Karate Comedy

First, laugh at yourself. Otherwise, someone else will.

Kagawa Sensei

I've added these video clips because they show the sheer skill and ability of Sensei Kagawa, along with his teaching and instructing ability. I really believe that Kagawa Sensei is the best karateka in the world currently, bar none.

Sensei-ni-rei

Kanku Dai

In our recent, advanced kata, sessions we've been practicing kanku dai. My instructor, sensei Mike (5th dan IJKA) explained that there is no half step when performing the first keage, but there is when performing the last keage. I took issue with this saying it was incorrect. I want to apologise for this course of action as it is inappropriate to make such comments to a senior instructor. My instructors way of doing the kata is as follows:-



My understanding of the kata is more in line with the common accepted norm of moving the back foot on the first keage and keeping the back foot still on the last keage. As per:-



I then discovered this video with Osaka Sensei performing kanku dai under the watchful gaze of Master Nakayama. Surely, with the half step for the first keage and then no step for the last keage, with sensei Nakayama watching, is correct:-



Along with Sensei Kato and Sensei Kagawa doing the the same:-





I then came across this video of who i believe to be K. Nakaya. In this video, there is a step in both keages:-



There is no doubt that the common standard is half step only on the first kick. However, think about this for a second if you will? This doesn't make sense. From the point of view of generating speed and power, you must pull your foot in when executing the keage from kokutsu dachi. If you do not, then your kick is much slower. However, from a training point of view it is perfect to make your student kick from kokutsu dachi. He must ensure his back stance is sufficiently weighted towards the back leg in order to kick smoothly. Was this Master Nakayama's thinking when writing his 'best karate' series?

Sochin continued...

From my instructor, Kato Sensei (9th Dan IJKA).

Osu

Clay Pigeon Shooting, Apples and Karate

On my post regarding Sensei Kagawa's course I mentioned clay pigeon shooting and apples. I then, rather inconsiderately, forgot to explain what I meant by such nonsense. 'What has our feathered friend or a certain stalked fruit got to do with the magnificent and glorious world of Shotokan karate!' Patience, I know you are desperate for the answers, and so I shall refute from withholding the answer for any longer. I shall now, only for you, reveal the mystical and ancient wisdom of the Orient.



To shoot a pigeon of the clay variety would be incredibly easy. You simply wait for it to land on the ground and then you would blast it to bits! Of course, although easy, this is unrealistic and would not aid you should you find yourself in a desperate situation where you must, with a rifle, defend yourself against the imminent attack of a particularly vicious pigeon which is after your hard earned chips, presumably. Now, although the analogy has some flaws the basic principle holds. To hit a clay pigeon, as you would a real one, you must try and strike the filthy animal down whilst it is flying through the air. It is a slippery customer and never holds still for too long. Why train with your opponent still and your technique inflexible. You must train to adjust, react and anticipate your opponents movements. He will not be in the place he was when you started your attack!



'I get the pigeon analogy you good looking and extremely gifted black belt but I ask you, what have I got to fear from a juicy apple.' Apples are very acidic and will rot your teeth if you eat too many, no matter what grade you are, so always approach with care. Of course, Sensei Kagawa is not all that interested in your dentistry, unless he plans to make some room in your oral orifice, 'so why would he discuss apples during a karate course' I hear you ask. Think of an apple, any apple...? Got it? Ok, what colour is it? Does it have a sticker? A stalk? Is it on a table or suspended in mid-air? What colour is the background for this apple? Is it half eaten? Half rotten? My apple will not, ever, be the same as your apple. Apart from being twice as big, my apple could be so different from yours even though they are both apples. One persons karate will not be the same as another persons. Certain things must be in order for it to be shotokan karate but they will differ, from one individual to another. Accept it and move on. Don't try and make your students a carbon copy of yourself.

St Katowski???

There is only one man in the uk, no make that the world, who would open a dojo in a church!

Osu Sensei!

Whitchurch dojo

Sochin

I will soon be travelling to Surrey to compete in the Shobu Ippon Shotokan International open. My chosen kata, if I get that far, will be Sochin. It is an imensely powerful, strong and intense conditioning kata. It makes the performer feel rooted, like an imovable object, as they face their opponants with devestating Tetsui strikes and hidden throws. Kagawa Sensei is an expert of this kata and Tsuchiya Sensei shows the modern strength of karate (look how fast his punches are!) I think I'm going to have to get in some serious practice before the competition next month.

Demonstrations

Along with six members of Haxby Karate club, I have recently performed two demonstrations in primary schools. Doing demonstrations, and choreographing the moves, has given me an interesting insight into karate and it's promotion. I was reading recently how Master Funakoshi popularised karate in Japan. The main way he did this was through the medium of demonstrations. Unlike many other martial arts, karate demos are spectacular, dramatic and exciting. I believe this is why shotokan karate is so popular today around the world. However, a demonstration is never real karate, it is always adapted in order to entertain.

For my demonstrations, and those performed by the other club members of Haxby Karate, the opponent is entirely cooperative in everything you do. He adjusts his stances, shifts his weight, alters his attack and allows himself to be hit when necessery. Watch the ashi barai in sensei Kanazawa's video at 1:33 and notice how the uke is already falling as Sensei sweeps his foot. (Incidentally, I've chosen that video because I think it is the most remarkable demo video I've ever seen and my humble reproduction of it recently is the best I could do with my limited talent). I do believe, however, that even if it isn't real karate, it plays an important role in the development of the art. You can show, in demonstration, the budo of shotokan in a way that competition does not. That is why it is superior as a form of promotion and why Master Funakoshi used it as opposed to competition, in my opinion, to spread Shotokan Karate across Japan.

Blood, Sweat and pain

Training with Sensei Kagawa is one of the highlights of my year. This year, the course was in the beautiful city of Dublin, the location of the JKS GB & Ireland hombu dojo under Sensei Scott Langley (5th Dan IJKA).




The course was well attended over the weekend although not many trained every session. I must confess that I found the training, physically, very difficult. I consider myself to be in reasonable shape but I'm reconsidering this after this weekend. Sensei Kagawa was, as ever, precise in his training and instructing. He demands the highest standard in technical skill and no detail is too fine in this regard. Everything from heel point turn when in kokutsu dachi moving to zenkutsu dachi and hikite and hikiash principles for punching and kicking. The information he communicated over the weekend was vast and it will take me time to organise it in my mind and work on it in training. The assistant instructors were also excellent. Sensei Alan Campbell and Sensei Scott langley were keen to talk about the beginning of the technique. Most students focus on the end product, the block or the kick, and forget about what comes before. 'The difference,' explained Sensei Scott 'between a white belt who's been training for four months and a fifth dan who has been training for twenty five years is not in the execution of the punch but in the preparation.'


The senior instructor for Ireland, whose name escapes me now, concentrated on kumite and looking at the 'forgotten step'. Everyone considers kumite to follow the familiar pattern of:

Gohon kumite - Ippon Kumite - Jiyuu Ippon kumite - jiyuu Kumite.

What about the bit between Ippon Kumite and Jiyuu Ippon kumite. The instructor gave the name but I cannot remember the terminology. However, I certainly remember the application. This form of kumite requires the attacker to blog the counter and then attack with his own technique. This requires exceptional speed and distance control and is, in my opinion, better than jiyuu kumite at speeding up reaction speeds.

The thing that strikes me most about training with Sensei Kagawa is the aura, gravitas, or whatever else you would call it, that emanates and pulsates around such a physically small individual. I suppose that this charisma is why he is considered, by some, to be the best in the world right now. What gives him this charm is his exceptional skill and ability. It was expensive, incredibly difficult and physically challenging. I can't wait for next year!

greetings from dublin

i've just finished my first training session with sensei Kagawa. It was such a demanding session. We began by running around the hall for about 15mins, doing around 300 sit-ups (no really, 300 press-ups, endless amounts of squats and some more running around. I'm going to do a full report when i get back, with pictures, but the key points about todays session were clay pigeons and apples.

Armchair experts

This video by Andre is exceptionally good. Andre had the fantastic opportunity of spending a lot of personal time with Sensei Asai and so he understands, maybe better than anyone, the principles behind asai-ryu karate.

The posts about the video on youtube are so typical of the kind of comments you read on most martial art videos. They are usually putting down an individual or an art simply because it's not their art. Why have this attitude in the first place. I respect all martial arts and if i think an individual practitioner of that art isn't very good, I am not going to comment on it. The main reason is that I don't understand that art so how do I know if it's good or not. Likewise, only students in my club, or students in a class if I'm being asked to teach, will receive my comments on their abilities and skill and even this will be constructive. As for comments regarding what will and will not work on the streets, all martial arts will work because they teach techniques that are designed to hurt the other person. The only issue, in terms of how effective they are, is how good is the individual practitioner?

Unsu

This is such a difficult kata but these guys are amazing. Sensei Kagawa's training really seems to work. Off to dublin to train with Kagawa Sensei so watching some of these videos has got me really excited.