August 14, 2008 at 11:34 am
I'll definitely write something when I get there! Or maybe when my son gets there.
I'm probably the most experienced student in my school. Our instructor is 5th dan, but the highest adults are purple (6th belt) and kids, red (7th belt), so it's a bit of a struggle. I always tell them that it gets harder for me every day. Each class requires more focus, more effort, more intensity to go on. White belt is the easiest place to be.
August 14, 2008 at 11:40 am
Francis, Aikido and Kendo both have a spiritual side, at least at the places I've seen. Spiritual that is - not religious.
You can certainly have Zen in martial arts. You can also have Zen without the Buddhism. There are a lot of martial arts, with a lot of different focuses.
August 14, 2008 at 12:20 pm
That's where I was trying to get with the do vs. juisu. Look at an Iaido practioner and then an Iaijuitsu practictioner. The difference is huge, although, to a degree, the latter is probably wasting their time since it's unlikely they'll be actually using the techniques they're practicing.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
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August 14, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hey, it should be unlikely any of us ever use the techniques we practice.
You throw a punch, you've lost.
August 14, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Steve Jones - Editor (8/14/2008)
Hey, it should be unlikely any of us ever use the techniques we practice.You throw a punch, you've lost.
This is why every form/kata that I've ever learned or seen begins with a block...
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|Ted Pin >>
August 14, 2008 at 12:47 pm
And there's no shame in RUNNING!!!!
August 14, 2008 at 12:59 pm
We are taught that we should first avoid the confrontation, second we should seek to escape from the situation, and only then should we apply our techniques. We are further taught that we should seek to disable the attacker so that we can then escape.
It is emphasized that we should use our training to defend ourselves.
August 14, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Ted Pin (8/14/2008)
This is why every form/kata that I've ever learned or seen begins with a block...
Depending on your way of thinking, there are no blocks, just strikes. 😉
August 14, 2008 at 1:19 pm
abatej: You are correct. That is the classic response. I would only add that once it is evident that escape is not possible and you must engage your attacker it is important to fully commit to the confrontation and ensure the attack is neutralized. This is sometimes where the philosphical aspect comes into play. How much is enough? What would a reasonable person do? What does the law allow me to do? We have all heard of cases like the 23-year-old Canadian who has been living temporarily in Saudi Arabia, and was convicted of killing an 18-year-old student in a schoolyard brawl in the city of Jeddah in January 2007 and is now facing the death penalty himself. Training for self-defense is one of the few types of training were we hope we never require for real.
Francis
August 14, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Wow...
I left my post up there early this morning and on this quiet biz day just read all the replies which now raises one major pressing question...
Are all those extras in the Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Steve Segal movies now working as DBAs??? 😀
August 14, 2008 at 1:25 pm
cy (8/14/2008)
Ted Pin (8/14/2008)
This is why every form/kata that I've ever learned or seen begins with a block...
Depending on your way of thinking, there are no blocks, just strikes. 😉
If you have to "block/parry/dodge/whatever," you've already screwed up... You were walking around in condition white and shame on you. That said, I got in more fights managing a Stop-n-Rob while in grad school than I ever did as a cop, since there's no way to avoid a fight that comes through the front door looking for you and/or your merchandise. And most perps have learned the hard way that there's no way to win a fight with the police in the long run.
Although there may be no "shame" in running... There's also no shame in STRIKING FIRST to avoid a fight and protect society from all the future pain this jerk would've otherwise inflicted. If you perceive the fight coming and fear for your safety (in most jurisdictions), you've got the right to preemptively defend yourself. The much-maligned Kobra Kai had it right in principle... their practice and implementation was just a bit off in the movie.
:hehe:
August 14, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I used to be a kickboxer, Thai style which includes elbows and knees. My Sifu (Chan Cheuk-Fai) is an 9th dan black belt in Go Shin Ryu Karate and a Kung Fu master. His father was the grand master of the Kung Fu style Shaolin Double Dragon. My husband and I are still friends with him and he still tries to get me to train again but the school is just too far away now. I also have a young child to take care of. I used to train 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week, running, weights, sparring and classes. One of the nicest things my Sifu ever said to me was that I punched and kicked like a man. No girly stuff from me! He also got me to do class demonstrations with him a lot so I took a bit of punishment at times.
I also love running and yoga but don't have much time at the moment to do anything more than a quick walk at lunch time. I think I will investigate Tai Chi as a possibility for the future as it has always intrigued me.
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
August 14, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Ted Pin (8/14/2008)
GilaMonster (8/14/2008)
I tried Kendo for a bit, didn't really enjoy it. Too much focus on point scoring and competition and that's not what I look for in martial arts. I'd love to do kenjitsu, but the only instructor in the country is over a thousand km awayYes, I think you're right; the stopping of rounds each time a point is scored is one reason I hesitated to join kendo. For me, it breaks the flow of the fighting situation.
You went to the wrong dojo then. While competition is a part of kendo, it's not the be all and end all (and dojo should not be encouraging it as such). I've been practicing kendo for about 7 years and while our dojo competes in shiai (competitions) we only concentrate on shiai techniques for about a month leading up to the competition. Our dojo's main focus (and indeed for the other dojo in NZ) is on good technique. It doesn't matter if you get hit by your opponent - that just means you have to refine your technique, improve your focus.
Remember the concept of kendo: A way to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana.
There's a lot more to it than competition.
Plug: Check out http://www.kendo-world.com. It's a good English language resource for people into kendo, some good books available. My only affiliation with it is I'm a subscriber to their magazine and the editor is a kiwi bloke who used to run the Christchurch dojo.
MARCUS. Why dost thou laugh? It fits not with this hour.
TITUS. Why, I have not another tear to shed;
--Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
August 14, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Ted Pin (8/14/2008)
gunna48 (8/14/2008)
Nice to know I'm not the only martial geek out there. And I agree with Grant sparring with a love body or more is much more stress relieving. Love your column.Sparring was my favorite part as well. Weapons were also very therapeutic; if you don't concentrate, you can (severely) hurt yourself! I preferred bo staff. I still yearn to try Kendo however...
Totally agree there. Weapons do raise the level of concentration, even if not sparring. Try some kana sets with a katana (if you can, try with a "real" one, not the training one) after some of the "Grass drill" style warmups to regain your center, "drowning breath" to regain focus, followed by some slow paced Tai chi chong (a somewhat more martial variant of Tai Chi with some long holds).
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
August 15, 2008 at 2:51 am
Chalk up one more for the martial arts geeks, I did about 5 years of Ju Jitsu and about 3 years of TKD a number of years back, and even though I gave them up years ago I think what I learnt there still helps to improve me as a person today.
These days my stress reliever of choice is to go out for a run at lunchtime, we're lucky enough to have a shower in the office and there's nothing more calming than to spend half an hour running the backroads with nothing but my mp3 player for company, helps negate the effects of my other love too (beer) 🙂
Our office has an unofficial sports night one day a week as well, where a number of us knock off early and play tennis or badminton depending on the weather - there's nothing like slamming an ace past the colleague who criticised your work earlier that day 😉
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