My 100th post - a review

This is my 100th post! I'm amazed I have found 100 different things to write about but then that's the thing about martial arts - it has unlimited potential to provide us with interesting things to research, analyse, discuss and share with each other.

I have decided to use this post to review both my blogging and martial arts experience since I started this blog back in February 09. My initial reason for starting a blog was that I wanted an outlet for my creative writing efforts - poems and stories that I have written over the years but never attempted to publish. However, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough material to keep a blog running for very long so I decided to test out the waters with a martial arts blog.

I love writing this blog! I had no idea what kind of things I would end up writing about but books, your blogs, training experiences and talking to other martial artists provides constant sources of inspiration, ideas and questions to answer through blogging. I now consider this blog to be part of my martial arts training. It is the place where I think about my training, analyse what I am learning and look outside of my own small martial arts world to put things into a bigger, broader context. One thing you start to realise is that there are more similarities than differences between different martial arts and people often just take different paths to achieve common goals.

I decided quite early on that this blog would be more than just a training log. Documenting your training schedule is fine but I think people's training schedules don't differ too much from each other so I think there is limited mileage in blogging about it over a period of time. How your training

affects/enhances/damages/changes you is much more interesting than a list of what you actually did. It reveals more about your art and more about you as a person/martial artist. I also like to explore broader themes such as cultural and historical influences in martial arts. Here is a brief review of the subjects I have posted on in the last 10 months:

Japanese culture: I have looked at several different Japanese Ways, including Chado (tea ceremony); Shado (calligraphy); Kodo (Way of fragrance) and Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging). What I learnt from this is that in Japan budo is just another Way of life - no more or less important than the others. Each Way offers a path of focused and progressive training in the respective art and is about self-improvement and seeking perfection. In Japan you would be no more revered as a master of martial arts than you would as a master of flower arranging or calligraphy. I think this puts things into perspective!

History: I have researched and written about the history of the style of karate that I do, which is Shukokai and I have traced its lineage and the main senseis responsible for its evolution and development. This has helped me to see how my art fits into the broader context of martial arts. I have also started to write about the history of the katas that are practiced in shukokai karate. This has proved to be a very difficult process and has involved piecing together snippets of information found from a wide variety of sources. It has also surprised me that there are so many variations of some katas, so ensuring that I have put the correct history with the appropriate version of the kata for me has also been problematic.

Budo culture: I have been quite intrigued by some of the 'traditions' that are observed in traditional dojos, some of which we just take for granted and don't really question why we do it! This is why I started my little series on Why do we......... So far I have looked at sitting in seiza, practising barefoot and the wearing of gis. I also wrote an article about the power of the kiai. These little articles have covered the history and purpose of the tradition. I appreciate these traditions much more for learning about their purpose. I have a couple more ideas for my Why do we...... series for next year so you will have to wait for them!

Training aspects: I find it difficult to write too much about specific martial art techniques and self-defence strategies. This is because I am still a student in the kyu grades and so don't have the knowledge or experience to tell others how to do it - that would be patronising in the extreme and I have no desire to take that approach. Instead, I have tried to discuss technical aspects of martial arts from a learners point of view, sharing with you my observations, personal difficulties, research and personal opinions. I have been particularly interested in problems that women face in martial arts training and have written several posts on the subject. These views have come about as a result of reflecting on my own training and observing the training efforts of other women in my dojo or on courses I have attended. Of course my views may change as my training progresses or as a result of comments you make to me so my views only represent me as I am now.

I haven't actually written much about my own personal progress in karate or kobudo since I started blogging, so here's an update: In karate I have graded twice since I started blogging, moving from 4th kyu (purple belt) to 2nd Kyu (brown belt with 2 white tabs). All being well I expect to grade for 1st Kyu (brown belt with 3 white tabs) around June/July next year and for black belt about 9 months after that. I have also seen my club transfer from one organisation (SKU) to another (SSK). This has meant we have all had to get to grips with a much more comprehensive syllabus. I have also attended a few courses and participated in both kata and kumite competitions. I took up kobudo with a jutitsu/kobudo club about 6 months ago and have just graded in level 1 tonfa. I intend to study the bo as my second level 1 weapon after Christmas and also continue my study of the bokken. It has been quite a busy year!

However, none of this tells you what I am good or bad at so here are my personal reflections of my karate ability. My upper body techniques are better than my lower body techniques - I punch better than I kick! For a woman my punching and blocking is quite hard though I still sometimes punch the pad with the wrong knuckles suggesting that my wrist is not always straight. My stances are generally accurate and strong as are most of my movements, however, I don't yet have the speed needed to execute moves powerfully. Kicks are my weakest thing; my mae geri doesn't snap back enough; my mawashi geri is okay against the pad but useless in sparring; my yoko geri is laboured and has the wrong foot position and my urisho geri would only be useful if I was aiming for your knee - I cannot get height on it at all! As for anything spinning? That brings me to my other weakness - balance. If I turn too quickly I lose balance and I'm not too hot at standing on one leg either. However, I'm good at break falling and can do many self-defence techniques quite strongly. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. I think identifying and acknowledging them is a step towards making progress.

Well I hope you have enjoyed this review of my blogging and martial arts experiences over the last 10 months. Of course there would be little point in writing a public blog if no-one was interested in reading it so I would like to thank all my readers for their comments. Receiving comments is one of the best parts of blogging for me - I love the interaction with other people and welcome all styles of comments, whether you are agreeing with my post or not! I will always endeavour to reflect on your comment and reply to it so please keep them coming.

In the new year I am hoping to give my blog a face lift, possibly even a slight name change, not sure yet. Well, whatever happens I'm looking forward to writing my next 100 blog posts!

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Holiday times reflect commitment to training

You can tell it's getting close to the holiday season by how many people turn up for training. Last night I turned up at 6pm to help out with the junior class as usual and apart from me and the instructor there was 1 student! He was a little 9 year old red belt, so I think it was a little bit intimidating for him with just two grown ups for company. So to make it seem less scary I just joined in next to him in the line so that he had someone to copy whilst the instructor talked him through things and corrected his stances/ hand positions etc. He coped really well with it and picked things up quickly, so all credit to him.

Actually it was probably doubly difficult for him since our usual instructor is on holiday (a month in New Zealand, the lucky thing) and one of our black belts, Bruce, is covering the sessions. Bruce has just started up his own club as well so he has a lot going on at the moment!

Interestingly the senior class had a good turnout (about 14) and with Bruce in charge it was always going to be a very energetic session! But what does it say about commitment when 1 out of about 16 turn up for the junior class and 14 out of about 16 turn up for the senior class? I know it is well documented that the peak times for giving up martial arts training are in the lower kyu grades (around orange/green belt) and then again at senior brown belt (just before black belt testing). Clearly all our brown belts are still very committed. Many have notably increased their commitment as they become 1st kyu grade and start preparing for black belt. The quality of their karate skill has increased significantly as they have upped their training - which just goes to show that achievement is proportional to effort.

Is our junior class typical of lower kyu grade behaviour? This is not the first time that the junior class has been depleted to just 1 student in recent months. During the October half-term I came in to help and there was just one student, the instructor and me. But the senior class was well attended as usual. The same pattern is seen in the long summer holidays as well - the junior class depletes whilst the senior class remains well attended.

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised by this. I think the junior class acts as a filter. Most students will be lost through the filter's pores, only about a quarter to one-third will be retained and make it to the senior class. In fact, I think the student's in the junior class fall into one of four groups. 1. The karate-philes who love the art and are committed to training. 2. The karate-phobes who quickly discover it's not for them and drop out before grading. 3. The 'doing it for someone else' group, i.e. mums/dads who join in order to persuade their children to join and kids who join because their parents make them. 4.The 'keen but no time' group, who would love to continue but don't have the time.

I suspect the people who make it into the senior class are group 1 and some of group 3 who discover that they like it for themselves as well. I expect that groups 2,4 and most of group 3 are the ones that skip training every time there's a school holiday and the routine is broken.

Have you noticed a similar pattern of behaviour in your classes?

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It's Christmas day, "All is secure"!

A friend sent me this poem in an e-mail today. It was written by a British Peace Keeping soldier stationed overseas. The following is the soldier's request -

"Please would you do me the kind favour of sending this to as many people as you can. Christmas will be coming soon and much credit
is due to our British Service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities."

(Of course the same is true for soldiers serving from all over the world)

It's Christmas day, "All is secure"!

T'was the night before christmas, he lived all alone

in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney with presents to give

and to see just who, in this small home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight I did see -
no tinsel no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the mantle just boots filled with sand
on the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds.

then a sober thought came into my mind.

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,

t'was the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone

curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle, the room in disorder

not how I pictured a lone soldier...

Was this the hero of whom i'd just read,

curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?

I realised the families that I saw this night

owed their lives to these soldiers, who were willing to fight.

And soon round the world the children would play

and grown ups would celebrate a bright christmas day.

They all enjoy freedom each month of the year

because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.

I couldn't help but wonder, how many alone,

on a cold christmas eve in a land far from home?

The very thought brought a tear to my eye

I dropped to my knees and started to cry

The soldier awakened, I heard a rough voice

"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice.

I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more

my life is my God, my country, my corps"

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep.

I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still

and we both sat and shivered from the cold nights chill.

I didn't want to leave, on that cold dark night,

the guardian of honour, so willing to fight...

then the soldier rolled over with a voice soft and pure

whispered "Carry on santa, Christmas day is secure"

One look at my watch and I knew he was right

"Merry Christmas my friend - and to all a good night!"

Please feel free to cut and paste this poem and pass onto others.

Grading Weekend Over!

At last my stressful grading weekend is over! As I mentioned in a previous post I was grading for karate (2nd kyu) on Saturday and Kobudo (level 1 tonfa) on Sunday.

Karate grading: This turned into a long and tiring 5 hour marathon grading session. Not that we were grading literally for the whole 5 hours but there were so many of us grading at once, over 5 different grading levels, that it just took that long for all of us to get through our syllabus, bit by bit. The most difficult part of grading in this way was keeping warm in between being graded and maintaining concentration and enthusiasm for the grading. However, the positive thing about it was that there was plenty of time to practice the next element whilst standing at the back of the hall!

I managed to put in my usual level of performance - nothing went catastrophically wrong and nothing was exceptionally brilliant. I generally score between 66 and 70/100 which is respectable (pass mark is 55). This time I got 69, so no surprises! I was pleased with this score but for some strange reason I felt extremely flat and despondent after the grading. I don't know if this was just a reaction to the stress and tiredness of it all or what? but I couldn't shake off the feeling of negativity that I felt for the rest of the evening and much of Sunday as well. Not like me at all to be like that so I don't quite understand it.

Anyway by Sunday afternoon I had to put all thoughts of karate out of my mind and start focusing on my kobudo grading which started at 5pm:

Kobudo grading: There were lots of unknowns for me in this grading. I'd never been to the hall where the grading took part before. I'd never met the grading officer before and I didn't quite know how the grading would be run - so I was a little nervous! When we arrived we were told that the kobudo gradings would be done last after the jujitsu gradings. I looked around the hall to see at least 25 children and half a dozen adults preparing to grade in jujitsu and realised there was going to be lots of waiting around again! There were only 3 adults and 2 children taking kobudo gradings and I was the only one doing tonfa.

Finally I was called to grade along with my husband who was grading in level 1 Jo. We partnered each other. The grading officer first asked me to demonstrate a series of blocks which I had practised against a series of empty handed strikes. However, the grading officer wanted me to demonstrate them against a series of jo strikes. This foxed me a bit and I got a little confused about what was an inside/outside block against a jo strike! He saw my confusion, explained it to me and let me demonstrate them again. Not a good start then!

Next I was asked to demonstrate 4 locking techniques - these went well until one of the tonfa flew out of my hand, across the mat and landed at the grading officers feet! I'd never dropped the tonfa at that point in the technique before. I apologised to him and he handed the tonfa back.

The two enbos and separate hand techniques went well and defenses against bo and jo strikes were okay. Then I had to demonstrate defenses against 4 different attacks (front kick, side kick, roundhouse kick and back fist strike). These went well (apart from a slight error on one which I think I hid well) then he asked me to do some with a single tonfa. My face must have dropped when I said I hadn't learnt any single tonfa techniques for this part. He looked at me, smiled and said just do the same techniques but with one tonfa in your right hand. I thought ' in for a penny, in for a pound', just get on with it and see what happens! Anyway, it clearly went quite well - I seemed to impress him with my ability to adapt the techniques slightly on the spur of the moment - perhaps this grading wasn't going so badly after all?

I finished the grading by demonstrating my kata which I had to do twice, "bit faster this time...", what did he want, blood? Anyway, he called us to a bow at the end, looked at us and said, "You two do karate don't you?" I don't think this was intended as any kind of compliment! He pointed out that our stances gave us away as well as the fast, hard way we did the techniques. Apparently our stances need to be a bit more natural and our movements a bit softer and more flowing.

Everybody lined up for the presentation ceremony. I was called out first: "S.Wharton, tonfa level 1, pass with.....(despite cocking up the blocks, throwing a tonfa at the grading officer, not knowing any single hand techniques, doing the kata too slowly and committing the 'crime' of also being a karateka)... pass with HONOURS!

What can I say? My weekend ended on a high!

P.S My husband also passed is level 1 Jo with honours - well done! And his 2nd kyu karate with a mark of 74 (I'll catch ya next time).

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Ikebana and Martial Arts - a shared philosophy

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. Ikebana means arranged flower but is also known as Kado - the Way of flowers. Ikebana is a very ancient Japanese art that has its roots in Zen Buddhism.

It started around the 6th century in Japan as a religious offering at Buddhist temples and then slowly increased in popularity among the aristocracy and the samurai class. To reach a state of peace of mind and a state of concentration before going to battle, the samurai would perform both Ikebana and Chado Tea ceremony to 'purify the heart and mind'. (1)

The blogger Nadia (Cylamen)(2) describes the performance of an Ikebana practitioner doing a demonstration:

“A very slight young man but with a lot of force in his dramatic movements
during his ikebana performance which can be compared to an exercise in sword
fighting. I can imagine young samurais after battle trying to relax by
bending flowering branches of cherry blossoms. One slightly slashing a
branch closing his eyes and raising the branch above his eyes close to his
forehead and with a determine gesture bends a branch. This is what I was
actually seeing, but the samurai was a modern young man with a diamond stud
in one ear and a fashionable belt with his sharp ikebana scissors in lieu of
a samurai sword.”

Like many of the traditional Japanese arts, Ikebana is a system of aesthetics, philosophy and practice with a focus on personal development as well as artistic achievement. In this respect it has much in common with traditional martial arts.
The goal of Ikebana is not just the creation of beautiful arrangements; the journey is as important as the result. This idea of spiritual enlightenment through concentration and practice is central to the Zen Buddhist philosophy. For many of its practitioners, Ikebana is a lifelong lesson, a way to achieve a little inner stillness in which to work towards a richer spiritual understanding of the world (3). Again, the traditional martial artist will recognise the similarities between their philosophies.

Ikebana differs from Western styles of flower arranging in which the emphasis is often on displaying a colourful array of flowers. Ikebana, on the other hand, includes working with all areas of the plant, and draws emphasis towards shape, line and form. It often employs minimalistic principles, using only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalk and leaves.Though Ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. One rule is that all the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses, or flowers. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.

The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth and man and in others sun, moon, love & earth. The container is also a key element of the composition, and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction (4).

The spiritual aspect of Ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of Ikebana. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. The idea is that one becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also in general.

In the classic Ikebana text, Rikka-Imayo-Sugata (1688), it lists ten virtues of the Ikebana master. Several of these virtues may also be considered the virtues of the traditional martial arts master (3):

• No discrimination.
  'Nature does not discriminate; neither should the Ikebana practitioner. Through contemplating the capacity of nature to just exist, we learn to interact with all people and all things equally.'
  
• Selfless mind.
  'When we face flowers, we are free from any concerns and we can clear our minds.' This is similar to the concept of mushin - empty mind


• Making friends without words.
  'Facing flowers, we feel a joy beyond words. When we share this joy with other people, we can form a bond that transcends language. Through our arrangements we can communicate on a deeper level with people no matter what language they speak'. Martial arts is a language in itself - understood and appreciated around the world, bringing people together with a common purpose.
• Gain respect.
  'Through meditation, no discrimination and working towards the selfless mind, Ikebana helps us develop our best character. As a result, many people respect Ikebana artists. If you visit Japan, you will find how well respected Ikebana teachers are in their communities'. The martial artist strives to achieve the same aims.


• Peaceful mind.
  ''As we acquire peaceful mind through Ikebana, we can nourish ourselves and live longer.' 'Obviously the author of this text in the 17th century was intending to promote Ikebana and he knew how to sell his product: this makes you live longer! In actual fact, statistics show that even today Ikebana teachers are one of the occupation groups that live longest in Japan, a country with some of the oldest people in the world''. In Japan martial artists have also been one of the longest lived groups of people.

The practice of Ikebana is still very important in many traditional dojos, particularly in Japan but also in many Western dojos that stay very close to their Japanese roots. In Dave Lowry's book Traditions, he recounts how it was often his job to do the flower arrangement for his dojo. These arrangements were displayed in the tokonoma (alcove) at the front of the training hall and served as both a memorial to the founder of the budo being studied and a reminder for the martial artist of the fragility of life (5).

References:

1.http://www.auroville.org/art&culture/ikebana.htm

2.http://nadia-cyclamen.blogspot.com/2009/10/rock-and-roll-martial-arts-and-ikebana_19.html

3.http://www.japep.com.au/Ikebana_Zen.pdf

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana

5. Traditions - moving towards stillness. Dave Lowry.

The photographs are courtesy of http://www.neibert.com/FloralDetail/Ikebana_Gallery.html released under creative commons licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.




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