Sixth Kyū – Green Belt

Who Was Funakoshi Gichin?

Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan, was a scholar.  He wrote and taught about karate, insisting on karate as a way of life and path to perfection of character.

Funakoshi’s Twenty Principles of Karate

You have already heard a few of these principles. . 

1. Karate·dō begins and ends with courtesy.
2. There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate is a great assistance to [auxilliary of] justice.
4. Know yourself first and then others.
5. Spirit first; techniques second.
6. Always be ready to release your mind.
7. Misfortune [accidents] always come out of idleness [negligence].
8. Do not think that karate training is only in the dōjō.  
9. It will take your entire life to learn karate.  There is no limit.
10. Put your everyday living into karate and you will find the ideal state of existence.
11. Karate is like hot water.  If you do not give it heat constantly it will again become cold water.
12. Do not think that you have to win.  Rather, think that you do not have to lose.
13. Victory depends on your ability to distinguish vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.
14. The battle is according to how you maneuver guarded and unguarded.  Move according to your opponent.
15. Think of the hands and feet as swords.
16. When you leave home think that you have numerous opponents waiting for you.  It is your behavior that invites trouble from them.
17. Beginners must master low stance and posture.  Natural body position for advanced.
18. Practicing a kata is one thing and engaging in a real fight is another.
19. Do not forget :
      1) strength and weakness of power
      2) stretching and contraction of the body
      3) slowness and speed of techniques. 
    Apply these correctly.
20. Always think and devise ways to live the precepts every day.

yōi	用意	prepare
yame	止め	to stop
zanshin	残心	unrelaxed alertness “remaining mind”

Zanshin

The imaginary battle does not end until yame. Therefore, from yōi to yame of a kata you should be alert and focused, ready to meet whatever comes at you. After yame it is particularly difficult to maintain focus. The battle is over, right? Not necessarily. Zanshin means to maintain an unrelaxed alertness. Moments of zanshin comes in the middle of kata, too. In each direction there is a new enemy to face and finish off. Once an enemy has been vanquished, there should be an expression of zanshin, in expectation of another attacker.

Where to Focus the Eyes

Students often ask where they should look in partner practice or if faced with an opponent. The answer is, don’t look; perceive. If you fix your eyes on a certain point it can be distracting, whether that point is the opponent’s hands, feet or face. Your gaze should be broad, allowing you to perceive the strengths and weaknesses of the situation. Use the opponent’s body language to evaluate his intention while remaining aware of whatever else might be happening around you.

For bunkai, the narrow view is appropriate. Look at the opponent just below the nose. This is the philtrum in English or jinchū in Japanese. If you look into the opponent’s eyes, he can use small movements of his eyes to deceive you. Looking in the narrow view, you can use the opponent’s body language to evaluate his intention while remaining aware of whatever might be happening around you. If there is another opponent or opponents preparing to attack, you will know.

An Example

When driving a car the driver will look off in the distance, focusing on nothing in particular but being aware of everything around him. This is the long view. However, if a child with a ball appears, the driver will change his focus to the child to be ready if the child should run out into the street chasing the ball. This is the narrrow view. Even while focusing near the driver remains aware of other potential dangers using his peripheral vision.

For kata, the long view is best. There is no opponent nearby to focus on so keep your “eyes on the mountain.” Do not focus on anything in particular. You eyes are looking far in front of you, but are still aware of everything near you.

tōzan	当山	mountain
me	目	eyes
metsuki	目つき	expression
kanken	管見	narrow view

1. Tōzan no metsuki
   The long view – “eyes on the mountain”
2. Kanken no me
   The eyes of observation
   

Kime

kime	決め	focus
kimeru	決める	to deliver
shimeru	絞める	to constrict

Kime is a special word for focus in Japanese that means more than looking in a particular direction or focusing the eyes to see clearly. Kime is concentration of mind and body to achieve maximum effectiveness.  It is a commonly used martial arts term, referring to:

1. The instantaneous tensing at the moment of contact during a technique
2. The attack to a vital point

Kime quite nicely sums up the Kōburyū punch. The Kōburyū punch involves a squeezing or constriction of the body upon contact. This delivers all of the power of the punch to the opponent without losing any power to rebound.

Kime is also the noun form of the verb meaning “to deliver.” You will find this meaning in the taisabakii, “gedan shō de kime sono te de uraken ganmen uchi.” In this case, kime is used because the attack is definitely not a tsuki nor is it exactly an uchi, which has the connotation of hitting with the side of a weapon. You are delivering the attack with your palm.

Critical Thinking

By all means, learn as much as you can about karate.  Don’t limit your research to your own style.  Learn about other styles, their history and their beliefs.  Think about how those beliefs will affect their training, techniques and fighting style. When other karate practitioners discover that you practice karate they will invariably ask if you have heard of their style, because that’s often the only style they are interested in.  They will be very impressed if you can intelligently discuss their style with them.  In the process, you can slip in comparisons with your own style.  They will learn a little about Kōburyū, too.

The Internet is both a good source of information about the martial arts and a terrible source. There is often as much misinformation as information. Think critically. Compare sources. Question authenticity. Does it make sense? Is it accurate based on other sources? Does it match what you have learned in class?

An Example

Long-time students who began their karate training in Pangainoon Ryū may remember being taught that seiken zuki begins palm up in hikite position and travels along a straight line to the target, keeping the elbow close to the body and the shoulders squared up. The fist is turned over at the very moment of contact. The purpose of turning the fist over was said to be to increase pain by twisting the skin.

What Is Wrong With This Concept?

1. This technique limits the force of the punch to what can be obtained by the arm alone.
2. Keeping the shoulders squared up limits the reach and follow through of the punch.
3. Turning the fist over at the moment of contact may have had some additional effect on a bare-chested opponent.  It is not effective when applied to a clothed opponent, where the fist either twists the clothing or slips harmlessly across the surface.  Moreover, the additional pain can be little more than the pain of a good pinch.  Compared to the potential for broken bones or organ damage, who cares about a pinch?
4. This twisting style over time can be damaging to the tendons of the elbow.

The Kōburyū seiken zuki is powered by the whole side of the body. The body is relaxed and loose for speed but tightens at the moment of contact, delivering all of the force to the opponent.  The fist does travel efficiently in a straight line but the elbow moves a little away from the path of the attack for a more natural use of the arm, shoulder and torso. The fist is vertical at contact but turns over naturally during follow through.

You can test these two techniques by punching a bag with the above “corkscrew” approach versus a properly executed Kōburyū seiken zuki. Do your best. You want to give the corkscrew approach a fair test. Which has more power? Do not test the corkscrew technique on the makiwara. You could tear the skin of your knuckles. Do not test the corkscrew technique by attempting to break a board. You might break the small bones of your little finger or hand.

The Performing Arts

geidō	芸道	“artistic way” the performing arts
keiko	稽古	practice or training
kata	型	mold

In Japan the martial arts fall within the category of geidō, the performing arts.  The Japanese believe the performing arts can only be learned by dedicated repetition under the guidance of a master.  The performing arts are traditional dance, flower arranging, tea ceremony and many more – including the martial arts.

The Role of Kata

The type of practice employed by schools teaching the arts, including martial arts, is called keiko. Kata are the means by which techniques are transmitted from master to student. The student learns through a rote imitation of the teacher’s technique down to the tiniest detail of stance or how one holds one’s hands. Typically there is no explanation of the individual moves. The student should not ask questions or attempt to embellish the kata. The meaning of the techniques is thought to come through the total mind and body understanding obtained through constant polishing of the moves and inner reflection on the process.

Unlike karate or kobudō, kata are not necessarily an imaginary battle. For example, iaidō, sword drawing, is a clear example of keiko. There are many different ways to draw a sword. For each sword draw there is a kata practiced with great deliberation and concentration. Practiced with a live blade, accuracy is essential. We could do worse than to practice hojoundō with similar intensity and spirit.

Hurst, G. Cameron: Ryūha in the Martial & Other Japanese Arts, Journal of Asian Martial Arts, vol. 4, no.4, 1995, p.13-25.