Piercing Cloud's Eye

I practice karate as a form of yoga. This was not at all my focus when I was a teenager. And I suspect not many people would even understand what it means to practice a martial discipline in this manner.

So I’d like to clarify my statement.

The essence of yoga is a path back to the source of Self. It’s the search for authentic nature. It’s not about becoming more flexible. The essence of karate is transcendence of human conflict(s), learning to quell both inner and outer rebellion. It’s not about ultimate fighting. Its about ultimate peace.

Better flexibility or agile fighting skills have their place but they were always considered lesser talents when you were not being confronted by a hostile adversary or an inability to perform a task requiring looser muscles.

Hype about fighting. Hype about flexibility has distorted both the Karate and Yogic arts. But Western culture loves hype about everything. We live in a hyped-up culture today. It’s even hard to hear the real teachers over the din of the false ones because there is so much empty chatter out there.

It’s an illusion that you are going to grow fast, mature fast, succeed quickly—or do it all by yourself. That’s for a very rare few.

Life itself is an art and disciplines like yoga and the martial arts are there to aid us in our journey if used properly. However, the mainstream has lost its way in regard to these arts. More and more arts are being used for self aggrandizement. And many arts are becoming superficialized, watered down, even degraded.

The reason for the decline is that most people are pursuing lopsided goals. There is very little real or meaningful spiritual cultivation taking place in mainstream martial and yogic communities. This is what distorts our goals. Everyone’s in a rush to gratify themselves. Get that certification, get that belt. Get, get, hurry up and get important.

Look for the grounded paths, the clear-minded ways. They are out there. Choose your disciplines and teachers carefully. They are always calling the seekers.

‘Mindfulness’ is trending but are we missing the bigger picture?

MANY KINDS OF MEDITATION, NOT JUST ONE from an article by Jay Michaelson

"Lama Surya Das, the "Buddha from Brooklyn," is one of the handful of Westerners who have been teaching meditation for decades. And yet, he says we're doing it wrong.

Lama Surya Das says there are other ways to meditate besides those that are currently popular: "So many people seem to be moving narcissistically into self-centered happiness-seeking and quietism, not to mention the use of mindfulness for mere effectiveness," he says. "True meditation generates wisdom and compassion, which may be very disquieting, at least in the short term."

"'Quiet your mind' or 'calm and clear your mind' are instructions I hear way too much," he says. "Some teachers actually encourage people to try to stop thinking, when in fact meditative awareness means being mindful of thoughts and feelings, not simply trying to reduce, alter or white them out and achieve some kind of oblivion."

"The anti-intellectual meditators, thought-swatters and imagination- suppressors have long ruled meditation-oriented circles in the West," he says. "But authentic meditative practices can enhance and even unleash the creativity and imagination.'

One thing that I have come know in my forty-six years of teaching is that you can never know definitively who is right or who is wrong about a physical art like karate in a purely academic arena. In other words, talk can be cheap and it can also be misleading. The mind is meant for understanding the nuances of our craft and giving our body direction, but our body is meant for action and that is where the meaning of a technique and its results count. All the talk regarding karate ultimately lies in your ability to test what you are told and put it to good use in the real world. I’m all for healthy discussion and debate that prepares the arena for action. But for anyone to say this is the way it is or isn’t about how to punch or kick or block or lock, without an actual test, is simply misleading. 

Even in matters of historical research I find as scholars dig deeper some of our previous held beliefs and conventional understandings about karate and its techniques have gotten turned upside down. Nobody is going to pull your heart out with a spear hand. The Okinawan farmers didn't beat the Japanese samurai. Kata possesses way more knowledge that anyone could ever imagine.  The karate myths I was taught as truisms back in the 1960’s have since popped like chewing gum bubbles. Historical research gives us a more sobering and grounded perspective on the martial arts with each passing year.

I would like to briefly address the practice of a karate stance called the Shiko Dachi, or what we know as the Seiuchin dachi, from my perspective as a career practitioner and teacher. Volumes could be written about the stances of karate; their history, their functionality, their symbology, their cultural relevance, even their role as something more than musculo-skeletal levers and conveyors.

Every sensei worth his or her mettle as a guide will discover that the novice needs concrete information to progress in their arts. If you want a student to flounder just be ambiguous when explaining a technique to them. “Well, it could be this way or that way, and on Monday’s we straighten the back leg, but on Wednesday we keep it a wee bit bent.” Or, create a rigid boundary so stiff that the student can’t even breathe without catching your eye. A returning kyudansha, who had studied under two different isshinryu sensei told me that that he was informed when sinking down from his Seisan dachi he must “Never, ever” pivot on the heel of his back foot. I asked for the rationale. None was provided to him. He just knew that he must never, ever do such. Honestly, this is dysfunctional teaching. “Prove it?” He couldn’t. The advice was wrong. 

A dachi must begin as a fixed position for the novice. If you were a beginner, and asked me what a Shiko Dachi (otherwise, Seiuchin stance) was, I would explain the dachi’s body structure in precise detail for you to anchor into. I didn’t say, I’d explain the foot position. I would explain the whole body structure. Dachi are not just ‘foot’ positions any more than a bow is exclusive to the arrow and the bowman.  Since so few karate-ka go into deep study of their arts, we now have too many junior masters (masters by longevity or rank, not necessarily by deepening skills) who have not outgrown their early and limited notions of fixed dachi.

I recently read an article entitled “Is The Shiko Dachi Pointless?” The author went on to discredit the low posture to all but kata rehearsal, and to say it was also considered a Horse stance. I couldn’t disagree more with his opinion. The two stances are very different in structure and purpose.  

A Shiko dachi is distinguished by the following factors; heels one and a half shoulder width apart, feet turned out 45 degrees, pelvis tilted slightly back, neck held slightly forward, torso also inclined slightly forward, anal sphincter relaxed. The Shiko dachi is a Water element stance. Yang or descending meridians are switched on in this posture. In this posture energy descends. Most arm motions associated with the Shiko dachi extend to the left or right of the torso, rather than in front of it. It is used to bring the opponent down or to follow an opponent down to properly apply a joint-locking technique.

There are five layers to form work; the individual technique or tool (in this case the Shiko dachi), the selection of a set of techniques called tactics to achieve the overall goal called strategy, the state of mind, and finally, the raw energy currents circulating through and around the body. Whether we look at these five layers from the bottom up or top down, each one exerts influence over the other. A Shiko Dachi must be viewed with these five layers in mind. For example, the overall stability of a Shiko dachi held by a person lacking in confidence is not the same ‘posture’ as one who is confident.

Academics may debate that the ‘physical structure’ of a proper Shiko dachi has more integrity than say a narrower stance, to which I would say, find me a Shiko dachi without a psychic inhabitant. In other words, narrow or wide isn’t going to matter much if one lacks confidence in the stance overall. In the world of action we must always look at the whole entity; body and mind, and look beyond the conventional thinking that stances are just foot and leg positioning. Things are not what they appear when you take a hard look at Traditional martial postures. Blocks become strikes. Strikes become blocks. Even stances can become blocks and strikes on certain occasions.

All stances are both transitory and transitional. They flow kinetically, stimulating obvious and hidden bodily energies. Hopefully, the novice will eventually awaken to this awareness. In our school we have two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, rationales for any standing posture. We have the obvious musculo-skeletal leveraging, conveying and weight value of the stance, and we have its bioenergetic quality. I find most karateka are at a loss understanding what a stance’s bioenergetic reality is outside of ‘doing it vigorously’. Put simply, every posture creates a dynamic flow of interior energies. Slight shifts in the physical posture, including the angles of the foot, the pressures of leg depth and width, will shift these forces. There is an art running beneath the biomechanical nature of karate and it is extraordinary, and part of the true legacy of the martial arts.

When a novice can precisely execute a fixed Shiko dachi, he or she is ready progress into the many technical gradations or ‘expressions’ of the stance.

To suggest a tight anal sphincter in a Seiuchin dachi is incorrect. It presumes lack of knowledge how the leg meridians are influenced by forward and rearward pelvic tilts; how the energy-gating action resulting from anal sphincter tension and relaxation coupled with the various angles of foot positioning, and whole body posturing becomes a conduit of inner tides either sucking the energy out of the competitor or spitting it back in imbalancing volume.

From my end, you have to see the energy effects of these slight changes in a stance posture to believe them. Counter intuitive? Yes, which only makes stance work all the more fascinating. We’ve had over thirty yudansha with a combined total of over six hundred years experience tearing up the ground on this topic.

Our intent is to make this information available to the senior most karate-ka in the U.S. if they are unfamiliar with this technical bonanza. We’d also like to see a reinvigoration of the Karate arts which have been taking a back seat to MMA-hyped advertising and misleading statements like the one espoused in the article I came across.

Keep in mind, once you select an individual technique to practice, there are multiple levels to training with it. This multi-tiered understanding of karate technique represent the best of our Traditional form work.

The more martial artists we get into broadening this dialog, the more exciting and forward moving this information will become!

Some Native American tribes consider the appearance of wilderness creatures at certain points in one’s life a ‘spiritual event,’ portending something of the immediate future of the observer(s).

So it was a curious moment when on the eve of a promotional ceremony, a red fox was suddenly spotted in a bed of pachysandra by yudanshas, Tim Smith and Bob Giangrande, who just happened to spot the creature out of the corner of their eyes as they were training.

The fox was standing perfectly still, focused on the backyard deck where Brain Vivas and Tom Maloney were speaking with my brother.

I had the unmistakable sense the fox was weighing its options to run or stay.

I went upstairs to notify the three men on the deck of the fox’s appearance in the yard. By then the fox had turned completely around. Curiously, rather than vanish, it lay down in the pachysandra and within seconds, its face emerged with a chipmunk in its mouth.

The fox must have sensed the movement of the chipmunk in the vegetation beneath it while it was standing still, weighing its options.

....……

As the sages often point out, stillness reveals more about our world than might, at first, be apparent. When we are quiet within the world can be heard more clearly, and not just its familiar sounds. Stillness brings to our inner ear those vital behind-the-sound-sounds, where the human spirit gets nourished.

………

And so, ten senior-most members of the Wind school, many with over twenty years of experience, sat still like that fox, listening to a fellow member give his presentation of Sunsu kata. He posed questions, proposed theories and demonstrated some of the nuance and complexity behind this enigmatic Okinawan form. Later, inside everyone sat quietly listening to four of their martial brothers talk about the impact of karate on their lives and training.

The material world that we are all so familiar seeing and touching is not all that comprises our reality.

We know this to be true if we just think of the inner world of our own minds; our thoughts, desires, imaginations, memories, and intentions. We can’t ‘see’ our own mind with our actual eyes or ‘touch’ our own thoughts with our actual  fingers, yet we know our mind to be real. We know our thoughts convey substance. We know this because we possess another faculty; a feeling sense, an intuitive sense that acts similar to our fingers and eyes, a sense that enables us to touch or to see the invisible side of life. But this is a sense less-developed in the majority of society.  

Other aspects of our immaterial reality can be found in the patterns and cycles of life that sometimes foil our attempts at happiness, health, or success, despite our best efforts to break their grip upon us.

In the study of the martial arts, you will also hear masters speak of martial ‘spirit.’ They will describe a time when the martial spirit enters the practitioner.

This is a significant moment. In Yoga this would be considered the opening of the ‘third eye’, an eye that sees, feels, makes sense of the inner realms and their energy currents. To modernize this observation, we could say that the awakening to the existence and relevance of the spirit world opens up a pan-vision, a quantum reality, allowing one to see beyond the limited perspective of material nature, of simply moving ones limbs in a powerful coordinated fashion, into the mysterious world of vibrations, of frequencies, of energy and non-linear information sources. Initiation into the spirit world, into the spirit of one’s martial practice, opens up a whole new potential for action, a whole new way to think about power.

A spiritual guide will bring to the martial novice a map of this interior frontier and a way to negotiate it. Just as many students entrust their obvious martial growth into the hands of their sensei, that same student may entrust their spiritual growth into the hands of a guide familiar with reality’s inner terrain.

The role of the spiritual guide is manifold. He or she will help you to negotiate a previously unfamiliar, unknown landscape, offer clarity how spiritual energies entwine with and enhance material life, reveal hidden or unconscious patterns that hold you back from succeeding in your study, offer tools to uncover your authentic nature, reveal how your karma plays a role in your progress, direct you to the means of nourishing your soul, and teach you tap into an ever-flowing well of vitality.

KARATE GIRLS ON FIRE!

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

Recently, an isshinryu practitioner reached out to me to let me know he was reading my latest book, Rebel Isshinryu, and to share a thread from an isshinryu Facebook forum discussing my work.

With all due respect to the many years of martial commitment and value brought by the two respondents in their thread, Charles James and Victor Smith are out of their venue of martial expertise when speaking on the topic of Internal Isshinryu and the controversial subject of KI as it relates specifically to the underlying technicalities of this art and which forms the basic platform of my work.

In the future, I hope that such critics qualify their experience when commenting on such topics as Ki and isshinryu, so we understand they are offering their ‘guesswork’ opinions. Those who know me are aware that I am always open for dialog and ready to learn. I will also defend my turf.

As a senior U.S. karateka with nearly fifty years of active martial experience, I find it ironic that we have two career martial artists offering vague disputations on a subject outside of their purview,  and who do not actually comment on any of the 57 Challenges outlined in the book as you will read below.  

                                      THE QUESTIONABLE THREAD

              (Mr. James and Mr. Smith’s comments are italicized below.

Charles E. James An Example of Rebel Isshinryu (he refers to my book) In the book one of the short chapters refers to the existence of ki or chi or qi and then explains how it works with a more creative articulation thus resulting in a confusion and bastardization of its true meaning. It forgets that terms and explanations and definitions and meaning of ancient concepts such as chi or ki is simply the best possible way to convey a subject of those times. Examples follow: In the book he uses a term that literally does not exist except as a term loosely defined as relating to another term, biomechanics. Here is what it says:

biomechanistic (not comparable) 1 Relating to biomechanics The branch of biophysics that deals with the mechanics of the human or animal body; especially concerned with muscles and the skeleton. (biology) The functioning of a particular part of a body.

Now, what I would actually say about ki is the following: Ki, as it is assumed to exist, has literally nothing to do with biomechanics for biomechanics deals with the mechanics of the muscles and skeletal system of the human body. It is the study of the functioning of the body and pertains to the individual parts thereof.

Let’s start with the term that I use often; biomechanics |ˌ the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms. From a martial perspective, biomechanical laws dictate that if one postures correctly with their legs, for example, their musculo-skeletal structure will become more resistant to pushes or pulls. A proper or correct body ‘biomechanic’ is better able to generate or withstand certain angles of force. Anyone disagree here? There is no debate, just nitpicking?

Mr. James comments about Ki’s relationship to biomechanics are false and misleading. I am neither bastardizing nor misusing the term ‘ki,’ as understood in the world’s internal martial arts community. I have observed, for decades, that the physical structure, when either still or in motion, greatly affects the flow of Ki (an immaterial ‘charge’ science is still trying to define) and vice versa, in precise and recordable ways. There is an intimate relationship between underlying Ki flow and hard-matter, musculo-skeletal actions. I quote from an excellent work, The Field, by L. Taggart; ‘For a number of decades respected scientists in a variety of disciplines all over the world have been carrying out well-designed experiments whose results fly in the face of current biology and physics. … At our most elemental, we are not a chemical reaction, but an energetic charge.’

I’d be happy to prove the value of this statement to him within the martial construct. He can then make up his own mind what he thinks is causing the phenomenon and choose whatever label he deems fit. The 3,000 year Chinese history of using the word Qi suffices for me.

Ki [気] is translated, a Japanese term much like Chi or Qi as termed by the Chinese, as, “spirit; mind; heart; nature; disposition; motivation; intention; mood; feelings; atmosphere; essence.

It is something that is more philosophical than reality for all the applied definitions are philosophical rather than real. Use the wheelbarrow test, if it cannot be put into a wheelbarrow then its reality is questionable at best and more of an emotional effort to explain the unexplainable.

Mr. James personal opinion that Ki is ‘something that is more philosophical than reality’ is contrary to Tatsuo Shimabuku’s own understanding of the term. In several, many hours long personal interviews with the late 10th dan, Frank Van Lenten, this respected expert, who studied directly with Isshinryu’s founder, stated that Shimabuku was the first Okinawan sensei to talk about Ki as it related to Sanchin kata training and even more specifically, in raising body temperature. Shimabuku was referencing a concrete experience—the Kiko practice of Sanchin.

                    THE WHEELBARROW TEST LACKS SUBSTANCE

Mr. James use of the wheelbarrow test to dismiss Ki, though witty, is irrational. You can’t put wind, love, mathematics, consciousness into a wheelbarrow. Is Mr. James suggesting these do not exist? You can’t put the sound of my voice into a wheelbarrow, yet I’m sure I could rile Mr. James up if I shouted loud enough in his ear. So sound isn’t real either? Can you put intention into a wheelbarrow? Compassion? Mind? God? Quantum Physics? This is just a small sampling. Is Mr. James suggesting that none of these constructs exist? Hmm!

Mr. James and Mr. Smith’s comments properly represent the conventional isshinryu paradigm. They add nothing unique except a newly whitewashed ceiling. They are spokespersons of an historical view that is being surpassed.

Mr. James does not seem aware of cutting edge work in Quantum Physics particularly, ‘quantum entanglement’, the strange properties of waves and particles apparently influencing everything. These frontier scientists are proving the value and power of intention, for example, to affect (with statistically significant data), that humans can influence both machines and people without any physical movement involved. If we just took the power of voice alone – which you can’t be put into a wheelbarrow, human sound has catalyzed all manner of extraordinary accomplishments.  

                    (image below from the book REBEL ISSHINRYU)

                       CHI’S NON-REALITY REALITY—REALLY?

It’s fine if Mr. James himself wants to relegate Ki to a conceptual, ‘non-reality’ box. I do not put the subject into such a box, because I have reams of evidence compiled with the aid of other advanced martial artists, acupuncturists, engineers and a noted biophysicist who strongly suggest otherwise. Many intelligent people have experienced a ‘Ki’ phenomenon first-hand in our research. Did I say flying through the air? Nowhere in my book is a fantasy world hinted at or embraced. The use of the term Ki is and has been, for centuries, a useful model to describe unexplainable events that can produce predictable and reproducible results. Thirteen Advanced martial artists with experiences ranging from 15-60 years were asked to comment on Ki’s reality in my last book Internal Karate: Mind Matters and the Seven Gates of power. No one denied its existence as a mysterious phenomenon, nor were they coerced to say so. Neither do many acupuncturists, Chinese medical Chi Kung healers, and an impressive slew of other energy practitioners along with increasing scientific studies to back up their observations.

Mr. James is speaking outside of his purview, attempting to define another’s martial experiences as perhaps, false, off base, and incorrectly labeled. But his own observation appears based upon his lack of actual hands-on experience within this field of study. Other than his dictionary challenge and personal opinion, I simply hear one man espousing his ‘theory’ of ki with far less substance and research backing it. 

I acknowledge Ki as a catchall term for unexplainable behaviors in Rebel Isshinryu. In his own words James states; “(Ki) is at best and more of an emotional effort to explain the unexplainable.”

Really? An emotional effort—at best? At least, he agrees with me that there is an unexplainable. Rebel Isshinryu points out how Ki influences our kata and individual technique - without emotionalism.

Chi, the Chinese term for the Japanese term “Ki”, is translated as, “the circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine. Qi, Blood and Body Fluids are the most basic substances that constitute the human body and maintain its functional activities.”

So, I would go on again to say that, in essence, even in the West as is in the East, Chi or Qi or Ki or Energy is a manifestation of a product that is generated energy fueled by physics, fundamental principles of physiokinetic such as structure, body alignment, body stability and so on as well as the healthful, fit, and strong flow of that fuel we feed our bodies that is changed into the blood, and its oxygen and other fuels, and other body fluids that make the body alive and functional. It is contained within the body and cannot be transmitted from the body, especially through the air, to effect other objects including the human body of others to move or damage or disrupt that body.

Modern science has already proved Mr. James’, Cartesian view of the martial world is an old an overturning paradigm. Frontier scientists, using rigorous methodology, have proved that humans can transmit through the air via wave frequencies, the ability to effect objects including the human body, in significant ways.

Outside of a basic health platform, citing the biochemical properties of cellular metabolism or ATP energy production is an aside regarding the nature of isshinryu kata and Ki’s known energy affects in the assembly and execution of karate moves.

Yes, Ki is blood, breath, cellular metabolism etc. But Ki is also behind ‘Kiko’ principles in isshinryu.  I did not invent the term ‘[Ki]ko.’ The Okinawans karate masters did. Mr. James cleverly points his intellectual finger at the validity of martial artists metaphorically fixating on the ‘right’ view. His insistence you look there doesn't mean the left viewpoint is any less real. My finger and my book Rebel Isshinryu points to new and emerging information on the left. This is precisely why I have a brief section in the book called, ‘Why Draws Its Sword On What Is.’ Mr. James and Mr. Smith offer us the standard ‘What is?’ I offer something more expansive. 

The use of ki, or chi or qi is about how the body makes use of fuel, i.e., proper dietary intake along with water and air that is converted within the digestive system to feed the body the appropriate fuels to run it where the levels of proper fuel, appropriate levels of air intake and maximized and efficient conversion to a fuel the body can use to generate the energy necessary to make the mind function and the body move as it was meant to exist in the world at large. The energy generated within the body allows it to be, if properly applied within the limits and maximum capability of physics and principles such as physiokinetic to achieve efficient maximum output is how we make use of chi, qi or ki to apply our bodies in martial arts, etc.

This is an accurate description but a misdirection of the subject discussed in my book. James fails to make mention of scientific observation of the body to produce ‘wave frequencies’ that have been proven to alter the functioning of another human body. My interest has been on the martial behavior of Ki as it influences the body’s functioning and vice versa in contests of strength to resist or overwhelm an opponent. Some quantum theorists are observing that physical mass is not equivalent to energy but that Mass is energy. So fundamentally, there is no mass. There is only charge. This open up a whole new way of thinking.

The ancients were keen observers of natural laws that could be used in intriguing ways. Modern scientific understanding of the principles behind these ‘ways’ wouldn’t even begin to investigate until centuries later.  

When you're a batter trying to hit a ball are you concerned in that moment with your cellular metabolism?  Neither were the karate masters when it came to generating power in a karate technique.  

Reply · October 11 at 5:31pm Charles E. James

Charles E. James In a nutshell, ki is merely the energy generated by a fuel in the body that if manifested in accordance with properly applied physiokinetic such as balance, structure, body skeletal alignment, strength of stability of bodily musculature while moving the body mass toward a target and then applying methods and energy and force levels would maximize energy use and internal consumption to ensure maximum power and force is reached at point of application to another body. Ki or the body fuels has already been consumed and used to generate energy that the body uses to move, remain alive and other such mundane natural nature's things.

Jame’s ‘nutshell’ definition is a misdirection. His science is right but his statement “Ki is merely…..,” offers no method or new information for enhancing actual karate performance. I see this as one man’s attempt to shoo the topic and others away from engaging it because it’s not familiar to him. If you fall for his charade you will miss vital information about the isshinryu art. 

Reply · October 11 at 5:35p Victor Donald Smith

Victor Donald Smith Thank you Charles, that answers some questions I have about the book. I can’t see getting it, money has better uses at this time :-)

The real challenge for these men would be to prove that Ki does not exist as an actual particle/wave phenomenon or that my observations are invalid? Don't minimize my work by simply waving your hands with dismissive and static dictionary definitions, or offer personal opinion that science itself refutes. This subject is a complex one, which we professionals all need to engage in. I welcome all challenges to the ideas in my book. If you can’t connect to the subject in a tangible manner. I’m only a phone call away.

I’ve met far too many arrogant and white tower martial artists who don't want to dialog—just dismiss, distort, or control the information flow. It’s easy for some men to assume guardianship for information they do not grasp. I come from a very different teaching background that heartily contests such positions.

Those of you who are one the fence about all of the above, my advice for you is to keep your mind open, question, be ready to change, and most importantly, when speaking amongst your peers, dialog and challenge in a fair manner, and yes, expect rebuttal. We all grow through stronger through healthy exchange.

Reply · October 11 at 5:37pm Charles E. James

Charles E. James HI, Victor Donald Smith, don't get me wrong, it is entertaining and within he does makes some excellent points but if you wish to find something more concrete on Isshinryu or martial arts then it may not be one's cup of tea. As I indicated, its entertaining but as to worth the expense ... an individuals decision. 2.99 would be more appropriate for its words, length and content which upon more mindless meandering would be ....

I like what a colleague of mine recently wrote about Mr. Smith’s assayment of my book as, ‘entertaining’:

“Someone, somewhere said that the way they (referring to Smith and James) are trying to get rid of new-paradigm ideas these days is exactly this way: they are being pushed away into the "entertainment" category. It is actually a more effective killer than burning the author, as that would draw much more attention to the fact that something remarkable is going on here.” 

I do agree with Mr. Smith that if you want to stick to the ‘same old game’ (my words, not his), there are better books out there that will keep you fixated. My book discusses what isn’t being seen or said. Of course, shame on me if I could have articulated better. I’ll do my best to write more clearly in the future.

October 11 at 5:40pM Charles E. James

Charles E. James Oh, and I have gone off on tangents myself in my blogging but you won't find me trying to make money off of it. I have a blog on the kenpo gokui as a philosophical work with a lot of Chinese and Japanese ancient tao type references as a teaching tool to connect with reality but as to karate applications and self-defense I kind of leave those writings separate except when it benefits the teachings reality. Mysticisms has its place and it ain't in reality. Yet, if it leads to reality and makes the journey fun then use it but make sure the reader and student understand the differences. It is way to easy to lead the student down the wrong path with stuff like this.

God forbid someone should be making money from their life work. I guess karate instructors should teach for free? Mr. James here is offering readers an opinion about what he deems reality and non-reality. If anyone is leading students down the wrong path, it will be someone telling you what is and what is not real. People need to determine that for themselves.  

Trash talk Mysticism? Mystical practices, as an aside, have held major value in many cultures throughout the world. In just one example, esoteric Buddhism was conveyed for centuries in this manner. And there are many fine books on the subject.

Victor Smith: For instance, there was a really awesome martial artists who let himself be deluded to believe he could project his Ki, etc. only to be embarrassed when others would challenge him and his students, etc. It was a shame because it ruined his reputation in the end.

Mr. Smith’s point above is what? Beware, those of you who talk about subjects some professionals do not understand! Maybe that instructor was awesome because of his ki work. Plus, people get deluded for many reasons. Since the individual isn’t named or the specific facts leading to his downfall are not revealed, the above is merely innuendo. It’s a ‘beware of stepping outside of the box’ statement with no real value.

It’s easy to be duped in this world. As the Buddha urged, don't believe anything until you’ve experienced its truth or falsity for yourself. I didn’t believe or disbelieve in Ki for twenty-five years in my career. Honestly, I didn't really care about the subject. Then one day I decided to investigate. I’m now part of a growing group of professionals in multiple systems looking at a fascinating subject that has engaged long-term martial artists, scientists, and philosophers from around the world for centuries.   

Mr. James and Mr. Smith’s comments misrepresent Rebel Isshinryu in the above thread with misleading opinions and false understandings that touches nothing substantive in the book. I invite them both to gain a better understanding of our research here. They are entitled to hold to their current paradigm, but if it involves public statements regarding my work, I will continue to be the rebel and challenge them with equal fervor and with a different perspective.

Readers must choose for yourself, which way they want to proceed. I merely point to some exciting alternatives.

CHRONICLES OF THE DOKA

#37 in a continuing series

(84 days in the teaching life of an American sensei in 1999)  

Sunday, January 16, (continued)   Sunday, January 16

I drill the two teenage boys, Frankie and Chris, on slip-stepping and diagonal evasions. I tell Frankie to hold his hands atop his head, while Chris, the designated aggressor, must lightly punch strike torso. Frankie gets popped in the mouth by accident. His braces cut his lips—motivation to use his mouthpiece. This exercise is followed by lead change drills with multiple rounds on the heavy bag. The hour passes quickly. 

I spot John K’s truck through the front window. John has driven an hour down from Greenwich, Connecticut for his private. He’s early. I see him lift his truck hood up. Something must be wrong with his vehicle. The man has poor carma!

The black belt, Iron Arms, affectionately calls John, ‘Grandfather.’ Most of the long-term black belt students get nicknamed over the years. John has been a physical education teacher nearly as long as I have been a karate sensei. Several years ago he was awarded ‘P.E. Teacher of the Year’ through the Capherd organization. 

John called me last week to tell me that he had misplaced the karate curriculum we were working on. He wanted me to fax him a copy because he was starting a self-defense program at Hamilton Ave. Elementary School in Greenwich. I was unable to get him the fax on time so he improvised using the general lesson plan gleaned from my book Smart Moves, published a few years earlier through Simon and Schuster. 

John comes to private karate classes for peace of mind, an interest he shares with other students. Some private sessions never actually get around to physical movement. Oftentimes, what is needed is more mental movement; clarifications to remove life obstacles or to set the stage for higher level understanding. As I explained in my book, The Soul Polisher’s Apprentice, life is like piecing together a vertical puzzle. Only the pieces that fit at your current  height of understanding make any sense.  John opens the dialogue, “I ran the first unit, he says. “I opened with questions, ‘Why self-defense. What is self defense?’ Then I moved to stances, the pillars of strength.”     

The horse stance is a universal posture found in every striking art. Young children are usually first exposed to uncomplicated semi-aggressive pushes or tugs. It’s natural for good teachers to start with simple concepts.  “Then I showed them a basic wrist escape,” he added. “My reasoning - if you get grabbed, not only will you want to stabilize yourself but you’ll want to escape the grab.”

I like John’s logical sequencing of the material but I challenge him on some of the details. “95% of the time in my classes,” I tell him, “whenever a child is grabbed and pulled, they can’t escape from the grip if they go into a resistant posture first. The reason they fail as the grabber pulls them, it lengthens their arm, making it less effective to circle out. One of the strength principles in karate study is that the further away your arm extends from your body, the weaker it becomes.” I ask John, “If someone grabbed your right wrist and suddenly tugged you, how would you go into horse stance with the best chance of resisting that tug? Would you step back or forward and with which foot?”

He wasn’t sure.

“With quick enough reflexes you could step any way you wanted,” I said “ but the ideal tactic would be to step toward your opponent to negate his pull. That is the best time to attempt your wrist escape. I break single moves down into a logical, simple and sequential format before layering two techniques together. Introduce the horse stance first. Follow with resisting pushes and pulls. Introduce wrist escapes without any leg work at some future date, then layer wrist escapes into your footwork.”     

It’s not that children cannot have fun or learn the two methods together. To create an ideal foundation it is absolutely necessary to ground a student thoroughly into their techniques. The stronger the base, the higher the future structure.              

John and I also discuss the need in physical education for the ‘fun’ element. If there isn’t an element of fun in these lessons, most kids will loose interest today.       

I have noticed a disturbing teaching trend, whether it’s in a karate school, or in an institutional academic classroom. Children are far more antsy and anxious. Underlying their behavior in my opinion, is their doubt and confusion about life. Life is complex and overwhelming for them. Life is moving much too fast for young people to comprehend, no less find a deep taproot of meaningful focus.  

As a career kata practitioner and teacher, I can tell you there is a certain developmental arc to learning any new martial pattern. The first challenge is to simply memorize the sequence taught to you. Don't worry about any kata nuances until you’ve gotten the gross pattern down. In beginning kata training, which can seem very mechanical, simply try to mimic the pattern shown the best you can. In the hierarchy of values regarding form practice, ‘form’ itself should be the main focus. Speed and power should come later on.

Kata is a process, not just a bunch of cool fighting moves. There are three primary dimensions to kata study; solo practice, application practice (using a sequence against a partnered attack) and what we call jiu-kumite (free sparring). Each dimension serves to ‘authenticate’ or ground kata moves in reality.

At the early stages of Traditional kata work most martial artists lack a strong template for proper training. There are five layers to training and usually only three of them are addressed consciously. The last two remain somewhat ambiguous to most kata teachers. Those five layers are; development of the Tools, Tactics, Strategy, State of Mind and Subtle Energy patterns. I’ve provided an audio link below for anyone wishing to hear more about the five layers of kata.      

https://soundcloud.com/chris-goedecke/the-many-shapes-of-form

Studying multiple martial arts simultaneously can be a bit confusing depending upon the different arts selected. First, consider that martial arts can be divide into many different categories, Soft Style/Hard Style, Ballistic/Grappling, Close range/Long range, Slow moving/fast moving (for example, Tai Chi versus Karate) Competitive/Non competitive, Material objective-based/Spiritual objective-based, etc.  

A simple way to think about it is to imagine all the martial art knowledge in the world like a mountain. There are a lot of trails one could take. Not all will get you to the top. And ‘top’ is subjective, a matter of opinion. In the same way, it is suggested when buying a computer, to think of the kind of programs you want to run, then pick the computer that runs them best, reflect on what it is you’d like to get out of the martial arts and what kind of movement attracts you, then do some research to see what style or system best fits your interests or matches your goals.

Martial art is a process available to anyone at any age. However, some martial styles are more age appropriate than others. Full contact cage fighting is not a good choice for an eight or eighty year old. But people do surprise.

Forty is actually a terrific age. The body is still strong and pliable enough to change, depending upon your constitutional health and physical integrity, that is, relatively disease and injury free. I’ve worked with a fair amount of students in their 40-60’s. I’ve seen some remarkable growth. I taught one student years ago who began karate training with me at age forty-four. He made 5th degree black belt and retired from training at age 79. He loved every minute of it.

Martial Arts for the Spiritually Aspiring Student

An important distinction can be made in marital arts between those who only desire physical skills for combating their opponents and those who wish to take their study into the interior or hidden realms of the psychic, energetic and spiritual arenas. We refer to this more elevated process of training as S7.

S7 stands for ‘Sanchin Seven.’ Sanchin translates as Three Battles or Triple Layered Conflict. The term derives from an esoteric Shaolin training form that found its way into Okinawan karate systems in the early 1900’s. Sanchin refers specifically to the conflicts within the mind, body and spirit.

‘7’ refers to seven human powers that are used to bring clarity, integration and resolution to these on-going battles or conflicts.

These seven powers (see: Internal Karate; Mind Matters and the Seven Gates of Power, Goedecke 2014) are multi-level, interdependent inner tools. Through the awakening, balancing and extension of these seven reference points, our choices, activities and behaviors can be elevated, empowered and more fully expressed.

For centuries Asian martial artists have recognized that true self-defense is a holistic practice and that human evolution is a three dimensional experience. No life dimension is truly separable from another. All physical events have psychic, energetic and spiritual consequences. This was understood in classical, monastic martial training. S7 relativizes this classical martial perspective for the spiritually aspiring and astute student of the Martial Ways.

We place community over divisive competition; clear communication over conquest and power over force. We put soul food on the table next to real food. We teach a middle path that balances the extremes and neutralizes the negativity that brings unnecessary friction into our lives. 

The name ‘S7’ may seem new or radical but the concepts behind it is ancient. S7 is a martial path to clear mindedness and right action in the spirit of the awakened Asian masters.

CHRONICLES OF THE DOKA

#36 in a continuing series

84 days in the teaching life of an American sensei in 1999

Sunday, January 16, 1999

Susan cancels her son’s ten o’clock class. “John’s sick.”

Next up, Frankie and Chris at 11:00. Both teens are brown belts, sankyus. Chris, the bigger of the two, took summer privates. His technique has really improved. But both boy’s sparring skills lag behind their kata and application work. The two have trained so often together they have gotten overly comfortable with each other.

 To understand fighting early man re-enacted combat scenarios into ‘sparring’ or ‘kumite’ training. But sparring must be broken down to be an effective learning tool. You don't just ask two novice students to glove up and fight. Paul once commented that he never realized how much there was to the jiu-kumite (free-sparring).

I use an analogy of the auto mechanic to define the kumite process. To understand the workings of a car’s engine you need to break it down, take it apart, then piece it back together. Yes, and drive it. Building a strong defense begins by learning how to block specific kicks, deflect all kinds of arm attacks, then put that knowledge back together in a free-style exchange. From a strong defensive position one gains the time and a feeling of security to focus on offensive techniques.

Karate Sparing is a drill. It’s practice fighting. It’s not the real thing, but it’s also not a game. It falls somewhere in between. Sparring is the closest two-man event to a real fight—minus the intent to hurt. Schools that encourage real fighting keep insurance companies in business. 

Tian Zhua Celebrates 25 years as Yudansha

On Saturday, October 15, 2016, eight senior Isshin Kempo yudansha sat around a traditional Chinese tea house table in Boonton at Sinofilia, for a two-hour, ritual tea guided by the gently entrancing, Feng Xiao, to celebrate Tom Lyons twenty-five years as a black belt.

Collectively, we represented over 200 years of martial arts experience.

It’s no small feat today to sustain one’s martial path for a decade, no less two and a half decades.

We filled and emptied our cups of Fermented tea, White tea and an aromatic, Jasmine. We paused in brief meditations, taking in the fragrance of our surroundings, pausing at every refill to inhale our empty cup’s fragrance.

We tasted both the bitter and the sweet in our circle of friendship, familiarity and shared passion for our discipline.

Our server, Feng Xiao, a former Buddhist nun, delighted us with the revelation of her past Kung Fu and Tai Chi practices and enchanted us with her Cha’an wisdom on this special occasion.

Martial life is always sweetest when you fill and empty your cups in community.

CHRONICLES OF THE DOKA

#35 in a continuing series

(84 days in the teaching life of an American sensei in 1999)

I have a devoted teaching staff. Fifteen years ago, in the 1980’s, I could singlehandedly teach a class with as many as fifty-five children. That was the limit of my instructional ability and fortitude. It’s impossible for any teacher today to hold the attention of that many children in an hour class. (This is ever truer in 2016) Even though I can boast of an additional fifteen years more teaching experience and classroom techniques, I have witnessed  gradual, disturbing changes in young students attention every September—a defining month for the whole year.

I sum it up as— Kids in Crisis!

The responsibility of my assistant teachers is to corral and correct the lower ranks behaviors and techniques. I take the difficult yellow belt group: Bobby B., John and Kathleen. They all fool too much. There is Mallory, and Carmen the happy but overweight young boy. The six of us drill a basic routine for forty-five minutes. I constantly adjust cadence and focus to steer clear of the dreaded boredom that frequently sets in whenever a child must repeat a sequence.

A major concern among elementary school teachers has been the struggle to quell the boredom that really underlies the problem of a confused and disorganized child who suffers from anxiety about the complexity and purpose of his or her life.

Dharman splits his orange and blue belt group. Vin G. presses Dharman for more Seisan kata moves. Dharman wisely holds the boy back after observing him race through his form with absolutely no attention to detail. Whenever Dharman tries to correct Vin, the boy says, “I’ve already done it”. Kid’s simply don’t grasp the fine detail necessary of kata training. Anyone who claims that such detail is unnecessary misses the essential nature of kata work.

I ask a new class,”What is the difference between a mediocre, intermediate, and advanced karate student? “Attention... to.... detail. It separates the novice from the master.

Iron Arms, Jeff, arrives from Pennsylvania to assist in class. Jeff drills a group of green and brown belts on kata, then pairs them for bunkai.

“Try to extract some fire from Roberto,” I tell him. “He’s being tested for brown next week.”

I drive home for my final  class, a semi-private class with Jeff and Tom.

“I want to digress from the wrist and hand work we’ve been doing for the last year and delve into the leg gates which we can test on the wave bag. I roll out my red Wavemaster punching bag from the corner of the room. It looks like some kind of mortar cannon.  

Tom is a hand man. The kicking drills round him out and he knows it.

“I’ve got a challenge for you two. I want you to knock over the wave bag with a back kick. But you must stand just a foot length away from the bag, with your feet a few inches apart. Can you tip it over without falling forward?

“Oh, Judas, not this,” Jeff laments. I’ve frustrated Jeff with this challenge before. He remained in the dojo for one hour once trying to knock the bag over, this way to no avail. It’s not simple. The water filled vinyl bag weighs about 250 pounds. To knock it over from this close distance requires a precisely aligned body position and the proper transfer of weight through the legs.

The back kick is a powerful technique, but not everyone extracts the maximum force from it. It may seem slightly counter-intuitive, but you must slightly arch your back into the kick to carry the appropriate weight into the bag.

CHRONICLES OF THE DOKA

#34 in a continuing series

84 days in the teaching life of an American sensei in 1999

Bob and Tim await their semi-private at 6:45 pm. Both men have been consistently training for ten years. We call Bob, ‘The Bear.’ Bears, like Bob, can only be killed if you attack them while they sleep. Bob is a formidable-sized, skilled brown belt. Tim is the middle of three brothers, one year into his shodan, an attorney, and a white-zone practitioner. His youngest brother, Greg, a blue belt, hasn’t attended class for over six months.

In an odd coincidence, another private student, Jay, tells me that he was talking with a Hung Gar expert, Tony F. Tony asked Jay if I had a student named Greg. Apparently this Greg, which he knew had some martial arts experience, had gotten into a scuffle with one of Tony’s students. Someone got an assault and battery charge. I suppose anything is possible.

Bob and Tim are working on Chinto applications; standing grappling, strikes and take-downs. Their class goes well.

I finish seven hours of lessons for the day. I am tired, and happy to be done teaching. I’ll start teaching tomorrow again bright and early.

Saturday, January 16

Snowfall during the night.

9:00 am Saturday. Amelia calls. Her car is snowbound in her driveway ten minutes away. “Unless I get a ride,” she says, “I’ll have to cancel John’s class.”

“I understand.” Changeability is the quirky nature of people and private sessions. She calls right back. “We’re coming. A friend’s going to drive us.”

They arrive only to get their car stuck again, this time on my inclined driveway.

Seven-year old Jonathan and I spend time on the basic I Form, similar to the popular Pinan forms. Like Bobby the day before, Jonathan’s been inconsistent in class and unable to put his kata moves together. The work is slower. John can’t process as fast.

10:am: Ben and his mom, Dianne, show up. Two months ago Ben was dumped from his Sunday semi-private group. It caused rifts among the parents and the three boys involved. Ben now studies solo every other Saturday, unless I can convince twelve year old John Brooks to join Ben.

I often find it more practical and meaningful for young private students to work with a peer.

Ben gets excited when I tell him about candle striking. What boy doesn’t want to try punching out a candle flame?

His father Larry picks him up.

I have one hour for lunch before heading off to my group YMCA classes. Dharman comes in looking out of sorts, hair disheveled.

“You look like you’ve just had an existential sparring match,” I comment.

“Julie and I got into it,” he confirms his distress with his girlfriend.

Inward emotional struggles can leave a person looking swollen as if they had been in an actual street fight.

Y Group Class

The beginners tonight have good training focus. The group feels particularly cohesive. Thirteen students in all.

Beginning students train in the basics for 6-7 months before moving on to any complicated floor patterns. Children attend three, ten-week sessions in the traditional kicks, blocks and punches, followed by ten more weeks in hands-on practical self-defense techniques including wrist escapes, resistant stance work, etc.

The average age of children in martial arts has been dropping for about ten years now. When I first began study at Bank Street in Summit, 1968, the School would not register any child under seven years old. Today, the debate rages over the appropriate age to teach children. The bar continually lowers, drawing in many more three to five year olds.

Six year-old Grace O, standing all of three foot two inches on the front line, is fired up again and yells off the numbers. Her red-headed side kick, Annie, is absent today. Grace, is unabashedly authentic. During roll call she yells out, “HERE!”

“How are you Grace?” I ask.

“I’m WOW! she says

I never stifle a child’s spontaneity. I may run the risk of allowing kids to become a bit unruly but after thirty years of teaching, few children have been able to take advantage of me. Grace’s exuberance is refreshing. But she’s a bit too loud. I ask her to count softer. Instead, she yells out her responses at the top of her lungs. When I mention to her that she seems alert and energized she blurts out “I’m WOW!”  

CHRONICLES OF THE DOKA

#33 in a continuing series:

(84 days in the teaching life of an American sensei in 1999)

I have a student that others have aptly named, the Cyborg. He’s up next. He arrives late from Manhattan at 6:08 pm for his remaining five forty-five minute private class. I hear him descend the dojo steps. The bathroom door shuts. The Cyborg is changing into his gi.

All private students; men, women, cyborgs, have the option to either change into their gis or practice in appropriate loose clothing. The Cyborg’s class is generally straightforward and occasionally flat. Though he is very disciplined, and pushes hard, he reminds me of a warrior in a castle whose drawbridge has rusted shut. Open and loose does not fit his character. His effect upon my energy has become confining of late. There are training issues I do not feel comfortable bringing up. And I usually have to provide the sole charge for his class, unlike other students who come in enthusiastic, curious, even electric. The Cyborg lives in the ‘white zone.’ He trains to release pent up physical energy. His captive red man (primal self) is chained behind a steel door of will. A small slot provides a glimpse of a bloodthirsty and beastly killer. This cyborg has walled his red man behind a formidable ego.  

When I bring up his black belt test, a strange tightening energy stills the air in the room. The question  has taken the Cyborg’s beyond his comfort zone.

A mutual student and friend of his, named Harvey, once told me he could not believe that I was letting the Cyborg pick the date for his own test.

“It’s out of character with your previous testing agendas,” he said.

“Truthfully,” I responded, “the timing of the black belt needs to be a joint effort. I don’t ask students to perform if they are sick, going through a divorce, or recurperating from a car crash.”

Cyborg pushes the date back.

I want him to test in November before his eldest son, Mike, who is also testing. Cyborg decides his black belt test doesn’t matter to him. But I can’t miss the opportunity to test his eldest son before he goes to Yale. So I postpone the Cyborg’s test in favor of Mike’s. As if a negotiation, the Cyborg announces that February 1st is acceptable date his test.

The Cyborg also appears in a bad mood today.

“I have absolutely no time to practice outside of class,” he says exasperated that I even brought the subject up.

“The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be,” I tell him. I catch his negative vibe and simply switch the subject. There’s no point in pushing.

The Cyborg’s eldest son and I have become very close over the years. Mike has shared with me his father’s distaste of my orating in any way during a class. He wants to move his body and take a break from his mind. So I drill him on sunsu kata where his memory is spotty.

Karate training can bring out the best and worst in people. Teaching is always a negotiation of sorts. What a student wants and what a teacher has to give can sometimes be out of sync.

I cannot figure out is if the Cyborg is purposely downplaying his skills for a surprise performance later - his modus operendi that his son and I have talked about quite often, or if he realizes that he might be confronting a part of himself that eludes him. it’s quite possible that he doesn’t really care. Yet, he ahs trained hard for ten years.

A black belt test can bring as much darkness as light to the surface for some students.