Time is the one opponent we cannot defeat, yet it’s the one we often underestimate the most. The reason people say, “the trouble is you think you have time”, is because when we’re younger, it moves so slowly. But as we age, it speeds up. You gain a new perspective. You reach a deeper understanding…
Category: Bushido
Rank Is Earned, Not Requested
A little while back, a nidan instructor contacted us after his instructor passed away and asked if we could grade him to sandan. From the outset, I had reservations. Even though I knew his instructor, I didn’t know this person. He had never joined us for a session, and I had never seen him train….
Even Monkeys Fall From Trees – Learning From Mistakes in the Martial Arts
We often learn more from searching for an answer and not finding it than from simply being given the answer itself. It’s not hard to learn more if you are open to it. What is hard is to unlearn something when you discover you may have been doing it wrong all along. I remember over…
Step Off the Centre Line… Then What?
Being attacked with a knife is terrifying. I have seen the results of many of these attacks in my past careers – some of them fatal. And yet most knife defense demonstrations begin the same way. A single, committed middle thrust from distance. Like a standard karate-type stepping punch. No – that’s not how it happens….
When Training Becomes Who You Are.
Losing interest in martial arts training happens to everyone at some point. It’s almost inevitable, and there are countless reasons why. How often have you heard someone say, “I used to do karate”? The decision to stop rarely feels dramatic. It’s often quiet. Yet years of work can fade surprisingly quickly. It begins innocently – skipping one…
The Creed on the Wall.
Most dojos have a creed – a Dojo-Kun (道場訓). A list of promises or ideals, framed neatly on the wall. Students recite it at the start or end of class, bow respectfully, then forget half of it before they reach the car park. That isn’t criticism. It’s just observation. A creed is only words until you…
What Are You Waiting For?
Karate has changed – we all know that. The karate created by the pioneers on Okinawa looks very different from much of what we see today. And of course, those later pioneers were part of that shift themselves. Change didn’t happen by accident. When I watch students from other dojo trying to work out bunkai…
More Than One Thing: What Training Was Supposed to Be.
I was fourteen years old when I began practicing karate. At the time, I had no clear idea of what I was looking for. . Behind the repetition, the discipline, and the physical effort, I was told that there was a path concerned with understanding oneself as much as learning technique. . The karate available…
Issho Kenmei: Training as if This Moment Matters.
In karate we often hear ‘ganbaru’ – do your best, keep going, push through. It’s a useful sentiment, but it doesn’t quite reach the depth of what older martial traditions expected from a practitioner. For that, there is a sterner, more honest practice. It’s called ‘Issho Kenmei’. . It’s not about effort in theory. It…
Standards, Verification, and the Responsibilities of Senior Practitioners.
After enough years in the martial arts, you stop asking only what is legitimate, and start asking how legitimacy should be handled. . Senior rank does not just confer authority. It reveals how someone behaves when given the power to accept or reject others. . In every generation of martial arts, there is a tension…
What Makes a Great Teacher – and What Students Carry Forward.
I have been fortunate in my karate journey to have had some truly great teachers. I would say that though, wouldn’t I? No disrespect intended, but I imagine most people feel the same about those who have guided them. . But that raises an important question – what actually makes a great teacher? . A…
Karate Doesn’t Fail – Unclear Goals Do.
The global estimate of people who practice martial arts ranges from as low as 50 million to as high as 150 million. . So what is it that all these people see in the martial arts? . Despite those numbers, the vast majority of practitioners will never use their skills in a real act of…