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Board Members: Phil McElroy, Jim McDonald, David Gabbard, Kelly Markham, Carol Burris, Jerry Smith, Mike Lewis, Don Bordinger, Sandra Strong Honorary Board Members: Maurice Msarsa, Bruce Guillaume |
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“It was just like the old days,” seemed to be the remarks that circulated after the January workout at Mr. True’s Dojo in Harriman. For those not around during the “old days” it was a new introduction to true Isshinryu Karate – to Isshinryu the way it is meant to be practiced.
To kick-off the IIKA’s planned 2009 dojo visitation program, Mr. True volunteered to host the inaugural event at his dojo. With 5 different schools attending and a room-full of eager Isshinryu practitioners; the seminar offered a solid 3 ½ hour packed schedule, with no breaks. The day’s theme focused on a need to return to the core values taught by Mr. Long for so many years – block hard, punch hard and kick hard…and there was plenty of that throughout the event! As Mr. Long would have said (and as Mr. True did say)…”If you don’t leave with bruises, you aren’t doing it right!” Observing that the fundamental nature of martial arts is steadily weakening, Mr. True emphasized the need to concentrate on what makes Isshinryu such a viable art form for self defense – power. As Mr. True is fond of saying, “It’s hard to defend yourself on the street if you can’t hit someone hard enough to stop them.” He went into great detail in explaining set-up and how that relates to both delivering and accepting a blow. (If you think that ties into Sanchin Kata…you’re right. And, he explained that, too.) He further demonstrated to everyone how applicable Isshinryu is for self defense because it eliminates fancy movements that have no place on the street (but look good and can work well in the dojo). Additionally, Mr. True took great pains to help those in attendance understand and relate the Katas to use on the street. “Unfortunately, a lot of students and instructors don’t understand the value of Kata.” He added, “They somehow believe that Kata is merely historical and has no practical application on the street.” Mr. True spent a lot of time working with everyone to help them grasp how various moves in the Katas translate to real-world, real-life self defense moves. Moves that just don’t work in the dojo but under serious self defense situations. Generally, people aren’t partnered together when practicing Kata; however, they are when you study the bunkai and street applications. In looking at Kata, he went on to add, “I suggested to everyone at the seminar that they re-think how and why they practice Kata. Yes, it is part of Isshinryu and helps to preserve our art form. However, Kata practice goes much deeper than that. I used the analogy of being in the military. There are a great many things that a person does in basic training that they never do in actual combat. Things like close-order drills and such. However, what those things translate to are discipline and a particular mind-set. Katas work the same way. We will never encounter a situation on the street that mirrors an actual Kata but the discipline and power we learn through practicing the correct blocks, kicks and punches does translate into applicable self defense moves on the street. And, if we’ve been practicing Kata like we should be practicing, we will be able to deliver the power that’s necessary to stop someone from hurting us, or worse.” To complete the Kata study, he also provided much more insight on how moves from one Kata can be combined with moves of another Kata to become extremely effective on the street. In other words, this wasn’t your typical study of Kata…it wasn’t just hands-on; it was feet, knees, and elbows-on, too! At this point, naturally the question came up about point fighting and whether or not that had any self defense value. On this issue Mr. True offered this, “I’m not in any way suggesting we stop, limit or reduce the time and energy people put into Kumite practice. I am saying that we need to increase the time and energy we put into Kata practice. Kumite is a great training tool to develop coordination, reflexes, timing, etc. but its real value comes in teaching a person how to move, set and adjust angles – all of which are vital tools on the street. While Kumite is great for quick execution of techniques, Kata teaches a person how to set-up to deliver quick, powerful techniques – there’s a world of difference.” As Mr. True travels among dojos this year, his emphasis will be on teaching and practicing power, and will work to re-establish a focus on the value of Kata and how to practice it correctly. He will look at the 3 different ways Kata is practiced: 1) the version instructors use to teach, 2) tournament versions, and 3) Kata for the street. Aside from Kata, he also suggested utilizing heavy bags and Makiwara Boards as great ways to develop powerful blocks, punches and kicks. In fact, everyone had the opportunity to better understand what a Makiwara Board feels like when you hit it…hard. After Mr. True concluded his portion of the day, Mr. Jerry Smith and Mr. Art Palmer took the remaining one-hour of the seminar to further explain and demonstrate the power contained in the Katas. Everyone got a chance to…experience the benefits of power for themselves, as “telling” something is not nearly as effective as “doing” something, or should we say – “receiving” something. Everyone had a tremendous day and left the seminar looking forward to more. They took a lot of useful information with them back to their respective dojos along with great enthusiasm, a renewed sense of what Isshinryu is really all about, and yes…bruises. It was a great day! Article Submitted By, Roane School of Isshinryu Karate |