St. Louis Kokondo

On Wednesday, April 10th, two members of the dojo made a presentation to the youngsters at Wyman Elementary School in Rolla, Missouri.

The theme of the event was “Confidence” and was part of their monthly student assembly.  Students in kindergarten through fourth grade listened as Kokondo Senior Instructor Charles Martin explained how confidence is a product of preparation and experience.  To illustrate the point, several self-defense techniques were demonstrated.  The assembled students happily observed as music instructor and Kokondo black belt Michael Martin was used as uke. 

The demonstrations included board breaking, much to the joy and amusement of the children.  In addition to the two Kokondoka, one teacher volunteered to attempt her first break ever.  After the physical details of the technique were explained, she was guided through the proper stance, hand position and targeting needed to complete the break.  There was never any doubt as the lumber was easily shattered.  Another example of having confidence and not allowing those pesky "inner voices" to get in the way.

We are honored to have been offered the opportunity to participate in Wyman's assembly and thank them for considering us.

Friday and Saturday, April 12th and 13th, we will be holding another Midwest Seminar in St. Louis.

We look forward to again welcoming Kaicho Greg Howard, the head of our system.  We have attendees coming from both coasts and several other dojos in between.

This will be the largest seminar every held in the St. Louis dojo.

Pics and other information will follow shortly after.  Stay tuned!!

There’s a series of TV ads running right now for one of the major insurance companies.  By singing the company’s ad jingle, the policy holder can take advantage of cash savings, prompt and courteous claim service or some other bit of product differentiation.  This is followed up by the always-present counterpart making up a random musical entreaty to their insurance company, with the result being a comically (at least the ad writers think so) deficient result – a dollar bill being dangled from a fishing line or the insured’s mother letting him know they’re sixth in the queue to speak to a claims rep on the phone.  The theme is always the same, though.  You can go with the good stuff and come out ahead or “settle” and pay the price at crunch time.

I started thinking about this in terms of our training a couple of days back.  How often do we really work to nail down a technique or kata, to get it as physically perfect as we can?  How often to we “settle”, giving in to the little voice inside that says “That was pretty good.” or “That was good enough.”?

The thrust of this thought process didn’t really focus on how the technique looks, though that is obviously not only a priority but an indication of how well we are executing our technique.  No, I branched off into a consideration of the effectiveness of what we’re doing for defensive purposes.

Let’s put this into a simple technique – gyaku tsuki from zenkutsu dachi (an opposite side strike from the standard front stance.  Consider that we have, in any one of a hundred different ways, evaded or blocked an attack from someone intent on doing us serious harm.  We are now positioned to the right side of this person, his ribcage superbly exposed and waiting for our counter.  We are in a perfect stance – rear leg straight, heal planted into the ground, good bend in the front leg.  We have our left arm chambered perfectly at our side, tight fist ready to do what it does so well.  Our right hand is extended, both effecting the proper distance between us and our opponent and preparing to grab their sleeve or arm, forcibly retracting and pulling them to us, doubling the power of that soon-to-follow strike.  We drive from the rear heel, up the calf and through the thigh.  Going up the body, we rotate our hips as we begin the extension of the chambered left arm.  Our fist crashes into the attacker’s ribs, directly on his jushin (center line).  Everything works in perfect union just as we’ve practiced thousands of times in class and on our own (you DO practice on your own, right?)

Does anybody harbor any doubt that under such a scenario, our unfortunate attacker is not only no longer a threat, but is very likely a candidate for an extended stint in the intensive care unit?

Ah, life in a perfect world………………

So now drops that dreaded other shoe:  Something doesn’t go quite right.  One or more of the following list occur………..

• We don’t have a willing person that is just standing there waiting for us to break their ribs and destroy their kidney and/or liver.  Hitting their centerline isn’t a sure thing.
• We don’t have firm footing and our stance doesn’t get locked out or anchored properly.
• We’ve misjudged our distance and the other person is too far/close for an optimum strike.
• The adrenaline rush has disrupted our flow, so we rush our strike instead of letting the entire body get behind it.
• The sun’s in our eyes……….

OK, I’m getting a little sarcastic with the list of excuses.  The point, though, is that it is very, very unlikely that we are going to be afforded the opportunity to land that perfect punch.  So instead of the perfect punch, we’re landing an 80% perfect punch, or a 75% perfect punch or whatever.  It is still a pretty good bet that, while we may not have the one-shot definitive ending to our confrontation, we have still caused enough pain and trauma to allow us the necessary follow-up techniques to bring things to a conclusion.

So now you’re thinking to yourself “I’ve just read through 700 words that haven’t done anything but tell me that if I land 80% of a perfect technique things are still going to work out OK.  I could have checked out a couple of more memes on Facebook.”

As long as you’re thinking it to yourself.  I’d seriously suggest never vocalizing it to your sensei.  Here’s why…..  When was the last time you performed any of your techniques perfectly?  Conversely, when was the last time you finished a series of kihon or a kata and thought to yourself “That was pretty good.”?  Can you truthfully say to yourself that you can consistently, perfectly execute ANY technique in our system?  Have you suffered these delusions for an extended period of time?

And just why is it so flippin’ important that we do these things perfectly anyway?  No matter how well you do something,  your Sensei or one of the Masters or Kaicho is just going to find some miniscule thing to rub into the ground anyway.  Never fails, right?  You’re doing your stuff way better than that guy over there and nobody’s picking on him.

There’s two responses that need to be considered to that whole line of thinking.  We’ll start with our scenario with the attacker from earlier in this missive.  Say, instead of practicing your technique to as close to 100% as you can, you allow yourself to be satisfied with 80% goodness.  That’s just fine, because I said that the 80% technique was going to buy you the time to follow through and finish things, right?

Well, only partially weedhopper.  See, I was saying that 80% of a perfect technique would probably bail you out.  Because of any or all of the excuses that I listed however, say your 80% technique is only 80% effective.  Basic math skills tell us that now we’re hitting the bad guy with only 64% of our full capabilities.  And if we’re content to practice at less than 80%, at what percentage of perfect are we willing to allow ourselves to risk our necks for a defense that is much less than optimum?  Do you really want to depend on 64%?  50%?  35%?  Let me know how that works out, because I have no interest in such experimentation.  If I find myself in a confrontation that has degraded to the point of violence, I want it over – as quickly and efficiently as I can possibly make it so.  There’s way too many variables to make it worth wasting my time on “good enough.”

That’s one thing.

Now as to being “picked on” (and yes, I’ve heard that term used) by the higher-ups………..  Here’s a little tidbit you need to keep in the back of your head.

The absolutely, positively most dreadful thing that can ever happen to you as a student (regardless of your rank) is to have a person in a teaching capacity notice that you are screwing something up and not be on you like stink on a cow patty.  See, instructors have a limited amount of time to work with people, be it in small groups or dozens at the National Seminar.  One person can only spend so much time with anyone and they don’t want that time wasted.  If you are giving off the vibe that a technique or kata isn’t worth your best effort, then you my friend, aren’t worth theirs, either.  There are people that want to be the best they can at what they do and the instructors are going to be there for them.  You don’t have to be the most physically coordinated, in the best shape or whatever scale you want to be measured on.  You do, though, have to be working at making the most with the tools you have.

So there’s two major reasons to give it your best effort, every time you practice.  One can keep you alive.  The other can have serious repercussions on how far and how fast you advance in your art.  Most importantly, though, is the consideration that if you’re giving it your absolute best on the dojo floor, then its also very likely that your doing exactly the same in your school or job, with your relationships and your family, and everybody is better off for that.

Train well!

Members of the St. Louis and Twin Lakes Kokondo dojos participated in The Warrior Dash just outside of St. Louis on September 29th.  In addition to having huge amounts of fun on the 5K obstacle course, we also raised just under $1,000 for St. Judes Childrens Hospital.

Dessa Blackthorn, Dave Hea, Chuck Martin and Chris Dodds, after completion of the event.

Two members of the Mountain Home dojo attended our regular Thursday class as well as a special Friday evening session.  The high point of the workouts was the testing and subsequent promotions of three Kokondoka!

Congratulations to Rob, Dessa and Nathan for your hard work and dedication!

This past weekend, on the campus of Seattle University, several dozen Kokondoka assembled for our annual National Seminar.  A range of individuals from new white belts to some of our most experienced Masters attended.  Ages that spanned over 40 years were on the mats at the same time, sharing and gaining new knowledge of our system.

I’m often the recipient of puzzled looks from friends and co-workers when I tell them I’m leaving town for “three days of severe beatings.”  They often tender some version of “you’ve got to to be crazy to do that.” Family members don’t bother any more.  I’ve been doing this for way too long.  There’s no doubt that anyone attending deals with any less in terms of  questions or comment.  The concept of spending several hundred dollars in seminar and travel fees, getting up at a ridiculous hour to make a flight, bowing in, going through anywhere from 18 – 21 hours of workouts in two-and-one-half days with just enough time for quick meal breaks, getting hit, kicked, choked, thrown to the ground – over and over and over – just doesn’t register as something normal in their minds.  It’s really kind of sad, though.

For those of us that live this life, we begin looking forward to the next Seminar about the time we bow out of the current one.  It is almost an insulting understatement to say Nationals are special.  It goes far beyond the meaning that single word can convey.

We get together for these three days, not just for the workouts but for so much more.  There’s the opportunity to leave the outside world behind for a few days.  We have the opportunity to forget the inane political ads that are unfortunately just starting to ramp up.  We let school or the office get by without us for a while.  All of the societal nonsense goes away.  We bow in to Kaicho and the Masters.  We bow in to each other.  We are part of a family working not only for our personal improvement, but to help improve everyone else with whom we have contact for the entire weekend.  Higher ranks assist the lower, while themselves gaining still more insight into the very techniques they are teaching.  We support and encourage each other.  The individual, as well as the System, grows with each session.

We share the joy and pride of those that receive rank promotions.  It was especially gratifying to see two Kokondoka that -  one in the very first session and one at the banquet – were surprised by unexpected promotions.  Their reactions and looks on their faces when their names were announced  had to be a highlight of the weekend for all of us in attendance just as it was for these very deserving individuals.  The humility of their acceptance of these honors was just as much a lesson to us as any waza we were shown over the course of the weekend.

We honored and thanked our host and all of the members that did so very much to make this Seminar happen.  Site preparation, airport transportation, registration, delivery of the mats and other supplies and more than I can fathom came together through the efforts of these selfless people.  Two more were recognized with the Bob Longo Award for their contributions to the system, one of the biggest honors we give.

The physical demands of the weekend are much more than most of us encounter at any other time of the year.  At the end of it all, we are tired, stiff and bruised at the very least.  Many of us move around in what is known as the “Kokondo Strut.”  People sitting next to us on the plane ride home seem a bit put off by the sounds we make getting into and out of our seat.  And we keep coming back.

We leave each Seminar better than we arrived.  Any less is nobody’s fault but our own.  There’s too much knowledge, too much support, to do otherwise.

I always have trouble finding a worthwhile ending for these little missives.  This time, though, I had the incredible good fortune of finding the following in my emails when I got home.  My thanks to Ms. Kristin Armstrong for the following words:

“I’m glad to be here right now, poking at my threshold.  I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable.  I want to get more confident being uncertain.  I don’t want to shrink back just because something isn’t easy.  I want to push back, and make more room between I can’t and I can.  Maybe that spot is called I will.”

Nothing much to say after that.

Good training, everyone!  I hope to see you next year!  Ossu!!

My daughter graduated high school a couple of weeks back.  After the ceremonies were over, a large contingent of well-wishers headed over to the local Ruby Tuesdays for a celebratory dinner.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple that we don’t get to see that often.  Conversation drifted back and forth over a number of different subjects when the lady of the pair mentioned a self-defense class in which she had recently participated.  Well, of course that got us into some real detail as to what was taught, what I thought could have been improved upon, etc.  I also mentioned that such classes tend to not really accomplish much, as neither the mind nor the body have adequate time to internalize the techniques and that having to consciously remember how to execute a technique from a class attended at some distant point in the past requires time that just doesn’t exist in a combat situation.

The husband, probably feeling a little displaced at this point, chirped “well, that’s all good, but my Sig would beat your karate.”  My response was the same as every other time this asinine comment is made to me……

“Maybe.  But where is your Sig at this moment?”  His sheepish shrug indicated that it was safe and warm in a nightstand at home 60 miles away.

This is indicative of what I refer to as the “Second Amendment Superheroes” that seem to be popping out of the woodwork lately.  They attend the necessary number of classes, pump the requisite number of rounds into stationary paper targets, get their piece of paper and now assume they are fully equipped to save the world from all sorts of evildoers.  Precious few ever get beyond that point.  There is no additional training and many will never again visit a range.  They do not understand that, in order for their weapon to be of use, it has to actually be present when needed.  There has to be adequate time and distance to draw the weapon, lock, load, aim and fire.  This assumes that the intended target for some strange reason exposes himself in some way as to demonstrate that they are a threat rather than take the more common and expedient route of attacking from ambush.

In addition, the defender is no longer dealing with the aforementioned stationary paper target.  The target is now moving, probably closing distance rapidly.  He is probably making his intentions known in a very loud and threatening manner.

Oh………  and he probably has a weapon of his own.

Then there’s the point that I consider the most critical:  The defender has to look into the eyes of another human being and pull the trigger.  For all the swagger and attitude our hero might carry around with his weapon, this one point is the most important in determining the outcome of the situation.  And too many will fail simply because they will not be able to allow themself to fire that round, or they will hesitate just long enough for the issue to become moot.  The other side of this coin is that they will indeed fire…… over and over and over……  somewhere in the general direction of the attacker, but not with anything closely resembling controlled technique.  They are now not only failing to effect a proper defense, but have instead become a danger to anyone else in the vicinity.

To use a firearm effectively for defense, there’s a whole lot more involved than going to those first few sessions.  They are the very first step, not the completion of the journey.  I would strongly favor the addition of combat firearm training as a prerequisite to being able to carry in public.  I know dozens of people running around with a handgun in their belt or under the car seat.  I can think of only a minute number of them that I feel comfortable around because I know they not only can handle their weapon, but they can also handle themselves in the bedlam that is an actual fight.  That is no faint praise I give these people.  The rest are running around with a false sense of security that is a serious and potentially fatal liability.

OK, so now that I’ve gone through all this, just what in the world does any of it have to do with karate??

Well, we can just as guilty of having a large, economy-sized overconfidence in our abilities.  Too many of us are only half-training.  All too often, I catch myself doing it as well.

See, we have an extraordinary martial arts system with masters and instructors that stack up against any other in the world.  We have a curriculum of karate and ju jitsu techniques designed for effective self-defense.  There’s noting wasted.  There’s no fluff.  We have the total package available to us.

So what’s the weak link?

It’s staring at us in the mirror.

We go to the dojo, bow in , warm up, practice kihon and kata.  We do ippon and sanbon kumite.  We practice blocks, throws, takedowns, kicks, single and multiple attacker situations.  We do thousands of repetitions of even the most rudimentary of techniques in order to achieve the body memory needed to execute them without having to resort to conscious thought.  We sweat.  We sometimes bleed.

But we also do all of this in a room full of like-minded individuals, fellow students and friends.  We bow to each other before practicing our assigned technique, signifying our mutual respect and understanding that we will place our partner’s safety as our first consideration.  We won’t be intentionally trying to maim the person across from us.  We back off a wrist lock when they tap.  We control our punches and kicks.  We pull up short of vital areas.  We have to.  To quote a line Shihan Arel used at the very first National Seminar I attended, “we all have to go to work tomorrow.”

The downside of this is that we tend to take all of the above for granted.  We sometimes go through the motions of practicing while at the same time discussing what the cat did last evening or the new movie we just saw.  We have become distracted (read: a target on the street).  Our partner has become that stationary paper target.  If we’re not careful, we’re every bit as much of a danger to ourselves as the barely-trained guy with his Sig.  What should be our weapon has instead become a liability.

Wow……  so everything we’ve been doing is worthless?  Not in the least.  What we need to keep in the mix, though, is enough mental “realism” to our practice to get ourselves into a state of mind that will most closely simulate the real thing.  This comes a whole lot easier to some of us than it does to others.  Some of us have been in fights, brawls, been bouncers, have jobs as police and/or other situational backgrounds that allow us to understand that the difference between the dojo and the street can be huge.  The other guy isn’t going to back off when we pat.  The upside is that we don’t have to, either.

Jiyu Kumite (translation = “free sparring”) is an excellent tool for developing our combat mindset.  In our class, we designate an attacker and defender.  After that all bets are off.  Any kind of attack is fair game.  We start slow, building speed and power as the experience of the participants increase.  If things start getting sloppy, we dial it back.  As the student progresses, we add multiple attackers.  Weapons will come into play.  Other distractions are thrown into the mix.  When time permits, we go from the dojo and gi to the outdoors and street clothes.  We work on taking advantage of natural weapons at hand and how to move on uneven terrain.  Overall, if it can happen in the “real” world, we want to get it into the training one way or another.

We have to be able to “pull the trigger” once the battle is joined.  Our mental and spiritual training is every bit as important as the physical.  Learning how to get ourselves into and out of a combat mindset requires just as much, if not more effort and should be part of every practice session in which we participate.

So next time you bow to your partner, treat them as such, but visualize them as the evildoer that’s trying to take your head off.  It may make all the difference in a real situation.

In the days prior to assuming the position of instructor of our dojo in 1994, I was participating in one of our general classes.  At this particular class, we were in the middle of an influx of new students, mostly due to one entire family joining.  Our sensei, Mr. May, and myself were going over the specifics of the first kata when they were asked if there were any questions.

The daughter of the family group had just one………………..  Why?

I don’t remember the details of the answer she received from Mr. May, but that question, in one form or another, seems to be at the root of perpetual debate in martial arts circles.  Is kata the “end all and be all” of martial arts, is it “alright for a warmup” as stated to Daniel in Karate Kid 3, or is it nothing more than “dancing” as described by those whose idea of “real” martial arts is …….. limited?

Answers abound, and like any other aspect of martial arts, many of those answers apply only due to the attitude of the student or what is passed on by the instructor.  We in the Kokondo system have been extremely fortunate in our exposure to the concepts behind kata.  While some of the benefits are obvious, others are not.  This isn’t because we’re being short-changed by our teachers, but rather because not all of the benefits apply in the context of our training in the dojo.  Let’s list a few from both:

Kata as a learning/retention tool  This is the very first benefit we get from kata.  We learn forms with simple movements early in our training.  As we progress through the system they tend to get longer and more complex.  Well, duh!! some of you are no doubt thinking right now.  I’m stating the obvious, obviously.  But to those newcomers asking “Why?”, think of kata as the living encyclopedia (or Wikipedia for those born subsequent to the days when information was obtained from books) of our system.  Every technique you learn as a kyu (rank below black belt) appears in the kata you are learning.  Your stances, blocks, strikes and kicks are all right there sooner or later, in your kata.  You have your whole basket of techniques right there with you at all times.  And now that you have them, you need to learn just what in the world you’re doing with them, which brings us to the real, true, primary purpose of kata:

Kata as a self-defense tool  Once you get past the part of having to consciously remember to step here, block there, punch this way and turn that way, what do you do with this knowledge?  The answer is summed up in a single, glorious word…….. BUNKAI!!!!!!   Bunkai is the lifeblood of kata.  Taught properly by a competent instructor, your kata now becomes the practical application of the techniques you’ve been practicing in a virtually unlimited syllabus.  That left turn into a front stance combined with a low block, followed by the next step to front stance with a punch?  You’re blocking a kick or punch coming from your left side and then taking out the bad guy with a shot to the abdomen, right?  YES!!! ……….  well, for starters, anyway.  Nothing in our system is wasted.  No hand motion, no body shift, no transition… nothing.  Every movement has a number of very effective defense applications.

Wait… did I just say “number of very effective defense applications”?  Good observation.  That turn to the left into a block?  It’s also a throw.  It’s also a strike rather than a block.  It’s an escape from an attempted grab.  It’s a neck break.  It’s blocking a strike or kick but also dealing with an attacker attempting to grab us from behind.  It’s also……..  well you get the point.  Which leads us to some of the really nifty benefits of kata that aren’t necessarily as obvious or directly explained in your usual dojo setting.

Kata for development of insight and imagination  Every hand technique in our system has five potential uses; block, strike, escape, trap/lock and throw/takedown.  So that block to the left?  Five things at least.  The punch that follows?  Another five.  So that first series of two stances and techniques has at the bare minimum 25 potential applications.  But wait!!!  While you’re executing that low block with one hand, what is the other hand doing?  OOOoooohhhh……  That retracting hand is also doing at least five different things, as is the retracting arm on the following movement.  Egad.  The number of potential applications just jumped dramatically, didn’t it?

Now let’s expand on that just a smidgen.  When we first start learning kata, it’s done with the instructor counting out the movements.  Step to left with block is 1.  Next step with punch is 2.  Shift 180 degrees with block is 3.  Next step with punch is 4 and so on.

So 1 and 2 deal with the first bad guy, right?  Then we got to 3 and 4 to handle the next attacker.  Yeah, that’s good for starters.  But say movement 1 wasn’t a block but was instead a throw.  Now movement 2 initiates a completely different scenario.  The punch now is no longer necessarily the end of a defense sequence, it has become the beginning of a new one.  Now maybe movement 3 becomes the ending movement of that new sequence, or movement 4.  Oh, geez, movement 5 is still there, too.

Not only are the movements of kata infinite in their possible mathematical permutations, but so too are the sequence of attacks and defenses that occur.  1 and 2 do one thing, but 2 and 3 do another, but so do 1 and 2 and 3.

My point is that your possibilities are very much endless.  One of the sheer joys of truly learning to appreciate kata is spending time with a partner and just “playing” with a short sequence of movements from a kata.  See what develops.  See what is effective.  See what isn’t, why it isn’t and how it can be improved.

And the side benefit?  Training your mind to realize that nothing in kata is “just THIS!!” can translate to freeing your mind to the infinite possibilities of any other situation you may encounter in life.  Learning to let your imagination flow benefits you tremendously both inside and outside the dojo.  Take advantage of it.

Kata as (very) physical exercise  Did you ever wonder what the reason was that you move this direction and that, using a front stance here and a back stance there or otherwise considered the logic behind the movements in a kata?

Of course you have.

See, a tertiary benefit of kata is that it is a tremendous physical training tool, if you use it properly.  Moving to and fro, side to side, back and forth in those deep stances (yes, you’re supposed to keep them deep) performs a myriad number of tasks specific to your martial art.  You strengthen your muscles.  You train your joints and connective tissue to be able to accept and perform techniques your body previously hadn’t been doing.

If you’ve ever heard of H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training), anybody that has been practicing kata for a period of time was fully aware of the concept before the personal trainer industry ever grasped it.  Busting through a series of kata with full speed and power, at the same time keeping your visualization intact and your form proper, is going to leave you gassed.  Period.

One of my favorite training tools is also most likely my least expensive.  It consists of a bunch of poker chips and a drawstring bag.  With these items, I’ve created what I call “Kata Bingo”.  Each chip in the bag has written on it the name of a kata.  When I arrive at the dojo and dress out, I will mix up the chips and then proceed to choose a number of them from the bag.  I can use any number, but 15 is my favorite.

Kata bingo chip from the magical bag

I will lay out three rows of five chips each.  The rules are simple.  You do the kata on the chip, in the order drawn.  You are not allowed to change a chip drawn, unless something precludes you doing that particular one (can’t do Sai 3 if the sai were left at home, for example).  All kata are done twice each.  The first five are done a little less than moderate pace.  The second set a little more than moderate pace.  That last bunch is done full-out.  Limiting rest time between rows and katas makes the workout that much harder.  It’s a fantastic pre-class workout.

Our kata, like anything else in Karate, or life for that matter, will give us only what we choose to put into them.  Taking the time to learn, apply, appreciate and train properly in our kata will greatly enhance our journey through the system.

So if you catch yourself thinking “why?” or if you’re asked, hopefully some of these thoughts will come in handy.

The trick is in the application.

Train well!  OSSU!

At the end of our International Seminar two years ago I was having a conversation with Kaicho regarding one of my students.  He spoke of how this person was advancing at such a rapid rate in terms of his abilities.  I gave him what I thought was an accurate answer regarding his progress.

“He cheats”.

Now I’m guessing that this wasn’t the explanation that Kaicho was looking for, or for that matter, the one that anyone reading this missive considers an adequate response.   I say in all sincerity, though, cheating is exactly what one needs to progress very far in a system such as ours.

How can this be?  A system that includes honor and veracity in our codes condones such a thing as cheating?????  Okay, I tend to over-extend my way of speaking sometimes.  But let us look at it this way:  If you think of cheating, what comes to mind?  Would it include the idea of using an advantage that your peers may not?  Would it be implementing something you would consider an “edge”?

Well, that’s exactly what this person does.

So, without further ado, I am going to render unto you a list of the ways you, too, can be a successful cheater and get ahead of the others in your dojo in terms of ability, ranking and quite probably, respect.

Cheating tip 1:  Show up for class.  Without a doubt probably one of the most used methods of the cheater.  He/she shows up for class!!  This is done almost without fail.  The idea of blowing off class because there’s a hockey game, new episode of (fill in the blank) on TV, this “thing” that someone has going on….. just doesn’t occur to the successful cheater.  Two evenings per week we have class.  He’s there.  One is as etched-in-stone as the other.

Cheating tip 2:  Train when you’re not in class.  What?!?!?!?!?!  “I pay good money for quality instruction!  I should be able to absorb everything I need in that three hours per week!!!!”  Yeah, right.  Successful application of technique requires body memory.  Simply put, you need to practice a technique enough times that your body can perform it without you going through the conscious thought process necessary to work through it.  The first move of our first kata is a step to the left in zenkutsu dachi, executing a gedan barai, followed by a step into another zenkutsu dachi, executing chudan seiken.  Do you know what you’re doing with that technique or do you just go through it like a zombie because that’s what you need to get to the next belt test?  Next question:  IF you know what the technique does, have you practiced it enough that you move into it fluidly and effectively without effort or thought?  No?  Time to do more.  A LOT MORE!!!  Now here’s the trick…… how much time does this translate into when you’re up to your 40th or 50th kata?  How many repetitions do you need if you’re a Jukido student having learned your 30th throw?  How many more reps do you need to do the same 30 throws in hidari?  Still think that three hours per week in going to be enough?  My cheater doesn’t.  That’s why he’s leapfrogging over those that believe otherwise.

Cheating tip 3:  Accept instruction and correction.  This is one near and dear to my heart.  Nothing remains static.  Ever.  It’s that simple.  There are variations/adaptations/improvements/evolutions to techniques and kata.  What I learned 30 years ago in this system sometimes gets “tweaked”.  Techniques get made better.  Here’s an even more shocking thought:  Sometimes what I think I saw or learned isn’t what the person instructing me thought I was being taught.  More simply put…. I’m doing it, and subsequently teaching it….. WRONG!!!  This means, that, once in a while, I have to correct something I taught our cheater simply because I didn’t convey the information correctly.  And, once in a while, sometimes our cheater falls prey to exactly this same problem.  What I thought I was teaching and what he thought he was learning weren’t the same thing and I have to correct it.

Now, here’s where the cheater and non-cheater differ:  Our cheater accepts the adjustment and moves on.  He doesn’t go off into a corner berating himself over being such an idiot as to have done something incorrectly.  He doesn’t mutter to himself and anyone else within voice range that this “wasn’t what I was taught when I learned it” or “they’ve changed it again!!!” as if there’s some unspoken conspiracy to intentionally give him bad information.  The bad is jettisoned, the good added, life goes on and a lot of energy isn’t wasted in between.

Cheating tip 4:  Seek instruction.  This is sort of a corollary to number 3.  See, again our Cheater doesn’t just rely on class two nights per week to get what he needs.  He emails me with questions when he has them rather than hope he remembers to ask them in class.  He attends the Internationals.  He gets to one or two or however many of the Regional Seminars or Workouts he can each year.  He takes advantage of having higher ranks around him.  There are always nuggets of information to be gained.  There are corrections to something I’ve not adequately taught.  There is the chance to pick up another technique/throw/kata that would not have otherwise been presented.  There’s the sheer benefit of having more mat time with fellow Kokondoka that can only be advantageous to those smart enough to take that opportunity.

At this point I’m sure some of you are thinking “This is nuts!!!  I don’t have the time/desire/money/whatever to go through all this!” and I will be the first to agree with you.  We all have our own ideas of what we want or where we want to be with our training.  What I’ve described above isn’t for everyone.  It was never meant to be.  And that’s alright.  Get what you want from the system in the way you need to get it.  This can be as much or as little as obtaining some exercise that you wouldn’t otherwise get.  It can be the opportunity for a little fellowship and a chance to get out of the house.  It’s your path and you have to choose the direction you walk and the distance you travel.

Some of us, though, came to a point of differentiation in our lives.  Somewhere between August of 1985 and this point in my life I stopped being an accountant who practiced Kokondo.  Instead, I became a Kokondoka that used accounting as the method of supporting my training.  I was fortunate enough to marry a fine Lady that accepts me being gone two nights a week to pass what I’ve gained on to my students, going to seminars around the country, beating on the heavy bag in the basement and sometimes putting a divot in the wall with an errant sai.  In the past few years I have gained the luxury of time needed to put in a couple of hours of training at the dojo before any of the students arrive or to go to a local park to do bo, sai or kata training.  I’ve been lucky enough to have a handful of students that will show up for some extra-curricular workouts.

It’s a good life today.

Who says cheaters never prosper?

Every once in a while I have someone come in wishing to teach them or their children so they can “learn discipline”.  Most of the time, they leave with another martial arts myth removed from their database.

I say this because things aren’t done the way they are viewed in the movies.  We don’t exist in a feudal society with perpetual civil wars that require constant training in armed and unarmed forms of combat.  We aren’t in a situation that requires us to train hour upon hour, day upon day, in order to defend our daimyo’s lands from the army of the warlord on the other side of the mountain.  Even for those of us that train for personal defense, it very simply is not the same world.

There was a whole different meaning to the word “discipline” in those days.  Quite simply, you trained as hard as you could as best you could as much as you could because to do less would result in your death on the battlefield.  It was your side against the other side with archers, spearmen, swordsmen and later, riflemen.  Just like today’s wars, there’s a whole lot more going on than what we will ever encounter walking to our car after work.  Don’t get me wrong!  An attack on the street is every bit as dangerous and the situations just as deadly.  The difference is, though, that this is the anomoly.  We need to be aware but in all likelihood, if we are very fortunate, we will never put our skills to use in a life-and-death situation.

Let’s time-warp forward a few centuries, now.  It’s the early 1900′s and we’re observing a “traditional” martial arts class in Japan.  The head instructor enters the front door along with a number of his senior students.  Those on the training floor stop what they are doing and, on command, bow to the instructor.  As the instructor goes by a junior student asks him if he is having a nice day.  The instructor only marginally acknowledges the greeting but as he passes, one of the seniors knocks the student to the ground with a brutal punch.  The crime?  The student is not supposed to address the instructor at all, much less in such informal terms.        

Now I have to ask you:  Is this the kind of treatment you’d expect to have your children subjected to in a class setting?

Let me answer for you:  No!  This is the kind of thing over which cheezy personal injury lawyers salivate.  It isn’t the kind of behavior we tolerate in today’s society.

And saying it’s teaching discipline is a lie.  It’s abusive behavior.

So am I saying we’re supposed to reduce our martial arts training to giggly pillow fights?  Nobody gets bruised, we don’t keep score and everybody goes home a winner?  Absolutely not!  We train hard in our dojo.  We smack each other around with solid, but controlled, strikes and kicks.  We throw each other to the ground but we control our partner’s descent so that they can land properly.  We leave sore, sweaty and sometimes with fresh bruises.  The difference is that we acknowledge to each other – and ourselves – that we’re going to subject ourselves to a couple hours of this a few days a week.  We not only know it is coming, we expect it.  We can even go so far as to say we look forward to it.

Our “discipline” doesn’t come from the physical activity….. at least not directly.  It comes from showing up every class knowing what’s in store for us.  It comes from showing up on days we really would like to just go home and have a cold one instead.  It comes from showing up when we’re already tired, when we’re irritated from a lousy day at work, when we have to go from the car to the dojo in the rain and so on.

Our discipline comes from practicing the same kihon for incalculable repititions because we know we can still do it better.  It comes from knowing we’re going to practice our new kata over and over and over to the point where we can do it in our sleep.  It comes from knowing that once we now know the directions to turn and the techniques to execute we will spend the rest of our lives learning and practicing the applications of the techniques in that form.  It comes from knowing we’re never done and that once we “get” a kata, our reward is to begin learning a new one and the process begins anew.  Nothing is ever completed.  Constant review and refinement is expected.  And through all of this, we do it because we know it’s what’s necessary, not because we’ll get beaten otherwise.

Can we learn discipline from martial arts in today’s world?  Sure.  The trick is that we become our own teacher, and quite often, we find it was there all the time.  For those that leave because it’s too hard or too far or too (fill in the blank) it likely would never come, regardless of efforts of the instructors.

This article is written with one of my students particularly in mind.  He leaves in a few weeks to begin serving our country in the military.  For several years he has made a monumental effort to get to and from class.  His trip covers roughly two hours on mass transit and a two mile walk from the station to the dojo.  The same trip is necessary to get home.  He has come to class in our ridiculously hot, humid summers, in sub-freezing winter weather, in show, in rain and whatever else nature has thrown at him.  No complaints (not many, anyway) or excuses.  He gets there and he works hard.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is discipline.