Changing lives with Cricket.

Martial arts are often seen as sports for hard people who like to fight. Or sporty people who want to express themselves physically. But there is another side to martial arts and that is the intriguing philosophy underpinning the external manifestation. This philosophy often contains elements which help in forging character and development of the self. I'm sure that Funakoshi used this in licking young ne'er do wells into shape physically and mentally. Doshin So certainly used martial arts as a tool for forming people into socially responsible individuals.

But this is unique to martial arts owing to its philosophy and grounding in Buddhism which has important self-development doctrines, right?

Not quite. A cricket team in LA, USA, is using cricket as a vehicle to clean up gangster neighbourhoods. Established 15 years ago it is captained by a homeless activist, Ted Hayes, who feels that cricket has lessons for life which can show gangsters that there are other ways to live their lives.

Mr Hayes says, "We were... successful at teaching the homeless guys civility through the game".

Marvellous.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12382224

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton_Cricket_Club

The most beautiful samu I've ever seen

I was careful to say *I*'ve ever seen as, if you look closely at the photo, you'll see that these diligent karateka are in fact my children and therefore this is special to me...

The act of cleaning the hall before training is a great way to make sure everything is clean and tidy and hopefully reducing the likelihood of splinters or at the very least making for a more pleasant experience. We don't have a dedicated martial arts hall so this is fairly necessary - I was scolded after one week's lesson when we hadn't been able to sweep the floor and had done some floor exercises and everybody's white do bohk's were filthy! But to be honest the kids love doing samu. And so do I!

I like the idea of devoting some time to cleansing (nurturing) the place where we'll train. It's almost a pre-training meditation. After all you're lost in the act of cleaning and making sure the floor is free from splinters or miscellaneous objects which may injure (in the past I've found-as I'm sure others have- thumb tacks on the floor, paper clips and small lego blocks which are REALLY painful underfoot!...). Of course this time can only be achieved if you turn up nice and early without being rushed-that's what I like. It may be considered a calm before the storm (especially when I'm teaching the little ones!) but I do have a job getting the brooms off the little ones who love to do it partly to play with the brooms and partly they like to help dad out.

I don't think they should do it out of obligation to me, but one day they'll see that it's nice to do it for their own benefit and for that of the others they train with. Doing this simple chore puts us against ideas of servitude if we're not careful. It's not only about serving others (although the word samu may allude to this) it's about working through a concept of diligent application for each and every one of ourselves.

This cleansing ritual is very useful. My opinion is that it's about helping others through a simple task as well as helping ourselves through applied and continued service to the hall and our co-students. This helps us retain a sense of ourselves-we're a member of a club: black belts masters, 6th gup all perform cleaning tasks. This helps us all see that we work together to help each other grow through martial arts.

Fed up again!

Maybe it was because Monday was such a beautiful, balmy evening and as I cycled to Shorinji Kempo I had a marvellous desire to sit on Parker's Piece and gaze up at the sky. For hours. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Either way I struggled to get myself to training. Why was I here?

Once I was there things warmed up slowly. Nicely, but slowly. It was only at the howa (or philosophy period) that I really saw why I was there. Sensei DD spoke about 'go ju ittai' - hard and soft make one whole. This really struck me as great: how wonderful to be studying this hard/soft style using blocks, punches, locks, grabs, throws, evasion, Zen philosophy, healing massage all with the aim of personal development.

More on go ju ittai:

http://www.shorinjikempo.or.jp/en/about/impress.html

(See number 5)

Cantona's way

Taken from Ken Loach's new film Looking for Eric, out on 12th June.

"If they are faster than you, don't try to outrun them. If they are taller, don't outjump them. If they are stronger on the left, you go right. But not always. Remember, to suprise them, you've got to surprise yourself first." (Tongue in cheek?)

From Guardian article, 9th May, 2009.

Age is a number...

...not a fitness index.

Seb Coe and Gary Lineker featured on the Today programme this morning (Click here to open an audio file of the feature) speaking about age in sporting achievements. This was all prompted by the fact that Steve Davis is competing at the crucible in the World Snooker Championships. Don't get me wrong: watching snooker is as dull as ditch water BUT the question remains-is Steve Davis, at 51, past it? Well he certainly hasn't won the championship in quite some time (World championship since the eighties and other major events since the nineties) and as Lineker points out in this radio piece Davis' eyesight may not be what it was and his nerves might get to him more nowadays!

Coe (someone I see as being intensely competitive and who in a recent interview said that during his training schedule one Christmas Day the mere thought of his rival *potentially* training a second time that day forced him back out on the track) was a little more philosophical about age: Age is a number, not a fitness index. Mental attitude and determination can get us a long way.

Lineker however moves in for the coup de grace and points out that most professional (association) footballers and rugby footballers performances decline after the age of 30. You can't cheat the ageing process!

He's right of course: our physical abilities do tend to decline at about that age and if we're not a professional footballer by then, well there's always snooker. However...I did meet a Tang Soo Do practitioner in his seventies who assured me that building up the muscles around the knee help protect it from the ravages of age. And there is always mental attitude. Check out Michele's blog about a spunky septuagenarian!

Martial artists' physique may decline with age but their experience increases and experience counts for a lot. Knowing the techniques intimately helps you naturally flow through moves and counters as your body has already 'memorised' these structures. As long as your memory is ok...! Check out Dan's blog here showing technique in an older martial artist.

But hey, even if you don't like snooker you can always take up something sedate like Tai Chi for example. Right?...er... Right?

The budo charter

I bought an Ozzy Osborne CD the other day and immediately put on Crazy Train. Reminds me of my youth when I'd listen to lots of heavy metal. Smashing. You don't half get the hoovernig done quicker with rock music playing! This particular CD was Ozzy Osborne Live at the Budokan. Hmmm. Budo kan. I'll have to google that. There's not much in English out there apart from a wikipedia entry telling of how the hall was built for the 1964 Olympics but is now mostly known for concerts such as Ozzy's. When I further googled Budokan English pages I came up with this: The Budo charter...

http://www.nipponbudokan.or.jp/shinkoujigyou/budochater.html 

Call me naive (actually I'd rather you didn't) but I didn't realise that there was a budo charter covering Japanese budo (of which Shorinji Kempo is one). I often study the philosophy of shorinji kempo and it covers much of what is laid out in the charter below but this idea of promoting an overall vision for Japanese budo was new to me. It's quite a unifying feeling that I can sit next to a Judoka and feel as if, through different techniques, we have underlying broad goals.

The Japanese Budo Association (Nippon  Budo Kyogikai) states in its preamble to the charter, "a recent trend towards infatuation just with technical ability compounded by an excessive concern with winning is a severe threat to the essence of budo".  This charter seems to bring the idea of character building through physical training into a global vision.

Check it out and see if this fits in with your training pattern- or not.

ARTICLE 1：OBJECTIVE OF BUDO

Through physical and mental training in the Japanese martial ways, budo exponents seek to build their character, enhance their sense of judgement, and become disciplined individuals capable of making contributions to society at large.

ARTICLE 2：KEIKO (Training)

When training in budo , practitioners must always act with respect and courtesy, adhere to the prescribed fundamentals of the art, and resist the temptation to pursue mere technical skill rather than strive towards the perfect unity of mind, body, and technique.

ARTICLE 3：SHIAI (Competition)

Whether competing in a match or doing set forms (kata), exponents must externalise the spirit underlying budo. They must do their best at all times, winning with modesty, accepting defeat gracefully, and constantly exhibiting self-control.

ARTICLE 4：DOJO (Training Hall)

The dojo is a special place for training the mind and body. In the dojo, budo practitioners must maintain discipline, and show proper courtesies and respect. 

The dojo should be a quiet, clean, safe, and solemn environment.

ARTICLE 5：TEACHING

Teachers of budo should always encourage others to also strive to better themselves and diligently train their minds and bodies, while continuing to further their understanding of the technical principles of budo. Teachers should not allow focus to be put on winning or losing in competition, or on technical ability alone. Above all, teachers have a responsibility to set an example as role models.

ARTICLE 6：PROMOTING 

Persons promoting budo must maintain an open-minded and international perspective as they uphold traditional values. They should make efforts to contribute to research and teaching, and do their utmost to advance budo in every way.

Good intentions

Go check out Conskeptical's article about intentions in everyday life. 

Or getting more done with less effort.

Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bardo.

http://tumble.conskeptical.net/post/89192152/intentionality-in-everyday-living

Do raku

I like to think. It's what distinguishes us from animals (as well as recreational sex...and then again dolphins do that apparently!) and I like to think. That's why I've got the blog on the go. To think and analyse my way through the martial arts and to make it more worthwhile. Maybe I think a bit too much though and as I was flicking through a French kendo book I found this interesting and striking quote:

"L'aspect du kendo, vecu comme une discipline de vie...ne doit pas faire oublier que, comme l'indique la sentence 'Joue sur la voie' le fait de pratiquer le kendo doit etre vecu comme un jeu intense, joyeux." Decouvrir le Kendo, Cl. Hamout, K. Yoshimura.

[Kendo is a life discipline but it is also, as indicated by "do raku" (enjoyment on your way), to be experienced as intense, joyous play.]

Maybe I think too much and work at it too hard and forget to enjoy it. The martial way is a discipline and for many has to be worked at constantly but it should also be enjoyed intensely.

Enjoy yourself on your way.

Pyrrhic victory

A Pyrrhic victory is a hollow one. One which is gained at such a great cost that the original victory's value is debased. King Pyrrhus of Epirus (an area of Greece) won a major battle against the Romans during the Pyrrhic War of 280-275 BC but his losses were so great it prompted the king to bemoan that another such victory, "and we are undone".

Another way to say this might be that we should choose our battles in life. I've been thinking of this recently as I've always had to battle with my rising anger. I don't think I'm an angry person but every now and then, and I suppose it's inevitable, ire swells within me and I feel miffed off by something. Occasionally I can rationalise that I'm in a bad mood for some other reason and that the immediate source of my anger is not the reason why I'm angry, so I can swallow it. It's no big deal- the kids wind me up but I'm tired and grumpy anyway and as long as I understand this I can rationalise and move away. But occasionally some guy cuts me up in traffic and I feel real hurt! Flushed with rage I think about what I'd do to him but this helps nobody- I just end up simmering for ages. I need to get rid of that feeling rather than hold on to it. It happens. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose the battle with the black dog (Churchill called his depression 'black dog').

I sometimes excuse myself based on the curse of being a man (!)....you've guessed it: testosterone! Testosterone levels in men change throughout the day and I like to blame the 'ready-to-rut' levels:

"T levels fluctuate wildly. If you were to measure your Testosterone levels throughout the day, you'd likely be amazed. One minute you have the hormonal profile of a hyper-muscular bull ready to "fertilize" an entire herd of cattle… and the next minute your blood profile is that of a fully menstruating Martha Stewart intent on color coordinating your powder room."

But I'm a man, not a bull. I need to know myself and know that I'm not going to fly off the handle at short notice EVEN when I'm pumped full of testosterone :-)

This article was highlighted by Dan Praeder in his blog Martial Arts and Modern Life and is a great example of choosing the 'third way'. Nice story about how a Tai Chi master overcomes his base urges and dissipates a potentially aggressive situation.

Pay It Backwards: An Act Of Coffee Kindness by Arthur Rosenfeld.

Neil Adams, Putin and Judo

Broadcast on radio4 on 9th January 2009 at 11am.

Well sadly, this show is one of the very few that can't be listened to again on the BBC website. Tcha!

I only heard half of it too! What I heard of it I enjoyed: Mr Adams made a well structured plan of what he wanted to do: travel to Moscow to see how Judo is taught there in order to help him set up a dedicated facility on Wales to cater for judo which Mr Adams deems essential for the sport.

As a sideline he wanted to meet one of Russia's famous judo exponents and also one reason for the resurgence of the sport in that country, non other than Vladimir Putin. The first part of the programme (the bit that I caught) had an interview with Mr Adams and a biographer of Putin who outlined how he thought judo had an impact on Putin's character (he derived this through interviews with the Russian leader). He spoke of the fact that Putin is small and in judo needs to use canny thinking and intelligent use of levers to win matches, not brute force. The biographer then went on to draw parallels with the Georgia incursion which I thought weird as this seemed rather heavy-handed to me! I guess it depends on whether you think the Georgian conflict was staged by the US as Putin himself claims.

I digress. The radio show sounded great, apart from some cheesily voiced Kano quotes, and I'm sad to have missed the end. I met Neil Adams some time ago at a Judo workshop where I was demo-ing Tang Soo Do for some school children. I was pleased to be able to join in with some of the sessions and was tutored a little by him. I remember seeing his feet and being struck by how much I thought that they seemed articulated like hands! they could move in lots of different ways that my feet couldn't begin to try. Natural I suppose from a Judo Olympian. He seemed friendly and approachable but a little detached after he'd finished teaching. He did join in with our breaking demo (the kids always love some flying side kick breaks) and that was good of him. 

Good luck Neil Adams with the dedicated facility and good luck Wales!

Pob Iwc!

It was simply-myself.

"What I saw wasn't a ghost. It was simply-myself. I can never forget how terrified I was that night, and whenever I remember it, this thought always springs to mind: that the most frightening  thing in the world is our own self. What do you think?"

The Mirror by Haruki Murakami from Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.

Translated by Philip Gabriel.

What remains...

"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."

B.F. Skinner

This makes me think of Picasso-somebody who mastered the rules, then forgot them.

Most people think of Picasso's paintings as being of the abstract or cubist variety. His politically charged and poignant Bombing of Guernica is a fine example of his analytical and cubist style which he, along with Georges Braque, pioneered and for which he is well known. What some people fail to understand is that in his early life he was an exquisite realistic painter, mostly leaning towards neo-classicism which was popular at the time. At the age of 15 he painted the incredibly life-like 'First Communion' (1895/96) which prompted his own father (and teacher) to give his son his own palette and brushes and vow never to paint again! 

Although Picasso may be known for his fantastic and innovative cubist work and possibly later in his life for his whacky neo-expressionist work it can't be forgotten that this guy was an innovator and art pioneer who had gone through the process of learning the rules-mastering them even so as to be able to (at a very early age) create paintings with almost photographic detail and then pushed through those rules, burning them up forming new styles, new adventures in art.

Sound familiar? It should. Martial artists do similar things. Learn the rules-practice hard and do the basics well. Then get your black belt. It's after this we can start pushing boundaries, looking at other styles (if that's what takes your fancy) or just looking deeper into your own style and making it your own. We might not end up being a Martial Arts Picasso but at the very least we should, just like him, learn the basics thoroughly in order to master them. It's then that our true journey of discovery begins. (See also this article about black belt being merely the introduction...)

Winter

If, like me, you're huddled up inside with the rain and the wind sweeping down outside wishing it were the summer, why not swing by Dojo Rat and think of it in a different way.

It's all part of the big cycle of life: the hibernation, slowing down and growing fat stage followed by the anticipation and joy of the coming spring. Just like themes within Carmina Burana.... 

Don't know Carmina Burana? I bet you do....

Happy breathing.

It's difficult to put my finger on really. I mean, why do we train? Why do we endure difficulties and hardships in order to exercise within our chosen art? Is it so we can put a black belt on one day? Well, I can buy a black belt from a martial arts shop anyday so I think it's deeper than that. I do know people who attained black belt and then, rather than seeing this as the start of an amazing journey, simply left the platform and headed home, never to be seen again. They'd achieved all they needed to.

It's in my fibres though. When I don't train I get itchy. I pace like a caged animal. The energy needs to be expended. But again, there is more to it than making myself out of breath. I can do that by taking up smoking, surely. We go back to the dojo week in and week out as if there was an obligation or something drawing us there. Something about repeating well trodden systems of punches and kicks, repeating these over and over again striving for the perfect technique. Knowing we'll never attain it brings us back even keener to learn because this is a process- a way of learning and feeding your body and mind. What is important is how we as martial artists deal with this process and how this comes into our lives on a daily basis. I read a story about someone who was asked at a grading how often they had had to use their martial arts skills outside of the dojo. Never they replied to which the instructor replied that martial skills should be used on a daily basis. Of course he didn't mean kicks and punches and self defence. He meant that the attitude that we craft and the outlook we aspire to when practicing our techniques should be with us always- in our work and play and maybe even when we're at rest. When we're resting we can visualise our desired successes or play through conflicts we have at work and figure out the best way forward in the safety of our mind-dojo, or maybe we can simply breathe deeply. Breathing deeply is something we've hopefully all benefited from in our training.

Happy breathing.

A Personal Path

Everyone's path in life is different. But if you check out Shane Thomas' brilliant blog about why he studies martial arts you're bound to get some useful insights, reflections or comparisons on your own path:
http://blog.kyokushinbudokai.org/2005/05/why-part-i.html
It's well written and very engaging.

Shane is a Kyokushin Budokai practitioner and he has published a downloadable insight (in fact a beginner's guide) to Kyokushin Karate which not only covers techniques and kata but some well crafted history notes to karate, jui jitsu and judo. You can download it here:
http://www.kyokushinbudokai.org/

Good martial reading to broaden one's knowledge.

Thanks Shane.

Following the difficult path

I find it hard to be told what to do. My daughters would probably find that a bit rich as I dish it to them (but they are under 6!), but I think it's hard for most people to accept criticism or a comment which flatly tells them: you are wrong!

I was faced with this is in iaido training this week. A sensei pointed out (in a very pleasant way I must stress) that what I was doing was fundamentally wrong. As I have already mentioned this smarted a little, but I embraced it. I had to! I knew if I was to get better: if my technique was to improve I had to heed sensei ("one who has gone/lived before". The term seems extremely well placed here. The implication is that this person has been there, done it, fallen over, got back up again and been allowed to wear the t-shirt). So I listen to these guys: they have a lot to say which I can learn from!

This also has implications for life in general. As a young man I tended towards the path of least resistance. I studied hard, don't get me wrong! Got good grades, future was bright and I'm content in my place. But frankly if it was a bit too difficult I'd find a shortcut. Or a way out, or do it, but not quite fully. But I know that if I don't do it properly it'll come back and bite me later. Maybe I'll have to redo it again (properly!) or in not choosing the hard path I won't have learned! So this may seem abstract but if I give you a couple of examples, it may be clearer what I mean....

I enjoy cycling home and sometimes my route takes me either up a hill or round the back. I usually end up slogging up the hill because I know it'll help my conditioning, make me sweat (and if nothing else feel virtuous! :-) It makes me stronger thanks to that little bit of effort! And I feel good after doing it. If the job is worth doing- it's worth doing properly!

Of course there is a counterpoint to this: why stand up when you can sit down? And yes of course efficiency of movement is essential in the martial arts. In an ever developing and inquisitive mind, though I find it helps to push myself in order to improve within training. Ask those difficult and embarrassing questions because if I don't....I'll never know the answer! Push myself a bit harder because if I don't, my technique will never improve. If you feel tired and want to sit down for a cuppa, do 5 more repetitions and see how it makes a difference!