn't an emotionless life be incredibly dull?" I asked.

"We aren't talking about getting rid of emotions themselves. We are talking about getting rid of inappropriate and useless emotional responses. These uncontrollable responses are weaknesses, in that they make us manipulatable by others."

The ninja's most subtle, and perhaps most insidious, method of handling adversaries is the manipulation of the enemy's mind. One of the highest developments of shadow warfare, the ninja's pragmatic psychology, is based on fundamental human weaknesses. By recognizing an adversary's needs and fears, the ninja knows just what to give him or deprive him of in order to bring him to submission. The ninja observes subtle body signals, voice qualities, facial features, and personality quirks in the enemy to know how to manipulate him."

Self Knowledge
Pg. 144

"I asked the Master how to drop the desires - just use will power?

Hatsumi Sensei told me that crude suppression of personal needs was the hard way to rid the personality of it's vulnerabilities, and not very effective in the long run. The best procedure is to openly and honestly examine those things we think we want, and those things we think we wish to avoid. Many times, the mind tries to protect the "observer" in us from the truth. We learn to hide our true feelings beneath a cover that we feel is more acceptable to others and to our own sense of ourselves. We may want to become teachers or priests, not really for the good we can do, but because we are seeking a feeling of importance or superiority over others. We may desire nice clothes and luxurious living quarters, not for the comfort they bring, but for the fact that they make us look attractive to others. We may seek corporate or political power, not for the obvious rewards, but to make up for feelings of personal inferiority. The examples are endless.

In knowing himself, the ninja can come to an honest appraisal of his weaknesses and those areas where he is vulnerable. From there he must find ways of strengthening the potential trouble areas. He cannot just close his eyes and pretend they do not exist. He must satisfy the needs through personal understanding and work the weaknesses out of his personality."

In order to grow as a martial artist, the practitioner must be honest with himself about his strengths and weaknesses and focus on the areas where he needs most to work. But he can also grow as a person by applying the same rigorous honesty to his life, examining his needs and desires and intentions and motivations, and focusing on ridding himself of unhealthy practices and focusing on the pursuit of positive goals. In karate, we understand that we must make sacrifices, suffer discomfort, and work ourselves to exhaustion in our pursuit of skill and ability. In life, the path to our goals is often no different.


Drills-
Beginner: Make an honest list of your physical strengths and weaknesses. Are you fast or slow? Heavy or light? Fat or thin? Strong or weak? Big or small? Graceful or clumsy? Flexible or stiff? There is no wrong way to be. There is only who and what you are. Once you understand where you are starting from you can begin to move towards something greater. By working on your weaknesses you will develop strengths that no one else has. The things that make you unique will be the weapons that only you possess. If you are fat, you may be able to crowd your opponent when grappling. If you are stiff you may be harder to throw. If you are heavy you may be able to exhaust your opponent by leaning in and forcing him to support your weight. If you are small you may be harder to corner and control.

Intermediate: Make an honest list of your technical strengths and weaknesses. Are you a better kicker or puncher? Striker or grappler? Stand up fighter or ground fighter? At close range or long range? With weapons or unarmed? Moving in or moving away? With circular or linear techniques? Identify the things you do well and make them the core of your fighting strategy. Identify the things you do poorly and work twice as hard to eliminate the weaknesses in your approach. If you are good with your hands then draw the opponent in to your striking range, but work on your kicks so that you can attack him when he thinks he is safe. If you are good with grappling then close with the opponent and control his positions, but work on your striking so that you can use impact techniques to create opportunities to lock your opponent.

Advanced: Make an honest list of your mental strengths and weaknesses. Are you easily frustrated? Quick to anger? Prone to panic in stressful situations? Are you calm? Do you maintain your emotional balance? Or do your moods swing wildly from one extreme to another? Do you bear grudges or are you quick to forgive and forget personal affront? Are you slow and deliberate? Or do you make snap decisions and act on instinct? More important than correcting any perceived behaviors is recognizing them. When you understand how and why you act when confronted with stress, you can identify how your mental habits and behaviors affect every facet of your life, both inside and outside the training hall. Only then can you begin to make the changes necessary to live the life you desire.

The Tao of Focus

Doctor Jerry Lynch is a teacher, lecturer, and author, and the founder of the Tao Center for Human Performance. Using the concepts of Taoism that he learned from the Tao Te Ching, Dr. Lynch has developed a unique approach to athletic performance that he has used to successfully coach thousands of professional, Olympic collegiate, and recreational athletes from a number of disciplines. The goal of his approach, "TaoSport," is to help people to enjoy sports and life "more fully and to reach the levels of extraordinary performance of which we are all capable."  Together with Chaungliang Al Huang, a renowned educator, philosopher, performance artist, and T'ai chi ch'uan Master, he has written a book describing this approach. Thinking Body, Dancing Mind uses passages from the Tao Te Ching to help teach concepts crucial to successful athletic performance such as Relaxation, Simplicity, Balance, and Motivation.

While the book focuses specifically on how these concepts can be applied to both sport and life, many of the same lessons have clear applications to our study of self defense. In the chapter Focusing, he discusses the importance of being "present minded" and not allowing distraction to inhibit performance. Whether in training or in combat, the practitioner must not allow his mind to stray from the task at hand. A moment's hesitation or distraction could lead to injury, or to death. When confronted with an opponent intent on doing us harm, we must not be preoccupied with the challenges of our work life or the frustrations of the day. Only by focusing on the task at hand can the karate practitioner achieve victory; in life, in sport, or in self defense.

Dr. Lynch ends each chapter with exercises the reader can use to aid in his study and practice. I have included some of those below to aid you in developing Focus.

Focusing
Pg. 59

Hold on to the ancient Tao

Control the current reality.

TAO TE CHING   no. 14

"When Soren, a sixty-four-year-old ultra-distance runner, reached the finish line of the Western States 100-miler, a reporter asked him how someone his age runs a hundred miles. Soren replied, "I don't run a hundred miles; I run one mile-a hundred times." By focusing on one mile at a time, Soren can go the distance. If he focused on the whole distance, the mere thought of such a task would distract and fatigue him.

Focus your thoughts and your actions on one small aspect of the present, and you will create personal power. Giving full attention to the present moment is energizing and enables you to control the current reality. You must be present in order to win. For athletes, focusing on the moment is key to the Beginner's Mind for achievement.

Olympic medalist swimmer Dara Torres has stated, "Luck isn't what makes the difference when competition is really close. It boils down to who is more 'on' that day, who has the focus, the will to win at that moment."

Centering is the thought process of understanding how every aspect of your game contributes to your overall development and growth as an athlete and person. It is a kind of concentration that is all-encompassing. Focusing, by contrast, is the process of narrowing your concentration in order to eliminate specific unproductive or distracting occurrences. It is a method of fine-tuning your span of attention so that you stay in the moment, in the here and now.

You can focus on that backhand volley you missed, on the strike you looked at, on the pass you dropped in the end zone, on the shot you blew at the buzzer, on your failure to surge the last two hundred meters of the race, on the putt you almost made. You can focus on past and upcoming problems forever. But this will only put pressure on you and impede your concentration on the next move, play, or shot you make. The only way to make something positive happen is to focus on the present moment.

Concentrate on what you have control over. You can't control your competitors, or your teammates, or the weather, or the crowd. But you do have control over your own performance. As former Olympic diver and now coach Janet Ely-Lagourge has said, "All too often we get wrapped up in the pressure, and suddenly it's not fun anymore."

Developing the power to devote full attention to the present is one of the most valuable Beginner's Mind skills. Athletes who perform optimally are totally engaged in the moment. Their effectiveness is directly related to how well they focus on being present. In his book The Tao of Leadership, John Heider says, "expeditions into distant lands of one's mind...distract from what is happening. By staying present...you can do less yet achieve more."

Mark Allen, one of the greatest triathletes ever to compete, has said that it's a mistake to focus on how much more there is to go when doing the Ironman Triathlon. He attributes much of his success to focusing on the moment-to giving his attention to his form, stride, and breath. He focuses on his reasons for doing the race, on why he is here on the Big Island of Hawaii competing in this ultra-event, on his deep urge to move and run. By focusing on the joy of movement, you take yourself deeper in to the present moment, down into your motivation, and past any fleeting distractions and discomforts.

Single-mindedness accompanies excellence. We all have varying degrees of concentration. But with the Beginner's Mind, visualization and mediation processes can train you to develop greater powers of attention. No one can maintain this state for very long periods of time, but you can learn to focus to provide yourself with the proper mental environment to develop your athletic skills rapidly. You can learn to discipline a wandering mind that diminishes your performance through distraction and diversion of energy."

It is of great importance to achieve an inner peace

which will allow you to act in harmony with the times...
Hold your thoughts to the present...Actions that
spring from this attitude will be appropriate.

                               I CHING   no. 52

Drills -
Visualization: Imagine yourself playing in an upcoming event. Visualize yourself as clearly as possible, participating as you would hope. Simulate, in your mind's eye, various distractions; noise from the crowd, a bad call from the referee, an obnoxious play by the opponent. As these distractions occur to you, tell them that they can stay if they wish or step aside and leave, but you must immediately attend to your play, or performance. Imagine yourself dismissing them, that they have left. Focus your vision on the ball or road or slope or water itself. See its shape and texture. Look for the writing between the seams of the ball (or in the cool air or water). See the ball spin, feel it in your hands. Stay focused on this image for two minutes, no matter how difficult it is. Practice this exercise twice a day. The object need not be a ball; the image of any significant, tangible object related to your sport will do.

Affirmations for Focusing: Choose any of the following affirmations, or create your own to repeat during those times when distraction sets in before or during an event::

• "I stay in the here and now, so I'll take a bow."
• "Think less, achieve more."
• "Single-mindedness creates happiness."
• "Like a child at play, I ask my mind to stay."
• "Focus, focus, focus, focus."
• "Follow through, and I am true."

Exercise for Focus: This is an easy, quick way to strengthen your ability to focus and be present in the moment, in the Beginner's Mind. Stare at the candle at the base of the flame (do not stare directly at the light) while you focus on your present feelings. Exclude all other thoughts. Just focus your body and mind on your sensations. If your mind wanders, bring it back to the present moment and feelings by saying, "At this very moment, the candle flame and I are the center of life. I focus on the brilliant light that enables me to feel peaceful and calm. That is all there is in this moment."

The Most Important Part of Karate

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.

Anton Chekhov

There is a moment during our belt ceremony where we place our old belt next to our new one to form the shape of the letter “L.” L stands for learning. That's what we do in the karate school. We learn about the art, we learn about the body, we learn about ourselves. And one of the most important things we learn is that learning alone is not enough. We must train to improve. We must practice.

The difference between knowledge and skill is practice.

Holly Marie Simmers

In the kenpo system we have a complex curriculum of techniques, sets, and forms. You will also learn a large number of drills and exercises to aid in your training. But it is not enough to simply know the material. Memorized physical movements are insufficient to the development of real skill. You could read the written curriculum and commit every move and counter and principle to memory, but what we do is more than words on a page. It is more even than the movement of the body. The method only exists in the practice. Only when you are actually standing on the training floor working with the material are you truly a karate practitioner. And only by practicing your karate will you be able to transcend the mere regurgitation of memorized performances and gain the ability to truly and spontaneously express what you have learned.

Knowledge unused tends to drop out of mind. Knowledge used does not need to be remembered.

Henry Hazlitt

You can not become skilled by knowing the movements. You can not win a fight by understanding how techniques are supposed to work. It is true that one must understand the principles in order to be effective. But principle alone is not enough. When Takuan wrote to Munenori he said, “Technique and principle are just like the two wheels of a cart.” And you only develop technique through constant and rigorous practice.

Practice isn't the thing you do when you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good.

Malcolm Gladwell

And in the case of karate, we are training to face an opponent. Specifically with regards to the karate we practice here, we are training for a life or death situation. Yes, we are practicing the development of the self and the internal journey towards enlightenment and constant improvement. Yes, the ultimate goal is never to have to use kenpo to fight. Yes, the enemies we will face most often are the ones within. But the Way we follow is that of true combat. It is not the Way of the athlete or the Way of the dancer. It is the Way of the warrior. Our style is one that seeks and teaches truth in combat against another human being. And should we ever be forced to face another, skill against skill alone, it will only be our dedication to practice which gives us any chance to survive such an encounter.

When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win.

Ed Macauley

Karate is not easy. It is not a thing to be done by half measures. It is a Way without an end, a lifelong journey towards ability and understanding and no matter how long or how diligently you train, you will never, ever, finish learning. You may stop some day, but it will not be because you are done. And every day between now and then, while you continue practicing, you will continue improving. There is no technique that you can do enough times that you would not get better by doing it once more. There is no form or throw or combination that you will ever master to the point that you have nothing more to gain from one more repetition. Each time you step on the training floor with purpose you grow. Each time you step off the training floor you have become more than you were. That is the path you are on. Every step is a step up. No matter how good you are, or how bad you are, or how long it has been since your last class, every time you practice, you progress.

If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat.

Herschel Walker

Karate is hard. It is a constant challenge. Every student who has ever begun his training in the martial arts, every champion, every Master, began as a white belt. And every time he learned a new technique, no matter how long he had trained, he began again as a beginner. There is no skill you will ever learn that you don't have to do for the first time first. But that is also the promise of karate. That it works. That training makes you better. That it really is worth it. Every class. Every repetition. Every tired muscle. Every bruise. Every bead of sweat. Every drop of blood. It is all towards something. You can't always see it. But you're always getting better. Every time you throw a punch. Every time you block a kick. Every time you show up and dress out. The only difference between you and your instructors is the amount of classes they've attended. There is no place in karate that you can not go. If you strive. If you work hard. If you practice, day and night, with utmost seriousness.

I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true, hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice.

Ray Bradbury

There are no shortcuts in karate. There is no secret other than this. Practice, and you will improve. Understand that there is nothing we do more important than actually doing karate. Every question you'll ever have can be answered on the training room floor. Every academic debate or stylistic difference or training paradigm is settled without question by what happens on the mats. Everything else is distraction. There is only the practice. That is all karate is. It is not what you think or believe or want it to be. It is only what you do.

If someone asked me what a human being ought to devote the maximum of his time to, I would answer, "Training." Train more than you sleep.

Masutatsu Oyama

Drills-

Beginner: Practice each of your basic techniques 10 times on each side in the air, on the pads or shield, and on the body. Remember the F.A.S.P. training model. Form. Accuracy. Speed. Power. The more you do something correctly, the faster and more powerfully you will be able to do it. Speed and Power come from Form and Accuracy, there can be no other way.

Intermediate: Practice each of your techniques 10 times each in the air and on the body. Practice slowly, making every strike, every stance, every movement precise. Then practice it as fast as you can do it correctly. If you make a mistake, slow down, and begin again. There is no hurry. You will never be done, no matter how fast you go, and trying to rush now will only result in sloppy performance. Haste makes waste.

Advanced: Practice each of your patterns 10 times each in the air with your eyes open and your eyes closed. Pay attention to how every movement affects every other part of your body. The more exhausted and sore you become, the more your body will speak to you. You will learn how moving your arm affects muscles in your shoulders, back, buttocks, hips, legs, and feet. You will learn how even the smallest changes in orientation cause changes in balance and force you to adjust your stance and position. The body is the instrument. Listen to it. Let it be your teacher. Do not argue with the lessons your body is trying to convey.

Zazen, Satori, and the True Karate

Zen Master Suzuki Shunryū arrived in San Francisco in 1959, bringing with him his own approach to Zen Buddhism. As a Rōshi (literally "elder master") Suzuki Shunryū focused more on the practice of Zen then on the achievement of satori (enlightenment). It was his belief that the practitioner found his true self through the practice, through zazen, and not as a side effect of that practice. In the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a collection of his teachings compiled and edited by his disciples, he describes this process.


To Polish a Tile
Page 90

When you become you, Zen becomes Zen

When you are you, you see things as they are,

and you become one with your surroundings.

"Zen stories, or koans, are very difficult to understand before you know what we are doing moment after moment.  But if you know exactly what we are doing in each moment, you will not find koans so difficult. There are so many koans. I have often talked to you about a frog, and each time everybody laughs. But a frog is very interesting. He sits like us, too, you know. But he does not think that he is doing anything so special. When you go to a zendo [meditation hall] and sit, you may think you are doing some special thing. While your husband or wife is sleeping, you are practicing zazen! You are doing some special thing, and your spouse is lazy! That may be your understanding of zazen. But look at the frog. A frog also sits like us, but has no idea of zazen. Watch him. If something annoys him, he will make a face. If something comes along to eat, he will snap it up and eat, and he eats sitting. Actually that is our zazen- not any special thing.

Here is a kind of frog koan for you. Baso was a famous Zen master called the Horse-master. He was the disciple of Nangaku, one of the Sixth Patriarch's disciples. One day while he was studying under Nangaku, Baso was sitting, practicing zazen. He was a man of large physical build; when he talked, his tongue reached to his nose, his voice was loud; and his zazen must have been very good. Nangaku saw him sitting like a great mountain or like a frog. Nangaku asked, "What are you doing?" "I am practicing zazen," Baso replied. "Why are you practicing zazen?" "I want to attain enlightenment; I want to be a Buddha," the disciple said. Do you know what the teacher did? He picked up a tile, and he started to polish it. In Japan, after taking a tile from the kiln, we polish it to give it a beautiful finish. So Nangaku picked up a tile and started to polish it. Baso, his disciple, asked, "What are you doing?" "I want to make this tile into a jewel," Nanagaku said. "How is it possible to make a tile a jewel?" Baso asked. "How is it possible to become a Buddha by practicing zazen?" Nangaku replied. "Do you want to attain Buddhahood? There is no Buddhahood besides our ordinary mind. When a cart does not go, which do you whip, the cart or the horse?" the master asked.

Nangaku's meaning here is that whatever you do, that is zazen. True zazen is beyond being in bed or sitting in the zendo. If your husband or wife is in bed, that is zazen. If you think, "I am sitting here, and my spouse is in bed," then even though you are sitting here in the cross-legged position, that is not true zazen. You should be like a frog always. That is true zazen.

Dogen-zenji commented on this koan. He said, "When the Horse-master becomes the Horse-master, Zen becomes Zen." When Baso becomes Baso, his zazen becomes true zazen, and Zen becomes Zen. What is true zazen? When you become you! When you are you, then no matter what you do, that is zazen. Even though you are sitting in the zendo, I wonder whether you are you in the true sense.

Here is another famous koan. Zuikan was a Zen master who always used to address himself, "Zuikan?" he would call. And then he would answer, "Yes!" "Zuikan?" "Yes!" Of course he was living all alone in his small zendo, and of course he knew who he was, but sometimes he lost himself. And whenever he lost himself, he would address himself, "Zuikan?" "Yes!"

If we are like a frog, we are always ourselves. But even a frog sometimes loses himself, and he makes a sour face. And if something comes along, he will snap at it and eat it. So I think a frog is always addressing himself. I think you should do that also. Even in zazen you will lose yourself. When you become sleepy, or when your mind starts to wander about, you lose yourself. When your legs become painful- "Why are my legs so painful?" -you lose yourself. Because you lose yourself, your problem will be a problem for you. If you do not lose yourself, then even though you have difficulty, there is actually no problem whatsoever. You just sit in the midst of the problem; when you are a part of the problem, or when the problem is a part of you, there is no problem, because you are the problem itself. The problem is you yourself. If this is so, there is no problem.

When your life is always a part of your surrounding-in other words, when you are called back to yourself, in the present moment-then there is no problem. When you start to wander about in some delusion which is something apart from you yourself, then your surroundings are not real anymore, and your mind is not real anymore. If you yourself are deluded, then your surroundings area also a misty, foggy delusion. Once you are in the midst of delusion, there is no end to delusion. You will be involved in deluded ideas one after another. Most people live in delusion, involved in their problem, trying to solve their problem. But just to live is actually to live in problems. And to solve the problem is to be a part of it, to be one with it.

So which do you hit, the cart or the horse? Which do you hit, yourself or your problems? If you start questioning which you should hit, that means you have already started to wander about. But when you actually hit the horse, the cart will go. In truth, the cart and the horse are not different. When you are you, there is no problem of whether you should hit the cart or the horse. When you are you, zazen becomes true zazen. So when you practice zazen, your problem will practice zazen, and everything else will practice zazen too. Even though your spouse is in bed, he or she is also practicing zazen-when you practice zazen! But when you do not practice true zazen, then there is your spouse, and there is yourself, each quite different, quite separate from the other. So if you yourself have true practice, then everything else is practicing our way at the same time.

That is why we should always address ourselves, checking up on ourselves like a doctor tapping himself. This is very important. This kind of practice should be continued moment after moment, incessantly. We say, "When the night is here, the dawn comes." It means there is no gap between the dawn and the night. Before the summer is over, autumn comes. In this way we should understand our life. We should practice with this understanding, and solve our problems in this way. Actually, just to work on the problem, if you do it with single-minded effort, is enough. You should just polish the tile; that is our practice. The purpose of practice is not to make a tile a jewel. Just continue sitting; that is practice in its true sense. It is not a matter of whether or not it is possible to attain Buddhahood, whether or not is possible to make a tile a jewel. Just to work and live in this world with this understanding is the most important point. That is our practice that is true zazen. So we say, "When you eat, eat!" You should eat what is there, you know. Sometimes you do not eat it. Even though you are eating, your mind is somewhere else. You do not taste what you have in your mouth. As long as you can eat when you are eating, you are all right. Do not worry a bit. It means you are you yourself.

When you are you, you see things ass they are, and you become one with your surroundings. There is your true self. There you have true practice; you have the practice of a frog. He is a good example of our practice-when a frog becomes a frog, Zen becomes Zen. When you understand a frog through and through, you attain enlightenment; you are Buddha. And you are good for others, too: husband or wife or son or daughter. This is zazen!"

The practitioner of the martial Way should not concern himself with the external trappings of rank or praise or acclimation. He should not be distracted with goals such as performance or Mastery. Just continue sitting. Just continue training. Just continue working. The practice is not separate from the practitioner. You are not working on your Form or your Technique. You are working on YOU. Do not be concerned with whether or not the tile will become a jewel. Simply keep polishing. When you make the practice indistinguishable from yourself, when the art is not separate from the artist, then zazen becomes true zazen and satori is not a goal but a state of being.

Every part of your training, basics, techniques, sets, forms, static training, live training, sparring, bag work, every part is part of the whole. It is the practice. And the practice is the goal. There are no endings on the Way. The journey is the destination. When you understand the frog, karate is not a thing you do. It is a thing you are.

Drills - 

Beginner: Practice your stances. Practice each stance, as a static position, with proper height, width, depth, and weight distribution. The stances are not separate from your ability to move or strike, they are the foundation of your ability to move and strike. Learn each stance as it's own unique entity, and practice them until they become a part of you.

Intermediate: Practice your strikes. Punches, handswords, hammerfists, front kicks, stomps, knee strikes, and headbutts. Practice the unique aspects and methods of execution specific to each individual strike. Practice striking from every position, standing, kneeling, and prone, against every possible configuration of opponents. Learn how each strike is affected by stance, and how every move leads naturally into the next.

Advanced: Practice your karate. Every stance, every movement, every combination, every pattern. Practice in the air, practice on the body. Hit the pads, hit the shields, hit the bag. Practice the movements you have known for decades and the movements that are new to you. Practice with utmost seriousness. Remember the words of the Master. "Any man who wants to master the essence of my strategy must research diligently, training morning and evening. Thus can he polish his skill, become free from self, and realise extrordinary ability. He will come to possess miraculous power." Practice every day, all of your life, and your karate will become the true karate.

The Map is Not the Territory

Everybody has a plan till they get smacked in the mouth.

- Iron Mike Tyson 

In the field of General Semantics, there is a concept called the "Map-Territory Relation." The founder of General Semantics, Alfred Korzybski, famously stated in 1931 that "the map is not the territory," meaning that the awareness of the thing and the symbols we use to perceive it (in this case, the map) are not the same as the actual thing itself (the territory). General Semantics is the idea that our beliefs are formed by our perceptions of the world and specifically the language we use to define it. So a symbol such as a map, while useful as a tool to understand the lay of the land, is not actually the land itself which is completely separate and unique in physical and experiential reality.

The Belgian surrealist René Magritte addressed a similar concept in his painting The Treachery of Images. The painting is of a wooden tobacco pipe, with the words "this is not a pipe" written underneath it in french. And of course, Magritte was correct. For it is not a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe. Yet many who would look at the painting may be forgiven if at first they wonder how the artist could be so mistaken. For clearly, we see a pipe.

In our study of combat we discuss entry techniques, feints and distractions, set up strikes, combinations, defense and striking open zones, control maneuvers, repositioning techniques, and finishing moves. We talk about how to engage our opponent from different ranges, and which techniques to employ during each phase of the combat situation. We discuss how to approach unique aspects of combat differently, if the opponent attacks from the obscure zone we turn and face with zone coverage, if the opponent has our back we go stomach to stomach, if the opponent attacks our weak line we adjust our angle. We talk about how to counter our opponent's techniques, and what possible counters he may use, and how to counter his counters.

Generally speaking, in case of a fire in your home you need to get close to the floor, alert everyone, check doors for heat before opening them, and escape. Generally speaking, in case of an automobile accident you need to check for injuries, remain calm, and alert the necessary emergency services. Generally speaking, in the case of a home invasion you need to escape the home and call for help. Generally speaking, when I am engaged at range, I strike with kicks and punches, use cover positions to bridge the gap, close with my opponent using grabs and continued off hand striking, move to a control position, takedown and finish. It's good to have a plan.

But the plan is not the fight. Moltke the Elder taught us that "no plan survives first contact with the enemy." Even a plan which takes in to account our opponent, his strengths and weaknesses, his tactics and strategy, and his possible counters and our counters to his counters, is immediately obsolete once battle is joined. The original plan doesn't exist anymore, because the parameters have changed. The opponent moves left instead of right. The lighting is inconsistent. It begins to rain. You are tired, or sick, or injured. The plan is not the fight. The map is not the territory. The painting is not the pipe. All the training and talking and study you've done in the dojo is in preparation, but training is not combat and your opponent is not your friend.

Everything is context specific. That is why the first consideration of combat is Environment. The targets you strike. The strikes you use. The range at which you engage. The way in which you engage. The intensity with which you engage. Is this a drunken reveler on New Year's Eve? Is this a desperate man fighting for a crust of bread? Is this a violent sociopath who will not stop assaulting you because you have yielded? Is your family in danger? Is there a chance to escape?

Everything is context specific. Do you grapple or strike? Do you follow your opponent to the ground with the takedown or remain standing to engage or escape from there? What do you know of your opponent? What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? What are your strengths and weaknesses? The man who knows himself and his opponent will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. Are there multiple opponents? Are they armed?

What we do in the karate school is make plans. We explore and study and dissect and examine and question and theorize and test. We follow a progressive system of expansive combat training which builds each skill upon previous simpler skills and futilely attempts to answer all possible questions about a dynamic situation of infinite possibility. The systems are artificial, because they seek to codify something which resists codification. At best, we can only imagine possible combat scenarios and apply our knowledge to those possibilities. We are drawing maps of fighting so we know which way to go.

But a map is a useful tool. It tells you where to turn. It tells you what to expect ahead. It tells you where be dragons. You wouldn't leave home without a map. And when you get lost, the proper thing to do is pull the map back out and find out where you are, and how to get where you want to go. Maps make safe travel possible, because they allow the traveler to prepare for the challenge ahead. That is why we paint pictures of fights in the karate school and why we practice self defense techniques against a number of attacks in a number of possible formations. That is why we ask questions, and seek the truth of combat, and practice that truth on the body. That is why we do the pushups and hit the pads. That is why we return, year after year, and stand on the line and set our Neutral Bow. We are studying the map, so that if we get lost, we know where to go.

But never make the mistake of thinking you are fighting when you are really training. We can only simulate the ultimate life or death combat scenario. We do not actually experience it. Your training partner is not going to kill you and though you may be injured in the karate school from time to time, you are not being actively assaulted. You are engaging in a practice, sometimes intense, which is designed to represent the combat engagement. But should you find yourself in a real fight, you must be prepared to change your plans to reflect the fluid nature of existing conditions. Or you must be prepared to lose. Fallen Sword in the karate school is a very specific response to a very specific attack practiced in a very specific manner where you strike very specific targets and your opponent responds in a very specific way. It is play acting. It is not a fight. Neither is randori, or sparring, or rolling, or Tiger in the Cage, or spontaneous defense. Neither even is full combat. Not in the karate school. It is training. It is making plans.

You need to make plans. That's why you have come to the karate school. To take the next step on mastering a unique and powerful art. To follow in the footsteps of those who've come before you. To learn how to fight, and why, and to prepare yourself for a fight which we should all hope never actually takes place. Sun Tzu's Nine Terrains teach us to plan according to the situation, to move to positions of strength, avoid combat, use environment to our advantage, marshall resources, and only when on death ground, to fight. The plan is to position yourself in such a way as to not have to engage the enemy. We plan not to fight, but no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And so we plan how we will fight as well.

Plans are important. But a fight is a fight. Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice your beginner self defense techniques. Realize that each one is a like a photograph of a moment in time. Have the opponent circle you, occasionally throwing the proscribed attack for each technique, and perform the technique as perfectly as possible, again and again. Practice this with one attack and one technique at a time.

Intermediates: Practice your sparring. Choose one technique, like Penetrating the Wall, and practice apply thing technique to every attack your opponent gives you. Jab, Cross, Kick, Punch, Grapple, Inside, Outside, Penetrating the Wall, again and again. Practice adjusting your opponent's position to make your technique apply and practice adjusting your technique to apply it to your opponent's position.

Advanced: Engage in Free Combat drills, with an eye to where techniques appear within the engagement. If the opponent attacks with a jab and you defend and counter with a kick, that is Fallen Sword. If the opponent attacks with a high grab and you counter with a trapping grapple, that is Entrapping Circles. If the opponent attacks with a low kick and your respond with a leg hold that is Defensive Cross. If the opponent attacks with a low body lock and you sprawl and turn the corner, that is Taming the Bull. Understand that the techniques occur naturally, without the need to "make" them happen, and that by recognizing where they appear you can see the signs on the map pointing you to your destination.

On the Swept Plateau

   "When there is no wind, row."

                       -Chinese proverb      

                                  

Your karate training won't always progress at the same smooth pace. In the karate school we have a regular schedule of classes, curriculum, and tests; but your own personal growth in the arts will sometimes move in fits and starts. Sometimes you feel like you are on fire, like you pick up every new technique immediately. Other times you feel like you are plugging along, getting a little better all the time. You go to class, you hit the bag, and you feel yourself gradually getting stronger and faster.

And then sometimes you feel like you've been running and running forever. And one day you look around and it's been a long time since you saw any new improvements in skill and you start to question if it's worth it. Will my training ever pay off? Are all these repetitions, and bumps and bruises and scrapes, really making me better? You practice the forms and show up to spar but you feel like you're stuck. You can't see a horizon in any direction and you've gone so far without a major step that you've begun to lose context.

You're on the plateau.

The Way of martial arts is an upward winding path. Sometimes it is steep, and sometimes it is shallow, and there will be times when it seems to extend in front of you forever with no end in sight. It is easy during these times to become discouraged in your training. But that is just a part of the journey. The things that excited you about karate when the gains were easy and the time between rewards was minimal seem to have less of a draw now. Where you used to show up to class early chomping at the bit for the next technique or drill, now class seems a burden, and a part of you begins to justify not putting in the effort by focusing on how long it's been since you felt like you were growing.

Sometimes it happens at brown belt. Sometimes it happens at black belt. Sometimes it happens to a beginner. You keep doing what your instructors say, practicing the drills and performing the kata, but more and more it seems like a thankless chore.

The nights are dark on the plateau, and when the strong winds blow you have to make a decision. Do you keep training? Or do you stop training?

What you sometimes lose sight of when you are on the plateau is that there is only one secret technique of karate. Keep training. Regardless of how good you are or were or could be, if you keep training you will get better. The only way to stop getting better at karate is to stop doing karate. Left foot right foot. Better today, better tomorrow. Even when you're on the plateau the way to move forward is to move forward.

The wonderful thing about karate is that it works. And when you are on that plateau and you've been running and running, and you've been doing the repetitions and putting in the mat time, even though you didn't want to, you are training. You are training and training and training. And all that training pays off. You don't see it while you're doing it. But then another day comes, and you look around and realize you can suddenly see so much farther than you could before. Now you can see the long flat plateau below you, and how far you've come, and you can see the slope of the land from a perspective you didn't have lower on the path. The plateau is always followed by a massive leap in skill and understanding.

This can be a challenging time in your training as well. When you suddenly realize how much better your front kick can be you also suddenly realize that the front kick you felt confident and proud of before is beneath your new standard. It feels like all your skill has disappeared. But it hasn't. Your new understanding gives you the opportunity to grow further than you knew was possible before. But you have to keep doing the hard work that got you there. Right foot left foot.

When you are on the plateau it can be easy to lose perspective. You forget the gains you've gotten from your training before. You forget your victories. The plateau is not a place of victories. The plateau is not a place of defeat either. In some ways, that would be easier to deal with. FAILING means Finding An Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth. Instead the plateau is a place of interminable perpetuity. It is a challenge to the spirit. It is a battle with the self.

If you press, if you lean into that strong wind, you will leave the plateau behind you. Your mind will blossom, your skill will grow, and the scales will fall from your eyes. You will see karate as you never had before and you will express your new understanding and ability in everything you do. But the time for training is not done. You must continue to chop wood. And then, one day, you will look around and realize hot coals have fallen to embers, boiling water has grown tepid, long shadows cross the land and you can't see the horizon in any direction.

There are always more steps. There are always more plateaus. There is no ending to the challenges to the body, mind, and spirit. Karate is not a thing you finish learning. But when you have been through a plateau before you know what to do when you find yourself tired, empty, and parched.

Left foot. Right foot. Lean into the wind. Keep training. Keep showing up.

You will climb beyond the next plateau, and the next, and the one after that. Because karate teaches us to never give up. To apply ourselves to our training every day. To keep climbing.

You will find yourself on the plateau someday. You may have before, you may be there now. It is not the end. It feels like you've been running for ever and ever because you have been. You are getting somewhere soon.

Keep running.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice each of your techniques twice. Then practice them again three times each. Then again five times each. Then again three times. Then twice. Practice your techniques until you think you aren't getting anything out of it anymore. Then practice your techniques one last time. You will never finish practicing. You will never do "enough" repetitions. After a hundred, or a thousand, or ten thousand, you can still do five more and get better.

Intermediate: There will be times when you get tired of practicing the same drill or pattern again and again. You will want to skip around, or only practice your favorite techniques, or hurry through your kata practice so you can get to "the fun stuff." Remember, even if you've had this class, or done this activity, or sparred with this training partner time after time after time there is still a new lesson, right there in front of you. You will never stop learning from Short Form 1. Find joy in the drudgery. Embrace the chores and celebrate doing the daily work. The practice is the method.

Advanced: You have experienced training plateaus before. You know what needs to be done to break through to the next level, but you will still feel the miles as they pass beneath your feet. You will become parched, but you can quench your thirst with the sweat of your brow. You will grow cold, but you can warm yourself in the fires of your will. The plateau is no longer a frightening place for you. It is a predictable place, where the terrain is familiar and comforting and the time passes easily. Keep training. The next evolution is just ahead.

Offensive Approaches in Sparring

“While the schools remain apart in thought and styles, they are bound together by the practice of sparring, which is the only standard value in the sport recognized by all who are responsible for advancing the true art of karate.”

Sihak Henry Cho
Korean Karate, Free Fighting Techniques

This month in our intermediate class we're working on Offensive Defense, which is the term we use to describe the type of Sparring we practice at Modern American Martial Arts. Our base Sparring techniques are derived from the Freestyle (Sparring) techniques Mr. Parker describes in Volume 5 of Infinite Insights into Kenpo. Those techniques have been added to and expanded upon to create the list of Freestyle Techniques practiced in the school. Mr. Parker wrote that the practitioner should, “study these progressive patterns of attack [and] take the initiative to develop patterns of [their] own.” Undefeated Champion Full Contact Karate Fighter Bill “Superfoot” Wallace once wrote, “In Sparring, the basic movements and strategies evolve into an infinite number of patterns and variations. (Dynamic Stretching & Kicking, 1982)”

We will practice these infinite variations with an eye towards efficacy and application, but there are broader approaches which will help us to develop the tactics with which we address each unique encounter. Professor Dan Anderson addresses these approaches in his classic work on Sparring, American Freestyle Karate: A Guide to Sparring.

The first, he calls Direct Attack, a basic, singular attack executed with complete commitment. Professor Anderson encourages the practitioner to just “pick a target and go for it.” Direct attacks are set up with deceptive footwork which hides the movements the practitioner uses to close range with his opponent. Once within striking range, he identifies a vulnerable target and strikes out against it. Of Direct Attacks, he writes, “A Direct Attack needs full commitment. An explosive take-off, a follow through attack, and good timing. It all has to be there without any reservation. If it is not all there, chances are it will not go.”

The next approach is the Attack by Combination. The Attack by Combination is an expanded form of the Direct Attack. Instead of getting in range and firing a single strike to an unprotected target, the practitioner fires strike after strike to a number of targets in sequence, using each strike to create openings for the successive follow up stikes. Of the Attack by Combination he writes, “This type of approach is good for street fighting and full contact karate. The idea here is not to get into the “one hit and quit” attitude. Be able to execute both single hit and multiple hit sparring as each have their place and can be interchanged on various opponents.”

Next is the Indirect Attack. The Indirect Attack utilizes fakes, feints, sweeps, and set-ups to make your opponent “zig when he shoulda zagged.” The practitioner begins by identifying his opponent's reactions to certain movements, hand and foot techniques, aggressive posturing, even stance transitions. Then he uses his understanding of his opponent's pre-programmed responses to encourage his opponent to move out of position. It is then that the practitioner strikes, taking advantage of his opponent's momentary vulnerability. Of the Indirect Attack Professor Anderson writes, “An Indirect Attack works on the premise that you want to redirect your opponent's attention from point A to point B so that you can hit point A. You can use a combination of fakes and hooks/sweeps prior to the real attack. Nowhere in the book of rules does it say just one set-up per attack. This approach is good for your imagination so use it.”

Next is Attacking by Trapping. Attacking by Trapping is using stand up grappling techniques to draw your opponent within range of your long range striking techniques, as well as to hold him in place and prevent him from escaping. Professor Anderson makes a point of explaining that Attacking by Trapping is closely related to the practice of Street Fighting and Self Defense and that “there are situational approaches that are not interchangeable and there are those that are;” by which he means that some techniques are specific to combat sports, and some are specific to self defense, while there are still others which overlap the two disciplines. It is these overlapping approaches which we are most interested in in our study of sparring at Modern American Martial Arts.

Finally he describes the Attack by Drawing. This method is subtle, and relies on baiting and controlling range to entice the opponent to attack when and where you are prepared to defend. The practitioner may leave targets seemingly unprotected or subtly press in to his opponent's critical range, or he may create distance instead and goad his opponent into an unbalanced charging attack. This method requires the practitioner to understand and control space and time, while monitoring his opponent's reactions to his movements. Consider the Territorial Imperative from our article on Nonverbal Communication. Understanding how your opponent will react to intrusions into his territory can give you keen insight into his fighting strategy. Professor Anderson instructs the reader to, “interchange these [methods] with the variations in your opponent's approach to best suit your own ends. Also be able to recognize them when they are being pulled on you.”

Professor Anderson sums up the section on Offensive Approaches with these words. “In order to make the offensive (and defensive) approaches work, you have got to give total commitment to them. No half measures will do against anyone who is good at all.”

No half measures. In the Fire Chapter of his Book of Five Rings, Musashi wrote, “Who in the world can obtain my correct Way of the Martial Arts? Whoever would get to the heart of it, let him do so with conviction, practicing in the morning and training in the evening. After he has polished his techniques and gained independent freedom of movement, he will naturally gain miraculous powers, and his free and easy strength will be wonderful. This is the spirit wherein, as a warrior, he will put these practices into action.”

Complete commitment. Total conviction. Practicing in the morning and training in the evening. There are no short cuts in martial arts, but there is a trick to it. Dan Anderson wrote his book because as a boy he wanted someone to show him the tricks. Well there they are. The Offensive Approaches. Direct Attack. Attack by Combination. Indirect Attack. Attack by Trapping. Attack by Drawing. These approaches are methods by which you can engage your opponent. That's why we call it Offensive Defense at Modern American Martial Arts. You are still practicing self defense, but in this scenario you must engage your opponent. And Professor Anderson shows us several ways to accomplish that, before encouraging us to compound and combine the approaches themselves. Attack by Drawing, then when the opponent moves within range, Indirect Attack, then Attack by Trapping, then use a Direct Attack to a Vital Target. That is how the basic principles become “an infinite number of patterns and variations.”

Drills -

Beginner: Practice the Direct Attack in front of a mirror and with a partner. Watch yourself for tells such as changes in height, shifting balance, and shoulder shrugs which might betray your intentions to your opponent. Ask you partner to monitor you for tells as well and then alert you to their presence. Work on eliminating these actions from your techniques so that you can strike without warning.

Intermediate: Practice Combination Striking on the bags and on the body. Hands set up feet. Feet set up hands. Practice three or more strikes at a time, changing levels and ranges and alternating between inside and outside and linear and circular techniques. When you can incorporate all these elements into your combinations, you become very difficult to predict and defend against.

Advanced: Practice sweeps, fakes, and feints while sparring with your opponent. Upper Body Fakes and Lower Body Fakes can be used to set up your opponent and move him off balance. When working striking combinations, practice alternating between pure striking and using some of the strikes as fakes or grabs to the opponent's limbs. Follow up grabs with sweeps against the opponent.

Benefits of Training in the Ways

Wayne C. McKinney's 1966 book Archery is still used as a reference text on the art and sport of Archery, and is considered a seminal textbook on the subject of modern Western Archery. It's comprehensive approach to Archery, including the equipment, history, cultural value, techniques, and training for sport, hunting, and art gives the student a valuable introduction the study as it is approached in the West. In the chapter Potential Benefits of Archery he describes ways that the practice of Archery can benefit the student, the family, and society as a whole. As martial artists, we can read our own practices into his words and see where we experience these benefits for ourselves.

3rd Edition, Page 90
"Archery provides the participant with a sport which can be used throughout life. Some sport activities learned early in life do not have this potential. A man in his thirites does not engage in American Football during his leisure time as an active particpant. The opportunities are not available to do this, and the human body will not withstand the stresses and strain. In contrast, many excellent archers do not reach their performance peak until they are in their thirties. Archery is a sport for people of all ages.

One major biophysical value of muscular activity is the abilty to release emotional tension. Emotional tension seems to be cumulative in nature. The reader has probably experienced at least one day in which everything seemed to go wrong! At the conclursion of such a day, one tends to be rather tired and tense. This type of tension is psychologic in nature. Psychiatrists indicate that it is a good idea to "blow off steam" on these occasions in a socially accceptable way. This contriubutes to one's mental health. Shooting the bow and arrow for an hour after a "bad day" has the potential to relax the archer. Physical work of any type has the potential to relax a human being. The concept of work being a relaxant is so abstract that it is not too well understood by most people.

The challanges which archery presents in its various sport forms have value for many people. Archery is not an easy sport to master, since there are many opportunities for the occurence of human errors. This facet of archery has the greatest appeal to many sportsmen and individuals who seek perfection in things they attempt. Mastery of archery is a motivating factor for many archers.

The serious student of the humanities may derive enjoyment by reading and studying about the use of archery as portrayed by many authors and scholars throughout history. The mythological literature abounds with stories about archery, and art museums throughout the world contain many famous works. This liberal arts approach to studying a sport is often overlooked by students and physical educators.

The individual who enjoys social activities will find that archery is a good medium for this purpose. Most cities of any size throughout the country have archery clubs which provide opportunities for the archer to share his interests with fellow archers. Clubs are locally operated by a system of self-government, and funded by modest dues. Rounds are shot periodically for practice. There are also intraclub and interclub tournaments. Members also compete in large professional and amateur tournaments conducted within the state, region, and nationally.

In contrast to the the social aspect of archery, the archer who likes to be alone can practice and compete on a highly individualized basis. No partner or team is absolutely necessary to enjoy archery. It has been said that the greatest form of comepetition is with one's self. An archer can compete without contact with other people if so desired.

Archery is and has been many things to many people. In contemporary society, archery is a sport for the competitor. Archery is also for the individual who enjoys handling fine tackle; it is for the man or woman who enjoys being in the out-of-doors during a hunting season, a field archery tournament, or bow fishing; it is for the person who enjoys the spirit of competition with other people and with himself against the elements. Archery can be a partial means of making the participant's leisure time more rewarding and meaningful."

Martial arts is also many things to many people. Self Defense. Fitness. Competition. Way. We choose our own level of involvement. Find opportunities to explore each of these aspects of your training in a healthy way. Certainly, your study of the arts can be a means of making your leisure time more rewarding and meaningful. You may be content to relegate your training to avocation, and that is perfectly fine. It should be a thing which brings you joy. But remember that beyond being a hobby, the practice of martial arts has much more to offer. One need but seek to find the many rewards awaiting the diligent student of the martial Ways. The positive societal, communal, and individual benefits of such training can not be overstated.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice "Drawing the Bow" technique for deception when punching. Practice flicking out jabs and using off hand motions to distract. Think about what your training means to you and what benefits you look forward to gaining from your involvement in martial arts. Identify those positive goals specifically.

Intermediate: Practice "Lockout" style punching techniques to joints, limbs, and the head and neck for anatomical control. Practice thrusting through the opponent's position and staying present, forcing him to change position in response. Take consistent action on accomplishing the goals you've set and actively seek out the positive benefits of your martial arts training in your daily life. Is it making you stronger? More confident? Less stressed in your day to day affairs?

Advanced: Practice "Drawing the Bow" technique as excision, seperating the rear elbow of the chambering motion from the lead hand jab to 12 o'clock. Identify movements which can be used when fighting multiple opponents which can be effective both as physical maneuvers and psychological attacks. Explore "Seperating the Opponents" with strikes. Review the progress you've made since you've begun your training in the arts. Compare the person you have become to the person you began your journey as. Set new goals for yourself, both in your future training, and as a person and practitioner moving forward.

Block. Lead Side Counter.

I like to think of Fallen Sword as the first "real" kenpo technique you learn. Now, don't hear this as me in any way denigrating the techniques before it. Entrapping Circle, Entrapping Elbow, and Concealing Strikes are all solid, important techniques that begin your study of motion. But when I learned Fallen Sword I felt like I was really doing karate. And in part that's because Fallen Sword teaches you a fundamental series of movements that make up a huge chunk of what you will practice in kenpo.

Block. Lead Side Counter.

This basic combination of movements encompasses core principles about The Ten Considerations of Combat which are elemental to self defense. Environment. Range. Positions. Maneuvers. It's all contained within Fallen Sword, and everything you learn after this will be built on this structure. That's why it's taught so early in the system. Not because of it's simplicity, but because of it's ever deeper complexities.

Block. Lead Side Counter.

This pattern repeats itself again and again. Destructive Twins? Sword of Destruction? Snapping Elbow? Ghost of the Dragon? Again and again. Block. Lead Side Counter.

It's as fundamental as the forward and reverse arm motions taught in Entrapping Circle and Entrapping Elbow. Each technique has lessons to teach, beyond merely defending against a Right Step Thru Punch. That's the least important part of what you're learning. That's just the template for the purpose of facilitating instruction. It's the lessons you should be learning, not just the movements.

Take a basic sparring scenario. Closed faced. Student A executes a Lead Hand Jab. Student B defends with an inward block and counters with an Outward Backknuckle Strike. That's Fallen Sword.

Or a knife scenario. Attacker lunges with a Forward Thrusting Knife Strike. Defender takes a Half Step Back and Up the Circle (in reverse) with a Slapping Check to the attacker's weapon arm, and follows with a Lead Leg Side Snap Kick to the inside of the attacker's Lead Knee. That's Fallen Sword.

How about a grappling scenario? The opponent grabs you from the front with a Two Handed Lapel Grab (Pulling) and you respond by grabbing their hands and then striking the opponent with a Lead Hand Inward Downward Raking Hammerfist Strike followed by an Inward Elbow Strike. Altered Momentum? If it's a Single Lapel Grab the technique is Conquering Shield. But Conquering Shield is just Fallen Sword to the outside of the arm followed by Entrapping Elbow. It's the same pattern again and again.

Block. Lead Side Counter.

But don't mistake this repetition for busy work. There's a reason you learn Lead Side Counter against a push, a punch, a choke, a grab, weapons, throws, holds and more. There's a reason you practice this Right forward and Left forward, striking and grappling. You're learning the letters. You're learning the words. And the more fluent in kenpo you become, the more capable you are of talking the talk, and walking the walk.

Fallen Sword is a key technique. It's simple. It's basic. And you could spend a lifetime learning it's lessons. But for now, practice the Lead Side Counter. Practice Fallen Sword. And see what lessons it holds for you.

Drills -
Beginner: While practicing Fallen Sword pay special attention to body mechanics. Step back WITH the Inward Block. Land from the Front Kick WITH the Handsword. Every movement, every strike, is with the entire body.

Intermediate: While sparring use only lead hand weapons against your opponent. Use stance transitions to change your position and continue striking with the opposite side forward. Pay attention to combinations and re-orbiting strikes.

Advanced: Practice the basic pattern of Fallen Sword, but alter the weapons and targets. Instead of a Handsword, work a Jab, Backknuckle Strike, or Outward Claw or Outward Backhand Strike. Instead of a Front Snap Kick, try Side Snap Kick, Wheel Kick, or In Place Pulling Sweep. Choose targets appropriate to your weapons.

Sumimasen. Daijobu desu ka?

From Wikipedia:

"Dave Lowry is an American writer best known for his articles, manuals and novels based on Japanese martial arts.

A student of Japanese martial arts since 1968, when he began studying Yagyū Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu [the same art taught by Yagyū Munenori, see Hit, Hit, and Hit Again] under Ryokichi Kotaro of the Nara Prefecture of Japan, he has also studied Shintō Musō-ryū, as well as karate, aikido, and Kodokan judo.

He has a degree in English, and has written about a variety of topics related to budō, the Japanese concept of the "martial way." He has written training manuals on use of weapons such as the bokken and jo, a few novels centered on the lifestyle of the budōka (one who follows the martial way), and countless articles on martial practices and traditional Japanese philosophy. He has been a regular columnist for Black Belt magazine since 1986, where he writes on the traditional arts."

In his 2002 book, Traditions, Lowry tells us a story about training with a friend of his instructor and an important lesson he learned from the experience.

"...He was short and thick and powerful. At my sensei's suggestion, after dinner our visitor took me into our dojo to work with me on basics. Against my oi-zuki (stepping-in punch), he shifted like he was on ball bearings and countered with various techniques. We'd been at this for about an hour, gradually increasing our pace. I was still not posing any great threat to him, but Yanagi-san was having to move just a bit faster to avoid my attack. That is when he miscalculated, just fractionally. He pivoted and snapped out his fist as I moved in-and caught me squarely on my nose with the back of his knuckles. There was no kime, no focus, to the blow. If there had been, my head would have come off. The strike was more just a kind of slap. But Mr. Yanagi's timing was perfect, even if there was no force behind it.

Even though he barely grazed my nose, tears squirted into my eyes. My feet and legs, still driving forward, were way ahead of the rest of me. I went down like I'd been sledghammered. The back of my head smacked against the wooden floor. I laid there a second. I knew nothing was seriously hurt, and that I should be leaping back up quickly so as not to put myself at risk of a follow-up attack. But I wasn't sure where "up" was. All I could see were starbursts.

"Sumimasen," Yanagi-san said, "Daijobu desu ka?" "My fault. You okay?"

I'm not sure how I expected Mr. Yanagi to react to the accident. Over the years of my training that have followed, however, I have heard that phrase many more times. I have, due to my own clumsiness and ineptitude, had occasion to use it myself. Ask anyone has who practiced with me much at all. And I have come to realize since that afternoon in the dojo, that what Yanagi-san said to me is really all one can say in a situation like that. More importantly, it is all one should say.

It is quite an awful feeling to hurt someone under almost any circumstances, obviously. This is especially so in the dojo where one's accidental victim is likely to be a friend or a training partner and one feels towards that person almost as if they were a brother or sister. If it is a senior that you have clobbered, you feel terrible because you've repaid the kindness of his instructing you by battering him. If it is a junior, you feel worse; a junior in the dojo is dependent upon you for his progress, not for abuse. The initial response to causing such an accident in the dojo-the unconditioned response of the untrained budoka-is to abandon instantly whatever exercise it is, to rush forward, apologizing profusely and checking for damage.

The dojo, however, is not a place for unconditioned responses. The budoka who go there to practice must be willing to give a great deal of their lives over to the crafting and shaping of very highly conditioned responses. They are seeking to respond correctly to every contingency, in a wide variety of situations. Among these contingencies is the possibility of an accident. The budoka must realize there is a chance, a risk involved, every time he trains. When you allow me, for the purposes of our learning, to uncork punches at your face, or to twist your wrists to nearly the point of injury, or strike at you with a weapon, you are accepting the possibility I might miss, go a bit too far. I assume the same; that I may injure you. We have voluntarily accepted what insurance companies call "assumed risk." Like mountain climbers, big wave surfers, and ski racers, budoka would be fools if they thought the martial Ways were risk-free. That is simply not the nature of these ways.

If we have trained properly and we exercise care for our partner, we can (and absolutely must) cut the odds of an accident or injury. But we can never entirely eliminate risk. So when in the dojo an accident does happen, we should not be too surprised. We should not indulge in a lot of pointless blather then. We should admit it if it was our fault, and inquire if the injury is serious enough to warrant attention. If it is serious, we'd better be calling an ambulance or rendering first aid. These require coolness and a presence of mind. There is no time, and no reason to engage in excessive apologizing which, while it may make us feel better, won't do a lot of good for our injured friend.

This attitude may seem heartless. But remember, Yanagi-sans's first words to me were, "my fault." He accepted the blame for the accident, simply and honestly. Then he asked if I was all right, in a way that was straightforward yet not condescending, respectful of my dignity.

Simply and honestly; straightforward and respectful. This is the best way for the budoka to behave when he has been responsible for an accident in the dojo. He will also find that it is an excellent way of meeting a number of other situations as well."

Lowry's experience here is not unique. You will have an opportunity to say these words many times over the course of your journey in martial arts. And you will hear them as well. When you hit one of your friends or training partners too hard, when you make the mistakes that are an inevitable and essential part of the learning process, the only thing to say is this,

"I'm sorry. My fault. Are you okay?"

There is no shame in this. This is right and honorable conduct. Remember this when you accidentally hurt your training partners, and when you are accidentally hurt by them.

American Freestyle Karate and the Power of Confrontation

Dan Anderson is one of the most accomplished American martial artists. On the website for his school, his bio reads,

“Professor Anderson is the director and chief instructor of Dan Anderson Karate and has a 7th Degree Black Belt in Karate, a 6th Degree Black Belt (Senior Master) in Filipino Modern Arnis, and an 8th Degree Black Belt in MA-80. He is a 4 time national karate champion, having won over 70 Grand Titles! He is the founder of American Freestyle Karate, a uniquely American martial art as well as the author of the best selling book, "American Freestyle Karate: A Guide To Sparring" which has been in print for 30 years. He has been honored by inclusion into the Karate Living Legends, a lifetime achievement honor, being one of the 50 most influential martial artists in the 40 year history of tournament karate. Prof. Anderson's school has been continually teaching martial arts to the residents of East County for 25 years, making it the oldest Karate school in this area.”

The book mentioned above, American Freestyle Karate: A Guide to Sparring is widely recognized as one of the seminal and most authoritative written works on the subject of karate style point sparring. It's topics span stance and posture, body movement with and without footwork, developing power, kicking, punching, and blocking, and monitoring the opponent. It contains both technical information, including step by step breakdown of techniques and combinations, and strategic and conceptual instruction which informs the practitioner in his approach to both sports combat and self defense.

One particularly valuable section discusses the concept of confrontation, so crucial to success in freestyle sparring,

The Ability to Confront

“To confront – verb transitive – Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 2.a. “to cause to meet: bring face to face.”

Psychologically, everything in karate boils right down to the idea of confrontation, to face up to something. Sparring, approaches, technical information, everything.

A person's ability to confront things comes with familiarization and gradient stages of the ability to confront itself.

When you have trouble with any face of karate, it comes from a failure to confront that particular area. Example: a person is a strong technician and is tough but does not think when sparring. The thing to do is to have them confront thinking during sparring in gradient stages. 1) Plan out each attack and carry out the plan; 2) spot circuits (habit patterns) in your opponent's sparring, etc. Take him through each step until he is up to sparring and thinking.

The ability to confront is such a great part of everything. Anything you can do well is because you can confront it, meet it face to face, nose to nose with a big grin. Karate has always felt easy to me, but acceptance of getting hit in the head has never been easy. My ability to confront things is up on karate and down on getting hit in the head.

Things that you cannot confront easily will have to be worked through, but if you take any one particular thing and work it out in easily handled steps, pretty soon the punch in the head (or whatever) will not seem so awful to you.

This is how I break my students into sparring. Thanks to movies and television, beginners come in with preconceived notions of karate, ranging anywhere from macho brutality to the idea that the studio is a monastic retreat for pacifistic martial monks. But, they have one thing in common; they sit back and tense up when watching somebody else spar. Here it is so close to them, violence, punching faces, kicking groins, struggling. A sparring match can be a fearsome sight to a lot of beginners. So, I start them off easy with a punch, a stance, a kick, a block, until they are comfortable with it. Then slowly, easily in a line drill, they see that attack come at them and block it. Great. That attack was handled. Then after a while, they get into slow and easy, unstructured blocks and attacks with a partner, the same thing that bugged their eyes out in the first place, sparring. The only difference is that through a series of gradient steps, they reached a point where what was once foreign to them was now recognizable and comfortable. That is what the ability to confront is about. Anything you have trouble with, work on in easy steps until it becomes comfortable.

Professor Anderson's advice transcends the art of kicking and punching. Take it with you in your training, practice your least favorite techniques. Do ten more kicks when you're already tired. But apply the lesson to the other facets of your life as well.  Confront, persevere, have indomitable spirit.

Everything in karate boils right down to the idea of confrontation. Karate no shugyo wa issho.