Personal growth in kumite

I believe there are two types of karateka - those that love fighting and have a natural aptitude for it and those that have to learn to fight. Since karate is at heart a fighting art, one is compelled to do kumite if one is to progress at all in karate.

I am definitely one of those who had to learn to fight - although I loved the rough and tumble of rugby and judo as a youngster, I always steered clear of 'real fighting' that involved punching. This was confirmed when I was forced to try out for boxing during my National Service - a very quick blood nose confirmed that fighting was not for me.

I have finally progressed to 4th Dan level and have been involved in teaching for a few years now - and I can quickly identify the 'natural' fighters and those who feel the same way I used to.

This prompted me to say something about my own journey along the tricky path of learning to fight.

I recently had the opportunity to view a video of myself in action at a competition. I found it difficult to reconcile the karateka I saw in the video with my own image of myself and where I had been as a new black belt. The fighter I saw was aggressive and pushed forward continuously, trading techniques with his opponent and continuously trying to take the initiative. The fighter I had been previously was often on the retreat, concerned with blocking and counter-attacking, and on the back foot.

I liked the new fighter much better!

How did I get from the early defensive fighter to the newer more aggressive fighter?

The most important thing was that I had an excellent instructor (Shihan Norman Robinson).  He did three things:

1.    Created a safe environment in which to practice kumite;
2.    Encouraged a go-forward attitude at all times through his drills, instruction and example;
3.    Ensured we could experiment during kumite without fear of injury or loss of face.

The end product is a more confident fighter with a positive mindset and an ability to weather the odd bit of punishment, but still going forward. This is not to say that I have become a great fighter - not at all - simply that I have grown and that I am better than I was and enjoy it so much more than I used to.

So my message to those who worry about kumite is simple: "Find safe partners, get in there, and play". Kunite is like most things in life: the more we do it the better we become.
Alan King

JKS SA trip to Japan - April 2007

A small team from JKS South Africa, headed by our Chief Instructor Shihan Norman Robinson, travelled to Japan in April 2007 to participate in the World Karate-do Championships 2007 which was held in Naha City, Okinawa. The championships were held under the auspices of our mother body, the (NPO) Japan Karate Shoto Federation (JKS), and took place on 21 and 22 April.  From there we travelled to Tokyo where six of our members were to attempt Dan gradings at the Honbu dojo in Sugamo.

The choice of Naha City (the capital of Okinawa) as the venue for the championships and also to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the father of modern day karate, Gichin Funakoshi, was significant.  Much of modern day karate is derived from Okinawan karate, where unarmed combat developed during a period of occupation when Okinawans were banned from carrying weapons.  Different towns developed different styles: Naha-te, Shuri-te and Tomari-te.  The Goju styles derive from naha-te and the shotokan styles through Sensei Gichin Funakoshi from the shuri-te line.  It is interesting to note that these two towns are little more than 10km apart and yet developed two very different styles!
Hong Kong


The trip started with almost everyone meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday, 17 April, where we stayed at the YMCA hotel in Kowloon.  The next two days were spent sight-seeing with memorable trips to 'the great Buddha' at Lantau Island via cable car, taking a sightseeing roundtrip on the ferry in Victoria Harbour, the dazzling 'Symphony of Lights' multimedia light and sound show involving 33 buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour, and up to 'The Peak' with the Honk Kong Peak Tram for fantastic views over Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour.  In between some of us enjoyed a great shopping experience where great deals could be bargained at the various shops.  Some members of the team certainly arrived back home much more loaded than when they left.

Two early morning training sessions were held in Kowloon Park, alongside a host of Chinese locals also enjoying their daily exercise routines in the park.  We practiced our katas under Shihan Norman's watchful eye, principally loosening up and refining dynamics and correctness of movement.  On the second day we even received applause from the onlookers, which certainly made us feel good.

Okinawa

We flew to Okinawa via Taipei on Thursday, 19 April, landing in the early evening and then catching the monorail into town.  Fortunately the hotel was not too far from the railway station, so our walk down the main street of Naha City to our destination - Hotel  New Okinawa - with our luggage 'in hand', didn't raise too much of a sweat. At the hotel we also met up with the rest of our contingent from the Western Cape. They came via Singapore and had already enjoyed two days of Okinawan sightseeing.



Friday was registration day, with a training seminar scheduled for the afternoon.  The seminar - taught by the head coach of Takushoku University and the Japan National karate team, the renowned Tsuyama Sensei - focussed on the basics of karate. Great emphasis was placed on important technical fundamentals: hikite, foot position, snap back, precise targets for techniques, quick knee lifts, correct use of hips, etc. 

For those of us watching intently from the side, and judging from the volume of sweat produced by those on the floor, it was a fairly intense workout.

What was noteworthy was the difference in standard and focus of the top Japanese karateka compared to the rest.  They were just that much more precise, correct, fluid and fast, with very little superfluous movement - pure 'poetry in motion'. This is definitely an area we should focus on more and continue to improve.

The competition was held over two days, with the juniors taking part on Saturday and the seniors on Sunday. Overall, the standard was very high.  What impressed most was the degree of control throughout the championships, with very few injuries and a conscious effort made by all referees to ensure good technique and control. 

The overriding impression was that the Japanese were generally more controlled, accurate and precise than the rest.  Their overall strategy in kumite was one of very quickly closing the gap in a linear fashion, scoring from range with continuous attack, with little or no typical WKF style movement. 

In kata, Unsu surprisingly did not feature well in the senior division and Kanku-sho, Sochin and Gojushiho-Dai placed high.  The winning kata was Gojushiho-Dai, followed by Sochin.

From a South African perspective, Sensei Filip Houndalas performed very well, receiving third place in the Veterans (40-50) kumite.  Sensei Pierre Jordaan was complimented by Kagawa Sensei on the high level of his refereeing throughout the tournament and he was the only Western referee involved as centre referee in the prestigious finals. He and sensei Japie Storm were two of only four Western judges selected as corner judges for the final events, doing JKS SA proud!  Sensei Pierre's student, the young Phillip Scherman, and Sensei Japie's student, Rikus Venter, reached the final 8 in their respective groups, also performing very well. 

Tokyo

On Monday, 23 April, we embarked on the last leg of our trip when we flew in to Tokyo via Haneda airport and then travelled by train and underground to the Asia Center Hotel (near Aoyama-Itchome station), where we would be staying for the rest of our trip.

On Tuesday morning we visited the Honbu dojo in Sugamo where we trained alongside the 'foreigners' class.  The grading candidates trained with Shihan Norman, while the rest were schooled by Sensei Inada and Sensei Watanabe.  Again, the class revolved around fundamentals, but at the end the students were sweating and begging for mercy.

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 - THE DAY for six of us - finally arrived and we returned to Honbu dojo for the 'main course' of our trip.  It is fair to say that as the grading approached, so the chatter and cockiness of the grading candidates got less and less.  Sensei Pierre remarked later that breakfast on the morning of the grading was a remarkably quiet affair, with not much more being said than basically just "Good morning". 

Finally, the 'dreaded hour' arrived and we lined up before the grading panel of four, headed by Kagawa Sensei (8th Dan and technical head of JKS).  Shihan Norman sat next to the panel as an observer. 

The emphasis of the grading was clearly on technical ability: how well the fundamentals were understood and performed in the katas - both tokui kata and nominated kata - and attitude, focus and control in kumite.  When two of the godan candidates (not from South Africa) engaged in kumite, it was glaringly obvious that the panel did not approve of their wild and uncontrolled contact. After being told for the third time "again", they seemed to 'get' the message and showed more control where after, finally, "yame" was called.

The kumite section involved fights against the other grading candidates and one or more of the Japanese instructors (kenchusei). It is obvious that they train to achieve precision and speed - more so than most Westerners.  The other important factor is to 'go forward' - in other words the ability not just to mix it and defend, but to have a positive attacking and controlling approach.  In this instance, we may have caught them a little off-guard since, having been endlessly taught by Shihan Norman to "go forward and take the attack off them", we managed to put them on the back foot more than what they expected, and that certainly counted heavily in our favour.

Finally, after being told that we could get dressed and what felt like an eternity, the results were announced: five South Africans and one Israeli passed.

The following grades were awarded to the South African contingent:

• Pierre Jordaan - 7th Dan
• Mervyn Gounden - 5th Dan
• Ayesha van Rensburg - 5th Dan
• Alan King - 4th Dan
• Belinda Howard - 3rd Dan

Wednesday evening was a far more festive affair than the previous evenings, with quite a 'few' Yen being spent on alcoholic beverages to celebrate our achievements.  Even Sensei Pierre was observed to down a beer - the first and only one since his last grading in 1999.  The rest of us just drank whatever was going. It was obvious that the stress that had been gnawing away at the grading candidates was now something of the past and it was time to party!

Thursday was a group sightseeing day which involved a trip to see the world's oldest Buddha (700 years old) at Kamakura.  Despite missing our trainstop on the return journey, it turned out to be another good day in Japan, even better now because of the extra grades we were 'carrying around'!

The trip home

Friday, 27 April, saw the bulk of our group returning to South Africa by way of Cathay Pacific Airlines, via Hong Kong. We arrived back home safely and tired, but elated!

Our sincere thanks to Shihan Norman for the hard and meticulous work he put in to ensure that we were properly prepared. A big thank you also goes to all those who helped organise the trip and make it such a memorable one. 

Last, but certainly not least, we'd like to thank each and every one of our travelling companions, even though we were a rather small group, who shared this very special experience and made it such a fantastic one... thanks guys, you're the best!

NEWSFLASH: JKS PERFORMS VERY WELL IN COMPETITIONS!

Our JKS students seem to be taking the competition scene by storm! Well done guys and girls, you've certainly done yourselves and JKS SA proud!

KSA - Karate South Africa Championships held in SASOLBURG

Children - Friday, 25 June 2007

1. Ronico Smit (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Boys Kata and gold medal in Boys Kumite (born 1994)
2. Gerhard Janse van Rensburg (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Boys Kata and Bronze medal in Boys Kumite (born 1992)
3. Laurette Pitzer (Gauteng North) - bronze medal in Girls Kumite (born 1992)

Saturday, 26 June 2007

1. Meghan Booyens (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Cadet Girls Kata and gold medal in Cadet Girls Kumite (over 57kg)
2. Michelle Bester (Boland) - silver medal in Girls Kata  and silver medal in Girls Kumite (born 1991)
3. Jolene Kotze (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Senior Ladies Kata and gold medal in Senior Ladies Kumite (U60kg)
4. Corlia Heystek (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Veteran Ladies Kata and silver medal in Veteran Ladies Kumite
5. Corlia Heystek (Gauteng North) - bronze medal in Senior Ladies Kata and bronze medal in Senior Ladies Kumite (O60kg)
6. Anroux Kok (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Junior Boys Kata and gold medal in Junior Boys Kumite (U70kg)
7. Evan Rabie (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Junior Boys Kumite (U75kg)
8. Jaco Schutte (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Junior Boys Kata
9. Ian Booyens (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Senior Male Kumite (U70kg)
10. Chris Badenhorst (Gauteng North) - bronze medal in Senior Male Kumite (O80kg)

KSA  - Karate South Africa Championships held in DURBAN: 1 and 2 June 2007

1. Meghan Booyens (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Cadet Girls Kata and gold medal in Cadet Girls Kumite (O57kg)
2. Murray van Niekerk (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Cadet Kumite 
3. Evan Rabie (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Junior Boys Kumite (U75kg)
4. Godfried Kotze (Gauteng North) - bronze medal in Junior Boys Kumite (U75kg)
5. Mathew Lewis (Gauteng North) - gold medal in Junior Boys Kata
6. Ryan King (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Junior Boys Kata

ZONE 6 Championships held in Mozambique: 25 June 2007

1. Marlene Theron (Gauteng North) - silver medal in Junior Girls Kata and gold medal in Junior Girls Kumite (U53kg)
2. Godfried Kotze  (Gauteng North) - bronze medal in Kumite

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet." - Bobby Unser

Visitor from Germany

JKS East London was fortunate to have a visitor to our club this summer, all the way from Stuttgart, Germany.

Willi Zahn was on temporary work assignment at Daimler Chrysler's plant in the city of East London (South Africa). Very soon after his arrival in South Africa he put out the word to see if he could find a local karate organisation with which to train. Daimler Chrysler colleague Mervin Gounden from JKS answered the call.

Willi holds a 3rd dan and trains and teaches at Sindelfingen Karate under the auspices of Deutscher Karate Verband (DKV) which, like JKS, is a Shotokan style of karate. Willi showed us his humble and modest side and it soon became apparent, after seeing his form and flexibility, that he had being practicing karate for many years. He has a great sense of humour and trains with much dedication and purpose. We hope he returns to our country and once again trains with us.

To find out more about what Willi does (if you understand German), check out his karate website at: http://www.karate-sindelfingen.de/



Mervin Gounden, left, stands side by side with Willi Zahn, right, from Germany who trained with JKS while he was on work assignment at Daimler Chrysler in East London (South Africa).

It is clear from most of our encounters with overseas karateka that there is a common bond between karate people around the globe, and even though our languages may be different, we all speak the language of karate and share the values that karate instils within us.

We at JKS welcome karate visitors to East London from both overseas and other parts of the country. Just give us a call.

For enquiries phone: Mervin Gounden on +27 43 706-2146 or +27 84 402 5280 (mobile).

Effective technique through isolation

We all know that young people are faster than older people, right? Well, not always.  How is it that older karateka are able to compete with younger karateka on the floor when it comes to real karate - despite the innate speed advantage?

There are a number of factors, but of these, isolation must be one of the most important.  Technique in karate involves movement: whether of one limb or the entire body.  This requires the recruitment of sets of muscles to be accomplished. In addition to the inherent nature of a karateka's muscle composition (proportion of quick twitch and slow twitch), the way these muscles are recruited is important - and that involves correct and technical training.

If you watch karateka training, it rapidly becomes apparent that some move better than others.  If you analyse the reasons for this, it seems that the karateka who look good are the ones who move the smoothest.

What does this mean in practice?

Posture and preparation are obviously important parts of effective technique and movement, but will be discussed separately.

Isolation means that only those parts of the body necessary to perform a technique are recruited during the performance of that technique.  A couple of simple examples will suffice:

Shuto-uke: a common fault when performing shuto-uke in back stance, whether stepping forwards or backwards, is to open the arms during the transition. Not only is this a bad idea for protection, it is also unnecessary and inefficient. Wind-ups should be done along the quickest and thus the shortest route, but fully.

Mae-geri: excessive upper body movement, often with jerky hand movements, accompanies the mae-geri.  Since mae-geri is a kick, the upper body and hands should not be involved at all and one should move from the lower body.

Yori-ashi: although one of the simplest techniques in karate, it is also one of the most poorly performed.  The most common fault is to tilt the upper body in the direction of movement rather than pushing strongly from the back leg and through the hips.

Punching: the temptation with punching from any position is to throw the shoulders into the punch which, besides telegraphing the punch, involves unnecessary movement of large body parts.

Instructors need to first recognise where excess movement is involved and then make sure to coach this 'out of' students.  Often this requires analysis of the techniques and a return to basics.  That part of the technique where the student is bringing unnecessary movement into play must be identified and replaced with correct technique.

We can use two of the examples above to demonstrate the corrective process:
Shuto-uke:

the correct path for the hands can be practiced in static positions - natural stance or back stance.  The correct path is clearly defined in Shotokan:

 

• The blocking hand travels directly to the side of the neck and from there to the block position.  During the process the elbow essentially stays at chudan level.
• The opposite or passive hand extends to a midlevel guard position on the solar plexus.  Again it travels directly from the solar plexus to the intermediate position.
• The two movements occur together and should have the elbows touching at the mid-point.
• There should be no dwell time in the middle.
• The hands travel as directly as possible - no deviations.
• Once this sequence has been mastered, it needs to be combined with stepping or shifting.

It is important not to dwell too long on the individual components as it then becomes difficult to perform fluid functional techniques.   The idea to keep in mind is "as long as necessary, as short as possible".  Try to get to the combined movement as quickly as possible, but without bypassing the mastery of components.

 

Mae-geri: this is intuitively easier to understand because the technique is a lower body technique involving the legs and hips.  There is no requirement for the upper body and hands to be involved.  

 

The relevant Japanese term for the upper body is 'sono mama' or as is.  In other words while the mae-geri is being performed, the upper body stays 'as is'.  For defensive reasons there may be a natural change from left guard to right guard (or vice versa) - but this should not be part of the mae-geri preparation or performance.

 

Mae-geri involves an initial quick and high knee-lift, with the foot being flicked out and snapped back from the high knee-lift position.

 

The kick should be practiced in the following sequence:

1. Knee lift from natural stance (and return)
2. Knee lift and kick from natural stance (and return)
3. This is important because it ensures the kick is performed from shomen position, i.e. hips square.  At this point, eliminating any upper body movement is easy.
4. Repeat the sequence from zenkutsu dachi.  It is now possible to kick from hanmi position i.e. hips open which allows momentum to interfere with proper technique.  The coach needs to ensure the student moves from hanmi to shomen AND THEN does the knee lift and kick.
5. This is the point at which the coach needs to ensure no extra movement is introduced.

 

Drills that force the student to isolate the upper body can be very useful here.  Examples include having students hook their thumbs into their belts, or hold both hands in front as they kick, or have partners control their upper body during the execution.

Again, mae-geri is a technique that is generally performed while moving forward, and often in combination.  It should be fluid, without any stops in the sequence.  So, the practicing of the components must not take precedence over practicing of the whole.  Again: "As long as necessary, as short as possible".

So when you see a karateka struggle with a technique, generally evident as loss of balance and / or slow and / or imprecise execution, look for the excess movement.  Which parts of the body are being recruited that do not need to be?  Eliminating these extra movements produces the following results:

1.   Efficiency - more direct, less effort, faster, more accurate
2.   Effectiveness - more power, more impact
3.   Control - better control of balance and space
4.   Continuity - ability to allow combinations to flow

Alan King