HIS Karate-Do

Some of you may wonder why, when we watch martial arts movies featuring karate, there is often, various weaponry associated with the art. We’ve all seen the nunchaku, sai, bo, kama, tonfa, etc, spinning with great flash and effect, in the hands of the movie villains/heroes. Well, we understand that it’s entertainment, but we also see many of these weapons (along with the ekku – oar, which hardly ever makes it into the movies) at traditional karate tournaments in kobudo competition. Sometimes, it’s hard to differentiate which implements are really associated with karate and which are part of the vast list of weaponry belonging to the Chinese martial arts. Not to mention those associated with Filipino martial arts such as escrima and kali. The implements I have just mentioned are those associated with Okinawan Te, the root of modern Karate-do. Formerly, the majority of Te practitioners in Okinawa all were adept with some or all of these weapons. The founder of Shotokan, Master Funakoshi Gichin, was very familiar with Okinawan weaponry, and has been photographed using the bo, sai, etc. However, during the formulation of Shotokan, a decision was apparently made not to include any of the weapons in the [...]

We often think of rules as restrictive or confining, but rules can also provide us with freedom. Rules provide for us a canvas which is limited by its size, but unlimited in how we may fill it. Kata provides us with this same canvas to express ourselves within its confines. At the very basic level, we do this technique, this many times, and in this way. However, no karateka is exactly the same. Therefore, we express movement differently due to interpretation, application and physical capabilities. The true expression of kata comes after endless (not mindless) repetition and effort. A technique becomes “your” technique. A kata becomes “your” expression. It’s not that I have reached this ideal, but I just wanted to share some thoughts on kata that will hopefully help you with your journey.

I was around 4 or 5 years old when I first heard my dad say the word, “horizon”. When they explained to me what that meant, I asked, “You mean that straight line that’s the farthest I can see?” After my dad confirmed that was correct, I followed up with, “If I had super-strong binoculars, could I see the mainland?” My dad replied, “No.” I then asked, “Why?”, and so would begin the usual question after question session, ultimately followed by silence, because by then, dad had other, more important, things to do. That’s one of the first things in life that I can remember so perplexed me, because my child logic made me so sure that the only limit to what I could see on the horizon, was the magnifying power of my eyes. This was before I learned about the curvature of the earth and that the most powerful telescope wouldn’t allow me to see more than 10-20 miles (depending upon how high a vantage point I was at) due to the “dropping away” of the earth as the distance increased. Anyways, I was talking to my friend John the other day, about his “obsession” with running every [...]