Self-Defense Training, Gilbert and Mesa, Arizona

Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu dojo, Mesa Arizona, 2019

Education Gym, University of Wyoming Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo, 1999

Our current students are 13 to 75 years in age. We plan to keep the group small (<20) until the economy turns around. Soke is a member of several halls of fame, taught karate, kobudo, samurai arts, jujutsu, and self-defense at four different universities. 

Corbett Gym, University of Wyoming Shorin-Ryu Karate, 2003

Soke (airborne), University of New Mexico,
Shorin-Ryu karate, 1975

Soke (airborne), University of Utah,
Kyokushinkai karate, 1969

MARTIAL ARTS CONTRIBUTES TO BRAIN HEALTH & PHYSICAL FITNESS

To those who train constantly in martial arts, the positive benefits are not surprising - good health, feeling good, and self-confidence. And now, scientists are just beginning to study the benefits of these effects.

For instance, some scientists are now looking into links between emotional well-being and physical health. Its vital to note that martial arts has been shown to improve a person's emotional well-being, according to a recent 2018 article from Bangor University in Wales. In one study, older adults, aged 67-93, were asked to take part in: (1) Karate training, (2) Cognitive training, or (3) Non-martial arts physical training over a 3 to 6 month period. The results showed that the "older adults in Karate Training had lower levels of depression and greater levels of self-esteem after the training period, compared to the other groups".

In one Italian study, a sedentary group was compared to a group which trained in karate. The Italian researchers found that "taking part in karate improved a person's working memory".  

Researcher, Dr. Ashleigh Johnstone at Bangor University reported - "There is far more to martial arts than its traditional roles. Though they have been practiced for self-defense and spiritual development for many hundreds of years, only relatively recently have researchers had the methods to assess the true extent of how this practice affects the brain".

Now that scientists are performing imagining scans of people's brains, I suspect it is just a matter of time until a study is done to compare increases in size of the hippocampus by karate practitioners compared to other groups. This is because karate provides an constant influx in oxygen to the brain through intense training, and traditional (non-sport) karate practitioners are constantly being challenged by learning new techniques (waza), applications (bunkai) kata, kobudo and samurai weapons. In addition, these are taught to both sides of the body providing a means to enhance both sides of the brain. Even after training in martial arts for 55 years, I find I'm still constantly learning. It's been said by previous grandmasters in Okinawa karate that there is "No end to learning in the martial arts". And we are now seeing the scientific fruits of our labors.

The 'Art' of Karate

Sometimes a martial arts instructor, other times a
geoscientist, writer, public speaker, or artist

About 1989 to 1990, Soke Hausel was not only teaching karate, kobudo, jujutsu, and samurai arts at the University of Wyoming; but, also employed as a research geologist at the Wyoming Geological Survey and periodically took leave of absence to work as a consulting geologist for various mining companies around the world. In 1988 and 1989, six geologists including Soke Hausel discovered a giant gold deposit in Alaska. The company hired a draftsman at the Wyoming Geological Survey to produce professional quality maps of Soke Hausel's maps of the Donlin Creek gold deposit in Alaska.

One day a geologist, the next a martial artist

One day, this draftswoman mentioned while working on the the maps that Soke would be a great artist. He responded, "I can't even sketch a stick figure". Fiddy, the draftswoman disagreed and said all Soke needed to do was to focus and sketch small areas in detail just like his maps. 

That comment actually made sense. So, he tried sketching and was surprised by this hidden gift given by God to him. So, he did my first sketch in 1989 or 1990. But, without that one comment, he likely would never have discovered pencil art..

MARTIAL ARTS were uncommon in North America in the 1960s, but they peaked our interest from 1966 to 1967 as Kato fought a variety of villains on the Green Hornet TV series while espousing Zen philosophy. Martial arts took center stage again from 1972 to 1975 as Kwai Chang Caine preached harmony in the Kung Fu martial arts TV series. In 1975, a Shaolin monk named Lee fought a renegade martial arts monk who broke the code of ethics of the Shaolin Temple in the movie Enter the Dragon. And who could forget that likeable character Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 Movie, The Karate Kid. Miyagi preached Zen while teaching Daniel san pragmatic karate exercises to defend against a group of teenage thugs. Even though fictional, these programs espoused a code of ethics to live by while following the premise of "No First Attack" - a philosophy of traditional karate and 'traditional' martial arts.

Martial Art, by Soke Hausel

Many have the erroneous impression MMA (mixed martial arts) is martial art. Ever hear MMA competitors espouse positive philosophy, harmony, a path to enlightenment, or even concern for another human being? This is one of several characteristics that separate traditional martial arts from street fighting & combat sport such as MMA, boxing, cage fighting and sport martial arts. Traditional karate is not sport, it is a way of life as well as a weapon of self-defense - it is about perfection of the practitioner!

So, what is martial art? Visualize a boxer. A trained boxer is taught by a friend how to kick someone in the groin. Wow, so now is boxing magically transformed into a mixed martial art? Is it that simple?

Actually, it is much more complex than one could imagine. And just because someone advertises that they teach mixed martial arts usually means that they have boxing, wresting experience and usually only minor (if any) martial arts experience. Mixed martial arts is a catch-all phrase for people who want to be martial artists likely have no martial arts credentials. 

The Shotokan tiger by Soke Hausel

In traditional martial arts, there is an established lineage and history of certification and credentials - but there is nothing really writing down about the procedure, nor any government regulations (thank goodness). So, we need to first examine the words 'martial' and 'art' to try to get a handle on what a martial art really is.

Martial is defined as 'military-like' and is pragmatic; however art is more difficult to grasp as it is an 'esoteric expression' meaning different things to different people. When researching martial arts dictionaries for a definition of martial arts, it is difficult to find one that provides any kind of meaning - and in most cases, it is obvious that even those martial artists who have compiled martial arts dictionaries were unaware of what a martial art is, as in most cases, a definition is not included. 

The Overlook Dictionary of Martial Arts defines martial arts as "... an encompassing term usually reserved for the Asian fighting arts, although it can refer to any fighting discipline with or without weapons". This definition for martial arts is incomplete at best. More enlightening is A Dictionary of the Martial Arts which didn't even try to define martial arts, the very basis of the dictionary! The authors likely felt it was too difficult of a task to summarize martial arts because of its esoteric aspect. In the Overlook Martial Arts Handbook the author writes, "The term 'martial arts' means those arts concerned with the waging of war". 

Defending castle - sketch by Soke Hausel

By separating the two words - 'martial' and 'arts', some insight occurs. Martial has several definitions. One that stands out is "characteristic of, or befitting a warrior". When discussing martial art we refer to bushido, the 'way of the warrior'. This is an important concept because 'way' used in this sense refers to 'path'. But what is path? “A path is a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness”. This definition implies a path should lead to righteousness: a concept common in traditional martial arts.

Dictionaries provide several meanings for 'art' including, "... the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance". Another definition: "Skill in conducting any human activity: a master at the art of conversation”. Also, “a branch of learning or university study, especially one of the fine arts or humanities, such as music, philosophy, or literature".

Based on these concepts and incorporating philosophy of Gichin Funakoshi and Shoshin Nagamine, two well-known and influential Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate martial artists; martial art should lead to righteousness (this is why it is rare to see politicians in traditional martial arts). Some might point out that the Russian Premier trains in judo. But there is traditional judo and there is sport Judo. Putin trains in sport judo. But still, it is an anomaly.

Tai chi in the Arizona sun, sketch by
Soke Hausel

Martial arts should be beautiful, stir the spirit, and involve higher learning and should lead to a lifelong path of self-enlightenment – like religion. It should complement religion and not contradict religion.

In a discussion of the martial art of karate, Nagamine (2000) wrote, "If there is no kata, there is no karate, just kicking and punching". He emphasized that since, "... kata is karate, one must then embrace 'do mu gen' proverb which asserts: There can be no end to learning". He concluded "karate begins and ends with the study of kata". So if we are to believe Nagamine (as well as other Okinawan masters) karate must contain kata and kata must be the primary curriculum, otherwise it is not karate and not martial art. And kata contains exercise, self-defense, interpretation, philosophy, and moving Zen.

The blending of Zen with empty hand (kung fu and karate) and weapon's training resulted in Shaolin monks becoming formidable fighters and resulted in the world's first martial art. So if one agrees this was the beginning of Chuan Fa or martial arts, it is apparent Zen, meditation, self-defense exercises and forms (kata) are necessary ingredients to be a martial art.

Many martial arts attach the suffix 'do', such as aikido, budo, kendo, judo and karate-do. By doing so, it translates as 'way' or 'path' suggesting that the martial art will lead to a path of enlightenment. There are also just as many martial arts that attach the suffix 'jutsu', such as bujutsu, kenjutsu, jujutsu and karatejutsu. These are considered martial combat and most lack kata. However, in every case, the "jutsu" systems have traditions and also provide ways for self-improvement, unlike MMA.

Okinawan sunrise by Soke Hausel

Peter Urban (1967) wrote that martial arts refer to fighting arts and suggested a more valid interpretation came from the word budo which translates as 'the way of the fighter'. Urban further wrote that the integration of techniques with the spirit are important. The way or path is intended to lead to the attainment of perfection or what is often known as self-realization, enlightenment, or simply maturity. Be it karate, kendo, judo, jujutsu, iaido, kobudo, aikido, kyudo, Urban (1967) wrote that "based on the idea of virtue, the followers of martial arts are in effect descendants of samurai of old. It is the aim of all martial arts instructors to work toward promulgating this spirit of ancient Zen warriors, a spirit which is more than mere knowledge of fighting techniques - it is the attainment of a virtuous way of life!"

Geisha, by Soke Hausel

Martial arts incorporate the term ryu. Ryu is a traditional system or style of martial arts that implies family. This means Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai members are a family of traditional martial artists with a soke (Head of Family). It is peace of mind we seek through martial arts training. "There are many paths to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but only one peak".

Karate Aerial Photo by Soke Hausel

Traditional karate and other Okinawan martial arts were kept secret on Okinawa until the 20th century when karate was introduced to mainland Japan in 1922. Within a short time, the Japanese modified the effective self-defense art into sport. To this day, traditional Okinawan karate is still considered a weapon rather than sport (unlike Japanese karate). Traditional karate focuses on (1) junbi undo (warm-up and strength exercises), (2) kihon (basics), (3) shitai kori (body hardening), (4) kata (forms), (5) health, and (6) bunkai (practical applications) - but it's most important aspect is the perfection of its participants!

A bunch of Junk, by Soke Hausel

Breaking Rocks or Breaking Hands

When it comes to tameshi waza (breaking techniques), I’ve seen martial artists break re-breakable boards, boards, roofing tile, sheets of ice, cinder block and rocks. The most impressive to me is rock.

Decades ago, many in the US were under the erroneous impression that karate required constant training of the edge of one hand. According to this urban legend, this training was designed to develop a callused surface that could be used to break through most anything - and this was all there was to karate! In this respect, one didn’t need a gi or even a sensei, all one needed was to beat the side of their hand on a hard concrete surface every day. Then at some point, they would walk into their local police station to register their hand(s) with local law enforcement agencies as a deadly weapon. And if ever challenged, they would have to warn the challenger that they were a karate expert and their hands were registered and considered deadly weapons. No, I’m not making any of this up - ask any senior in your dojo who is from the Baby Boomer era.

I can still remember a drama we watched on our black & white TV, where a bad guy was trying to kill a good guy with his “judo chop”. The hero of the show barely got out of the way of several strikes that destroyed chairs and tables, until the hero shot him. My mother explained to me and my brother, in order to get a karate hand, one had to constantly hit concrete for years until their hand was callused, ugly and deformed.

Rock breaking at the University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu karate club. 
Note the Casper Formation limestone slabs and blocks on the brick wall and 
in Soke’s hand. The wall itself, consists of Fountain Formation friable 
sandstone mined from quarries around Laramie.

The next day, I started training my hand on our concrete porch in the backyard - this lasted for possibly a couple of minutes at the most until I quickly lost interest because it hurt and was boring.

Today, we know that karate has much more to offer - and no matter how long we train, there is still more to learn. And when it comes to tameshi waza, this is a very minor part of karate. It’s not breaking that’s important - it’s the confidence building that’s important, whether it comes through breaking inanimate objects and training in self-defense in the dojo.

I began training in Kokushin Kai karate as a teenager a couple of years after I tried hitting my hand on our backyard concrete porch. In Black Eagle Federation dojo we often heard stories about Mas Oyama. A powerful man who could destroy piles of boards and roofing tiles, bulls, or anyone who wanted to fight him with their bare hands.

Oyama loved to fight! In one instance, he fought 300 full-contact kumite matches in three days (no pads or gloves, just bare hands & feet). The fourth day, he was battered and bruised but showed up to continue fighting. But the contest had ended: no one else showed up. We all figured Oyama was super human who could walk through walls or quickly change into his gi a phone booth. In addition to Oyama, there were stories and legends about other amazing martial artists, such as those affiliated with Juko Kai International as well as those from Okinawa such as Chojun Miyagi, Gogen Yamaguchi, Mirio Higaonna. At the time, we didn’t know who Bruce Lee was, but he would later grab our interest after the Green Hornet show made its way on TV.

Many great Okinawan martial artists are described in a book by Soshin Nagamine entitled “Tales of Okinawa’s Great Masters”. Another book entitled “20th Century Warriors” by various authors, published in 1971, provides accounts on some other martial artists. And then you will find other examples on the internet.

Outcrop of cross-bedded Nugget Sandstone 

near Red Canyon, Wyoming. These are actually fossil sand 

dunes and thus consist of sandstone.

When it comes to breaking objects with bare hands, some hand conditioning and finger strength is helpful, but not necessary. Tameshi waza requires proper technique under a qualified instructor: otherwise you might break something besides a board or rock. If you plan to break boards: like rocks, not all boards are equal. The greener the wood, the more difficult it is to break. Dried boards are easy to break, and plywood is impossible to break since it is layered with wood grains set at different angles to make it very tough and strong - like jade. I suspect the best board breakers in the world are employed at lumber yards, as wood isn’t cheap - the same for roofing tiles, cinder blocks and blocks of ice.

"Twirling is for marching bands & cheerleaders, not for kobudo" – Soke Hausel

A few years back, our dojo set up an information booth at the Islands in Gilbert business fair, and a Gilbert taekwondo school brought in their crack black belt demo team. Their kobudo demonstration left much to be desired - the less than deadly twirling with ultra-light-weight plastic bo pleased youngsters in the crowd, but for anyone with martial arts or fighting experience, it was clear this was useless. Then the group brought out boards and I do not exaggerate when I say I had no idea that anyone manufactured slabs of wood so thin. I wish I would have picked up a piece of a discarded board fragment just to confirm these were only about 1 mm thick! So, what is the point of breaking boards so thin? Luckily, no flying insects ran into the boards, as I suspect a well-fed flying grasshopper could have split one of those. I really don’t mean to be negative, but this was a poor martial arts demo. Even so, it had kids flocking to their dojang which may not bode well for the future of traditional martial arts.

When you decide you are ready to break your first rock, learn a little about rocks, it may save your hand. Even though rocks are cheap (unless you buy from a landscaper in the Phoenix valley), they vary in hardness, toughness and break-ability. For instance, friable sandstone is one of the easier rocks to break (but it may leave grains of sand stuck in your forehead if you decide to try atama waza - breaking with your head). Friable and cemented sandstones can be found by using geological maps for your area. For instance, examine the geological map of Wyoming and search for the Chugwater Formation. A similar red-bed sandstone occurs in Arizona, Colorado and Utah known as the Navajo Formation. If you are familiar with the John Wayne westerns; spectacular buttes of Navajo Sandstone were used as backdrops in some of his movies. As for the Chugwater Formation, it is easy to spot along the edges of mountain ranges and hills. It has a distinct reddish color that will stain your karate gi with rust (iron oxide).

Cambrian trilobite in Wheller Shale, House Range, Utah

If you drive on highway 287 north from Rawlins, Wyoming; immediately north of town are Chugwater Formation red beds. Or if you visit Red Canyon between South Pass and Lander, Wyoming, the base of the canyon is blanketed by Chugwater Formation sandstones. But the roadside is surrounded by gray, cross-bedded, sandstones (fossilized sand dunes) of the Nugget Sandstone that are also great for breaking. The Nugget Sandstone forms thin beds that weather to sand and to flat, elongated pieces of friable sandstone perfect for breaking.

For one demo performed by University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club at half-time at a basketball game, I collected two, large, Fountain Formation sandstone blocks from an old rock quarry on the 9th street road north of Laramie once mined for building stone used on the UW Campus. For the demo, I broke one rock with my fist, and the second with my head. Breaking rocks are crowd pleasers simply because people know how hard rocks are and most people have a hard time believing anyone could break a rock with their hands, feet, let alone with their head.

Shales and mudstones are often found near or interbedded with sandstone. In western Utah, there is a thick succession of dark gray Wheller Shale in the House Range and Drum Mountains. Rock hounds scour these rocks to search for trilobite fossils. The Mowry Shale in Wyoming is also a good source for this kind of rock, and also a great place to get your vehicle stuck in bentonite in the Spring. Shale is easy to break and weathers to thin slabs. But be cautious and keep bandages handy because shale can produce sharp conchoidal fractures when broken. If you are from certain parts of Canada or Colorado, you may be also be familiar with oil shale - another type of shale. If in Florida - limestone is everywhere and is the reason why there are so many circular lakes with gators. Limestones in weakly acidic water often produces sink holes.

My favorite rock for breaking is limestone - mother nature’s concrete. Search geological maps for limestones and sandstones in the Casper Formation and gray limestones in the Madison Formation in Wyoming. In Arizona and Utah, the Kaibab Formation is a good source for limestone.

Mine back [roof] with copper-stained 

Naco limestone in the Good Enough mine at Tombstone, Arizona

Everyone has heard of Tombstone, Arizona. When we think of Tombstone, most visualize Wyatt Earp, when they should instead be thinking about Naco Limestone! The reason Earp ended up in Tombstone was because of the silver-lead-gold-manganese-copper mines dug in the Naco Limestone. Limestone is massive calcium carbonate mined in many places in the west for Portland Cement. Nearly all limestone precipitated in prehistoric oceans and slowly lithified and was later uplifted on continents providing geologists with physical evidence of ancient bodies of water. Much limestone is white or gray. The reason I like limestone is that it is very hard & often weathers to large, massive slabs perfect for breaking. And while at the University of Wyoming, great breaking rocks are found most anywhere along the eastern edge of the university, particularly near the UW golf course.

Sometime when you are out visiting the Snowy Range near Centennial Wyoming - if you know where to look, you can find stromatolites. Stromatolites are a form of limestone precipitated by cyanobacteria. Stromatolites at the top of the Snowy Range were deposited 1.7 billion years ago in an ancient ocean. Because of thin layering, these often form flat slabs great for breaking. A few years ago, I put together a website on gemstones that includes some down-loadable publications. So when in Wyoming, you can find a stromatolite outcrop by using a book, “Guide to Mining Districts, etc., of the Medicine Bow Mountains…” that will lead you to this rock. Imagine a 1.7 billion year old sub-tropical ocean sitting at the top of the cold, dry, Snowy Range mountains.

Side kick on 1.4 billion year old Sherman granite in Laramie Mountains

In this same region, are very thick successions of quartzite. Quartzites are ‘abused’ sandstones. Just like sandstone, quartzite is formed of sand (silica) grains. The difference is quartzite started out as a sandstone, was deeply buried in the earth’s crust where the overlying thick pile of sediments applied considerable lithic pressure that caused the temperature to increase. This resulted in the sandstone to partially melt with some silica from the sand grains cemented the sandstone to produce a hard, brittle, rock. The fact that quartzites are brittle, means they can be good for breaking - but don’t forget - they are very hard.

In the Phoenix Valley in Arizona, good rocks are hard to come by because of past volcanism. The valley is filled with very hard and tough igneous rocks that include rhyolite, andesite, and basalt. Most people know what granite is - well rhyolite is nothing more than a fine-grained equivalent of granite - and we all know how hard granite. All of these igneous rocks are hard to break because they are composed of a variety of crystals that have a variety of orientations similar to plywood.

I only discussed a few common rocks used for breaking. There are hundreds of other types of rocks, so after you break a sandstone, limestone, or rhyolite, you might try others. A few years ago, I published a book about rocks that also describes some minerals and gemstones. But always look for elongated, flat rocks - your hand will thank you.

Martial Arts Clinics and Daily Self-Defense, Mesa, Arizona

Kyoshi Neal Adam, 7th dan, works over Adam Bialek during kobudo classes at the Arizona Hombu dojo, Mesa.

During the week of August 1st, 2016, (Grandmaster Hausel) flew to Ogden, Utah from Mesa Gateway airport to teach a martial arts clinic in the Wasatch Mountains at a resort (East Canyon Resort) near Park City. Martial Artists from the Utah Shorin-Kai trained in empty hand (karate) self-defense techniques against armed and unarmed attackers. This was followed by hanbojutsu instruction which employs a 3-foot stick known as a hanbo for self-defense. Personally, I like this art because one can find a stick, cane, or umbrella most anywhere as a substitute for a hanbo. And expandable police batons (ASP) also apply to this art.

The following day, senior members of the martial arts group from Murray Utah were taught sojutsu techniques. Sojutsu is considered a Japanese samurai art. The following day (Monday), Grandmaster Hausel boarded a plane for a return trip to Gilbert, Arizona from Ogden Utah.

Classes at the Arizona Hombu dojo resumed on Tuesday evening when we focused on kata. The Arizona students practiced karate forms focusing on taikyoku yondan kata - a kata designed to develop good kicking habits. The class then moved on to self-defense related to wrist grabs. For instance, how do you defend a wrist grab followed by a sucker punch and how do you defend against a two-handed wrist grab while being pulled into a car? These are found in Shorin-Ryu karate kata and students at the Arizona Hombu dojo learn these so that when they practice kata by themselves, the self-defense applications are easily remembered. The way things are in the world and in Phoenix, techniques like these are very important for women and children to learn. Personally, I can't understand why any father would not take their daughter and wife to learn martial arts. My daughter was attacked by her ex years ago, and she whopped him with her karate training.

The Wednesday afternoon family class resumed training in naihanchi sandan and rohai kata focusing on the self-defense applications. In particular, rohai kata has some unusual moves interpreted as defenses against aggressive leg takedowns. This was followed by training with tanto (knife). The evening class continued working on bunkai from Pinan godan kata with tekubi waza (wrist throws) before moving on to tanto.

Thursday night, the group reviewed Nunchaku Shodan kata and Nunchaku Nidan kata and trained in nunchaku bunkai before reviewing Suuji No Kun bo kata and ending the night by learning a new iaido kata. Our classes at the Hombu dojo are open to private lessons as well as to group lessons for adults and families. We hope to see you soon.

Advantage of Traditional Karate & Kobudo

What gives a martial arts practitioner the advantage over many others including opponents who are larger?

It is the constant, weekly training in martial arts along with training in proven methods - methods that have allowed many karate-ka over the past centuries survive aggressive attacks often unscathed. One of the effects of practice leads to mushin - that karate state of mind that allows muscle memory to do the thinking for us. But in addition to learning to react to aggression without thinking, karate teaches us secrets on how to increase acceleration in blocks and strikes, how to strike with the maximum, possible striking force, how to focus strikes for maximum effect, where to strike to provide the most pain, or to knock out the attacker, and how to develop shitai kori or body hardening. Karate does not give anyone invincibility, but it does provide an upper edge along with physical fitness and muscle. 

The weekly practice of kata - or karate forms, helps build these characteristics as long as the practitioner trains properly. Personally, I practice kata ever other day - as this seems to give me maximum benefit. But I also add weight training, body hardening, kobudo, and teaching to this regimen on other days and some on the same day to balance out my exercise routine - my normal routine has me training 6 to 7 days a week (which I have done for much of the past 50+ years).

If done improperly, training in kata can also have negative effects - so it is very important for a student to train in kata under martial arts instructors who understand kata as there are many sport martial artists who practice kata improperly leading to harmful effects.

I taught martial arts and self-defense at the University of Wyoming for more than three decades and I tried to emphasize hitotsuki hitogeri philosophy and training - striking an attacker with focus at pressure points to end an attack in one strike - as you never know what the attacker intends or what is coming next. For those students who made it to yudansha (black belt) at our University of Wyoming hombu dojo as well as our affiliated dojos, I could see the power literally with every block, punch and kick.

While teaching karate and kobudo at the University of Wyoming, I was very proud of our students and after we affiliated with Juko Kai International, our power, technique and body hardening methods continued to improve. But then, one day, things changed.

One of my out-standing shihan, who had tremendous technique wanted my permission to attend a tournament. I had no problem, and I felt he did not need my permission - he was an individual with his own mind, but still it was nice of him to ask. I was proud when he and a couple of other students  returned with gold, silver and bronze medals in essentially every event they entered with the exception that they had all been disqualified in kumite for striking too hard - actually, this made me even more proud than the medals they had received in kata and kobudo.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time what this was leading to. I thought this would be a one time event, but it continued and our students continued bringing home medals - and it was about this time I retired from the university and moved the Hombu dojo to Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa Arizona and left the University of Wyoming dojo to the same shihan who was into tournaments.

Later, I returned to the University of Wyoming for a series of clinics and then I discovered what tournaments do to a martial artist. It was sad. My shihan had good intentions, and his technique was nearly flawless when I left, but all of the tournament preparations left the students at UW without focus. Where had the focus gone? I believe the tournament preparations focused on no focus and more on performance. Tournament fighters were not allowed to strike with focus or power, and kata had to look more like a ballet than shadow boxing. I felt like I had been staved in the back and I lost my temper - but now I realize I just should have moved on and considered the UW dojo a loss.

So, when a person practices kata - they must focus every technique. Sometimes they need to do kata with as much power and focus that they can generate and other times they need to slow the kata down (but still with full or near full focus and power). Most good karate schools on Okinawa focus every single strike and block in kata. On Japan, they do the same, but they add ma - or timing, which can also cause some problems. On Okinawa (the source of karate), the students learn to visualize each self-defense (bunkai) technique while they practice kata.

University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai 2003

So, as you train or 'shadow box' with your kata, and if you feel your technique lacks power and your imaginary opponent walks away laughing at you, you need to generate a lot more power and focus. And you need to do this each time you practice kata - the only thing you should ever change is acceleration of strikes and blocks - the focus must always be there and kata should never look like a tai chi form. One day fast, another day slow - in this way, your muscles learn to react fast with power, but also they learn to recognize each individual technique. And remember, how hard you train and how hard you strike will carry over to the street when you are attacked. If you train like tai chi, this is how you will defend yourself. If you punch like Bruce Lee, you will defend like Bruce Lee. This is also how you should train in kata bunkai (individual self-defense applications built in kata) - full focus and power. Unless your uke (partner) is well-trained in shitai kori, you don't want to hit him or her with full power during these exercises, but you can definitely strike the air adjacent to them with full force - just make sure it is off to their side and not directed at them - and don't wear gloves as these give your muscles improper feed back.

Now back to size. Karate can give you a distinct advantage. Remember the story of David and Goliath in the Holy Bible? Think it was a fable? Recently archeologists discovered artifacts in Israel, including a Hebrew text about this battle. The 1993 and 1994 discoveries indicated a Philistine giant name Goliath, an 9 foot 8 inch man, was defeated by a small Shepard boy named David in the 10th century BC. Goliath was wearing armor, about 120 pounds in weight, along with his sword and other weapons, and likely was a frightening figure - but can you imagine how slow he moved? He would have had gigantism and not only would have had awkward movements, but also poor vision. David could have ran circles around Goliath until he took one of his chalcedony projectiles (flint, agate, jasper) about the size of a golf ball and accelerated this rock to about 80 miles per hour striking Goliath in the forehead with a kinetic energy of about 90 joules - enough to kill him. An example of BC kobudo.

In martial arts, one can develop extremely powerful and fast strikes. So fast are some that they can accelerate a strike faster than a snake. And rocks and bricks are no match for focused strikes. And there are examples of martial artists knocking off horns of bulls with shuto (karate chop) and puncturing fuel cans with their toes.

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.