XMAS SPECIAL - The Twelve Days of Training

Click play on the video and sing along with the lyrics below!

 On the 1st day of Training my Sensei taught to me:

A martial system called Karate

On the 2nd day of Training my Sensei taught to me:
Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

 

On the 3rd day of Training my Sensei taught to me:
Three Ryukyu Villages
Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate 

 

On the 4th day of Training my Sensei gave to me:
Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 5th day of Training my Sensei gave to me:

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 6th day of Training my Sensei gave to me:
Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 7th day of Training my Sensei taught to me:
Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools
MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 8th day of Training my Sensei taught to me:
Eight Budo Masters

Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 9th day of Training my Sensei gave to me:

Nine Kobudo Weapons

Eight Budo Masters

Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 10th day of Training my Sensei taught to me:

Ten Itosu Precepts

Nine Kobudo Weapons

Eight Budo Masters

Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 11th day of Training my Sensei taught to me:

Eleven Makiwara Strikes

Ten Itosu Precepts

Nine Kobudo Weapons

Eight Budo Masters

Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

On the 12th day of Training my Sensei taught to me:

Twelve Practical Bunkai

Eleven Makiwara Strikes
Ten Itosu Precepts

Nine Kobudo Weapons

Eight Budo Masters

Seven Bushido Virtues

Six Hojo Undo Tools

MUSASHI'S FIVE RINGS!

Four Funakoshi Books

Three Ryukyu Villages

Two Training Kata

And a martial system called Karate

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Don't forget to keep your eyes out for Santa!

Ðerm
Ͼ

 

What Bushido Isn't (Part 1)

Sometimes it's important to understand what we're not striving to be, just as much as what we are trying to be.
Knowing the what we don't want to be can help guide us toward what we do want to become. Sometimes, when faced with a choice, it's easier to see what we shouldn't choose. This narrows down the options and helps us choose the right option.


In my post on The 7 Virtues of Bushido, I defined and explained the seven virtues that outline the Samurai code of bushido.
This code help us (especially those of us trained in martial arts) act with Honour and Integrity, being a good and just person.
Bushido is a basic framework of how to act and guideline for us to know what correct behaviour is.


The following is the Severn Virtues of Bushido and a brief explanation of their exact opposite (in my opinion). Understanding the antonym of each virtue should give context to the virtue itself and assist with applying Bushido to your character and actions.



Honour over Shame
Shameful acts will almost always lead to bad outcomes for everyone involved.
The antonym of Honour is shame.
Shame is basically the recognition of your dishonourable actions or intentions.
Google defines it as "A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour."
Without a sense of Honour guiding your actions, the embarrassment and humiliation of being ashamed will undoubtedly catch up with you eventually.

Shameful acts are generally motivated by selfishness. The desire to gain something or get an advantage from a situation without regard for others the possible negative outcome.

This type of dishonourable behaviour is short-sighted. While it's possible to get away with it on the odd occasion, this selfishness will inevitably be brought to light and others will realise that you would sell them out for some short-term advantage.

In the long-term, shameful acts will lead to not only be bad the others that your actions affect, but also result in lasting negative, damaging to you and the course of your life.



Benevolence over Cruelty
Those who are cruel will find that the laws of Karma can also be cruel.
The antonym of being a good person is cruelty.
Cruelty, more often than not, brings bad things and misfortune back onto you, as is described by the concept of karma.

Karma isn't some magical universal force that deals out justice to those who "have it coming".

Instead, it describes the idea that if you are cruel to others, it will begin chains of events that will eventually bring cruelty back onto you. The Same is true benevolence. This (I believe) is the reason for the old saying from the bible "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

The world around you reacts to your actions, both in how other people react to you and in circumstances in general. If you want good things, if you want people to be good to you and you want good things to happen to you, then you need to be good and treat people well.

Of course this doesn't mean that good people only bring good onto themselves and bad people only bring the bad.
People seem to think that if something bad happens, then they must have done something to deserve it.

That's an overly simplistic view and isn't not always so.
Karma doesn't make things 'fair', it basically means that you reap what you sow.



Karma

If you make benevolent choices, the probability of good things happening will increase.
If you make cruel choices, the probability of bad things happening will increase.



Rectitude over Corruption
A true warrior with integrity in his heart has an incorruptible spirit.
The antonym of justice and truth is corruption.
A person who is trained with martial skills has a responsibility to uphold the truth and stand for what is right!
Corruption, for lack of a better term, is weakness. It's when you see the right thing to do, know that you should do it, but instead you let fear or selfish desires guide your actions.

We all know corruption at it's worst. We think of corruption as 'selling out', for example, when politicians accept bribes or 'kickbacks' for allowing large corporations to carryout their agenda when it's against the wishes and even harmful to the people that the politician should be representing.
This sort of corruption is obvious (it is probably the worst kind), but we do see corruption every day in many different ways.
It's any time you are willing to make an exception and act against what is right. This can be anything from being lazy and not doing some simple task, to putting profit or pride above other people. Any act or decision (large or small) that perpetuates injustice are a result of corruption of some kind or another.

With a strong will and a strong sense of integrity, you will recognise corruption and injustice, learn to remove it from your life, and know to never tolerate it from others around you.
Being able to recognise your own corruption (and realise to avoid it) is a big step towards being a better person. This is one of the truly difficult aspects of being a true warrior and following the code of Bushido.




Sincerity over Deception
There is nothing redeeming of deception, it's the shadow of arrogance motivated by cowardice.
The antonym of honesty is lies and deception.
A person who lacks respect for all (including themselves) will use deception to attempt to manipulate the world around them. With little regard to other people (even those they care about) these people selfishly seek advantage in all situations.

Those who deceive, believe themselves to be better than others. They think they are smarter people around them. They believe they are more deserving of whatever it is that they trying to get out of their deception.
If someone you know uses lies and deception with others, it's pretty much a guarantee that they lie and deceive you too. These people can't be trusted, this might seem obvious, but people seem to be too willing to trust others even when there's evidence to the contrary.

Deception is subject to the, above mentioned, laws of Karma. Those who deceive other, fail to realise that they only make things worse for themselves and people around them.
Cowardice and fear motivates deception, even when it seems to be coming from some other motivation.
A person will deceive in attempt to manipulate a situation out of fear of what 'might happen'.
This is basically weakness and a lack of integrity and honour.



Courage over Cowardice
To have no self-discipline is to be motivated by fear.
The antonym of courage is cowardice.
Without courage, cowardice is all that remains. Cowardice is motivated by fear. If you act out of fear you will do and say all sorts of stupid illogical things.
As many people say: "FEAR" is just an acronym for "False Evidence Appearing Real".
Fear is your mind running away with itself. It draws conclusions based on nothing but the emotions in your own head. Emotion is the opposite of logic, it has no grounding in actual reality.

When we act out of fear, we are reacting to something that doesn't exist in reality.
Cowardice is basically not having the strength to act on logic. It's letting the emotions within your head spark fear and then letting that fear take over.

In order to be strong enough to use logic over cowardice you must force yourself to do it as often as you can (as is the case with all forms of strength). Through repetition, you will 'exercise' that skill, make it stronger and a more natural part of your mindset.

 

Loyalty over Selfishness
One who is only concerned with selfish desires fails to see the big picture.
The antonym of loyalty is selfishness.
The epitome of everything that isn't the way of Bushido (at it's source) is selfishness.
When your view of the world is only on yourself, you fail to truly see other points of view. People like this are incapable of seeing what the right course of action is, as they only see what is 'best' for them. This short-sightedness can only lead to bad consequences, not only for the people they failed to care about, but also themselves.
Over time people catch onto the selfishness of others.
Eventually a selfish person goes through life without the trust of any other people. They are unable to rely on people because the people know they can't rely on them.
The truly sad thing about this is, that in some cases the selfish person fails to even realise that they have lost the trust of those around them (as a result of their own self-centred views).

Selfishness can be a cause for cruelty, corruption, deception, cowardice thoughtlessness and disdain for others. It will almost always lead to shame.
This is why the way of Bushido is rooted in selflessness.


Respect over Thoughtlessness and Disdain
In general there are two main causes for a lack of respect.
Thoughtlessness springs from a self-centred attitude of not valuing knowledge or understanding.
Thoughtlessness is action born from ignorance. It's ignorance at it's worst, when we act without thought or consideration for others or the situation, we leave ourselves vulnerable to any sort of negative repercussions.
Thoughtlessness becomes disrespect when we fail the consider the point of view of the others around us.

When people say: "I was just trying to help" it's a weak defence for thoughtlessness, it's a cop out. It's a way of saying that ignorance is ok when you have no malicious intent, it isn't ok, warriors are always mindful and always THINK first.
When we act without thought, we unintentionally insult others, get in others way or even endanger people. A warrior is smarter than this.
It's always best to use a little for thought and analyse a situation.

Disdain is arrogance at it's most rude and insulting, it's unacceptable of a true warrior.
Disdain is the intentional disrespect of others. Generally this is due to strong negative feelings toward a person (or people).
A person has disdain for others thinks they are above them, they think they're better than them for some reason. 
A true warrior doesn't act like they're superior to anyone, irrespective of how they feel about them.

It's a mistake to blindly respect people who aren't deserving of that respect, but that doesn't mean it's ok to treat people however you like.
To act with distain will only bring animosity and animosity never helps any situation, it only hinders things.
Negativity only creates negativity!
(no reasonable person truly want negativity in their life)
It's dishonest to act like you like or respect a person who is undeserving of it, but a persons dishonourable actions isn't a licence for you to be rude or disrespectful.
These is never a reason for disdainful behaviour.




Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have. J

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

Kata Focus - Kururunfa

Kururunfa is unlike most other Kata, it is very practical with only a few of the established basic kihon techniques within it. This leads many people the conclude that it is more 'advanced' than kata that have more commonly used techniques.

This kata serves as a good example that Karate wasn’t originally a 'striking art' and I believe it is a mistake to describe it as such. 

While there are some ‘striking’ techniques, they are used primarily to unbalance or distract the opponent. 

This is evident in Kururunfa, as all bunkai in this kata involve grabbing or restraining the opponent then unbalancing them, without actually striking them. 

This is the meaning of the Kata’s name, 'to restrain and suddenly destroy'. 

Many of the bunkai in Kururunfa are straight from of the Bubishi's 48 self defence techniques.

 

The techniques in Kururunfa most likely originate in Mantis style Kung Fu.

The Kata was introduced to Okinawa by Kanryo Higashionna after he learnt the techniques in the Fujian Province of China from Ru Ru Ko.

Chojun Miyagi’s student Ei’ichi Miyazato was a Master at this Kata. 

         

 

 

Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

Information Sources:
Web:
http://www.wuweidao.com/karate_kururunfa.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C5%8Dj%C5%AB-ry%C5%AB#Kaishugata
http://shitokai.com/archives/474
https://karateunderground.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/being-negative-about-kururunfa/
https://karateunderground.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/kururunfa-decoding-the-singular-hands-up-technique/

Books:
Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat by Patrick McCarthy

 

Requirements for Effective Karate Training

There are many tools, equipment and elements involved in Karate training.
Some of these things are necessary for development and some are not.

It's easy to fool ourselves into thinking it's not "proper Karate" without having certain things.
There are many things that we see as "part of Karate" but they aren't really necessary to have.
At the same time there are some things that you do need if you wish to truly train in Karate and get anywhere with it.

Today's post defines the distinctions between what is and isn't absolutely required for real and effective Karate training.


Things you do not need in order to train in Budo. We fool ourselves into thinking we need them, but we really don't.
You can train in Karate and progress in knowledge, understanding and skill without these things:

• Punching bags
• Focus mitts (or any other striking pads)
• Boards to break
• Obi (belt - of any colour)
• Do-Gi (uniform)
• Grade certificates
• A Dojo
• Upcoming event (E.g. grading day, tournament or seminar)
• Tournament medals or trophies
• Competition
• Spectators
• Fancy Japanese words and sayings
• Weird traditions that have no meaning
• Blind obedience
• Money
• Accolades of any kind
• A club, school and/or association
• Unnecessary Violence & Injuries 

Things that aren't 'required' but are of a great help. These things will undoubtedly assist in your progress and help you become better, but you can still train without them if need be:

• Hojo Undo equipment
• A Sensei
• Other students
• Kata
• Balance (in all it's forms ☯)
• Arms and legs
• Mirror and/or video camera
• Open space (enough room to train)
• Positive attitude

Things that are required for quality Budo training. Without these things, your progress or development in Karate is very difficult:

• Air
• Gravity
• Determination
• Focus
• An open mind
• Desire to be the best that you can be

The one and only absolute necessary requirement for Karate training is:

• You

Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

Historic Meeting of Karate Masters

In 1936 on the 25th of October, some of the most prominent masters of Karate (at the time) came together to discuss the future of empty handed Ryukyu Budo.
The main topic of discussion being the name of the system officially to be called "Karate". The meeting was organised by the Ryukyu Shinpo Newspaper and held in Showa Kaikan Hall in Naha, Okinawa.

The topics of discussion and the decisions made changed the course of Karate history. Things that we take for granted as part of Karate, things we quite often assume are ancient traditions were changed and/or decided upon at this meeting.

The masters in attendance were: Chomo Hanashiro, Chotoku Kyan, Choki Motobu, Chojun Miyagi, Juhatsu Kyoda, Choshin Chibana, Shinpan Shiroma, Chotei Oroku, Genwa Nakasone.

Other guests included: Koichi Sato, Zenpatsu Shimabukuro, Kitsuma Fukushima, Eizo Kita, Chosho Goeku, Gizaburo Furukawa, Sei Ando, Choshiki Ota, Kowa Matayoshi, Zensoku Yamaguchi, Tamashiro.


The following is part of the transcript from that meeting (translated into English):

Genwa Nakasone: When karate was first introduced in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, "karate" was written in Kanji as "Chinese Hand" 唐手. This name sounded exotic, and gradually accepted among people in Tokyo. However, some people thought this Kanji "Chinese Hand" was not appropriate at schools. In order to avoid the use of this Kanji, some karate dojo wrote "karate" in Hirakana からて instead of Kanji. This is an example of temporary use of the word.
In Tokyo, most karate dojo use the Kanji "Empty Hand Way" 空手道 for karate-do, although there are still a few dojo using the Kanji "Chinese Hand."
In order to develop Japanese martial arts, I think Kanji for "karate" should be "Empty Hand" instead of "Chinese Hand" and "Karate-Do" should be the standard name. What do you think?

Chomo Hanashiro: In the old days, we, Okinawan people, used to call it "Toudii" or "Tode" 唐手, not "Karate." We also called it just "Tii" or "Te." 手 It means fighting with hands and fists. 

Ota: We, too, called it "Toudii" or "Tode."

Shimabukuro: Mr. Nakasone, I hear nowadays people call "Karate-Do" for karate. Does this mean people added the word "Do" to the name "Karate" for emphasizing the importance of spiritual training like Judo and Kendo?

Nakasone: They use the word "Karate-Do" in the meaning of cultivation of the mind.

Ota: Mr. Miyagi, do you use the word "Chinese Hand" for karate?

Chojun Miyagi: Yes, I use the Kanji "Chinese Hand" 唐手 as most people do so. It has minor meaning. Those who want to learn karate from me come to my home and say "Please teach me Tii or Te."手 So I think people used to call "Tii" or "Te" for karate. I think "Karate" is good in the meaning of the word.
As Mr. Shimabukuro said, the name "Jujutsu" 柔術 was changed to "Judo" 柔道.
In China, in the old days, people called Hakuda or Baida for Chinese kungfu, Kenpo or Quanfa. Like those examples, names changes according to times. I think the name "Karate-Do" is better than just "Karate."
However, I will reserve decision on this matter, as I think we should hear other people's opinions. We had a controversy on this matter at the meeting of Okinawa Branch of Dai Nippon Butokukai. We shelved this controversial problem. In the mean time, we, members of Okinawa Branch, use the name "Karate-Do" written in Kanji as "The Way of Chinese Hand" 唐手道. The Shinkokai (karate promotion association) will be formed soon, so we would like to have a good name.

Oroku: Mr. Miyagi, did you go all the way to China for studying karate?

Chojun Miyagi:  At the beginning I had no plan to practice kungfu in China, but I found the kungfu excellent, so I leaned it.

Oroku: Have there been our own "Te" 手 here in our prefecture, Okinawa, for a long time?

Chojun Miyagi:  There have been "Te" in Okinawa. It has been improved and developed like Judo, Kendo and boxing.

Kyoda Juhatsu: I agree to Mr. Nakasone's opinion. However, I am opposed to making a formal decision right now at this meeting. Most Okinawan people still use the word "Chinese Hand" for karate, so we should listen to karate practitioners and karate researchers in Okinawa, and also we should study it thoroughly at our study group before making a decision.

Chojun Miyagi:  We do not make a decision immediately at this meeting.

Matayoshi: Please express your opinion honestly.

Chomo Hanashiro: In my old notebooks, I found using the kanji 唐手, "Empty Hand" for karate. Since August 1905, I have been using the kanji "Empty Hand" 空手 for karate, such as "Karate Kumite" 空手 組手.

Goeku: I would like to make a comment, as I have a relation with Okinawa branch of Dai Nippon Butokukai.
Karate was recognized as a fighting art by Okinawa branch of Dai Nippon Butokukai in 1933. At that time, Master Chojun Miyagi wrote karate as "Chinese Hand." We should change his writing "Chinese Hand" into "Empty Hand" at Okinawa branch if we change the Kanji into "Empty Hand." We would like to approve this change immediately and follow procedure, as we need to have approval of the headquarters of Dai Nippon Butokukai.

Ota:  Mr. Chomo Hanashiro is the first person who used the kanji "Empty Hand" 空手for karate in 1905. If something become popular in Tokyo, it will automatically become popular and common in other part of Japan.
Maybe Okinawan people do not like changing the kanji 唐手 of karate. But we would be marginalized if the word "Chinese Hand" is regarded as a local thing, while the word "Empty Hand" is regarded as a common name for karate as a Japanese fighting art. Therefore we had better use the word "Empty Hand" for karate.

Nakasone: So far the speakers are those who have been living in Okinawa for a long time. Now I would like to have a comment from Mr. Sato, the director of the School Affairs Office. He came to Okinawa recently.

Sato: I have almost no knowledge about karate, but I think the word "Empty Hand" is good, as the word "Chinese Hand" is groundless according to the researchers.

Furukawa: The kanji written as "Empty Hand" is attractive for us who came from outside Okinawa, and we regard it as an aggressive fighting art. I was disappointed when I saw the kanji "Chinese Hand" for karate.

Nakasone: This time, I would like to have a comment from Mr. Fukushima, the Lieutenant of the Regimental Headquarters.

Fukushima: The kanji "Empty Hand" for karate is appropriate. The kanji "Chinese Hand" for karate is difficult to understand for those who do not know karate.

Ota: There is no one who do not like the word "Empty Hand" for karate, but there are people who do not like the word "Chinese Hand" for karate.

Chojun Miyagi:  Well, when I visited Hawaii, Chinese people there seemed to have friendly feeling toward the word "Chinese Hand" for karate.

Shimabukuro: Here in Okinawa, we used to call "Tii" or "Te" for karate. To differentiate from it, we called "Toudii" or "Tode" for karate that was brought from China.

Nakasone: I think we have almost made clear about the name of karate. Now we would like to discuss about the promotion of karate. It is regrettable that karate is no popular in Okinawa at present. We need to find a solution to promote karate in the fields of physical education and martial arts education.

Furukawa: There are a lot of Ryu or styles in karate now. I think we have to unify them at any cost.
I hear there are small differences between Shuri style karate and Naha style karate. I think both styles should be unified and we should make Kata of Japanese Karate-do.
In the old days, we had about 200 styles of Kendo 剣道 but now they have been unified and we have the standard Kata of Japanese Kendo.
I think karate would become popular all over the country if we had the unified Kata. For example, we can newly establish ten Kata as Japanese Karate. The name of each Kata should be changed into Japanese, such as Junan-No-Kata (training kata), Kogeki-No-Kata (practical kata with a bunkai) and so on.
In this way, we can conform the name of Kata to its content. And I also think we should make karate a competitive sport, so we should study how to hold a game of karate.
We would like to make a uniform of karate and standardize contents and forms.

Chojun Miyagi:  I agree to your opinion. With regard to Kata of karate, I ever submitted the opinion with explanation to the headquarters of Dai Nippon Butokukai (national fighting arts association), when its Okinawa branch was established.
As to karate clothes, we also would like to make karate uniform soon as we often have problems.
As for terminology of karate, I think we will have to control it in the future.
I am also advocating it, and I have been making new technical words and promoting them.
Regarding Kata, I think traditional Kata should be preserved as old or classic Kata For the nationwide promotion of karate, I think we had better create new Kata. We will create both offensive and defensive Kata which are suitable for students of primary schools, high schools, universities and youth schools.
Mainly, we, the members of Shinkokai (karate promotion association), will make new Kata and promote them throughout Japan.
Now there are Physical Education Association and Okinawa Branch of Butokukai. We also have senior students of karate and those who are interested in karate. We, therefore, cooperate with them to study and promote karate.
If such organizations and experts study karate thoroughly, we can make a decision about the karate name issue and karate uniform relatively soon.
I think the old Kata should be preserved without any modification while new Kata should be invented, otherwise I am convinced that no one will be interested in karate any longer in the world in the future.

Ota:  How many karate organizations are there in Okinawa at present?

Chojun Miyagi:  There are Okinawa Branch of Dai Nippon Butokukai, Physical Education Association of Okinawa Prefecture and Physical Education Association of Shuri City.

Ota: Mr. Chibana, how many students do you have now at your karate dojo?

Choshin Chibana: I have about 40 students at my karate dojo.

Chojun Miyagi: There is an opinion insisting that there are two Ryu or styles in karate, namely, Shorin-Ryu and Shorei-Ryu. I think such an opinion is wrong or false, as there is no evidence at all. However, if we have two styles in karate, we can categorize them by their teaching methods.
In one style, they do not even differentiate between Fundamental Kata (training Kata such as Sanchin, and Naihanchi) and Kaishu Kata  (practical kata).
They teach karate unsystematically and unmethodically. In the other style, they differentiate between Fundamental Kata and Kaishu Kata clearly. They teach karate systematically and methodically.
My teacher (Kanryo Higashionna) taught me karate in the way of the latter.

Ota: Karate masters we know did not go to China to study karate.

Chojun Miyagi:  I have heard that Master Matsumura went to China and practiced karate there.

Choshin Chibana: Our teacher taught us Naifanchi as a Fundamental Kata.

Ota: Mr. Motobu, who taught you karate?

Choki Motobu: I learned karate from Master Itosu, Master Sakuma and Master Matsumora of Tomari village.

Ota: I thought you created your own karate on your own without learning from karate masters.

Choki Motobu: [laughing] No, I did not create my karate on my own.

Nakasone: Now we know every karate masters have agreed to the plan to establish a karate promotion association.
As Mr. Furukawa told us the necessity of founding a karate promotion association, we think the other people also seem to agree to this plan.
So we would like the members to start the preparation for establishing it.



Front row from left: Chotoku Kyan, Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro and Chojin Miyagi.
Back row from left: Shinpan Shiroma, Choryo Maeshiro, Chosin Chibana and Genwa Nakasone

Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

Information source:
"Karatedo Dai Hokan" written by Toyama Kanken.

Kata Focus - Tensho

Tensho was developed by Chojun Miyagi, from the kata Sanchin, as a softer version of the Kata.

Miyagi borrowed techniques from older Chinese training exercise called Rokkishu. Because of this, Sanchin is considered the “Go” (hard) core Kata of Goju and Tensho is considered the “Ju” (soft) core Kata of Goju. 

The meaning of the Kata’s name (Rotating Palms) come from its contrast to Sanchin. Where Sanchin mostly uses straight direct techniques, Tensho is more flowing with rounded, open handed techniques. 

Many of the things gained from practice of this Kata are the same as Sanchin: core strength, power generation, correct posture, stability, correct breathing and timing but Tensho also involves more flowing complex techniques, better understanding of muscle control between relaxed and tensed, higher dexterity and better understanding of Kihon.

This Kata requires better understanding of your own body than Sanchin does.

Tensho is trickier than it first appears, as there is much more to it than moving your arms around. It employs tension and relaxation at the same time. It is important to understand your body enough to know what should be tensed and relaxed and when.

Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ