It Doesn't End at Your Rank, Part 1

What is the most rewarding part of training to you?

You’ve played the game full out and your gains are starting to stack up. You’ve risen past getting discouraged by small obstacles, and have actually realized that almost all obstacles are small when you’re focused on extreme learning. You’ve started to pay attention without judging. When all these factors come together and you put them into play consistently over several months or years, you’ll notice a new depth to your training … even your will to train comes from a deeper place.

Congratulations! That’s called “character.” It’s one result of consciously getting yourself on the path to becoming exceptional. So let’s talk about rank.

The exceptional martial artist keeps rank in its proper perspective. The momentary joy of getting a new belt or certificate fades. Don’t go for that.

The deep internal joy of learning and doing great martial arts changes you forever. Go for that.

Getting a new rank can be very motivating. It’s recognition from your instructor or your system that you’ve worked hard and learned key aspects of your martial art. It’s something of a Catch-22, however; getting new belts (or sashes, or whatever external emblems of progress your system uses) is nice, but if you only focus on training for the next belt, you’ll be an amateur forever.

Learn more in our latest article.

Looking for a Martial Arts Organization that Clicks?

SMAA could be right for you!

As part of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association, you can learn karate, aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu. If you’re ready to get immersed in your training at a traditional martial arts organization, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

The Application of Riai

In our last blog, we talked about the meaning of riai. Now that we know what it means, what does it
look like in practice?

If you don’t understand the core principles behind the art, your techniques won’t look coherent. You’ll be doing something, but there won’t be a unity or cohesiveness. The techniques will look like disparate, unrelated actions. It will look choppity-chop.

So, if you were going to attack someone, what was the biggest worry? His sword hand, his right hand, would grab his sword and cut you in retaliation. Hence, you’d grab his right hand first, nullify it, and then punch him, kick him, slap him or dance with him. Whatever. Maybe, if you grabbed him with your left, you could draw out your own sword with your right hand. Just don’t give the guy a chance to draw his sword out.

The fear of the opponent drawing his sword out was why a lot of attacks in jujutsu begin with a wrist grab, and why it carried over into aikido. That’s what an attacker might do, way back in the old days.

Seen in that light, the reason why so many attacks by uke in aikido are those large, somewhat “unrealistic” swings with a knife-hand is that they replicate a sword attack.

The riai, therefore, can be superficial: it can mean, well, here’s the guy grabbing your hand. So you turn, twist his wrist and throw him. That’s what it means. Period. End of story.

Or you would have to dig deeper and deeper. WHY is uke going for your hand instead of trying to wrestle you down? Because in principle, in the old days, if his right hand was free, he’ll just take out his dagger or sword and stab you.

Just as kote gaeshi is a foundational technique in aikido, there are foundational techniques in other martial arts that, if properly understood, will enable an understanding in the riai not just of that technique, but of the entire curriculum.

Read more in our latest article.

Understand Riai, Get Certified in Martial Arts

If you’re committed to understanding the riai of your art, you can earn a martial arts certification at SMAA! To get started or ask questions, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

The Meaning of Riai

Have you heard the term “riai” in your martial art?

What does it mean?

My trusty Nelson kanji dictionary defines the two kanji that make up the word as meaning “reason,” or ri- (“principle”, “truth”) with “coming together, meeting, or harmonizing” (-ai). In other words, in budo, riai are the underlying principles behind a technique. That’s as simple an explanation as I can give, and in most cases, that’s enough. Riai, in a way, is similar to the word bandied about frequently in karate-do schools: bunkai (“analysis,” “reduction,” “parsing”). However, as the Nelson translated meanings make clear, they are somewhat different.

In any case, on a superficial level, riai is simply an explanation of the “meaning” of a technique, or waza.

Okay, Grasshopper, you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop right now, right? It can’t be as simple as all that.

So here it is: that definition of riai is good enough for most students. Certainly, for the average middle-class, suburban kid taking a “kurrottee” class in a shopping mall dojo, it’s plenty sufficient. We’re talking about students whose willingness to alter his/her mental, emotional, and spiritual attitudes to delve further into the culture and ethos of combative arts as precariously limited, after all. There’s nothing wrong with stopping there and letting them enjoy the experience, if that’s what the dojo is aiming for.

Read more in our latest article.

Understand Riai, Get Certified in Martial Arts

If you’re committed to understanding the riai of your art, you can earn a martial arts certification at SMAA! To get started or ask questions, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

A Way of Life

Is your martial arts teacher just showing you a sport, or are they teaching you a way of life?

The following was written from the perspective of Sensei H.E. Davey, director of jujutsu at SMAA:

Most sensei pay random lip service to the idea that mastering an effective approach to living is possible by studying the Way of calligraphy or the Way of flower arrangement, kado (花道). But do they actually teach this or even demonstrate it? When critically evaluated, it becomes clear that many do not.

But some do, and I fortunately practiced martial arts with that sort of special individual while growing up and continuing into adulthood. I’ve belonged to various Japanese and American martial arts associations over the years, and while I benefited from involvement in these groups, I also saw behaviors that were opposed to the spirit of the Way that my teachers and sempai, “seniors,” taught me.

As I continued to teach and practice traditional Japanese martial arts, I met other lifelong practitioners in some of the above-mentioned and unnamed associations, who’d come to similar conclusions. Some of these folks I met in Japan, others in the USA, and still others I reconnected with in the United States after they returned from living and training in Japan. We all loved what we’d spent most of our lives practicing, but we were concerned about whether these arts that were rooted in traditional Japanese culture would survive undamaged into the 21st century. 

Read more in our latest article.

Find Your Way at an International Martial Arts Association

You can embrace the concept of Do at an international martial arts association like SMAA! To get started or ask a question, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to welcoming you into the martial arts community.

The Meaning of "Do"

Have you heard the word “do” used in martial arts?

Do you know what it means?

The following was written from the perspective of Sensei H.E. Davey, director of jujutsu at SMAA:

Do is the Japanese version of the Chinese word Tao (道) as in the philosophy of Taoism. We see this character used in everything from chado (茶道), the “Way of tea,” to shodo (書道), the “Way of Japanese calligraphy.” It implies that studying these activities goes beyond those specific arts and includes the art of living itself—life lessons if you will.

It’s in this sense that practitioners of shodo, budo (武道), and other Do forms say they’re practicing a Way of life. Yet, frequently they just say it, but often don’t live it or effectively teach it.

Strong words, but after decades of studying various Japanese arts in Japan and the USA, and after writing several books on these age-old disciplines, I’m starting to understand a bit about this topic. What’s more, although I sometimes criticize teachers of these subjects (including myself), I also believe that we really can discover a new, better way of living by practicing budo and similar arts. If I didn’t feel this way, I wouldn’t have written books about those arts and taught several of them for over 50 years.

Read more in our latest article.

Find Your Way at an International Martial Arts Association

You can embrace the concept of Do at an international martial arts association like SMAA! To get started or ask a question, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to welcoming you into the martial arts community.

The Land of the Living

What can you learn from watching your martial arts teacher?

Life is too short to aspire to mediocrity. It's better to shoot for the stars and only reach the moon. Nowhere is this truer than in the martial arts. To animate your martial arts with the spirit of greatness, choose the most profound role models you can find and follow them with an obsessive devotion. That's your best chance to receive the direct transmission of the deep spirit of your martial art. If and when you receive the direct transmission, keep in mind that it includes everything—the sounds in the room during your training sessions, the rare smile of your sensei, the warm air coming in through the windows, the pain of learning, the salty tears of exhaustion, the crushing pathos of washing your teacher's gravestone, and the incredible energy of great martial arts techniques executed with clarity, energy, and joy. The complexity and emotion of your martial arts should be very profound indeed.

It may not be easy to find such incredible role models or to recognize them when you do meet them. One way to hone your skill at discerning greatness is to get in front of it and pay close attention. Make every effort to find it, and when you do, study wholeheartedly with those who exemplify it.

That's it. Thinking back on your training, will you be able to say, "I truly did everything I could to give myself a chance at greatness?”

Read more in our latest article.

Start Your Path to Greatness at a National Karate Association

Ready to set your 2025 martial arts goals?

SMAA is a national karate association, but we offer more than just karate! As part of SMAA, you can also learn aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu. To take the first step on your martial arts journey, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Missing from Our Lives

When you practice a kata, are you going through the motions, or are you putting your spirit into it?

The extraordinary musician, the exemplary painter, the best writer, the gifted singer, and the exceptional martial artist share a unique sort of magic. There's a depth to their performances that only a keen eye can see, only a sharp ear can hear. Their notes are not just notes, their brush strokes are not just brush strokes, their words are not just words, their voices are not just voices, and their kata are not just kata. Instead, they're a deep expression of a collection of meaningful experiences, distilled through countless hours of practice and years of reflection.

If you watch, read, or listen carefully enough, you can sense the depth of their technique. If you're lucky enough to have seen their teachers or role models, you'll also be able to see echoes of their predecessors in their art. That's an extraordinary expression of love... granting immortality to an artist by ensuring that his or her art is preserved in your body, mind, and spirit. The level of your tribute corresponds to how well you internalize the nuance of his technique and how well you understand and give life to the principles he held dear.

Lightweight players dominate today’s martial arts world. By that I don't mean people who are small in physical stature. Instead, I mean people who are small in character, technique, and aspirations. Consider carefully the school you plan to attend. Is the approach all about rank? Does the curriculum change frequently... is it more focused on variation than on depth? Are the lead instructors out of shape, mean spirited, or simply poor technicians?

Read more in our latest article.

Start Your Path to Greatness at a National Karate Association

Ready to set your 2025 martial arts goals?

SMAA is a national karate association, but we offer more than just karate! As part of SMAA, you can also learn aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu. To take the first step on your martial arts journey, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.