KEEP TRAINING #195

Person holding world globe facing mountain

In transporting the breath, the inhalation must be full.When it is full, it has big capacity. When it has bigcapacity, it can be extended. When it can be extended,it can penetrate downward. When it penetratesdownward, it will become calmly settled. When it iscalmly settled, it will be strong and firm. When it isstrong and firm, it will germinate. When it germinates,it will grow. When it grows, it will retreat upwards.when it retreats upward, it will reach the top of thehead. The secret power of Providence moves above.The secret power of the Earth moves below.He who follows this will live. He who acts against this will die. —500 BCE Zhou Dynasty Stone Inscription

Fellow deshi,

Last Week

This past week I focused my training on attaining proper posture. Balance, speed, power and foundation are all dependent on having good posture. Miyamoto Musashi underscores the importance of correct posture and provides some guidance in the "The Water Book" chapter of his work, "A Book of Five Rings."

"Adopt a stance with your head erect, neither hanging down, nor looking up, nor twisted. Your forehead and the space between your eyes should not be wrinkled ... Hold the line of the rear of the neck straight: instill vigor in your hairline, and in the same way from the shoulders down through your entire body.  Lower both shoulders and, without the buttocks jutting out, put strength into your legs from the knees to the tips of your toes. Brace your abdomen so that you do not bend at the hips ... ln all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance. You must research this well."

On pages 43 through 46 of the "Soku/Foot Foundation" chapter, his book "Building Warrior Spirit," Hanshi discusses the proper weight distribution for all the stances: shizentai-dachi, jigotai-dachi, naihanchi-dachi, kiba-dachi, zenkutsu-dachi, neko ashi-dachi and kosa-dachi. He also discusses the principles (i.e. lowering height, fluidity, using body weight changes to generate power, etc.) in moving from one stance to another. These concepts are the result of hundreds of years of study and application by those who came before us. The effective use of these concepts is dependent upon having correct posture when executing the stances and movements. Without good posture weight distribution will be misallocated, and consequently, foundation will be weak, balance will be tenuous, speed will be hampered, power will be reduced and targeting misplaced. For example, when attempting to get lower in neko ashi-dachi, deshi sometimes, in their desire to get lower, tend to lean their torso forward over their front leg; and in zenkutsu-dachi the tendency is to over stretch the rear leg and/or lean the torso over the front leg. forward. In both cases the weight distribution changes (sometimes dramatically) which serve to limit technique effectiveness, speed and fluidity.

In addition to instructor corrections, some other methods to ensure proper posture include: (a) perform kata in front of a mirror; (b) ask another deshi to observe you perform kata, with attention to posture; and (c) video yourself performing kata. Perform the kata at half speed and full power, self correct your posture while doing so, and execute numerous repetitions to cement muscle memory. This is indeed a lifetime marathon.

My. Focus This Week

This week I plan to focus my training on my weapon, the nunchaku, in preparation for the USRKUSA Annual Weapons Workshop. I will prepare by observing Hanshi perform the Nunchaku Kata in the Kata Guide Video; followed by performing numerous repetitions of the Nunchaku Kata as well as basics.

Thoughts on Training

The new Zoom Class schedule for the week has been circulated by Kyoshi Mackay. Start your day, or wind up your day, with one of these excellent training opportunities.

The Ueshiro Midtown and Ueshiro Downtown Dojos are hosting the Annual Weapons Workshop on Sunday, December 17, 2023. The event will be held at the Ueshiro Downtown Dojo starting at 9:30 am sharp. There will be a compai afterwards at Vincent's.

The next meeting of the USRKUSA Book Club will be held on Thursday, December 21, 2023 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The Zoom invitation will be sent in an

upcoming email. The book up for discussion is Admiral William McRaven's "Make Your Bed."

Reading from "Shorin-Ryu Okinawan Karate Question and Answer Book"

Hanshi discusses the subject of "many paths and one summit" on page10 of his book, "Shorin-Ryu Okinawan Karate Question and Answer Book."

"There is an old saying, 'Many paths, one summit.' Applied here we may see that two masters may have used very different methods to get to the same place;

two very different ways of practicing which nevertheless lead the devoted student to a peak of ability. But two paths cannot be followed at once. This would lead

to endless distraction, running back and forth between and never reaching the distant goal, the summit to which either road followed with perseverance, would

ultimately lead."

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Until next week.

Kyoshi