Tekki - Part 1

Tekki - Iron Horse. Although there are several components to the kata, I am going to discuss them as one single kata. It is very evident that they have all come from the same kata. Although the moves of the kata are different, the essential focus and spirit of all three are the same. The only stance in every kata is kiba dachi (side stance) and the only direction in the kata is side-to-side.

I find this to be very strange. I cannot find any other kata in any other martial art that is anything like this unless it is also a descendant of the original tekki kata called Naihanchi (a rough translation is internal divide/conflict). The Tekki kata is likely to have come from China and was probably introduced as a karate kata by Matsumura. Matsumura taught Itosu the kata and it is from Itosu that we have the three elements. Did Itosu create another two elements from the initial kata or did he break a single kata down into three elements. It's hard to say and there are arguments on both sides.

Many karate instructors insisted on their students practicing the Naihanchi (Tekki) kata over and over again. Funakoshi himself explains how his instructor, Azato, made him perform the kata over and over again for an entire year. Azato taught Funakoshi nothing during this time but just watched him perform the same kata again and again.

There is something very important about Tekki Shodan in particular and I intend to do some research on the issue and I will post my findings. Check back soon for more.

JKS open 2008

What a great tournament! The JKS open was held in Nottingham and was well attended by the JKS and other associations such as ourselves. The standard was very high and it was difficult to progress through the rounds. I was in the 19 years and over 3rd kyu to dan grade category. It wasn't easy. The guys I were against were organised, disciplined and good. A wobble on Heian Yondan cost me the kata, I think, and a very fast opponent knocked me out of the second round of the kumite. However, I felt far more comfortable then I did in Italy and I was more relaxed during the kumite.

I think being relaxed is the most important thing about competition. If you are, in anyway, tense then your performance will suffer. I feel that competition is the area of karate that will offer me the greatest challenge, particularly after I pass my Shodan. There are times when I am pushed during training but nine times out of ten I am in a comfort zone that I can only escape from with my own will and determination. In competition, so far, I have been totally out classed and this feeling I like. It reminds me of when I first restarted my training and everyone was so much better than me. In that situation, you have to try hard if you want to improve, if you want to progress past the mediocre. And so, for this reason, I will hopefully be doing more competitions in the future.

I'm back!!!

After a long absence, around five months, I've decided to kick start my blog again and try and write more regularly. So keep checking back for updates.