My dad’s due to be discharged from the Rehab Center of the Pacific in a couple of days. He’s doing pretty good, fiesty as ever at 83 and over the past 10 years, has suffered two strokes, a heart attack and most recently, a blackout and fall that left him very weak in the legs. So, he’s been through this routine before… therapy is not really a fun/recreational activity. One enters the center with a goal: to work hard at improving one’s physical strength, balance, train the brain and muscle to do things in new/efficient ways. The therapists work you hard and on a daily basis. Your main enemies are frustration or apathy; the professionals are there to help you, but most of the effort, and therefore, most of the victory, belongs to you. If a person does not demonstrate continuing improvement, his/her time in the in-demand patient slot may be ending. The therapy team of professionals must make their evaluation as to whether your time there is worthwhile or whether you’re taking up valuable time/space. The team has your best interests in mind, but you are the key to success or to a lower quality of life than you [...]

Well, it occurred to me that a couple of months ago, I said that I was going to write something about kiai, commonly known as the “karate yell”. It is a very important aspect of our training and I am remiss in not discussing it earlier, so here goes. I usually teach only a few things on the first day someone starts, these are: dojo etiquette, tsuki, age-uke, soto-ude-uke, gedan barai, zenkutsu-dachi…and kiai. I always explain that it is differentiated from regular yelling since one must learn to bypass the lips, tongue/teeth, and throat altogether to get it right. The usual sound of a good kiai, therefore, are vowel sounds: A, E, I, O or the soft U (my personal favorite is the A). Interestingly, when I started, I copied some of my sempais and used the “Toh!” or Soh!” sound. A good kiai starts with a powerful/quick contraction of the stomach muscles. This horizontal movement inward, coincides with the forceful upward move of the diafragm, which in turn, releases a short but loud and clear kiai that is projected with much vigor and strength. Again, the kiai bypasses the lips, tongue and especially the throat. Most commonly, beginners tighten [...]

I remember this old saying from when I was a kid, entitled, The Paradox of Time: “Time, it runs when I’m late, it crawls while I wait.” It’s trite, but true. Similarly, there are many such paradoxes in karate-do… proving that God has a real sense of surprises or irony. It’s just that oftentimes, things are not as one would expect. For example: —When making a fist, the strike point is concentrated in the first two knuckles (for beginners, one knuckle or thumbpoint etc, for advanced practitioners)… but the strongest fist is accomplished by squeezing hard and tight on the last two fingers. —When kicking, the more important leg is the supporting leg/foot/ankle, not necessarily the kicking side. —A basic rule of interaction is: respond to strength with soft technique, respond to soft with strong technique. —Very often, when one is fresh and strong, one’s bad habits/techniques manifest themselves. When one’s strength/energy have been depleted, your best techniques are free to emerge. —It’s often when you’re most tired and don’t feel like going to class that you experience your best training and make the biggest breakthroughs. —Conversely, at times you’ll be energized and in a rush to go class and [...]