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JKA Victoria Article - The Road to Karate by JKA Master Hiroshi Shoji
Article
The Road to Karate – A Budoka’s Way
To Live
By Hiroshi Shoji. Shihan of the Japan Karate Association.
Part 3 - Shoto Maxim
and Training
Allow
me to quote two teachings from the Shoto Twenty Maxims and talk about anecdotes
about them.
“Karate is not only in the dojo” This is the maxim
that teaches us Karate training does not end only with a few hours of training
in the dojo and that we should take every aspect of our daily life as Karate
training. This teaches us to refrain from complaining in our daily life.
I
also remember training on the train, copying what Funakoshi Sensei did.
During
my time at university, apart from my training in the dojo, I did various kinds
of training such as wearing iron clogs. I also remember training on the train,
copying what Funakoshi Sensei did. In his book Funakoshi Sensei said that on
a typhoon day he held one tatami mat with both hands and stood in a Kiba dachi*18
stance against the typhoon. A typhoon that hits Okinawa is very strong and nowadays
many two-story houses in Okinawa are built with ferro-concrete. It may be possible
to stand at a diagonal angle against the winds in Zenkutsu dachi*19.
What was to be noticed was that he stood in Kiba dachi. His legs were said to
be glued to the ground like a strong magnet. How amazing!
One day this became a topic of a conversation with my friends on the JNR*20
train and we said “Let’s practice” and started practicing
Kiba dachi against the rocking motions of the trains. We could manage to stand
still in Zenkutsu dachi, but it was extremely difficult to stand still in Kiba
dachi.
The scene of us tottering with the high tooth clogs that clattered every time
the trains stopped was not a good one to see. The scene of the unkempt looking
students tottering on their hips without holding onto the straps must have been
comical to the passengers around us. We were very serious, but our legs would
not stick to the floor like a magnet.
Without
well-trained ankles and knees, the hips will not be supported.
The
stability of stance is in principle determined by the hips, the stability of
which is determined by the knees and ankles. Without well-trained ankles and
knees, the hips will not be supported. Without clenching the hips, there will
be no force in punches and kicks. Let me introduce a few stances here;
Zenkutsu Dachi (Fore Stance) Take a step forwards, lower the
hips with the front leg bent deeply and the back leg straightened. This is a
stance strong against the force forwards and backwards.
Sanchin Dachi (Hour Glass Stance) Put the heel of the front
foot on the same line as the toes of the back foot and bend the knees slightly
and squeeze them inwards.
Nekoashi Dachi (Cat Stance) Keep
the heel of the front foot off the floor with only the toes touching the floor.
Bend the front knee slightly inwards to protect the groin with the front knee.
Point the toes of the back foot diagonally forwards and bend the back leg deeply.
Each
stance has strengths and weaknesses.
There
are many different stances, but no one is perfect. Each stance has strengths
and weaknesses. For example, Zenkutsu dachi where the legs are spread apart
length wise is strong forwards and backwards, but weak sideways. Kiba dachi
where the legs are spread apart sideways is strong sideways but weak forwards
and backwards. Weaknesses and strengths co-exist back to back in each stance.
However, these stances will, by strengthening the ankles, knees and hips in
various methods and from different viewpoints, become very firm like an immovable
tree and sometimes swift like a flying swallow, at a critical time without being
conscious of the forms of the stances. To
be continued...
Notes:
Translated
from Japanese into English by Nishimura Takaatsu Sensei, Senior Instructor,
JKA Victoria
*18 Kiba dachi is a horse riding stance.
*19 Zenkutsu dachi is a stance with 60% of the body weight placed on the front
leg.
*20 JNR stands for Japan National Railway.