|
|
|
Click
image above to enter SHOPPE |
Worldwide Martial Arts (Photos below) In
June 2008 Kyoshi Dave Butler set out to travel the globe to re-establish
historic ties with leading martial arts organisations and martial artists from
around the world and to also experience new styles of martial arts. The
following is a reproduction of the travel blog written by Christine Butler based
on Dave's reports from overseas. The purpose is to encourage Kiwi martial
artists to expand their horizons and to train with new instructors, new styles
and to grow as individuals and as competent and well qualified Budoka. To some
it may simply be of general interest or perhaps of no interest at all. To others
it may provide a blueprint or an insight that allows them to plan and develop
their martial arts skills and plan a training adventure of their own. The
original blog contained a few typographical errors which are corrected here and
photographs, graphics etc have been added since Kyoshi Dave's return to New
Zealand making it a more complete document. Forward: My
Husband, Dave, has been involved in martial arts for 40 years. during this
period he has trained in Judo, Karate, Kung-Fu, Iaido, Aikido, Kenjutsu,
Batto-Jutsu and has achieved senior Dan grades in the last 4 of these. He has
been the NZ representative for Jiu-Jitsu International, World Kobudo Federation
and the Kokusai Boudoin, International Martial Arts Federation based in Japan.
Dave has travelled the world on numerous occasions to train with each of these
organisations, often taking students to experience the rich diversity of martial
arts training around the globe. Posted Friday, 13 June 2008 Canada - Phase 1 1st
stop is Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Dave was last there in 1994 at the World
Kobudo Convention and a couple of years earlier in 1992, 5 hrs down the road in
Toronto at the Jiu-Jitsu International Convention. It
was a 13 hour flight from Auckland to Vancouver, then a 5 hour flight to Ottawa,
so he was pleased to be able to walk upright again on arrival. But why choose
Ottawa if there is no martial arts convention on at this time? because the
person who organised the 1992 and 1994 convention is Kyoshi John Therien
who is the head of the World Kobudo Federation. Kyoshi Therien is an 8th Dan in
Jiu-Jitsu and has many times been nominated as Canada's #1 martial arts
instructor. Kyoshi has a number of dojos in Ontario and Quebec provinces.
Another claim to fame of Kyoshi John Therien is his involvement in kickboxing at
the highest level. Kyoshi was responsible for training, promoting and developing
the 14 times world champion middleweight kick boxer Jean Eyves Theriot, who was
known in the ring as the "Iceman". Although now retired from professional kickboxing, the Iceman
continues to train and teach at the Therien Dojos, bringing through a new wave
of highly skilled fighters from the Therien stable. It is a further tribute to
Kyoshi Therien that a world champion martial artist would take coaching and
guidance from the same man throughout his professional career and long after in
his retirement.
On
arrival in Ottawa, Dave had arranged a training session with Yoshi Therien. this
was to be the subject of Kyusho - Jutsu, - pressure-point and nerve centre
theory. Dave has studied this before and is aware of a large number of nerve
centres and pressure points on the human body, but Kyoshi Therien is somewhat of
an expert in this area and Dave knows it well. At a World Kobudo Federation
convention in Charleville Mezzieres in France in the late 1990's, Kyoshi Therien
invited Dave to be his demonstration partner so he could teach the theory to the
thousands gathered. Following the demonstration, Dave was unable to climb the
stairs of his hotel for 2 days, and in this town the hotels are old with no
elevators. It was this positive and enlightening experience that encouraged the
current visit to Ottawa to experience more of the Kyoshi Therien magic. (In a
city full of hotels with elevators.)
Dave has now arrived in Canada and is currently training under Kyoshi Therien's
positive influence.
We will have a regular report from Dave on the outcome over the next few days,
and the rest of the Martial Arts Extravaganza over the next two weeks. Posted: Sunday, 15 June 2008 CANADA REPORT - Continued
#2 On
arrival in Ottawa Dave was supposed to train and was initially disappointed to
find that the session had to be cancelled. Kyoshi had made a commitment
elsewhere, in fact to attend his God-daughter Miva's 4th birthday party. So Dave
was invited along as well to enjoy the hospitality of the local population and
to accompany Kyoshi and his wife Christine who is also a noted black belt. Monday, 16 June 2008 Canada Report Phase 3 So
as mentioned above, on arrival to Ottawa Dave was initially disappointed to find
that training had to be postponed due to a prior commitment. Germany Report Phase 4 Onto
the plane and another nights sleep lost as Dave flys from Canada to Switzerland,
then just across the Rhine River to Rheinfelden-Karsau in Germany. 3
views of Renshi Oliver Gugel's Dojo below: 1
Dojo looking back from mat towards changing and bathroom area - Kyoshi Rainer
Grytt, 7th Dan happens to be in the shot There was a training session that night and Dave attended. An opportunity to teach was offered to Dave, but he declined. Dave has another saying that many martial artists seem to forget: "You learn little while you are talking" And the objective of the visit was not to show off, but to learn more, so the class was taken by Renshi Oliver, 6th Dan in Jiu-jitsu and Yako-Kobu- Jutsu. A Finnish instructor, Journi Forsstrom, had also arrived and the two had a great time training together. Below:
Sensei Jouni Forsstrom of Finland Posted Tuesday, 17 June 2008 Report 5 – Germany – Jiu-Jitsu International Annual European
Seminar On
the Friday the instructors from various parts of Europe began to arrive for the
weekend seminar. Kyoshi Jurgen Kippel (8th Dan, Based in the North of Germany)
was one of the first, and Dave had met him previously at a military training
camp in Switzerland and they already had a good rapport. Jurgen
offered a tour of the Black Forest area which is close by (ski resorts etc) and
Dave accepted. They were joined by Frank Nickel who is a 3rd Degree (of a 5 level instructor ranking) instructor
in CQB
and Krav Maga and is an instructor for the military Special Forces in Germany.
This is a picturesque area of Germany bordering Switzerland and near the Rhine
River.
Later
in the afternoon on return to the dojo, Soke Richard Morris (10th Dan and founder of Jiu-Jitsu
International)
arrived. Soke Morris should be an inspiration to all martial artists. How many
times in New Zealand do we have students who miss training because they have a
sniffle or because there is a good TV programme on? As a contrast, and as a
great leadership role-model, Soke Morris had recently come out of hospital
recovering from very major surgery and was still under doctor’s supervision
and orders by doctor and wife to stay home. Despite
this he took time to fly to the seminar to teach and to support the organisation
he founded as well as, supporting all who attended. Let that be an example to
all of us, instructors, students and administrators – to get to the top you
must have single minded perseverance and determination. Eskrima,
Close Quarter Battle, and a range of other disciplines. The one thing they had in
common was to support a common goal which was refreshing to see.
Left
- Some of the mat training area at JJI Seminar Rheinfelden - Jigsaw mats same as
supplied by As
well as technical excellence, Soke Morris spoke to the seminar about friendship
and family. He sees all members of JJI as being part of a big family and that this is more important
than anything else. Without the common purpose and desire to help each other any
organisation is doomed to failure despite any other attributes it may have. This
point was stressed. Help and support each other to reach the top.
In NZ we have limited access to some of these things – in part we are a
closed shop because of geographical isolation and lack of exposure to people who
are better than ourselves. Dave is first to admit that he was exposed to a lot
of people that are better than himself and has become a better martial artist as
a result. He encourages others who want to have an enlightening Budo experience
to enquire about joining Jiu-Jitsu International and to obtaining access to a
worldwide circle of friends who will provide the “happy pain” we all need to
improve ourselves. Next
Report on traditional Bujutsu from Tokyo, Japan Posted Sunday, 22 June 2008 Report 6 - Budo Training
in Tokyo, Japan Following
an exhilarating time in the south of Germany and Switzerland, Dave finally
arrives in one of his favourite countries - Japan.  The Omiya Budokan from road frontage The first impact was to see the Omiya Budokan. It is a large, well maintained building in a semi-residential area and notably it is situated on a street called 'Budokan Dori'. In keeping with Japanese culture the building is impressive without being flashy. It is entirely functional. But this is just the outside. At the entrance students and instructors alike remove their shoes in the foyer, replacing them with indoor footwear. The entrance foyer is expansive and has polished wooden floors. There are dojos in every direction so advice must be sought from the reception area. Yes, he was told, this is the correct place and Shinbukan is upstairs. Upon going up the steps about 25 martial artists are encountered, all quietly sitting in seiza outside a large dojo. A question is asked and the newcomer is politely informed where to get changed into his dogi. By the time he returns the number has grown to about 40, and Kuroda Sensei is now amongst them but at the dojo door, also sitting in seiza. This kind of formality has never been encountered before, even in his 15 years studying under Obata Sensei, and the newcomer is slightly bewildered, but with 40 Japanese martial artists focussing their eyes on him, what is the correct etiquette and procedure to adopt at this dojo? The answer is not known so Dave kneels in seiza and hopes he will no longer be noticed, but this doesn't work either. A senior student approaches the newcomer and asks him to introduce himself to the gathering. The senior student soon explains the procedure and Kuroda Sensei calls the newcomer to his side, where at last things become a bit more relaxed. Interestingly, and Dave was aware of this beforehand, to train at Shinbukan it is necessary to become a fully fledged member costong 10000 Yen as well as paying the class fee of 4000 Yen. In total this comes to something like NZ$200. This was willingly paid, but mention of it is made here for the benefit of novice students in NZ and Australia who are asked to pay their monthly class fees and it has been known for them to be paid under duress, or not be paid at all. This would not happen at Shinbukan. If you want to learn you first show your interest by paying the correct amount, in full, ahead of time. If you don't pay, the answer is very simple - you don't get entry to the dojo. And this is the way it should be. There are no misunderstandings about what is required by any of the parties. It is not just a commercial arrangement, it is more than this. It is a sign that the student values participation in the organisation and values the training that is about to be received. The formality, while unusual, is the way Kuroda Sensei operates his dojo. There is an onus on the students to turn up on time, fully kitted, and those who are late place a severe burden on those who are early. If one person is disorganised, the entire class suffers, so to remain friends with your colleagues and with the teacher, it pays to be on time. Unlike many conventional western Dojos, there was little apparent obligation to fit in with the students. Quite the opposite, the students had an obligation to fit in with the sensei and with the dojo itself, but it was done in a calm and controlled fashion with no arrogance whatsoever. People just knew their place, and their place was to a large extent determined by their actions. It can be a stressful situation travelling to a foreign country, especially the home of Japanese Budo, not knowing what is expected or how to react, but going through these challenges and coming out the other side still with your dignity and self-respect intact is a rewarding experience. Even if, in the process, you lose these things, it is only temporary and you are better prepared for a similar situation in the future, providing you learn form the experience. Now in the dojo, dogi on, fees paid and out of the limelight - what happens now. The newcomer wasn't even sure what the class was as he hadn’t been told. Typical formalities then pursued, but with roll-call. Dave was bottom of the list, but at least his name was now on the Shinbukan roll. The dojo was one of many in the complex with exceptionally clean tatami about the size of 8 competition judo areas. It was immense and there was plenty of room for all 40 practitioners. The lesson was Kenjutsu, an art Dave was very familiar with. While this might be the case, training in Iaido, Batto-jutsu and Kenjutsu had taught that there were many styles and what was in practice in one style is sometimes frowned upon in another. For example it is common in some styles of Iaido to do many techniques from the knees, while in older schools of Kenjutsu such as Katori Shinto Ryu there are crouched techniques but nothing from the knees. Kuroda Sensei showed nothing from seiza position either. Everything was demonstrated from a standing kamai, however this was only an introduction to the style. Grip, cuts and posture are different from many other styles. The grip, for example is very loose in contrast to the "towel-ringing" motion suggested by some schools. Particularly frowned upon is the sword grip that uses the forefinger and thumb pointed down from the tsuka (ie forefinger and thumb not used for gripping). This grip is also adopted by many schools, sometimes under the idea that ki can be encouraged to project from the finger and thumb thereby assisting technique. Sensei said that this is in fact a rude position for the hands to be in and is never adopted in Shinbukan. Luckily it is not a grip adopted by Samurai Arts students. The swing is also quite different to many styles with no snapping of the wrists. In fact the wrists do not adjust during the swing and remain in one position. Foot position is also slightly different. With these changes in posture, hand placement and body movement, the cut is naturally also different from that taught at many schools. All of this was fantastic to learn, as to attend a school that taught only what was already ingrained would add nothing to our knowledge. This is one of the benefits of studying several styles of swordsmanship, or other martial art. The strongest points of each style can be adopted, or at least the strengths can be analysed and understood. It is also interesting to study within differing styles where the forbidden in one style is the norm in another, and vice-verca.
Kuroda Sensei and part of Shinbukan class
This
was Kenjutsu, but Dave also attended Jujutsu classes under the same master. In
typical Japanese fashion, basics are initially stressed and Kuroda Sensei was
particular about using the internal energy, body position and strength so that when
attacked it is possible to effectively disappear and have nothing left to
attack.
The
attacker essentially defeats himself without a lot of outside intervention.
Numerous examples were demonstrated and practiced but these are difficult
concepts to understand, let alone to apply. Final Report #7
Taiwan - Singapore – Malaysia. Following Japan a visit was made to Taiwan for a few
days. This visit was related to our business at Action Martial Arts Supplies and
the need to keep close contact with our valued suppliers on behalf of Kiwi
Budoka. Although some of our products come directly from Japan and some from
Pakistan, the US and elsewhere, this provided an opportunity to keep our Taiwan
suppliers informed about the particular needs of Kiwis within the martial arts
world. These discussions also increase our knowledge of the world
scene for martial arts supply and it was found interesting that different
countries have particular requirements. The USA for example is seen by our
suppliers as price sensitive, so a great deal of lower quality product is sent
to this market. Some suppliers have even withdrawn from the US market because it
is uneconomic to sell there, and if they do sell there, they get a bad name
because the quality they offer in order to meet the price level is so inferior,
that it reflects poorly on their reputation. Europe, Japan and the UK markets
are not so price sensitive and higher quality products are manufactured and
dispatched to this market. We at Action Martial Arts Supplies like to inform our
customers of this point. “Action Martial Arts Supplies
” try to strike a balance in order to
provide high quality martial arts products at a competitive price. We avoid “cheaply-made” products because we
believe it is not in the interests of our customers to provide low quality
goods. We strive to provide good
value for money, quality products and great service and to do this we in turn
must cooperate with suppliers who have similar values.
Pro Budo is a great example of this. They manufacture high
quality wooden weapons and uniforms in China but their biggest markets are in
fact those who demand the highest quality – Japan, France, and UK. Pro Budo quality
must therefore be (and is!) at a level to support discerning customers in these
demanding markets and to compete with other top end suppliers from Japan and
elsewhere. It is important for us to visit Pro-Budo and similar suppliers to
ensure that the interests of professional and amateur NZ martial artists are
well catered for into the future. We want Kiwis to have the best. New Shinken, Iaito and
Tameshigiri stand available from Pro-Budo Our Dojo Mat manufacturer and supplier was visited with a
view to looking at their complete product range and possibly to including some
aerobics and yoga exercise products within our portfolio of products. A major
worldwide supplier of budo
It was also interesting to learn that in the past
some Taiwanese companies had collaborated with the world’s best-regarded
athletic brands (we can’t disclose the brands for obvious legal reasons) to
create a range of perceived top quality budo uniforms, only to find that once
product development was completed, these branded companies then took their
business directly to China to reduce production cost. What this tells us is that
buying a perceived top-branded uniform in some cases only guarantees the
printing on the label, not necessarily the final quality of the goods. So when
buying martial arts weapons and uniforms, judge your purchase on the product
quality of the finished item, not just on the label printing. Business done it was time to move on to Singapore. A positive welcome from one
of our martial arts goods suppliers Singapore The objective here was for Dave to meet with Sensei
Adam Wong. Dave met Adam when he came to New Zealand from Malaysia a year or so back to run seminars on a style of
samurai-swordsmanship called Tenshin Shoden
Katori Shinto Ryu. Sensei Wong’s technique
and training style impressed us as did the philosophy of Katori Shinto Ryu so
this trip presented an opportunity to visit Sensei Wong and receive another
exposure to a very traditional martial arts school. This is an original form of Kenjutsu that originated in
the 14th century well before the peaceful era of the Japanese
Tokugawa Shogunate starting from 1603. In fact it is regarded as the first
authentic style of Kenjutsu, and has been described as Japans oldest martial
arts school, with its founder Iizasa Choisai Ienao being born in 1387 more than
200 years prior to the Tokugawa shogunate. Consequently it is a battle style of
Kenjutsu as opposed to a form that is designed for maintaining law and order
during peaceful times. The techniques of Katori Shinto Ryu are all performed from
either a standing posture (normal) or sometimes from a low posture of Iai-goshi (similar to Tate
Hiza, a crouched position adopted by samurai scouting parties to remain
concealed), but never from the kneeled seiza position. The reasoning for this is
that Seiza is a position adopted when indoors, and the katana, (long sword) is
never worn indoors. This traditional approach is adopted by many older styles of
Kenjutsu (including Shinkendo) and
contrasts sharply with some of the sword styles which developed later. But this
is nothing new, as mentioned earlier, we had seen a number of contrasting
methods throughout budo schools. While some aspects of Katori Shinto Ryu have parallels in
Shinkendo (Which is the sword art developed by Toshishiro Obata based on Kashima Ryu, Toyama Ryu, Yagyu Ryu and Ioriken Ryu), the kamai (postures), the cuts and the defensive
movements also have many differences. Because it is such an old art,
consideration is made for the effects of wearing heavy armour where, for example
the Kabuto (helmet and esp. the kuwagata) may prevent a standard jodan-kamai and
therefore also may prevent a vertical cut from this position. Thrusts are made
to areas where the armour is thinner or where there is an opening and unlike
Shinkendo, there are no direct sword-blocking movements. All defensive movements
also double as an attack. Almost every movement has more than one objective –
for example, what appears to be a block, is also a cut that stops the attack
before a block becomes necessary, and what appears to be a thrust may also stop
or prevent an attack by keeping the assailant avoiding the kissaki (tip) of the
sword. There is compound strategy in every move. As an original school of Bu-Jutsu, Katori Shinto Ryu was
not just about Kenjutsu. The school teaches the 18 arts of the samurai including
the other weapon arts and the unarmed Kumiuchi or Ju-Jutsu techniques. These are
on offer via Sensei Wong, but Dave’s main interest was in the Kenjutsu. Dave’s visit to Singapore was cut short so to
compensate, and to provide enough training a venue was attended that enabled
training to continue during the night, beginning at 9pm. Sensei Adam Wong is a very accomplished martial artist and
has made it his mission to study this art from the Sug Sensei Adam has invited Dave to go to Japan with him to
study together with Sugawara Kyoshi at the dojo headquarters. Although very
interested in doing this, he feels that he needs a lot of time one on one with
Adam Wong Sensei in order to
understand the art in more detail (and to substitute the earlier habits formed
under previous training regimes) before accepting this kind invitation. There
may be an opportunity for Sensei Wong to come to New Zealand and run a seminar
in Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu sometime over the next year for those
interested (please register your interest with Christine@action.org.nz)
as we will need at least 50 people to attend the seminar to make it viable.
Registration does not commit people to attend, it merely provides a list of
people for us to advise when a seminar is pending. Conclusion After Singapore, Dave is due to fly home in the next
few days, from the heat and humidity of the Northern Summer and training on the
Equator, to a Kiwi mid-winter. Although travel and training comes at a
considerable financial cost the benefits are too many to list. When he returns
Dave will update the Samurai-Arts Website (in much need of an overhaul) to
include references to the instructors and organizations met or revisited on this
occasion. This will happen over the coming few months. We remind those interested that there is likely to be
another overseas trip planned to the Jiu-Jitsu International Seminar in Germany in 2009 and once again
we urge those interested to register their interest with us at Christine@action.org.nz
. We further urge those wishing to become members of Jiu-Jitsu International to
contact us. Although the JJI organization is
generally based around Ju-Jutsu, it must be remembered (in the words of Sato,
Meijin, 10th Dan and Chief Director of the Kokusai Budoin in Japan) “Ju-Jutsu is the Mother of all Japanese
Martial Arts”. The European seminars have instructors from the arts of
Karate, Aikido, Judo, CQB, Penkat Selat, and other arts so it is not confined to
ju-jutsu exponents or ju-jutsu techniques. If you train a Japanese martial art,
it is likely to have been derived in some way from Ju-Jutsu, so students and
instructors of all other arts will find great benefit from attending a JJI
seminar in Europe and will be welcomed in the same warm way that Dave was. Our next project is to get the new Lake Tarawera
Dojo operational. This has taken months longer than planned but light is now
appearing at the end of the tunnel. Initially it will cater for beginner classes
for local residents but past students and those wishing to study Japanese Budo
will be welcome to enquire about training in 2 – 3 months time. Good Budo Christine
|
