Karate v21i05

T H E O N LY M A G A Z I N E D E D I C A T E D T O A L L K A R A T E K A

TRADITIONAL

KARATE online

Vol. Vol. 21 21 No. No. 5 5 February February 2008 2008

Eddie Gillespie His Pursuit of Excellence Karate is an Exact Science Simon Keegan 4th Dan A.S.K.A. 2007 National Championships

Koei Nohara TIY Skills - The Art of Killing?

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contents

06 WANDERING TIY Don’t Talk About Karate Without Knowing TIY - Part 1

10 EDDIE GILLESPIE His Pursuit of Excellence

16 SHIHAN LEE COSTA 20 KARATE IS AN EXACT SCIENCE!

pg.10

Simon Keegan 4th Dan, Pioneer of the Hakuda Kempo Toshu Jutsu Method of Karate Explains Why Karate Really is an Exact Science

26 INDEPENDENT FIGHTING SPIRIT OF OKINAWA 32 OKKO KARATE JUTSU A Tribute to Malcolm McClure

38 A.S.K.A. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007

By Martin Dean

40 SHOTOKAN MASTER CLASS

By Shaun Banfield

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ating incorpor IONAL TRADIT

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WANDERI KARATE NG TIY - DON ’T WITHOUT KNOWING TALK ABOUT TIY. PA RT 1 RESPEC T THE PA ON-KO-C HI-SHIN ST; CREATE T HE NEW

The origin Gusuku e of “Karate” (emp ty ra King of S in Ryukyu. The -hand) is “Tiy” (h Gusuku e a huri castle ra in Ryu nd) of Ryukyu. Ti (Chuzan) kyu yw conquere d the Na began in the 7th as first born as a kizin cast ce le (Hokuz ntury and lasted battlefield killing sk an) and the Ozato until the 15th cen ill during the tury, whe castle (N n the anzan).

In traditio nal karate from those circles th e and opin masters who have re is an old Japa ions there nese pro gone befo verb after. re us, an d then use that explains we sh our indiv idual exp ould all aim to e xa erience a s a basis mine and take le ss to create new know ons ledge

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CAN A MILLIO N STUD S H OTOKAN ENTS B I suppose th E WRON Adelaide e catalyst for my SENIO , R b J hospital. South Australia. I eginning karate G? O H N V tr I sought out a kara suffered considera aining was bein g the vict AN ble injury te club o W EE im n the day a of my rele nd had much to of an unprovoked NAN WINNIN occupy m ase and y mind d attack in Decemb threw my uri G AT W er self into tr aining, b ng my three-wee 1964 in ecoming k A I D T O RYU ’S NEV totally ab long stay in sorbed.

I was a co K E mpetitive ATA R AS E though I did comp swimmer back in A S ete once 1985 bu stopped Y t fo me from AS YOU swimmin r Ulster against S I contracted glan d g compe ’D LIK titively - b cotland (we lost!) ular fever. I don’t . Anyway, ut one da think I’d E! ever h y g I la h nd appened THE WA to see so ular fever totally ave become grea me karate t at swim drained m This is th Y m OF SAN e students training in e of energy and ing, of excerp fourth of several articles in ts of vari a C Belfast Le H I ous sectio vestigatin articles is N isure Cen gS ns to tr

from the anchin illustrate e. meaning ful for mo some of the me book The Way Kata, its origin a nd applica of Sanch thods of dern kara in training S teka. anchin k Kata: The Applica tion to traditional ata and making th tion of Power b karate. This mate y ri e knowle dge of th Kris Wilder. The g al consists The full ti e past m oal of the tle of the a st se ers releva eku kata approxim nt and is a parts, ba tely 600 years ag “Tsuken Aka chu sic techn iques etc o. The following no eku de” (The o .) can b ar kata e found in kata is a version found wit of red-head Tsuke a previou hin n). s Traditio nal Kara Matayoshi Kobu It is said that Tsu te magaz do. Asp ects of th ken devised this k ine e eku (N ames of ata various There are two simp ly... five. le Just kidd and easy answe ing, the a rs to this q nswer is one. We uestion; one or fi ll, to be fa ve ir - the a . Have you mad nswer is e up you to rea both. r mind?

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE PRACTI C THE HE AL KARATE IAN AS S ONE KA HOULD WE TRE TA OR FIVE? AT

n ful t mag H Sm also a ith & all goazine availal get your vailab le via od news agenble from t subscr iption s

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Wandering Tiy Don’t talk about Karate

without knowing Tiy Part One -By Mr Koei Nohara

The origin of “Karate” (empty-hand) is “Tiy” (hand) of Ryukyu. Tiy was first born as a battlefield killing skill during the Gusuku era in Ryukyu. The Gusuku era in Ryukyu began in the 7th century and lasted until the 15th century, when the King of Shuri castle (Chuzan) conquered the Nakizin castle (Hokuzan) and the Ozato castle (Nanzan). The King of Shuri castle then created the Ryukyu Kingdom, which ended the fighting era of Gusuku and started the peaceful era of the Ryukyu kingdom till 1879.

The Tiy skills that were used for killing during the warring era of Gusuku changed to a skill used to keep a person alive once the peaceful era of the Ryukyu Kingdom had begun. Tiy spread to Japan from Okinawa after 1922, when Okinawa “Tiy” Master Gichin Funokoshi

introduced Tiy in Tokyo, where it came to be known as “Karate” in the 1930s by the Japanese people. In the 1950s Karate started to spread in the world. It is with World Karate, which diversified by the sense of values of each country and a difference of culture, that Karate begins to walk alone. Where will your “Tiy” and “Karate” walk toward!?

Laid in the historic scenery of the formation of the Ryukyu kingdom as a foundation, Okinawa accomplishes development, and established “Okinawa karate “Tiy” spreads in Japan and with it karate spreads to 150 countries around the world with a karate population said to now be 50,000,000. The number of the world karate population will continue increase in the future. It is a fact that the original and traditional sense of values

of karate cannot but change steadily as the globalization of karate advances.

If I say plainly, the Tiy” which was born from the fighting techniques of killing in the Gusuku fighting era and developed as a skill to keep a person alive in the long history of Ryukyu. It was also established in the development of “the martial arts” for the purpose of training, cultivation and the action of mind and body.

After the 2nd World War, as karate got more globalisation, it comes to be thought of as a simple sport, competition or game now, and the situation of changing into a competition where the emphasis is only about victory or defeat is seen in karate. When I compare Karate with such present conditions there

FEATURE / WANDERING TIY

is a lot of karate-ka who are very anxious about the future of karate.

Judging from a viewpoint of the cultural anthropology, such karate change is very interesting problem of the cultural transfiguration, as the phenomenon that a way of sense of values about the significance of the skill polishing system of Karate and recognition for the skill to have by an accepted process and the way that a certain social culture spreads in different societies.

It may be said that this particular problem surfaces in the argument over the right or wrong of introducing karate as an Olympic event. The martial art “judo” that accomplished development as Japanese old martial art, well established in Japan and spread all over the world, gaining global popularity through the Olympic Games.

However, by a process of the globalization of Judo, a delicate gap occurs in the umpiring standards in which a Judo game is judged. The gap is a difference in the recognition for the skill lined in Japanese tradition. A standard of the West to judge a game by a mark system affects the essential_skill of the judo based on Oriental thought. For example, the thought of the Orient is “disguised withdrawing” and the thought of “run out of meat, and to cut a bone”.

The “disguised withdrawing” means “Go no Sen” in Japanese. Go means later or back, Sen means before or ahead. So Go no Sen means “do not move until the opponent moves to attack”. Moving sometimes makes a

weak point. So wait until the opponent makes his weak point. The “run out of meat, and to cut a bone” means if your opponent is the same strength as you, so nether opponent can move, in this case, you first move giving your weak point not so seriously but only being cut your muscle, so your opponent will move to cut your muscle, then you move to cut his most important part of bone.

Cutting bone means death, cutting muscle means he is injured but still alive.

Such a phenomenon may be said to be the tangle of “tradition and modern”.

Judging from a global viewpoint, it will be the phenomenon that is inevitable by a process of the globalization that the Japanese old “traditional martial arts” spread as “modern sports” worldwide.

However, judging from an Okinawa Japanese viewpoint, the purpose and significance of Budo is to forge mind as well as the human body, such as severe self training and cultivation of the traditional martial arts make it more and more rare book.

difference of opinions about this problem comes from the difference in recognition of the root and trunk of karatedo, and an argument to approach the essence or theory of karatedo in the first place.

When I look back on the karate history, in fact, an argument over the difference in the way of thinking of karatedo did not begin in modern times. The karate that was born in Okinawa and spread to main land Japan in 1922 was changed in the 1930s, by Japanese University karate students, for competition. At that time Okinawa Karateka felt uneasy, as Okinawa Karate was only for Budo...

For the rest of this article and subsequent parts pick up a copy of Combat magazine available from W.H.Smith and all good newsagents

I feel a sense of impending crisis for the martial arts, in particular about the entertainment characteristics of sports and the victory or defeat of the game. In this, you can see the figure of the tangle of “tradition and modern” and “nationalism and internationalism of the culture” fulfilling all which is called Japanese traditional culture as well as karate, over the right or wrong of entering Karate as an Olympic event, and the opposition of an intense opinion of the pros and cons produced now in the international karate world as well as Japan. However, the WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 7

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Eddie Gille His pursuit of Excellence EDDIE Gillespie was recently awarded his 5th Dan by sensei Ticky Donovan (OBE) a just reward you may think for 24 years of devotion to his art.

But as anyone who has observed, trained or come face-to-face with Eddie on the mat or elsewhere will testify - he deserves every plaudit that comes with this latest accolade.

Eddie has become not only one the NorthEast’s, but one of the nation’s finest karate practitioners. His skills, talent, devotion, knowledge and power have earned him the respect of the karate world.

But it is a respect he has had to work hard to achieve - because this wasn’t always the case.

Often maligned and misunderstood, Eddie is the first to admit he hasn’t always been a favourite in the karate world during his pursuit for excellence.

Like many, the start of Eddie’s karate career was unspectacular. Eddie said: “I did a bit of boxing when I was a kid and I tagged along with some mates to a karate class in the local community centre. It was 1983 and I was 13 - karate still had a lot of mystique back then. There were about 50 people training in the lines and I was mystified by the punches and kicks. I was hooked.”

“I trained every night the club was on. I was a small lad and I wasn’t a natural athlete - so nothing came easy. In the early days there were many failures, especially in gradings and sparring - but I kept at it.

It was also a bit brutal and I can barely remember a session without coming home with a bruise somewhere or a black eye.

And if you got upset or dared to cry, you got hit harder.”

“I wasn’t the world’s best student either - a bit of a black sheep really - I was always falling out with someone or other - and I was always in trouble with the instructors, and still bear the scars to prove it. I didn’t learn very quickly on that score.”

After four years Eddie achieved his 1st Dan in shotokan karate - but an experience when he was 18, took his life, and karate in another direction.

He said: “I was working as a chef in a nightclub when I was 18 and there was a huge fight one night. There was about 40 blokes and only five doormen. The manager ran into the kitchen and told me to get out and give them a hand - so I did. I took a few knocks but I managed to defend myself and I knew that night that karate actually worked.”

“The next night the manager told me I made a better doorman than a chef - so I became a doorman instead.”

But it was a catalyst that saw Eddie began to take his karate seriously and his thirst for knowledge and better instruction took him to Middlesbrough from his native Sunderland and training with then world champion Abdu Shaha and Sokudo.

It was from there that Eddie was linked to a man he still considers as one of his greatest influences - sensei Colin Edwards.

He said: “When I met Colin I knew all what I had seen and done before in karate paled in significance. He was something else. Small in stature - his karate was just phenomenal. Influences from Shitoryu and Shokokai. It was just amazing. His technique is still some of the best I’ve seen to date.”

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“Karate took over my life. I had an incredible thirst for knowledge. I suppose it was an obsession.”

Eddie opened his first club as a 2nd Dan in 1989 while still with Sokudo - and some of the students he had back then still train with him today.

It was around this time that Eddie’s new honed skills and experience began to tell on the competition circuit - earning him numerous accolades in kata and kumite.

His achievement soon earned him a place on the junior England squad, but his volatile nature was still rearing its head and earning him enemies in the karate world.

But this was soon to change.

Eddie said: “In 1990 I went to the junior European Championships in Glasgow. Sensei Donovan was the coach and I had a bit of a name for myself. I was aggressive; things had happened in my personal life and was going down a bad road. I wasn’t earning many friends and I needed some direction. I was also in a bit of a karate wilderness - I didn’t know where to turn. Sensei Donovan suggested a number of associations - but I wanted more from my karate than just competition. He offered me a place with Ishinryu and I grabbed it with both hands. It was the best choice I’ve made in my karate career.”

Six- hundred mile round trips to Essex every month followed for the next 12 months so that Eddie could learn the Ishinryu style and way.

He said: “It was so hard at first. It was physically and mentally draining - the transition I had to make - and the rest of my students had to make - was so hard. Ishinryu had a tradition of excellence, and for many years, and in many ways still, I was in awe.”

“But it was all worth it. Sensei Donovan didn’t give me it one a plate, I had to work for it. But the guidance and he has given me over the last 17 years has been invaluable in my whole life. I owe him a lot.”

Success soon followed, not only in Eddie’s karate career, but also for his students who were able to benefit from his own determination and sacrifices and who also earned international acclaim.

FEATURE / EDDIE GILLESPIE

spie FACTFILE: Age: 37 Style: Ishinryu Club: Northern Counties Ishinryu Grade: 5th Dan Titles: English and British team Champion, English senior heavyweight silver/bronze medallist, North East Champion, England junior and senior international.

Favourite competition technique: Hook and stab.

It was to this club that I returned in January. After some nine years out of the game - the karate magnet drew me back.

Delighted to be back - but also thrilled that the quality of karate I had known Eddie for had not only remained - but had developed and matured into some of the best I’ve seen.

Now, 37, it’s been a long journey to acceptance for Eddie Gillespie - but he has certainly arrived.

But there was also success in Eddie’s personal life. His new-found focus saw him return to college, achieve a degree in sociology and psychology and become a police officer.

Eddie said: “The irony - there was a time when I thought I might end up in a lot of trouble - and here I am locking up criminals - and the turnaround is all down to karate.”

Eddie’s job with the Metropolitan Police took him to London and teaching at the prestigious Ishinryu hombu in Barking, Essex. As well as a regular instructor on Ticky Donovan’s Summer Course, Eddie’s talents have seen him teach across the globe - with recent trips to the ghettos of Brazil and tsunami-hit Sri Lanka among those. He teaches self-defence in schools and personal security.

Among the karate clubs Eddie runs, is a club at his own stamping ground - the community centre where it all began.

Eddie said: “I’ve come full circle. I’m back where it all started. For me it exorcised a few ghosts from my past - but also it was about finding another kid - a kid a bit lost, looking for direction, and someone to show him the right way - another me.”

Eddie said: “For me karate has been like winning the lottery. It has given me so much happiness and sense of achievement and self worth and taken me to places I would probably never have seen. From the plushest of hotels to the ghettos of Brazil.

It’s given me friends, the superb camaraderie is second to none, the frustration, the elation - the will to succeed when no one else believes you can. I still get a buzz every time I put on a gi. And I’m still learning every class I take or every course I do or every student I teach. Karate is a way of life.”

On boxing Day 2004, Eddie Gillespie joined millions around the world watching in horror the images from Sri Lanka as a Tsunami wiped out thousands of lives, devastating everything in its path.

That journey has now taken him to the heights of 5th Dan - and to some of the most far reaching parts of the world to use his skills to help others.

The most recent of these was from his club in Sunderland to to Sri Lanka.

Eddie said: “When I was asked to go to Sri Lanka - I thought, what can I possibly do to help those people. I saw the devastation on my TV like most, and have watched since documentaries as they try, somehow to rebuild their lives.”

“I went out there and you just can’t imagine the devastation until you see it for yourself. You watch the media reports and after a few months that spotlight goes onto something else - it is aftermath that the impact of the Tsunami continues to hit.”

Eddie was taken to a little village in Sri Lanka where a karate school has been set up by Saj DeSilva - the brother of Eddie’s girlfriend, Shani.

Eddie said: “I remember being told about the youngsters who trained and hearing some of the heartbreaking stories of what had happened to them in the Tsunami.

One girl who had watched her entire family swept away.”

Almost three years on and the region is still gripped by the aftermath of one the world’s worst natural disasters.

“Countless others had lost their family members, homes, entire lives disappeared - no one seemed to be unaffected in some way by the tragedy.”

But through karate, Eddie has been able to bring hope to youngsters whose lives were torn apart when the wave ravaged their homeland and ripped their lives apart.

“But I also remember being stunned when I arrived there to find dozens of kids will huge smiling faces. How they managed to smile was beyond me.”

And it was a mercy mission that landed Eddie in hospital fighting a potentially lethal infection.

Eddie set out teaching the youngsters the Ishinryu way, overcoming the language and cultural barriers.

Eddie’s journey through karate’s wilderness led to him finding his Shangri-la in the form of Ticky Donovan’s Ishinryu.

Eddie said: “I couldn’t believe the enthusiasm they showed - it was just incredible.

These kids have nothing. The little they had in the first place was snatched away from them. But they had hope and determination to overcome whatever life had thrown at them. If the kids I teach or have see gave half as much as these youngsters they would all be world champions.”

“They learned so quickly and as the days went on their confidence seemed to grow and grow.”

“On the day before we left to come back home they put a special buffet meal on for me. There was little more than cream soda, bananas and cake - but it was everything they had in the world. I felt so humble.

They were hugging me and they were so alive. It brought tears to my eyes.”

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FEATURE / EDDIE GILLESPIE

QUICK QUESTIONS: When did you start karate?

In 1983 when I was 13 Why did you start karate?

Like many, I went along with a few mates and I was hooked from the start.

When did you win your first competition?

1987 - When I was 17. It was junior section of the North East Open.

When did you open your first club?

1989, in Washington, Sunderland, when I was a 2nd Dan in Shukokai training with Sokudo.

Can you remember your first student?

There have been many. I can’t remember the first - but one began in 1990 who is still with me now.

Who are your biggest influences?

Colin Edwards, Simon Kidd, Dave Hazzard - and of course sensei Donovan.

Would you ever give up karate?

I don’t think so - I still get a buzz every time I put on a gi.

What is your greatest achievement in karate?

Any competition memories - but representing my country was always special.

“From there I was determined to try to do what I can for these people and back across, send them equipment, anything to make sure they continued to heal in some little way through karate. It’s hard to imagine karate can touch lives in this way - but it can.”

But little did Eddie know his mission of mercy would land him in hospital himself fighting a life-threatening infection.

Eddie said: “While I was training out there I began to really struggle - I thought it was just the heat - but then I noticed I was covered in huge lumps. I was told I had been bitten by sand flies.”

“By the time I returned to the UK I was ill and the next thing I was in hospital. I was in there for days. The bites became infected and I got blood poisoning. They said any, later and it might have been a lot worse.”

“I was pumped with antibiotics and I eventually recovered - but it was still nothing compared to what those kids have gone through over there.”

Any set a fund and enlisted the help of local businesses in a bid to ship out muchneeded equipment to Sri Lanka to aid training. He plans to return in the New Year.

But it wasn’t the first time Eddie has used karate to help others. Also last year he visited Brazil and took karate into the ghetto

in a bid to steer youngsters away from a life of drugs.

and gangs and we went into a tiny dojo which was nothing more than a tin hut.”

Through old instructors, Graham Burt, he was asked to get involved with a youth exchange project through CSV Community Service Volunteers.

“The heat was just incredible. I never imagined anyone would be here. I just wanted to get in and get out.”

The project, Viva Rio, took Eddie to Brazil to play a key role in The Fight for Peace.

“On the first day there were about 12 kids, the second about 20 and by the end of the trip we could hardly move in this tiny dojo.”

Rio’s poverty stricken shantytowns, or favelas, have been gripped by 20 years of drug trafficking ruled by barons.

The daily journey into the favela was fraught with problems - which culminated into their taxi coming under fire.

Children grow up knowing only devastation - with drugs holding the only lure to a better life.

Eddie said: “We were told not to look at any one and there’s a price on the head of any police officer of $3,000 - so I certainly wasn’t flagging that one up.”

The Fight for Peace is trying to steer these youngsters away from that life - through sport.

As a former doorman and now police officer, Eddie has witnessed some of the harshest realities - but nothing prepared him for the ghettos of Brazil.

He said: “I remember driving in from our nice hotel and seeing the poverty first hand - it was such a contrast. As we got deeper into the favela we could see kids about 12 riding on motorbikes armed with automatic rifles - all employed by local drug barons.”

“Through the project we were allowed entrance, negotiated with the drug leaders

14 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

“This particular day we saw people in the street with machine guns as we drove by, the next thing the car is being shot at. It was just madness. But we kept going because we just couldn’t let these kids down.”

“All this trauma and daily terror - and they were united by karate. It was just incredible. Again I felt so humble that I have so much and they have nothing.”

“When it was time to leave I was just devastated. We had achieved so much in such a short space of time and I felt fear. Fear because I knew the life and fate that awaited those kids.”

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Shihan Lee C Cardiff born to immigrant Spanish parents, Shihan Lee Costa is this year celebrating his 40 years in karate.

Karate had been brought over in the 1950’s and 1960’s by several Japanese Masters who began to teach in the UK and were brought together by Keinosuke Enoeda in 1966 to establish the Karate Union of Great Britain. When Lee started his journey, karate in the UK was still in it’s infancy.

Training in the Kyokushinkai style, he found himself in an environment that was less structured than today’s well organised sport but thrived in his new found surroundings where training was carried out with like minded people and ‘classes’ were not necessarily carried out under Dan grade supervision. Each student learnt off each other regardless of grade. It was in this community that, in 1966, Lee first started training. His first grading in May 1971 under Sensei Steve Arneil was the start of a period where he honed his skills and took them to another level by competing on the British and European circuits. That same year (1971) saw him take 1st place in the B.W.W. Championships in both kumite and kata. An excellent result when you remember that in these times there were little or no weight categories, it was a case of taking on all comers!

Wales entered the European Karate Union (EKU) Senior Championships for the first time in 1974 and participated in national and international tournaments.

As captain of the Welsh team, Lee was awarded a first in the 8th B.K.K. National Championships while also taking a third in kumite at the same competition.

Training under Sensei Howard Collins for many years Lee was awarded his Shodan in Holland by S Oyama and N Nakamura to complete a successful year and raise expectations for the future.

Indeed over the next seven years competition throughout Europe brought success year on year with participation in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain.

During one of the competitions a Swedish International team were visiting Wales where a meeting with a certain Dolph Lungren (as he is now popularly known) resulted with mixed success, the mix being Dolph Lungren pursuing an acting career and going on to fight Rocky for a ‘world title’ and earning megabucks while Lee became a well respected businessman and property developer with perhaps slightly less megabucks to his name.

The Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales, was host to many dojos under his leadership including clubs in Caerphilly, Cardiff, Cowbridge, Penarth and the Valleys of

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South Wales, placing him as one of the largest groups by far with in excess of 500 students. He was also short listed by the Vale of Glamorgan as Sports Personality of the Year during 1998. One of the founder members of the British Karate Control Commission which evolved to form a separate Welsh Karate Federation and more recently the Welsh Karate Governing Body.

Lee was privileged to hold several posts within the Welsh Organisation - Squad Manager, Tournament Organiser and Junior Squad Coach and retains membership in the newly evolved Welsh Karate Governing Body Ltd.. Awarded his 6th Dan in this his fortieth year of training he now concentrates his activities to passing on the vast amount of experience and love of the sport to both juniors and seniors alike who seek to train under him.

Having been associated with Lee for some fifteen years both through karate, where I and several members of my family trained under him, my son achieving a junior shodan grade and representing his country in competition as well as through business ventures, it is my pleasure to offer this brief profile of Shihan Lee Costa and hope his enthusiasm and dedication to karate prevails in an ever changing sporting world and wish him continued success over the next decade or four.

FEATURE / SHIHAN LEE COSTA

osta

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NET001/04

FEK001/01

Federation of English Karate Organisations International In direct membership to the World Karate Confederation and English Traditional Karate Body

Federation of English Karate Organisations In direct membership to the English Karate Governing Body

Federation of Martial Arts In direct membership to the F.E.K.O Int’l Criminal Records Bureau registered for Disclosure including outside groups. NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document A Federation of over 70 Karate Associations plus other Martial Arts Groups (16,000 members)

If you are a 3rd dan or above with a group of at least 100 members then join a truly democratic long established organisation but still retain your independence. Each Association has a representative on the Federation Council to form the Federation policy. You decide on the future direction of Karate within the Federation. You elect annually the Executive Committee for the day to day running of the Federation. Smaller groups also catered for.

No interference in running your own group - Freedom to conduct your own gradings - All grades recognised - Dan grades registered, recognised and certificated - All your training premises covered for £5,000,000 public liability - Full insurance cover for all registered members - Instructor/Coaching/Assessor qualifications - To be able to work within the law we have CRB Disclosure - NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document - National/International Refereeing courses and qualifications Junior & Senior National/International - National Children’s Championships - National Senior Championships - Plus local championships with member groups etc

Federation of Martial Arts. Many karate groups also train in other Martial Arts including Kick boxing, the FMA offers the above benefits to those members with membership to FEKO Int’l or direct membership to the FMA for non Karate groups For further information contact Alan Carruthers FEKO Secretary 198 Meadow Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1JR Tel/Fax 0115 9250167 E-mail mail@feko.co.uk Web site www.feko.co.uk

KAR003/06

Karate is an

exact science!

Simon Keegan 4th Dan, pioneer of the Hakuda Kempo Toshu Jutsu

method of Karate explains why Karate really is an exact science.

There is an old exclamation that says:

“This isn’t an exact science you know!” and when I hear this said in martial arts I always chuckle.

Because this is an exact science, you know.

Karate Jutsu, or Toshu Jutsu as I refer to it for reasons I will detail at the end of the feature, is very much an exact science and I will explain why.

I teach according to three sciences. The

Science of Violence (SOT), the Science of Technique (SOT) and the Science of Learning (SOL).

We will first examine the elements of the SOV. SOV1. Attacking range There are only a finite number of distances from which an assailant can launch an attack. The opponent may be at “long range”, so far away from us that the only way he could hit us is with a projectile or firearm attack or medium long range where maybe they could attack us with a handheld weapon. The next distance is “kicking range” where the only way he could reach us is with a kicking attack. So we know that

if the opponent is five foot away we don’t have to worry about throws! Then we have “punching range”, typically the type of distance between two boxers. Here the opponent can reach us with a kick or a punch.

The next range is “close range”. We are too close for the opponent to kick but he can still punch with hooks, he an also use knees and elbows and can clinch. This is the range favoured in MMA when one man has the other pinned up against the cage and “dirty boxing” commences.

The next range is the full clinch. We don’t really need to worry about kicks or punches as much as but the main threats are throws and trips. Finally we have the groundwork range, with both opponents grappling or pounding on the floor. So there we have it: just seven fighting ranges.

The real skill is twofold, firstly we must learn to defend against appropriate attacks at appropriate ranges. The second skill is mixing and matching the fighting ranges.

For example you are on the floor and the opponent is stood.

SOV2. Habitual Attacks To explain the nature of habitual attacks I can do no better than to refer to the pioneering research of Hanshi Patrick McCarthy. The principle of the Habitual Acts of Physical Violence (HAPVs) is that violent attacks are not random they are habitual.

McCarthy Sensei cites 36 main attacks.

These include punches, kicks, grabs, trips, locks, distractions and posturing.

They key to understanding the Science of Violence is combining knowledge of habitual attacks with the appropriate attacking range and ensuring no range is neglected.

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FEATURE / KARATE IS AN EXACT SCIENCE!

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ty should also be paramount. Not just to make the student look “pretty� enough to pass a grading or tough enough to score an Ippon, but in order that their techniques are performed with efficacy.

SOT1. Understanding the syllabus Many martial arts schools use a syllabus as a means only to assist in grading revision or as a curriculum outline. A truly successful syllabus should of course include all the elements necessary for a student to pass a grading but it should also ensure that the student is learning the skills at the appropriate stage of their development. At academic school we are taught the ABCs, then we are taught how to form words, then sentences, the joined-up writing, then prose and poetry and so on. A martial arts syllabus should not teach the poetry of the art before the ABCs. A good martial arts system should emphasise both quantity and quality. By quantity I do not mean learning a thousand kata. By quantity I mean a full complement of techniques. Strikes, locks, throws, hold-downs, reversals, escapes and perhaps some weapons training. But quali-

SOT2. Understanding Defence Just as there are only four fighting ranges and a habitual set of attacks there are also a finite number of ways we can defend against a technique. In fact there are four* We can Block the attack. To obstruct it before it becomes effective Parry the attack, redirect it or blend with it Avoid the attack, duck, weave, or run away We cause pain to the attacker which makes him voluntarily (or involuntarily!) cease the attack. Once we understand there are a finite number of ranges, each of which only cater to a finite number of attacks and each of these can only be defended in a finite number of ways, we start to realise that martial arts are a very precise science. *The four defences: I must give credit to Hanshi Terry Wingrove for teaching me this principle SOT3. Understanding Technique Did you ever show a technique from your style to an advanced martial artist from another style who, despite never having seen that particular technique before still managed to do the technique better than you? This is because after reaching a certain level of skill, how the technique seems to manifest itself is unimportant. What matters are principles common to all techniques in all arts, from archery to Sumo.

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The Five Major Principles of Martial Arts Relax. There is no technique that is better as a result of being tense, locked-up and rigid Breathe. Breathing is emphasised in arts like archery, Tai Chi and Iaido. But is also important in more external arts. Learn to breath fully, naturally and move in time with your breath Use the waist and/or hips. All movement must originate from the midsection. A baseball hitter would not dream of moving the bat using only his arms.

Two directions. This is the most abstract of the concepts. Every technique make use of two directions or more. When we punch we not only move one hand forward, we move the other back. When we block we do so diagonally. When we apply a wrist lock the wrist is moved backwards and to the side. When we cut with a sword we come down in a chopping action but also arc inwards in a cutting action.

Train slowly. Learn to practice each technique at Tai Chi speed to ensure perfect attention to detail. Also, as the defender you can afford to move slower than the attacker. If he is punching you in the face his fist has to travel two feet in distance, whereas your face only has to move a few inches to avoid it. So why try to move at the same speed as the attacker. *The five principles: I must give credit to Renshi Reiner Parsons for teaching me this lesson.

FEATURE / KARATE IS AN EXACT SCIENCE! Other common principles in martial arts When you are studying for self defence, remember there are no rules (and not like in MMA where there are no rules apart from about 30 exceptions!). There are few techniques that are not improved by first distracting the opponent. Spit in his eyes, flick him in the groin, throw your coffee in his face, rake your car keys across his eyes, throw a handful of coins in his face.

You only need to buy yourself a fraction of a second.

Kiai. Whether you view a Kiai as a warcry, a harmony of energy or a way of expelling all the air from your stomach, this under-rated technique will pay off Keep good stature. This means keeping the elbows and shoulders down, the spine straight and the hips relaxed.

Keep techniques finite. A reverse hook kick to the shoulder blade may score a point in the Dojo but can you rely on it to end a confrontation? If you can’t use a technique that guarantees the opponent is knocked out, use a technique that at least puts him on his backside.

SOL1. Making it work for you Once we begin to understand the Science of Violence and the Science of Technique we need to learn how exactly we can learn these techniques so well and so throroughly that they become instinctive. It is great to be able to perform a technique well in the Dojo (and even better to perform it well in a competition or grading) but what is the use if you cannot perform it when it really matters, on the street?

And so we practice the individual techniques (Kihon) applying the principles of technique to them. Then we work with a partner (Kumite) and he attacks us (the Science of Violence) and depending on his range and his attack, we use a technique to defend against it, then we get in our retaliation.

SOL2. Managing your mindset When your first practice a technique your state of mind is Kime, full focus and concentration on the task in hand. Learning the technique, examining it and getting it right.

The next state of mind is Zanshin.

Awareness of surroundings, awareness of the opponent’s actions.

The final state of mind is Mushin (no mind). The ability to perform the technique without thinking about the opponent’s attack or your defences.

SOL3. Have faith in your system I believe that the men who created the Kata that we practice knew what they were doing. I believe they understood violence, technique and learning and so encrypted all the necessary techniques into our Kata.

There are lovely Aikido-style moves in Heian Shodan, wonderful grappling techniques in Heian Sandan and so great throws in Bassai Dai. And if ever you get attacked in a confined space, you’ll truly value Tekki Shodan....

Practice the techniques and then try to find them in the Kata you already know. Karate kata are a wealth of self defence techniques.

Why Toshu Jutsu?

Why do I call my own system Hakuda Kempo Toshu Jutsu? The two characters for Chinese Hand can be pronounced To/Kara/Ku/Tang and Te/De/Di/Shu/Soo. I use the Onyumi pronunciation which is To-Shu, whereas the Kunyumi pronuciation is Kara-Te. The Koreans use a variation of the Onyumi which gives Tang-Soo and some Karateka use a combination of Onyumi and Kunyumi which gives To-De.

The characters To Shu when reversed gives us Shu To, which by an Okinawan pun can also mean “Hand Sword”. And in the words of Master Funakoshi, “Think of the hands and feet as swords.”

Hakuda or Hakuda Kempo was, essentially Kyushu’s (a south Japanese island) answer to Karate/Toshu Jutsu. In the 1600s a Japanese master called Akiyama travelled to China and learnt a striking art. I believe this art was White Crane Kung Fu, forerunner of Karate. Since Hakuda literally means White Hand.

The name Hakuda Kempo Toshu Jutsu pays tribute to the old ways of Karate and Jujutsu known as Toshu and Hakuda.

Simon Keegan is chairman of The Empire Martial Arts Association (TEMAA) and chief instructor of the Bushinkai International Academy of Martial Arts. He graded upto 3rd Dan in Karate and 2nd Dan in Jujutsu under Japan’s oldest martial arts fraternity the Kokusai Budoin; and was awarded 4th Dan by the World Karate Association.

As representative of TEMAA he is a founder member of the English Karate Federation. For information on training in Toshu Jutsu, Tai Chi or joining TEMAA email kaicho@runbox.com

This is our ABC: Avoid, Block, Counter.

Now we need to practice the technique by Drilling it. We can use shadowboxing, Kata, flowdrills or simple repetition. We practice, practice, practice and then practice some more. Eventually it doesn’t matter from which angle the attack comes because our defence is so well drilled it seems to spring from nowhere.

But now we have learn the technique and drilled it, we need to somehow simulate the state of mind and environment we might find outside. The opponent is angry, fast, coming at us powerfully and violently. Can we still pull the trick out of the bag? For this we use sparring. Kickboxing style, Judo style and MMA style.

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Stephen Thompson Proudly Presents...

THE ULTIMATE MARTIAL ART BUSINESS SEMINAR Is it possible for a single school to gross over £30,000.00 in one month every month? One man does, and has done it for years.

For the first time Stephen Thompson, owner of a chain of schools in the UK is sharing his PROVEN strategies and reasons why his schools are one of the highest grossing in the UK.

What can S-M-A-R-T do for you?

There is no better job out there than being a Martial Arts Professional. Teaching martial arts has always been a passion for me.

As a younger man competing was everything. I could not wait for the next tournament to come around. In my tournament career I have travelled all over the world, but I do not want to bore you with that, I just want to assure you, I am a real martial artist. I Love Martial Arts and what is had done for me and my family. I always wanted to teach full time, and tried. My first clubs went well, apart form, of course summer, when things would slow up, and I was back doing my trade, being a poor carpenter.

I have had a decade of building systems!

You see there is not one system out there that tells you what to do from the start, well, there is now.

Over one weekend, I am going to tell you how I run my schools and how I have been so successful.

What will you learn?

If you are thinking of opening a school, or if you have one already, it does not matter. The systems that you will learn on the seminar are the same ones that my staff use every day to generate £30,000 a month from one location. In actual fact you will be able to see the schools in action if you wish to visit one of my locations as a V.I.P. I will even share with you the running school numbers!

“Martial Arts should not be about making money” I have heard this so many times, and you know what, I was once like that! But the gift that God gave me was the ability to do martial arts. It just made sense to me. But I can tell you, having to put my hand in my pocket to pay for hall rent because I did not have enough students to pay it, hurt more than any punch or kick I took on the mat. If you have been in Martial Arts for any length of time you will probably have seen some great martial artist. But all to often, these people had to stop teaching because they could not afford to carry on. I believe martial arts is a wonderful sport and has so much to offer everyone, so this is why my martial art schools must run at a profit. This way I can make sure they stay open, and I am giving a great career to my instructors. Whether your goal is to build a massive organisation, or just to make sure your school is paying for itself, do the S.M.A.R.T thing, and ask for more information.

Instructors = £45K a year?

My Instructors wages, that’s right not the owner - the instructor running one school Listen. I know you can go along as you are, hey, who says I have something better than the next guy. BUT, you have to wonder, if you had my systems; systems that work; that have enabled me to grow from 1 school that was out of a church hall twice a week, to now running 4 full time locations with hundreds of students.

WHAT COULD YOU DO? S.M.A.R.T SMA001/02

Martial Art Business Systems

START-MARKET-ATTAIN-RETAIN-TEACH

Phone and request an information pack and CD

Call 0800 011 2223 www.smart-martial-arts.co.uk

If you do decide that the information is not for you then you have lost nothing, I am even paying for the call! What have you got you lose?

Independent Fighting Spirit

of Okinawa Okinawa exists in two broad manifestations. One is the very real, modern island state - now part of Japan, whilst the other is a combination of ancient history, myth, legend and in-part, misunderstanding. This being so, it is not to say that the two manifestations do not over-lap, on the contrary, they most definitely do.

The misunderstanding being the inevitable product of one, far away culture, being translated into the familiar concepts of many other cultures, all with their own unique ‘filter’ of interpretation.

Okinawa has been viewed in three distinct ways; 1) An independent island nation, with its own unique martial traditions, culture and language.

2) A part of China, with a number of Chinese families settling, and an inport of Chinese culture as a consequence.

3) A part of the nation of Japan, with Japanese cultural traits prevailing.

There is some truth in all of the above statements, but no single statement serves to convey the whole truth of the matter. Yes, Okinawa has been a part of China, and during that time, the government of Okinawa paid tribute to the Chinese emperors.

Chinese cultural traits infiltrated Okinawa, and there are the famous Nine Villages - a settlement of various Chinese families, literally transplanted from the mainland of China, to live amongst the Okinawans. And from this, many Chinese fighting systems have been imported, accepted, practiced and adapted. It is also true that many notable Okinawans have traveled to China, (usual-

ly to Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian province) and learnt martial arts by staying many years in China. Okinawa has had extensive trading links with China, and a cross-cultural exchange, up until recent times, had always been encoouraged. Fuzhou being a major trading point with Okinawa, tended to be at least the first point of entry into China for traveling Okinawans. And, it must not be forgotten, some of the arts learnt, were associated with the southern Shaolin Temple of Fujian province. A Ch’an Buddhist temple that allowed martial arts to be practiced as part of the meditational training of the Ch’an monks - the martial movements being used as ‘moving meditation’. This temple being considered a sister-temple (or branch) of the famous Shaolin Temple of Henan province. Legend recalls that perhaps the only difference in regime between the northern Shaolin Temple, and its southern counter-part, is that the southern version may well have accommodated the ordination of Buddhist nuns, as well as monks, teaching martial arts to both, regardless of gender.

Okinawan culture has a strong Confucian and Buddhist foundation. Infact, to the average outsider, Okinawan social organisation can appear very insular, and there is good reason for this. In the Confucian system, organsiation of society begins and ends with the family unit. If order prevails in the family, it is believed that order will prevail within the country. Relationships are regulated through sets of flexible and not so flexible rules and procedures, created to maintain order, discipline and appropriate behaviour at all times.

And yet, underlying this order, there lies an informality that is the product of understanding and consideration - forged withn the confines and definite boundaries of discipline.

This discipline, during Okinawa’s long history, eventually led to a united country, with its own trading empire. During the Sho dynasty (1429-1871), the kingdom of Okinawa, (which, whose influence spread as far as Taiwan), had extensive trading links with China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Java, Malacca and Hue. Indeed, it was the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644), that officially recognised the king of the Okinawan state of Chuzan, as ‘Sho’ Hashi.- the king of all Okinawa - and founder of the Sho dynasty in 1429. Prior to this occasion however, the military forces of the state of Chuzan had done battle with, and defeated the other two states of note, that existed in Okinawa at this time, namely the Nanzan and Hokuzan. Through warfare, and Chinese imperial sanction - Okinawa became a united country.

The Ming dynasty, to prevent Chinese piracy, has issued an edict forbidding Chinese people from trading over-seas. However, the Okinawans, who paid regular tribute to the Chinese throne, were viewed as trust-worthy and reliable people. And it was

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FEATURE / INDEPENDENT FIGHTING SPIRIT OF OKINAWA Okinawans that the Ming court granted full, over-seas trading rights. The island of Taiwan, which was then considered a ‘free port’, was used as a trading base by the Okinawans at this time.

This central role, made the Okinawan people a lynch-pin for the exchange of goods and culture. The Okinawan state itself, had adopted the Chinese Confucian model of hierarchy and respect.

Society was ordered, peace prevailed, and Okinawan sea-farers plied their trade upon the seas. It is believed that the sailors were required to protect themselves, their cargoes and their ships from attack. Okinawan ‘Ti’, or ‘Hand’ arts existed for at least hundreds of years prior to this date (1400-1500’s). The lack of written records precludes an exact description of the ancient martial arts. Chinese influence can not be ignored however, as the Okinawan art of ‘Todi’, or ‘Toti’, translates as ‘Tang Hand’, a name referring of course, to the Tang dynasty of china (618-907 A.D.), With exactly the same meaning as the Korean art of Tang Soo Do (Tang Hand Way). The West has known ‘China’ as such, since at least Roman times - the Latin the ‘China’ being ‘Sina’ (the word ‘China’ coming from the ‘Chin’ dynasty 221BC-206AD). However, in the East, evidence suggests that China was known primarily by its current dynastic name. Okinawa is mentioned as early as 608AD, in Chinese records, as the emporer Yo sent an official to explore diplomatic links. Approximately ten years after this event, the Tang dynasty was founded, and its influence can still be seen in Okinawan martial culture. Even as relatively late as 1392AD, it is recorded that 36 Chinese families settled near Naha city - bringing their martial culture with them.

From this fusion and blending of martial culture, ‘Tiu-ti’ - or ‘Tang Hand’ developed. In the Japanese language, ‘Tiu-ti’ is pronounced ‘Kara-te’. In modern Japan however, ‘Kara-te’ is nolonger written as ‘Tang’, or ‘Chinese’ hand, but rather as ‘empty’ hand, with the word ‘empty’ being pronounced as ‘kara’.

Japanese Kara-te, therefore, maybe viewed as a distinct and separate development away from its Okinawan and Chinese roots.

With its own unique cultural content, definition, and of course, physical technique. As such, Japanese kara-te is very well known in the world today. Okinawan kara-te is also known and practiced, but perhaps what is not so well known, is the continuing practice of indigenous Okinawan ‘Ti’ techniques, passed on down the generations, by lineages of inheritance.

One such eminant style is maintained in the world today by Taiku Oyata, As a descendent of a high ranking official of the Shuri government - prior to the Japanese invasion of 1609AD - he embodies all the traditional values and martial prowess of the Okinawan legacy, and early Chinese influence. In his youth, he trained with both an Okinawan ‘Ti’ master, and a Chinese kung fu expert.

Again, manifesting the blend of martial culture that has entwined its way through Okinawan history. And Taiku Oyata has worked tirelessly to convey his art to sincere students outside of Okinawa.

One such student is Mr Andrew Weare, who has kindly agreed to be interviewed for this article, and give an insight into the workings of Ryu Te, or Okinawan Hand, as it is practiced today: Q. Thank you for helping with the research into Okinawan Te. How long have you been practicing Ryu Te? And how did you become involved, and have you practiced any other styles?

ANDREW WEARE: I have been practicing Ryu Te for about Eight year.

Previous to this, I certainly tried out a few styles.Wado 1st dan, Jiu jitsu 1st dan, dabbled Sankukai, Shotokan which in retrospect, felt entirely unnatural. I also had the same discomforts with some Chinese ‘’styles’’ too, Hop Gar, Eagle Claw, so all these ancient arts are well diluted. Then I saw a small advert mentioning Atemi, Kyusho and Tuite, and I wondered what these ‘new’ words were about ? Among the answers came this reply “you’ve gotta see this guy !! ( Taika, Seiyu Oyata ) he is visiting for a week here..don’t miss him..the answers are here !” I am now, currentlly, a Nidan blackbelt.

Q. Is Ryu Te a ‘style’, in the usual sense of the word?

ANDREW WEARE: I mentioned ‘’style’’ at the introduction to this art..and was told “this is not a style”. Meaning it was not formulated just to look ‘different’ from another school such as we see in the contrasts between the modern, eclectic “styles’’ of say, Wadoryu and Shotokan for example. ‘Style-less’ then, this is the Classical Art, Original & Genuine, from which all Traditional and Modern karate schools developed.

Q. How old is Ryu Te? ANDREW WEARE: Ryu Te appears to be at least 500 years old, and seems to have evolved out of a grappling art. Today, it is a fully rounded art, with kicks, punches throws, elbow srtike, knee strike, and so on. All delivered in a very natural way. It is a classical art, rather than a tradition or modern art.

Q. I am interested in your distinction between the terms ‘classical’, ‘traditional’, and ‘modern’. Why is Ryu Te considered ‘classical’, but not ‘traditional’?

ANDREW WEARE: It is classical because it pre-dates and preexists those style which are called ‘traditional’, or ‘modern’. It does not follow modernisitic trends but emphasises a Style-less approach, because Ryu Te has its designs based upon the human being’s body alone, and it’s naturally efficient capabilities.

Modern ‘styles’ delivering for example, singular high kicks, may not be good for defence purposes. In principle, it is not natural, adopting one leg to stand on, in a combative situation.. It may be considerd a waste of time then, with all that supposed ‘balance’ practice, on teetering, over stretched legs, The excuse that it’s ‘done for exercise’, won’t cut it either. A bad training habit, is a bad training habit. It is the same for ‘stances’. Over-stretched Cat stance, long forward stance and poorly formed horse stances are all examples of very bad stability.

Q. I understand that Ryu Te practice includes kata what can you tell me about this?

ANDREW WEARE: Yes, it does. The katas then, are deigned to be a ‘design’, for fighting one assailant only. The Okinawan Bushi could despatch a 300lb assailant in far less than a second. An art that cannot do this, is not good for life protection. Ryu Te has this capacity....ideal for old men like me. One can understand then, the sheer confidence in the katas that are deal with ONLY ONE assailant, never ever was it two or several, as is the assumption with modern kata interpetaion WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 27

In Shotokan we see the 5 Heian katas, which are called in Wado Ryu, the 5 ‘Pinan’ Katas. These are the very same katas, with some slight variations. It might be that much has been ‘lost in translation’, from the original Okinawan versions so to speak - but nonetheless, the general structure is easily recognisable. In a very real sense, Ryu Te is the great grandfather of anything we call karate today, including ‘Korean’ karate.

Q. With the naturalness of movement that you explain, how would you define Ryu Te? Is it an internal or external style?

All katas deal with only one man. Okay, the man is dispatched in less than a second - leaving plenty of time for the other ONE MAN then to be dealt with. A Kata that work well, make it your personal kata - Nai Hanchi, I reccommend.

All katas however, are equal in value..Pinan Nidan is equal to Bassai, and so forth. One kata will take ten years of study, for the mastery of the techniques, be it Bassai or Pinan Nidan. Did you know that all the Pinans came out of Kushanku? Kushanku was in Okinawa first, and Master Hanashiro developed the Pinan katas later. Nai Hanchi came down from the Sai master Kunishi, all three of the Naihanchi and Bassai came from Tomari..within this kata lies much power. Kata practice must be relaxed and natural.

Karate was developed in Okinawa, and with its evolution, the katas were developed. These katas were all about the ‘correct positions’ whilst in motion. Which means that the foot and hand positions, are always trained to be in the ‘optimum’ point of position, whilst in CONTINUOUS motion, from start to finish. There is no ‘robotic’ movement, or discontinuous transitions - the movement is mooth and powerful.

The same katas are recognised in all karate schools, even in the so called ‘Korean’ karate, (i.e.. Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do the latter actually pronounced ‘kara-te’ in Japanese, meaning ‘Chinese-Hand’), contain all the mainland Japan traditional and modern versions, of these same katas, as well as the all - so obvious suit of the karate ‘Gi’. See Taekwondo’s 5 ‘Heiwa’ katas, by way of illustration.

ANDREW WEARE: I remember hearing such things, as these debates about ‘internal’ and ‘external’ before I found Ryu Te. We always experience our bodies internally as well as externally all the time. But I do remember a new recruit asking Oyata “is this a hard or a soft ‘’style’ ? And in his usually brilliant way, Oyata said “hard is soft - soft is har!” And he then whipped his ‘’soft’’ hand forward and back like a whip, strucking the enquirer, thus showing the ‘soft’ whipping, has a truly harder impact!

Hence I am holding back much, in this regard. A tenet goes, “Be cautious about becoming too theoretical and technical, for these will leave a weakness in your defence’’. So soft- hard and internal-external. At a glance, Ryu Te then is hard because it is soft.

Q. Does Ryu Te allow for weapons practice? If so, how many weapns are there, and to what extent are they used?

ANDREW WEARE: Yes, Ryu Te does encourage weapons practice.

Infact, there are some 16 weapons In Taiku Oyata’s Okinawan martial system. Compulsory weapons include the six-foot Bo, the four-foot Jo, and metal Sai - historically, these weapons evolved purely from agricultural and domestic tools, without acception. In this respect, Ryu Te does share a common developmental ground, with the more ‘complete’ systems of unarmed Okinawan ‘kara-te’.

The Bo, Jo, and sai are intrinsic to Ryu Te, one starts practice with them immediately. Then a Ryu Te student may choose any other weapon to perfect, such as the Chizikun-bo (which comprise of two 6 inch long hand sticks, used as a pair). This weapon is an inch thick and is fitted to the hand by way of a looped cord around the middle finger, with..the cord’s knot laying on the outside of the hand, when tied, and can be utilised for striking..

These handy, pocket sized and clandestine weapons have developed from Okinawan fishing nets, where they were used as darning needles - a very unusual weapons Then there is Ton-bo, again used in pairs. They are 2 foot long sticks, similar to those used in Escrima. And then there is Eku, the boat oar, with its beautifully natural katas. Manji-sai - those with forward and reverse tines (or handle guards). There are kama sickles, but in my experience, most Ryu Te students are not too interested in them.. The sai are farmer’s dibbles. A manji-sai tied to the end of the 6’ long Bo staff is called the nin-te Bo. It’s a little bit like the naginata in that sense. The Jo is a four foot staff. This is its standard length, but it s length can vary. The JO in my informed view, is the absolute, non-bladed, hand weapon of choice. The Jo doesn’t look very ‘flashy’,.yet it is a weapon that when mastered, excels all others. It’s versatility, in the case of Ryu Te, retains the original principles of the art. Of the weapons of Classical Okinawa,.the Jo’s versatility is astounding...It’s use can easily dispatch a swordsman.

Ryu Te has the original family Sakagawa Jo arts.

The sai arts are of the reknowned Master Kunishi and Taika Uhugushuku the Bushi, from whom Taika Oyata was directly instructed. As he was entitled to be instructed in the ancient martialways, due to his family lineage and connections, in the traditional handing down of these hidden arts. No weapons are bladed for cutting in Bushi arts. The Masters knew high morality played a major role in effectiveness. As such, Ryu Te weapons are civil, and evolved for

28 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

FEATURE / INDEPENDENT FIGHTING SPIRIT OF OKINAWA self-defence from everyday objects of use, unlike weapns designed specifically for, such as the bow, or the weapons used by mounted warriors.. Apart from sai agricultural ‘weapons’, all Ryu Te weapons are utilised wooden articles. The nunchaku is seen also. It is not considered however, as pragmatically moral, and is used primarily as a grappling weapon in Okinawan classical. Ryu Te, which emphasises’..consider the well being of your attacke’..think about that then. We can afford to do that in Ryu Te because we are that confident. Moral aspects are recited by students. Tenet 5 - restrain physical ability through spiritual attainment’’. an Okinawan Bushi creed. Further, ‘’Strive to be a warrior for the construction of a peaceful and free world by using the character building morality and spirituality FOUND in the way of Ryu Te”..

Q. There is a part of Ryu Te pratice called ‘kara-te’ what doe sthis mean?

ANDREW WEARE: Kara-te refers only to the unarmed aspects of Ryu-Te training. Using the body without the use of anyother object. Being ‘free’ of, or ‘empty’ of any weapon.

Q. Is Ryu Te influenced by the Chinese or Japanese martial arts? Or is it an purely indigenous to Okinawa?

ANDREW WEARE: Okinawan Ryu Te, differs immensely from the modern Japanese eclectic styles. Indeed, looking at Ryu Te with its circular, natural way, it would look more akin to Chinese circular techniques. .But does not necessarily mean that Ryu Te ‘’came from China”. It is a common fallacy to think so. Karate, including the diluted eclectic modern styles, developed from what is absolutely an Okinawan art, honed over centuries in the Ryu Kyu islands.

Granted, many Okinawans have a thread of Chinese ancestry, and contribution may well have been made, but the art is considered distinctly Okinawan. Many Chinese arts are modelled upon the movements of animals. The Okinawans distinguish themselves as having made an art based deliberately upon the form of the Human being (and not any animal), hence Ryu Te is very comfortable to practice physically. The movements are not ‘focred’ and are completely natural for the human body to perform.

Q. How would you describe Taika Oyata?

ANDREW WEARE: Taika Oyata - The man is the embodiment of arts within arts! His principles are the utmost foundational.

Clearly a Master. What is heard in the myths of dojo locker room talks and karate club bars, is a standing fact with Oyata. He’s very modest, kindly and charitable. He’s the only man I have ever met that punched a dent in a steel grille..no psyching up, just zap, and as casual as brushing a moustache. He is credibly, the Last Bushi, he having been trained privately, by an Emperor’s bodyguard, a Bushi, no less, and is the highest authority on Karate katas. .Anyone serious about training in martial arts, I would recommend Taiku Oyata. This art survives through “Taika” Oyata.

Its evolution would be quite a very confidential matter to transmit.

Usually elder son, to elder son, was the tradition in Okinawa..

My impressions are that these Bushi’s - that is karate masters, trained daily, all day long to perfect their art. For within Ryu Te, there are the hidden arts of Tuite and Kyusho - developed overtime by these dedicated Bushi - Taiku Oyata may rightfully be considered today as a Lord Bushi - as he has descended from okinawan nobility and inherited the true martial arts.

association then, due to earnestness and demand. Someone once asked Taika Oyata the definition of a ‘Master’? Oyata replied...”One who can check his mistakes as he goes along”..

Q. Is there a website, so that readers may find out more information?

ANDREW WEARE: Yes - please visit http://www.kushu.com/ for more information.

Thank Andrew, for answering my questions.

It is clear from the above information, that regardless of other cultural influences throughout Okinawan history, if one looks closely enough, a thread of ‘distinct’ and ‘certain’ culture runs through the middle. This may be termed ‘indigenous’ to Okinawa, and correctly viewed as a unique contribution to world culture in general, and martial culture inparticular. Okinawa has served as bridge between many nations, and today, with people such as Taika Oyata, that bridge is crossing into the West.

It is a fitting testimony to the enduring and independent ‘spirit’ of the Okinawan people, that regardless of the upheavals of history, and the many sufferings such unheavals convey and inflict, that the essential core of a nation, can persist and be preserved, even under occupation and adverse political situations. For centuries, the Okinawans, with the support of China, served the purpose of bringing many diverse cultures together - via trade - but in so doing, effected world history dramatically.

This experience of diversity, actually seems to have added to Okinawan culture, increasing is uniqueness, as it did so. For Okinawan culture has been influenced by many strands - but right in the centre of this culture lies such arts as Ryu Te, which have managed to survive, down to the present time. Its artistic ‘directness’, and its ‘purity’ of expression, says something about the simplicity of nature, as experienced through the eyes of the Okinawan people. For the Okinawan arts are divine in as much as they have not lost there direct link with nature. Nothing is forced, but like the internal arts of China, surprising and perhaps massive amounts of power is produced with movements that do not require ‘excessive’ expression. Nature is powerful as it is.

There is no need to add to it, when this power is harnessed through the human body and human mind. Intention and expression become ‘as one’.

Andrew Weare lives in Alaska and holds a Nidan in Ryu Te and can be contacted at; werdnatwo@yahoo.com Adrian Chan-Wyles is a free lance author and practices and teaches northern Hakka martial arts: http://www.chandao.co.uk/

Q. How is Ryu Te doing in the rest of the world?

ANDREW WEARE: Ryu Te has a teacher in Poland and Jordan.

Most dojos however, are in the USA. It is not a commercial venture.

The work is demanding. Because of this, dojos remain traditionally small, a group of say, six practitoners makes six serious practitoners. More time, much homework. Dojo training is one thing, ‘’at home’’ training is the bulk of it, to get it dead right. It is a small WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 29

FIGHTING ARTS ORGANISATION OF GREAT BRITAIN Britain’s Premier All Styles Martial Arts Group The FAOGB is a Multi-Style Group with clubs throughout the UK teaching various styles of Karate, Kempo, Aikido, Judo, Jijitsu, Kempo Jujitsu, Goshin Jutsu, Atemi Jitsu and Kung Fu. We accept all clubs who teach self defence regardless of which Martial Arts or Style you practice, we have access to the Worlds leading self defence masters and offer: Insurance and Licensing, National and International Grade recognition from the relevant governing bodies, National and International Seminars, Newsletters and Non Interference but help of any kind is available. Why not share your knowledge and work with other like minded people.

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OKKO Karate Jutsu A Tribute to Malcolm McClure

By Matthew Sylvester and Nigel Lee In June of 2005 two fellow Black belts decided to join forces and create a new Martial Arts organisation. Sandan Malcolm John McClure, and Nidan Nigel Lee sat down and came up with the name OKKO or Open Karate Kickboxing Organisation, later to be renamed OKKO Karate Jutsu.

For those unaware of OKKO, Nigel Lee is a very well thought of member of Iain Abernethy’s online forum. I was fortunate to have Nigel send through a very interesting article on OKKO Karate Jutsu and how Nigel is trying to achieve his dear friend’s vision.

I asked Nigel what the concept behind OKKO was. He was more than happy to explain saying; “The aim was to give people a real system of self-defence within a “Traditional” setting and also a chance to compete on the full contact Kickboxing circuit, on a non-profit basis.”

Their first port of call was to hook up with Iain Abernethy 5th Dan BCA and author of the Bunkai Jutsu Book, and attend his seminars. As Nigel explained; “After doing this we were well and truly hooked on Applied Karate, and began setting our syllabus around the application of Kata from the Wado-Ryu syllabus, we started with one class held in Worcester on a Saturday evening and quickly opened up a children’s’ class in the Bromsgrove area, typically charging just enough to cover the cost of the hall hire and Insurance.

In November of 2006 both Malcolm and I attended Iain Abernethy`s Introductory Instructors course held over a weekend in Carlisle where we were awarded Certification in Iain`s approach to Applied Karate.”

Malcolm`s goal and vision was to earn certification from the countries most respected Instructors, and also affiliate to an organisation who were pragmatically minded as OKKO was, also joining forces with the British Combat Association. Malcolm had also expressed his desire to re-take his 3rd Dan again but this time under Iain Abernethy thereby giving him the credibility he desired, and finally Malcolm wanted to Host a seminar with Iain Abernethy. These were Malcolm’s goals and vision.

This was to be the start of great things. They had planned to hold a seminar on the 16th December 2006 where Malcolm had planned to show-

32 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

case his own kata creation (Kimyou Seishin). Tragically on the 11th of December 2006 Malcolm was killed after being involved in a fatal road traffic accident while riding his Motorcycle home from work.

In Nigel’s own words; “This left me with the huge dilemma as to whether I should carry on with OKKO Karate Jutsu. After speaking with Malcolm`s parents and asking them what I should do, Malcolm`s mother said that I must carry on as this was something both Malcolm and I were very excited about.”

Nearly nine months on OKKO Karate Jutsu are going from strength to strength, with the help of Sensei Danny Corr of the Zanshin Karate Jutsu based in Northern Ireland. OKKO have been granted full affiliation to Zanshin Karate Jutsu, and are now members of the British Combat Association. Nigel has also taken his own 3rd Dan Black Belt exam under Sensei Iain Abernethy and passed, and on January 27th 2008 OKKO Karate Jutsu hosted a seminar with Iain Abernethy.

“We are all working very hard indeed to ensure Malcolm’s vision is completed.

OKKO have gone from training just four people a week to teaching nearly sixty students a week, adults and children alike. But regardless of how OKKO Karate Jutsu evolves in the future it will always remain faithful to Malcolm`s vision, which was a style that was inexpensive, open to all regardless of age, weight or physical disadvan-

FEATURE / OKKO KARATE JUTSU tage, multi-styled and very effective where it counts.”

Aside from this vision, Malcolm also had his own ideas about what Karate was and how it could be personalised.

With this in mind he created a kata prior to his untimely death. The kata was intended as a training tool only, something he was to showcase at the end of year course, this was to show students how to try and decipher the information in the katas or Bunkai. Not only has Nigel preserved the Kata, he’s keeping it alive just as Malcolm would have wished.

“I consider myself extremely fortunate that Malc had trusted me to show me the form and the application held within it. Being the only person to have been shown this kata I felt it my duty to demonstrate the kata and then the bunkai to all of the OKKO students, further cementing Malcolm`s legacy to his study of Martial Arts.”

It was one of OKKO`s black belts, Ian Glasper who came up with the name Kimyou Seishin meaning “The heart whose curiosity is strong” which is a very befitting tribute to a person who would research everything twice. The Kata Kimyou Seishin is now the number one kata on the OKKO syllabus and is a mandatory requirement for Shodan.

The Kata has been very well received by quite a few people and has just been

placed on the syllabus for the Sanwa Kai a Goju style of karate based in Washington U.S.A, under the chief instruction of David Chapman Sensei, “I’m sure Malc would have been incredibly humbled to know that there are people out there in the Martial Arts world training in a kata he had created. In fact I was honoured to have been granted permission to showcase Kimyou Seishin to Iain Abernethy during my 3rd Dan grading, especially so as Iain created the first five techniques to use as a deciphering tool at his Instructors course in Carlisle. Kimyou Seishin can be viewed on the Combat magazine website (www.combatmag.co.uk) under Kata.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Sensei Malcolm McClure and promise to always be students ourselves regardless of Belt or Dan grade. We promise to never disrespect another style as each and every martial art has equal amounts of wisdom and martial knowledge to impart to there students and above all else, we promise to train harder every session.”

It is clear that the martial arts world has lost someone who had a lot more to offer. Fortunately, Nigel has stepped up to the challenge and will continue to nurture and grow Malcolm’s vision and art not only with his head, but also with his heart. A tribute indeed to someone who was clearly a close friend and mentor.

“On behalf of myself and OKKO Karate Jutsu, I would like to end this article with huge thanks to the following people; Iain Abernethy for all your support, help and guidance you have shown to us since losing Malcolm.

Danny Corr (Zanshin karate jutsu) for being a shoulder to cry on for your guidance, support, friendship and Affiliation. Eric Forsythe, for being a great mate and your words of wisdom.

The BCA for their help and support. The Students of OKKO Karate Jutsu, for being loyal, respectful, and for training in the manner that Malcolm wanted.

And last but never least, myself and OKKO thank Sensei Malcolm McClure, for being the best instructor you could be, the best friend anyone could wish to have, and the role model that many should inspire to be. “God Bless you.”

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 33

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A.S.K.A. National Championships 2007

By Martin Dean

A

fter the cancellation of last years tournament the 32nd Annual A.S.K.A. National Karate Championships proved a huge success under the organization of our Chief Instructor Colin Hexley 5th Dan. The events got under way promptly at 10am with Ben Brown the chief referee, and Martin Dean, overseeing the matted areas, starting with the children’s kata events. After all the preliminary rounds the finalists were brought together on one mat and introduced to the audience wearing their red and blue belts with background music and cheers from their respective clubs, as they prepared to contest the National titles for 2007.

It is good to see that the standard within the children’s kata events is very high with notable wins for Jamie Allison, Laura Shaw, Jayna Bains and Jack Mason, while in the adults kata Lee Finch from Seaford defeated David Hathaway from Loscoe in the final. It is clear to see that these sections will produce the future champions of A.S.K.A. and it will be interesting to see how they improve over the next year.

The afternoon saw the start of the kumite events, as Enzo Tamilio dominated the under 4’ 5” to give Sneyd karate club their only kumite success. Seaford won gold in the under 4’ 10” as Chris Fleischer won four rounds to be crowned kumite champion.

Allie Hexley performed fantastically well to beat all the boys in the under 5’3” category and Yosef Parvez took the over 5’ 3” title to improve on his silver from last time.

The best atmosphere was seen in the female kumite final between current champion Rose Franks from Seaford against local favourite Jodie Nesbitt. Jodie started the stronger with a head kick but Rose fought back, despite getting a warnings from the referee. Jodie went on to extend her lead and won 9-4 to take a well deserved Gold medal in a fabulous fight.

In the men’s junior grade kumite Simon Shakespeare triumphed once again as some bruising encounters took place as the competition heated up. In the men’s senior kumite former English Champion Colin Simmonds cruised his way into the final where he defeated club mate Adrian McKeown to take the senior title for another year.

In the Men’s senior kata Karl Mason from Sneyd took the title in his first year as a senior performing Unsu, showing good strength and determination defeating Colin Simmonds in the final. Jodie Nesbitt took home the honours in the Ladies Senior kata performing Nijushiho defeating Angie Pepper’s Enpi from Seaford.

The team event, as always, is a fiercely contested battle with club pride at stake. Seaford karate club just missed out on making the finals which saw two teams from North Birmingham contest the victory.

Birmingham ‘A’ proved their supremacy over the ‘B’ team to once again lift the A.S.K.A. Team Kumite Shield.

The team kata events have excelled with over 20 teams spilt over three categories. North Birmingham dominated the gold medals with Seaford taking silver and bronze.

A.S.K.A. President Jack Warner 6th Dan expressed his delight in such a well organised and friendly tournament and said he had had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

36 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Kata Results Boys & Girls kata (White - 9th Kyu) 1 Jamie Allison 2 Kyle Randall 3 Leanne Stanfield 3 Aaron Mosedale Boys & Girls kata (8th - 7th Kyu) 1 Laura Shaw 2 Rebekah Dorn 3 Daniel Shaw 3 Enzo Tamilio Boys & Girls kata (6th - 4th Kyu) 1 Jayna Bains 2 Sam Barnard 3 Beau Aldridge 3 Matthew Killick Boys & Girls kata (3rd Kyu +) 1 Jack Mason 2 Adam Hexley 3 Anthony Austin-Smith 3 Allie Hexley Adult novice / intermediate kata 1 Lee Finch 2 David Hathaway 3 Jeremy Martin 3 Denise Robinson Female senior kata 1 Jodie Nesbitt 2 Angie Pepper 3 Rose Franks Male senior kata 1 Karl Mason 2 Colin Simmonds 3 David Forbes 3 Anthony Farnell

TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / A.S.K.A. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007

Novice team kata 1 North Birmingham 2 2 Seaford C 3 North Birmingham 3 3 Seaford A

Boys & Girls under 4’10” 1 Chris Fleischer 2 Amy Hollis 3 Connor Smith 3 Wesley Caines

Male senior kumite 1 Colin Simmonds 2 Adrian McKeown 3 Neil Noble 3 Karl Mason

Intermediate team kata 1 North Birmingham 1 2 North Birmingham 2 3 Seaford A 3 North Birmingham 3

Boys & Girls under 5’3” 1 Allie Hexley 2 Gavin Alger 3= Matthew Delaloye/Kieran Young

Team Kumite 1 North Birmingham 1 2 North Birmingham 2 3 Seaford 3 North Birmingham 3

Boys & Girls over 5’3” 1 Yosef Parvez 2 Rebekah Dorn 3= David Morgan/Keith Alger

A.S.K.A.

Intermediate team kata 1 North Birmingham 1 2 North Birmingham 3 3 Seaford A 3 North Birmingham 2 Kumite Results

Female kumite 1 Jodie Nesbitt 2 Rose Franks

Boys & Girls under 4’5” 1 Enzo Tamilio 2 Adam Hexley 3 Solomon Hendon 3 Gareth Muller

Male novice / intermediate kumite 1 Simon Shakespeare 2 Andy Collins 3 Lee Finch 3 Patric Caines

National Championships 2007

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 37

Calling ALL

SHOTOKAN Practitioners/followers HISTORY IN THE MAKING

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the first karate organisation in Great Britain COMBAT is proud to announce the reprinting of Dr. Clive Layton’s classic work, SHOTOKAN DAWN. SHOTOKAN DAWN charts how Vernon Bell introduced karate to Great Britain in 1957, with the founding of the British Karate Federation, through training with the infamous Tetsuji Murakami and the arrival of JKA Shotokan instructors, to the formation of the KUGB nine years later. SHOTOKAN DAWN comes in two, high quality paperback volumes and contains 225 historical photographs. The text is astonishingly detailed with many good stories. is also delighted to announce the publication of two BRAND NEW titles by Dr Clive Layton

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SHOTOKAN DAWN SUPPLEMENT is a true companion book to Shotokan Dawn and adds highly significant information that was previously thought lost. This book, which should be read in conjunction with, or after Shotokan Dawn, is an absolute MUST for all those who have enjoyed the original work. Newly discovered photo’s are also published for the first time. £19.95

SHOTOKAN HORIZON In a series of interviews shortly before his death, Vernon Bell, the founder of the British karate movement, described, in some detail, what he taught his earliest students, before his encounter with Master Tetsuji Murakami, in Paris, in August 1958. Shotokan Horizon, therefore, is concerned with the karate that Bell learned from Henri Plee and Hiroo Mochizuki, whilst under the auspices of the Yoseikan dojo, in Japan. The book thus concentrates on the period 1956-1958 and makes for a truly fascinating read.

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Shotokan Master Class

By Shaun Banfield

ecently Malcolm Phipps and Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International hosted a weekend Seminar with Sensei Richard Amos 6th Dan (Chief Instructor to the World Traditional Karate Organisation) and Sensei Steve Ubl 7th Dan (Technical Director to the WTKO) in their Hemel Hempstead honbu dojo.

Africa, so tickets were obviously much in demand. Due to the high numbers of attendees 1st Dans and below would be one group and 2nd Dans and above would be another, both taking part in separate rooms. Both days would then conclude with a separate session dedicated solely to the kyu grades with both instructors taking the session.

There had been a great deal of hype about this seminar for a long time. Richard Amos is obviously an international respected Instructor, but Steve Ubl although not being a hugely well known name, is a pioneer in his own unique approach to karate. Richard Amos started his karate training in the UK in 1978, training with the KUGB, before going to New York for two years and then onto Japan for ten. For these ten years he trained at the JKA Honbu, completing the infamous JKA Instructor’s course and becoming only the 2nd non-Japanese karateka to ever complete it in its 50-year history. Now Richard Amos is Chief Instructor of the WTKO and spends much of the year travelling and teaching when he is not at his HQ in New York.

Saturday 24th November 2007 The first Session of the Saturday was with Richard Amos. He opened by stating that he wanted to focus very specifically on the hips, almost to the ignorance of other factors. Therefore we started by getting into a zenkutsu-dachi and moving the hips smoothly from hanmi to shomen.

While discussing the use of the back leg and its compression and release like a spring he wanted us to use the tips of our belts as our measure of our hips’ action.

R

Steve Ubl started his journey in karate in 1969, before living in Japan where he went under the wing of Master Masatoshi Nakayama, Chief Instructor of the JKA, becoming his very personal student. He is noted as being the first ever resident at the Hoitsugan, Master Nakayama’s personal dojo in 1972 and spent many hours receiving private tuition from the Master himself during his repeated returns to Japan. The hype, attention and enthusiasm for the course decided that it would be a ticket only event, and tickets were like gold dust.

Apart from the students from the UK, in attendance were also 30 students from Holland, 14 from Norway, 16 from Iceland, 2 from Ireland and 1 from South

As the hips moved smoothly between hanmi and shomen the excess of the belts from the knot swung around, and we were to keep this excess taut and not allow it to get slack. After adding kizamitsuki and gyaku-tsuki to the sequence he then had us step forward on the hanmishomen motion and again aiming to keep the belt taut and swinging out from the body. He mentioned that with so many of us, we move off from one stance, then at the middle point of our action there’s a slight delay before we continue. This is something he was eager to deal with so had us pair up, one in zenkustu-dachi and the other assisting. While one person was in the stance, the partner placed hands on their hips and encouraged the hip forward as a way to eradicate this delay and smooth out and speed up the motion.

With these partners we then practiced a sequence aimed to continue emphasising the hip action. As the partner punches gyaku-tsuki you block soto-uke and spin, using the energy from the hips to

40 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

make this work. Then the partner would kick Mae-geri and we would have to shift with a gedan-barai and spin around. In this sequence using the hips was vital to make it work, but also to ensure you didn’t get kicked.

This first session of the day was concluded with the kata Senka. I have never practiced any of the kata by Asai Sensei before, but instantly I could see the clear benefits of practicing them. This kata involves spinning actions and turns, which clearly fitted ideally with the principles of the class, and although I did not perfectly get the kata I definitely think it enhanced the class.

The much-awaited second class of the day was taken by Steve Ubl. He opened the class by getting us to punch gyaku-tsuki in zenkustu-dachi, then while using the front foot as a pivot we shifted clockwise to punch kizami-tsuki. This was daunting…not because gyaku-tsuki and kizamitsuki are all too difficult but because Sensei Ubl had set the standard. His movement was pure economy and ultra efficient. His movements came from his hips and his speed was superb. He told us he did not want us to get too boxed in by kihon form, and wanted us to soften up and allow the energy to flow. This then led into his asking of the question ‘What kata would you like?’ to which one student said ‘Chinte’. What we were served with was the Nakayama taught version of the kata: functional, efficient and effective. Sensei Ubl said that if things don’t work in karate, then he doesn’t waste his time practicing it, and his teaching of Chinte reflected this. During the opening sequence and onwards he repeatedly insisted that we keep the movements functional and to the point. Excessive and overtly showy movements in this kata were proven to be useless and this again brought back to reality the purpose and effectiveness of kata.

TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / SHOTOKAN MASTER CLASS One of the long asked questions regards the final sequence of the kata, where after the final tate-shuto and punch you bring your feet back to heisoku-dachi and do three hops to the rear to arrive back at the embusen.

Now when the class arrived at this final tate-shuto sequence we all looked at Sensei Ubl perplexed and with real excitement as he continued the kata beyond this to add the concluding techniques. This he said was the way he was originally taught this kata by Nakayama Sensei. This was a real gem of information that everyone in attendance will undoubtedly treasure and spend much time thinking about.

Sunday 25th November 2007 The first class of the Sunday was taken by Sensei Ubl and took a similar approach to the previous day, emphasising the hips and their central role in karate techniques.

With us all in zenkutsu-dachi he had us bring our front foot backward to meet the rear leg whilst blocking downward, then we move forward with what was the rear leg to punch.

Again, he stressed the importance of moving from the hips, rather than moving from the head. Interestingly enough, he

spoke about how if the hip was moving the hand should be moving too, and said that if the hand has travelled 10 inches, then it should have penetrated the target by 10 inches. He was referring to energy and how the movements should be explosive and not hindered by tension. As we all moved, he occasionally executed the techniques too, giving us a clear image of what we were to try and achieve.

Then he said ‘I’ve had some requests, Bassai Dai, Kanku Sho and Tekki Shodan’. The crowd then muttered their choices and it was eventually decided that we would practice Bassai Dai. Again, like Chinte the day before, this kata was functional and efficient and represented Sensei Ubl’s time spent with Master Nakayama. For example, at one point in the kata you pull back to heisoku-dachi and pull manji-uke before moving into kiba-dachi and blocking gedan-barai.

Now today, this is commonly practiced by raising the knee and coming down with the block. Sensei Ubl however said that when he was taught this by Sensei Nakayama, there was no knee raise, but rather just a step into kiba-dachi. This will just give you a brief idea of the type of things Sensei Ubl was highlighting. He would ask ‘Can we do that again?’ Which he would repeat

until we achieved the points he was stressing, and eventually we gained a fuller insight into his approach to karate.

The second class of the Sunday was taken

by Sensei Amos, who also had us practice kata. His class however was somewhat different to Sensei Ubl’s. He said he wanted us to practice kata application to enhance the kata, rather than practice applications that were functional. He said he wanted us to study application that adhered as close as possible to the kata. So we practiced the kata Heian Shodan, then in 3s started off by applicating the kata ourselves.

Then he had us around so he could discuss and present his thoughts on the applications that adhered closely to the kata, to which we would then go away and practice. This we did for Heian Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, and Yondan. The purpose of this exercise was to present a format which would directly influence our performance of the kata. As we practiced the kata after this exercise, he told the class that he could see a different intent in our eyes.

This weekend brought together karateka from different parts of the world to share and explore the methods and teachings of two very different instructors.

Left to right: Paul Herbert, Emma Robins, Shaun Banfield, Sensei Steve Ubl and Sensei Richard Amos WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 41

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