About: Glyn Jones

At times in Karate, and in life too, we learn valuable lessons that kind of stay with us forever, revelation moments maybe. My mother always used to say, “I wish I was eighteen again but know what I know now”. I now understand what she meant as you can’t buy experience I know that, just like you can’t beat the clock or time either. The thing with Karate is that it runs parallel with life, you can either keep making the same mistakes over and over or you can revaluate then change course and direction. Onaga Sensei of the Shinjinbukan School speaks of Karate Ka not fulfilling their full potential and he has this saying, or words to this effect; “There are Karate Ka who have the physical ability, but they don’t use their brain or intelligence – And then there are Karate Ka who are intelligent, but they lack the physical ability or are maybe lazy”. Neither will get to truly understand the full potential of Karate. Around sixteen years or so ago I remember attending a dojo members […]

The rather strange thing about Karate is that you can have someone who has practiced the art for years, even decades in fact with a high dan grade to match. But, in truth they have gained little understanding of the art at all, which is quite sad to see really. When in reality all they have to show for their valuable time spent is numbers in years and in grades. Then on the contrary you can have another who has only trained in Karate for say five years or so, but both their physical and mental attributes as far as Budo goes are nothing less than admirable to the point of exceeding the level of the former. Strange but true. So why is this and which path would you rather walk??  Because let’s be honest here this is a Budo lesson that is better learned sooner rather than later or never at all. The answer is threefold; Quality Guidance – Regular Practice – Self-Study & Discoveries.  Yes! All is quite a simple formula really. The thing though is this: as […]

During the later end of the summer in 2019 Senaha Sensei visited us here in England to teach Karate accompanied by James East Sensei. This was Sensei’s first return to our shores since back in 2007 when he was accompanied by Tamaki Sensei where we hosted them in Birmingham, which is where I was living at the time. This time around his visit was to centre around three areas of England, as in Devon, the Midlands and London. I not only always relish the opportunity of training daily under Sensei, but I also really enjoy spending time in his company too. As this is where I not only get to learn from his wealth of experience when it comes to both life and Karate, but it also makes our relationship a personal one. To the point that by the end of his stay I think that if he could have taken my cat home with him to go with his three, he probably would have done. Senaha Sensei is an incredibly happy and infectious character who has a personal relationship […]

The thing that I have always liked about the Martial Arts and Karate generally is how varied it can be to the individual. In that regardless of Art or System practiced the benefits inherent can vary from health, wellbeing, sport to self-protection, and of course following the Traditional Ways that we know as Budo. What must always be remembered is that just like in life, it is all down to your personal choice and preferences. Even the way that I see many practice Goju these days, really is not for me at all, but I also accept that my chosen way is not to the liking of others also. Wouldn’t life be pretty bland if we all liked the same things… This clip regardless of the silly heading shows how a Karate that maybe a million miles apart from that which I and many others practice. Has still had such a positive influence on this lady’s life. To the point that practicing a different Karate for different reasons, has not only changed the course of her life for the better, […]

One area of Karate that I feel many Karate Ka often fail to grasp, is making sense of what they are practicing. My father would often say to me “Glyn, use your common sense will you son! or go away and work it out for yourself”! Similarly, there are many Okinawan and Japanese Karate Sensei who are well known for making students learn things for themselves and not spoon feed them everything. What this does is not only propagate maturity, but it also brings about a natural feeling or instinct for what feels correct or not when it comes to Karate. Just in the same way that pain is telling you that there is a problem. Remember, discoveries made through one’s own mind and seen with your own eyes are always more valuable than through those of another. When I became a student of Brian Hinchlffe Sensei of the Ho Ei Juku I was already an accomplished Judo and Karate Ka of many years. However, the lessons that frustrated me the most weren’t those of physical hardship, I’d already had […]