About: Glyn Jones

Staying on topic with my recent blog post regarding Fighting Karate. The following sayings do then come to mind “Train Hard & Fight Easy”, — “It’s Not the Dog in the Fight, but the Fight in the Dog”, — “Face it, Fight it, Finish it”,—“Train and Fight as though your life Depends on it”. Fights are not nice; they are in fact potentially life changing brutal affairs. Of which no reasonably nice person wishes to either attract or frequent them, they are in fact a fools endeavor. As Karate Ka though we do really have to be fully aware of reality, especially so if we wish for our Karate to be effectively operational in such times of need. Trying to use a flashy Kumite sequence or apply a fancy put together Bunkai move in the street, could well see you being kicked around the floor before you’ve got to C in the alphabet. This type of training or in fight preparation isn’t for everyone, I get that I really do. Just as I know that there are many Karate Ka […]

I’ve always believed that most people who start Karate in the West do so with self-protection in mind. Not wishing to fight anyone of course, but learning how to fight or defend themselves for sure. Some may disagree and say that they started in the Martial Arts for fitness, socializing or health reasons, which is fair enough. However, are gyms and other more health conscious or sporting activities not more suited!? I did say start training in Karate! Because I do accept that once one has trained in the Arts for a number of years, then ones reasons for training can indeed become more varying. As without doubt the biggest challenges then to be faced are with oneself, achieving a calm balanced mind, pushing through the physical and mental hardships of training, goals set, self-motivation and even laziness all have to be regularly overcome. Plus after a time you kind of start to just train regular without thinking fighting if that makes sense… However, I still believe it is the kicking, punching and striking aspects of Karate that attract most, […]

Kakie is one of those areas of Karate that is seldom fully understood, practiced well or used to its true training potential. Relaxation – Technical Correctness – Feeling – Deep Understanding – Controlling – Kumite – Covering – Chin Kuchi – Flowing – Opportunity. All of these instantly come to mind when thinking of Kakie. There are various methods of Kakie taught regularly on Okinawa with each having its own emphasis. There’s certainly more to it than just being over relaxed and sloppy, or even trying to just muscle power things in like a bull. As a golden rule if your shoulders feel like they are dropping off after 5 or even 10 minutes practice, then you’re probably not connecting everything as one should. Strangely, some of my most wonderful experiences in Karate have been centered around Kakie. From my initial introduction to this practice under Brian Hinchliffe Sensei who never failed to amaze and frustrate me with the ease and fluidity that he’d control others. Then there was the time that I witnessed Senaha Sensei controlling and throwing around […]

Further to my recent post on Karate modesty and humility I received rather a number of e mails. The responses interestingly enough were varied going from one extreme to the other. Even though I do wonder why this is, I must point out that I only write on here to give genuine Karate Ka food for thought. Over the years I have received many wise words and much good advice along the way whilst studying Karate, so my sharing of a few of these experiences may be both of interest to other serious Karate Ka, plus it gives a little something back. The thing that must be understood though is that Karate is a personal journey and the challenges to be faced are our very own. Two bits of advice that I have received along the way that fit well here are. Firstly, by my Father who always used to say to me “Shut up and train”! Or if in everyday life he would say, “Stop talking about it and do it”!  Secondly, from Rick Jackson of the Shotokan Way […]

Much has been written about the similarities and may I say differences between Traditional Karate and Competition Karate, at times they can even overlap. Most of the time though it is all down to just a few basic factors. Depth of understanding and one’s approach to their Karate training, and most importantly of all, mindset. I like the way that in this clip Meitestsu Yagi Sensei tries to make a clear honest distinction between the two. Thus by showing how even members of his own Dojo and family can at times train in Kata with a totally different purpose and differing emphasis in mind. Personally, at times I feel that Karate Ka can hide behind the practices of either way. Doing a Karate that is poorly understood and rough technically isn’t an excuse for saying it’s Traditional Karate, no more than thinking ones form based technically skilled Karate is highly effective with deep roots and meaning. There is a big difference between practicing both Karate and Kata for Budo or Shiai, hopefully you can see and know the difference…