The Technical Evolution of Shotokai Karate
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Practising Karate has always meant to me to be in a never-ending process of research. A research leading inevitably to doubt and rethinking. Doubt and rethinking of what we believe we know, of what we think we have understood.
Therefore, for the fifteen years that I have now been the Technical Director of Shotokai France, which is now Shotokai Europe, this way of thinking was the only thing I ever was convinced of: that I can and I must do better. I couldn't have asked less of myself since, at the time Master MURAKAMI died and he was to be succeeded, the highest-graded members of the group were second dan. And even if this meant, at the time, a minimum of ten years of regular practice, there was much need of improvement.
It was in the hope for improvement that I turned myself, in vain, to Japan. Yet I was lucky (if there is something like luck and chance) enough to meet and train with top-level experts in a number of other martial arts. This made me realize the enormous lack of theoretical and practical knowledge Karate suffers from when compared with other arts such as Taiji Chuan, Iaido, Ken Jutsu and Ju Jutsu and Da Chen Chuan when taught by the best of their experts.
What I learned with them allowed me, among other things, to elaborate the notions of unrestrained movement and coordination which are the basis of Shotokai Karate. If I try and sum up an evolutionary process which lasted several years and which was not always linear, I would say that at first some believes that, at the time, prevailed in Shotokai had to be questioned. Other notions, found in other martial arts but perfectly suitable to Shotokai Karate and in the spirit of Master EGAMI’s Shotokai or, at least, of what I think it to be, had then to be introduced.
At that early time, Shotokai’s theoretical basis was limited to a few terms:
"Lower - Farther - Natural"
These notions are not bad in themselves but applying them properly requires certain specifications in order to avoid making mistakes or producing the mock Shotokai Karate they often have engendered.
"Lower"
Someone being very supple can work low in the positions of Zenkutsu, Kokutsu or Kibadachi. But everyone has their limits and these are reached when the position creates unnecessary tensions and slows down the movements‘ fluidity. Practising in a very low position can be a good exercise from time to time. Stay low all the time makes one tense and stiff and injures the joints.Too many karatekas have stopped training because of having problems with their knees.
This turns catastrophic when one wants to stay in a low position and make very long displacements at the same time, putting all the weight onto the front knee only by doing so. This position is completely off-balance and the movement very heavy and very slow.
The problem is that, most of the time, shotokaika grow within small groups lacking communication between one another. As they never meet anybody who really moves fast they are not even aware of their slowness let alone the reasons for it.
Certain psychological problems follow from this. Working low makes the trainings hard and tiring. A masochistic mentality is being developed: we are here to suffer. This, mixed with the Christian notion of the pain being rewarded, makes us believe that the progress will be proportional to the efforts made. This is proves to be not only too simple but often the opposite: the more we train in a wrong way, the more defects we accumulate, the more we become "bad".
Furthermore, and I have noticed it lately while meeting other groups I had not seen for a long time, the fatigue and strain certain postures cause engender a self-defence reflex of the body in order to escape the pain. Zenkutsu positions are then "adjusted" to be held for a long time. As a result, the hips turn and end up facing forward with the back completely rigid because of a badly-placed pelvis. When the ideal alignment of the back leg-pelvis-shoulder-arm in Zenkutsu is lost, the distorted position doesn’t generate any power anymore, for Oitsuki for instance. The power of the attack will consist merely of the arm‘s muscles' strength.
In fact, the height of a posture doesn’t matter, or at least this is not what makes it good. What is important is whether it is balanced or not. The pelvis has to be well placed, parallel to the ground and free of any tension. The torso has to be as relaxed as when in a standing position. Only the leg positioning changes according to the position.
"Working lower" was originally introduced as an exercise to make the body more supple, to free it from tensions and to enable it to make big movements and powerful attacks. Misunderstood and badly taught, this "working lower" leads to traumatisms in the joints. It also generates unnecessary and harmful tensions and makes the movements slow and heavy. Like this the position cannot be correct and relaxed at the time of the impact.
"Farther"
The idea of "throwing" an attack as far as possible is excellent as long as it allows you to go right through the opponent and not makes you stop the movement at the moment of impact. But it is harmful if it causes you to extend and hump your body in a false atempt to try and go even farther. Even more so when you lose coordination between your foot and your fist.
The most important thing in a movement is the body arriving completely relaxed at the moment of impact. This is the essential condition for releasing power and setting free energy.
The second condition for a good movement is the foot-fist-hara coordination, so that there is a hit and not a push. If we know how to move using the body and not the legs, then we can attack far (four or five meters). The attack will then be powerful. In any case, whether the attack is short or long, one must intend to attack far. Even when not moving at all, one can attack far. Energy may be projected far by intention. Vice-versa, there are attacks using large movements where the intention, the energy, doesn’t go beyond the fist. These are short attacks.
"Being natural, making natural movements"
This "natural" can generate various or even contradictory interpretations. I fully agree with the term "natrureal" if it is translated by "movements must be made without any unnecessary tensions". But how can a "normal" person, with all his or her restrictions, make a natural movement?
Master UESHIBA believed that the ideal tension in an arm is the one a baby uses. Who still has this kind of suppleness and elasticity? How can we get them back? The answer is by executing one's Karate techniques in such a precise manner that no muscular strength and unnecessary tensions are needed any more.
Mastering these techniques will provide the Karateka with a body called "seitai" (balanced), which is the least gain one can expect from a martial arts practise. Progress will be achieved by always seeking more speed, more power and more efficiency.
Let's have a look at Kata, for instance: currently Bunkai is "en vogue" in France, everybody searching for the correct application of the techniques, their meaning. Personally, I don’t care. Kata are a recent creation and unfortunately do not contain any hidden technical secrets. But they can be precious educational tools.
In a Kata, it doesn’t matter if we do Uchi Uke or Gedan Barai; what is important is how we do it. Some techniques are complicated and not very realistic. It doesn’t matter. Let’s search for the best way to do it, this search in itself will be formative. The Kata will then become an educational technique for the body.
All the technical evolution I have presented during those past few years only had one goal: to make the Shotokai techniques more efficient, not for the sake of efficiency as a goal in itself, this is not my concern, but for efficiency as a means to test whether the technique is correct and thus allows energy to flow.
And then... I believe one cannot devote his life to Shotokai and stick to carrying out inefficient techniques; searching for what is best in our art is the only possible aim.
The techniques have thus to be formative for the body but also for the spirit. As Master KURODA, the great master of the sword, wrote: how can one expect to generate noble and subtle ideas and feelings by practising crude techniques?
The possibilities of the human body are so wide that the search for technical improvement is fascinating and endless. And every progress leads to a further widening of the body's possibilities. And when one ventures on inner work the whole technical spectrum expands and deepens at the same time.
But before talking about this inner work I'd like to introduce some new notions into Karate as it is at present. Notions which are adapted to Shotokai and found in the best sources I know. They all add to the wealth of Shotokai and reeinforce its principles. Below are some examples. I shall only provide a basic explanation of the concepts although some would require a more specific definition. For the time being I only hope to arouse the reader’s curiousity and reflection. I am ready to answer any questions in more detail in the future.
Relativity
By "relativity" I mean the participation of every part of the body in the execution of a technique as well as the fact that the limbs' movements relate to the body and not to an exteriour "absolute".
For example, in order to attack with Oitzuki from Shizentai rotating your hips to go into Zenkutsu, you do not thrust your arm forward but to the side while at the same time you turn your body forward by 90 degrees. The gain of speed and power is, of course, significant because any such movement is the result of the concomitant work of various muscular groups whose strengths and speeds are summed up. This is also a fantastic means of developing your body’s consciousness because it requires being aware of every muscular group taking part in the movement.
Musoku
This notion that usually is translated as “absence of weight“ attempts to teach how to move not by fighting against gravitation but by using its vertical force in order to move horizontally. The movement can then become long, fluid and fast.
But to achieve this "absence of weight" requires a lot of work because it goes against all our habits. Indeed, our whole muscular system built itself to fight against gravitation. In order to walk, run, stand up, etc., we have taken the habit to push downward with the leg you put your weight on. In order to do Musoku, in everyone of your moves you must do the opposite: pull upward the leg you stand on.
Let's look at an example of how to apply Musoku in the hope of making this clearer: Usually, in order to walk, we put the weight onto the left leg to bring the right leg forward then onto the right leg to bring the left leg forward and so on. Like this we end up with a front leg that in fact pushes against our walking direction while we shift our weight from back to front and thus slow our movement down. In order to overcome this resistance we have to push even more strongly using the back leg. Furthermore, this shifting of weight from left leg to right leg leads to a zigzag movement of the centre of gravity.
In order to realize Musoku, the "absence of weight", we must do the opposite of all this. We do not put any weight onto the front leg. We thus are not slowed down by its resistance and we do not have to push with the back leg that we, on the contrary, pull towards ourselves as well. The legs‘ muscles thus work in a centripetal manner, towards the centre of the body, and not in a centrifugal direction. We end up in a rolling movement resembling the rolling of a billiard ball which doesn't slow itself down unlike the chaotic movement of a tumbling dice slowed down by its edges.
"Musoku" has many other interesting aspects but the one described will already help to greatly improve all of your movements.
Foot-fist-hara coordination
This is a basic concept very widely spread in all martial arts. The fact that it is not emphasized in Shotokai constitutes a true heresy. People practising Shotokai Karate willingly talk about the harmony of body and spirit yet one can't in fact talk about harmony in the body even without hand, foot and hara being coordinated. Which part of the body will the spirit go in harmony with if everything is moving separately? How is it possible to have a minimum of power in the attacks without coordinating these three points? All you end up with like this are pushes, not blows.
The strength comes from the body
"The strength comes form the body and not from the arms" wrote Master Egami. This sentence is usually interpreted as: "It is the step you take that creates the strength of the attack and not the power of the arm movement". In that case there actually ought to be written: "Power comes from the legs", because it is they which make the step.
I interpret it as "strength comes from the torso". And this in two ways:
Physically, at the moment of the impact, there has to be a movement of the torso on top of the step you have taken.
On an energtic level, the Ki comes from the abdomen and is transmitted through the arms which have a passive role only. It means that in an attack the arms do not move! For those who are interested in inner work, in energy, it is important to understand this. Only when there is no outside moves can there be inside moving.
This, like the rest, deserves further explications and I am, of course, prepared to answer any questions you might have after reading these lines. The list of the concepts mentioned is far from being exhaustive. There are many more notions to be discussed, such as:
- All movements have to be centripetal
- The Kiai is done when breathing in
- The arm and the back have to be elongated at the moment of the blow
- The tendons play a more important part in a movement than do the muscles
- Learn how to move with your central axis
- The important thing to train when working with a partner is to take over the centre
And so on...
In conclusion I hope these few ideas will incite reflection in those who already know one of the forms of Shotokai Karate and, more important, that they will make many others want to discover SHOTOKAI.
© Copyright Patrick Herbert, Technical director of Shotokai Europe, May 2003
Therefore, for the fifteen years that I have now been the Technical Director of Shotokai France, which is now Shotokai Europe, this way of thinking was the only thing I ever was convinced of: that I can and I must do better. I couldn't have asked less of myself since, at the time Master MURAKAMI died and he was to be succeeded, the highest-graded members of the group were second dan. And even if this meant, at the time, a minimum of ten years of regular practice, there was much need of improvement.
It was in the hope for improvement that I turned myself, in vain, to Japan. Yet I was lucky (if there is something like luck and chance) enough to meet and train with top-level experts in a number of other martial arts. This made me realize the enormous lack of theoretical and practical knowledge Karate suffers from when compared with other arts such as Taiji Chuan, Iaido, Ken Jutsu and Ju Jutsu and Da Chen Chuan when taught by the best of their experts.
What I learned with them allowed me, among other things, to elaborate the notions of unrestrained movement and coordination which are the basis of Shotokai Karate. If I try and sum up an evolutionary process which lasted several years and which was not always linear, I would say that at first some believes that, at the time, prevailed in Shotokai had to be questioned. Other notions, found in other martial arts but perfectly suitable to Shotokai Karate and in the spirit of Master EGAMI’s Shotokai or, at least, of what I think it to be, had then to be introduced.
At that early time, Shotokai’s theoretical basis was limited to a few terms:
"Lower - Farther - Natural"
These notions are not bad in themselves but applying them properly requires certain specifications in order to avoid making mistakes or producing the mock Shotokai Karate they often have engendered.
"Lower"
Someone being very supple can work low in the positions of Zenkutsu, Kokutsu or Kibadachi. But everyone has their limits and these are reached when the position creates unnecessary tensions and slows down the movements‘ fluidity. Practising in a very low position can be a good exercise from time to time. Stay low all the time makes one tense and stiff and injures the joints.Too many karatekas have stopped training because of having problems with their knees.
This turns catastrophic when one wants to stay in a low position and make very long displacements at the same time, putting all the weight onto the front knee only by doing so. This position is completely off-balance and the movement very heavy and very slow.
The problem is that, most of the time, shotokaika grow within small groups lacking communication between one another. As they never meet anybody who really moves fast they are not even aware of their slowness let alone the reasons for it.
Certain psychological problems follow from this. Working low makes the trainings hard and tiring. A masochistic mentality is being developed: we are here to suffer. This, mixed with the Christian notion of the pain being rewarded, makes us believe that the progress will be proportional to the efforts made. This is proves to be not only too simple but often the opposite: the more we train in a wrong way, the more defects we accumulate, the more we become "bad".
Furthermore, and I have noticed it lately while meeting other groups I had not seen for a long time, the fatigue and strain certain postures cause engender a self-defence reflex of the body in order to escape the pain. Zenkutsu positions are then "adjusted" to be held for a long time. As a result, the hips turn and end up facing forward with the back completely rigid because of a badly-placed pelvis. When the ideal alignment of the back leg-pelvis-shoulder-arm in Zenkutsu is lost, the distorted position doesn’t generate any power anymore, for Oitsuki for instance. The power of the attack will consist merely of the arm‘s muscles' strength.
In fact, the height of a posture doesn’t matter, or at least this is not what makes it good. What is important is whether it is balanced or not. The pelvis has to be well placed, parallel to the ground and free of any tension. The torso has to be as relaxed as when in a standing position. Only the leg positioning changes according to the position.
"Working lower" was originally introduced as an exercise to make the body more supple, to free it from tensions and to enable it to make big movements and powerful attacks. Misunderstood and badly taught, this "working lower" leads to traumatisms in the joints. It also generates unnecessary and harmful tensions and makes the movements slow and heavy. Like this the position cannot be correct and relaxed at the time of the impact.
"Farther"
The idea of "throwing" an attack as far as possible is excellent as long as it allows you to go right through the opponent and not makes you stop the movement at the moment of impact. But it is harmful if it causes you to extend and hump your body in a false atempt to try and go even farther. Even more so when you lose coordination between your foot and your fist.
The most important thing in a movement is the body arriving completely relaxed at the moment of impact. This is the essential condition for releasing power and setting free energy.
The second condition for a good movement is the foot-fist-hara coordination, so that there is a hit and not a push. If we know how to move using the body and not the legs, then we can attack far (four or five meters). The attack will then be powerful. In any case, whether the attack is short or long, one must intend to attack far. Even when not moving at all, one can attack far. Energy may be projected far by intention. Vice-versa, there are attacks using large movements where the intention, the energy, doesn’t go beyond the fist. These are short attacks.
"Being natural, making natural movements"
This "natural" can generate various or even contradictory interpretations. I fully agree with the term "natrureal" if it is translated by "movements must be made without any unnecessary tensions". But how can a "normal" person, with all his or her restrictions, make a natural movement?
Master UESHIBA believed that the ideal tension in an arm is the one a baby uses. Who still has this kind of suppleness and elasticity? How can we get them back? The answer is by executing one's Karate techniques in such a precise manner that no muscular strength and unnecessary tensions are needed any more.
Mastering these techniques will provide the Karateka with a body called "seitai" (balanced), which is the least gain one can expect from a martial arts practise. Progress will be achieved by always seeking more speed, more power and more efficiency.
Let's have a look at Kata, for instance: currently Bunkai is "en vogue" in France, everybody searching for the correct application of the techniques, their meaning. Personally, I don’t care. Kata are a recent creation and unfortunately do not contain any hidden technical secrets. But they can be precious educational tools.
In a Kata, it doesn’t matter if we do Uchi Uke or Gedan Barai; what is important is how we do it. Some techniques are complicated and not very realistic. It doesn’t matter. Let’s search for the best way to do it, this search in itself will be formative. The Kata will then become an educational technique for the body.
All the technical evolution I have presented during those past few years only had one goal: to make the Shotokai techniques more efficient, not for the sake of efficiency as a goal in itself, this is not my concern, but for efficiency as a means to test whether the technique is correct and thus allows energy to flow.
And then... I believe one cannot devote his life to Shotokai and stick to carrying out inefficient techniques; searching for what is best in our art is the only possible aim.
The techniques have thus to be formative for the body but also for the spirit. As Master KURODA, the great master of the sword, wrote: how can one expect to generate noble and subtle ideas and feelings by practising crude techniques?
The possibilities of the human body are so wide that the search for technical improvement is fascinating and endless. And every progress leads to a further widening of the body's possibilities. And when one ventures on inner work the whole technical spectrum expands and deepens at the same time.
But before talking about this inner work I'd like to introduce some new notions into Karate as it is at present. Notions which are adapted to Shotokai and found in the best sources I know. They all add to the wealth of Shotokai and reeinforce its principles. Below are some examples. I shall only provide a basic explanation of the concepts although some would require a more specific definition. For the time being I only hope to arouse the reader’s curiousity and reflection. I am ready to answer any questions in more detail in the future.
Relativity
By "relativity" I mean the participation of every part of the body in the execution of a technique as well as the fact that the limbs' movements relate to the body and not to an exteriour "absolute".
For example, in order to attack with Oitzuki from Shizentai rotating your hips to go into Zenkutsu, you do not thrust your arm forward but to the side while at the same time you turn your body forward by 90 degrees. The gain of speed and power is, of course, significant because any such movement is the result of the concomitant work of various muscular groups whose strengths and speeds are summed up. This is also a fantastic means of developing your body’s consciousness because it requires being aware of every muscular group taking part in the movement.
Musoku
This notion that usually is translated as “absence of weight“ attempts to teach how to move not by fighting against gravitation but by using its vertical force in order to move horizontally. The movement can then become long, fluid and fast.
But to achieve this "absence of weight" requires a lot of work because it goes against all our habits. Indeed, our whole muscular system built itself to fight against gravitation. In order to walk, run, stand up, etc., we have taken the habit to push downward with the leg you put your weight on. In order to do Musoku, in everyone of your moves you must do the opposite: pull upward the leg you stand on.
Let's look at an example of how to apply Musoku in the hope of making this clearer: Usually, in order to walk, we put the weight onto the left leg to bring the right leg forward then onto the right leg to bring the left leg forward and so on. Like this we end up with a front leg that in fact pushes against our walking direction while we shift our weight from back to front and thus slow our movement down. In order to overcome this resistance we have to push even more strongly using the back leg. Furthermore, this shifting of weight from left leg to right leg leads to a zigzag movement of the centre of gravity.
In order to realize Musoku, the "absence of weight", we must do the opposite of all this. We do not put any weight onto the front leg. We thus are not slowed down by its resistance and we do not have to push with the back leg that we, on the contrary, pull towards ourselves as well. The legs‘ muscles thus work in a centripetal manner, towards the centre of the body, and not in a centrifugal direction. We end up in a rolling movement resembling the rolling of a billiard ball which doesn't slow itself down unlike the chaotic movement of a tumbling dice slowed down by its edges.
"Musoku" has many other interesting aspects but the one described will already help to greatly improve all of your movements.
Foot-fist-hara coordination
This is a basic concept very widely spread in all martial arts. The fact that it is not emphasized in Shotokai constitutes a true heresy. People practising Shotokai Karate willingly talk about the harmony of body and spirit yet one can't in fact talk about harmony in the body even without hand, foot and hara being coordinated. Which part of the body will the spirit go in harmony with if everything is moving separately? How is it possible to have a minimum of power in the attacks without coordinating these three points? All you end up with like this are pushes, not blows.
The strength comes from the body
"The strength comes form the body and not from the arms" wrote Master Egami. This sentence is usually interpreted as: "It is the step you take that creates the strength of the attack and not the power of the arm movement". In that case there actually ought to be written: "Power comes from the legs", because it is they which make the step.
I interpret it as "strength comes from the torso". And this in two ways:
Physically, at the moment of the impact, there has to be a movement of the torso on top of the step you have taken.
On an energtic level, the Ki comes from the abdomen and is transmitted through the arms which have a passive role only. It means that in an attack the arms do not move! For those who are interested in inner work, in energy, it is important to understand this. Only when there is no outside moves can there be inside moving.
This, like the rest, deserves further explications and I am, of course, prepared to answer any questions you might have after reading these lines. The list of the concepts mentioned is far from being exhaustive. There are many more notions to be discussed, such as:
- All movements have to be centripetal
- The Kiai is done when breathing in
- The arm and the back have to be elongated at the moment of the blow
- The tendons play a more important part in a movement than do the muscles
- Learn how to move with your central axis
- The important thing to train when working with a partner is to take over the centre
And so on...
In conclusion I hope these few ideas will incite reflection in those who already know one of the forms of Shotokai Karate and, more important, that they will make many others want to discover SHOTOKAI.
© Copyright Patrick Herbert, Technical director of Shotokai Europe, May 2003