There have been a number of times in human history when a newly created technology would forever change life thereafter. The knowledge and ability to utilize fire is one such development, the development of agriculture another, and the use of electricity can be seen as a more modern example of this kind of revolutionary leap. It's through these leaps forward in technological prowess that civilization is made possible. I tend to think it's important to also note how technology moves forward due to an ever increasing body of knowledge. For example it's not reasonable to think that the jet plane could have existed before the motor car, or the internet could have existed before the light bulb. So if modern life is the result of thousands of years of human progress then one tool stands out as a truly fundamental pillar of civilization and that is cutting blade. Archaeology claims that as early as 50,000 years ago our ancestors were using flint and obsidian blades. The incredible range of uses a sharp blade provides should be obvious and so it's no mystery why early humans would seek to develop better and better blades. Slowly over many thousands of years flint and obsidian would give way to copper, then to bronze, then to iron, and finally steel and modern alloys were developed. These developments were fundamental to our progress as a species. So much so that we name the some of the epoch's of human history after the technological level of the metallurgy being done at that time such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age etc. The advantage of a cutting blade would have been wholly revolutionary to an early humans and two main types of weapons would be created with these blades that would remain vital to humanity right up until modern times. They are the sword and the spear. Both weapons have been made in numerous styles and sizes throughout history and exist in virtually every society and civilization that has ever existed. Between the two weapons the thing makes the sword unique is that it is better suited to be an individual fighters weapon, whereas the spear is best utilized by groups of solders in rank and file. This has lead the sword to become synonymous with personal power and in the end it became an anchor in our collective unconscious as a symbol of both strength and justice. Truly no other weapon commands such an important place in both history and myth as the sword. From the legends of King Arthur's sword Excalibur to the incomparable Japanese Katana, from the Roman soldier's Gladius to the great sword Andúril in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Swords are everywhere and play a fundamentally important role in both fiction and real life. This is an interesting phenomenon in that despite the glowing high place swords keep in life and ritual/symbolism the job they do is really quite gruesome. It begs the question of how a tool designed to hack people apart came to be a symbol of Justice. Originally I think it was spears that really changed our ancestors lives the most directly. A spear could allow a person to fend off an attacking wild animal and generally gave early humans a huge boost in establishing humanity at the top of the food chain. Swords really are built much more towards human on human violence. They are largely the ultimate individual weapon and as civilization grew so did the concepts of empire and conquest. This meant the idea of self defense took on a newly important role in the life of the average person. Its here that the doubled edged nature of technology presents itself. If someone was viciously attacking me with a bladed weapon then I would definitely prefer to have a similar weapon to use in my defense. If not then I would prioritize taking the attackers weapon away and using it against them if necessary to bring the attack to an end. So the sword can do great harm or it can prevent great harm from being done. But a world without the cutting blade is one where we could not have developed society very far. So this issue cannot be resolved by getting rid of blades. It's for this reason that a good martial arts school will devote some amount of time to training with blades both in the sense of how the blade is used and also how to disarm a bladed attacker. Of all the kinds of weapons that get used in assaults a bladed weapon is the most common. At this time in history such attacks are almost always one kind of knife or another. Anything from a pocket sized switch blade, to a hunting knife, or even a common kitchen knife can be a deadly weapon. However regardless of which one is being used they all must be wielded within limitations of what a human being with two arms and two legs can do with a cutting object. This means if you learn to deal with any kind of knife you will have developed a fighting chance to deal with any other bladed weapon as well. To be sure though any fight with a cutting blade is absolutely deadly serious and should be treated as such. There is an old saying in Japanese Kenjutsu/sword fighting schools that a person going into a sword fight only has a 33.3% chance of surviving. Not good odds and not something to be taken lightly. Much of martial art training is purposefully directed towards absolute worst case scenarios and this is a prime example of that. This means that standing and fighting someone with a blade is the last possible thing one should do. Get away, give them your wallet or whatever else, anything else than can be done to avoid a blade being swung towards you is priority. However that being said if there truly is no other option then one must fight such an assailant in a severe and deadly serious way in their defense. So by now we can see that cutting blades are an intrinsic part of the human world. And since people do not seem likely to stop attacking each other any time soon then it is distinctly advantageous to know how blades are used as weapons and how to defend against such attacks. This truth is exactly the kind of truth that martial arts are built upon. Seeing things as they are and working tirelessly towards the best possible result within the constraints reality presents. It's like the old head on the sand analogy, if your heads in the sand then you have no real chance of surviving a hurricane. However if you face the storm and do what you can to avoid getting killed then you at least have a chance. This is the truth of the blade. Things are as they are, so how are you going to respond, that is what matters. It is a very delicate truth. In the Aizu Clan of Japan from which the Takeda Family and the Daito Ryu comes from there is a old saying that the truth lies on the cutting edge of a blade. This makes the truth a precarious thing that must be treated with delicacy and great care just a real live blade is. If this can be understood then it can finally be understood how the blade can be seen as the perfect embodiment of the truth. Like the truth it cuts deeply and when used carelessly can do great harm but without it the world could not exist as it does. It is for this reason that the way of using a blade has been of enormous value to me. It has given me what I feel is a deep insight into life and so I am honestly grateful to have come to know the cutting blade and because of that to have gotten a glimpse of the truth it reveals. I hope you find the same for yourself someday.
Think of your opponents hands and feet as swords.
-Gichin Funakoshi
25
Jul
"Whom do you serve?" asks the hero in the epic fantasy novel as they confront a stranger on their hero's quest. The stranger's face pales and the tension between the two increases dramatically. Such a question is not lightly answered. It might as well be, what do you truly want? or what are your ultimate intentions? All these questions end up basically meaning the same thing. They ask what are the core beliefs motivating an individual to do the things they do. Not a small question at all.
Like the hero in the story we all would be benefited to ask the same question but instead of asking it of others we should take the time to ask ourselves who or what we are serving. Does anxiety rule your mind, or does peace and passion? Years ago Sensei Mortley first told me that I must be able to look in the mirror and feel good about what I saw. A person might be able to put on a nice smile for their boss or partner but there is no way to truly be dishonest with themselves. What's more any attempt at doing so does great damage to the person in the end. .
In the previous article I painted a picture of the two basic camps in the ongoing debate within martial artist community about the role competitions play within training. I admittedly used very broad brush strokes so as to more easily differentiate the two camps. Despite that I certainly don't mean to say that all practitioners of the numerous martial arts in the world are wholly committed to one side of the debate or the other.
I personally find watching highly skilled competitors in the UFC octagon fighting with passionate and fury a fascinating display of human capability. But as intense and dramatic as such fights might be, for me, there is always a shadow underneath it all. That being a very strong personal dislike for violence. So even my personal position on this issue is heavily nuanced and hard to pinpoint.
It would also be foolish to say that combat sports are anything less than written into the DNA of society. The Romans had the Gladiators and most other cultures throughout time had their own equivalent spectacles. I would imagine that even back in the early Stone Age humans would gather around and watch people argue and fight using their hands and feet and other weapons. In fact it can be said that all sports are to some degree based off either fighting or hunting. Both fighting and hunting in the early Stone Age would require a great deal of skill and precision. There was also great risks as the hunts and fights would likely often end with the death of the participants.
Today there is still lethal consequences to many sports. NFL Football and NHL Hockey are plagued by concussions and other similar injuries. Just recently a UFC fighter named Joao Carvalho died after a bout from what seems to be the head injuries he received in the fight. Professional Boxing has it's deaths as well. These fighters don't go into the ring planning on being killed but it does happen and it's considered one of the costs of such activities.
The question then is why are the participants engaging in these activities. Well for the most part it seems to be for rewards of wealth and personal glory. Now I know there are many people who have gained tremendously from training in all the combat sport arts and that is a great thing. However at the highest levels of achievement in these systems winning is the main goal and what you win is personal glory and cash.
Of course money is a necessity in our society and few people have enough of it to live comfortable lives. I can easily understand the desire to make the heaps of money world champions seem to do. Years ago I toyed with the idea of entering into some local competitions for just that reason.
Then there is the glory of being known as a champion. This is also an easily understandable desire. All people are driven to some extent to receive recognition from their fellow humans. Becoming the "best" at something is the human equivalent of becoming the alpha of the pack. And to be sure becoming highly skilled at any activity is a noble goal and one I highly recommend. My Sensei has often reminded me that one should become world class at something they love. Whatever that may be it will serve you well to truly seek out becoming as good as anyone can be at whatever skill/art/craft you wish to pursue.
So it is with world champion combat sport fighters. These men and women has worked endless hours honing their skills and have paid a heavy price for their achievements. They have sweated buckets and even bled on the training floor and I definitely respect them for it.
Far to often people mistake differences for value, especially on this point. If one person happens to find their path in life leads into the triumphs and defeats of the professional fighting world and another person's path leads into a Traditional Martial Art practice, avoiding violence at all costs and never making a public spectacle of their skills, then who is really following the true path? Neither, both, in reality such comparisons diminish both Sport Fighting and Traditional Martial Arts. Having totally different reasons to do a thing fundamentally changes the thing you do.
In the Traditional Martial Arts the goals are completely different than are the goals of the sport fighter. A Traditional Martial Artist will go to great lengths to avoid any violent encounters. Even if forced to defend themselves they never do more than is necessary to avoid harm. Seeking to "win" against another is an act of the ego and pride no matter how you look at it. Most Traditional Dojo's speak out against the dangers of pride and are adamant that it is never acceptable to use the skills they develop to intentionally harm another. This means in Traditional Martial Arts there is no rewards of glory to be found, only endless effort.
The true goal of the Traditional Martial Artists is to live a long, healthy, and honourable life. It is a simple goal but one far from easy. My Sensei has asked the question of how compassion and humility can coexist with competitions that make people either winners or losers. If the six words of compassion, humility, honour, loyalty, gratitude, and patience are truly observed then one cannot claim superiority over any other person, or animal, or plant, or anything else that exists.
So in the end the questions is what do you want, or to put it more poetically, what do you wish to serve. Does the idea of defeating other people for cash and glory excite you, then a Sport Based Competitive Dojo is where you ought to go. If the pursuit of personal self defense and individual/spiritual growth is what you seek then a Traditional Dojo is where you will want to be. Both are valid choices but both travel utterly different paths. I wish you well no matter what path you take.
Within the vast array of Martial Arts Clubs, Gyms and Dojo's that exist today one of the most controversial subjects is the place that competitions have in training . There are many claims made by many schools both for and against tournaments and competitions. It is a subject that can be difficult to make sense of and has some serious implications for the martial arts practitioner in many ways. In the end the path that the individual martial artist walks will be greatly influenced by the way they see competition and it's place in the Dojo.
Like all controversies there are two main camps in this ongoing debate There are those who see competition as entirely self serving and ego bolstering and then there are those who think that without competition one cannot achieve their highest abilities. Of course most martial artists have mixed feelings about the issue and so for the sake of the article I will be calling the two camps the Traditionalists and the Sport Fighters. However to be sure the arguments for and against competitions is not black and white subject but rather one of many shades of grey.
Competition is a complex subject and one that seems deeply ingrained into nature itself. Fights over mating rights, territory, and social hierarchy are all pivotal aspects of most animals lives. So it is only natural that homo sapiens would follow suite, albeit somewhat more complex and flamboyant, we humans play out these primal roles as well as any animal. So this makes the question of the proper place for competition a good one to think about within our economic lives, social lives, corporate structure, and of course, martial arts training.
First the general arguments for and against competitions within the martial arts community.
Traditional Martial Arts Are systems designed and built to address the harshest realities of life and death combat. In such situations nothing is off the table and survival is the only goal. Interwoven into this is the philosophies of these arts which are fundamentally driven towards a transcendence of the ego and an overcoming of emotional and intellectual immaturity. Because of this they see the desire for a trophy as an ego based fetish and something that misses the point of the training entirely.
Combat Sport Martial Arts Are systems practiced and developed with the goal of victory in the octagon or on the mat kept in the forefront of the practitioners mind. They believe that only by facing another fighter in a competitive setting can a person truly know how to function in the high stress environment of a self defense situation. They also claim that the results of winning and losing encourages an individuals progress and personal development in a multitude of positive ways.
My take on this argument is that neither is better than the other. It's like trying to say that driving a Nascar as hard as you can to get across the checkered flag is the same thing as driving an ambulance through a crowed city to get to a hospital with a person bleeding out in the back. There may be a lot of generalized similarities but the fundamental situation is completely different.
If it can be well understood that training to survive someone attempting to kill you is not at all the same thing as training to win a competitive sport fight then a much clearer perspective can be gained on where competition can sit in the world and in the Dojo.
It reminds me of a story my Sensei once told me.
"There was a man who lived in a little house in the forest. He was very old, he had lived so long that all the people he knew had died and he was left alone. One evening as the Autumn winds were rising he was walking back home with a bundle of firewood upon his back. The weight of it suddenly was to much for his old bones and he let the bundle fall to the ground. Exasperated he cried out for death to take him. "I am old", he cried, "I've lived a long life, and now I am alone, let me die". At those words a shadow took form in front of him. It rose higher and higher until it took a shape, it was the shape of death, a figure in a hooded cloak carrying a scythe. The phantom in the black cloak spoke with a voice that was like some great wind howling through a endless cave. The sound of it was unsettling to the bone. It said, "you have summoned me"and the old man knew a fear like he had never known before. He replied "I'm deeply sorry to have bothered you but I seemed to have dropped my firewood, can you help me put it on my back once more?"
This story with its vivid imagery is suppose to remind us that despite all else that might occur in life the desire to stay alive is a drive that outweighs all other feelings and impulses. Deep down we all know that we cannot take our worldly possessions into the great unknown when we pass. In fact most mystical traditions are very insistent on saying that physical reality is ephemeral. Claiming that life cannot be firmly grasped any more than a handful of water can be tightly squeezed.
I once had a student ask me for some advise on a situation he had gotten himself into where his arm had been broken by another man in a bar fight. I listened to the story and right away knew it was all totally unnecessary, the argument that started it was all vanity and shallow pride, the fight itself was more chest beating than real fighting, and his arm was only broken as a result of the two of them slipping and hitting the pavement hard together. So I reminded him to consider his death before ever getting into another situation like that. I don't think he understood my meaning.
It is the true difference between the two camps of the Traditionalists and the Sport Fighters though. One system never forgets that to lose is to be killed. The other focuses on winning the most points or trophies. This difference nullifies the question of who would win in a fight. Traditionalists don't fight to win and sport based competitions are not life and death struggles. My young student missed the point of my statement as he had not realized that to stand against someone who's intent is to kill means you must be prepared to die yourself. This is never the case in sport based competitions.
So we can see that the two camps are not developed towards the same goals and so are not directly comparable to each other.
In part two I will discuss the ways each camp trains and how that affects the individuals abilities and mindset as a result of the each type of training.
I was 17 years old, the fire in my mind was burning strong but the demands of school and time had been creating a lot of conflict in my life. I was generally in open defiance of authority and much of my life wasn't going in what would be considered a positive direction. Most of my leisure time was spent learning Slayer riffs on guitar and I had given up on finding anything interesting within the public school system. It was at this turbulent time that I walked into a Dojo for the first time.
I had been training at a local kickboxing gym for about a year but it had gone out of business. A good friend recommenced a Karate Dojo he had been training at and it turned out that my brother had also trained there as a child. I recalled the little bit of Karate my brother had done years before when we were kids. It seemed like it involved kicks and punches and loud shouts, all things I was eager to do.
So I went and I was deeply impressed with what I saw from my first class. The Sensei at the Dojo seemed to know endless techniques and I wanted to learn them all. I took to the training eagerly. The Dojo was teaching the Karate style called Goju Ryu and so the first Kata I ever learnt was Sanchin.
Kata is of course the main vehicle upon which the knowledge of the Karate is transmitted. Each one profoundly combines the of most ideal body mechanics and breath control with proven combat principals. This makes each Kata is a treasure trove of information and a serious student of martial arts must cultivate them with care and purpose. Sanchin however is quite unique in that is doesn't focus so much on fighting techniques as it does on the perfection of the most minuscule aspects of muscle and breath control.
In the style of Karate I originally learnt Sanchin was practiced as the founder of Goju Ryu Karate, Chojun Miyagi, had taught it. Miyagi Sensei is said to have spend many years training in Southern China and learnt everything from Tai Chi Chuan and Bagwa to White Crane Kung Fu and Qi Gong. What he exactly learnt or not is a subject of some debate but it can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that he learned a version of Sanchin most often practiced by White Crane Kung Fu schools.
White Crane's Sanchin doesn't look much like the Karate Kata Sanchin. White Crane's Sanchin is most often done in the low horse riding stance and uses quick open hand movements that somewhat resemble a crane opening it's wings and then striking with lighting speed. I was taught a White Crane Sanchin Form once but didn't see the resemblance to the Karate Kata I had been practicing. It would be years before I came to understand how the two Kata were teaching the same thing. Other styles, notably Uechi Ryu, perform Sanchin with open hands but in a more upright stance than the White Crane Form.
It is said that Miyagi Sensei was the one who changed the open hand movements to closed fist movements and added the upright stance of sanchin dachi. This might seem like a totally different technique but the key is that regardless of the shape of the hand the mechanics of how strength and kinetic energy are transferred through body is a constant. Having only two arms and two legs means that the only way to achieve maximum efficiency in a movement is to coordinate the whole body as one. It is in this regard that Sanchin is a supremely brilliant form.
In the writings of the internal Chinese martial arts, particularly Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan, there are references to the the idea of weaving a fine golden silk thread, often times simply called silk reeling. This spiraling flow of energy can be visualized as a string that coils up from the feet around the legs, through the torso and out around the arms, ending at the hands.
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.
Ann joined the Dojo roughly two years ago. She had done two Tai Chi Chuan sessions at the local university and wanted to take her training further so she joined the Karate classes that are a main component in my teaching schedule. In the past two years it has been obvious that the training has benefited her greatly. The usual benefits like better health and a sense of centered and peaceful confidence have been apparent. On top of that I have started seeing her getting more and more capable of using the techniques of Karate to the point of being able to throw around some of the physically larger male members of the Dojo.
Being able to actually defend yourself against a larger and stronger opponent is always an empowering experience and when the student is a petite women it tends to make the achievement that much more empowering. However as exciting as it is to be able to help women develop the skills necessary to be able to honestly defend themselves it is only the beginning of what the martial arts are designed to do for the individual. The real test is to overcome the self. And that is something Ann, along with every other person who trains in these arts, can only achieve with long term disciplined efforts and tremendous personal strength.
It is often said in martial art circles that the real goal of training isn't to defeat another to but to overcome the shadows and fears harbored deep in the psyche. Self-defense serves as a key component of that process however it is only one step along a life long path, albeit and without a doubt, it is a very important step. This then begs the question of what kind of strength does it take to walk the path and overcome yourself as it should be obvious by now that I'm saying physical strength by itself is not enough.
Dave Lowery has a great article