Karate helping to deal with a heart condition:
Karate fighting, Cardiovascular workout, confidence, rebuilding stamina, fun, self defence, over 50s but not only, over 50, is it too late, exercise, nerd, okinawa karate, shorin ryu, full contact karate, heart, aging
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend an online lecture given by Hanshi McCarthy, and he has a talent for painting a vivid verbal picture to the background of modern karate, I am in no way going to attempt to make this an academic work, as the lecture was in itself littered with quotes and references I have no way of easily recording, but will attach a link to the lecture itself for anyone who wants to delve further.
The background to karate is the setting in which it developed, Japan being a country still grounded culturally in it's feudal past, where the Emperor was worshiped as god, but developing rapidly in technology and setting itself on a warlike footing 1921 was cited as a pivotal year in karate, firstly because of the country's sudden introduction to boxing. In the first $1 million dollar purse fight in America, Jack Dempsey took on Georges Carpentier, winning by k.o. in the 4th round.
The fight was screened afterwards in Cinemas around the world, including Japan and took the Country by storm. The mainland Japanese had seen nothing like it before, and whilst some of the Japanese Navy had come across it before, Karate was relatively unknown on the mainland. None of the traditional martial arts contained empty handed striking, mainly consisting of weapons handling or grappling.
The Japanese government was then on the lookout for something of their own to slake the Japanese thirst for boxing. Enter Karate, on his way to Europe to study, Crown Prince Hirohito visited Okinawa and was treated to an exhibition of local arts, including of course, Karate, demonstrated by Funokoshi Gichin. News on this got back to the mainland and the rest is history.
In 1922, Funokoshi Gichin was invited to Japan to teach Karate. The Japanese were only interested in being taught the percussive side of karate (punches and kicks) and on this Funokoshi delivered comprehensively. Grappling and other elements were neglected, as these were to be found in other arts, and thus was born Japanese karate.
In the same year, an open boxing challenge took place in Kyoto where a European boxer took on local Judodoka. As it was open to all comers at one point, a slightly overweight 50 year old man got up tro challenge. Apparently there was a lot of mirth at this, until the boxer was knocked out with an open handed palm strike, The deliverer was none other than Motobu Choki, and the superiority of karate to boxing was confirmed to the Japanese people.
According to Jesse Enkamp, to whom much of this fleshed out narriative is attributed, also out of this the feud between Funokoshi Gichin and Motobu Choki developed. When stories of the fight were printed, the illustrations depicted Funokoshi Gichin, rather than Motobu Choki gaining the victory, an early example of "Fake News". Apparently this upset Motobu Choki so much that he returned to Japan to deliver a lesson in Karate to Funokoshi Gichin.
Hope you enjoyed reading. For further reference some of the cited material is given below.
The last few weeks have been even more demanding from a work perspective. I haven't trained as often as I would like, but when I have there have been some interesting sessions. Perhaps the strangest was at 01:00 hours on a Saturday morning over Zoom with Sensei Tuari Dawson and the Cairns Dojo, at the invite of Sensei PJ Broomy. 😀
2408 - Compass point work
The lesson was in kobudo, and I needed to do it outdoors due to the lack of space inside, when wielding a bo or nunchaku. I did a bit of a warm up on my own, but then the lesson started. It was to cover a lot more than I expect as it turned out to be an introduction to bo, tonfa, nunchaku and sai. 😀
2908 - Before the Lesson
We learn bo and nunchaku in my doji, but not tonfa and sai. Not at my level anyway, so learning something new is always a fun challenge. Tonfa I just had to watch, as I don't have any, but was able to borrow my son's sai (onlysmaller ones) to have a go it that. It started to rain part way through, so trying to learn in the rain whilst keeping my tablet dry was a challenge on it's own 😀
2908 - Bo, tonfa, nunchaku and sai
Fortunately I was able to move back inside for the sai part of the lesson, which is just as well, as handling sai proved to be tricky enough as it was, without adding to it by trying to handle slippery weapons in the rain! All in all though, was a fun lesson, with an excellent Sensei. 😀😀 Plus I still managed it fit in my regular Saturday training in both karate and bo.
2908 - Working the compass again
Even on days where I miss training due to work, I still try to fit something in later on, and one of the predominant themes at the moment are the 10 kihon gata. I can finally remember all 10, though not in random order as yet 😀 However, that spinning hook kick in gata number 9 just isn't there yet.
3108 - An Evening workout
I think from my own dojo, the best lesson for me was one where they taught combinations of knee strikes, and elbow strikes. My limited abilities make the use of knees very attractive, as well as being effective. What was the clincher for me though was the realisation that the whole range of kicking techniques we use include knee strikes. 😀😀
0509
At close range, a mawashi geri is of no use, but if you do a roundhouse knee and they move away, it turns immediately into a mawashi geri. Similary a straight knee can be turmed into a mai geri, and I guess something like a ushiro geri could be a knee to the side followed by a kick behind. Similar extensions can also be applied to elbow strikes, a downward elbow can be extended into a hammer fist, a crashing elbow can be extended into a back fist, and so on.
0809
The brain also needs to be fed, and after the lesson in knees and elbows, I had the privilege of attending a zoom lecture by Patrick McCarthy, but more of that in another blog. The important thing is the variety and mental stimulus it brings. In times of uncertainy, an anchor point for anybody can be something such as karate. The routine of training being maintained is a conforting one, however if all it contains is endless repetition of the same things trhen the end result cam be couner productive.
1009
For me, the lockdown has given many challenges, but the constant of having more opportunities to train, and the regular nature of the framework, has been a constant about which I have been able to build a routine to cope with both my physical and mental health issues However, having done this for over five months now, if there wan't any variety the value would have been greatly reduced.
1209
As well as doing the routine training, it has been necessary for me to go outside the box as well as rely on the lesson, but I think anyone who wants to progress in any direction has to do this anyway. I have been lucky in that my Sensei, Ben and Alison Slack, always try to work something in over a period of time that we haven't done in the same way before, or expand on what we have done before.
Also, if people wanted to (and I did), they have offered the opportunity to work with different instructors as well, via Zoom. I have had the incredible luck to be able to train with Brian Bates, PJ Broomy, Les Bubka, Don Came, Jamie Clubb, Chris Hanson and Sensei Nohara, and though PJ train with Senei Tuari Dawson. I have taken part of a "lockdown" pub quiz with my dojo, hosted by Iain Abernethy and attended lectures by Andreas Quast and Patrick McCarthy, so what can I say?
To cope with massive uncertainty, a strong routine is a massive plus in being able to be able to cope. But to to be of any value, the routine has to have a degree of variety built in, and preferably with the opportunity to develop things further for the students if they wish. I am glad to say that my Sensei offer all of that, and on a personal level have been so supportive I can never thank them enough
2408
Kata, all 10 kihon gata
2908
Sensei Tuari Dawson
Kobudo - Bo, Tonfa, Nunchaku and Sai - introduction and drills
Regular lesson
Teisho and escape practice Step back Zenkutsu dachi with hooking receives (FH) - upper tudan uke, tudan uke, gidan uke, to receive same sided stirke and open up the back. Working in the after.
Kata, pad work. - Face slap (to ear cup). head to chest clasp, shoulder barge, head but, elbow. Then wall trap drill. Slide to side, groin slaps, head control, turn into Zebkutsu dachi to drive head into wall, then hammerfirst or downard elbow strikes to finish.
Bo,
First 6 kihon gata, followed by short run through of what each person remembers from Shushi no kon
3008
Jamie Clubb
Discipline - including cued padwork, with one and two attackers
0509
Kata
Quadrant drill
Pad work - gross motor skills, hammerfist, teisho, elbow, knee, turning takedown
Nunchaku
Kihon gata, including one legged stance
1009
Fundamentals
Kihon gata
Pad work
Teisho, hammer fist, elbow, knee, step through, turning throw (back leg move across, front leg pull back)
