The final Tonbridge training session of 2008 on Tuesday 16th December brought a rare opportunity to bring juniors and seniors together in a joint training session. There are many benefits in doing this. As with all 'marker' training sessions (sessions that mark the beginning or end of a period of time, or era), this was representative of the traditional spirit of Kyokushinkai Karate. Those of us that trained within the BKK during the 1970s and 1980s will have fond but harrowing memories of thousands upon thousands of techniques, gruelling exercises, people vomiting, full blown fights starting in the dojo (actually something to be ashamed of) as contact inevitably got out of hand. Most of these things I witnessed and experienced as a junior. My first experience of training in a Kyokushinkai dojo would have been around 1978, at St. Dunstan's Catholic Church Hall in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, although I didn't begin training seriously until 1982 at Tonbridge. The memories of Tuesday and Friday nights training under Senpai Barry Henniker, when most of my school mates would have been sat in front of 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet' or tucked up in bed, have stayed with me. My limbs feeling like lead weights as the count went on, and on, and on, knowing the kicks are going to go higher on the next count once this hundred are finished, it's completely ingrained.
So on Tuesday, the two juniors that were brave enough to turn up for what I had promised as an important session, had their first taste of this type of training. Relatively light, largely due to time constraints, but we had a strong basics warm up of around 1000 hand techniques and 250 kicks, with full kiai ('life shout') on every technique, rooted in sanchin dachi, and myself and the front line counting ten. We all did them. Towards the end that familiar burn creeps into the muscles, as the mind starts to long for just the slightest change so different muscles can work for the merest relief. I studied the faces of our two brave youngsters and saw the grit and determination starting to show, the development of the 'don't give up muscle' (a phrase aptly coined by Goju Ryu instructor and author Gavin Mulholland). This is what sums up a Kyokushin Karate-ka as much as anything else, the dangerous (to an opponent) tendency to just keep on going no matter what, this was taken from more traditional styles like Shotokan and Goju Ryu, and formed into a Kyokushinkai ethic, where, like in Shotokan especially, the stress of holding taxing positions like Kokutsu Dachi (back leaning stance) and Kiba Dachi (straddle stance) for long periods of time do as much to develop character as they do to develop strength. Look into the sport branch of Kyokushin karate at the knockdown tournaments and you will still see that the esteemed prize for 'Most Spirited Fighter' is one that every spectator, competitor and official will have an opinion on, the underdog that, like a dog with a bone, just would not and could not let go, often in spite of terrible injury. Delve further still into the history of kumite tests within the BKK and we see this go to yet another level. Sensei Trevor Marriott's 50 man kumite in 1993 at Ipswich was brutal, disturbing, but inspiring. He faced the best fighters of the day, Michael Thompson, Nick Da Costa, David Pickthall, Jeff Whybrow and many many more that attacked with merciless ferocity. He would not give up. The ones that haven't made it over the years have usually had the attempt stopped by Hanshi as they became unable to effectively defend themselves, they did not give up.
So we have gently introduced a new generation to the 'don't give up' ethic of Kyokushinkai. It also gave the juniors an opportunity to see black belts practice kata, and to practice their own katas alongside the Senpai. They also witnessed the Senpai practicing Yakusoku ('I promise') with each other, something I consider to be of crucial importance to developing self-defence skills, and witnessed them making mistakes, and then trying again, a brief hint that the black belt will not be the end of the road if and when they eventually achieve it.
Which brings me to the title of the entry. We will have a grading at the club in March, which the two lads were told to work towards diligently if they wished to be considered. I do not grade every three months religiously, I grade when I think that the students are ready. If students or parents pester about gradings, it generally tells me they are not ready. On the occasions when someone that has pestered about a grading has been allowed to attempt it, it invariably ends in failure, largely because the student's focus was on the destination (i.e. wrapping a new coloured obi around their waste and strutting around in it) rather than the journey (i.e. genuinely trying hard to develop their basic skills). The issue of gradings is highly contentious in all martial arts, organisations can rise and fall upon how many gold bars someone has or can or can't get on their black belt. I've unfortunately over the years witnessed some of the most embarrassing grovelling, posturing, manoeuvring and back-stabbing all in the quest for the perceived status of that next stripe. In reality, of course, all this energy is wasted if all you want is status, notoriety and 'to be respected'. My good friend and summer camp co-habitant, Sensei Stuart Wright, said to me once that if your peers don't recognise your grade then it isn't worth having, no matter where you stand in the line-up or what people have to call you. Focusing on a grade for the sake of having it is pointless. The rank of 3rd Dan in Kyokushinkai is a major milestone, it affords the title of Sensei. This rank and the pursuit of it has brought much pain and controversy over the years. Some feel it is too easy to attain now, however there are no more people ascending to this level than there were ten years ago within the BKK at least, roughly two or three per year (although it could be argued that there are proportionately more of us given the drop in membership over that period). My particular grading for this grade was one of the longest days of my life, I had virtually no sleep the night before, the terrors of what was to come kept me awake the whole night. At around 4am I was ready to pack my bag and sneak away, never to return to training again, only a text and phone call home, and the engaging of that 'don't give up muscle' kept me there to face the arduous task ahead. Walking into breakfast looking pale and drawn, I took some relief in seeing that my fellow candidates looked no better than I felt! Of course we pulled ourselves through it, hours and hours of meticulous scrutiny of technique, interpretation, severe bollockings, and then pain throughout the stamina test and the hard sparring. It wasn't over though. One of the toughest tests was to come. At 7pm we were summoned back to the hall (all Sandan candidates) and 'locked in' with Shihan Liam Keaveney, the BKK chairman, who had been in the grading along with Hanshi Arneil and Shihan Noddy Warden. There was nothing this man didn't want to know. Our aspirations, intentions, thoughts and feelings on Kyokushin and the BKK, how we intended to contribute if we were to become Senseis. In addition we had to explain our newly crafted personal katas in detail, and be questioned on them by our fellow candidates and Shihan. We were 'let out' at about 10.30pm, exhausted.
What was clear to me from this experience was that whilst we can look at a grading requirement on paper and think that it doesn't look like too much, with Sandan especially the mental requirement is a massive step from the preceding grade, but this can be attributed to all grades, there is more to all grades than what appears. One of the values of the grading system that dissenters often miss is the fact that it does test the candidate, it tests their character as well as examining their technique. Without availing themselves of these procedures karate-ka and other martial artists would miss out on what some psychologists refer to as 'AFGOs' (Another F****** Growth Opportunity). Finding the balance between having a healthy aspiration to improve and ascend the grades and being overly obsessed with grade and 'status' is something we as instructors need to do our best to help our students to understand.
So the final session of 2008 was a success, and myself and a few of the Senpai headed off for a trip to Pizza Express to finish the evening. 2009 promises to be an exciting and challenging year as my wife and junior instructor in the club, Senpai Toyah, appoaches full term in April with our first child, the challenges of coaching the England Clicker team continue, and we aim to build the club to a stronger and deeper level.
So on Tuesday, the two juniors that were brave enough to turn up for what I had promised as an important session, had their first taste of this type of training. Relatively light, largely due to time constraints, but we had a strong basics warm up of around 1000 hand techniques and 250 kicks, with full kiai ('life shout') on every technique, rooted in sanchin dachi, and myself and the front line counting ten. We all did them. Towards the end that familiar burn creeps into the muscles, as the mind starts to long for just the slightest change so different muscles can work for the merest relief. I studied the faces of our two brave youngsters and saw the grit and determination starting to show, the development of the 'don't give up muscle' (a phrase aptly coined by Goju Ryu instructor and author Gavin Mulholland). This is what sums up a Kyokushin Karate-ka as much as anything else, the dangerous (to an opponent) tendency to just keep on going no matter what, this was taken from more traditional styles like Shotokan and Goju Ryu, and formed into a Kyokushinkai ethic, where, like in Shotokan especially, the stress of holding taxing positions like Kokutsu Dachi (back leaning stance) and Kiba Dachi (straddle stance) for long periods of time do as much to develop character as they do to develop strength. Look into the sport branch of Kyokushin karate at the knockdown tournaments and you will still see that the esteemed prize for 'Most Spirited Fighter' is one that every spectator, competitor and official will have an opinion on, the underdog that, like a dog with a bone, just would not and could not let go, often in spite of terrible injury. Delve further still into the history of kumite tests within the BKK and we see this go to yet another level. Sensei Trevor Marriott's 50 man kumite in 1993 at Ipswich was brutal, disturbing, but inspiring. He faced the best fighters of the day, Michael Thompson, Nick Da Costa, David Pickthall, Jeff Whybrow and many many more that attacked with merciless ferocity. He would not give up. The ones that haven't made it over the years have usually had the attempt stopped by Hanshi as they became unable to effectively defend themselves, they did not give up.
So we have gently introduced a new generation to the 'don't give up' ethic of Kyokushinkai. It also gave the juniors an opportunity to see black belts practice kata, and to practice their own katas alongside the Senpai. They also witnessed the Senpai practicing Yakusoku ('I promise') with each other, something I consider to be of crucial importance to developing self-defence skills, and witnessed them making mistakes, and then trying again, a brief hint that the black belt will not be the end of the road if and when they eventually achieve it.
Which brings me to the title of the entry. We will have a grading at the club in March, which the two lads were told to work towards diligently if they wished to be considered. I do not grade every three months religiously, I grade when I think that the students are ready. If students or parents pester about gradings, it generally tells me they are not ready. On the occasions when someone that has pestered about a grading has been allowed to attempt it, it invariably ends in failure, largely because the student's focus was on the destination (i.e. wrapping a new coloured obi around their waste and strutting around in it) rather than the journey (i.e. genuinely trying hard to develop their basic skills). The issue of gradings is highly contentious in all martial arts, organisations can rise and fall upon how many gold bars someone has or can or can't get on their black belt. I've unfortunately over the years witnessed some of the most embarrassing grovelling, posturing, manoeuvring and back-stabbing all in the quest for the perceived status of that next stripe. In reality, of course, all this energy is wasted if all you want is status, notoriety and 'to be respected'. My good friend and summer camp co-habitant, Sensei Stuart Wright, said to me once that if your peers don't recognise your grade then it isn't worth having, no matter where you stand in the line-up or what people have to call you. Focusing on a grade for the sake of having it is pointless. The rank of 3rd Dan in Kyokushinkai is a major milestone, it affords the title of Sensei. This rank and the pursuit of it has brought much pain and controversy over the years. Some feel it is too easy to attain now, however there are no more people ascending to this level than there were ten years ago within the BKK at least, roughly two or three per year (although it could be argued that there are proportionately more of us given the drop in membership over that period). My particular grading for this grade was one of the longest days of my life, I had virtually no sleep the night before, the terrors of what was to come kept me awake the whole night. At around 4am I was ready to pack my bag and sneak away, never to return to training again, only a text and phone call home, and the engaging of that 'don't give up muscle' kept me there to face the arduous task ahead. Walking into breakfast looking pale and drawn, I took some relief in seeing that my fellow candidates looked no better than I felt! Of course we pulled ourselves through it, hours and hours of meticulous scrutiny of technique, interpretation, severe bollockings, and then pain throughout the stamina test and the hard sparring. It wasn't over though. One of the toughest tests was to come. At 7pm we were summoned back to the hall (all Sandan candidates) and 'locked in' with Shihan Liam Keaveney, the BKK chairman, who had been in the grading along with Hanshi Arneil and Shihan Noddy Warden. There was nothing this man didn't want to know. Our aspirations, intentions, thoughts and feelings on Kyokushin and the BKK, how we intended to contribute if we were to become Senseis. In addition we had to explain our newly crafted personal katas in detail, and be questioned on them by our fellow candidates and Shihan. We were 'let out' at about 10.30pm, exhausted.
What was clear to me from this experience was that whilst we can look at a grading requirement on paper and think that it doesn't look like too much, with Sandan especially the mental requirement is a massive step from the preceding grade, but this can be attributed to all grades, there is more to all grades than what appears. One of the values of the grading system that dissenters often miss is the fact that it does test the candidate, it tests their character as well as examining their technique. Without availing themselves of these procedures karate-ka and other martial artists would miss out on what some psychologists refer to as 'AFGOs' (Another F****** Growth Opportunity). Finding the balance between having a healthy aspiration to improve and ascend the grades and being overly obsessed with grade and 'status' is something we as instructors need to do our best to help our students to understand.
So the final session of 2008 was a success, and myself and a few of the Senpai headed off for a trip to Pizza Express to finish the evening. 2009 promises to be an exciting and challenging year as my wife and junior instructor in the club, Senpai Toyah, appoaches full term in April with our first child, the challenges of coaching the England Clicker team continue, and we aim to build the club to a stronger and deeper level.
Merry Christmas!
Osu!
Osu!
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