There is an often-repeated saying: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” I have always liked the final part. Doing something gives us an understanding that explanation and observation alone often cannot provide. Once we have felt something for ourselves, dealt with the consequences, and adjusted through […]
The Weight of Experience Read More »
Self-defense. Everyone teaches it, right? It’s written on the flyers, displayed on the dojo door, printed on the business cards, and included in the advertising. It is one of the main reasons many people walk into a martial arts school in the first place. But what if I told you that you might not be
Teaching the Fight First Read More »
Every instructor teaches from what they know. That is unavoidable. The problem begins when what they know becomes the boundary of what they believe self-defense is. Not always deliberately. Not always dishonestly. But limited all the same. My own direction has always been toward karate as a method of self-protection. I understand that karate can
When the Instructor’s Limits Become the Method Read More »
Kata, kihon, and two-person drills are all part of the language of karate. Each has value. Each has a place. But none of them should exist in isolation, and none of them should be kept simply because they have always been there. Karate has changed over time. It has been taught for physical education, discipline,
If It Doesn’t Serve the Purpose Read More »
We have become used to quick answers. Short clips. Instant reactions. Everything reduced until it asks almost nothing of us. But some things cannot be reduced without losing their value. Karate is one of them. You see the same mindset in the dojo. Some students show up consistently. They train. They listen. They repeat the
You Want the Reward? Do the Work. Read More »
Karate is translated as “empty hand”. Karate-do, the way of the empty hand. Most karateka know, at least in general terms, that the older characters for karate referred to “China hand”, and that the later change to “empty hand” helped reshape the art for a different time, a different audience, and a different cultural setting.
Empty Hands, Armed Assumptions Read More »
In karate, some explanations are not kept because they have been tested. They are kept because they have been repeated. A teacher says it, a student accepts it. A group reinforces it, and a rank structure protects it. Years pass, and the explanation begins to feel less like an idea and more like a fact.
When the First Answer Feels Complete Read More »
Someone once told me that if you do not wait for an attack, or at least attack and defend at the same time, then you have effectively become the attacker. His argument was that we can never truly know the exact method of attack, so we should wait. The exact method? Perhaps not. We may
Waiting for the Attack Read More »
It is tough to explain to others why we keep showing up, day after day, week after week, year after year, to struggle and sweat. There is a feeling of satisfaction that comes from the learning process in martial arts, and that feeling goes far beyond the physical side of training. For those of us
When Martial Artists Forget Their Own Lessons Read More »
Many people assume that experience makes your views more settled. My experience has been the opposite. The longer I have trained, the more willing I have become to revisit things I once accepted without question. When I first started in the martial arts, I was like most beginners. I accepted what I was taught because
A limiting belief is not simply a wrong idea. It’s a belief that set like concrete over the years. You experienced something once, maybe twice, and without quite realizing it, you filed it away as a permanent truth about your practice. The mind loves efficiency. It doesn’t want to re-examine every experience from scratch, so it
The Danger of Certainty Read More »
Following my recent article on kata applications, a familiar response appeared. The essence of it was simple enough: “My instructor taught me the bunkai.” Fair enough. Before going any further, it’s worth acknowledging that while bunkai technically refers to the process of breaking down and analyzing a movement, most karate practitioners use the term when discussing applications.
Does Being Taught Bunkai Make It “The” Bunkai? Read More »
