HIS Karate-Do

I sometimes say that among the various skills and abilities one might gain from sincere training in Karate-Do, perhaps the most long-lasting gift is developing a “karate eye” when watching another karate practitioner perform.  After all, watching ice skating competition over the years, I can basically tell when a skater is doing well (or poorly) even though I cannot skate myself.  In the same way, you are developing an eye for karate thanks to your training.  While senior students may be able to identify the practitioner’s style after just a few moves, even those with just several years under their belt can see and appreciate good technique. A while back, I came across a video showing a karate group during an examination.  Unfortunately, I was unable to identify the style, though it appeared to be Japanese.  I was especially intrigued by the group kata performance at the end (fast forward to 2 mins 30 secs) as it was not a kata that I’m familiar with.  I’m not sure if they always practice the kata at the speed or not.  The addition of background music by whomever edited the video did add a humorous flavor to the kata.  Each of you [...]

The practice of Karate-Do has often been described as a metaphorical “walk in life”. The Google AI defines Do as follow, “In Japanese, “do” (道, pronounced “doh”) means “the way” or “the path,” a profound concept referring to a spiritual or philosophical path of discipline, self-improvement, and finding purpose…”. Therefore, we may all be focused on practicing technique, strengthening our bodies, and learning something new about the art, but each of us is also walking an individual journey along a path towards becoming the person we are meant to be. Sounds kind of esoteric eh?…but this is why we are practicing what is termed Karate-Do versus Karate-Jutsu. We’ve all heard of that saying, “Walk the walk vs talk the talk.” Very simply, it means that your actions reflect what you say you’re going to do. In your first or second training lesson, you were taught the basics of the zenkutsu-dachi (forward stance) and how to take your karate “walk”. As you practice it countless times over many years, you are always working towards improving this basic move. More accurately, I’d call it “lunging forward” which is very different from a pedestrian walk. Recently, Sensei Peter’s and my very first instructor, [...]

I don’t think I’ve ever written about the seiza (the formal way of sitting before/after class).  One usually sets one’s body down with the left knee first followed by the right knee.  Etiquette usually has the women’s knees together and the men’s knees apart at a 90-degree angle.  One should sit in a relaxed but erect posture, hands resting on one’s thighs, just below one’s obi (belt).  When rising, the right knee goes up first, followed by the left.  The ancient reason for this was to allow the samurai to easily unsheath his sword in the event of sudden attack while rising or lowering himself.  This assumed that he was right-handed with his sword sheathed on his left side. For some of our older members or others with knee/ankle/hip issues, we allow dispensation from this position.  So many of our karate practices can be healthful to one’s body and the seiza is no exception.  See this article about the value of such a posture.  https://postureclinic.in/seiza/ That said, one of Sensei Trisha’s favorite childhood stories concerns the seiza.   She had woken from bed late one night (she was around 5-6 years old) to get a drink of water and found [...]