Karate, Kids, Legitimacy, and Dojo Language

Before moving to Arizona, our Soke taught his son and daughter karate at the University of Wyoming, and both are now legitimate black belts. His daughter even had to use her training in self-defense from her Ex, who is twice her height and mass. He ended up calling the Cheyenne police for help after Soke's daughter beat him up. 

 Over the years, Soke taught more than a thousand martial artists at four major universities, Gold's Gym, at the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu in Laramie, and later in Mesa. He is a member of the black belt hall of fame, a Who's Who in Martial Arts Legend, and certified in several martial arts.

Soke suggests to watch out for MMA - a dead giveaway since most lack legitimacy. MMA does NOT have values of traditional karate or any traditional budo, and anyone can claim to be yudansha (black belt) or instructor (sensei) in MMA, even though there only experience may be wrestling in high school. Remember, any one can walk into a martial arts supply house and buy a black belt for $5 or $10. 

Too bad parents have no idea what martial arts are? But this isn't surprising, as many North American martial artists don't know either. Soke's own personal instructor, told him over the years that he receives requests from questionable martial arts instructors asking to join  his Japanese/Okinawan/US association. At least 85% of the people who apply have NO legitimacy. 

For kids training in martial arts, their parents need to be aware of  growth plates; and fractures. These  can result in serious problems later in life. In particular, joint locks should not be applied to kids. Not so long ago, the author witnessed a kids class at the Chandler community center training in aikido. Aikido is all about joint manipulation! 

When kids are taught basic karate punches known as tsuki, they have to be closely monitored, to keep their wrists straight, otherwise, they can easily fracture their wrists just by punching a bag. PARENTS - you need to be aware of this!!!

So, the next time you check your dojo or instructor, do a search on the internet of his/hers dojo or of his/hers name. Next, look inside the dojo for a dojo license (this should be provided by a legitimate international martial arts association), and look for copies of his/hers diplomas. This is where it gets a challenging, knowing what is a legitimate and what is not. Take a few notes and do some internet research, and look to see if the diploma includes mostly kanji. For example, some years ago, a German martial arts association gave our Soke a diploma for the rank of judan (10th dan) in jujutsu. He now keeps the diploma to show students what phony diplomas look like.

Soke Hausel, the world head of Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai has been training and teaching martial arts for his entire life. He is not only a hall-of-fame martial arts instructor and Who's Who martial arts Legend, but also a hall-of-fame geoscientist. 

Prior to moving to Arizona and opening the Hombu dojo in Mesa in 2006, Soke taught classes, clinics, and seminars in karate, kobudo, self-defense, women's self-defense, samurai arts and more at the University of Wyoming for more than three decades, along with researching mineral deposits. In 2013, he was awarded one of the highest honors for a westerner in martial arts - that of Meijin Wajutsu which translates as martial arts genius.

I like my students to learn karate, kobudo and other traditional martial arts as well as learn as much as possible about the culture related to Okinawa and Japanese martial arts including some Japanese and Okinawan dialect. Here are some of the terms I expect them to learn over time.

Here's some Japanese used in karate.

Opening-Closing Classes

Kiotsuke (or) Seiretsu -      Line up (or) Attention
Otaga ni rei -                      Bow to one another
Shomen ni rei                     Bow to Shomen (front)
Soke/Sensei ni rei              Bow to Head Founder/or Instructor
Mokuso -                           Meditate
Domo arigoto                    Thank you very much

Exercises

Applications                   Bunkai
Basics                             Kihon

Body hardening              Shitai Kori
Calisthenic exercises      Undo

Forms                             Kata
Preparation exercises     Junbi undo
Throwing Technique     Nagewaza

Counting

Ichi, Ni, San, Shi (Yo or Yon), Go Roku, Shichi (Nanna), Hachi, Ku, Ju (counting to 10)
10 to 19 - add Ju as a prefix. Thus 11 is Juichi.
Time - add ji as suffix thus one o'clock is Ichiji.

Dojo Kun

Karate ni sente nashi                                 There is no first attack in karate
Makoto no michi o mamoru koto              Have devotion in seeking a true way 
Reigi o omonjiru koto                               Always act with good manners.
Doryoku no seishin o yashinau koto         Cultivate a spirit of effort and perseverance.
Kekki no yu o imashimeru koto                Refrain from violent and uncontrolled behavior 
Jinkaku kansei ni tsutomeru koto              Work to perfect your character.

Dachi (Stances)

Back Stance - Kokutsu-dachi
Cat Stance - Neko-ashi-dachi
Crane Stance -Genkanku (Tsuri) dachi
Cross-leg - Kosa (juji) dachi
Front Stance - Zenkutsu dachi
Fighting Posture - Kamae (kumite) dachi
Horse Riding - Kiba Dachi
Heels Together - Musubi Dachi
Immovable Stance - Sochin (Fudo) dachi
Kneeling Stance - Iaigoshi dachi
Left Stance - Hidari dachi
Natural Stance - Soto hachiji (yoi) dachi
Pigeon-Toe Stance - Hachi (hangetsu) dachi
Right Stance - Migi Dachi
Side Stance - Yoko dachi
Sumo Stance - Shiko Dachi
T-stance - Tobuku dachi

Uke (Blocks)

Cross Block - Juji-uke
Downward block - Gedan Barai

Elbow block - Hiji uke
Grasping block  Torite-uke
High block - Jodan uke
Inward block - Uchi uke
Leg block - Ashi uke
Open (knife) hand - Shuto-uke
Outward block - Ude (Shoto)-uke
Palm Heel block - Teisho-uke
Rising block - Age uke
Sweep block - Hari uke

Keri (Kicks)

Back Kick - Ushiro-geri
Back Roundhouse - Ura-maewashi-geri
Crescent Kick - Kozumi-geri
Front Kick - Mae-geri
Flying Front Kick - Mae-tobi-geri
Flying Side Kick - Yoko-tobi-geri
Knee Kick - Hiza-geri
Leg Sweep - Ashi-barai
Rising Roundhouse - Age-Maewashi-geri
Roundhouse - Maewashi-geri
Side Kick - Yoko-geri
Snap Kick - Keage-geri
Thrust Kick - Kekomi-geri
Toe Kick - Tsumasaki-geri

Uchi (Strikes)

Augmented Punch - Morote-zuki (tsuki)
Backfist - Uraken (Reiken)-uchi
Chicken Hand Strike - Toride-uchi
Double (Over-Under) - Yama uchi
Elbow Strike - Hiji (empi)-uchi
Finger or Thumb - Yubi-uchi
Hammer-fist Strike - Kentsui-uchi
High Punch - Jodan-zuki
Hook Punch - Kaku-zuki
Knife-Hand Strike - Shuto-uchi
Low-Level Punch - Gedan-zuki
Middle Level Punch - Chudan-zuki
One-Knuckle Punch - Ippon Ken-uchi
Opposite Hand - Gyaku-zuki
Palm-Heel Punch - Teisho-uchi
Ridge Hand Strike - Haito-uchi
Rising Punch - Age-uchi
Rising Elbow Strike - Age-Hiji (Empi)-uchi
Spear Hand Strike - Nukite-uchi
Vital Point Strike - Atemi-uchi 

Martial Arts Titles

Sensei - instructor
Shihan - Master Instructor
Soke - Grandmaster, president
Sokeshodai - First generation grandmaster.
Soke-Dai - Vice President
Kyoju - Professor.
Hanshi - refers to a senior expert considered as "teacher of teachers." 
Kyoshi - refers to an advanced teacher. 
Renshi - "one who has mastered himself."
Senpai - senior student
Yudansha - black belt members
Mudansha - lower rank (kyu) members
Okuden - refers to entrance to the secret ways 

Kumite (Sparring)

Ippon kumite - one step sparring, typically used for self defense drills 
Sanbon kumite - three step sparring 
Kiso kumite - structured sparring drawn from a kata (bunkai). 
Jiyu kumite - free sparring 
Randori- Free sparring (Judo) 
Kachinuki - old style contests

Greetings/Responses

Hai - affirmation, as in 'yes' (should be used whenever you are corrected by your sensei)
iie - no
Domo - thanks
Gomen nasai - Excuse me
Onegiashimasu - Please
Wakarimasu - I understand.
Wakarimasen - I don't understand
Sumimasen - apology, sorry

Uniform

Obi - belt
Gi - training uniform
Karategi - karate uniform
Judogi - judo uniform
Hakama - traditional pleated and bloused pant

Dojo

Kamiza- Front of dojo. 
Shomen - front, same as the Kamaza
Kamidana - shelf or shrine at the Shomen.
Shimoza - back of dojo.
Joseki - right side of dojo as one enters - where senior students line up.
Shimoseki - Left side of dojo.
No-Geiko - training outside in the elements.
Tatami - mats

Kobudo

Hojojutsu - the art using a hojo cord (rope).
Tanto - dagger
Tonfa - rice grinder handles ? or baton with handle
Ryu fundo kusari - weighted chain
Manrikigusari - chain
Tessen - war fan
Kusarigama - kama with weighted chain
Naginata - Halberd
Yari - spear
Bo - wooden staff (usually 6 feet in length).
Hanbo - half staff (3 foot in length).
Tsue - Cane 
Tanbo - short stick
Kuboton (hashi) - hand stick
Kioga - collaspable baton
Eku (Iku) - oar
Tekko - knuckle duster
Surushin - weighted chain
Katana - samurai sword
Kama - sickle
Nunchuku - nunchuks
Sai - three pronged knife
Kumade (Ra-ke) - rake
Kuwa - hoe
Sojutsu - methods of the spear
Kagi - Car Keys

Jujutsu

Nihon jujutsu - Japanese jujutsu
Tori - the practitioner who carries out the throw or technique
Uke - (Partner) the practitioner who accepts the throw or technique
Atemi - strike
Koryu jujutsu (ancient jujutsu techniques)
Edo Jujutsu (old style jujutsu)
Gendai jujutsu - modern jujutsu
Goshin jujutsu - non-traditional jujutsu lacking in lineage
Judoka- practitioner of judo (term usually reserved for those who are 4th dan or higher).
Benkyo-ka - "scholar"
kenkyu-sei - "trainees", practitioners below the rank of 4th dan
Kodokan - place for teaching the way (Institute of Judo in Tokyo)
Nage-waza - throwing techniques, 
Ne-waza - groundwork 
Kansetsu-waza - Joint locks
Te-waza - hand techniques. 
Koshi-waza - hip techniques,
Ashi-waza - foot and leg techniques.
Mae-sutemi-waza - sacrifice techniques in which the thrower falls forward. 
Ushiro-sutemi-waza - sacrifice techniques in which the thrower falls directly backwards. 
Yoko-sutemi-waza - Sacrifice techniques in which the thrower falls onto his side. 
Kansetsu-waza - Joint locks.
Shime-waza - strangle or chokeholds.
Osaekomi-waza - pinning techniques
Ukemi-waza - falling techniques 

Martial Arts Styles

Hozoin Ryu - Japanese spear system
Karate - art of the empty hand
Kobudo - art of ancient weapons
Shorin-Ryu - Pine forest style or Shaolin style of karate
Jujutsu - art of softness or way of yielding.
Judo - translates as gentle way.
Yarijutsu - spear fighting system
Sojutsu - spear martial art
Iaido - the way of sword
Kenjutsu - sword applications
Budo - martial arts ways
Bujutsu - martial arts fighting methods
Bushido - the way of the warrior
Toide - ancient Okinawan art of grappling, joint manipulation and joint separation

Traditional Okinawa Karate

There are differences between traditional Okinawa karate and traditional Japanese karate. So many differences that one could easily write a book about these - but to the uninitiated, they subtle differences are usually missed until they have years of experience in a variety of martial arts. Differences are present in kata, how a sensei (martial arts instructors) treats kata and how students (deshi) are treated by Okinawa sensei vs. Japanese sensei.

Japanese sensei focus on sport; thus kata in Japanese dojo must be done with exact and precise stances. Punches and kicks must be exact and there are no possibilities of variation in movement in any kata. To me, it's more like being a grunt in the Army. In Japanese schools, students are constantly stopped, held in position at certain points of kata while the sensei walks from student to student making minor adjustments. The 'ma' or timing and distancing are all important as focus is on winning kumite (sparring) contests and performing kata in front of an audience at competitions.

In Traditional Okinawa karate schools the focus on 'imi' or the meaning of the kata - something ignored by Japanese sensei. There is no concern for winning - contests are not part of traditional Okinawa karate and instructors recognize people have physical differences and abilities and try to concentrate on developing power and focus for self-defense training for each person. The meaning of kata is very important in Okinawa karate rather than the execution of the kata. In Okinawa karate, the student is taught what every move in every kata is used for and each kata is broken down into  self-defense applications that are practiced in insure the student can defend themselves. 

Just yesterday, I received a phone call from a representative from a coalition of martial artists who wanted me to join in competitions. I tried to explain to this person that traditional karate practitioners do not take part in competition as we consider karate to be a dangerous weapon and our focus is on self-defense and self-improvement. Apparently, he had never heard of this before - and said, "but I thought you were Shorin -Rye-U?" I simply said that most Shorin-Ryu (pronounced Roo) martial artists in particular, do not compete. Apparently this was too much for him to understand. But, we can not blame him, the blame falls on his sensei for not providing him with a history lesson.

Over the years, I trained in a variety of Japanese and Okinawan karate dojo, so here is my perspective about these two different systems of karate. While you read the following, keep in mind that karate is a unique martial art that evolved on Okinawa for hundreds of years and Okinawa is part of an island chain that lies between China and Japan that was an independent monarchy until 1879. Karate, an indigenous Okinawan art, was not introduced to Japan until 1917. It was later introduced to Hawaii in the 1930s and later to the US (Phoenix, Arizona) in 1946. Prior to its introduction on Japan, karate was not practiced as sport.

It is important to understand the circumstances of how karate was introduced on Japan. Karate was a secret for centuries, and then it was introduced in the Okinawa public school system by Anko Itosu in 1901, karate was unknown to the rest of the world, and it still took until the 1960s before people in the US began to recognize that karate was different than judo. When karate was introduced to Japan by Okinawan Gichin Funakoshi in 1919, and then again in 1922, it was touch and go as to whether or not it would ever be accepted by the Japanese. The Japanese thought of Okinawan people as country bumpkins - in other words - peasants with little social grace. Gichin Funakoshi had to modify karate, rename all of the kata giving them Japanese names; and, most importantly, establish a positive working relationship with Japanese judo founder, Dr. Jigoro Kano, before the Japanese would accept karate. The Japanese were so nationalistic that individuals like Mas Oyama had to change their names to receive recognition. Oyama was Korean by birth, and created a Japanese style of karate known as kyokushin in 1957. This type of backwards thinking by the Japanese still pervades, and is one of the primary reasons Japanese karate took a different path than Okinawan karate.

Last year, my wife's nephew was working in Hawaii transporting medical patients from their homes to various medical facilities, when he picked up one old Japanese man from his home (Hawaii has a very large community of Japanese and Okinawans). While driving him to a medical facility through a neighborhood known for high crime, Jeremy tried to strike up a conversation without realizing there was still strong nationalism with many Japanese people. Jeremy said, “Hey, you look like my Okinawan friend …” The Japanese man responded, “What a terrible thing to say that I look like an Okinawan” and demanded Jeremy stop the vehicle so he could get out and walk.

Most are unaware that there is a difference between Okinawa and Japanese karate, but there is a significant difference in how kata is practiced and perceived and the philosophical purpose of karate. In a Japanese dojo, kata must be exact with no room for variance in stances, there are distinct breaks in timing known as ma, and slow techniques are mixed with fast techniques. In Japanese dojo, students are constantly held in stances during both kihon (basics) and kata practice while the sensei walks around from student to student making minor adjustments to the position of feet, shoulders, knees, wrists, weight distribution, etc. There is also considerable emphasis on deep stances. 

I still remember an evening as a teenager too young to have a driver's licensee. On this particular evening, our karate class squatted, duck-walked around the dojo, did dozens of squat-kicks, squatted in kiba dachi (horse riding stance) with a partner standing on our thighs while placing their hands on our shoulders to add weight to our squats. We did a few hundred kicks - it was a tremendously hard workout for a young teenager with no previous experience in formal exercise prior to joining the Black Eagle Federation Karate dojo. Eight years later, I found basic training in the US Army to be a breeze after karate training. 

As the class ended, I had to walk home from the dojo through Fairmont Park (in 1964, the park was an unfriendly place often populated by older teens we called greasers who looked to harass younger teens. This was a much different time when bullying was condoned and practiced with impunity). The distance to my home was 1.5 miles - not much of a distance today, but for a 14 year old, it was a challenge. I had no strength left in my legs and had to walk stiff-legged all the way home. Periodically I would relax a knee and would collapse. Then I had to crawl to a tree, telephone pole, park bench, etc, to pull myself upright. I don’t remember being harassed while walking through the park on this night probably because the greasers felt pity on a handicapped teen.

At the time, I was training in kyokushin Japanese karate. Much emphasis was placed on kiba dachi as a fighting stance along with zenkutsu dachi (front stance). These were found in our kata. When I later trained in Wado-Ryu karate (Japanese) at the University of Utah, we focused on neko-ashi dachi (cat stance). In Shotokan karate (Japanese), the emphasis was on front and back stances (kokutsu dachi) with emphasis on deep and perfect stances. In Kempo Karate (Japanese) the emphasis was on kiba dachi.

Kata were performed more like a military drill team in the Japanese schools and were designed for tournaments and not practical. All of the Japanese systems taught kata with no explanation of application (known as bunkai). Thus, controversy developed as to the use and purpose of kata. In other words, there was no emphasis on bunkai. Sometimes (in Japanese dojo) we practiced kata with one person performing the kata surrounded by three to four attackers along embussen lines. The attackers were required to kick or punch as we moved from one technique to the next in the kata - it didn’t seem realistic and all techniques were designed for sparring.

Periodically my sensei in kyokushin karate taught some general self-defense, but the applications were never linked to kata. Much time was spent on sparring due to the sport karate emphasis and overall lack of understanding of kata. It didn't take long, but I was bored as we were not learning anything new. All of my Japanese sensei didn’t have much background in self-defense and none had any background in kobudo. Japanese karate focused on winning kumite (sparring) contests and all kata were performed for judges. In the final analysis, these Japanese martial arts were military like with little room for interpretation and an objective to win trophies. They were in direct conflict to philosophies of well-known Okinawan practitioners. Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, stated, “The purpose of Karate lies not in victory of defeat, but in the perfection of its participants”. Karate was all about improving the practitioner, not winning a competition. 

In Okinawan karate schools, kata were taught for muscle memory, balance, power and for self-defense. Bunkai (pragmatic self-defense) was the focus of kata and used to practice defending all kinds of attacks including grabs and also taught to help us develop power, focus, and an understanding of pressure points. This is the reason why those who study Japanese karate constantly ponder at the purpose of kata, but those who study traditional Okinawa karate continually practice kata along with self-defense and understand the importance of kata. In Japanese karate, kata has little purpose other than to please an audience. In Okinawa karate, kata and karate were considered to be the same, as stated by the late Grandmaster Shoshin Nagame.

In the past, there were no contests in traditional Okinawan karate systems, although through time, some Okinawan schools began to compete in the 20th century; but most kept in mind the purpose of bunkai (kata applications). Remember Mr Miyagi in the Karate Kid movie, he epitomized the purpose of Okinawa Karate.

The self-defense applications for each move in kata is very important in Okinawa karate rather than the execution of kata. Each kata is broken down into a group of self-defense applications that are practiced individually to insure the student can defend themselves. Individual applications can be referred to as mini-kata. These are sometimes referred to as Shinken Shobu no Kata also known as Kime no Kata.

Another difference in Okinawa verses Japanese karate is the execution of stances (dachi). In Okinawa karate, students start learning deep stances to build muscle strength, but as the student gains expertise, higher and more natural stances replace deeper stances. For example, zenkutsu-dachi (front stance) can be half the length of the Japanese stance. The Okinawan karate stances are meant to be practical for self-defense by being natural and quick. Whereas the deep Japanese stance is designed for competition.

In the past, Okinawa martial artists did not trust Japanese and would not teach the Japanese bunkai. Having a mindset that the Okinawan people were inferior, the Japanese martial artists never sought bunkai and instead borrowed some from well-established Japanese martial arts such as jujutsu, judo, aikido, etc.

Kime is very important in traditional karate - Kime is about power and focus in strikes and blocks. Every block should be as powerful as every strike. I remember attending clinics in the past when I had another soke send his students to train with me so they could experience power in blocks. These power blocks were taught to me in kyokushin kai karate. In addition to kime, all strikes and blocks need chinkuchi!

Chinkuchi is an Okinawa term that applies to explosive full-body power. Both Dai-Soke Sacharnoski and Bruce Lee have demonstrated this using a one-inch punch. Chinkuchi is an Okinawan technique not practiced in Japanese karate. It is similar to kime, which is a focused strike, but includes the entire body in striking and blocking - hip rotation, focused punch or block, last-second tensing of all muscles and joints followed by a quick relaxation of the muscles.

The philosophy of how to use kicks are different in Japanese vs Okinawa dojo. The Japanese karate schools kick low, medium and high (similar to taekwondo). High kicks are good in competition; however, Okinawan kicks are designed for knees, kidneys, stomach, groin, ribs - in other words - below the neck and mostly below the belt. In addition, the Okinawan kicks employ many kekomi geri (thrust kicks) as well as toe kicks. In Japanese karate, tsumasaki geri are unknown and never employed. To develop a good toe kick, one must train the big toe constantly to build toe strength. There are stories about Goju-Ryu’s Chojun Miyagi who periodically demonstrated his powerful tsumasaki geri by penetrating gas cans with his big toe! One of our martial art students, Dr. Bergkamp, traveled to Okinawa a few years ago on tour of some dojo and returned to Arizona with a very impressive bruise on his stomach outlining one big Okinawan toe with a couple of smaller toes. 

One must wonder how practical such kicks are in our culture. Unless you are a beach bum, it is unlikely you would ever use such a kick. So in our dojo, we will introduce this kick to our students, but it will not be a main focus until we all give up our shoes. 

Kobudo is a another example of differences between Japanese and Okinawan dojo. In all of the Japanese dojo I trained in, no weapons were introduced or practiced. This part of karate is completely ignored by Japanese karate schools. However, kobudo is a major part of Okinawa karate. It has been said that “Karate and Kobudo can be likened to the tires of a bicycle. Both are needed to make the bike move”.

In many Okinawa dojo, tools are available to build strength, endurance and callous. They are designed for the whole body, and include tools for strengthening wrists, fingers, toes and knuckles. In a book by Michael Clarke entitled The Art of Hojo Undo, many exercises are described with descriptions of traditional Okinawan strength training tools and how they are made. Hojo undo translates as supplementary exercises. For those who are serious traditional practitioners, these tools are a must, although there are many modern equivalents that can be used. Some tools used in hojo undo include: makiwara, chi-ishi (strength stones), nigiri game (sand-filled ceramic jars), ishisashi (stone lock), tan (bar bell), kongoken (sand-filled ring), tou (bamboo bundle), kakite bikei (blocking post), makiagi (wrist roller), ude kitae (blocking posts), and jari bako (sand jars).

Another difference between Okinawan karate and Japanese karate is the practice of toide in Okinawan schools. Toide is an Okinawan art that includes joint locks, throws, grappling, etc, similar to traditional jujutsu. Many toide techniques are hidden in Okinawan karate kata.

Japanese karate is tailored for large groups; whereas Okinawan karate is designed for small groups. This is one reason many Okinawan commercial dojo fail outside of Okinawa as they are not conducive to large groups needed to help finance a karate school. Most traditional Okinawan dojo rely on the generosity of their students and do not set high fees. Most are supported by donations. However, when Okinawan schools are attached to and supported by a university, they often draw large groups because of their educational value.

In Japanese dojo, the atmosphere is martial and there is often intimidation by senior students. However, Okinawan dojo are more family friendly and all members are encouraged to become friends.

Traditional Karate in Arizona - Looking Back at 2014

Karate kata training at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa and Gilbert Arizona.  Kata (forms) when
practiced correctly become a living encyclopedia of self-defense applications, meditation and unmatched physical fitness.
Here, students and black belts train together in naifanchi shoran kata in 2014.

Hard to believe that 2014 is gone. Let's remember 2014 and then look forward to another year at the Arizona Hombu located in the Phoenix valley along Baseline Road at the border of Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa, Arizona.

2014 began at a snails pace following the holidays. When I ran the dojo at the University of Wyoming from 1977 to 2007, this was typical. There was a large influx of students beginning in the Fall semester that would decline around Thanksgiving. Students would sporadically wander into the university dojo following the New Year and then we would see another decline at Spring Break followed by a surge followed with a decline at summer semester.

Training at the Arizona Hombu, Mesa, Arizona

At the beginning of 2007, I decided to relocate our Hombu to Arizona. Over the past decades, I taught martial arts at four different universities, and all followed the same student population declines and surges - but by opening a private dojo, I thought these fluctuations would pass - not so - it appears the entire world follows this schedule. And as far as the students who are consistent in their training and appearance at the dojo, they are the few who move on to the level of yudansha.

In 2014, we had our surges and declines, but something else happened. We lost some to the poor economy. As far as I can tell, government continues to lie about how bad our economy really is. This is one of the primary reasons why we never see politicians in traditional martial arts - its because they cannot differentiate what is right from wrong and traditional martial arts are somewhat of an enigma to them because a person must be honest.

Training in kata, Sensei Harden practices oi-zuki

Overall, we have a high level of educated people training in martial arts at our dojo primarily because of our past association with four universities.

In 2014, we had students move out of state to find work: one long-time student finally gave up and moved near his family in Florida. We also had two long-time students (engineers) transferred out-of-state by their companies because downsizing. Only a few years ago, we lost another engineer for the same reason. I have not seen any improvement in the economy since 2008 in my martial arts, geology or writing professions, and I wonder how government can get away with such a poor record.mAnyway, let's look at 2014, now that it has passed.

Tuesday nights we trained in kihon and kata. During the year, we focused on the basic kata. Periodically, we split the class into groups while I taught more advanced students and other instructors - Dai-Shihan Adam, Sensei Borea, Sensei Harden and Sensei Scofield taught other groups of different levels. In the second, or more advanced class on Tuesday nights, we focused on advanced kata including Naihanchi Shodan, Rohai, Passai Dai, Unsu and Passai Sho.

Defending against an attacker with rifle.

Throughout 2014, Wednesday nights included advanced training in self-defense as well as shitai kori for a few high-ranking members of the dojo. Shitai kori is body hardening, and the most advanced form of this part of the art was created by Dai-Soke Sacharnoski of Juko Kai International in the 20th century. Wednesday evenings we work on defense against single attackers, multiple attackers, wrestlers, street fighters and karate and jujutsu practitioners. We include against armed assailants with knifes, guns, clubs, rifles, swords, hammers, etc. Much of the self-defense is part of the bunkai from kata and we emphasize the concept of hitotsuki or basically one-punch knockouts. This is one of the major differences between traditional karate and sport karate. Traditional karate teaches karate is a weapon and one must learn to finish an attacker with power and focus with just one or two strikes. In sport karate, focus is minor and students are taught point fighting for trophies. So we teach all of our students including various women's groups and seniors, to use power. If a person cannot finish an opponent in one or two strikes, there is something wrong with their technique.

Defending against an attacker with gun

Every so often, we'll add a new training exercise such as training in the park to give them the feel for defending on various surfaces. In the past, we've even turned out the lights in the dojo and strategically placed black belt muggers in the dojo allowing students to walk through one at a time.

On Wednesdays, we also teach use of belts, towels, ropes, coins, car keys etc, for self-defense. We'll even add in a few scenarios on how to defend in close quarters - such as on an airplane - we find this to be important as we have a group of students who are engineers and several who are pilots.

Thursday evenings, we focus on Shorin-Ryu kobudo, modern kobudo and samurai arts. These are all martial arts weapons including a variety of tools found around the house and garden. During 2014, our students trained in nunchaku and we focused on this weapon for much of the year learning to use nunchaku in basics, self-defense applications and also as kata. We learned six nunchaku kata over the year and also how to apply all moves in these kata as self-defense. After spending much of the year on Nunchaku, our class began training with nitanbo and now they are focusing on kama. Kama is a common garden tool used by both Okinawan and American farmers - it is sickle. In 2014, we training in self-defense application against an attacker with a sword, club, knife and also learned Gama shodan kata. In 2015, we continue to train with kama and will soon start learning gama nidan and then gama sandan kata.

using nunchaku to defend against knife attack

In the samurai arts class, we trained with hanbo and naginata much of the year and we then started with sojutsu. Our students learned to block, strike and throw opponents with the hanbo. We learned the long yari kata and then began training with bunkai. Later this year, our samurai arts class will start to focus on jujutsu and then katana.

Defending attack using nunchuks

During 2014, we also had the Arizona-Utah Shorin-Ryu karate and kobudo clinic as well as the Utah Gassuku. We plan to have the same two annual clinics in 2015 as well as attend the Juko Kai clinic in Texas. We are also expecting visits from some of our shihan and sensei from Colorado, Massachusetts, Utah and Wyoming in 2015. I should also point out that in 2014, my fondness of rocks led me to publish another book.

Shitai kori (body hardening). This aspect
of Shorin-Ryu karate is only taught to
our most advanced students. The
basics of the art are taught at the Arizona
Hombu and more advanced applications are
taught to a few students who are invited to
attend the annual Juko Kai International 
clinic in New Braunfels, Texas. Here Chase
Cassidy, 1st degree black belt from Gillette,
Wyoming learns to accept strikes to vital
parts of the body.

If you get some free time, stop in and visit our hombu dojo - we would love to meet you.

Arizona-Utah clinic at the Arizona Hombu in Gilbert - Mesa, Arizona

Self-Defense class at the Arizona Hombu

Gama (kama) training during kobudo class at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate.

Sojutsu samurai martial arts training with yari (okinawan spear)