A kid's sparring alternative...

Kid’s love sparring don’t they? Their faces light up when they are told to get their sparring mitts on and they run off enthusiastically to fetch them out of their bags.

Though I'm not a huge fan of sports karate for adults I do think it’s a great exercise for kids. It develops fitness, courage, reaction times, and a sense of strategy. It also toughens them up a bit and teaches them to show a bit of humility whether they win or lose.

So it is with some sadness that I can’t introduce the kids to sparring in my after-school class. Why? Because they have no sparring mitts! These are kids doing a 6 week introductory course in karate, wearing just their P.E. kits. No gi, no belt, no kit!

To give them a taste of the thrill of sparring I’ve had to be a little inventive. I take in as many belts as I can find (all my old coloured belts, my kobudo club belts and any other spares I can put my hands on) and teach the kids how to tie them on. Then I have cut up several old white belts into strips of about 10 inches long and give them one each to tuck into the front of their belts – this tab becomes the target.

We then do a bit of ‘shadow sparring’ to learn how to move around in sport karate and practice a couple of basic block/punch combinations against imaginary opponents. I then pair them up and get them to use the same technique of moving in to their partner to do a reverse punch but instead of punching (no mitts remember) they pull out their partner’s white tab.

After they’ve each had a few goes at moving in to pull out the tab of an unresisting partner they move on to doing it in a more competitive way with both partners trying to get each other’s tabs. This starts to re-create the energy and flow of a real sparring bout with the kids learning to move around each other, guard their own tab and moving in to grab their partner’s tab.

Once they’ve got the hang of it we have a mini competition which helps to teach them the basic rules and etiquette of a sparring match. I divide them into two groups and sit each group either side of the sparring area. I then call up one from each group (matched for size and age) to compete whilst everyone else watches.

I act as referee and get them to stand opposite each other, bow, get into fighting stance and then at my command (hajime) they start to ‘spar’. A point is scored when one of them pulls out the other’s tab and the match is stopped (yame), the kids are put back to their starting position and the point awarded (ippon). They then bow to each other and off they go again. We carry on like this for a set period (usually a minute) and the winner is the one with the most points. At the end the opponents are brought back to starting positions and the winner announced (kachi). All the kids get a chance to have a go at this ‘shia kumite’.

Alternatives include ‘best of three’ points to win or winner is first to score a point. There are rules about staying in the area and penalties and warnings for bad or dangerous behaviour (not that this needs to be invoked very often!).

The kids really enjoy this opportunity to have a go at ‘sparring’ in this way and seem to get a lot out of it. I have found it a useful way to simulate sport kumite when sparring mitts are not available and many of the same skills can be learnt and practiced in a safe way. I haven’t yet introduced any kicks into this style of sparring but there is no reason not to use roundhouse kicks because our real kumite sessions in the club involve only touch contact anyway and we don’t wear any protective body gear.

Hopefully if some of these kids enjoy my karate sessions enough to make them want to join the main club they will be able to hit the ground running a little when introduced to real sparring with mitts!

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Why do we.........observe reishiki?

In general terms reishiki refers to the demonstration of good etiquette or ‘correct behaviours’ in a traditional martial art dojo or club. This can be anything from knowing the correct way to enter or leave the training area, how to address your sensei, knowing where and how to stand in line, to showing good manners and respect to your fellow students. Each club will have its own variation on reishiki but at the heart of all reishiki is the concept of respect (for your club, for your sensei and for each other).

In more specific terms reishiki refers to the opening and closing ceremonies that most traditional martial art clubs observe and this is the definition of reishiki that I want to discuss in this post. The word reishiki is made up of rei (bow or respect) and shiki (ceremony) and is all about setting the right tone for the class and preparing the students mentally for the training ahead. I have been involved in seminars or classes where reishiki has consisted of nothing more than a quick standing bow to sensei at the beginning and ending of class to a rather elaborate and prolonged standing , walking, kneeling, presenting the sword, bowing, more standing, walking backwards, more kneeling, bowing, standing etc. etc .etc - like a rather complicated and precisely executed kata. I had the feeling my head would be cut off if I got it wrong!

These, of course, are two extremes of the bowing ceremony.  A ceremony that is too short does not adequately prepare the students mentally for the training to come. One that is too complicated is just unnecessary and time consuming (in my opinion).

So, what should a reishiki ceremony help the student to achieve?

When we enter a dojo or training hall we are entering a world that is different to the one outside. Our roles and responsibilities inside the dojo are often very different to the ones we have outside. You may be very senior in your career and be in charge of many staff but in the dojo you may be the new white belt. On the other hand you may be an unskilled manual worker outside but a senior black belt inside the dojo. It is important to be able to leave your external roles and responsibilities outside the dojo and assume your ‘internal’ ones. A reishiki ceremony is one way of helping you to make this separation of external and internal roles. The wearing of a gi is another.

Participating in a martial art requires us to learn about and practice violence towards other human beings. Though the mindset of the martial artist should be purely about defending oneself, the techniques often needed to do that are inherently dangerous and violent. It is imperative that training is done is a controlled and mutually respectful environment that is free from ego and machismo. Reishiki helps to create this respectful environment.

When practising a martial art we are benefiting from the skill and teachings of our martial arts forebears, people who devoted most of their time to developing and perfecting techniques and encoding them in ways that we can remember today. Reishiki is a way in which we remember and honour the founders of our system and also honour the sensei that teaches us that system today.

How does reishiki achieve these things?

A typical reishiki ceremony:

Sensei gives the following commands:

1.       Seiretsu. The students are called to line up in grade order. This is the time when you have to address your position in the dojo and let go of external roles which become unimportant in this context.

2.       Seiza.  The students sit in a formal kneeling position. In some clubs the students may be sitting opposite the shomen or shinzen (shrine). In clubs that meet in a school gym or other temporary ‘dojo’ the students may face a symbolic shomen i.e. face a direction that sensei points to. Other clubs may miss this stage out altogether and just face sensei.

3.       Mokuso. The students close their eyes and observe a few moments of meditation. The idea of this is to let the students clear their minds of distracting (outside) thoughts and prepare for the training ahead.  See ‘Why do we…….perform mokuso’

4.       Mokuso yame. The students stop meditating and open their eyes.

The senior student (or a student chosen by sensei) will then give the commands:

a.       Shomen ni rei. The students bow to the shomen in order to remember and show respect to their founder.  In clubs where there is no longer any connection or communication with their Japanese origins this step may be omitted altogether.

b.      Sensei ni rei.  The students bow to sensei to show their respect to him/her and show that they are ready to listen and learn.

c.       Otaga ni rei. The students and sensei bow to each other in a mutual display of respect and courtesy. Remember, in martial arts bowing is about showing respect not subservience.

At this point the students may say words such as onegaishimasu or osu (note that osu is a contraction of the word onegaishimasu). This basically means "please let me train with you." It's an entreaty often used in asking the other person to teach you, and that you are ready to accept the other person's teaching.

Sensei then gives the following commands:

5.       Kiritsu. The students stand up with feet together and arms by their side.

6.       Rei. The students perform a small standing bow to end the ceremony.

The whole ceremony is then repeated at the end of the lesson with the gesture Arigatou gazaimashita which means thank you.

Though each class begins and ends with reishiki it must be remembered that good manners, courtesy and respect must permeate throughout the class. This keeps the class civilised, controlled and safe at all times and keeps big egos in check.

Do you have any particular reishiki rules or behaviours to share?

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What do you wear under your Hakama?

I have just received my new hakama! This is the first time I've ever owned such a garment. And what a strange garment it is. I need to wear the hakama in my kobudo class when training with the bokken. Up to now I have just trained in my gi but I will have to wear the hakama at my grading in December so I thought I'd better buy one so I can get used to it. A lot of people have told me it takes a lot of getting used to!

I tried it on and was quite perplexed by a few things: Firstly, how do you tie it? It has two lots of ties, one at the front and one at the back. Secondly, what do you wear underneath? That may sound a little like asking a Scotsman what he wears under his kilt, but honestly I have no idea. You have to wear something because there are large vents either side. I can't imagine wearing my gi pants underneath - surely that would be too bulky and too hot? Do I wear shorts, big bloomers or what? Thirdly, what is that little hard plate at the back for?

I managed to find an answer to my first problem, how do you tie it?, in this YouTube video:

Okay! Now I just need to practice all that.

I had a look around some forums to see if there was anything about what people wear underneath the hakama. Apparently, a lot of people wear their gi pants or cut-off gi pants. Some wear cycling shorts or ordinary shorts. Traditionally  a kimono is worn under the hakama but I think this is when it is being worn ceremonially.

According to Wikepedia the spoon shaped plate hanging at the back of the hakama is called the hera and slots into the obi, keeping the hakama in place.

Just out of interest the pleats of the hakama have a symbolic meaning: There are seven pleats, five at the front and two at the back, and they represent the seven virtues of Bushido: the five at the front represent- Jin (mercy), Gi (righteousness), Rei (etiquette), Chi (intelligence), and Shin (trust).  The back pleats represent the virtues of Makoto (loyalty) and Chu-kou (allegiance). The front pleats are also arranged asymmetrically, in keeping with Japanese aesthetics.

So now I know all about the hakama. However, I still want to know - What do you wear under your hakama? (Or gi)?

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How do you teach 'Do' in the dojo?

Karate is often described as being a 'Do' art, a Way of life, not just a means of self-defence or sport. Most martial arts have a 'do' side and a 'jutsu' side. Practitioners of karate-jutsu are very much focused on applied karate: the development of karate as a realistic and effective fighting system. Practitioners of karate-do use karate as a means of improving the self through the development of positive character traits, the elimination of ego and the unity of mind, body and spirit. A karate-do practitioner may also look at how this self-development can be applied to other aspects of their lives.

 

This does not mean that karate-do practitioners are not interested in learning effective applied karate or that karate-jutsu practitioners do not develop any of the mental or spiritual aspects of a martial Way, but their focus may be different. In fact, you may argue that you can't become an effective 'fighter' without developing some of the deeper mental/spiritual states associated with the 'do' side of the art; or that you won't develop the desired mental states without hard training and developing the practical application of fighting techniques.

 

How do you teach someone the 'do' aspects of karate in a dojo? Can you teach this? It is easy to see how you can teach the practical side of karate - how to block and punch, how to kick, how to escape from grabs or defend from various attacks. But how do you teach the higher mental states such as zanshin, mushin or kime? Are these just the consequences of years of hard training or do they require acquisition through more conscious, active means?

 

Take kata for instance. Some people refer to kata as moving meditation. It has been said that all martial artists should learn to meditate in order to develop focus, mental clarity and mind-body unity. Well we don't meditate in our dojo so does kata practice count as meditation? People's attitude to kata practice varies enormously. For some people it is just about learning a pattern (a 'dance' mindset); for others it's about perfecting the pattern for competition (an 'aesthetic' mindset); for others it's about learning fighting techniques ('practical/applied' mindset) and only for a few does kata seem to be about mind-body unity (a 'do' mindset) and can therefore be considered meditational. In other words it doesn't matter how you teach kata, it's how you learn it that matters.

 

What about kihon practice? Does that teach the 'do' aspects of  karate? I have often thought that standing in lines doing constant repetitions of punching and kicking in front of a 'critical' instructor who makes constant corrections is not just physically exhausting but is a test of the spirit too. One competes with oneself not to slow down or give up - to put the same effort into the last punch as the first. Is forging the spirit in this way intentional on part of the teacher or is it a 'side-effect' of this teaching method?

 

My more limited experience of training in a jujitsu club is that this repetitive training to the point of exhaustion is not in their teaching repertoire. Teaching is much more pragmatic and technical in nature. Does that mean that jujitsukas don't have a mental/spiritual dimension to their training? I find that hard to believe, after all, the samurai (the original jujitsukas) had highly honed mental focus and clarity of mind when going into battle.

 

Perhaps the 'do' aspects of a martial art are taught through the dojo rules and observance of etiquette? The emphasis on bowing and showing respect, the honouring of your partner's technique and working cooperatively with each other for mutual benefit. Perhaps insisting on this type of behaviour helps to hone the positive character traits required in one who 'seeks the Way'.

 

I can't help thinking that perhaps the onus is more on the student than the teacher. Perhaps only those that seek the Way will actually find it.....

 

So, is it possible to teach student's about the 'do' aspects of karate or other martial arts within the dojo? Do you actively do this in your dojo? How do you teach it?

 

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Why do we.........say 'Osu!'?

Do you 'Osu!' in your dojo? Generally speaking, we do not 'Osu!' in ours except for one of our experienced black belts who regularly osus! I find it quite alarming (and intriguing) to hear him shout 'Osu!' up to 10 or 15 times a session. He osus when he bows announces a kata, starts a technique or whenever the instructor asks or tells him something. I presume his use of this word is related to his karate 'upbringing' over 30 years ago.

So what is this 'Osu!' thing all about? I decided to do some research:

First, let’s just say the correct pronunciation is 'oh-sss' rather than 'oo-sss', which is a common mispronunciation in the West.

Osu is a Japanese greeting word (aisatsu). It is a contraction of other greeting words such as Ohayossu or ohayoosu, Ohayo or even just Oh. The more contracted the word the less formal the greeting. It's a bit like going from 'Good Morning', to 'Hello' to 'Hi' depending on the context and company you are in.

In general parlance in Japan 'Osu' is a very 'rough' male greeting between friends in an athletic setting. It is a very male word - an expression of masculinity, something men may greet each other with in a football or baseball club. It is generally only used by children and 'macho' or rough men! In Japan, a woman would never use such an impolite word and a man would be considered rude to use it to greet a woman.

So why do we use it in martial arts?

It is a word mainly used in karate clubs, though some judo and taekwondo clubs have been known to use it too (possibly because the instructor has a karate background). It is not an Okinawan word so Okinawan styles of karate generally don't use it. The origin of the word is not entirely clear but it is thought that the use of “Osu!” first appeared in the Officers Academy of the Imperial Japanese Navy, in the early 20th century and later became common with karate students. This helped establish the rough masculine nature of the word.

What is its purpose in the dojo?

In some dojo's 'osuing' is a standard part of the dojo etiquette and all students are expected to use it, whereas in other dojo's it is actively discouraged because it is not considered very polite, preferring more polite expressions such as “Onegaishimasu.”!

However, if you consider another translation of the word, which is also a contraction of the two kanji symbols used to write the term “Oshi Shinobu” it means "to persevere while pushing oneself to the absolute limit.” The strength of character that develops from hard training is known as “osu no seishin” (the spirit of “Osu!”). It implies a willingness to push oneself to the limits of endurance, to persevere under any kind of pressure. This is the context in which it is being used in the dojo.

The word 'Osu!' has many purposes in the dojo. It can be used to greet fellow students instead of saying hello (at least among the men); to respond to a question or instruction instead of saying yes; if your instructor thinks you are weak or injured you can reply 'osu' to reaffirm that despite your weakness/injury you are willing to still try your best; you can say it to remind yourself that despite the pain you need to carry on i.e. show your 'warrior spirit' or you can use it to acknowledge your opponents skill at a technique or in a tournament. It seems like a very flexible and versatile word!

And finally! Some general 'Osu!' etiquette:

• "Osu!" is primarily a greeting.
• You use it toward other people, not toward an empty room when you bow onto the mat or before you perform a kata.
• You cannot really use it for "goodbye."
• It is never a question and does not mean "I understand."

So do you 'Osu!' in your dojo?

Click here if you want to read a comprehensive article on the use of 'Osu'.

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