Karate and Christianity – Part Two

With UFC 100 approaching, and all the excitement that surrounds these big MMA fights, I was brought back around to a previous posting I had involving Martial Arts and Christianity, partially due to a comment I received to that post but also because I had a very sensitive encounter with an old friend who has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm that could break at any time.

What was so powerful about this encounter was the fact that she told me that she was at peace, no matter when it happened, she was at peace and accepts that her time is near. She is at peace because of the love that God gives her, and the salvation she knows awaits her.

How does this tie in with my previous comments you may be asking.

Here is the original posting and comments (I have cut it back – you can read the full version of the post and the comments by finding the original posting below in my blog):

Posting:
Christianity teaches that we should love one another and turn the other cheek.
Does this then mean that we should not practice Karate as it is a martial art – meant to hurt someone.
My answer – is no. They do not conflict. There are many, many benefits when practicing Karate – not just the self defense aspect. And, in short, ultimately you have freewill to decide if you will turn the other cheek, whether you are a trained martial artist or not.

Here is one comment:
I completely agree! I believe that Christianity and Shotokan complement each other. Karate teaches you honor and respect the highest principles of faith.

And here is a second comment:
My definition of martial arts is a peaceful one. The better the fighter we become, the less we have to prove, and the more likely we are to walk away from a fight. I do have a problem though with “Karate for Christ” and similar styles that have removed the Budo of Karate and tried to replace it with religion. And dont get me wrong, I’m not against religion, I just think it should be left out of Karate. I do not come to the dojo to be preached to. I come to the dojo to better myself, and I keep my political and religious views to myself when I am in the dojo.

There is a complementary aspect between Christianity and Karate. Karate instills peace, confidence, and the desire to stay clear of confrontations, the same qualities that Christianity gives.

I have not heard of “Karate for Christ” and I know nothing about it, so I really can not make any informed comments. However, if someone signs up for the class knowing what they going to receive and want this type of instruction and agree with it, I do not see anything wrong with it. But again, I really can not say much about this because I just don’t know anything about it, have never seen a class or read a course outline. I don’t even know if they are teaching traditional Karate.

However, I can comment that I agree that a dojo is a place to learn Karate, and unless you have signed up for a “Karate + Sensei So-n-So’s Values”, then the instructor should not take the liberty to force his/her opinions upon the students (unless they are within martial arts), because the students will then be stuck between a rock and a hard place (do you leave the school and your friends? do you give up your current ranking? do you sacrifice your own opinions and values and just say yes sir out of fear of some form of backlash?).

So my opinion is that if you are running a Karate school (eg: Shotokan), then you need to follow the general rules, format and guidelines that make a system Shotokan. Same holds for any other style, Kyokushin, Wado-Ryu, Uechi-Ryu, Tang Soo Do, TKD, etc.

If you run the school correctly, and teach Karate the way it was meant to be taught, you will instill peace and confidence in the students.

Much the same way our good Lord instills peace and confidence in those that believe in Him and trust in His ways.

UFC 100

UFC 100 is almost here! This is going to be a great show!

TMA vs MMA – Full Contact?

More comments on TMA (Traditional Martial Arts) and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). My fellow Sensei, Dave, made this comment not too long ago:

“I couldn’t agree more about MMA being a sport. I for one really get tired of people thinking that these “fighters” are real martial artists.
What I mean to say is, where is the honor and discipline that we as traditional martial artists try to uphold? What I see in most (but not all) of the fighters is a lot of trash talking thugs. I for one would love to see full contact Karate/Kickboxing make a comeback.”

Yes, there are a lot of newcomers coming into MMA who have become enamored with the sport, and just want to slug it out with someone, hoping that their brute strength will carry the fight. They don’t want to go through the years of training and discipline of traditional martial arts because it is too time consuming. They want to get it on right now, and they feel they can just jump in the octagon and start slugging away. I can not stand watching an MMA fight between two unskilled competitors, it is so frustrating.

Now even though studying a traditional martial art will make them a much superior fighter (Georges St. Pierre, L. Machida), most of the time these newcomers do not want to invest in their training and want the quickest way in. So off they go to find the nearest MMA school.

Which is really too bad because what they will ultimately become is either raw meat for the more skilled competitors, or become thugs and beat up on smaller competitors and eventually start losing once they run into a more skilled fighter who is their size.

Not a lot to talk about

Sorry for not having posted for a while, I am a little lost for words. But don’t worry, I am sure I will have things to say shortly.

Shotokan Rules!

Alright – I am allowed to brag! Lyota Machida’s thrilling win on Saturday at UFC 98 was not only exciting to watch, but it was a huge validation of Karate and how effective it can be. What Machida does right, and which is so confusing to other MMA artists, is basic Karate striking, movements and sweeps.

Unfortunately for Karate, the deluge of martial arts films showing Kung Fu artists flying in the air, Olympic competitions showing jumping spinning twisting wheel reverse back kicks by Tae Kwon Do artists, and complete unrealistic MA movies, have given MMA a lot of room to declare that they are real and have debunked the myth of MA.

But finally a qualified Karate-ka has entered the Octagon, and with sufficient cross-training, looks completely unbeatable. We have two Karate-ka ruling the roost, with Georges St. Pierre of Kyokushinkai dominating his division and and Machida in the light heavyweight.

I don’t know why it took so long coming, but then again maybe I do. Traditional martial artists are just not drawn to the sport of MMA, and if they are, they tend to follow the common perception that you have to drop everything you learned and jump into “Somebody’s”-BJJ training center.

Even listening to the announcer last night, proudly declaring to the audience (only 3 minutes before Machida’s knock out none-the-less), that the “deadly one strike will kill a person myth put forth by Karate has been debunked by UFC and MMA” – well, I don’t think that this comment is accurate in any sense. For one, the announcer seems to have forgotten that UFC and MMA are a sport….. can not emphasize that enough, and the second is that Machida very nearly did finish him off with one strike.

So allow me the opportunity to boast and be proud because everything that I have been stating and writing is looking to be coming into place.

What about MMA?

So you have been reading about my take on TMA (Traditional Martial Arts), and perhaps you are asking yourself – should I study MMA then?

My first comment to this question is, to paraphrase Bruce Lee, any system that teaches you how to defend yourself is a good system.

So to study MMA as a way to defend yourself is not a bad idea. In addition, MMA training also gives you:
1. an incredible workout
2. confidence on the ground
3. an effective way to subdue an aggressive attacker

However, without the inclusion of a TMA, MMA does fall short in its overall ability to teach you how to defend yourself. For example, if you are in a confrontation outside a bar with someone, do you really think falling on to your back and putting someone between your legs is a good idea? No – you are way too exposed (private parts) to the attacker and his almost always present backup friends. There is a reason why TMA teaches you to stay on your feet -you are too vulnerable on the ground. Now, during a confrontation you may be taken to the ground, and in this event, your ground skills will help you get out of that situation.

TMA teaches you these things, including throws, locks and strikes, whereas MMA tends to focus more on the sport and winning in the Octagon.

Are Traditional Arts Practical

Here is the question – is it still practical to study traditional martial arts (TMA)today? With all the hype of MMA, and droves of new students flocking to fledgling MMA schools, it makes me wonder if TMA has any merit anymore?

My answer is – wholeheartedly YES. And I believe I am uniquely qualified to answer this question, being someone who has competed in MMA (I was one of the pioneers of the sport) and a traditional martial artist.

My first comment is to remind everyone that MMA is a sport with rules. I love the moniker NHB – but MMA really is not NHB, I mean, you are not allowed to do so many things from wrist locks to gauging, that it is not correct to say MMA is NHB.

TMA, on the other hand, is NHB. One has to remember that in TMA you are fighting for your life, that is the general principal behind TMA. Now for those of you out there thinking – “Come on, I have seen the TKD guys sparring and that stuff isn’t real”, and to that comment I have to say it isn’t real in the NHB aspect, but just like MMA, TKD sparring has its own set of rules and it too is a sport with the competitors competing for points to win.

Lets take a look at Sokon Matsumura, the karate master of Gichin Funakoshi, and the story told of when he was training the young Okinawan king. The king came at him with a fancy double kick to which Matsumura-sensei promptly knocked him on his butt to demonstrate that Karate is not about fancy techniques, but to be focused and apply effective techniques. Matsumura-sensei was relieved of this position in the royal house because of this, but he was committed to teaching Karate as it was meant to be – a matter of life preservation.

Another memory that comes to mind was when I was in Okinawa and I had the opportunity to speak with Master Shinyu Gushi of Uechi-Ryu. I asked him how does he think he would fair if he were to enter the octagon and compete. His reply was “if I am allowed to make the rules for the fight, I will surely win”. I had to think about this for a long time, and I am coming to understand his wisdom. He was telling me that the octagon is built for MMA-style competitors, and the better you are at MMA the more success you will have. If he were allowed to make up a sport competition, it would surely have rules and angles and construct that would favor his style of Uechi-Ryu.

So TMA is really about learning how to defend yourself for real. Just look at the bunkai for Pinan 2. Well, I will actually write about that next time.

Sorry for the long delay.

Why bother studying Bunkai of Kata?

In the study of the bunkai of katas, you will find numerous stikes, throws, clinches, etc, which hold fast to the original concepts.
Whereas Kumite is more or less a sport in that it has rules so that you can practice executing techniques without seriously harming your partner. Therefore, many different rules have developed for different systems.

When studying Bunkai of kata we need to keep in mind what the originator of the kata was wanting to teach us. The originator spent much more time examining and creating the moves then we realize. We live in a much too fast paced world, where everything is now now now. We also feel we are vastly superior to our past generations in all aspects.

My point is that someone in the 1600’s, or 1800’s, spent a great deal of time creating these kata, and they are very intricate and sophisticated, if you take the time to really study them (for example: Tekki is NOT about someone riding a horse or standing in a rice field – study the bunkai and see how devastating it really is!), you will see just how genius these old timers were. They fought for real, it was life or death back then, which is a point I think we miss. In addition, there are just so many ways you can take someone who grabs you, strike them and throw them to the ground. Why do we assume we know better?

Are we able to come up with something else, something better for this day and age? Absolutely. And we should be doing this! I am not stating that we are inept and can not come up with our own items for the here and now.

However, we need to honor the past and also really learn what our past masters meant to pass down to us by diligently studying bunkai. If you have ever created a form, and really put time and energy into it (and not just make up something on a whim), you will understand more about what I am trying to say We need to really learn what was passed down, and the “original concepts” are encapsulated within the katas.

Christianity and Karate – is there a conflict?

Here is something I thought about last night. Is there an inherent conflict between being a Christian and doing a strong form of Karate, like Shotokan?

Christianity teaches that we should love one another and turn the other cheek.

Does this then mean that we should not practice Karate as it is a martial art – meant to hurt someone.

This is not an easy question to answer and requires some deep thought.

My answer – is no. They do not conflict. There are many, many benefits when practicing Karate – not just the self defense aspect. And, in short, ultimately you have freewill to decide, whether you are a trained martial artist or not, if you will turn the other cheek.

Comments on Sokon Matsumura

Last week I did a bunkai class on Tekki-shodan. This is a kata that Matsumura-sensei learned and taught to his students. The kata is really something, while on the outside it doesn’t look like much (I never placed in a tournament doing it), on the inside it is really full of wonderful techniques that are just unbelievable that they are all in there.

So after the class I wanted to read up on Matsumura-sensei. So of course I googled his name and read through the wiki, but I wanted a first hand account by someone who actually met him. I then remembered Gichin Funakoshi’s book! Luckily I had a copy and started reading ahead to the chapter when he discusses Matsumura-sensei.

While I could do with out all the “tales”, I also know that with in these stories lies the true essence of someone’s character. So combining what I read from the other sources I am putting together a mental image of a very tall man who had penetrating eyes.

More on this later, but I also wanted to add that I did not forget my promise of making a bunkai video (which I did), and now I got to post it on Youtube and then link it to my blog. Okay, so give me a little time.