IOGKF Magazine December 2014

WHAT’S BIG IN IOGKF MAGAZINE
Message from Sensei
Tetsuji Nakamura
IOGKF World Chief Instructor
The Garden Dojo of
Chojun Miyagi
Goju-ryu Origins
50 years of Excellence
Sensei Pervez Mistry Celebrates
Executive Committee
Getting to know our leaders
Interview with Sensei
Ernie Molyneux
Part 2 of ‘No stone unturned’
Women of Karate
Sensei Linda’s research
& MUCH MORE!!
WHAT FREE EXTRAS ARE ONLINE?
Everything in this
Magazine and with
videos and more!
Shudokan Videos
New videos from Nakamura
Sensei’s Honbu Dojo in Canada
Event Previews
European Gasshuku, MCF and India
New Video clips to
match articles
Event Reports and
more articles from
around the World!
& Much More!
During the last ten years, I have visited various countries around the globe in Asia,
Europe, Africa, Euro Asia, North and South America and the Oceania regions. I
was quite impressed by the level of Karate and their enthusiasm in each country.
Since Higaonna Sensei's first overseas trip to the USA in 1968 at the age of thirty
nine, he has travelled around the world to drop the seeds of this intangible culture
in many countries. After some forty years, now those seeds have grown into solid
trees and have spread their roots in each country's soil.
Sensei Bakkies (South Africa), Sensei Mistry (India), Sensei Lam (China) are all
celebrating their fiftieth anniversary of Karate training this year. EGKA (England)
just celebrated their 40th anniversary last October, so too will Sensei Henrik
(Denmark) for his forty years of karate training next year. Due to the hard work of
these senior instructors (and we have even more in our organization), the IOGKF
became the biggest and strongest traditional Okinawa Karate organization in the
world.
I have also seen quite a few young instructors in many countries who are training
hard and are committed to teaching traditional Okinawa Goju Ryu. I believe the
future of our organization is very bright.
Due to the purpose and character of our organization, we won't grow bigger overnight. We have to make sure that we keep the quality of our members. We should
grow slowly, but steadily, making sure that we teach our members the proper techniques and philosophy of Okinawa Goju Ryu as founded by Sensei Chojun Miyagi
and passed down to us through Sensei Morio Higaonna, and Sensei Anichi Miyagi
before him.
We are living in an internet age where people can get information straight away.
Anybody can see Higaonna Sensei's Kata and techniques on YouTube. There is a
lot of information about our style on the internet. We should use this technology
wisely. But not let this technology fool us. After all, if you don't actually train hard
under a good instructor, you won't improve. "Look! Listen! And Sweat!" This
phrase should still sound fresh to all of us.
I am looking forward to train with in the near future.
admin.office@iogkf.com
2014 International Gasshuku
This year’s Chief Instructors’ gasshuku is being hosted in
India along with an international gasshuku open to all ranks
and all ages. The registration is already open at:
http://www.ciigindia.com/
IOGKF International Events
There are so many opportunities to train with top IOGKF
instructors around the world. You can see what events are
listed at:
http://www.iogkf.com/events.html.
This site is updated several times through out the year, so
make a point of checking at least once a month for updates.
admin@australiakarate.com
Thank you
I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to this
edition of IOGKF Magazine. With every edition, we are
growing bigger and attracting more articles from across the
world. I would also like to thank those who have travelled to
perform research for articles at their own time, I really appreciate the efforts you’ve gone to bring such great information to IOGKF members.
I would especially like to thank Sensei Ciara McGrath from
England for all her help with the online component!
Submitting Articles & Online Newsletter
Any IOGKF member is welcome to submit an article on any subject for the online
IOGKF Newsletter and for consideration for publishing in IOGKF Magazines like
this one. One aspect that has dropped off since the beginning of the magazine is
the amount of country event reports we have received for the online newsletter. I
want to encourage anyone that hosts any type of IOGKF event to please submit
an event report for the IOGKF online Newsletter, so other countries can read
about your event, compare and strengthen their own IOGKF events.
The thought of training outside when it is raining and
cold, the idea of trying to slide barefoot on rough
ground and having to regularly work on maintaining
the condition of a garden probably are not the best
selling points for traditional Karate today. But before
the popularization of martial arts some 60 years ago
these were the day to day issues confronting those
who have come before us, including Goju-ryu
founder Sensei Chojun Miyagi.
Chojun Sensei did teach indoors on nice timber
floors at the Naha commercial High School and the
Naha Police academy, but a majority of his training
was conducted in his home and to be more precise,
in the yard along the side of his house.
Students would arrive early to training and do chores such as weeding the garden and lightly spraying water around to help keep the dust down during class.
Students would arrive for classes and most times they simply removed their
shirts and trained in pants there was no formal uniform.
Chojun Miyagi Sensei loved stones and large ones had been gathered and put
around the perimeter of the yard to form a boarder for the actual training area.
Chojun Sensei would often ask new students to move the heavy stones around
the yard, in a way that almost had no point, to test the student’s character to
determine if it was correct for Goju-ryu training.
No sign was hung of the fence outside as Chojun Sensei didn’t feel that the path
too traditional Karate was for everyone and no mirrors were allowed as he
believed the teacher should be the only reflection for the student to emulate.
How times have changed and how the training has not. But whatever came of
the garden dojo after the passing of Chojun Miyagi Sensei and when the seniors
who took over him moved on to their own locations?
On a nice Okinawan spring afternoon, Nakamura Sensei took a group of senior
instructors and I to see where Chojun Miyagi lived and trained so we could
produce this article for IOGKF members.
I was actually surprised to see how close it was to Higaonna Dojo in Makishi.
You could basically say Higaonna Sensei and Chojun Sensei share the same
neighbourhood. The house Chojun Miyagi lived in has since been removed and
a new one has been built in its spot. As is the custom in Japan, many families
live together for many years, with grandparents usually staying on and the
house or land is passed down through the generations. The Miyagi family still
live in same place today.
Chojun Sensei inside the Garden Dojo
Outside the Garden Dojo today
When you stand outside you can’t help but be humbled by to ordinary house
in the ordinary Okinawa street, where an extraordinary man created a martial
arts style practiced by over 75,000 people in over 55 different nations. We
actually nearly walked past the Miyagi home, it blended into the typical
Okinawan street that much.
Standing outside, the saying ‘if walls could talk’ came to mind. As we moved
around the side of the house, where the Dojo had once been, I thought about
the human marvels that had taken place over that wall. I looked down the
street and I could imagine a younger Chojun Sensei running down the street
bowling himself into the hard stone walls for conditioning. It was a strange
feeling, the same I felt standing outside Chojun Sensei’s gravesite. It is hard
to believe you are there and that you are where history literally took place.
This small place had seen the best of Gojuryu’s original senior students be trained and it
struck me even more when I pictured a young
Higaonna Sensei walking through the gate for
his first ever lesson, right before meeting Anichi
Sensei for the first time. This is really where it
all started.
Chojun Miyagi Sensei was a great believer in
the power of nature. He felt at peace with it and
as regularly as once a month he would travel
north to areas such as Nago to immerse himself
in nature, finding energy in its many waterfalls
and flowing rivers and meditating in its calm
surrounding forests. So it is no surprise he had
no issue with doing a majority of his training
outdoors.
It does make a lot of sense when you think that
confrontation away from the Dojo could happen
outdoors and away from level ground. Perhaps
all this outdoors training is why Chojun Miyagi
was such a devastating fighter and was never
really defeated throughout his life.
The surprising addition to the story of Chojun
Miyagi Sensei and the Garden Dojo is that he
was actually quite wealthy and was head of his
families company for some time. He probably
did have the funds to build a Dojo somewhere,
but he simply chose to stay home and train in
the backyard.
The legendary stories of the Garden Dojo must never be forgotten and even
now that there is no more training taking place at the site that the Garden Dojo
was placed, you can still experience the same Goju-ryu that was being served
every night at Chojun Sensei’s house just a few blocks away, at Higaonna
Sensei’s house.
Article by David Lambert (IOGKF Australia AOGKF)
Beautiful Florida plays hosts to this years MCF event, a chance for all
IOGKF members to pay homage to Goju-ryu creator Miyagi Chojun
while learning form the best instructors in the World. Tampa Bay
instructor Sensei Bob Bolton and his team have put together a special
event with sessions to be taught by Sensei Morio Higaonna, Sensei
Tetsuji Nakamura, Sensei Gene Villa (IOGKF USA Chief Instructor) and
others.
Four days of training awaits all attendees along with numerous social
events. The MCF welcome party is set to feature a whole load of fun
and will include free home brewed beer which were created by IOGKF
members.
All grades and group training sessions will be held throughout the
event, along with a Dan grading and open seminars by senior instructors, including Higaonna Sensei.
The MCF Sayonara party also is set to have a different feeling this year
with Sensei Bob having organised senior instructors, such as Sensei
Linda Marchant, to appear event via skype for a live conference.
The event website is available at: www.floridagasshuku.com you
can also joint the official facebook group at:
IOGKF 2014 Miyagi Chojun Festival.
Keep an eye out for the official event report in our August 2014 Edition
of IOGKF International Magazine.
2014 sees the IOGKF India’s Honbu Dojo, the Academy of Martial Arts celebrate its 50th year of continuous operation. Back in 1964 JFK won a landslide
election, Roy Orbison released his hit song ‘Pretty Woman’ and the classic TV
show ‘Bonanza’ was the top rating television show. If it sounds like the academy began a life time ago, its because it did.
IOGKF International was not even being dreamed of, yet a young Indian man
had already embarked on a martial arts journey that still continues to this day.
Sensei Pervez Mistry began is training in Judo at the age of 15 and after four
years achieved his Shodan in the art. He began teaching the art in his home and
the Academy of Martial arts was born.
In 1968 he won a scholarship to travel to Kyoto, Japan to learn more about
martial arts. He began learning Karate and upon his return to India he was
granted permission to open a branch of Seibukan in Mumbai.
By 1977 the stories of Master Morio Higaonna reached India and Sensei Mistry
quickly joined the following and dedicated his life to studying under the Gojuryu Master.
Sensei Mistry is the only remaining IOGKF founding member country chief
Instructor and played a key role in the development of IOGKF. In fact in 1979
at Poole, England Sensei Mistry was present when IOGKF International was
born. It was he who put forward the idea for the IOGKF to be a Federation rather than an association. A move that was quickly adopted by Master Morio Higaonna and other seniors of the day.
Since joining Master Higaonna and bringing India
into the IOGKF, Sensei
Mistry has taught in countries all over the world. He
has become a regular addition at all major IOGKF
events. He has also written
popular books.
In 2012, he successfully
passed the test for 8th Dan
in Okinawan Goju-ryu.
Half a century of continuing to provide martial arts through Indian Dojo’s,
Schools and the military is an extraordinary achievement and one that does
not go unnoticed by IOGKF International’s founder.
To mark this special anniversary IOGKF India has been given permission to
hold a special chief instructors Gasshuku and an International Gasshuku in
Jaipur, India. Master Morio Higaonna, Sensei Tetsuji Nakamura, Sensei Ernie
Molyneux and other senior IOGKF International instructors will be traveling
to India to celebrate with Sensei Mistry.
Both of these major events will be held in Jaipur. The largest city of Northern
India which was created in 1792. Jaipur has become the home to over 3.1
Million people. Its ancient Indian architecture coupled with the natural beauty
of the area has led to Jaipur gaining the nick name of the ’pink city’.
In 2007, IOGKF India held a major event in Goa with Master Higaonna and
the event was a great success. The Academy of Martial Arts is working hard to
try and surpass the efforts of their last event in a bid to make this Gasshuku
one like no other.
A new Facebook group has also been developed titled: Seeking Sensei Mistry.
The page has been created to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Academy of Martial arts and is for all students, current and former, of Sensei Mistry and includes rare photos and even rare videos clips of Master Higaonna &
Sensei Mistry training together.
IOGKF International would like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sensei
Mistry on not only his own incredible martial arts journey but for 50 years of
continued dedication to teaching traditional martial arts.
Look for the exclusive India event report in our 2014 December Edition of
IOGKF Magazine.
www.iogkf.in
www.ciigindia.com
SENSEI TETSUJI NAKAMURA
IOGKF World Chief Instructor. A
World IOGKF Champion whom upon
traveling to Okinawa on vacation met a
Goju-ryu Master and student of Chojun
Miyagi Sensei. He returned after finishing his university studies to learn true
traditional Goju-ryu, which lead him to America
where he became Master Higaonna’s Uchi Deshi.
He followed his Master around to the World and
back to Okinawa. He is now country chief instructor
for Canada and a 7th Dan Black belt in Goju-ryu.
SENSEI ERNIE MOLYNEUX
IOGKF World Vice-Chief Instructor. A
World IOGKF Champion, he has been
training in Karate for over 40 years.
His studies of the art began long before
the IOGKF had been founded and he
was one of the top students of the man
who helped found the Federation with Master Morio
Higaonna. He is chief instructor of the English Goju
-ryu Karate Association (EGKA) and has more
senior black belt members than any other country. In
2012 he obtained the rank of 8th Dan.
SENSEI HENRIK LARSEN
IOGKF World Vice-Chief Instructor.
He began his training as a young man
of 15 years of age. In 1984 he became
country chief instructor for Denmark
and today it is the largest member
country in the Federation. The 2010
European Gasshuku in Denmark saw well over 1000
people in attendance making it one of the biggest
events in IOGKF history. In 1994 he was appointed
to the executive committee of IOGKF making him its
longest serving member. He currently holds the rank
of 7th Dan in Goju-ryu.
Shureido Martial Arts supplies Okinawa’s number one Budo
store and the now world famous
brand worn by IOGKF members
World wide has a new product!
As a tribute to our own Master,
Shureido has now released the
Higaonna Sensei Gi. Any uniform
or belt product from Shureido
can now come with the special
label of Higaonna Sensei.
For an extra 500 Yen per label,
your gi can include the signature
of Master Morio Higaonna in
beautiful gold, along with the
title of IOGKF and of course the
famous Shureido brand label.
All profits from Higaonna Sensei
label’s go direct to our Master.
So next time you’re due for a
new Gi, support the Sensei who
gives to us and buy a new
Higaonna
Sensei Gi.
HAVE YOU MADE
YOUR PLANS?
The incredible video library website by Sensei Ernie Molynuex (IOGKF 8th Dan) & Sensei Roy
Flatt (IOGKF 7th Dan). FREE ONLINE PREVIEWS AVAILABLE
Letters to the Editor is one of our newest edition to IOGKF Magazine. This section gives you,
the reader, the opportunity to respond to the articles we publish. You can have your say and
share your thoughts on anything printed. All you have to do is email your letter to the IOGKF
International Editor at: admin@australiakarate.com
Be sure to include your name, grade, age, member country and the title of the article you
wish to respond too. Please check with your chief Instructor or senior Dojo instructor to
gain permission before responding.
For our April Edition we decided to conduct a Facebook poll to see
which piece of Hojo Undo equipment IOGKF members used most?
FACEBOOK POLL: Nigiri Game = 0 votes
Other Piece of equipment = 3%
Having a traditional martial art with such a broad
range of aspects, how do you cover everything with
students who only attend classes a few hours a week,
without having classes that jump around and don’t
provide any real training?
You can’t really. The IOGKF Syllabus is so wide
ranged that you think to yourself after a month,
‘I haven’t done this or I haven’t done that’. In Higaonna Sensei’s Dojo, even though the classes
are scheduled from 8pm-10pm, they aren’t really. They go to 11pm or later most times. That
three hour block Sensei works off was the same
time frame for classes when I first started. So if
you were training three nights per week, you
were still getting nine hours training, even if you
didn’t do any other types of training. On top of
this, we used to do running, weights, train at
other Dojo’s. Most people today train twice a
week and the lessons are only an hour and a
half in most Dojo’s.
In some Dojo’s they are only an hour, so those people are only training like a third of what
we used to train, or a third of what they would get in Higaonna Sensei’s Dojo.
I believe on average most people at Higaonna Sensei’s dojo train about three times per
week. So they are basically going to cover three times as much as most westerns will
cover in a week.
So with that in mind, how do we as traditional karate
compete when a gym that can offer something like an
express 45 minute work out?
It really depends on what you are doing it for. If people just want to do Karate for just fitness, I think they’ve picked the wrong activity. For people who just want to come in, do a
45 minute workout, sweat and go home, then aerobics classes or a cross fit session will
be more suited to them.
I think you should make your warms ups hard with push ups, sit ups, squats, different calisthenics and more. If you do have people who are less able then you, you should say to
them just try your best. Having said that, you shouldn’t make it too easy and have a set
amount of reps for everything, like no more then ten press ups, so that they are left saying
I want more. It shouldn’t be like that. You want them to increase and increase and increase so they get better, otherwise eventually they will reach a plateau and they’ll think
this is too easy and they leave anyway.
In IOGKF International, there are over 55 different
countries. Within that we have very strong member
countries like England, Denmark and Canada. What do
you think the smaller countries should be doing to
increase their success?
It really depends on their idea of success is; whether it is having a successful organisation
or just a successful Dojo. For instance, a successful Dojo might be one with 100 students
and it’s a financially viable business and if you like you could make a good living out of it.
You may be able to teach and train and produce good students out it.
Or you might be focused on creating champions or really elite athletes. Those type of
people wouldn’t have a hundred students I wouldn’t imagine, unless they had it really
worked out and organised well. Because people who have full time Dojo’s need to make a
living from their classes, their Dojo’s can often become too expensive to train at so right
from the start they aren’t going to get a certain degree of people there.
With some of the smaller countries though, I think they just need to do the same as the
larger ones. But one thing all around is that you can’t train less than an hour and a half,
that’s too little. By the time you do your traditional Junbi Undo and even at a rush, that’s
15-20 minutes and even then that only leaves you with a bit over an hour for actual Karate
training. Then of course you have your supplementary training on top of that. I think you
should be explaining to people how to use a chishi and show them how to hit a Makiwara
and use pads and then they should be doing that kind of thing extra to what they are doing in the Dojo.
Common scenario. The Dojo can only afford to hire a
hall for an hour and a half. You have a class of various
grades. How do you teach so it’s not so basic that you
lose the black belts, but not so advanced that it goes
over the white belts head and you lose them?
If you do have Black Belts, you have to have extra training for them. If you are in that situation, you are going to have to pay extra rent and stay back half an hour to teach the
seniors. You have to cover senior Kata, you have to cover heavier sparring.
Or the alternative is to have separate black belt classes. You can also have beginner
classes, which might be white to yellow belt. There can be intermediate classes also,
where you might have some black belts in with higher Kyu grades.
Another option if you have time in your Dojo is to have people up in groups. Like for example, have the lower Kyu grades sit down and watch the seniors grades do their Kata and
then say this is how I want it done. And this works quite well because the intermediate students aspire to this and it also pushes the senior grades to be better.
But just on a different note, I think where we
tend to miss out is that the instructors themselves should have their own students pushing
them. Your objective as an instructor is to push
your students to a higher level, that’s even better than you are. But you shouldn’t be complacent and think ‘I don’t have to train’. You should
make provision for your own training as well.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking training and
teaching is the same thing, because it isn’t. I
think even from Brown belt level you should be
doing your own self training at least once a
week.
For anyone who is really serious, even with beginners, I think back to when I first started and I
was just so amazed at all the different things there were to learn. I was reading books, going to other Dojo’s and training with guys from other styles and without getting outside of
your comfort zone it’s quite easy to become almost tunnel vision like. Eventually you end up
being like a big fish in a little pond.
In a black belt only group. Some countries like England
for instance have a large number of 6th Dan and say at
the other end of the room you have a large number of
Shodans, do you have trouble covering the senior curriculum without losing the lower Black Belts to other
things?
Not necessarily, No. Because most of the seniors usually don’t mind. See with Shodan’s
and Nidan’s you can still cover all the various forms of Kumite, contact training, pad work,
Hojo Undo. The only thing you probably couldn’t cover is Kata’s above Seipai. You only
have Kururunfa, Sesan & Suparimpei left after that and that’s only three Kata’s. Nidan’s
and even Shodan’s should be fine to practice Tensho, not to mention Sanchin and turning
Sanchin.
But if you look at most courses or seminars, it is usually split into grades sessions, so
you’re really not teaching the whole group at once anyway. If you have a large amount of
seniors you can organise more groups.
Another scenario. You have a new student walk into
your Dojo. How do you gear training to get them to
stick with it, without making it too hard for them that
they can’t keep up or too easy that its boring? What is
the happy medium?
I think the most successful way if you are going to do stuff like that is to have a beginners
class. When you get a white belt come into a class, that’s a regular ongoing one and
you’ve got coloured Kyu grade belts and some black belts in it, unless they are very naturally talented, they are never going to be able to take to that class and they are never going to learn the basics properly.
At Higaonna Sensei’s Dojo, he will always cut someone out to teach the beginners, even if
it is a brown belt. I was even taught my basics by a brown belt, because there was a lack
of black belts everywhere back in those days. I can only think of four black belts back then,
they all had four black belts between them. So generally at any one time there were only
one or two black belts in each class. Even some green belts taught basics. But it’s not all
bad, like I said before, sometimes teaching gives people a greater understanding.
At what level do you think we should be steering
students towards beginning to teach?
I think at least at brown belt level. At that point they should be able to show beginners
some basic techniques. But you need to actually show them exactly what you want them
to teach and also give them a couple of tips on teaching. I remember doing a coaching
course under sports England once and the instructor was a guy called Frank Dick and he
was Davy Thompson’s coach, the famous Decathlon athlete who won consecutive gold at
two Olympic games. So obviously with the decathlon you’ve got ten different events you
need to be able to coach for. You have to be able to have your athlete run long distance,
jump really high, jump long and throw with different techniques and all the other various
things you have to do in the decathlon. So basically Frank Dick was giving us lots of tips
on coaching different things, but one useful thing he said that has always stuck with me is
that when you are teaching class, that you have to think in your head that half of the students are deaf and that half the students are blind. So you have to demonstrate everything for the deaf people, because they can’t hear you. So if you can’t demonstrate they’ll
never get it and sometimes you need to choose a student who can do it, maybe if its a Jodan Mawashi Geri and you can’t kick high, pick as student who can to demonstrate. Then
you would say this is what I want, this is how I want it done. Then for the people who are
blind, you have to explain things as well, for example ‘we’re going to do a jodan Mawashi
Geri, which is a round house kick to the head. So take your right leg behind and we’re going to bring our leg up and around so the knee is in line the line of vision, then extend our
leg out to kick with the top of the foot to the side of the face’. That sort of thing.
Stiring, Scotland July 28—August 1, 2014
1984 was the first and only time that IOGKF Scotland
(SGKA) played host to a major International event, when
they hosted the European Gasshuku that year. 30 years
later and there are more IOGKF member countries than
ever before and European Gasshuku numbers continue to
grow. In 2010, Scotland Chief Instructor and IOGKF
founding country head Sensei John Lambert had tradgically passed away from cancer. In is final months he approved
permission for his students to push for a bid to host the
2014 European Gasshuku in Stirling, Scotland. Hours of
dedicated hard work from the organising committee, support from senior instructors across the globe and with the
Goju-ryu spirit driving them, Scotland unanimously won the bid to host the 2014
IOGKF European Gasshuku at a meeting at the 2011 event.
Now the event is upon us and Goju-ryu Master Morio Higaonna, World Chief Instructor, Sensei Tetsuji Nakamura, along with Vice-Chiefs, Sensei Ernie Molyneux &
Sensei Henrik Larsen will be travelling to Stirling, Scotland with other International
senior instructors for an event like no other.
Described by Higaonna Sensei as ‘Scotland Samurai’, Stiriling is the Scottish city where
Braveheart’s William Wallace did battle and defeated an enormous English army. The
same warrior spirit is will harnessed and put into training by Master Higaonna when he
takes to the floor of Stirling University, the venue of the 2014 European Gasshuku.
The event has been organised in such a way, that attendees can train, eat and sleep
within the same complex as Stirling university offers an abundance of activities, accommodation options and world class training venues. Amongst this great advantage, Stirling has a number of must see tourism sites and the event hosts have organised optional tours for attendees following training so they can experience all that Scotland
has to offer. Tours for the William Wallace monument and the battle of Bannockburn,
picturesque Loch Katrine, along with Stirling city and castle trips have been organised.
As for the actual event itself the training has been very well structured and organised in
a way that it will accommodate everyone from 10th Kyu—10th Dan, kids—adults. A
full all grades senior Gasshuku has been arranged with senior black belt training each
morning, after which all grades training with Higaonna Sensei will be held. Following
that three group training sessions with some of the world’s best IOGKF instuctors will
take place where all aspects of the Goju-ryu curriculum will be covered.
Another great addition to this event
is the junior Gasshuku that has been
arranged. All senior instructors who
are teaching at the event, including
Higaonna Sensei, will be teaching the
junior attendees in two group session
classes each day. Children will also
experience the very best of Goju-ryu
during the Gasshuku, an experience
they are sure to never forget.
Two optional specialty seminars have also been organised for after the scheduled training during the Gasshuku. Sensei Linda Marchant, the highest graded female in IOGKF
will be running a special womens only training seminar after Tuesday’s training. After
Thursday’s group sessions, Sensei Torben Svendsen, 6th Dan senior instructor from
Denamrk will be running a specialty class on Saifa Kata and its ‘overlooked’ advanced
movements coupled with realistic Bunkai to match.
Scotland 2014 is set to be one of those
rare IOGKF events that is a once in a life
time opportunity. It will be one of those
events that people will still be talking
about years from now. Experience the
unique Scottish culture and sense of
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BY: SENSEI JAKOB KOLD-CHRISTENSEN - IOGKF DENMARK 6th Dan
Hojo Undo is functional strength training for use in Karate, and refers to
training with tools . In Okinawa they have always used homemade tools to train
the muscles and develop contact strength, thus improving the training of true
martial artist. The use of these tools is key to developing destructive force in
karate techniques .
Miyagi Sensei pointed that to practice Kata without the proper physical training
of the body will not be anything else than gymnastic, and can not be counted
as true Bujutsu (martial arts). Additional exercises, Hojo undo are practiced
with a view to perfecting the Kata. The purpose of these exercises is not only
to develop power and strength in the body as a whole, but to develop each part
of the body individually to develop full body strength.
In Okinawa Goju- Ryu, we use the following types of Hojo Undo equipment:
Chishi is a kind of stone dumbbell in which the weight is
made of stone or cement which is attached at one end of
a wooden handle. The practitioner grips the opposite end
of the wooden handle relative to the weight. Then you
perform different exercises using the wrist and arm in
movements related to Kata exercises. Chishi strengthens
the wrist, grip, arms, back and chest muscles as well as
the legs as shiko dachi is the most often used stance for
training with chishi.
Makiwara is a board to strike,
and used to improve punches
and strikes with resistance and
hardens the hands and
knuckles.
Nigiri Game or Sanchin Game are gripping jars and are traditionally ceramic and filled with sand or stone. The jars have an edge
at the top, to grip around. The jars are lifted and moved into
positions that are used in the Kata. Nigiri Game is primarily for
training the grip , fingers , shoulders, back and legs, and in
particular to exercise Goju-ryu movements.
All tools used within Okinawa Goju- ryu karate have their
starting point in Chinese and Okinawan culture, the only exception is Konkoken which originally is from Hawaii. Miyagi
Sensei visited Hawaii just before the Second World War and
stayed in Hawaii for 2 months. During his stay he saw the local wrestlers training with a large round iron ring. He took
the piece of equipment back to Okinawa, where he introduced it as a tool in line with the other Hojo Undo tools and
changed it a bit so it was oval and became closer to the form
of a human body. Konkoken is a unique training tool that is
only used today in Okinawa Goju -ryu karate.
Ishi sashi are handheld weights shaped like traditional stone padlocks. Ishi sashi can be used like
ordinary dumbbells but also to perform the Kata
techniques in order to develop the full strength of
each technique.
Tetsu geta are iron sandals and are worn as common
Japanese clogs. However weight is added and you
have to grab hold of the clogs with your toes. There
are numerous kicking drills that can be performed
while worn. Training with tetsu geta incorporates the
same muscles used in kicking training, but with an
extra load.
Sensei Torben Svendsen and I
have over the past years, held a
number of Hojo-Undo courses
for IOGKF Denmark instructores
and members. We have tried to
pass on the the basic HojoUndo exercises that we have
learned from Higaonna Sensei
and also to use our knowledge
of modern functional training in the light of Goju- Ryu Karate and our knowledge
of body anatomy and physics.
*Mobile Friendly versions coming soon
I have been very lucky to be able to
visit Okinawa twice a year over the
past 14 years. One of the things I
have learned is that in addition to
some world famous Dojos such as
our own Honbu Dojo, there are hundreds of small private dojo dotted
around the Islands. It has often been
stated that you could be talking to a
high grade karate or kobudo instructor without knowing it, and I have
shared a few conversations with taxi
drivers who turned out to be 8th dan
instructors. However, I have only ever fleetingly met one senior graded woman whilst at
a demonstration. I became curious as to whether there were any others.
This plus my own training journey has led me to undertake some personal research,
namely to meet other high graded women in karate in Okinawa. I am interested in their
training experiences and in understanding the influence that women have had in karate
as well as the adaptability in training methodologies and promotion of the Art.
My first introduction through Miguel La Luz (who I have also known for some 23
years!) was to the highest graded woman in Okinawa, Oshiro Nobuko Sensei, 8th Dan,
Shorin Ryu. We met at her dojo in Urasoe, the Honbu dojo of her association and talked
over lunch via Miguel who kindly translated. However, I did not conduct an official interview but rather used some prepared questions to promote discussion. I have therefore
paraphrased Oshiro Sensei’s answers from my written notes.
Firstly I asked Oshiro Sensei what drew her to Karate and in particular Shorin Ryu.
Oshiro Sensei used to practice Ryu Kyu Buo (Okinawan dance) with her younger sister.
Originally, the traditional dance was performed by men only, women were not allowed.
However, over time women were allowed to practice and so now both men and women
dance with more women than men!
There are three dances that are “karate-type” dances and dance practitioners went to
Shorin Ryu to help them better their dance techniques as the essence in kata and the
dance were the same. However, Oshiro Sensei loved the karate so much that she became
more addicted to it than the dance!
Karate used to have a bad image/reputation and was described as “kenka” or “an image
of brawling”! This image is now disappearing but it was not a good advert for women
but karate has never been about being a good fighter – kata helps you get stronger and
gentler.
TRANING METHODS
Oshiro Sensei started karate over 40 years ago at the Shorin Ryu dojo in Makishi (just
around the corner from Higaonna Sensei’s dojo) under Higa Sensei. She was the only
woman and the training was very hard. She was not respected because she was a woman
and was not very physical. She said she took a lot of beatings but thanked her partner for
helping her get stronger and kept going and so over time she developed with training.
Sensei trained diligently on the makiwara to develop her fists and ultimately she became
respected. Through her hard training methods and the thousands of punches in a session,
the weak mind never returned and her hand conditioning changed the attitude of the toughest of men.
We also discussed that women’s understanding and performance of power and speed is not
always appreciated by men who do not recognize it in the timing or as sensei described
”the taste and flavour in kata”!
Her philosophy is that karate teaches you virtues and when you are in the dojo in a karategi, you should behave in accordance with karate and the dojo rules – good attitude, erect
posture and impeccable politeness.
Sensei’s traditional form of training includes a main focus on makiwara training and kata
but also includes focus pads, basics, tote kitae (forearm tempering), barbell on shoulders
and tan throwing. She said many people do not like pain, so they leave. Sensei is famous
for breaking makiwara!!
Training methods have changed a lot over the years in Oshiro Sensei’s experience. She
says that modern people do not keep going and give up easily. There was a drop in Okinawans participation in Sports post war (also due to the extreme hardships they endured,
through displacement and starvation) as students would practice on their own either in their
homes, or parks and only come to the dojo to check their kata and do their own training.
Even now she believes that the Okinawans do not train as much as foreigners. This means
that foreigners have become strong both physically and as teachers and so now also have
10th Dan’s.
KARATE FOR ALL
Oshiro Sensei’s view on karate-ka, is that karate is not just for men, but should attract both
women and men. Women Instructors are a good thing in karate as well as is having women
in the dojo, as this attracts all different people. Sensei knows of about 20 dojos in Okinawa
with women as the head of the dojo - some of these are dance and karate combined but
about half are full time karate dojos.
The Okinawan heritage festival is held every five years for all people of Okinawan descent
to come back to Okinawa to celebrate Okinawa. At the last festival Oshiro Sensei organized
a women only demonstration to show the power of women in karate. This consisted of 200
women mostly from the three main schools of karate Goju Ryu/Shorin Ryu/Uechi Ryu plus
others. It was a great success.
Oshiro Sensei is a very young looking 65 year old and is a full time instructor. Her organization has over 250 students, of which 200 are children and she also teaches at the local
kindergarten, junior school and an elderly home with students who are over 80!!
My thanks to Miguel for this introduction and his time to help in translation. It was a real
pleasure and honour to meet Oshiro Sensei who is passionately dedicated to her art of
Shorin Ryu and to teaching others. She has a wonderful life philosophy and her friendliness and kindness makes her super endearing. I look forward to meeting her again and
developing our friendship further.
Follow Sensei Linda in the coming issues of IOGKF Magazine as she continues to
track down more of Okinawa’s hidden gems in our Women of Karate Series
I had never really considered running my own dojo until early 2013 when the club I had
trained with for several years left the IOGKF. I wanted to remain part of the IOGKF family, so I either needed to find another dojo to train with or finally find the courage to run my
own.
The decision to open my own dojo was made easier for me thanks to a number of my
friends within the association who had faith in my abilities and offered their support in
starting my own dojo. I am pleased to say many of these people are now my students.
For several days running up to the first class I was unbelievably nervous, for 29 years I
had only been responsible for my own progression; and now I was going to be passing
on my knowledge to others, guiding them on their karate journey and my teaching could
forever shape how my students felt about Goju Ryu.
On Monday 15th April 2013, Eastleigh Goju Ryu Karate Do held its first ever class. 10
friends came to train and support us on that first night, seven of these went on to form the
core of our new dojo.
In the year since we formed our numbers have steadily grown, and we now have double
the number we had on that first night; some are students from our old club, some were
total beginners who are now working their way through the ranks and a couple are old
karate friends who have returned to training after several years out of the dojo.
I have found teaching to be very rewarding, and have discovered that while teaching others I am continuing to improve my own karate and increasing my understanding of Goju
Ryu. I have also discovered that, since becoming an instructor, I have a new enthusiasm for my own training whether it is my regular classes with Sensei Ernie or going to
larger events and gasshukus to take instruction from IOGKF instructors from across the
world.
I would advise anyone thinking about starting their own club to speak to their senior instructors and, if granted permission, to take the step. There will be nights when only
three students come to train which can be disheartening, but persevere, the hard work
and stress is far outweighed by the joy you get from teaching. Running a club has given
me the opportunity to give a little back to the association I have gained so much from,
and watching students’ progress makes all the hard work worthwhile.
I am very proud of my dojo and its members, and I am trying to make Eastleigh Goju Ryu
Karate Do the kind of club I have always wanted to be a part of, a dojo that really does
reflect the feeling of family that can be found throughout the EGKA and the IOGKF.
I would not have been able to reach this point without the help and support of so many
people from the EGKA. Sensei Ernie and Sensei Roy both supported my request to open
a new dojo and I am lucky enough to be in a position to get regular instruction from
Sensei Ernie, which allows me to continue with my own training. Sensei Linda has always been very supportive of me throughout my time with the IOGKF and her support
now extends to my dojo and students. I have formed some great friendships during my
karate journey and I feel very lucky to be a part of this Goju Ryu family.