Solo Kata Systems and Free Exchange

When is it appropriate to improvise in kata training?

Although in kata geiko (“forms training”) it’s best to try to perfect the kata as is, unless you are aware of the possibility of your partner “breaking” the form and going at you in a different way, you’re just going through the motions. You don’t have the right frame of mind of being focused on executing the right counter to the right attack. That’s why solo kata exercises are great for developing your own stance, balance and timing, but it’s a good idea to also include partner-based training or some form of free exchange. For kata-based systems, going overboard with “free exchange” might taint the style with too much emphasis on sports budo. But sans that, working in kata with different partners, who have different heights, weights, timing, and attack patterns is a decent way to develop the ability to adjust one’s form.

Thus, if you look at the few solo-type kata styles, such as iaido, karate-do, or even a Chinese art like Tai Chi Ch’uan, the solo exercises are always augmented in some way with partner-based training. You never know what a partner will think of doing, even in a regulated exercise. Your distancing, angles of counter, and attacks will change according to your partners.

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Adapting Your Kata

When you practice kata, do you think about improvising?

We’ve stressed the importance of repetitious training in order to be “natural.” Kata training is really glorified repetitive drill training (well, it’s more than that, but mainly it’s drilling) that is supposed to embed movements and reactions into your body and mind, so that you don’t need to spend precious amounts of time cogitating over whether or not to block, say, a sword stroke at your head or scream like a little girl and just die. Hopefully, through such training, you won’t curl up and die should the actual time arise.

On the other hand, you may have trained incessantly for a specific action, but when the time comes, the situation is not quite right, and your technique needs to be altered in order for it to work. For martial artists who have a component of training with a resistive partner (as in sparring), “catch as catch can” action-reaction is nearly second nature. No partner is going to let you apply that chokehold perfectly without resistance in judo mat work, for instance. So, you improvise. For kata-based training, however, developing this ability to improvise is a bit more problematic, but still important nevertheless. Not everyone is going to come at you with a perfect forward-leaning stance so you can throw him magnificently in a kote-gaeshi, for example. In a self-defense situation, you may have to improvise a lot to get that throw to work.

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Grow Your Skillset at a Japanese Martial Arts Organization

SMAA is a martial arts organization dedicated to preserving traditional Japanese budo in the west. To get more details about joining, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

The Basics of Budo: Relaxation and Physics

How do relaxation and physics factor into your budo practice?

Here’s a quick guide to these important basics:

Relaxation

Martial artists, like those engaged in most other physical activities, must learn to relax. Tension is your enemy. After developing the ability to do some basic techniques in a relaxed fashion, the techniques must be practiced thousands of times to imprint the movements into the body and the brain. But the practitioner must always be relaxed.

If you want to throw a good front punch, you must relax your upper body including the muscles in your face. Do a small experiment, please. Try to get a tense, tough, mean look on your face and simultaneously try to completely relax your upper body.

You can’t. It’s impossible. Your face and your upper body must both relax simultaneously. Then, and only then, can you punch effectively. If you remain tense, effective punching is nigh impossible. Your “punch,” if you can throw it at all, will inevitably be slow and weak.

Physics

Kinetic energy, or “moving energy,” in this case the energy you deliver to whatever you are punching, is directly proportional to the mass you can generate by the use of your body mass and directly proportional to the square of the velocity (speed) with which your hand strikes its target. 

Said in a slightly different way, the mass delivered is how much of your entire body mass you can recruit into your punch and deliver to your target. If you double the mass you deliver, you double the kinetic energy delivered to the target. 

In other words, if you increase the mass you deliver from one unit to two units, you increase the amount of kinetic energy delivered by a punch from one unit to two units. You double the kinetic energy delivered.

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SMAA is a martial arts organization dedicated to preserving traditional Japanese budo in the west. To get more details about joining, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

The Basics of Budo: Anatomy and Physiology

How do anatomy and physiology factor into your budo practice?

Here’s a quick guide to these important basics:

Anatomy

Learning the basic karate-do horizontal front punch illustrates the need for understanding at least a little anatomy. The knuckles of the index and middle fingers of the fisted hand, the part of the hand that transmits energy to the target, must move just a tiny bit to the outside just before impact with the target. This allows the alignment of these two knuckles and the metacarpals behind them with the radius and ulna in the forearm, thus enabling the delivery of the kinetic energy generated by your body mass and the punch’s velocity to the target. 

If these bones are not properly aligned, the punch will deliver less energy and be less effective. You will also be at increased risk of injuring your hand.

Physiology

Physiology is also important. Your muscles must have energy to function. If your muscles and liver are, due to fatigue, depleted of glycogen, a precursor of glucose that is the basic fuel of skeletal muscle and most other tissues, you simply cannot deliver an effective blow.

You have heard of marathoners and triathletes who “hit the wall.” They “hit the wall” because their muscle and liver stores of glycogen were too low to sustain prolonged exercise. They may quit, or often they struggle to finish, sometimes collapsing either physically, mentally, or both during the struggle. Nausea, cramps, and mental disorientation can result. 

The same thing can happen to martial artists who do not understand the need to fuel their muscles. While martial artists are not generally thought of as endurance athletes, even moderate glycogen depletion with the resultant reduction in blood glucose levels can reduce mental acuity, reduce reaction time, reduce coordination, and decrease strength.

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SMAA is a martial arts organization dedicated to preserving traditional Japanese budo in the west. To get more details about joining, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

The Budo Origin of Judo

Why is it inaccurate to classify Judo as a sport, rather than budo?

In 1889, Dr. Kano Jigoro, founder of judo, said, "Judo is the study of techniques with which you may kill if you wish to kill, injure if you wish to injure, subdue if you wish to subdue, and, when attacked, defend yourself" (2). Judo was once widely considered a valid form of self-defense training. This is no longer true. Because it is sometimes thought of as an eccentric form of sport wrestling, many people do not take it seriously as a form of self-defense. This is especially true of the students of other budo. Yet Dr. Kano's statement makes it clear that he considered judo to be effective self-protection. Kano Sensei intended that randori (unrehearsed, free practice) be the primary training method followed closely by kata (rehearsed, formal exercises). Shiai (competition) was clearly last in his priorities (3).

We have defined the problem; now what do we do to solve it? I believe that judo is dynamic, versatile, and expansive enough to serve the needs and interests of all who practice it. I also feel the SMAA is an organization which can re-unite the various factions of judo.

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In the SMAA Judo Division, competition is an optional means of testing one's physical and technical skills and a method of bringing out the best in oneself. Participation in competition is not required.

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Notes:

1. Modern Budo and Bujutsu; Donn Draeger; pg. 112.
2. Judo Formal Techniques; Draeger and Otaki; pg. 23.
3. Ibid., pgs. 23-31.

Judo: the Schism Between Sport and Budo

Is judo a sport or budo? 

The late Mr. Donn Draeger said, "Modern judo is commonly described as a sport, a fighting art, a spiritual discipline, a system of physical education and a recreational activity." Budo and sports have in common regular physical training in specific skills and routines. Sports are designed to provide physical fitness, entertainment and, through competition, the attainment of awards, monetary gain, and/or public acclaim. Budo has as its ultimate goal the perfection of the practitioner's moral and spiritual self.

Mr. Draeger goes on to point out that a true definition of judo is elusive because the narrow interests of a few have been allowed to dominate the scope of judo (1). When people decide to study budo they usually come with several goals in mind. They often want to learn self-defense skills foremost. There is also a desire to improve their health and physical fitness. Finally, there is the desire to improve their mind and spirit. Budo teaches discipline, respect, humility, dignity, and compassion.

There is a clear schism in judo between the sport enthusiasts and the traditionalists. Sport judo today is dedicated primarily to the development of contest champions. The overall goal of championship training produces a very steep pyramid structure to the judo population. Increasingly, only the strongest and most gifted athletes are engaged in regular competition to ascend to the pinnacle of victory. In the pragmatic training necessary for victory in this game, self-defense training and the development of spiritual growth is often neglected.

Read more in our latest article.

Join an Authentic Japanese Martial Arts Organization

In the SMAA Judo Division, competition is an optional means of testing one's physical and technical skills and a method of bringing out the best in oneself. Participation in competition is not required.

To get more details about joining our traditional martial arts organization, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Notes:

1. Modern Budo and Bujutsu; Donn Draeger; pg. 112.

2. Judo Formal Techniques; Draeger and Otaki; pg. 23.

3. Ibid., pgs. 23-31.

Okinawa Te, the Empty-Handed Fighting System of Okinawa

Modern karate has a long and rich history. Have you heard of Okinawa te, and its role in modern karate?

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Okinawans had developed a system of unarmed combat called Okinawa te or tode. This art was supposedly enhanced by the influence of Chinese emissaries in the 17th century, who introduced kata, or “forms,” and other Chinese principles. 

Okinawa te is often described as having developed in three main areas around the towns of Naha, Tomari, and Shuri, and it was taught secretly for centuries, usually within families. We often associate different emphasis in internal, external, and linear techniques as being representative of the tode from these three areas. Over time, this art also came to be called karate-jutsu (“Chinese-hand art”).

Master Ohtsuka Hironori, who had studied Shindo Yoshin Ryu jujutsu from an early age, intentionally made his karate-do as Japanese as possible. He also discarded techniques that he felt were ineffective and added much of his jujutsu technique. Due to Master Ohtsuka's commitment and innovation of technique, Wado Ryu has rapidly become one of the most popular karate-do systems throughout the world, and its early acceptance of jiyu kumite has enabled it to be very successful in competition.

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SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We would love to add you to our ranks!