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