Respecting the Old,

Creating the New

A collection of lessons, thoughts and beliefs on the analysis of traditional karate for self-protection and

personal growth

By Chris Denwood

2

Respecting the Old, Creating the New

Copyright © 2011 Chris Denwood. All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author.

All photographs contained within this publication are either from the personal collection of the author or have been confirmed as copyright free and have such, been released into the public domain.

Published by Lulu Press

ISBN: 978-1-4476-7303-3

First Edition: May 2011

Disclaimer

The author and publisher of this book will not be held responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques, instructions, advice and/or opinions given within. The exercises described may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, so it is recommended that a physician be consulted prior to any training and that any practice is undertaken only under the strict supervision and guidance of a suitably qualified and experienced person.

Warning

The methods described and demonstrated in this book are extremely dangerous and must not be attempted by anyone unless they are under expert tuition. Any persons attempting any of the activities herein do so entirely at their own risk. Information has been presented in this book with the sole intention of helping the reader understand the theoretical application of traditional karate and kata. All readers should be aware of and always adhere to all appropriate laws relating to self-defence.

www.eskk.co.uk

www.chrisdenwood.com

3

This book is dedicated to my parents, John and Mary.

Thank you for your belief, support, advice and unconditional love - it will never be forgotten.

4

Left: The Tode Jukun (Ten Precepts of Karate) by Anko Itosu. This is a very important document for traditional karate, written in October 1908 by one of the great pioneers of the art and creator of the Pinan (Heian) forms.

Right: The Anko Itosu Memorial in Okinawa.

5

One of the entrances to the grounds of Shuri Castle in Okinawa – a key landmark at the birthplace of karate and one that has deep historical links with the art.

Acknowledgements

y sincere gratitude goes out to all those who have directly and indirectly influenced the production of this book. It’s amazing to think that sometimes, it is but a solitary

statement of counsel to come at the right time and from the right person, which can cause a ripple to change your direction in life forever.

Thanks to my parents for the advice, sacrifices and countless car journeys to and from the dojo as a child. To my Sensei, Doug James, for his excellent tuition and advice over the years. To Paul Clifton and everyone at Combat Magazine for their support and encouragement. To Peter Sempie, Jonathan Roll and Stuart Graham for their friendship, helping out with the pictures and suffering a few of my ‘uncontrolled shots’ over the years without a single word of complaint. To the members of my dojo for their continued dedication, enthusiasm and trust in my teachings. Many thanks also to all the friends and supporters of the E.S.K.K® - you know who you are and your kindness is hugely appreciated.

Above all, I’d like to thank Jenny and Jayden for their unconditional love and belief in my martial obsession – I am indeed a very lucky man.

M

6

7

Contents

Introduction Page 9

1: The Principle of Perfecting Principles Page 11

2: The Tradition of Tradition Page 23

3: Deficit, Desire and Drive Page 28

4: Examining the Basic Straight Thrust Page 35

5: Applying the Basic Straight Thrust Page 40

6: The Pulling Hand Page 48

7: Ballistic Striking in Karate Page 53

8: The Fundamentals of Power Generation Page 57

9: Generating Functional Potential Page 62

10: Our Dojo Page 68

11: Joint Mobility in Karate Page 71

12: Technique Labelling & Consideration of Range Page 78

13: Six Key Principles for Karate Dynamics Page 83

14: Pro-active Kata Bunkai Page 90

15: On Acknowledging Deficits, Sustaining Desire & Forging Drive Page 100

16: On-Ko-Chi-Shin Page 110

17: The Three Stages of Kata Analysis Page 116

18: A Poor Craftsman Always Blames His Tools Page 126

19: Making the Best of a Really Bad Situation Page 132

20: Karate & the Components of Fitness Page 141

21: Transitional Aspects of Kata Page 153

22: Tactile Awareness in Karate Page 167

Conclusion Page 176

About the Author Page 177

8

9

Introduction

ince I was a small boy, the Okinawan art of karate has astounded me. Many would call me 'fanatically obsessed' and no doubt others would call me a bit of a 'karate nerd'.

Either way, I have so far devoted my life to the study of karate and what I believe it represents. Thanks to my parents and Sensei, the art has been close to me ever since I can remember. The teachings I’ve been lucky enough to receive coupled with the outcomes of my own research have stood by me, keeping me afloat through the worst and celebrating with me through the best. I consider myself a very lucky person to have found such a purpose in life and to have the opportunity to write about what I love so much in the hope that it may benefit others, means that I can have my cake…and eat it!

This book is a made up of a collection of articles and short philosophical thoughts - an accumulation that at the time of formatting (2011), has spanned the last four to five years. Included are pieces that were produced especially for my magazine columns and websites, some that were drafted for other ventures and a selection of others that have been sitting on my computer hard drive, waiting patiently for such a project as this to materialise. Thus, before you is what I hope you will enjoy reading, an accrual of my core written work to date.

Since each of the twenty two chapters are essentially separate articles in themselves, you will no doubt notice that the usual 'seamless flow' is not always apparent and that some concepts have been discussed more than once in greater or lesser depth. I realised this very quickly as I was putting the manuscript together. However, repetition is never a bad thing and more often than not, you will find it naturally bringing your attention to the most important points for consideration, those that should always be kept in the forefront of your mind. I am a strong advocate of studying the fundamentals, so these tend to make up the core of my approach to the art.

Some chapters are aimed at the novice, whilst others assume that the reader already has some level of prior experience. Thus, I expect that the contents would be suitable for all who are looking to expand their views on karate and kata bunkai for self-protection and personal growth, regardless of style or system.

As a final point, these are my own beliefs to which I have openly shared in the spirit of camaraderie for all. I do not make any claims that what I present to be historically exact, only that my words stand for that, which makes the most sense to me at this point along my martial journey. If you find that the following also provides a positive contribution to your own journey then I will consider my efforts a job well done.

Please enjoy!

S

10

11

1: The Principle of Perfecting Principles

Bending with the winds of adversity

ver the last fifteen years or so, karate seems to have been strapped to a roller coaster of a ride. All of a sudden, an emphasis on original practicality has become much more

evident. In recent times, more and more karate-ka (karate students) are making an active effort in their study to bring the art more in line with its most important historical objective, as a civilian fighting system. This has created the need to concentrate on closer range combat applications, which when equated towards many of the movements in karate, all of a sudden help make the art come alive and prove it to be practically worthwhile once again. Others have chosen to practice karate for other reasons, may thoroughly enjoy and would rather stay with the more modern long-range sporting emphasis. Some may practice simply for the fantastic health benefits it offers. I personally think that the art of karate as it stands today has room for everyone to practice and take from it what they feel is personally appropriate. With the art now as widespread as it is, I don’t think any person should have the entitlement to say what’s right or wrong, apart from what may be personally acceptable to them.

Similarly, my own views of karate have changed a great deal since I embarked on my first karate lesson almost eighteen years ago. Personally, I have little time for sport. I don’t even watch it on television. I’ve therefore always considered myself a traditionalist and tried to centre my training towards the kata and the way the art was originally intended. This is what drives me towards my own constant study. I don’t think of it as being right or wrong, just my own individual view. Others may decide to share the same reason(s) to train - others may not. In this article, I’d like to present some of my own thoughts based around the study of principles within karate, in a hope that others may be able to use my words to help them towards their goals as dedicated karate-ka.

No matter why you decide to study karate (be it for sport, self-defence, health, enlightenment or a combination of these) there will be always something for you. This is because over time, the art has been able to develop in order to cater for the masses. Just look at how popular karate is now and the many varying reasons why people decide to train. In order to become competent in any physical skill though, you have to engage in what is termed ‘repetitive motion’. This is something in which the practice of karate has a large abundance of. In order for an action to become ingrained into your subconscious, it has to be repeated many times. As they say, ‘practice makes perfect’. A prevalent dilemma with karate though from a practical point of view is how we can actually perfect the technique(s) of something (fighting) that is by nature so diverse and ever changing. Before we take a look at this specific issue in more depth, it would be worth discussing at this point, what actually happens to us when we engage in any type of repetitive motion, be it through training or during any other everyday occurrence.

O

12

By continually undertaking a certain movement over and over again, our brains (over time) become more accustomed to the motion, thus it becoming more deeply rooted in our consciousness. This neural activity in the brain and how it can react and adapt to different stimuli is what makes our learning process so special. The more we repeat a physical movement (or rehearse a mental visualisation in the mind), the more we get used to it. The brain slowly builds neural pathways using synaptic connections

and each time that a specific movement (technique or behaviour) is repeated; these pathways are made more efficient by matter, which is released by the brain called myelin. This substance is made up of lipids and proteins and lines the nerve fibres to protect and insulate neurons. This proves essential in the accurate and smooth transmission of electrical data from one nerve cell to the next. When we repeat a given sequence many times, myelin acts to increase the speed and ease of this ‘travelling’ information between dendrites, which are in general terms, the transmitters and receivers of the brain’s neurons.

As we continue to repeat a movement more, a reduced amount of brain processing is required due to the pathways already constructed and effectively maintained through the role of myelin. This phenomenon is usually referred to as ‘muscle memory’ and gives us the freedom to then concentrate on further factors such as (in terms of karate) applying power, speed or increased complexity. It’s usually deemed that an average of at least fifteen or twenty minutes of continuous repetitive practice is required to ensure that your body and mind has fully absorbed a given movement. This is why I think that practice in the dojo alone cannot support the attainment of efficient muscle memory, since its normal for far less than fifteen minutes to be spent on each individual technique during a lesson. Consequently, the more we can repeat a given movement over a longer period of time, the more spontaneous we’ll be able to act towards a reflex action. However, although this is a vital aspect, this is not the only factor to consider when effectively learning movements. For instance, the presence of adrenaline can seriously hamper fine motor function and make you act almost like a beginner again. This is seen often in top sports events such as golf, where masters at the top of their tree can sometimes make silly mistakes and lose the championship due to the uncooperative effects of stress.

There has to be an infinite number of negative factors to consider when engaging in self-protection. So much so that to think of these at length would be quite perplexing indeed. Consequently, as we all know, the amount of response techniques required to balance out every combat situation would be truly staggering and simply too much of a challenge for us

Fig. 1.1: Training in repetitive motion using ‘kihon’ (basic techniques).

13

mere humans to sift through in such a high risk situation. I appreciate this being familiar ground for many and I can hear you all strongly confirming your acknowledgement to this. The generally accepted answer then - trying to dig further to uncover the common core principles of movement will as a net result, help us to react (or pro-act) much better to aggressive stimuli. This is because in theory, we’ll be able to move freely according to any situation and have the adaptability to apply our ingrained principles to develop the techniques required in order to nullify the threat. Nevertheless, if this is so, I find it hard to accept why so many of us still depend entirely on the individual advancement of discrete karate techniques without having the vision to link them together via their common threads.

Fig. 1.2 & 1.3: Learning to think outside the box. The principles of movement provide the key to unlock potential.

In particular, learning how to apply core principles correctly so that your movements become more efficient and relative should really be at the top of every traditional practitioner’s wish list. In the widespread modern dojo however, students still spend many hours perfecting the outward presentation and ‘look’ of techniques, without ever applying these (or their associated principles) in a functional manner. Without attempting to answer the ‘why’ and ‘how’ during our training, we leave ourselves wide open to a life sitting on the fence, denying us the ability to drop off either side so that we explore the many vast pastures that lie just ahead of us. A key problem with focussing your study of karate according to mere technique alone is that by nature, you miss out a critical link and this in turn, creates numerous inevitable limitations. If instead, you start to look at karate as a collection of common related principles and body movements, then the art in itself becomes endless (as it should). This is because we can then adapt an infinite amount of techniques based on only a few core concepts and motions.

The realisation of equating principles first struck me as being significant a long while ago when I was teaching a small class of yudansha (black belts). We were practicing some renraku-waza (combination techniques) and I decided to change the movements around a little to make them appear outwardly different. By utilising the same principles and gross movements, I changed the ‘look’ of the combinations and asked my students to perform

14

them. All of a sudden I could see as clear as day, the primary limitation of learning techniques for technique sake. Almost all of the students became instantly confused and frustrated because their bodies could not do what I asked of them well. The movements in essence were no different since I simply asked them to employ identical principles, only using different techniques. The students were so conditioned to moving in a particular way (technique) that their ability to ‘break free’ was seriously hampered. Likewise, dissecting certain basic movements that had been repeated thousands of times before and analysing the different principles for application proved also quite demanding for the class that day. It seemed to me that the inability of the class to adapt techniques for changing situations through common attributes was not a fault of their own, but a fault with how they had been taught in the first place.

If you learn only to stay on a particular path (conditioned discrete techniques), you won’t really know how to get back onto it if you ever get lost (having to adapt). By stepping off the path now and again (learning to adapt), you will become free to roam around, your leash will be slackened considerably and if you do in fact find yourself lost, you’ll have a much better chance of returning home safe. When Bruce Lee talked about this way of learning when developing his Jeet Kune Do in the sixties, it was seen by many, as a revolutionary way of thinking. In actual fact, Lee had done nothing more than place emphasis on a vital element within traditional martial arts training (the equating of common principles and movements) that had been and still is by many, commonly disregarded by our own modern ignorance and misunderstanding. Contrary to uneducated belief, the mastery of specific techniques does not hold amazing secrets. It is my opinion that the real secrets of karate are found within its own fluid adaptability. Studying the principles of karate instead of technique alone will (as the famous Okinawan master Choki Motobu once so eloquently put it) allow you to “bend with the winds of adversity”.

It’s been proven countless times over thousands of years and throughout many different species, that if you can’t learn to adapt and evolve through life, you risk facing almost guaranteed destruction. This has never been more evident than in our own beloved art of karate. For karate to survive the modern era, it had to become accessible for the masses to learn. Therefore, we know that Master Anko Itosu altered many of the techniques in such a way to become more ‘safe’ to learn. However, Itosu was certainly very clever in his approach. He not only succeeded in providing catalyst for the art’s future popularity, he also ensured that the alterations he made still held the core principles of the devastating fighting art he taught. Consequently, he effectively allowed the practicality to remain dormant until a point in which a particular student was either responsible enough to learn or experienced and open minded enough to develop for him/herself. Without the ingenious foresight of Itosu, karate would more than likely have been lost forever.

As with everything in life, conditioned techniques without an understanding of the underlying concepts simply do not have the ability to adapt and respond in changing circumstances. They are forcefully set in stone. In reality though, everything is transient. Principles therefore, always give birth to technique and a particular technique cannot grow

15

initially, without strong principles (roots) to sprout from. Thus techniques should be in actuality, the transient parts of the actual application.

As a comparable, I prefer to liken the study of karate principles to the wonder of the written word. As we all know, the English alphabet is made up of 26 characters (A to Z). By putting certain characters together in a specific order, we can create words. By putting certain words together in a specific order, we can create sentences. By putting certain sentences together in a specific order we can create paragraphs. I’m sure by now you can all see where this is going. Paragraphs can make pages and pages can make whole books. Throughout the numerous lives before us, making use of those mere 26 characters of the alphabet has created many timeless masterpieces. Looking at the study of karate, we can easily equate ‘books’ to ‘techniques’ and the ‘characters of the alphabet’ to the ‘core principles’, which hold the art together.

It would be incredibly difficult for anyone to consider writing a book by hand, if they did not first understand the alphabet of their own particular language. Likewise, many karate-ka attempt to consciously learn a definitive number of techniques, without having the real ability to ‘read’ the essence of them. It is often said in writing cliques that ‘a new book is nothing more than a bunch of old books’ (a collection of old information re-generated into a new format). This is also very true when developing techniques in karate. We can use similar principles to create many varied movements and motions. In this way we are no longer restricting transience, be it consciously or subconsciously. This thought alone leads us now into a very interesting question. Why then do you suppose we are bound by a historic syllabus of definitive kata within our art?

All of the genuine training in karate is derived from the kata. If we look more closely at the fundamental techniques in karate, it is my suggestion that these are essentially a physical method of being able to repetitively develop the principles contained within them. The key here lies in the principles rather than the actual techniques. I like to think of our common basic techniques as being the founder’s way of best expressing those principles in ‘formal’ action. Remember that without a physical technique to exist in, principles hold no form at all. We have to think about what’s inside the technique in order to make the repetitive training of it worthwhile, since many of these don’t (at face value) indicate any strong practical benefits.

For instance, who in their right mind would ever use the technique of junzuki (as it’s commonly performed and understood in kihon) in a live fight? Only the most brave or brainless I’d expect! But let me ask you this question in another way – how many

Fig. 1.4: Correcting technique is only useful if the student is also exposed to the why’s and how’s.

16

individuals would use the principles gained from practising the technique of junzuki in a live fight? If you study the concepts contained in this seemingly impractical technique, a whole range of useful elements can be extracted and adapted to increase your overall ability to apply functional movements. This is of course only if you have an open mind. In reality, this is exactly what karate demands and is what I believe makes the art so special. Among other things, practising junzuki repetitively and with the right mind (one that assesses principles) can actually teach us about balance, co-ordination, weight distribution, movement, creating energy, transferring energy, stabilisation and efficient motion, which I’m sure you’ll agree are critical in becoming proficient in self defence. It no longer has to be another ‘boring technique used only to pass grade examinations’. Just by changing your thought process and methodology, junzuki has become a technique with extremely beneficial characteristics. Not only that though, you are also now able to see this and adapt the lessons learned in other aspects.

Fig. 1.5 & 1.6: The classical technique of ‘Junzuki’, along with a typical adaptable application, which incorporates the principles learned in kihon.

As an example of this and to extract yet another principle from Junzuki, I would like to look at the very common motion of hiki-te (pulling hand). Over the years, this movement has been literally scolded by the uneducated, in sharing the common sense argument that pulling the hand back to the waist in a ‘real’ combat confrontation would simply be suicide. To start with, I completely agree with this statement and I will raise my hand and admit to holding the very same view before my engagement into more committed research. Most of us who choose to look a little deeper now understand that the practice of hiki-te in kata or kihon can be viewed as a ‘repetitive training method’. By constantly practising the motion of hiki-te, we are being physically conditioned and reminded of the fact that there is a large advantage to seizing and pulling an attackers limb, in order to control, nullify the potential hazards, obtain clear strike paths, create reference points or increase the net effect of your transmitted power. This is only applicable of course, if you physically train with this concept in mind. Otherwise, the practice of hiki-te as a discrete technique alone will still reduce it to a practically useless motion. Nevertheless, hiki-te in one form or another can be

17

found extensively in all martial arts that serve to improve any form of practical combat function. Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Kali, Jujutsu, Aikido, Ninjutsu to name but a few, all apply a similar approach in their fighting strategies. Karate is certainly no different. The close fighting distance (Maii) we are faced with during a real physical encounter severely limits our ability to respond to visual stimuli. In these situations we have to utilise our tactile awareness and responses further. This is where hiki-te can help tremendously. This shows that how we think about certain aspects of the motions (by breaking techniques down) will greatly influence our individual progress and positive interpretation of all our techniques in karate.

By looking at the concepts behind a particular technique, we can start to create the ability to use them elsewhere, in a much more fluid way. The ‘hiki-te’ example above for instance, is a great illustration. How simple is it to add a pulling action to your in-fighting repertoire? The technique is so versatile that it can be used almost anywhere. Why do you think that 90% + of karate techniques employ this type of double action with the limbs? This is however only one example of a common principle in karate. There are a great many more however, which cater for various different physical and mental elements.

When studying kata bunkai (the analysis of the forms), it’s imperative to pay particular attention to how the body moves during a specific technique or sequence. Analysing the forms effectively and in line with the underlying principles of the art will take your focus away from the actual techniques performed strictly as part of the kata (ohyo) and enable you to express the concepts learned in many other ways (henka & ura). As an example, if a particular technique in a kata applies a hooking strike against a double grab for instance, what would you do in a realistic situation if your opponent becomes too close for the technique to work effectively? The answer would undoubtedly be to modify your technique accordingly (therefore bending with the winds of adversity). If the opponent becomes closer than your initial technique will allow for, it would prove far more effective to use a shorter-range technique such as an elbow strike. In this case however, the body mechanics (or principles) remain exactly the same, only your choice of ‘artillery’ would differ to accommodate that specific situation. This is still very much within the realms of the kata theory (since the application of the ‘motion’ is identical) and shows a useful product of sound, open-minded bunkai. By simply equating to the hooking strike itself as shown in the form, you are severely limiting the effectiveness and efficiency of the general movement in an ‘adaptable’ combat situation. When teaching this notion more recently, one of my students expressed this really well by saying that it’s like “putting different sized bullets into the same gun”.

Fig. 1.7: The use of ‘hiki-te’ to ensure that both upper limbs are

used positively.

18

Fig. 1.8 to 1.11: Adapting identical body mechanics for varying situations –‘putting different bullets into the same gun’.

This way of thinking can be applied to any movement within the kata. Likewise, it also helps to ascertain the very important notion of a single technique being applied in a variety of different ways. This is extremely desirable in a ‘live’ situation, since the presence of increased adrenaline will seriously hamper the ability of your mind to scrutinise many techniques in order to find the correct one. By equating to the broader (gross) motions, you can adapt many different applications around a more ‘manageable’ number of general body mechanics. If we practically analyse the movement of soto-uke for instance (commonly referred to as ‘outer block’), we can generate many more diverse applications. In ‘modern’ dojo, the technique is taught as a simple block against a middle level punch. If we look at the actual body motion however, which is to move your arm from the inside to the outside of your body (wado ryu version), a whole new level of understanding can be gained. Consequentially, soto-uke can also be used as a strike, a choke, a hair pull, a wrist manipulation or to hyper-extend the opponents arm. This is by no means a comprehensive list of applications, rather an indication of just how diverse one simple motion in karate can be. This is of course, if you decide to take off the blinkers and think outside the box.

19

The labels given to each technique in karate has caused a great deal of fundamental confusion. Most if not all of the terminology we use today, is primarily based on Anko Itosu’s ‘modification’ to karate for its inclusion in the Okinawan education system in the early part of the twentieth century. It is known that Itosu altered various movements in karate to make them both easier and safer to be taught to youths and the mass public. We know that certain movements in the original kata were modified, the pinan kata were constructed and that many of the original hand positions were changed to the all too common fist (seiken). In addition, it’s a comfortable assumption that the ‘modern’ techniques taught were given names, relating to the ‘safer’ applications that Itosu would have led his younger students to believe were applicable. When you look closely, I believe that the way he done this was quite ingenious indeed.

We cannot forget the fact that Itosu was a well-respected and capable karate master. I doubt very much that he would have altered the system in such a way so that any practical application could not be re-generated, since above all else, karate is first and foremost perceived as a civilian fighting system. To make karate available to the masses and for the art to survive into the future, its intent would have needed this shift to become safer and more generally accepted. Itosu was the pioneer of this process and completed his intentions successfully. On the other hand, I think to alter karate so much that its original purpose could possibly be lost forever would have been a notion simply unacceptable to someone like Itosu. The true applications for any movement will undoubtedly become well hidden when your thoughts are simply directed elsewhere or you are taught a completely different way of expressing a technique. Itosu obviously knew this very well and used it to great effect when ‘disguising’ the more devastating movements and principles.

The term ‘soto-uke’ is commonly defined as ‘outer block’, however as we have just seen, the movement itself can be expressed in many more ways than a simple block. In actuality, the word ‘uke’ does not mean block. In aikido circles for instance, the word is used to describe the receiver of a particular technique. A more thorough meaning for the word would be ‘response’. Therefore, calling the technique an ‘outer response’ opens up the mind to the realisation that the movement could in fact be adapted to suit a variety of situations, not simply a block. This of course applies to all the other basic ‘blocking’ techniques. In fact, consider for a moment the following fundamental techniques: age-uke (upper level response), soto-uke (outer response), uchi-uke (inner response) and gedan-uke/barai (lower level response/sweep) or otoshi uke (dropping response). It is certainly no coincidence that these techniques prescribe the gross movements of the limbs in all four general directions using the centre of the body as a source (upwards, downwards, inwards and outwards).

Correctly understood kihon training will help us not only to perfect the principles underpinning each movement, but also how to apply power correctly in order to augment these motions. Once this is learned, bunkai can be used to apply these motions in many different ways. All of a sudden, the most basic techniques in karate, which are viewed by many as being highly unfeasible in a realistic situation, have become many devastating

20

movements that hold their true strength in their simple, but effective adaptability. Indeed, it would be quite possible to dedicate a whole book on the malleability of these simple techniques alone. And if so much can be gained from only one motion, how much learning do we have in our whole art?

Fig. 1.12 to 1.15: A number of applications to demonstrate the ‘adaptability’ of the single technique ‘soto-uke’. Note that both upper limbs are always ‘live’.

To summarise on the consideration of equating to principles, I decided it fitting to share my rather odd comparison that I like to use between the study of karate and the simple act of peeling an onion:

“An ordinary onion can be held in a single palm, but within its humble size, it contains many numerous layers. Once we peel a layer from the onion, another one presents itself immediately. The more layers we peel, the closer our goal becomes. It is only when we finally get to the centre, we find that the end is nowhere to be

21

seen, there is no purpose present at all, and in actual fact, the goal was ironically, the removal of the layers themselves.”

In karate too, we all have layers to peel in order to progress our understanding. Some are physical; some are mental. Some have been and can only be made apparent by many years of correct study. Likewise, some can only be removed by sincere dedicated effort. The goal that we hope to attain will not be (as many of would like to believe) sitting there waiting for us at the end of our journey. For a start off, can we even point to our end? We need to do what we can with full resolve and try to come to understand the very process we take. This will make sure that our goals are never really far away. It’s therefore important to learn and teach our art using the principles it contains. The journey itself, the learning of the principles, will enable us to see the attainment of adaptability. By taking the right path, we can ensure that karate is allowed to evolve as it should, is able to ‘bend with the winds of adversity’ and as a result, the art will surely become personally your own. Master and slave will then become two halves of a single coin.

22

“The study of karate will allow you to rub shoulders with some truly great people who

possess an energy that when in close proximity, cannot help but to deeply inspire. This energy is

the hallmark of a great teacher and if found should never be taken for granted.”

23

About the Author

Outside the ground floor dojo and ready for training at the Budokan in Naha, Okinawa (April 2010).

hris Denwood has been practicing traditional martial arts since childhood and currently holds the rank of 4th Dan with both the English Karate Federation and the Amateur

Martial Association.

Founder and Chief Instructor of the Eikoku Satori Karate-Do Kyokai, he is also a senior teacher with the British Karate-Do Chojinkai, a nationally qualified fitness coach and certified advanced level kettlebell instructor.

Chris lives on the edge of the Western Lake District in Cumbria, England. He currently works as a columnist for a number of national and international periodicals including Combat, Traditional Karate and Jissen Magazines. He is also author of the internationally acknowledged DVD set, Acorns to Oak Trees: Essential Guidelines for Pragmatic Kata Bunkai.

Chris’s seminars and workshops are popular with practitioners from all styles, where he aims to openly share his unique, deep thinking and holistic approach to traditional karate in a way that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Chris can be contacted via his websites: www.eskk.co.uk and www.chrisdenwood.com.

C