In Japan, a number of time-honored everyday activities, such as making tea, arranging flowers, writing, some of which are traditionally deeply explored by their practitioners. . Students study how to make tea, write with a brush, or perform martial arts, in the most skillful way possible, to express themselves with maximum efficiency while trying to…
Tag: Motivation
What is conditioning?
“Karate is another reason for being fit. I can prove to you I can still perform karate at my age.” – Nakahodo Tsutomu 10th dan Uechi Ryu, born 1933. . What is conditioning? . Conditioning training is a ‘keyword’ that is often interchanged with the word ‘fitness.’ You’ll often hear martial artists talk about what…
“You can continue Karate for a lifetime.”
“You can practice at your own level and no matter the age it can be done and you can continue Karate for a lifetime.” – Tsuneo Kinjo 9th dan Goju Ryu Jundokan . Aging is one of the greatest challenges we face. In most sports (I’m not referring to karate as sport here), there is…
“Kata have been around for centuries.”
“Kata have been around for centuries. I can certify their effectiveness without having to transform anything. They must be seriously studied.” (End quote) – Masaji Taira 9th dan Goju-Ryu . Teachers undoubtedly have the ability to change the lives of their students. Most of us can remember a particular teacher that helped shape who we…
“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.”
“It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet.” – Miyamoto Musashi . Growth is part and parcel of being a martial artist – if you are not open to others ideas and constantly finding ways to hinder it, you may want to reconsider your purpose for training in the martial…
“One should be able to move in any direction with ease.”
“One should be able to move in any direction with ease. When attacked the natural reaction is to go back. You should practice hard to overcome this.” – Hironori Otsuka 10th Dan Wado-Ryu (1892 – 1982) . In actual combat the objective is to escape, or if necessary, to control, or to hit and not…
“Ultimately, training in karate means not having to fight anyone”.
“Ultimately, training in karate means not having to fight anyone”. (End quote) – Yoshio Kuba 10th dan Goju Ryu . DON’T FIGHT….. TAKE CONTROL….. Eliminate in your opponent the desire to keep fighting. To always want to ‘defeat’ someone; to always want to fight first; if these are your only skills, then there is…
“Smile and relax.”
“Smile and relax. You can’t demonstrate great power unless you are relaxed.” – Yoshimi Inoue Soke – Inoue-ha Shito-ryu (1946-2015) . “Smile!” When Inoue sensei thinks you are tense, he never says “relax!“. Instead, he says “smile!” – which is a psychological trick to make you relax. It’s hard to be tense when you’re smiling!…
The main goal of self-protection is NOT fighting.
“Winning is the reason why you compete and why sports exist, more than anything else. Is karate such a thing? Has karate been built on the principals of competition and winning? Or is karate based on forging a better person?” – Kenyu Chinen 9th dan Oshukai Shorin Ryu . Self-protection, which we usually refer…
“I researched on my own and found the reason.”
“I researched on my own and found the reason….. So I tried experimenting with my students….. I realized its true meaning…” – Tatsuya Naka 7th dan JKA Shotokan . The main goal of a teacher should not be to fill the student with knowledge, but instead to guide them how to obtain knowledge through their…
“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
“Everyone has a goal. Whether that is to become a world champion or not doesn’t really matter. Although your goal may often look hard to achieve at first, if you continually make efforts toward your goal, then your time, energy and commitment will never have been wasted. So, keep it up as much as you…
Kata, IS the heart of karate.
“We must be careful not to overlook the fact that kata, and the body positions that comprises them, are just templates of sort; it is their application in combat which needs to be mastered.” – Motobu Choki (1870-1944) . The term “bunkai” (分解), meaning ‘disassembly’, does not refer to a technique of any kind. It…