Late For Class

There's an interesting conversation over at Iain Abernethy's forum (here) on the subject of being late for class.

Sometimes it is inevitable that you just can't get to the dojo on time, whether its heavy traffic, domestic issues or hassle from work. But when it is a regular occurance something must be amiss....

To me, training is a discipline. It is good discipline to turn up on time. It's good etiquette too. Not only that, but the first 10 minutes of class is potentially the most important. You might miss an announcement, and you're almost certain to miss the warm up.

Warming up gets you into the right frame of mind as well as adjusting physically to the coming session. Good warmup exercises are a vital part of training. There's no point turning up late and then rushing through a couple of exercises in the hurry to join in. (Imagine what its like in tai chi where they do chi kung exercises to warm up!)

There is another problem that interruptions cause distractions for the whole class. The energy of people training together is broken which takes something away from the group / tribal ethic of what's going on.

It might not be important to some, but you also miss the formal bows at the start of class. Again this is a symbol of group togetherness and acts as a mental trigger to help get you in the right frame of mind. Martial arts are not the same as messing about down the gym (I mean the leisure centre/treadmill-type gym, not boxing/martial arts gym!)

New Site

If you're into "spiritual matters" or you're a fan of Stuart Wilde, check out our new community at: http://fringedwellers.spruz.com

This replaces the old Ning site that closed due to ning shutting down free sites.

Meibukan Magazine

This website hosts a free online martial arts magazine (PDF format). I think it looks pretty interesting and I'm sure people who stop by here will be interested too!

Here's the link:

http://www.meibukanmagazine.org/

Kata Bunkai Tips

Some bits and pieces I've picked up over the years, from different sources. You've probably heard of many of these before. Use them as guides for considering your own kata bunkai.

1. Don't study movements as techniques as though they look like stills in a picture book
2. Consider each part of each movement, how you got there and where it takes you
3. There's a clue in the timing of the movement
4. Consider the same movement against a wrist grab, arm grab, lapel grab then a punch
5. Ask yourself "What is this movement trying to teach me?"
6. It's not ALL about pressure points or grappling. Consider that the simplest ideas are sound
   
7. A defensive movement in one direction might be "hiding" an offensive movement in the other (consider if your opponent is behind you)
   
8. Angles and directions are telling you something
9. Concurrent techniques don't have to be applied concurrently. Experiment changing the order around
10. Some applications might involve more than one attacker
11. Why does your style of karate have a particular variation in the kata? Why is that?
12. What are the key principles of the system you study?
13. Understand the principle of folding
14. Are your underlying skills sufficient to make your applications work under pressure?
15. The outward appearance of a kata might remain the same, but there are many ways of feeling the kata. How does that affect your interpretations?
16. Beginnings and Endings of kata are important.
    

Finally... if you see "bunkai" on youtube that features one person surrounded by a bunch of others in karate stances, don't bother watching!