bradshaw
12-10-2004, 09:02 AM
Hi eveyone,
Well, I had been training in Shotokan Karate for about 7 years but took a break for the last 1.5 years or so - body was just too achy all the time. Thanks to CST, I'm feeling much better, so I decided to return to Karate. Due to some political stuff, my instructors had moved to a new association, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, I had to re-learn some techniques. But here's what I need to qualify. I wasn't learning how to do techniques differently (according to one standard), instead they had learned recently that you need to let each student work within what they can do. Guidelines, yes, but basically, how does this feel for you? Now, make it feel better - in a sense, let it flow. So, this was very cool.
Last weekend, our club hosted a clinic with a 6th Dan from out east, Mr. Saeki. Wow! This was amazing to me. The thing he did that impressed me most was that he didn't teach techniques. He gave us a set of guidelines for a very complex partners drill - now go to it. A few of us were able to make our way through, but I was amazed at how the higher level students had a very difficult time with this. He emphsized the lesson by telling us that we get in our own way. We need to get out of our own way. We need to not thing about "punch here, now block." We need to let our bodies do the thinking.
The other great thing he did was teach us how to be quiet. I've seen practitioners seem to move effortlessly from one place to another. In one position, them bam, in another, hardly seeing the movement from A to B. I never got this. But, this weekend, I did. Keep any excess movement to nothing, and then, bam - integrate your posture, breath, alignment. This is one way it's done and I was impressed with how much information/application I could absorb.
The last thing I'll mention which impressed the heck out of me was regarding techniques. Most MA are full of these. Anyway, he advised us not to throw our techniques. Don't throw punches, don't throw kicks. Instead, place them. It was an eye-opener. In practice, I was able to get the technique out of my mind, instead recognizing my target, and making sure my fist, elbow, or foot was there when I wanted it to be.
So, I've got my motivation back. Some aspects of CST are now evident in what I'm being taught in Shotokan. I'm looking forward to exploring more.
Well, I had been training in Shotokan Karate for about 7 years but took a break for the last 1.5 years or so - body was just too achy all the time. Thanks to CST, I'm feeling much better, so I decided to return to Karate. Due to some political stuff, my instructors had moved to a new association, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, I had to re-learn some techniques. But here's what I need to qualify. I wasn't learning how to do techniques differently (according to one standard), instead they had learned recently that you need to let each student work within what they can do. Guidelines, yes, but basically, how does this feel for you? Now, make it feel better - in a sense, let it flow. So, this was very cool.
Last weekend, our club hosted a clinic with a 6th Dan from out east, Mr. Saeki. Wow! This was amazing to me. The thing he did that impressed me most was that he didn't teach techniques. He gave us a set of guidelines for a very complex partners drill - now go to it. A few of us were able to make our way through, but I was amazed at how the higher level students had a very difficult time with this. He emphsized the lesson by telling us that we get in our own way. We need to get out of our own way. We need to not thing about "punch here, now block." We need to let our bodies do the thinking.
The other great thing he did was teach us how to be quiet. I've seen practitioners seem to move effortlessly from one place to another. In one position, them bam, in another, hardly seeing the movement from A to B. I never got this. But, this weekend, I did. Keep any excess movement to nothing, and then, bam - integrate your posture, breath, alignment. This is one way it's done and I was impressed with how much information/application I could absorb.
The last thing I'll mention which impressed the heck out of me was regarding techniques. Most MA are full of these. Anyway, he advised us not to throw our techniques. Don't throw punches, don't throw kicks. Instead, place them. It was an eye-opener. In practice, I was able to get the technique out of my mind, instead recognizing my target, and making sure my fist, elbow, or foot was there when I wanted it to be.
So, I've got my motivation back. Some aspects of CST are now evident in what I'm being taught in Shotokan. I'm looking forward to exploring more.