Golden Week

Yesterday marked the beginning of this years 'Golden Week' for us (you can see I have a 'holiday smile'!). Golden Week, also known as Ogata renkyū and Ogon shūkan,) is a major annual public holiday in Japan. The week contains ‘Showa Day’ on April 29th, ‘Constitution Memorial Day’ on May 3rd, ‘Greenery Day’ on May 4th, and ‘Children’s Day’ (also customarily known as ‘Boy's Day’) on May 5th.

It is the longest public holiday of the year for many Japanese companies, alongside Obon in August and Oshogatsu in January. Golden Week is an extremely popular time for Japanese people to travel. Flights, trains, and hotels are often fully booked despite the significantly higher rates at this time.
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I started my Golden Week with a mountain run and karate training at a beautiful shrine. The sunny weather was perfect for outdoor practice. I shared the mountain with several paragliders, and after my self-training spent some relaxing time with Mizuho watching them leap from their departure point. As I watched them fly off the cliff edge, I thought to myself "this is the smoothness us karateka must aim to achieve in our techniques". This 'style' of movement is truly seen in the kata Hushu or Kaze no te (Wind Hands), Suishu or Mizu no te (Water Hands), Nijushiho (24 Steps) and others.

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I've planned to do some extra practices in the coming week still intensively focusing on Unsu (see my previous post), Gojushihodai and Enpi. I'm also reviewing the Junro series.

My kihon training is presently focused on making kime with keriwaza; and further study of muchiken (in relation to karada no buki or 'weapons of the body'). Essentially all of my training is still circulating around the techniques and principles I'm working on in Unsu kata.

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I really look forward to revealing my technical advancements in the coming month and also some of my current training methods. My target remains twofold; firstly to develop the best karate I can. And secondly to preserve the karate of my late teacher, Asai Tetsuhiho Sensei. I'll constantly aim to achieve these targets by pushing myself to my physical and spiritual limits. Where ever you are in the world, lets train with this spirit together.

Happy holidays to everyone. OSU!

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© André Bertel, Japan 2008

雲手 ＵＮＳＵ

For nearly two decades Unsu was my tokui (favourite) kata. I used Unsu to pass the JKA (Japan Karate Association) examinations for nidan, sandan and yondan.When Asai Sensei invited me to test for godan in Switzerland, he demanded that I select "anything but Unsu".
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Fortunately I already had more than enough of it and happily obliged him. So I ended up selecting my other tokui kata, Gojushihodai. Ironically, I failed this test! But passed on my second attempt a year later.

All in all, Unsu has been highly influential on my karate, so much so, that I stopped enjoying it. As a result, I withdrew from seriously training it for several years... Finally this changed at the start of this month... For some reason 'in the clouds' my passion for Unsu has been rekindled.

Probably this post has no relevance to anyone else except my longtime New Zealand students, friends, and family, who I imagine will be surprised to hear I've returned to Unsu. Some of you may ask “why” I believe this phenomena has occurred. And my answer is rather simple. Enough time has passed since I retired from competition, so I can do Unsu 'my own way' without conforming to competitive trends. I'm not sure if Unsu will ever be my tokui kata again, but I'll certainly update you on my developments in the coming months. My target with Unsu is to execute it in a manner which exhibits its functional applications (relevant/catered to my personal style and physique), whilst conforming to the classical JKA fundamentals.

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

Karate-Do for Social Education

I still believe that Karate-Do keiko (training) fosters many positive attributes in young people, which are seriously lacking nowadays. Qualities such as humility, determination, etiquette, physical and mental awareness, focus/concentration, and even empathy. Of course this is only possible if training is conducted in a very serious manner.

When I say ‘serious’ I do not necessarily mean ‘brutal’ sessions, although I admittedly like this type of practice in my self-training, but rather keiko where concentration (mental discipline) is rigorously maintained for progressively longer periods of time. Naturally, in addition to these points, the traditional rules of etiquette must also be made clear, and enforced at all times. This type of karate club ‘brings out’ karate-do in its members, and clearly nothing else will suffice in regards to group training. In addition to the comments I’ve made thus far, it’s important to note that the instructor must be a model of these qualities without exception. They must also train more regimentally than the pupils in their respective dojo, and this must be seen each and every time he or she teaches. This modelling is not just ‘another way’, it is ‘the only way’... Karate-do keiko is physical in nature and must always be so, however, the mind/’spirit’ must be first priority.

The major problem with this is when ‘spirit overtakes technique’, when in actuality it must continually produce higher level technique within the karateka. The heart of this ‘spirit’ is having no lapses in concentration/awareness, thus allowing the karateka to discover and eradicate any errors or weak points. Any such lapse is indicative of the mind going into autopilot, which makes training no more 'mentally productive' than a couch potato staring at a TV. Naturally no one gets this 100% right every moment, but we must seek to progressively improve this ‘spiritual’ aspect of karate every time we practice. This discipline most certainly results in higher mental power and increased self-esteem. It literally is an understatement to say that this 'driving force' is lacking in modern society, especially amongst the youth.

What I am trying to say is that technique is a means of improving mental power/inner strength, and commonsense establishes that this strength transcends physical power. If more young people harnessed this power (which they all have) I believe we would see a colossal decrease in youth suicide, crime, and children failing at school. Much of these things occur because of children having no self-esteem, and this comes from not having a strong spirit (determination to keep going regardless of hardship and/or opposition). Let's face it, First World countries are producing 'quiters'.

Does modern education achieve address these needs? Well obviously not! I’m not implying that this is the fault of educators, but rather modern sociological issues, namely a decrease in fundamental discipline (due to bureaucratic wimps), increased acceptance of immorality, and modern life in general. Sadly, the majority of karate clubs are no better as they are conforming to modern social trends in order to recruit more students, and to retain existing ones. Such clubs are disgraceful, and in many cases have paid affiliations to Japanese organizations pretending to be traditional karate-do. I sadly saw this happen in my home country.

Karate if taught correctly can be a means of character development as mentioned above, but razor edged technique is the means by which this is achieved. Of course technique can be developed independently from mental/spiritual training; however this is not Karate-Do. If the mind is trained diligently, through vigorous practice (physical and mental concentration/awareness), technique will also develop. As Asai Tetsuhiko Sensei said when talking about this topic "this can only happen in a constantly pressurized environment of dire seriousness". Karate clubs that follow this way will always be small in numbers, but will produce students who are highly productive members of society. This is Karate-Do, and this is how Karate-Do can be an effective means of social education.

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

HANAMI

Hanami (花見, flower viewing) is the traditional Japanese custom of 'enjoying the beauty of flowers', namely sakura or cherry blossoms. Usually around April, when the flowers are in full bloom, people have picnics, drinking ample amounts of alcoholic beveridges, under the beautiful sakura trees.

Having experienced this wonderful custom many times here in Japan, I thought I'd share some pictures with you from our Hanami and Yozakura (night sakura) parties.

To all my students, friends, family and supporters of this website all around the world, again, thank you all very much! Stay tuned as more karate-do articles are on the way!

Kindest regards and a big 'KAMPAI' from Kyushu, Japan.
Andre

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

ONE YEAR IN JAPAN TODAY

How many people can come here and train karate pretty much every day for a year? Not to mention come to Japan consistently through their teens, 20’s and 30’s, to learn traditional Shotokan properly? I’m certainly not boasting this experience, but rather trying to express how fortunate I’ve been in my life, and still am.

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If there is one thing I can be proud of as a kiwi, it is not accepting the crap which is called Shotokan back in New Zealand, and always coming to the source to learn the art correctly (http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2008/03/shotokan-karate-do-narrow-river.html).

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I truly cannot believe that a year has already passed since arriving back in Japan... But looking at how far my karate technique has come, it more than confirms that time. My only personal goal is that I continue to develop my skills at the same pace over the next 12 months. This depends on my ability to maintain shoshin wasuru bekarazu (http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2008/03/shoshin-wasuru-bekarazu.html), which has been another driving force bringing me to Japan for so many years.

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Thanks to my family, friends, students and supporters of this blog from around the world. Domo arigato gozaimasu!

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OSU!

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

Shotokan Karate-Do: The narrow river

Shotokan is too narrow of a river to have major technical errors within its kihon. There are no excuses for such mistakes, only incompetent instructors, and the commercialization of Japanese Shotokan karate organizations (at the expense of maintaining the most ‘minimal standards'). When the fundamental 'engines' of Shotokan karate are not included, or seriously flawed, one merely has a thin shell. Sadly this thin shell, in exchange for cash, is now given affiliations and Dan ranks from Japan. Clearly this situation is a result of Japanese karate organizations competing for foreign money.

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A technical example of incorrect tuition/execution of the ‘core basics’:
In an attempt to supposedly 'look impressive' many Shotokan students make their stances too long disabling their hips to work fully (properly), and also at the expense of their rear leg/foot. This is a very quick way to see if the practitioner has been taught properly and/or physically understands even 'green belt level karate'. This is not a technical point which varies (a stylistic variation) between individuals/clubs/organizations... It is either RIGHT OR WRONG! In many cases people having shodan, nidan, sandan, yondan, and even higher black belt grades teach and do these 'essentials' incorrectly!

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Without going into other areas such as weight distribution, posture and so forth, I can sadly say that "too many Shotokan instructors, and those with high dan in the West (certainly back in New Zealand), cannot teach/execute Shotokan to save themselves". Bottom line, they don't know what the hell they are doing and are teaching rubbish. The funniest thing to see is ‘authorized posed photos' in magazines and on the internet of senior instructors with hips/legs not even in a proper shomen position. Or, the incorrect positioning of their feet, knees, thighs etc... How is this possible when Shotokan is such a narrow field of study? Well, that is easy to answer, there are too many people running clubs who don't really understand Shotokan as they never learned the fundamentals correctly... They just want to run a club (be the boss, and 'karate master') in their local community and call themselves the 'chief instructor'. Such clubs in New Zealand would access my tuition (I was flown across the country to teach courses) and completely misquote me in their local newspapers for self-promotion. Everything based on brand labels and image (attaching themselves to real karateka, the name 'Shotokan', and paying organizations), with no technical depth (or desire to learn & perfect real karate/'technical depth') whatsoever.

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Shotokan karate is such narrow and deep river, so without depth, it really has nothing. It reminds me of a saying I’ve heard several times here in Japan; “there is no worse karate than bad Shotokan”. Clearly this is because of Shotokan’s simplicity, and therefore, requirement of extreme technical exactness.

The amount of people advertising ‘Shotokan’ and Japanese organizational brand labels no longer guarantees proper training anymore, let alone ‘quality’ training. This issue has increased massively as in recent years 'anyone' can just pay a Japanese Shotokan organisation, and call themselves 'traditional'. The best way is to visit and watch the chief instructor of a particular dojo teach, and watch the way 'they move'. Better still, ask them to demonstrate some basic techniques and a kata. If they are keen to do this, and blow you away with their skill (and obvious ability to utilize their skills effectively in a real situation; The 'I'd hate to meet you a dark alley' impression), you pretty much know you have the 'real deal'.

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Always remember: 'Shotokan Karate-Do is a narrow and DEEP RIVER'. Without its depth, it has nothing.

OSU, André
© André Bertel, Japan 2008

Asai Sensei and Yahara Sensei

Like Asai Sensei, Yahara Sensei’s karate is ‘pure’ bujutsu (martial art), and clearly this is a dying breed in the karate world. It goes without saying, only karate taught and practiced/trained in this way, is REAL KARATE!

Yahara Sensei was Asai Sensei’s right hand man for many years (and even became second in charge/‘Assistant Chief Instructor’ of the Japan Karate Association). Not to mention, both men were born and grew up in Ehime, Shikoku.

Although Yahara Sensei has evolved and developed his own unique karate (as all elite experts do), you can really see the influence of Asai Sensei in his technique, in particular, his spinning and reverse rotational techniques; aggressive ‘leaping attacks’, and techniques from the ground. Both have a style of unpredictability with techniques potentially coming from anywhere. All in all, an extremely aggressive style of karate focused on ‘attack and finish’. I also believe that Yahara Sensei improved upon the hip action that the JKA advocated, and also radically enhanced 'contraction/expansion'.

Based on this 'style', 'bujutsu philosophy' and their extensive 'personal history' (Yahara Sensei by far has the longest history alongside Asai Sensei), there is no denying that Yahara Sensei is a crucial figure in the development of Asai style karate.

The photos on this post (of Asai Sensei and Yahara sensei doing kumite) are from the 1978 publication ‘Jitsugi Karatedo’ (for more info on these books; click here: http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2008/02/asai-senseis-books.html).

OSU, André

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

The 'Pinak Kata' Dogi

I just received my new custom made do-gi and silk kuro-obi.

I was recommended to try Hirota’s very latest karate uniform, the 'Pinak Kata'. I certainly do not regret trying this dogi, as it is the most comfortable I’ve ever worn.

I changed my measurements this time (longer arms and legs) and more space for freer movement. All in all, I never buy dogi for ‘snap’ or special effects, like many kata competitors do. I primarily buy for comfort and how the uniform sits on my body (i.e. – does not distort my stances and techniques). Essentially I want a karate uniform which shows my exact body form, both mistakes and areas of excellence (if there are any). Obviously hiding mistakes and/or good points does not assist in my technical growth, so the 'right' dogi is a must!

Based on my requirements the Pinak Kata easily gets five stars from me.

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

Japan - The Land of the Rising Sun

Welcome to my blog, if it is your first time here. Also a warm welcome to the many frequent visitors.

On March 26th we will have been back in Japan for one year, so we decided to start the month by visiting Matama (Bungo Takada) where it is proclaimed 'has the best view of the sun in Japan'. As everyone knows, Nippon/Nihon/日本 literally translates as 'the origin of the sun' (more commonly referred to as 'the Land of the Rising Sun'). Anyway, I hope you enjoy a few of the sunset photos I took today.

This new month, and particularly on the March 26th, marks another year of intensive karate training in Japan for me. This training has been essential, over the years, for my Shotokan. Namely to maximise my own potential, and to offer the very best (correct) technical tuition to my students. From this, my long-time senior students have particularly benefitted, and now have found their own 'way' in karate. This gives me great satisfaction as a karate teacher. That is, some of my senior students are now actually my 'karate collegues'.

Each day the sun sets, we end another day of our lives and our karate training. And at sun rise, we have the opportunity to begin again (with a 'Beginners Mind' or 'Shoshin'), aiming to further refine our waza. If serious about karate-do, we must maximise this opportunity or 'chance', while we still have it.

Yours in Karate-Do, OSU!
André Bertel

© André Bertel, Japan 2008

Nito oumono wa itto omo ezu

二

兎

追

う

者

は

一

兎

を

も

得

ず

"If you run after two hares, you will catch neither".

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THE SENTEI KATA

Presently I'm paying close attention to the Sentei kata (assigned forms) and their respective applications. And as always, what a collossal task this is! My technical focus has been once again to maintain 'standard' kihon technique (outward form), whilst utilizing Asai Sensei's principles in my movement (use of power/internal form - 'the edge'). Of course on top of this, there is also 'Andre style Shotokan', or my indivdual flavour, as Sensei always encouraged.

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How many hares am I chasing?

In addition to the four sentei kata (Bassai-dai, Kanku-dai, Enpi and Jion), I'm also working on Tekki-shodan. You may be saying to yourself now "hey, that's five hares", however, I am merely doing one kata per day, then blasting them all out on Sunday. So really speaking, I'm trying to catch one rabbit each day... With Sunday being the day I try to catch all five at once! [An assessment, and/or 'review' of the weeks study, if you like.]

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So what has been the result of my training? Well, as always it has been yet another really humbling experience. I KNOW NOTHING... I'm really just a beginner in karate, and need to keep seeking higher level technique. In saying that, this certainly spurs me on! The glitches I've found have given me my targets for 'at least' the next five days of practice (I have Tuesday off so that takes me back to Sunday).

Some personal advice: Whatever you are doing in karate, try not to divide your attention in training sessions. Catch one hare at a time! Chasing two never works, and even if it does, it results in mediocracy. This may take some self-discipline, but will reap great rewards (if your training reinforces exact JKA style kihon).

"... if you can't do a great Bassai, Kanku, Enpi and Jion, throw your black belt in the rubbish". - Asai Tetsuhiko (when Technical Director at the Japan Karate Association).

© André Bertel, Japan 2008