Twice a year my teacher, Sensei Douglas Mortley, travels to the Vancouver Dojo to teach a series of seminars and oversee a Karate grading. Sensei Mortley has been teaching Shorinji Ryu Karate, Old Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, Okinawan and Japanese Kobudo, and Daito Ryu AikiJujutsu for over 30 years. His seminars are open to any interested Martial Artists. This time the Dojo was honoured to also have Sensei Tom Leahy join us along with Sensei A.J. Dowla of Usagi Jinja Yo-Shin. For information on upcoming seminars please contact vancouverdojo@gmail.com
The class had been training for several hours. Every person had perspiration gleaming on their face, the Dojo was quiet expect for the sound of breathing. You know its a good class when all you hear is muffled breathing and the silence of concentration. Sensei Mortley was walking around watching people as they worked in pairs on the technique he had just demonstrated. Someone made a comment about how the technique seemed miraculous and almost like magic. Sensei turned and narrowed his eyes at the comment. It was time for a story......
It was years ago, Sensei Mortley was training directly under Sensei Richard Kim. He had been asked to pick Sensei Kim up from the airport and drive him to the seminar being held due to his visit. On the way from the airport the two of them happened to drive by a park where a public Karate demonstration was in progress. This was in the 1970's and Karate was still quite obscure so Sensei Kim asked to stop and view the demonstration.
The two of them mingled into the crowd and watched as a man in a Gi and wearing a black belt proceeded to chop the tops off wine bottles with his hand, punch downwards at bricks and break them, he had a volunteer lay in their back then placed a watermelon on their belly and cut through it with a sword without touching the skin of the volunteers belly, he performed several other feats of "Karate power". After some time watching this demonstration Sensei Kim looked at Sensei Mortley and said, "C'mon Doug let's go, tricks are for kids".
I think it's in those words that one of the most important lessons Mortley Sensei teaches is perfectly spelled out. In so many ways it is the point of martial arts training. The skills Martial Arts develop are truly exceptional. A highly skilled practitioner can do things that might seem hard to believe by the individual who has no idea what rooting or the concept of Aiki means in the martial arts context. These skills are hard earned and developed directly out of a thorough understanding of human body mechanics, psychology, and other important studies like combat reality and instinct response programming.
They are a form of knowledge, not magic, and they can be understood by those who earn their way to knowing them through sweat and time. It is in this sense that training with Sensei Mortley is always so worthwhile. I could watch as everyone in the Dojo took in more than they knew from the time they spent with him.
The seminar was divided into three main parts.
Friday night we went over the Two Person Tai Chi Form. The Two Person Form is very much like the single person form most often seen when people train Tai Chi in the parks. It is like a endless method of countering any kind of grab or strike. It was developed by the Yang Family but largely kept secret. I consider the Two Person Tai Chi Form a jewel in the study of Tai Chi. Saturday in the first part of the session Sensei Mortley taught a Tanto or Knife Kata. This form is taken from the Daito Ryu Tradition and it another fairly rare form. It covers all the fundamental concepts of knife fighting and self defense including blade positioning, cutting angles, drawing the blade, disarming techniques and more. The final session was on a Traditional Karate Kata called Hangetsu. This Kata to a large degree represents a halfway point between the Naha-Te and Shuri-Te traditions respectively. The Kata translates as Half/Crescent Moon which refers the the stance used in the form, called hangetsu dachi. Hangetsu stressed breath control and strongly rooted stances. It is related to the Kata Seisan and uses a few similar movements. After everyone had absorbed as much information as they could we all took a break for lunch. It was beautiful day and the walk outside refreshed our minds and allowed for some hearty conversations. Once the meal was finished we returned for the grading. Gradings are always worth watching as they show people in their truest form. When you step up in front of a panel of black belts and perform your Kata there's no way to hide. It's a very important part of a persons development to grade. Unlike the seminars they are open to the public so if your curious about viewing one feel free to contact the Dojo and we can arrange that. Then it was over. Sensei Mortley and Sensei Leahy left to catch a ferry back to the island and I cleaned up the Dojo. The experience left me feeling uplifted and reflective of the deep gratitude I have for being able to walk this path. It is in that spirit that the way continues. Domo arigatou gozaimashita to everyone who walks their path in the spirit of compassion and humility. See you on the Dojo floor 🙂
Each month I travel to the small town of Mill Bay on Vancouver Island to train with my teacher Sensei Douglas Mortley. Sensei Mortley has been teaching Shorinji Ryu Karate, Old Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, Okinawan and Japanese Kobudo, and Daito Ryu AikiJujutsu for over 30 years. His seminars are open to any interested Martial Artists. For information on upcoming seminars please contact vancouverdojo@gmail.com
The weather was perfectly appropriate for being the spring equinox. It was mostly cloudy with irregular showers but the grey skies were punctuated by an occasional glimpse of the sun. In those few moments of direct sunlight you could feel a small amount of warmth creeping in. Winters cold stillness was giving way to Spring's new growth and the reemergence of color in the leaves and flowers of the forest and gardens stood testament to this new season's beginning. It seems obvious to me that this also tends to improve many peoples moods and outlooks. We are after all a part of nature and like nature we all go through times of stillness and growth much like winter and summer.
The Dojo was a little chilly when the class began but that was soon alleviated by the warm up. After some simple cardio exercises Sensei had us follow through a new warm up routine he has been doing with his Tai Chi students. This warm-up consists of using a Jo Staff as a hand weight. The Jo Staff, which is a wooden staff around 4 feet long, provides an effective tool for developing strength in the upper body. After this simple yet surprisingly effective warm-up came the usual stretch. Once we had gotten the important preliminary warm-up and stretch finished the seminar really began.
Sensei started by having us work on a Tai Chi Push Hands exercise with a particular focus on shifting the feet in and out. This led into a series of applications based on the Push Hands exercise we had been doing. Training with Sensei Mortley in this way often feels like a roller coaster. The information comes at you so quickly it's both incredible and breath taking. Sensei is able to seamlessly apply joint locks, various strikes, throws, kicks, sweeps and numerous other techniques into basic Push Hands movements in a way that is nothing short of masterful.
After the Push Hands applications were brought to an end we spent some time reviewing a few of the main Kata of the Shorinji Ryu system. Sensei led us through the 3 Naihanchi or Tekki Kata, Patsai Dai, Jion and Hangetsu. A special focus went into the Naihanchi series. These Kata have become a personal favorite of mine as they brilliantly covey a huge amount of information into a relatively small set of movements. And they do so in a way that can seem somewhat simplistic on first glance. It is said that these 3 short Kata contain a complete fighting and grappling/wrestling system within them and were the foundation of Karate training on Okinawa prior to the 20th century.
Finally we ended the seminar with a a two person Tambo exercise sometimes called a Waza. A Tambo is a basically a club. Its a single stick about 2 feet long which is held in one hand. It can be a exceptionally effective weapon when used by a skilled martial artist. Okinawan Kobudo, Aikido, Hapkido and many Traditional Japanese weapon systems all use the Tambo. A fact that demonstrates it's versatility and deadly effectiveness as a weapon. After the two person form we reviewed the single person Kata that the Waza was taken from called Seikun No Tambo and that brought the seminar to an end.
It is nearly impossible to adequately covey the information that was covered by such a seminar as martial arts are not something words alone can do justice to. In the span of a few hours Sensei Mortley covered an enormous range of information from the fluid movements of Traditional Tai Chi Chuan to the devastating power generated when properly using a Tambo. Yet despite these varying techniques and concepts Sensei Mortley has an amazing ability to make it feel all like they are different threads upon one great web. As he often says "there is no such thing as an advanced movement in martial arts, rather there is only advanced understanding of basic movements".
In between the myriad of techniques being taught at this, or any other seminar, Sensei often takes a moment to address important concepts that are also deeply interwoven into the training. In this seminar the one thing he spoke of that really stuck in my mind was the responsibility that every individual must take to learn about a given subject before drawing up any sort of conclusion.
In martial art terms this can mean being careful to not underestimate your opponent. Understanding that combat is far to serious of a thing to allow anything to be taken for granted. As many individuals and armies have learnt, usually too late, over confidence can be like sticking ones neck out against a sword cut. One often loses their head when doing so.
It is no different in life. Humanity bleeds everyday due to one person or another holding unreasonable and/or uneducated beliefs. Sensei made it clear that to be a true student of Karate, Tai Chi Chuan, or any other traditional art it was imperative to separate the truth from the nonsense, wishful thinking from viable techniques, and reality from fantasy. Peace came from accepting things for what they are and personal empowerment came from working with reality as it is. A simple task that is far from easy but one worth striving for each and every day for ones entire life.