Non-Competitive Karate

Many people have a hard time getting their heads around the idea of non-competitive karate and assume that if you practice karate you must enter tournaments. After all, isn’t karate a sport? Karate was originally developed as a method of unarmed self-defence, not a sport. In addition, over time many teachers realized that there were other benefits to be realized from the practice of martial arts beyond the ability to defend oneself. People who trained in karate for a number of years could learn to be more relaxed, calmer and more focused—not to mention more fit. While it is true that most of us have a certain amount of competitiveness in us, that doesn’t mean that every activity has to be a competition. One can train or practice an activity without turning it into a sport—whether it be karate, playing a musical instrument, running, or what-have-you. Skills can be developed and the activity enjoyed without competing. There is nothing inherently wrong with martial arts competitions, but it becomes a problem when too much emphasis is placed on competition and commercialism so that winning becomes the primary goal. This also frequently goes hand-in-hand with the glorification of violence. Karate practice without the sports element can be a rewarding and fulfilling activity. There is time to fully study the techniques, allowing yourself to practice and learn with your training partners, rather than fighting. This also results in far less risk of injury. Older or less-talented students don’t get pushed aside in order to focus on the most skilled students who can win trophies for the club. And as we get older we can continue to train and develop our skills, not merely being relegated to coaching. In the KDS we believe that karate is not a competitive sport but rather a life-long activity with an ultimate goal of self-improvement.

February Seminar

This weekend we had a training seminar for our adult students. The main focus for the seminar was age uke (rising block), with a number of technical practices aimed at working on the following elements of the technique:

• Relaxing the blocking arm at the point of impact while maintaining form and not letting the arm collapse
• Keeping the elbow of the blocking arm down, with the feeling of weight in the elbow
• Moving back onto the rear leg to accept the force of the attack and "load" the muscles of that leg, without bringing the body up
• Driving off the loaded rear leg bringing the body forward and squaring the hips while maintaining the structure of the blocking arm
• Dropping the blocking hand and bringing it back to the hip as we perform a reverse punch

We also did some technical work on mae geri (front kick) and practiced sambon and kata.

As usual when we have these seminars the intensity of the practice was higher than in the regular classes, with people working quite hard throughout the 2 1/2 hour class. We were pleased to be joined by Ryan and Michael from the New Glasgow club.

The following students were graded at the end of the seminar:

• Tom Crosby - yellow belt
• Lily Crosby - yellow belt
• Mario Pinto - green belt
• Jason Prager - green belt
• Johanne Zinck - blue belt
• Bruce MacInnis - brown belt
• Mike McCann - black belt

Report on Summer School 2010 by Clarence Whynot

This August I travelled to England as I do most years, to take part in the annual KDS (Karate-Do Shotokai) Summer School under the direction of Master Mitsusuke Harada and his team of senior instructors.

The course is held every year at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England and lasts for a week. There are two classes most days, with each class lasting three hours. This year there were about 120 students, a mix of black belts and coloured belts, coming from the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, the United States, Belgium, and of course Canada.

The classes are always split into several groups, sometimes according to grade and sometimes mixed. This year the groups were split almost entirely by belt level, so I was practicing exclusively with 2^nd and 3^rd degree black belts (dans) from different countries for the entire week. The groups are usually led by 4^th dans, with Harada Sensei and the 5^th dans going around assisting individuals and providing direction and clarification where needed, as well as practicing among themselves.

Me with Marie Kellett, 5^th Dan, of Wales, and Master Mitsusuke Harada, MBE

The week is very challenging, physically and mentally, as we just are not used to training for six hours a day—not even marathon runners like myself! But the ability to practice with so many advanced karate-ka and get so much directed training in so short a time is well worth the effort. I always come back from Summer School with a number of things to work on throughout the next year.

Our club covers most of the costs associated with my attendance at Summer School, and in past has also subsidized other club members who are involved in teaching. It takes over a week of vacation time from my job to attend this course and unfortunately there is no time for travelling around or sightseeing while I am there, but again it is well worth the personal time invested for the opportunity to train at this level.