http://www.hathagojuryukaratedo.freeservers.com/photo3.html
As with other outside links, I encourage parents to read the outside website before sharing with their kids. As you know, I teach students of a very wide range of age, ability level, etc.
Sensei Opalenik's Digital Dojo |
|
Below is an article on a Goju Ryu website which has brief overviews of the kata taught in both Goju and Shorin Ryu systems. It contains information ranging from the translation of the actual name of the kata, to the history of who created it and when.
http://www.hathagojuryukaratedo.freeservers.com/photo3.html As with other outside links, I encourage parents to read the outside website before sharing with their kids. As you know, I teach students of a very wide range of age, ability level, etc.
0 Comments
Widely considered to be the most brutal battle of the Pacific Theater of WWII the Battle of Okinawa was Americans first large-scale introduction to Okinawa. This battle lasted from April to June of 1945.
From what Osensei has told students, the Okinawan people had great difficulty during these times between the destruction of their island and food shortages (Master Kyan died as a result of a food shortage). Many Okinawans aided the Americans because as Sensei Hayes said, "They knew that the Americans had to be there if the Japanese were going to ever leave." Osensei was one of these Okinawans. He was given the responsibility to bring much needed food and supplies to the Okinawan people. Despite the length and brutality of the battle, the Okinawan people have maintained good relations with the Americans, in particular the military ever since. In fact, that is the main way that Karate made its way to America. Various masters, including Osensei taught karate to US Marines when they were stationed on Okinawa (especially during the Vietnam War) and these first American students brought what they learned back to their homes after the war and opened up the first American dojos, passing on what they'd learned. This may seem contradictory to something that I've talked about on here and something that I still feel strongly about. These are my feelings when it comes to learning multiple styles of martial arts.
I hold many styles of martial arts in high regard. Shobayashi-Ryu just happens to be what I started with over 20 years ago and from my research it still happens to be my favorite. I think that the common practice of spending a few years in a style and then moving onto the next is not a productive way to train. People who do this sometimes even train until black belt and then move on. When someone tells me that they have black belts in half a dozen styles, I know that it's more than likely that they probably don't know any of those styles on a very deep level. I have studied the ideas and techniques of other styles over my years of training, but I have always been a Shobayashi guy. In fact, a lot of what I have learned by researching various styles has helped me gain more knowledge about Shobayashi. Here's a short and very incomplete list of martial arts styles for those of you who want to do a little research but aren't sure where to start:
I've been waiting to post this article so that some of my friends there could email me photos to go with it. But alas, they've been busy with the holidays.
Pytel Sensei and I had the good fortune to attend the 2013 York PA gasshuku (training seminar) hosted at York Okinawan Karate Academy in York PA. The training was in-depth and varied. I'll go through some of the highlights here. The morning started with some warm-up exercises done mostly independently. Then there was a short introduction in which everyone introduced themselves followed by a lecture style session. Instead of talking about specific techniques, we discussed the larger principles and ideas present in Shobayashi-Ryu so that we could then apply the ideas to our techniques, kata, etc. Then after a short healthy lunch break we went through several techniques taken from various kata. Just like before, the techniques were taught in order to present an idea that could then be carried over to other kata. The senior martial artists in the groups then assisted with the technique either to correct mistakes, or to take the technique to a more advanced level. After the physical part of the training, we had a chance to discuss ideas, and look through some of Hayes' Sensei's photo-albums from his time on Okinawa. Pytel Sensei and I were fortunate enough for Hayes Sensei to look through the photos with us, giving interesting details and anecdotes to go with each picture. With the welcoming family style of an Okinawan karate brotherhood, we all went and got dinner together that night. Food choices were healthy all around both to help us recover from a long day of training, and to prepare us for another. The final day of the training consisted mostly of breathing exercises and kata practice. There were a lot of people asking questions about ideas and applications of the techniques. As always, when a lot of people are asking questions, interesting and informative answers are provided. Then I had the 5.5 hour drive home during which I contemplated all that I'd learned over the weekend. As I've stated in class and in previous posts, the style that I teach and specialize in is Shobayashi-Ryu. In class you may hear me refer to it as Shorin-Ryu. These are both correct.
There are many styles that are considered Shorin-Ryu. Shobayashi-Ryu is a specific type of Shorin-Ryu that has been passed down by a specific set of masters. Many styles of Shorin-Ryu as well as other types of martial arts share some of the same roots, ideas, and aspects with Shobayashi-Ryu. In fact, some other styles even teach the same kata (although usually slightly different versions). Here are just a few of the many styles of martial arts that share similarities with Shobayashi-Ryu. Goju Ryu: This style was founded by Master Miyagi who was one of Osensei's instructors. In fact, at least three kata that I know of from are practiced in both styles. These are Seisan, Sanchin, and Seiuchin. Uechi Ryu: This is another style that contains several of the same kata as Shobayashi-Ryu. The kata that the two styles share are Sanchin, Seisan, and the three Naihanchi kata. Chuan Fa: A style of Kung Fu from Southern China, Chuan Fa has had a huge influence on Karate in general. In some styles the influence is more prevalent than others. Shobayashi-Ryu shows quite a bit of influence. It may sound funny to say, but many of our techniques were "made in China." Qi Gong: Qi Gong is known as an internal style from China. This means that it focuses on loose flowing movements, breathing, and the development of your internal energy (also known as qi, or ki). Many of our stretches, breathing exercises, and kata come from Qi Gong or have at least been influenced by it. One term that I often hear but don't agree with is the concept of an "advanced kata." This implies that some kata are more developed than others. This has not been my experience when studying the various kata of our system.
One example that I will use to do away with the idea of advanced kata is that just before I began training, Seisan was the first kata taught. When I began training it became the sixth kata taught. Did Seisan become more advanced and therefore was reserved for students of higher rank? No. From what I am told the change only occurred to suit the needs of the higher numbers of young students starting. The Naihanchi kata are shorter and therefore easier for younger students to memorize. Being a teacher, I find many parallels between karate and teaching. The fact that we continue studying the same kata after having "passed" it while still applying more advanced concepts to the study of the kata is essentially a spiraled curriculum. So in my opinion, there is no "advanced kata." There are simply kata that you learn when you are more advanced and skilled as a karate-ka. Looking at it also unlocks more information about the kata. If you only look at your first kata at a white-belt level, you'll never understand it any deeper than that. If you look at the same kata with your deeper understanding later in your traini If you stick around in the martial arts world long enough, you'll see many instructors. Some good. Others bad.
Not every martial arts school requires that you learn to effectively teach karate as you move along. Some people become black belts and are suddenly saddled with this responsibility. This is an article with two purposes. It is a collection of tidbits of advice for people who want to be as effective an instructor as possible. It is also a guide for students and their parents of what to look for in an instructor. LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Don't ask students to do anything that you aren't going to do yourself. Doing what you're asking of them will not only show a good example, but it also will keep you from asking too much of students. CONSIDER WHAT YOUR STUDENTS NEED. Teaching point sparring only because that happens to be your favorite is doing a disservice to the students. You should choose the activity you're doing with students based on what they need to learn. For beginning instructors this could be difficult. In this case, just plan a diverse set of training activities. If you're covering a bit of everything, nobody will be missing out a great deal. CONTINUE TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN TRAINING. Too many instructors out there make it to blackbelt and their own training tapers off. If you let your own training end (when it's really just beginning), then you'll be showing your students that your teachings have a glass ceiling that they will one day encounter. MORE ON THIS IN PART 2 *Disclaimer* These Below is an article that Sensei Pytel sent me which goes over the history of bunkai. Subjects covered are....
Why some techniques are hidden. How they are hidden. The ways in which karate used to be taught. Some examples of bunkai applications. http://seinenkai.com/art-bunkai.html As with all outside sources, I recommend that parents read the articles before deciding whether or not to share them with their kids. I teach students of all ages and maturity levels so this is my way of striking a balance in which this site can be useful to all students. Enjoy, and post in the comments what you thought of the article! A few weeks ago a student asked a very insightful question during class. She asked whether all martial arts styles originally came from the same style, or if there were different styles to begin with.
The answer is that both of her ideas were right. Some styles came from other styles. Others began on their own. The coining of the term Karate even has an example of this. Te was the original martial art of Okinawa. Depending on what city you lived closest to you would either do Shuri-Te (from Shuri city) or Naha-Te (from Naha city). After Kung-Fu had influenced Te, the term Karate was coined. Kara originally meant Chinese, although when Okinawa became part of Japan they changed the meaning to "empty" (kara meant both words since they are homophones). Other styles have even cropped up out of Shorin-Ryu. Shotokan, a very popular style of Japanese Karate was actually invented by an Okinawan Shorin-Ryu master Gichin Funakoshi. When he traveled to mainland Japan to teach Karate at Universities, he altered Shorin-Ryu into what would eventually become Shotokan. This is the reason that both styles have many of the same kata but they are done slightly differently. Unfortunately, times have changed much since the birth of karate and it has had an effect on the way dojos are run.
Hundreds of years ago Masters wouldn't charge tuition fees to students, and they would only take on students who were committed to working hard and sticking with karate long term. A Sensei became like a member of that karate-ka's family. With rising costs of keeping a dojo, equipment, insurance, etc. dojos have had to become much more commercial in order to stay open. In my opinion, some have taken it too far. You will see dojos out there that charge huge amounts of money, make you sign a contract saying you'll stay there for a certain amount of time, expensive "belt test" fees, and any other number of money making strategies. In our dojo we charge enough to cover our costs as well as some compensation to each Sensei, but no Sensei in our dojo is making their living exclusively from teaching karate. We strive to make the dojo more of a family than a business, which is good because I'm not a very good businessman. Not only does this work because it fits my personal philosophy and style, but it also teaches the students valuable lessons about life. Help others whenever you can, people are more important than profit, etc. Hopefully this is |