Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
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Everyone does a good job while training in the Dojo's, but that time is very small compared to the time outside.
Outside the Dojo should be just as important as inside.
I'm not talking about training at home, which is of course a very good idea...
...I'm talking about your daily routines at home, at play and at work.
A good habit to get into is to "think" about your martial arts at various times during the day...
...practice in your mind what you might do in a situation if you were attacked or grabbed by someone while at a restaurant or shopping mall... or if you had to help an innocent person who was being attacked by a vicious dog at a park...
...if you didn't have a walking stick to use like a jo, what else could you use as a weapon...These kinds of thoughts.
You can also practice your punches and kicks on objects throughout the day...
...and your children, pets and significant others aren't one of those objects...
...I should know, a play fight with my wife ended up with both of us having bruises and soreness for days...I had to put her in a wrist lock just to keep her from strangling me...
During work, if you find yourself alone in a big enough area, practice one of your Kata's or Kumite sparring...
...try to avoid the Karate yell though, tends to draw attention.
It's outside the Dojo that you may be called upon to use what you've been trained to do, so you must also train your mind to respond correctly.
Develop an awareness for your surroundings, escape routes and such...
...always a good idea anyway, just in case there is ever a fire or emergency in your work place or wherever you might be.
Another good mental exercise is to look at body types of people and determine how you would respond if they suddenly attacked you. Would you be able to maneuver yourself into an advantages position considering the obstacles in your surroundings?.
If you are mentally prepared for a situation and your body has been physically prepared from hours of hard work in the Dojo, then you'll be able to respond in the most efficient way to any circumstance...
RJF
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
Kumite Tips...#4...ones spirit...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
One's Kumite training must be more than just strength and technique focused...
...although that kind of training is absolutely necessary and will serve you very well in your Kumite battles, it lacks the one quality that may in fact determine your fate...
...that quality being the spirit.
In the days of the Samurai, battles were a matter of life and death, and in a battle of physical equals, it was the intuition of the mind that decided who would live and who would die.
It is with this sense of spirit, fighting as if ones life was on the line, that gives the Kumite Martial Artist, the proper perspective and the edge in a battle...
..it is the spirit that must be developed along with the mind and body...
... all together they will transform you into a formidable opponent.
RJF
One's Kumite training must be more than just strength and technique focused...
...although that kind of training is absolutely necessary and will serve you very well in your Kumite battles, it lacks the one quality that may in fact determine your fate...
...that quality being the spirit.
In the days of the Samurai, battles were a matter of life and death, and in a battle of physical equals, it was the intuition of the mind that decided who would live and who would die.
It is with this sense of spirit, fighting as if ones life was on the line, that gives the Kumite Martial Artist, the proper perspective and the edge in a battle...
..it is the spirit that must be developed along with the mind and body...
... all together they will transform you into a formidable opponent.
RJF
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Secrets of Martial Arts...and life...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Don't see the article you were looking for?...Use the Google search on the side bar or the Blogger search at the top...thanks
Excerpt from The Zen Way to The Martial Arts...
Concentrating means "all out," total release of energy; and it should be the same in every act of our life.
In the present-day world what we see is the opposite: young people half living, half dead. Their sexuality is half way, too, yet they think about sex at work or during zazen, and the other way round as well, and so it goes with everything they do.
But if you have exhausted all your energy, you can take in fresh energy, flowing like the water in the stream.
If you try to spare your energy in a fight, you cannot win. That's one secret of the martial arts. We cannot count on wasa, on technique alone. We have to create.
The martial arts are not theater or entertainment. That is not the true Budo. Kodo Sawaki used to say that the secret of the martial arts is that there is no victory and no defeat. You can neither win nor be beaten. It is not the same as in sports.
...to be continued
Don't see the article you were looking for?...Use the Google search on the side bar or the Blogger search at the top...thanks
Excerpt from The Zen Way to The Martial Arts...
Concentrating means "all out," total release of energy; and it should be the same in every act of our life.
In the present-day world what we see is the opposite: young people half living, half dead. Their sexuality is half way, too, yet they think about sex at work or during zazen, and the other way round as well, and so it goes with everything they do.
But if you have exhausted all your energy, you can take in fresh energy, flowing like the water in the stream.
If you try to spare your energy in a fight, you cannot win. That's one secret of the martial arts. We cannot count on wasa, on technique alone. We have to create.
The martial arts are not theater or entertainment. That is not the true Budo. Kodo Sawaki used to say that the secret of the martial arts is that there is no victory and no defeat. You can neither win nor be beaten. It is not the same as in sports.
...to be continued
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Free Fighting Karate Kumite Tip # 3....you have to move...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Here's my disclaimer...I've only been taking Karate Kumite for a couple of years and not even on a regular basis.
So, what I am relating about Kumite Tips is my direct experience as a Karate-Ka, one who has only recently embarked on the path or the way...
The Kumite stories are about my direct observations and lessons learned...some the hard way...
"Kime" in Karate is about Focus...building and delivering all of ones kinetic energy to a particular target.
Now, that kind of focus of intent and energy is only devastatingly effective if your opponent happens to be a Makawara board...or is inexperienced enough to simply stand there and let you tee off on them.
After taking a few solid shots to the body, the Karate-Ka learns his first lesson...
...and consequently discovers his best defensive weapon...that being movement.
It's so simple and naturally an integral part of basic Karate and Kumite that it hardly ranks as a Kumite Tip, it should really be classified as a rule...
...as an example, when attacked... move...block, trap and attack...
Just like everything else in Karate, there are deeper levels of understanding associated with the fine tuning of techniques and this is true of movement.
As an example, when I first started sparring with my sensei, I lunged in with a lunge punch...only to realize a split second later that Sensei's fist was firmily planted on my jaw and he was nowhere near my punch because he had deftly side stepped me...
...an experienced Kumite opponent is always ready to counter-punch you, not only to where his mind tells him the target area "is", but also to where the target "will" be, a fraction of a second later if the attacker changes the technique...
...they seem to have the ability through experience, to give themselves an infinitesimal amount of space to choose either punch option 1 or option 2 and be able to deliver it with Kime to that exact spot...
My Sensei knew without thinking exactly where my head was "going" to be while executing my lunge punch...
Consequently here is the beginners Second Kumite Tip...
...always use your other hand (the non-punching hand) to protect your jaw while lunging in with a lunge, reverse, or straight punch...
...unlike the basics where your opposite hand pulls back to the hip, it's new role becomes that of a guard.
Kumite is like a chess match where moves are countered and those moves are countered...
...like chess the Karate-Ka can only learn and excel, by sparring with an experienced opponent.
One important point for the beginner is this...you are much more vulnerable while initiating an attack against your opponent than defending and waiting to counter his/her attack.
I'll discuss feigning an attack to get your opponent to open up at a later time, it comes under the subject of strategy.
Kumite, especially freestyle, will take the Karate-Ka years to master if ever.
It should be part and parcel with the development of solid basics, and correctly performed techniques in Kata.
Put all three of those together and you'll be a well rounded martial artist.
RJF
Here's my disclaimer...I've only been taking Karate Kumite for a couple of years and not even on a regular basis.
So, what I am relating about Kumite Tips is my direct experience as a Karate-Ka, one who has only recently embarked on the path or the way...
The Kumite stories are about my direct observations and lessons learned...some the hard way...
"Kime" in Karate is about Focus...building and delivering all of ones kinetic energy to a particular target.
Now, that kind of focus of intent and energy is only devastatingly effective if your opponent happens to be a Makawara board...or is inexperienced enough to simply stand there and let you tee off on them.
After taking a few solid shots to the body, the Karate-Ka learns his first lesson...
...and consequently discovers his best defensive weapon...that being movement.
It's so simple and naturally an integral part of basic Karate and Kumite that it hardly ranks as a Kumite Tip, it should really be classified as a rule...
...as an example, when attacked... move...block, trap and attack...
Just like everything else in Karate, there are deeper levels of understanding associated with the fine tuning of techniques and this is true of movement.
As an example, when I first started sparring with my sensei, I lunged in with a lunge punch...only to realize a split second later that Sensei's fist was firmily planted on my jaw and he was nowhere near my punch because he had deftly side stepped me...
...an experienced Kumite opponent is always ready to counter-punch you, not only to where his mind tells him the target area "is", but also to where the target "will" be, a fraction of a second later if the attacker changes the technique...
...they seem to have the ability through experience, to give themselves an infinitesimal amount of space to choose either punch option 1 or option 2 and be able to deliver it with Kime to that exact spot...
My Sensei knew without thinking exactly where my head was "going" to be while executing my lunge punch...
Consequently here is the beginners Second Kumite Tip...
...always use your other hand (the non-punching hand) to protect your jaw while lunging in with a lunge, reverse, or straight punch...
...unlike the basics where your opposite hand pulls back to the hip, it's new role becomes that of a guard.
Kumite is like a chess match where moves are countered and those moves are countered...
...like chess the Karate-Ka can only learn and excel, by sparring with an experienced opponent.
One important point for the beginner is this...you are much more vulnerable while initiating an attack against your opponent than defending and waiting to counter his/her attack.
I'll discuss feigning an attack to get your opponent to open up at a later time, it comes under the subject of strategy.
Kumite, especially freestyle, will take the Karate-Ka years to master if ever.
It should be part and parcel with the development of solid basics, and correctly performed techniques in Kata.
Put all three of those together and you'll be a well rounded martial artist.
RJF
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Performing Martial Arts in the Spotlight....
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Don't see the article you were looking for?...use the Google search on the side bar for specific martial arts stuff or the Blogger search this site box at the top of the page...RJF
Some people thrive on it...
...you know, being the center of everyone's attention and drawing on the energy of the situation to perform at a higher level, using the occasion to really show their stuff...
...and then there are others, who's worst nightmare is to perform in front of even small groups of friends and family...
... so self conscious that they can't seem to remember a simple Kata that they've done flawlessly thousands of times before.
Everyone, at some point in their life has to deal with their self consciousness and there's going to be certain situations that trigger those God awful physical manifestations...
...we know them as increased heart rate, profuse sweating, spinning/chattering mind, a general shakiness, discomfort...and most of all fear.
Now a few people who have a problem with their self consciousness, can spend thousands of dollars on psycohtherapy, when all's they really need to do, is to put themselves into situations where they are forced to confront and deal with their self consciousness...
...literally forcing themselves to stand there alone and to suffer with all those horrible feelings, wishing they could just run away and hide.
One important element of that kind of experience and situation, is that it has been structured so as to leave the person with no escape route, no way to turn back, no opting out, back against the wall so to speak and leave no choice but to move forward and to deal with the present moment in a clear and concise way.
There in lies the opportunity, for real life altering inner work on ourselves...
...and it all begins by being totally aware of yourself at that very uncomfortable moment in time...
...and sustaining those feelings long enough to observe them, experience them and finally to let them run their course, to lose their energy and ability to paralyze, mentally and physically...
If a person could be forced into a situation like that and be able to stay with it long enough, a new mind arises, a mind that seems to burn off the old fearful mind, like the early morning sun burns off the mist from the awakening day...
...and so it was as I stood there watching the rest of the participants demonstrating the designated Kata, Empi, for trophy night...
...being the only 3rd level brown belt amongst all black belts, I would have been the last to go and perform...but I had no intentions of doing the Kata anyway, so I was not concerned about anything.
...now for some reason, I thought that it was going to be voluntary whether the people who showed up that night would have to perform...
...I really hadn't practiced enough for the Kata and had really only done it a few times in regular class training.
To me, I was just there to work out a bit, watch the others do Empi and then vote on who should receive the trophy for the best performance...
During one of the Black Belt's performance, the head instructor came close enough to me for me to whisper over at him that I would be opting out of the demonstration, not to mention I still had a sore left foot from the previous weeks Kumite.
To my horror the head instructor whispered back..."I can't hear you"...
...well I immediately got flushed and started sweating, I couldn't believe my ears...a couple of seconds later he comes back and says..."We all have to suffer, its your turn...just do the best you can".
For what seemed like an eternity, I stood there with my self conscious feelings of fear and embarrassment, knowing that in a few minutes I would be making a complete fool out of myself in front of 20 blackbelts.
I watched the others performing, intently hoping that I could pick up some more of the Kata movements, but I gave up on that idea soon enough, it just wasn't going to happen...
I thought about leaving, faking an illness or perhaps just feinting for a second...but I couldn't...
...I was just going to have to deal with my pyhsical discomfort and my ensuing embarrassment.
...I had no options, I had to experience what was happening to me physically and mentally, I was totally locked into my here and now reality.
Amazingly, once I had resigned myself to that very poignant fact, my physical and mental symptoms of discomfort began to recede a bit and I began to breath normally.
The more I began to experience my thoughts and feelings, the more they seemed to diminish...
...they also began to lose their power over me without me doing anything except exploring and deeply experiencing what was happenig to me...
...and the more I experienced what was happening to me, the more the fears and discomfort began to fade.
I was still faced with the prospect of totally embarrassing myself in front of 20 black belts, but it just didn't seem to be the monster that I had self consciously made it out to be.
There was just one black belt left, and then I would be the last to go...but I wasn't feeling that bad about it anymore.
Now my Master and head instructor is a cool guy and is very knowledgeable when it comes to human nature and must of taken notice of my situation...
...instead of instructing the next black belt to go up, he indicated that was my turn to go up...
...and to my great delight he says "Come on...I'll do it with you.."
I must say, what I had initially thought was going to be a terribly embarrassing situation, turned out to be a very rewarding experience for me.
Even though I totally blew the Kata with the head instructor right beside me, it didn't matter, I had learned a valuable lesson about my inner self and how to overcome fear through self awareness and nothing more...
It was also Jo Kata trophy night and again the same situation...not prepared, not knowing the Kata, thinking I was going to opt out...
Only this time while waiting my turn to totally embarrass myself, I had no fear or any self conscious feelings whatsoever and when I went up to perform the Jo Kata I had a big smile on my face and enjoyed every moment of it....
Finally, along with the Empi Kata and Jo Kata trophy night, it was Kumite Trophy night...and in that situation I was actually much better prepared...
...I actually came in second...
You see, the Martial arts and in particular Karate, are really a way of life and the Karate-Ka can use what they learn in the Dojo to overcome negative situations in life...
...conversely negative situations in life offer huge opportunities for personal growth as a person and a Martial Artist...
RJF
Don't see the article you were looking for?...use the Google search on the side bar for specific martial arts stuff or the Blogger search this site box at the top of the page...RJF
Some people thrive on it...
...you know, being the center of everyone's attention and drawing on the energy of the situation to perform at a higher level, using the occasion to really show their stuff...
...and then there are others, who's worst nightmare is to perform in front of even small groups of friends and family...
... so self conscious that they can't seem to remember a simple Kata that they've done flawlessly thousands of times before.
Everyone, at some point in their life has to deal with their self consciousness and there's going to be certain situations that trigger those God awful physical manifestations...
...we know them as increased heart rate, profuse sweating, spinning/chattering mind, a general shakiness, discomfort...and most of all fear.
Now a few people who have a problem with their self consciousness, can spend thousands of dollars on psycohtherapy, when all's they really need to do, is to put themselves into situations where they are forced to confront and deal with their self consciousness...
...literally forcing themselves to stand there alone and to suffer with all those horrible feelings, wishing they could just run away and hide.
One important element of that kind of experience and situation, is that it has been structured so as to leave the person with no escape route, no way to turn back, no opting out, back against the wall so to speak and leave no choice but to move forward and to deal with the present moment in a clear and concise way.
There in lies the opportunity, for real life altering inner work on ourselves...
...and it all begins by being totally aware of yourself at that very uncomfortable moment in time...
...and sustaining those feelings long enough to observe them, experience them and finally to let them run their course, to lose their energy and ability to paralyze, mentally and physically...
If a person could be forced into a situation like that and be able to stay with it long enough, a new mind arises, a mind that seems to burn off the old fearful mind, like the early morning sun burns off the mist from the awakening day...
...and so it was as I stood there watching the rest of the participants demonstrating the designated Kata, Empi, for trophy night...
...being the only 3rd level brown belt amongst all black belts, I would have been the last to go and perform...but I had no intentions of doing the Kata anyway, so I was not concerned about anything.
...now for some reason, I thought that it was going to be voluntary whether the people who showed up that night would have to perform...
...I really hadn't practiced enough for the Kata and had really only done it a few times in regular class training.
To me, I was just there to work out a bit, watch the others do Empi and then vote on who should receive the trophy for the best performance...
During one of the Black Belt's performance, the head instructor came close enough to me for me to whisper over at him that I would be opting out of the demonstration, not to mention I still had a sore left foot from the previous weeks Kumite.
To my horror the head instructor whispered back..."I can't hear you"...
...well I immediately got flushed and started sweating, I couldn't believe my ears...a couple of seconds later he comes back and says..."We all have to suffer, its your turn...just do the best you can".
For what seemed like an eternity, I stood there with my self conscious feelings of fear and embarrassment, knowing that in a few minutes I would be making a complete fool out of myself in front of 20 blackbelts.
I watched the others performing, intently hoping that I could pick up some more of the Kata movements, but I gave up on that idea soon enough, it just wasn't going to happen...
I thought about leaving, faking an illness or perhaps just feinting for a second...but I couldn't...
...I was just going to have to deal with my pyhsical discomfort and my ensuing embarrassment.
...I had no options, I had to experience what was happening to me physically and mentally, I was totally locked into my here and now reality.
Amazingly, once I had resigned myself to that very poignant fact, my physical and mental symptoms of discomfort began to recede a bit and I began to breath normally.
The more I began to experience my thoughts and feelings, the more they seemed to diminish...
...they also began to lose their power over me without me doing anything except exploring and deeply experiencing what was happenig to me...
...and the more I experienced what was happening to me, the more the fears and discomfort began to fade.
I was still faced with the prospect of totally embarrassing myself in front of 20 black belts, but it just didn't seem to be the monster that I had self consciously made it out to be.
There was just one black belt left, and then I would be the last to go...but I wasn't feeling that bad about it anymore.
Now my Master and head instructor is a cool guy and is very knowledgeable when it comes to human nature and must of taken notice of my situation...
...instead of instructing the next black belt to go up, he indicated that was my turn to go up...
...and to my great delight he says "Come on...I'll do it with you.."
I must say, what I had initially thought was going to be a terribly embarrassing situation, turned out to be a very rewarding experience for me.
Even though I totally blew the Kata with the head instructor right beside me, it didn't matter, I had learned a valuable lesson about my inner self and how to overcome fear through self awareness and nothing more...
It was also Jo Kata trophy night and again the same situation...not prepared, not knowing the Kata, thinking I was going to opt out...
Only this time while waiting my turn to totally embarrass myself, I had no fear or any self conscious feelings whatsoever and when I went up to perform the Jo Kata I had a big smile on my face and enjoyed every moment of it....
Finally, along with the Empi Kata and Jo Kata trophy night, it was Kumite Trophy night...and in that situation I was actually much better prepared...
...I actually came in second...
You see, the Martial arts and in particular Karate, are really a way of life and the Karate-Ka can use what they learn in the Dojo to overcome negative situations in life...
...conversely negative situations in life offer huge opportunities for personal growth as a person and a Martial Artist...
RJF
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