Karate in nature !

Wow... how are things exemplified in nature? We are told karate should be totally natural at its best, but we often do not get the chance to truly "see" the natural... because we are always so busy being distracted by the things we are involved in. This is true not only in our martial arts study but also in our Christian walk through life.

Watch this and think...

What do we see... ?
1. someone so into the task at hand that they aren't aware of their surroundings or what is about to happen.
2. an attack that not only is a surprise and totally natural, but one where the whole body and momentum are used in the course of attack.
3. the dazed moment when one is "not sure what happened".
4. the unbelief and inability of a friend to change the event once it is realized.
5. other going by not even aware of what happened... or even caring.
6. the frustration  with realization that you just got suckered.
7. the realization that even if all care and awareness had occurred, it may have still been unavoidable.

So many lessons for us not only in martial arts but a Christian walk. How many times are we caught totally off guard by the enemy when we are doing everything right.

Also, what an example in perspectives... lessons from the cyclist perspective... his friend... the antelope... and the onlooker........ In all situations there is always 3-5 perspectives.
1. The attacker
2. the defender
3. the onlooker (be it friend or passer by.. which can be totally different interpretations)
I'm sure the next cyclist along may have thought .."how did he end up crashing out here... he can't even ride on a flat plain?"... but even if he did see it, notice he continued in the race.
--and if you look at the 5 views--
4. God's view or heavens view (the positives or good)
5. Satan's view or earth view (the negatives or bad)

All situations of self defense and life will have at least 3 to 5 different views of each situation. In this particular video view 4 and 5 are not as clear other than the effect on the cyclist... but in life or self defense these two views are very valuable because they determine if we are doing something for a positive or a negative motive.

Self defense is not wrong in the case of self protection or the protection of another... but once the opponent has been downed or dropped, there is no need to continue an attack. To do so changes one from being a protector to being an attacker or a bully.

We are constantly reminded to be defensive in our art. Sometimes this may be perceived as the need for a "pre-emptive strike"  to stop a situation... but this is only as a means of self defense. We must always be on the caution to remain committed to the cause of defense and protection only, that way our hearts and minds remain true.

Karate is FOOTBALL !!!

What is Kara-te about? Ask people and you'll get a sundry of answers... "fighting!"... "sport!"... "fitness!"... "self-defense!"... "character development!"... "eastern philosophy!"... "socialization!"... "life protection!"... "a way of living!".

 I am a RN and martial arts instructor so to me, Kara-te is about life protection and helping people get better. Jacob (my son) is playing football, so for him right now, karate is football! So...right now, kara-te is about Jacob. I want him to succeed and do his best and have fun,  but I also want to protect him... so I am sharing various insights that the Lord has given me in martial arts to enhance his football skills and help him be better at what he does. :)

Kara-te is football... may sound crazy, but at it's essence, kara-te is about:

1. "awareness and regognition"... Seeing and knowing one needs to act. 
2. "body and movement"... knowing the body (yours and the opponents), and the natural responses.
3.  "protecting one's self or another".... the "how to do it"

... Kata (movement training patterns) are the secret to martial arts in that they are the encyclopedias of information and knowledge... and can apply to everything... even football!

The learning never stops! I am learning more aspects about my martial arts as I work to help my son. I found some wonderful examples on the internet that involve football and also fully represent kara-te. Sanchin Kata will be the basis used for examining four videos and seeing their correlation with football.

1. the bull rush and speed bull rush... (we have two videos for this one)

Here we get some of the same foundational work as seen in sanchin. We see the importance of stance and alignment... the reason for the first hard step (to get them to show their hands and fire first or make initial contact)... attack "half a man" and the double arm guard position to drive an opponent back. Also the open hand to close hand concept used in grabbing and why.

This goes to the foundation of Sanchin kata... the initial double arm guard and forward movement is essentially a bull rush.... notice James Harris in this video... hands inward and upward, elbows locked inward and to the front, arms 45 degree angle in relation to his body. The 3 and 5 count he mentions is exactly the same as the counts in performances of various versions of Sanchin kata with a 1,3,5 count and then a turn. These counts are used to adjust distance and perfect power transference.

2. Next is the basic rip move...

This one is interesting as you see the need for the opposite arm in the chudan uke (outside cover move) in Sanchin Kata. This while being a means of double protection is also a means of avoiding entrapment as one is moving past an opponent maybe to evade and escape. The actual block and punch also propel him past the opponent as the arm goes around and pulls back into guard while checking the opponent.

3. To get a better view of this lets look at the double swipe move...

Now in this one we also see how to evade a grab or push and get around our opponent...

In looking at these we see much of the depth of Sanchin Kata in actual use. Not the stagnant immobile version but a very mobile version. One that demonstrates the actual purposes behind these motions we practice so often.

See.... Kara-te can be football! :) and the lessons we learn are basic to protecting ourselves either in evasion or escape but also of use to get to our true opponent.

ROn 

Hello and Welcome!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to War Cross Martial Arts. I am Ron Brookshire Jr. and I will be making entries and updates about my thoughts, various ideas and theories, principles and concepts and just current events related to martial arts and our school.


I really hope you find it interesting use the knowledge and insights as a tool to help advance your understanding or at least look at things from various perspectives.


Have fun! and enjoy!
ROn