Rant: Bad Training ( I warned you)

Let me tell you a story.

When I was in the Marine Corps, we were encouraged to not raise our hand at the rifle range for help when we had a malfunction. You'd think it was to encourage you to clear your own weapon malfunctions, which is partly true, but not the reason they encouraged this. The reason was that people had gotten their hands shot off in combat because their weapon malfunctioned. They didn't know what to do, so their brain made them do what they had always done when they had a malfunction and didn't know what to do, they raised their hand. Goodbye fingers, hello having the nickname "Lefty."

I'm going to put this in a little bit of context. The average none infantryman in the Marine Corps, which is basically the entire Marine Corps, spends about one week on the shooting range to qualify with their service weapons and hopefully earn some points toward a promotion. Of that week, most of it is spent waiting, waiting to shoot, raising and lowering targets for other Marines in "the pits" and waiting. You might spend 30 minutes in all on the firing line a day, actually firing your weapon and most of that time is spent waiting. Waiting to shoot or waiting for everyone else to finish shooting. For the entire week it's only 2.5 hours of trigger time, maybe. Of that 2.5 hours, you might have three malfunctions or none. If your rifle is in really bad shape (they don't give the good ones to the desk jockeys), or you've decided to not spend any time cleaning your rifle, you might have a malfunction that makes your rifle completely inoperable and you can't fix it. Basically you might spend two minutes raising your hand, so someone can help you fix your rifle, usually a range coach.

This means that this insignificant amount of time in a fairly none stressful environment can cause you to injure yourself in an environment that has almost nothing in common with it besides being surrounded by other Marines and having a rifle. It takes a few minutes to ingrain this habit and it can cripple you when it counts. What do you think is going to happen when you do thousands of repetitions of a bad habit every month?



I hear all the time people say "this is for fighting not self defense, when we're defending ourselves we do X," but they never practice X. They also say "if you can't find a good school just pick out the good stuff from the ones you can find, or train at most decent school."

This isn't possible. You can't switch gears like that and you can't magically undo all the bad stuff you're practicing in class because you don't like it. If you're putting in the repetitions and the training than your brain doesn't care. It doesn't care what you "know."

Training has to be done carefully, it has to be done correctly and it has to be done in the correct context. Bad training can get you killed, crippled or send you to jail. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, but you shouldn't knowingly or unknowingly ingrain bad habits if you plan on staking your life on something, and you shouldn't tell other people to settle or give up when their life might one day be on the line.

I know I just did one, but I'm doing another

I've decided that it's time to start crawling into other people's heads through their blogs. The wonderful thing about blogger is that if you comment on a blog and have a blogger profile than people can back track to your blog where you can find another comment from someone else and then read their blog. I've already found four I'd like to comb through.

Have I mentioned that I'm a gigantic nerd?

The other cool thing about blogs that I figured out by doing research and articles on other subjects is that many times blogs and networks of blogs act as communities for different topics. If you ever want an idea of what it's like to have a disability than search for blogs. You'll learn more than you ever thought about or wanted to know.

What does this mean? It means the links portion of this blog might start getting very long. Just a heads up. And the writers of these blogs will suddenly be scratching their heads and thinking "why are people reading my blog again?"

Mental Training

I've read that doing things you hate is good mental training. This also includes doing things that scare you, but aren't dangerous. Public speaking for instance. I don't like doing certain things, but it was very hard to come up with something that I truly hate doing. I was coming back from the grocery store the other day and saw two young women running together on the sidewalk and chatting and I thought to myself, "I really hate running." I then realized what I had to do, and honestly wished I didn't have to do it.

I used to run all the time when I was in the service. Five-mile runs were common almost every morning whether it was raining, freezing, snowing or all three. I wasn't bad at running either. I just hated every single second of it. The slow plodding, the burning lungs, the cramps, aches and all the saliva that builds up in your mouth from trying to suck in as much oxygen as you can until you can barely breath, and knowing the whole time that you're completely fine and could probably even go faster. It's hell. If I'm going to work my cardiovascular system, I'd rather ride my bike. I can go for a few hours and relish the burn in my thighs. It feels like flying to me.

Today I went for a run. It was terrible, but I've already decided that I'll go for another one on Wednesday. I don't have to run, but if the point was for it to be easy and enjoyable than I'd just sit on the couch and play video games.

Application Assumptions

I don't watch as many bunkai videos as I once did, but I still watch them from time to time because I don't like closing my eyes to others. I read bad karate books along with the good ones, as well as books on wrestling, boxing, judo, tai chi and different styles of kung fu. There's usually something good in them no matter how terrible some might be. There's always truth in movement. I did this more when I was trying to find the applications to Seisan. I was positive that there was a set and definitive list of responses, but I'm less sure now. What I thought the movements meant at the beginning are different than how I practice them now, and I'm sure they will be different a few years from now. The movements stay the same. I just find new ways to use them. Reading all these books and watching all these videos, I've noticed some themes when it comes to karate theory.

Many people make a few assumptions when interpreting the kata. The combatants are face to face, the movements are primarily defensive, the movements primarily manipulate the arms, the techniques require several steps.

It makes sense for a few of the applications or even the majority of applications to be for being toe to toe with an opponent, but being in front of the opponent is not the only orientation. An opponent attacking from behind is usually considered, but rarely is it considered that you will be behind the opponent. I'm not saying that you've launched a sneak attack on someone, though in 19th century Okinawa that seems like an option, but that during the turmoil of combat you end up behind the enemy. Unlike today's sporting matches, all the targets on the back are legitimate areas of attack. Kidneys, spine, neck, knees. There's no referee to penalize you for breaking "the rules." Grabbing someone by the chin and driving your knee into their back to bend them backwards and off balance is something you might want to do.

The next assumption is that the movements are primarily defensive. Karate Ni Sente Nashi is the saying, but it's not in the Bubishi. A preemptive strike is a legitimate tactic, especially in a dire self defense situation. If you're waiting for them to attack first than you should probably use your energy escaping. Even Funakoshi suggested a preemptive strike in Karate-Do Kyohan though he was talking about self defense for women. When we look at boxing how much of it is defensive? Hook, jab, cross, uppercut, bob and weave, and block. Only 1/3 is defense. A movement that downs your opponent quickly is a surer defense than any block.

The applications navigate the opponent's arms is the next assumption. The applications block, move, lock, parry and manipulate the arms. "When the opponent grabs you here do this, when the opponent punches here, move the arm this way and then attack" etc. Half the kata supposedly is spent moving the arms around so that you can deal a single devastating blow. Manipulating an opponent's arms impacts them the least. A person can still function for a short amount of time with a broken hand or even a broken arm. I broke my arm two years ago myself. I flipped my bike after a car pulled out in front of me, rolled and came up laughing. I thought I was fine until an hour later and I couldn't move my arm. Before that I was able to pick up my bike, fix the chain and ride home. If I pull and push on someone's shoulders, it can break their balance and make it hard to attack me. Grabbing someone by the hair and the chin and yanking them around has a big impact as well. When you think about the kata, try different contact points. Grab a person's head, their torso, their leg or their shoulders. You might be surprised what you find. 

Multiple steps are often used as well. I've seen almost entire kata sequences used to explain how to maneuver someone into a single wrist lock. This is called choreography. You can squeeze out a surprising number of strikes in a short amount of time in some kata. In one sequence of Seisan, you have the opportunity to hit someone five times before you take your next step. Back fist, reverse punch, upper cut, back fist, toe kick. Each one loads the hip or the legs to generate the power for the following strike. You can use the movement to cause damage, while you "block" instead of just sweeping an arm out of the way.

These are things you need to think about when analyzing your kata. Experiment, try things. Ask yourself how you could use the same movement behind them, or to their flank, or how you can make every little movement a weapon. If something doesn't work you've wasted a few minutes of your time, but if you find something new that works it can change your entire outlook on kata.

Asking Stupid Questions

Every once in awhile you ask a stupid question. There's no such thing as stupid questions they say and even if there aren't you can still ask a good question in a stupid way. You can be annoyed, or peevish, angry and you can let your emotions blind you. I asked a question in a stupid way the other day. Luckily the person I asked didn't just tell me to stop being a whiny bitch and deal with it. I thank him for taking me seriously even though I could have asked more tactfully.

Searching for Karate

I spent a little time reading over some of my first posts and decided that I should give a better explanation to the purpose of this blog. While it's a place for me to record my training and a place for my ideas to coalesce, it's also about self discovery and hopefully offering a little bit of motivation. Let me start by trying to explain the name of this blog, In Search of Karate.

You might be asking yourself "why not do a quick google search?" or if you're really old school "why don't you flip through the phone book?" If you're too young, they're those yellow things that mysteriously appear on your doorstep, which seem to be forgotten there and then turn into mush. There are plenty of people out there teaching karate, claiming they teach karate and are all too happy to tell you what karate is in exchange for money. There's Wikipedia and other sources that will explain exactly what karate is supposed to be and plenty of people writing blogs like this telling everyone what they believe true karate to be. No matter what the setting each person needs to decide what karate is for themselves, what karate means to them. It can be fighting, self defense, fitness, spiritual development or any combination of all of these. It can even mean hanging out with friends and meeting new people. Just going to a school is the easiest. There have definitely been times where I've wanted to throw up my hands and say "screw this, I'll just find a school and get some colored belts and have fun playing at martial artist." I've done it in the past. It's what brought me to Seidokan when I was in the service. Going alone is hard. Even when one has a teacher, some things are impossible to teach. A lot of karate is about feeling. Until you feel your body moving in unison, all of it moving towards a single point with all your weight behind the technique than every time someone says that "power comes from the hara" than you won't know, won't listen, won't understand until that first time when recognition hits and you'll know what your sensei was talking about. Until then you just think you're doing it right, you won't know. No matter how many times you hear that kata is everything, you won't understand that it is the tool, the textbook and the teacher. Karate is a search and a journey.

This blog is also about motivation, encouragement and giving people permission. Paying for a class and standing in front of a sensei is not the only way to practice karate. You don't need uniforms or belts or someone telling you what to do. As far as I'm concerned all you need to practice karate is a kata, patience and discipline. Anyone who practices a karate kata practices karate. It takes patience to learn the lessons and discipline to keep at it, but this is all you need. Too many believe that karate is only practiced at a school that if you're not paying a class fee than you're not practicing karate. Karate is not a credit card or your electricity. It doesn't require a monthly payment to practice. It just takes practice and your only payment is sweat. I want people to know that when there's a will there is a way especially when karate is concerned. I want people to know that they have permission to practice karate however they want.

This is what this blog is about. It's about discovery, practice and most of all asking why.

Karate Resolutions

First post of 2016, so I should obviously write about New Year resolutions. Resolutions for me obviously.

First on my list is making some hojo undo equipment and dedicating some time in my fitness routine to them. Mostly the chishi, body conditioning (because fighting hurts), the nigiri game and makiage kigu (wrist roller). I already have the ishi sashi. I like building stuff, and I'm a big advocate of DIY.

I'm also planning on making a makiwara and striking post for testing structure. I've had makiwara in the past, but they keep breaking. The last one lasted about a second before it snapped. It was old wood.

Me and J are also planning at some point to make videos, and we're planning on participating in some local martial arts tournaments.

The tournaments might be surprising to some, but it's just another way to test our karate. It should be fun, give us a little bit of stress and give us a little bit of a challenge. After all the essence of self defense is not being touched and playing a game of tag is a pretty good way of testing that. It's also a chance to meet people.

Other than that the plan is to keep training and keep learning.