Chito-Ryu

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"Karate ni sente nashi" In Karate, one does not make the first move. Master Gichin Funakoshi Does Kata Teach Fighting? For years most styles of karate being practiced in the western world placed great lip service to the seriousness of their kata training. We were constantly reminded by the Okinawan and Japanese Sensei as to the importance of the karate kata. The importance of kata was continually reinforced by the old Sensei through their statements; "Everything is in the kata.", "Without kata there is no karate.", "Learning the kata will teach you everything you ever need to know about true karate.", "To truly understand and perfect your karate, you much first and foremost understand the kata.", "If you truly want to know how to fight, learn the kata." With all of this in mind, we practiced the kata over and over again hoping that it would someday, somehow make us the fighters that the old Sensei had promised us that it would. Anyone who trained during this period of time (1960's, 70's & 80's) will tell you that the best kumite fighters were seldom if ever the best kata men. As a matter of fact, most kumite champions did not even practice the kata and if they did in fact practice the kata, it was usually for one of two reasons. One, they wanted to be able to place in tournaments in both kata and kumite and/or two, because they were required to do so by their teachers in order to advance in rank. Why do most if not all traditional systems of karate use the kata as the primary requirement for rank advancement in their style? Were the old Sensei lying to us? Were they telling us to spend the majority of our time training and perfecting something that they themselves knew would not make us better fighters? To answer this question, we must first understand several important facts about the old Sensei. First, the old Sensei considered their word their bond and therefore they were extremely serious when they made a statement. Second, they knew the information that they were passing on was true and genuine information and therefore they expected this information to be taken seriously. Third, they knew that the student would not find the answers without a long journey and this journey was always much more important than any massive number of techniques or kata that they could ever teach to a student. Forth, their comprehension of the word "fighter" was not the same as ours. Renewed Interest In Kata! The last decade has been a very interesting period of time for those few individuals who practice the art of Karate-do. This is largely due to a great deal of emphases being placed on the kata and specifically the understanding of the kata's movements or intentions, a study known as the bunkai of the kata. It seems many students of karate have begun to spend a great deal of time contemplating these applications. In my opinion this is a very positive approach and a movement in the right direction. Having trained in Chito-ryu karate, a traditional art, as well as having served my country as a member of the United States Army Special Forces community, I strongly believe that a martial art should be foremost and above all else, totally functional and extremely proficient in it's applications of the defensive skills taught throughout the system. In today's violent society we as instructors of a martial art (war system) have a serious obligation to every student we teach, an obligation to deliver to the student an application based art, an art that is realistic as opposed to simply ritualistic. Today's Karate Students. A good karate student can also been seen in the same light as a soldier training for war. After all, karate is a martial art, not simply an aerobic exercise or a dance performance. Imagine if you will, a soldier who is well trained in the modern day techniques of warfare. You would most likely envision a soldier who has received strong basic training as well as advanced training, both physical and mental. This soldier would learn all he needs to know about the make up of the weapons he will be required to use. He would learn the individual parts of each weapon, the weight of each weapon, how each weapon works, why each weapon has been adopted for use by his superiors as opposed to numerous other weapons that could have been chosen. He would learn how to care for and how to dismantle these weapons and he would be required to perform this task even in total darkness. He would be required to know the limitations of each weapon, limitations such as it's maximum effective range, rate of fire, type of ammunition used, what type of environment the weapon works best in, (will the weapon work when it is wet, etc.,.). After all, by learning the limitations of his own weapons, this will assist him in understanding the possible weaknesses and limitations of his opponent's weapons as well. The soldier would learn the proper stance to use when firing this weapon, how to stand, sit, kneel or lie down and possibly even fire his weapon while on the move in various type of terrain and all of this would be done against a spring loaded silhouette of a human being as opposed to a paper bulls-eye target in order to simulate as close to reality as possible. He would also learn first aid as well as the importance of good nutrition, flexibility (both mental and physical), strength training and speed. He would learn the first principle of defense is to remove the target, as well as understanding the importance of the principle action is faster than reaction. He would be instructed in the history of warfare and he would eventually come to realize that those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it. He would also study the martial history of his foe in order to better understand the mindset of his opponent and in order to better understand the actual format of his own training. He would be told continuously that there are no second place trophies in this game of warfare and that second place in warfare most likely means certain death for him as well as the other members of his team. All of this training would be performed with deadly seriousness in an attempt to make the training as realistic as possible. All training would be constructed, designed, implemented and reinforced with one mission in mind, 100% Success. Now take today's karate students, students who can be found in virtually every karate school. What would you see? Most likely you would see students who train in very unrealistic manners. You would see students who cannot perform simple basic techniques, students who do not know the history of their particular art, much less the history of other martial arts. You would see students who place a great deal of emphases on kumite matches, matches that are totally controlled by a referee that are point oriented in an environment which is uniquely suited to this type of training. You would also find students who are taught to perform the movements of the kata and even though these students can perform these movements with speed and strength, the movements are simply that, only a performance. Although these students appear to be good with their winning of tournaments and kumite matches, they could not and would not be able to apply these learned movements in a realistic combat setting. Why is this? To study the kata without the bunkai is like learning about a weapon without ever firing it or without ever taking it to the field in order to fully understand it capabilities. When the military or police search for an empty hand combat or self-defense instructor to teach their troops or officers, why do they not contact a tournament champion? Why do they not look for someone who has proved themselves in tournaments with others who in many cases possess far superior speed and power in their techniques than does most anyone on the street or in the field of battle. The answer is simple, these champions are only champions in a very limited and controlled environment with rules that have absolutely nothing to do with street or battle field survival. Most of these champions would not last very long in a real combat setting with someone who has had the street or battle field as their dojo. This would be a setting where rules do not exist. A setting where even the winner may very well die or be maimed for life. Military and police are only interested in realistic, application based training, training that will ensure the survivability of their people. Teaching Police and Military. Over the years I have taught many, many police officers as well as soldiers and after hearing them talk about their personal martial arts training, I have come to the conclusion that any time the training and the real applications of what the student is learning is different, one needs to take a long, hard look at their training methods. How many of you have trained thousands and thousands of times on stylized blocking techniques, head blocks as well as various other types of blocks up and down the dojo floor and then never used these same types of movements in kumite, much less in a real encounter. In kumite you will find yourself parrying, scooping, sweeping and swatting away an attack. In kumite your stances will seldom if ever match the methods you practicing while stepping up and down the deck. Not only will you, yourself seldom if ever use these stylized methods described above when you kumite, your instructor who spent so much time teaching them to you will not use them himself when he kumite's. Why is this? Could it be that the methods taught in the karate kata were not specifically designed for kumite, but instead for a real conflict, a conflict where even good sportsmanship could get one severely injured or killed. In reference to the previous statement in the paragraph above, I am not implying that we should not practice with a sense of fair play or the use of control when we are training, but what I am saying is that this type of mind-set can in fact cause a person to hesitate in the face of a real attack and it is this hesitation that could get one severely injured or even killed. In kumite we are taught to wait until the referee says "GO". We have also been taught that many types of attacks are totally forbidden, attacks such as biting, spitting, bumping, joint locks, choking, eye gouging, groin attacks and hair grabs to name just a few. It is important to bear in mind that in most cases the very techniques that are banned in kumite are the most effective techniques we could use and the techniques that we would need the most in a real life encounter. Over the years I have heard it said hundreds of times by virtually every senior martial artist that I have trained with: "If you want to become good at executing a front kick, you must practice the front kick." Working on a punch will not make you a better kicker. Even with this in mind, most karate people think that they could apply these banned or illegal techniques in a hostile situation, when they never practice them in the comfort of their own dojo. In such cases these people are not training realistically. In other words, they are living in a dream world and when they are forced to apply what they have learned, they will in most cases do exactly that, they will apply what they have learned through their rule bound kumite matches and by the time they realize that it is not enough, it will be too late. "Since Karate is a martial art, you must practice with the utmost seriousness from the very beginning." -Gichin Funakoshi Training Objectives Have Changed! "A good street fighter would take out the average karate student in a flash." I could not tell you the times I have heard this statement and what is most shocking of all is that this statement has come directly from police officers and military personnel who trained in Japan and/or Okinawa and are now karate Sensei themselves. I remember talking to Sensei Harold Long an American pioneer of Isshin-ryu Karate here in the United States, prior to his death several years ago. Sensei Long made similar comments to me during one of my visits to his dojo in Knoxville, Tennessee. He said "You know Jim we spend so much time working on tournament techniques that we sometimes forget about real Self-Defense." He went on to say, "In a real fight it is the forbidden techniques, techniques that we do not and cannot teach for tournament competition that will be the deciding factor between victory or defeat in a real life encounter." As Sensei Long would also state "In most cases the students are only interested in winning tournaments and to teach the true techniques of karate to those students will only confuse the student and hinder their winning." Sensei Long told me that; "In many cases we are a product of our own creation and the end result is not always what we originally intended it to be. Training in the US today is not the same as the training I did under Master Tatsuo Shimabuku in Okinawa, we only worked on those things that would work on the street with no thought of winning trophies." "A man who goes over what he has already learned and gains some new understanding from it, is worthy to be a teacher." Confucius Comments on Sport Karate: Karate Master Gogen Yamaguchi "The Cat", 10th Dan, Hanshi. Nippon Goju-kai "I developed this type of 'free sparring', but this now has developed into a sport and competitive practice and this is not the real meaning of 'Budo'. Kumite (fighting) for the real 'Budo-ka' (man of budo) is different. So I propose that there should be a complete distinction between what 'sport karate' is and what 'budo' is!" "Now with the sport competition, it is possible each time to say who wins and who loses...but in a real fight, until someone dies, it is very hard to say who wins! The serious 'budo-ka" must completely separate sport from real karate."-Gogen Yamaguchi Aikido Master Gozo Shioda, 10th Dan, Hanshi. Yoshinkan Aikido Aikido Master Gozo Shioda 10th Dan, Hanshi and Founder of Yoshinkan Aikido. Many Aikido students and Sensei alike consider Shioda Sensei to be the top student of the Founder of Aikido in reference to skill level . Shioda Sensei developed his system of Aikido to be above all else, completely functional. The undisputed evidence of the effectiveness of his system is the thousands of military personnel and police officers who have sought him out for instruction. His Yoshinkan system was considered by many of these military personnel and police officers to be far superior to many other systems of Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu as well as Karate. Throughout the years Shioda Sensei would also train several World Renowned Senior Karate men. These men would include Nakayama Sensei, Chief Instructor of the JKA, the largest karate organization in the world and Kanazawa Sensei ,the first Kumite Champion of the JKA and now with the splitting of the various JKA groups, head of the largest karate organization in the world. He has also given instruction to the former World Heavy Weight Boxing Champion, Mike Tyson. Below Shioda Sensei gives his opinion of tournament competition. "Nothing is less important to the improvement of a martial artist's skill than having him enter a competition." -Gozo Shioda, Hanshi, 10th Dan Yoshinkan Aikido.

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