Message from Sensei Demura, the Chief Instructor of Genbu Kai
The Meaning of Karate-Do
What is the meaning of Karate-Do? Why do we study and train so hard? To find the answer, we must look
to where the spirit of Karate-Do originated - in the Samurai traditions of Japan and Okinawa. In Japan,
Samurai fought with swords. In Okinawa, Samurai fought with fists. Their methods were different, but both
were Samurai - because both had the spirit of Samurai!
The most important part of being a Samurai had nothing to do with which way they chose to fight. The most
important part of being a Samurai was the strength of character and spirit. The Japanese word for it is
"Setsu-gi" which means the following things:
Setsu = manners, humility (being humble), having a good character
Gi = obligation, honor, respect
This means that a Samurai honors the understanding that people have a obligation to be humble and to
develop a strong character. In other words, a Samurai tries always to become the best person possible.
Students of Genbu-Kai have the same motto - to be the best person possible. Another way to look at it is
to picture your body having a strong backbone. Persons who have a weak backbone cannot stand
straight, they cannot move well, their lives are harder. Persons with strong backbones can hold their heads
up straight. They can use their arms to write, throw, pick things up, punch. They can use their legs to walk,
run, jump, kick.
Having a character with a strong "backbone" is even more powerful and important. If you don't have a
strong backbone to your character, it doesn't matter how smart you are or how strong your body is - you
will have no real strength, and no real success in your life. However, if you do have a strong backbone to
your character, it doesn't matter even if your body is clumsy and uncoordinated, and it doesn't matter if
you are not as smart as someone else - your strength of character will give you true success in your life,
the life of a good person.
In Genbu-Kai, our goal is for every one of our students to have a strong character backbone, for every
one of our students to have the successful life of a good person. It is the core of our way, our Samurai
spirit, the Genbu-Kai difference!
Kata
Kata is a very important part of our training. It helps us in many ways to improve our karate skills. First, we
get to practice our basic techniques - punching, kicking, blocking, turning, stances. Second, we start
learning about combining our techniques into groups of movements, to help begin our understanding of
sparring. As our understanding of Kata improves, we are able to look at it as a kind of shadow-boxing with
many opponents at one time.
The more we practice, the smoother and more natural our movements become, the better our timing
becomes. Our bodies begin to find the rhythms of the Kata, and from that the rhythms of fighting. As we
continue to practice our Katas, we begin to study how to use the movements from the Katas in fighting
situations, which we call "applications."
The more experienced we become, the more we are able to use the movements when we spar, and to
develop more advanced applications from them, which we call "oyo." The most important thing we can do
with Kata is to practice, Practice, PRACTICE!
Kumite
We have many ways to study kumite (sparring) - ways for every level of understanding and ability. Each
kind of kumite helps us to build skills and technique. The ways in which we usually train in kumite are:
- Ippon Kumite "One-Point Sparring" Calling out attacks jodan zuki, chudan zuki, mae geri, yoko geri),
make one attack at a time. basic stances, locking out the attacking and defending techniques.
- Nihon Kumite "Two-Point Sparring" Like "one-point" except that, after the first partner attacks, the
second partner also attacks, and then the first partner defends.
- Sanbon Kumite "Three-Point Sparring" Three face attacks by the first partner, then by the other
partner, then three stomach attacks by one partner, then the other.
- Jiyu Ippon Kumite "One-Point Sparring" in a Free-Sparring Stance. Like "one-point" except that
stances and movements are more natural, and not as locked out - but using good technique
becomes even more important.
- Jiyu Kumite "Free-Sparring" Opponents move around and attack and defend quickly and at will,
using different techniques and combinations - using good control and technique are extremely
important when free-sparring
Budo and a Block of Wood
By Fredrick Lovret
During a conversation on Budo the topic of just how difficult it is to judge a kata in an open karate tournament came up.
For a JKA black-belt to judge a series of JKA kata is not too hard. But, what it he has to look at a series of kata from
schools as diverse as Shorin ryu, Gojo ryu, and Wado ryu. Aside from the fact that there are major differences in
techniques, there will also be some major differences in the philosophy behind the techniques.
The fundamental question seemed to be, “Is quality an absolute, or must it always be judged in context?” While I will
admit that a technique must ultimately be judged in context, according to the standards to of its own ryu there are still a
number of factors that apply to all schools.
A Block of Wood
As a reference, I will use a wooden cube measuring 4” on a side. You could apply these arguments to just about
anything, but a chunk of wood is easy to obtain and easy to work with. And, if there is such a thing as absolute quality, it
should apply to something as basic as our simple cube.
The ultimate test will be: Does our statement of quality apply equally to a block of wood and Bud.
Workmanship
Using a simple hand saw, you can guess at the measurements and create a rough cube of wood with only a few minutes
work. Use a good table saw and the result will be quite a bit nicer. An expensive planer does an even better job.
I don’t think anyone would deny that a perfectly machined cube of wood, measuring precisely 4.00” to a side and with
each angle being exactly 90 degree, is of higher quality than a crudely carved lump that is only approximately a cube in
shape. This, then, gives us our first rule of quality: Quality is proportional to precision.
The rule is easily applied to our problem of judging kata. As most kata will contain multiple instances of the same
technique, you merely compare techniques: Does each zenkutsu-dachi look exactly like every other zenkutsu-dachi, or
can you spot differences between them?
Difficulty
All other factors being equal, a block of oak is perceived as being of higher quality that one of pine simply because the
hardwood cube is harder to make, A cube of ebony would be even better. Difficulty of workmanship can also include
difficulty in obtaining the raw materials: You can get a chunk of pine at any lumber yard, finding a piece of black walnut
is much more challenging.
The phrase ”all other factors being equal” is of critical importance? A crudely carved block of oak is not viewed as being
superior to a finely made cube of pine. There fore, we have our second rule: Quality is proportional to effort.
Applying this rule to kata, a good yoko geri high level gets more points than one of equal quality to a low level because
the high kick is harder to do. Again, difficulty ranks below precision ? a great low level kick should score better than a
bad upper level kick.
Finish
You could take your block of wood, a slab of glass, some oil, and a fine abrasive, and lap your cube into perfect polish.
You might even go so far as to create a jig to hold the wood so as not to round the edges during the polishing process.
The result of many hours of extra work should be a cube that seems to glow. It’s so perfectly made that you don’t want
to breathe on it, much less touch it, which gives us a third rule: Quality is proportional to finish.
Please note how this ties in with our first two rules. If the angles of the original block were not true, or if there are a lot of
tool marks on the wood, all the polishing in the world won’t make it beautiful. Also, a hardwood will take a much finer
polish than a soft piece of pine.
Applying rule three to a kata is very difficult and it’s something that you learn only through experience. There is no way
that the difference between a kata that is done well and one that has been finely polished can be expressed in words,
and it’s not something that a junior can ever appreciate. (It’s like learning how to spot the difference between an of-the-
rack and a tailor-made suit at a glance.)
Artistry
Going back to our polishing stage, there are a couple of options. You could use a very hard and very fine abrasive, and
a very hard wood such as ebony. With enough time, the result should be something that looks more like a block of black
glass that wood. But, this is something that could be done by machine.
On the other hand, you might note that the hardness of the wood is not a constant. With a lot of experimentation, you
could find an abrasive that had more effect between the grains than on the grain. The result of this would be a cube of
wood, perfectly polished and measuring exactly 4.00” on a side, that was still rough enough to allow you to feel it
texture. There are two important parts of such artistry: The block must start with some good, basic, mechanical
workmanship; the variations must be unique and of such a nature as to enhance the finished product.
Therefore, our fourth rule is: Quality is proportional to artistic content.
This is even harder to apply to a kata than proper finish was. It also requires the judge to make a tough decision: “Is
this person modifying the kata to cover up a basic lack of ability, or do the changes come from the heart and are they
based on a solid foundation of great technique?”
Conclusion
Please note that I have not discussed such things as speed, strength, focus breath, or balance. These are things
particular to bud and therefore, can not be numbered among the absolute elements of quality. Workmanship, difficulty,
finish, and the artistry, however, apply to everything from koshi-nage to a coat. And there is a difference between
K-Mart and Brooks Brothers.
