Category Archives: Budo

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 […]

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…

Anyone who has trained seriously in Karate for a number of years, or even decades, will naturally make observations. Personally, I feel that generally there is a difference between Okinawan and Western Karate Ka if physical and technical differences are put to one side. I would say that most Okinawan Karate Ka tend to be more modest and humbler, there by talking their Karate training down, this in comparison to many long standing Westerners who often tend to talk their Karate up. To expand on this a little further I will re live just a few of the many situations whereby I have experienced Karate humility on Okinawa. The original Dojo wooden plaque or Kanban stood at the entrance of Senaha Sensei’s Dojo in Tomigusuku for around 30 years (As in the photo above alongside a young Senaha Sensei). This being replaced just over 20 years or so ago when Sensei moved away from the Meibukan and formed the Ryusyokai. It wasn’t removed out of sight though, but to the entrance Genkan as Sensei is more than proud of his […]