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THE
TRIANGLE
You
need all three to complete the circle
As a martial art
Shotokan karate has few peers.
At the core of this
style of karate lies a specific concept that is best
expressed in the words of the Founder of Shotokan karate,
Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, and they were, "karate ni
sente nashi" or "there is no first strike in
karate".
Shotokan karate is,
therefore, in essence, a system of self defence that
predisposes that the best course of action is a defensive
one backed up when necessary by a very long list of
powerful offensive techniques. This underlying belief is
visible in all of the katas practiced within the Shotokan
karate system, in that each kata regardless of it's
seniority or complexity, begins with a defensive
technique, thereby remaining true to the concept of
"no first strike".
But what if there
were no battles to fight? No need for offensive
techniques? What if the whole world and all of mankind
was at peace, what then? Would Shotokan or any other
style of karate still be worth training?
In truth most
quarrels would never degenerate into physical
confrontation if both sides kept mutual courtesy and
respect at the fore front of their agenda, but as history
has shown us these two values are usually amongst the
first casualties of any disagreement, followed very
closely by a total lack of self discipline.
Would the world be
free of conflict if everyone was a student of Shotokan
karate, a nice thought, but not likely. Human nature
being what it is, and man's deep seeded desire for
individual control of every thing around him, makes that
dream a fairy tale. In truth man lacks the one thing he
needs to live in a peaceful world - total self discipline.
As long as emotions rule any agenda, and they usually do,
then self discipline will remain a lost cause.
So what is the
answer to the question I asked a moment ago, "what
if there were no battles to fight would Shotokan karate
still be worth training"?
For me the answer
is an unqualified, yes.
The reason is, and
I am speaking strictly for my self here, for me in the
end the real by-product of all my karate training has
been a personal journey of self improvement. It has never
been about being the fastest, the strongest, or the
flashiest, or even the best. I realized very early on in
my training that besides giving me skills that I could
not have obtained anywhere else, karate and all the
positive tenants that it espouses had slowly crept in and
effected every aspect of my life, and always in a
positive way.
What they say about
karate building a persons character is true, something
even Sensei Gichin Funakoshi believed to the point that
he engrained this very concept into his dojo kun stating,
"seek perfection of character". Today in a
modern world of fast everything, and a growing, "I
want it now" attitude amongst many young people, you
would think that there would be little room for an
ancient art form in which it takes most students years
just to begin to truly comprehend all of the basic
fundamentals.
Yet today Shotokan
karate is stronger than ever before.
Each day around the
world millions of students, young and old, proud and
meek, fit and not so fit, enter a dojo to train in
Shotokan karate. The reasons why they come to the dojo to
train is not so important. That they do come to train is
all that really matters. The goal of the Sensei then is
to not let the student down by failing to deliver what it
is they come for in the first place, even if they
themselves are not really sure what it is that keeps them
coming back to class again and again. Like a magician the
Sensei must always keep the students interested in what
is going on around them, entertaining them, teaching
them, and all the while pushing them to new physical and
mental limits that they would never ever reach on their
own. If the Sensei can do that, if he can hold their
interest and keep them training long enough, they just
may make sufficient headway through Shotokan's labyrinth
to finally see some "light at the end of the tunnel"
and in time ultimately walk into that light and find that
they are forever changed for the better, just for having
made the journey.
To do this,
however, they must at some point in their journey down
the karate road first embrace what I call the "triangle".
The triangle as the
name implies is comprised of three parts and in a
specific order.
They are:
Your
physical self
So where does one
start. How do we go about making ourselves better
students and better people through karate.
The first step is
to start by training the body to accept the rigors of the
art by strengthening and toughening the body through the
use of good basic techniques. These are for both the
upper and lower body and comprise amongst other things,
low stances, strong blocks, a wide variety of kicks, and
several different and powerful methods of striking with
both open, and closed hands. Continual progress in this
part of your karate training can only be achieved by
attending class on a regular basis. At least three nights
a week, any less and you will be hard pressed to hang on
to what you have already been taught, let alone progress
any further or with any reasonable expectation of success.
You can, and
should, expect the training to be physically demanding at
times, since practice drills up and down the dojo floor
can cause even the strongest person in the dojo to look
at their physical capacity in a new light. And there are
times when you will be pushed even to the point of
considering quitting. But you must not. You must
percevier. If you do then each class will only make you
stronger, and if you stay with Shotokan karate long
enough you will start to find that while the defensive
and offensive techniques are obviously a vital part this
martial art, they will in fact begin to take a back seat
to other aspects of your training.
Your
mental self
As in life,
everything you do in karate should be based on a desire
to grow and develop in a positive manner.
In this a good
Sensei and a good dojo will prove invaluable. None of us
can grow without good leadership, positive direction,
good companionship, and yes at times even harsh
constructive criticism. All throughout our lives it is
natural for us as human beings to look to others to
evaluate our progress, and to advise us on the best
course of action, always bearing in mind our ultimate
goal amongst other things must always be self improvement.
None of us is perfect. Our flaws are both natural as well
as self made. But what you must remember is that
perfection of character has little to do with just
physical ability. Not all students are physically gifted.
Yet often a student who finds themselves behind other
students in style and technique, may find that they are
well ahead of their peers in other things that are
equally important, such as self discipline and mental
toughness.
The next step in
the triangle, therefore, is to use the drive and
determination that you have developed through this
physical process to help you create a strong, positive
mental attitude. To recognize that the body alone can not
make a technique work. In karate as in many other things,
it takes a body and a mind working in perfect harmony to
perform any task or technique as it was meant to be
properly done. But how do you train the mind? It takes a
two stages. The first is a willingness to do the work
that is asked of you in class, that is the easy part. The
second, and most difficult part is a willingness to
suffer for five seconds longer, three seconds longer, one
second longer, than you ever thought you possibly could,
when at that moment in time all you want to do is stand
up and give your legs a rest, or drop your arms because
your shoulders are killing you. In those five, three, or
even one second your mind grows in strength and with it
so does your physical abilities. Trust me it is a lot
harder than it sounds.
Your
spiritual self
And lastly we come
to your spirit.
Both of the
previous requirements pale beside the need for a strong
spirit. It has been said that when the body fails, the
mind takes over, and when the mind fails, the spirit
takes over. In karate this is indeed the truth. The
spirit that an individual student or group of students
put into their basics, their kata, and especially their
grading, will count for far more than everything else.
Techniques may grow
tired, the mind may wander, and both of these things can
be overlooked and even forgiven, but if everything you do
does not include a strong spirit, then you have already
failed. Remember, any effort that lacks true spirit when
it is called for, is in reality a waste of everything. So
go to class often, train hard, sweat, kiai, punch, kick,
even scream if you like, but always pack your spirit in
your gi bag when leave home, and never, ever, be the
first person in class to give up on what you are doing,
or on yourself.
Success in karate
and in life is never guaranteed to anyone, but if you
have all three points of the triangle working for you in
harmony then I am willing to bet that your chances are
far greater than they would be if you only had two out of
three.
Remember
In
karate-do nothing comes to he who waits,
but
nothing is with held from those who pratice.
Part
the clouds - see the way.
"The
objective of karate-do is to contribute to the evolution
of
the human spirit through physical and mental training."
Sensei
Peter Lindsay
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