Karate Day 2017

81 years ago something pretty incredible happened.

At 4pm on the 25th October 1936 in Naha, Okinawa. A very important meeting took place. A meeting that would become a cornerstone in Karate History.
The 1936 'meeting of the masters'.
The people whose pictures we now have on the wall. The people who we read books about. The people who paved the way to make Karate what it is today.
Hanashiro Chomo Sensei, Kyan Chotoku Sensei, Motobu Choki Sensei, Chibana Choshin Sensei, Shiroma Shinpan Sensei, Oroku Chotei Sensei, Nakasone Genwa Sensei and Kyoda Juhatsu Sensei.
In this meeting they decided that the fighting art that was being referred to in many different ways would come to be known as Karate- Empty Hands.
They felt like karate was a dying art because nobody was interested in it in Okinawa anymore. They wanted to make sure that the thing that they loved so much was not forgotten and that they were not the last people practising it. They wanted Okinawa to be known as the place where this beautiful art was brought to life.
Today is an incredible day because 81 years on, i think they achieved their goal.
Last year when the Guinness World Record was set with almost 4000 karateka doing kata at the same time, in the same place, in the middle of Okinawa. They would be proud.

2016 Karate Day Guinness World Record- 3793 people

Karate day fell on a Wednesday this year and with the newly opened Karate Kaikan a special demonstration was held there today with the current Karate Masters Performing at the 'special dojo'.

Being so small and cute ;) i crawled up the front and sat next to an important looking man in a suit, it meant i could get some pretty incredible pictures and videos of the people i really look up to and respect. I so want to be just like them someday.

The atmosphere there today was incredible. Once the speeches and demonstrations had started, everybody was so quiet and respectful.
There was a vibe of safety in the air- I mean, i don't think i could be in a safer place if i had tried - a feeling of confidence, peace and security.
Sunday will be the day where Karate takes over Kokusai Dori (Typhoon permitting) and so i'll do another post then, but i think today was a perfect way to commemorate Karate day.

It got me thinking about how different things were back then but they still strived for the same things that we are nowadays- getting more people to practice karate and love it like we do; and we love it because of what it brings out of us.
It makes us confident, part of a team,  a student, an athlete, a teacher, a mentor and so, so many more things. most importantly though. It gives us something money can't buy. Happiness and when taught in the right way, creates really great people.
Quoting Funakoshi Sensei: 'the ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of character of it's participants'.

I'll be dead in 81 years time, but i hope that i can play a small part in preserving Karate and passing it onto the future generations, just like the Sensei before us did and just like these sensei are doing now.

100 Kata for Karate day- Year 4!

The day before I came to live in Okinawa we completed the first 100 Kata Challenge.

100 Kata Challenge 2014- Year 1

100 Kata Challenge 2015- Year 2

100 Kata Challenge 2016- Year 3

100 Kata Challenge 2017- Year 4

The 100 Kata Challenge and Karate day also marks a special time for me, because it was the 25th October 2014 that we got on the plane to come to Okinawa. I didn't know whether i would be on Okinawa for one Karate day and now I've been here for 3! There's no atmosphere quite like it.

Completing the 100 kata has phases, just like my journey here:

-The first few kata are so new, fun and exciting. You do them with enthusiasm and energy.  woohoo, go go go.

-Once you reach about 20, you start to slow down and pace yourself, you see the journey ahead and realise you have to settle in or you wont make it to the end.

-When you hit about halfway you begin to wonder why you're doing this. 'only halfway?!' then you tell yourself with a glass half full kinda head- half is done, drink some water- keep going.

-You reach 70 and your muscles are aching and sore, you're sweating a lot and beginning to wonder if it will ever end. I'm never doing this again.

-At 80, it's like zen, you're on autopilot almost. It's therapeutic. There's only you and the kata. Nothing else matters, you're there in the moment. It feels great.

-90! You actually almost did it! Now everyone's energy comes back. Yahoooo, here's where you become a team and are doing this together. 91, 92, 93.....

-100. We did it. Tired, Sweaty, Achy, Dirty....

But, that was great.

When can we do it again?

Nakasone Sensei's Suidi

(And one of the coolest Karate history tours ever)

Less than 24 hours before it began was when i decided.

A spontaneous last minute decision (with a little gentle persuasion from James).

Which probably became one of the best decisions I've made so far this year. Besides learning an incredible amount in both practical karate technique and karate history- I made some new (really cool) karate friends.

Nakasone sensei reminded me of myself somewhat. Maybe thats why i liked him so much. He is curious, always wanting to know why. He is enthusiastic and gets completely lost in karate. He speaks honestly about what he thinks of techniques and it's practicality. He researches and learns the history so that we can all learn from it. He is always smiling and he most definately has sparkly eyes.

Nakasone Sensei's Karate is Suidi (Shuri -Te)- Leading right back to Bushi Matsumura Sokon. Originally, he studied Shorin Ryu (which is still Shuri Te) but decided to research and travel further back to the roots in his quest to discover karate.
Most of what he does involves a relaxed and natural approach to defence- simple body movements that can happen quickly and naturally to give you the advantage.
He used joint locks (which can be used to both restrain or break) and the element of confusion and surprise.

I asked him, why do you break bats and boards when your karate involves being soft, fluid and natural? He said because you can't hit people and your training partners as hard as you can. It is important to practice at least once, what it is like and how it feels to hit something as hard as you possibly can. It really got me thinking, it is something i'd like to try.

After a couple of very intense training days, we had a karate history tour day where every place but one was new. This was really really cool to me because we also had James to translate the incredible wealth of knowledge that Nakasone Sensei has about it.
He did the tour perfectly- get to a place, tell the story, let people take pictures and move onto the next one. With this approach we made it to 8 or 9 different Karate sites around Naha, Shuri and Itoman in the day.

As the week went on, the visiting karateka started leaving the island. I had another opportunity to train with Nakasone sensei, of course, i took it. It was great to be able to continue on and refresh the things we had gone through in the seminar. I also had the chance to spend some time with him in the bar, where i got to listen to his stories and karate journey.

If i get the opportunity to train with Nakasone Sensei again, I will 100% take it.
I guess, the biggest lesson I've learnt from this whole experience is how much good can come from saying yes and taking the opportunities presented to you.