Studying Hyung (Stage 3 and 4) - - Chief Instructor's Blog October 2018

In last month’s blog, I discussed four stages on practicing hyung as defined by Iain Abernethy, 7th Dan with the British Combat Association and British Combat Karate Association (Reference 1).  The four stages are listed below as a reminder:

1. Solo practice

2. Study the functional application of the movements of the kata (bunkai).

3.  Begin to include variations of those techniques in your training.

4. Practice applying the techniques, variations and principles of the kata in live practice

In the September blog, I focused on stage 2 – study the functional application of the movements. In this month’s blog, I will discuss ways to move into and practice stages 3 and 4.

Stage 3: Begin to include variations of those techniques in your training

In stage 2, you established various applications for a single technique. So, to begin to include then in your training, take a variation one at a time and incorporate it into your basics and hyung during solo practice (i.e., against air, bags, etc.). 

For example, you may have discovered that low block can actually be used as a strike from a cross hand grab to damage the grab.  So, for the next several weeks while you practice low blocks (during basics, hyung against bags, etc.), you imagine that exact scenario.  You should continue to practice this variation until it becomes second nature to imagine that scenario.  Once that occurs, move onto another variation that you discovered in Stage 2 related to low block, and continue the process stated above until you have exhausted all the variations.

If you were to do this for every technique/transition in basics and hyung, you can imagine why Gichin Funakoshi, Founder or Shotokan Karate said, “In the past, it was expected that about three years were required to learn a single kata, and usually even an expert of considerable skill would only know three, or at most five, kata.”

Stage 4: Practice applying the techniques, variations and principles of the kata in live practice

In our club, live practice takes the form of self-defense and sparring.  I would start with self-defense to incorporate a variation of each technique at a time into your repertoire until it becomes automatic.  As in Stage 3, incorporating each variation in your self-defense practice can take months.

Once you have practiced a variation in self-defense and it becomes a natural reaction, you will want to incorporate that variation in sparring.  To do this, you may first want to start with a partner and pre-stage a situation or two where that particular technique would be used.  Practice that situation over and over again until it becomes a natural response. Afterwards, go into free form sparring.  Notice when that situation comes up and consciously incorporate the variation.  If you do not, just let that moment go and stay focused on the match.  After the match take notice if you executed that variation or not.  If you did not because the scenario did not present itself, then wait until the next partner or practice and focus again on that variation.  If you realize you had several opportunities and you chose another technique or variation, then more time is probably needed in self-defense or the sparring “pre-stage” step. 

Gichin Funakoshi has been quoted as saying “It must be emphasized that sparring does not exist apart from kata, but for the practice of kata.”  The meaning of this is sparring is a means to understand what the techniques within the hyung are for and in what situation they can be effective.

Over time, if you follow these four stages, you should find not only does your hyung improve but because you now have a larger repertoire of techniques, your self-defense/ sparring is more effective.

 

Regards,

Kelly

“Generations of experience have shown that it usually requires 3 years to learn the basics and 7 years to acquire a fundamental proficiency of kata.” ~ Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997), Founder of Okinawan Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate

References:

1.      http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/article/four-stages-kata-practise, retrieved 9/1/2018

Studying Hyung - - Chief Instructor's Blog September 2018

Practicing hyung has many benefits both physically (coordination, balance, power, endurance) and mentally (discipline, body awareness, etc.).  For some, learning hyung is their favorite part of practicing the art form.  For others, it may be their least favorite part and they do not spend much time practicing.  

For me, practicing and studying (yes, studying) the hyung provides the most insights and understanding of the principles and tactics of the art form.  Hyung provide lessons and a level of understanding (if you study them) that you may or may not learn by just practicing them mechanically.

This analysis of the forms to undercover its principles and applications are called bunkai in Japanese.   Iain Abernethy is a 7th Dan with the British Combat Association and British Combat Karate Association and is considered one of UK’s leading experts of karate bunkai.  He describes practicing hyung (kata in Japanese) in four stages (Reference 1):

1. Solo practice
2. Study the functional application of the movements of the kata (bunkai).
3. Begin to include variations of those techniques in your training.
4. Practice applying the techniques, variations and principles of the kata in live practice

For many students, stage 1 is what they spend their time on.  Students go through the mechanical techniques and practice the movements over and over.  And this is important in perfecting the mechanics.  However, I think for some students, it is only until they move to stage 2 do they really learn to like practicing a hyung.  For me, this is the heart of the hyung and students should spend a large majority of time on this once they are comfortable with the mechanics.  This is where I discover not only applications and tactics but in learning the principles of what makes techniques work and the relationships of various techniques to one another.  It also gives me an intention and purpose in my techniques which is the critical step in becoming more effective during sparring and self-defense.

So, you may ask, how does one go about studying a hyung (stage 2).  There are actually a variety of ways of and I have used them all. 

To get started, I recommend taking one hyung at a time and one technique / movement. transition at a time.  Everything within the hyung has a meaning or application (even though some of them may not be very obvious), even turns and transition, so these too should be studied in detail.  After examining one at a time, you may move on to link several movements/techniques to see what applications/principles you can uncover.  So, once you pick your technique/ movement/ transition, then the following are different ways to uncover the tactics and principles:

1. Use your imagination.   The various applications that a technique/ movement/ transition could be are limited only by one’s imagination.  Spend time to visualize how a technique could be used against various attacks.
2. Explore with a partner.  Practice with a partner to understand and explore their potential applications. When practicing with a partner, in order to determine the effectiveness of techniques, it is important that partners respond to the techniques with realistic and predictable responses.  
3. While working with a partner, verbally share new ideas, and many times other interpretations of the application(s) may also be uncovered through the collaboration.
4. Review concepts in books.  There are several good books out there that explore bunkai.  References 2 and 3 below are just two of them.
5. Watch videos of instructors exploring bunkai.   There are several instructors who post videos exploring bunkai.  I suggest reviewing Okinawan Shorin-Ryu, Japanese Shotokan Karate, and/or Tang Soo Do instructors that are demonstrating bunkai from, as these styles as they are closest to our forms.
6. Watch other students during self-defense or sparring and notice the various hyung techniques in their movements (consciously or unconsciously)

While studying hyung, it is also important to try to understand why applications works.  In doing so, it may unlock other principles or applications for those particular techniques or similar techniques.

In a future blog(s), I will describe ways to move into and practice stages 3 and 4.

Regards,

Kelly

“Karate has more than twenty kata.  Like textbooks to a student or tactical exercises to a solider, kata are the most important element of karate.” ~ Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), founder of Shotokan Karate

 

References:

1.      http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/article/four-stages-kata-practise, retrieved 9/1/2018

2.      Bunkai-Jutsu by Iain Abernethy

3.      The Way of Kata: A Comprehensive Guide for Deciphering Martial Applications by Lawrence Kane

More Tips On Improving - - Chief Instructor's Blog August 2018

In several blogs, and as recent as June of this year, I discussed different aspects of improving. In my March 2015 blog I covered “How To Get Through The Plateaus”, in my June 2015 blog I wrote about “Improving Your Technique Through Targeted Muscles Training”, and in my June 2018 blog, “Why Am I Not Improving “, I discuss other reasons you may not be improving (frequency of your training, where you are at on the learning curve, and even your inner critic). In this blog, I will discuss more tips on improving.

Be Determined But Be Flexible

It is important to be determined and to have goals - whether it is achieving a certain rank or mastering a technique or hyung.  Goals are good.  However, you should be flexible in how you achieve these goals.  I tell people I mentor at work all the time that there are 15 paths up to the top of Mount Everest.  15!  While some paths are better than others depending on the time of year, there are still l5 paths, so be open to how you achieve you goals.

Never Stop Trying

With that said, never stop trying.  Learning a martial art is not simple or quick.  There are so many aspects of it physically, mentally, etc. and to master all aspects takes time.  And for most of us there is always a technique or concept that seems elusive and you think you may never master, but you should always keep trying.  You may need to change your course or try a different path, but never stop trying.  Always keep in mind the Japanese proverb "Fall seven times, stand up eight."

Always Have a Beginner’s Attitude

First off, always have a beginner’s attitude.  Remember when you were a beginner and you were just being taught the basics and you were open to all ideas.  You asked questions for clarity, but did not second guess what the instructor was trying to do and discount the training as not being useful?  There are many times you may not understand why an instructor is asking you to do something, but you should always keep an open mind that what they are asking you to do is to benefit you, even if you do not understand it at first.  In fact, it might take years before something an instructor says clicks for you, but that does not mean you should second guess or doubt there is value in the exercise or the information being provided.

And another aspect of a beginner’s attitude is thinking you have a lot to learn.  There is always something to learn.  I have been training for almost 25 years and have been instructing for almost 20 and I learn something in every class.  I may learn something about the art form, something about how I perform the art form, something about how to teach the art form, or something about how to manage a class better, but I always learn something.  There is always something to learn as long as you are open to the possibility of learning. 

Be Curious

Another way to have that beginner’s attitude is to always be curious.  Be curious about the physical nuances of the technique or hyung – the very fine details of each step, each inch of what your body should be doing at all times.  Be curious about why we do things the way we do and the benefits from performing techniques one way versus another. 

You may have noticed that all the above tips on improving have very little to do with training the body but all with your attitude and your state of mind to train.  Having and keeping the right state of mind to your training will definitely help you to improve as much, if not more, than the physical training itself.

Regards,

Kelly

“Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659 –1719), a samurai of the Saga Domain and author of Hagakure, a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior.

Stances Start With the Feet - - Chief Instructor's Blog July 2018

Stances are a foundation to all our techniques.  Without strong stances the technique does not have the foundation to be as effective as possible.

I discussed the importance of stances and the fact you should evolve to always be in a stance in my June 2009 blog “The Importance of Stances” (http://hanmookwan-svl-chiefinstructor.blogspot.com/2009/06/). 

I also discussed the importance of alignment and various aspects of alignment in previous blogs, so I will not reiterate those points here as it pertains to stances, but if you missed those blogs, you can find them here:

• April 2012 blog: “The Importance of Alignment and Breathing” (http://hanmookwan-svl-chiefinstructor.blogspot.com/2012/04/)
• January 2017 blog: “Alignment: Critical to Protecting the Muscular Skeletal Body” (http://hanmookwan-svl-chiefinstructor.blogspot.com/2017/01/)

In this blog, I plan to discuss how to improve your stances from a muscular perspective.

From a muscular perspective, stances start with the feet (yes, your feet have muscles).  Your feet start the foundation so physically they must be an active part of the stance.  You should be consciously using your feet such that at a minimum, four points on the feet are in contact with the ground (two at the edges toward the front of the foot and two at the edges of the heel).  Eventually you want to use all edges of your feet.  Mr. Kim actively used his feet so much even in everyday walking that he used to wear out the edges of his shoes in a matter of months. 

The muscles in the arches should be active.  If you are wondering of you are using your feet as actively as possible, lift the toes and pull up your arches.  If this feels very different, then most likely you are not using your feet actively in your stances. 

Next your leg muscles should be engaged and not just the large muscles.  Have you noticed your quadriceps tire quickly if holding stances?  If you are not being conscious, then it could be you are just dumping your weight and allowing the quadriceps to take on the load of the stance without consciously engaging other muscles, especially the smaller muscles.  This is true statically as well as when you are moving dynamically.

It is slightly different from stance to stance, but in general your calves, hamstrings, adductors, and groin muscles should all be active in our stances.  In addition to your leg muscles, the gluteus maximus and abdominals are also very important muscles to engage, both statically and dynamically in creating a strong, stable stance.   

So, I highly suggest you spend time both statically and dynamically analyzing how well you are using all your muscles in each of your stances.  Determine how well you are using your feet, legs, glutes and abs and if not engaging all, or over using others, work to balance it out.  This will result in stronger, more stable stances.

Regards,

Kelly

“All kata use the so-called postures (kamae). In fact, there are many kinds of postures and many kinds of kata. While learning these postures should not be totally ignored, we must be careful not to overlook that they are just forms or templates of sort; it is the function of their application which needs to be mastered.” ~ Choki Motobu (1871–1944), Founder of Okinawan Tomari-te Karate

References

1.      The Anatomy of Martial Arts by Dr. Norman Link and Lily Chou

 

Why Am I Not Improving? - - Chief Instructor's Blog June 2018

Do you feel like you are not improving or improving as fast as you would like?  This is not uncommon.  Many of us have experienced a time or times in our training where we felt we were not improving.  There may be several reasons this may be the case.

 

 If you feel you are not improving because you have reached a plateau I have described possible ways to work through that in my March 2015 blog “How To Get Through The Plateaus “.  If you feel you are not improving because of flexibility or strength limitations, I discussed ways to improve through targeting specific muscles in my June 2015 blog “Improving Your Technique Through Targeted Muscles Training."

 

Other reasons you may not be improving may be the frequency of your training, where you are at on the learning curve, and even your inner critic.

Frequency of Training

 

 According to Tony Gummerson in his book, “Teaching Martial Arts” [1]:

• One practice session a week maintains existing skill level.
• Two practice sessions a week bring about a moderate improvement in performance
• Three practice sessions a week have a measurable positive effect on performance

Therefore, to continue to improve you must be able to spend at least two sessions a week (in or out of class) practicing.  This is especially true when you are first learning a new technique, since it can take 3-4 training sessions to reach a 50-60% accuracy in reproducing the techniques [1].

 

Learning Curve

 

According to Tony Gummerson in his book, “Teaching Martial Arts” [1], “The 70-80% level of technical excellence can be achieved relatively quickly; however, to attain the remaining 30% or 20% requires a disproportionate amount of time and effort.”  He goes on to state ”After a given point on the learning curve, the amount of time required to bring about a moderate improvement becomes greater and greater and disproportionate to the increase in skill level.”  A graph in the book shows one can reach a 60% technical effectiveness in 3 training days but take up to 50 days to reach an 80% technical effectiveness.”

 

 So, in some cases, it maybe where you are on the learning curve for a technique or form, and it will just take more training days to refine and reach a higher technical effectiveness. 

Inner Critic

 

While instructors are very influential in the progression of your training, one of the biggest influences is your Inner Critic.  The Inner Critic…we all have it right?  That inner voice that tells us what we are doing wrong, we can never be able to do that technique, certain students will always defeat us in sparring, we will never be able to be good enough to earn a black belt, etc.

 

The Inner Critic can have a place in training if the inner voice is correcting you constructively and encouraging, but it can be your worst enemy if it is judging, discouraging, and /or negative. 

 

So, listen to what your inner critic is telling you and, if it is not being encouraging, you need to learn to ignore it or train your inner critic to provide more positive, encouraging words or just simple words, like “go” and “yes.” 

 

Regards,

Kelly

 

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt(1858 – 1919), American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist 26th President of the United States (1901 to 1909), 25th Vice President of the United States from March to September 1901, 33rd Governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 Excerpt from the speech “Citizenship In A Republic” delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910, 26^th President of the United States, third degree brown belt in Judo.

 

 

References

1.      Teaching Martial Arts by Tony Gummerson

 

 

 

 

How To Mentally Prepare For Being Under Stress - Chief Instructor's Blog May 2018

In my April 2018 blog, I discussed the fact that if you have to use your skills in a real situation, most likely you will experience an increase of stress (higher heart rate, rush of adrenaline, etc.) and you need to physically train in that state, so you can be effective under those conditions.  In this blog I will describe ways you can also train mentally so you are more effective in a stressed situation.

First off, one reason your heart rate will increase quickly and a rush of adrenaline can be magnified is if you were not ready or aware of the attacker and it was a surprise.  Being aware of your surroundings at all times is a critical part of self-defense.  If you see someone coming at you, you have more time to react and prepare a plan and will be more effective, including avoiding the situation altogether.  It may also mean you are aware of when you may be at risk and choose an alternative.  For example, when Brian and I go on travel internationally we do not wear any expensive jewelry which may make us more of a target – we leave that at home and only wear some inexpensive wedding bands.  Another example is when we travel on public transportation, we tend to skip any trains/busses that are extremely crowded if we can avoid it and wait for one that is less crowded and we can find a place to sit or stand against a wall to limit our vulnerability.  For more information on awareness, I recommend reading or revisiting my August 2009 blog “More Awareness; Principle #16” and my March 2014 blog “Awareness Revisited”.

That leads into the second way to prepare mentally – have a plan.  This means imagining various scenarios and how you would respond.  You need to think about how your response might change if there are multiple attackers, you are alone versus with friends or family, it is at night versus the day, in a public place versus secluded area, if you on travel in a foreign county, if the attacker has a weapon, etc.  Depending on the scenario, it may change your response, so you need to spend time going through various scenarios and determine what your initial plan might be.  When Brian and I travel and are carrying a decent amount of cash, we choose one person to carry most of the cash.  The one carrying the cash stays focused on the surroundings while the person not carrying the cash focuses on the person carrying the cash. 

And third, after you have thought of your plan for various scenarios, you need to practice your plan.  This can, at first, be mentally going through your plan and imagining the results.  It also means physically practicing your plan against different attackers and seeing how it plays out, adjusting your methods based on what you learn.

While training physically in a stressed state is very important, training mentally is also important.  We were talking to a Back Belt from another style once, who said they were at a bar and were so surprised someone took a swing at them during a verbal encounter; they just sat there and did not respond with any of the training they had had.  I encourage all of you (if you have not already) to start training mentally for various scenarios and physically so you are effective if you need to use your skills.

Regards,

Kelly

"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body." ~ Yagyu Munenori (1571 – 1646) Japanese swordsman, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū

Reference:

1.  http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics-training/training-stress-6-ways-prepare-defensive-scenarios/, Retrieved 3/11/18

 

 

How To Physically Prepare For Being Under Stress - - Chief Instructor's Blog April 2018

As I noted in my February 2018 blog February “In time of stress, the body will produce large amounts of adrenaline and there may be no time to think, so you will react strictly by body memory.  What this means is how you have practiced and trained is how you will defend yourself if you are ever attacked.  Let me repeat this: how you have practiced and trained is how you will defend yourself if you ever are attacked.”

Continuing to practice consciously and properly, so you understand your habits, and being committed to ensuring correct position/alignment, have coordination, agility, focus, and speed all are critical in preparing to use your techniques in a real situation.  But to test how effective your techniques are when your body is under stress, you need to prepare physically under such conditions.

One way to physically prepare is to train while your heart rate is high.  To increase your heart rate, you can push your physical effort and force so you are winded to a point of being out of breath.  For example, practice a hyung at full speed a few times one right after another and then perform self-defense.  See how well you maintain your control, how effective your techniques are, and how quick your reaction time is.  Pay attention to other ways your physical body may have reacted such as:  did you have problems concentrating?  Did you have problems thinking clearly?  Did time slow?  Did you freeze up? These are all indications that your heart rate is high or you have a large amount of adrenaline in your body.

In addition, you need to train during scenarios where you experience an adrenaline surge into your body.  Some ways to accomplish this is to perform exercises / drills that increase your level of stress:

·         Drills you are very uncomfortable with (e.g., a timed drills with others observing)

·         Drills that are more dynamic (drills where attack types, speed, etc. are random),

·         Drills that try to mimic more realistic scenarios (e.g., a drill that evokes a sense of fear, 2-on-1 training, 3-on-1 training, drills where the attack is a surprise (either the attack itself or the way the attacker attacks), attacking with weapons, drills where there is a lot of loud noises such as a crowds, drills where the light is very dim such as at night on a dark street, etc.) 

For all these drills, it is important to try to maintain a safe environment which will limit the level of stress that can be induced.

Mastering your breathing is also critical.  If you can control your breathing it can help control your heart rate and if you can control your heart rate it will help you maintain control, clearer thoughts, and allow you to last longer in an altercation (among others things).  I discussed breathing and its importance in more detail in my December 2016 blog titled ”Deep Breathing…Could Be A Life Saver”.

Each of us has different scenarios that evoke high heart rates and adrenaline surges.  And each of us has different levels of adrenaline that we can effectively tolerate.  The key is to train to understand those limits so you understand how you may react in a real self-defense situation.  Then you should continue to train to induce those levels and push yourself incrementally to move the needle so you are more and more effective under higher stress scenarios.

There are also ways you can prepare mentally for being under stress which I will describe in a future blog.

Regards,

Kelly

“The more we sweat in training, the less we bleed in battle” ~ Old Chinese Proverb

References:

1.      http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics-training/training-stress-6-ways-prepare-defensive-scenarios/, Retrieved 3/11/18

2.      http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/how-to-us-adrenaline-flow-martial-arts-self-defense/, Retrieved 3/11/18

3.      http://www.koseido-dojo.org/downloads/AdrenalineSelfDefenseStrategy.pdf, Retrieved 3/11/18