Volume 14, Issue 3 September, 2009

Transcription

1 Volume 14, Issue 3 September, 2009

2 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, The Harmonizer Volume 14, Issue 3 September, 2009 Message From the President In memory of Master Shintani Sensei Denis Labbé Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great summer. Our fiscal year is well on its way, so let the activities and events begin. One of our objectives this year is to implement a celebration of Sensei Shintani s 60 th anniversary in karate. We will initiate this celebration at the Western Canadian Championships in Saskatoon in April 2010, and at the National Master Shintani Memorial Karate Tournament in May Our main celebrations will occur in the fall of 2010 as the clubs return to full operation. Thus the celebration and active promotion of Sensei s organization will run for a full year ending at the Master Shintani Tournament in In this issue: Message from the President p.2 Message from the National Coach p.2 Future of Shido Important p.4 SWKKF National Team Update p.5 From the Editor s Desk p.5 SWKKF Instructor s Clinic Hosted by South Calgary Wado-Kai Karate p.6 The Eyes Have It Peripheral Vision p.8 Delhi SWKKF Tournament Information p.10 Message From the National Coach Sensei Ron Mattie Chief instructor s meeting Following September s Senate meeting, some of the senate members gathered for a technical advisory workout and meeting. Many good ideas were exchanged from very knowledgeable people. We will be trying to get more senate -generated clinics going with future high ranking assistance. If you ever get a chance to attend a clinic by Sensei Shintani s most senior students, please take advantage of it now as this is firstgeneration knowledge being passed on. We have many talented instructors coming up the ladder who can benefit greatly from this information. Sensei Mattie demonstrating oi-zuki On the cover: Sensei Shannon Kaye delivers jodan mawashi-geri to his opponent during WKF kumite competition at the Ozawa Cup in Las Vegas. Report and Views of Sensei Peter Ruch: It is unfortunate that some of the Senate Members were unable to attend the Sunday morning workout due to important prior commitments. Sensei Denis Labbe, Sensei Ron Mattie, Sensei Dan McCoy and I had a great three-hour workout. Each Sensei Mattie demonstrating the application of oi-zuki on Sensei Mc Coy

3 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, black belt was given fifteen minutes to instruct a technique to the group. Following this, there was a full discussion and possible application of the technique in other moves. I felt that it was great way to further learn techniques and applications. It can be difficult for black belts to receive this kind of instruction because they are mostly teaching. This was a great workout and helped cement ideas for teaching. Report and Views of Sensei Denis Labbe: I thought that it was good to get together and be able to share our ideas in karate techniques. I did pick up some ideas that I will use in my instructions. I would like to have a sit down after the workout to discuss any items from the technical advisors and the chief instructor. Sensei Labbe demonstrating longextension zuki Sensei Ruch demonstrating juji-dachi waza Report and Views of Sensei Ron Mattie: It s really neat how Sensei Shintani all taught us things and we all went away specializing in different areas. Now we re-assemble and display and teach it back to each other. Report and Views of Sensei Danial McCoy: The Sunday morning workout was excellent. It was a good opportunity to review some of techniques taught by Sensei Shintani that over time have not been emphasized - or they may have been slightly modified by interpretation or by the size of the person performing them. Senseis Labbe and Ruch demonstratring the application Editor s note: The Senate members possess great karate knowledge and skill and everyone should make an effort to train with each of them. In my opinion, they each reflect different facets of our founder, Sensei Shintani, and combine his essence beautifully with their own ideas. The Senate members host an annual workshop on the eve of the National Master Shintani Memorial Tournament each May. This workshop is a great opportunity to meet them, learn from them, and receive constructive criticism. Sensei McCoy demonstrating block before block Senseis McCoy and Mattie demonstrating the application I received the following note from Sensei Nicolas Gosselin: Sensei Denis, Senate Members and Bursary Committee; Thank-you for selecting me as one of the 2009 recipients of the SWKKF scholarship. It is an honor to receive it. I am currently a third-year music student at Cambrian College in Sudbury and I plan on continuing on to University next year. The scholarship is greatly appreciated and will help a lot. Looking forward to seeing you all again at future classes, clinics, and/or tournaments, Nicolas Gosselin

4 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, Future of Shindo Important By Sensei Jim Atkinson What if someone was to ask you, What does Shindo represent, and what do you learn from it? Could you answer this question? My answer would be that Shindo represents everything about Master Shintani s life, and it teaches you the essence of body movement necessary for the style of karate he taught. Shindo was Mr. Shintani s dream and passion. While holding up a Shindo bo he once stated, THIS IS MY LIFE. He also once described Shindo as a gift for all of his students. The importance of Shindo being practiced throughout the SWKKF is not only to continue the legacy of Mr. Shintani s teaching, but also for the development of our karate. Anyone who has trained with the shindo knows that there are no short cuts. Your body has to do the work, your hips have to do the work, or it just doesn t work! I once heard a comment from an instructor that Shindo is my lie detector. This is so true! Fortunately I have been able to travel around the country and work Shindo with a lot of people. It is incredibly noticeable that the students that have been incorporating the karate training with Shindo training stand out due to their strong hip action. I strongly believe this is due to Shindo training. Some of the areas with a strong Shindo curriculum are using Shindo and karate technique to reinforce basics such as double action, hip action, three-point line of force, and posture. What we have been doing in Norfolk as a Shindo workout is to put the shindo down and work a karate technique or combination, developing all areas needed to make it a strong technique. We then pick up the shindo and apply the same technique or combination reinforcing everything we had worked while using empty hands (karate). Your posture and hip action should in most cases be the same. Mr Shintani said that the Shindo is an extension of the hands, and everything else is the same. In many dojos across Canada Shindo is amalgamated with karate training and both arts are practiced together in the regular adult class. We have also brought our junior green belts into this training. This helps students more quickly understand the importance of hip action and line of force. Focus is another area that has been improved. I feel this is because of the focus put on target areas and understanding the intended strike and the line of force it has to take. When you punch, your body is behind the punch, fist, shoulder, and hip (three-point line of force). This is also the basics behind a shindo strike or block. We have also incorporated a striping system. We currently are using three stripes, white, green, and brown. The white stripe is to be awarded to a student some time between white belt and green belt. During that time all the basics of karate and Shindo are developed to green belt level, and we teach them Shindo Nidan kata. The green stripe is awarded between green belt and brown belt. Again, the level of both karate and shindo are in the intermediate level. At this time we teach students Chow Bo Tie kata. The brown stripe is awarded at the brown to black belt level which would be considered advanced. We also teach the Seisan No Shindo kata. Currently we are teaching Kushanku No Shindo kata to the black belts and are starting to see great results in their development in both karate and Shindo. The great thing about this is that instructors not familiar with Shindo but with a good understanding of karate can use the karate to develop Shindo techniques. All it takes is to have an open mind and to be unafraid to use your own thoughts and ideas. The kata are available on DVD, and there are a great many instructors familiar with the katas available for assistance. I feel that the future of Shindo is important and everyone should work Shindo techniques to some extent in their regular class. Mr. Shintani would be very proud to see that the gift he has left us is being developed and his legacy will live on forever through Shindo.

5 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, SWKKF National Team Update By Sensei Jeff Gervin From the Editor s Desk The National Team convened in Welland for training on the third weekend of September. During this session team members received coaching in kata and practiced various two-step kumite drills, takedown techniques, and freestyle kumite. On Saturday evening Sensei Bob Palmer assisted team members in the development of visualization techniques and mental strategies for competitive success. SWKKF President Sensei Denis Labbe and Sensei Neil Prime were also present for some of the weekend sessions. The team will compete in the World Traditional Karate Championships (WTKA) tournament in Marina di Carrarra, Italy, from November 4 th -8 th. Last year this tournament hosted some five thousand athletes from seventy-eight countries around the world competing in karate, kung fu, kickboxing, and mixed-martial arts tournaments. The National Team members plan to compete at the 2010 SWKKF Western Canadian Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The team is grateful for the ongoing financial support and friendship of Mr. Ed Dyck of Boissevain, Manitoba. Ed holds a brown-belt in Wado-Kai karate and an orange belt in Judo. As an athletic trainer he has a special interest in developing programs for competitive athletes. He has provided training assistance to a myriad of athletes including AAA, junior, and professional hockey players, university-level track and field athletes and softball players, and professional motocross racers. Team heavyweight Jeff Gervin has benefited greatly from training at Fitness Fanatics. We are also grateful to Sensei Bob Palmer for donating his professional assistance for the betterment of our athletes. We will put his visualization techniques to the test in Italy! Finally, we would like to thank the SWKKF Senate and membership for your continued belief in this project. We are proud to represent the SWKKF in tournaments abroad. The Lecture By Jeff Gervin Early one morning this August I received a telephone call from my trainer and martial arts student, Ed Dyck. Sensei, he said, I would like you to come to the gym and speak to some athletes about the aspects of training that you tell us about in karate class. Can you be here in half an hour? Half an hour? I thought. While I have grown more accustomed to group-speaking engagements over time, I do like to be prepared. This sounded like being thrown to the wolves. In spite of these misgivings, I soon agreed to attend. Ed can be awfully persuasive. I considered my spiel while sipping coffee for a few minutes. I recalled a list of inspirational sports quotations from notable professionals that I could use. Now...where was it? I rummaged through a stack of books, magazines, and papers. Not there. I checked my desk. Negative. Cursing the inadequacy of my filing system, I suddenly encountered a sheaf of paper that I hadn t seen in a long while. It was a work by my Judo sensei, Mr. Silvio Sboto. The document is designed to lead an athlete and his coach to consider the athlete s social environment and support network as a factor in his competitive success. I casually flipped the pages, remembering the evening that my Sensei and I had spent together working on it. I don t think this is applicable, I thought. These people won t be interested in this. With incomplete ideas in my mind, I drove to the gym, hoping to avoid seeming like a babbling idiot. Ed introduced me to the group and I began to speak. I first asked their names, and then questioned them about the nature of their sporting activity. There were hockey players, figure skaters, track and field athletes, a softball pitcher, and many others. I was daunted. What on earth could I tell these people that they did- (Continued on page 8)

6 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, SWKKF Instructor Clinic Hosted By South Calgary Wado-Kai Karate By Sensei Heather Fidyk What a fantastic start to the 2009/2010 season of karate with the SWKKF. From September 18th to 20th the South Calgary Wado-Kai Karate Club hosted a three day instructor clinic for brown and black belts. Sensei Ron Mattie, chief instructor for the SWKKF, provided the knowledge and inspiration for the over fifty brown and black belts from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC who attended. The objective of the weekend was to provide instructors with tools and hands-on practice for teaching karate to students. On Friday night Sensei Ron, assisted by Sensei Danny McCoy and Sensei Rick Leveille, led the group through a development progression on a number of techniques. Following the development of sequence the group participated in an analysis session, which included critiquing and providing positive and constructive feedback. The Friday evening concluded with an example of the short development of kata and the various methods of teaching with varied learning styles. Friday evening's learning was carried over to Saturday morning where the instructors were swarmed by about forty eager white belt youth and adults, all of whom were either in their first or second karate class. The students were divided into groups of about five per instructor. This is where the instructors were given the daunting task of having to teach them pinan shodan. This is probably not the first thing you teach a student on the first or second day, but all the instructors were eager to try out their lessons from the night before. The outcomes were varied and creative and at the end of class every student left with a great deal of knowledge and a sense of accomplishment. The second group consisted of about forty youths ranging from orange to blue belt. At this time the instructors used their critiquing skills in refining movement and techniques. The third, primarily adult group was smaller in number which allowed for lots of one on one time where further acquisition of teaching skill could take place. Of course, Saturday evening culminated with pizza, beverages and a UFC fight on TV.

7 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, On Sunday morning the group was on the floor by 9:30 going through katas and working on their analyzing, critiquing and feedback tools. This of course this was a double benefit because we all enjoy getting feedback on our own karate. The last thirty minutes were spent debriefing, sharing philosophies and completing an evaluation form for further development of the clinic. By the end of the weekend we realized that we had just scratched the surface of what Sensei Shintani has taught so many in this organization and why it is so important for the ranking black belts to continue to impart this knowledge to black belts and future black belts. It was a tremendous success thanks to Sensei Ron Mattie. Finally, the clinic was made possible in part by a grant from the Alberta Lottery Fund through the Community Spirit Program of Alberta and by the South Calgary Wado Kai Karate Club. Thanks to Sensei Ron Mattie and everyone for their participation and support. For more pictures see flickr pictures from the calgarywadokai.com website.

8 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, (Continued from page 5) n t already know? I discussed the aspects of training common to all sports, and how they interrelate. For about fifteen minutes, I described the physical, technical, tactical, mental, and spiritual components of athletic success. The gist of it is as follows: proper physical development is a prerequisite for technical competence. Mere techniques are not enough to ensure victory if the proper tactics are not used in contest. The athlete must be mentally focused on achieving victory. If all of these factors are in order, the athlete can compete with a free, passionate spirit where he loses himself in the moment to provide the best performance possible. These concepts are not new, nor are they mine. I learned them in a National Coaching Certification Program, and adapted them slightly for my own use. Nearing the end of my lecture, I studied my audience. A few were engaged, offering comments and anecdotes. Others appeared to be nearing their bedtime. Undoubtedly, they had heard all of this stuff before. I thought again of my Judo sensei s document encountered earlier that day. An image from one of the pages came to me a picture of a flower. What does a flower need to grow and thrive? I heard my sensei saying. What is its support network? Looking at the youthful faces before me, I realized that the stuff of my lecture had, to this point, been all wrong. There is one other thing that I would like to discuss with you, I began, and that is your social environment. You are all fit, athletic, and hopeful, and you are young. As a forty-year old with some life experience, I can assure you of one thing: you will encounter some difficulty in your life. You not only have to train hard, but you also will need to deal with training setbacks. You will need to recover from injuries, and will likely suffer from some degree of problems in your personal life, your work life, and your family life. These things happen. My advice is to associate with the best people possible. Don t listen to the negativity of others. Don t abuse alcohol and drugs, because many promising athletes have been derailed in this way. You will likely find enough hardship without heaping it on yourself. Strive to keep your personal life, your family life, and your work life in balance. I then described some of the difficulties that I have faced in my own life, and how I coped with them. I am normally a private person, but relaying this information was cathartic. All eyes were on me now. Finally, I finished, and was internally satisfied that I had at last shared something worthwhile with the group. The next speaker was an experienced hockey player. With the talent that I have, he began, I should be playing in the NHL. I screwed it up. I partied and drank way too much. I completely agree with Jeff. He then went on to give an excellent talk on his experiences, emphasizing the need to develop a stable and supportive social environment. It was almost as if we had collaborated on our speeches. I was spellbound by the frankness and honesty of his discussion. It is easy, during the good times in our lives, to assume that we are invincible and bound for nothing but success. In truth, we are no more than flowers. We can bloom brightly one day, and be devastated by the harsh conditions of the next. We all need support during these times. We also need to provide this support for others in essence, to enrich their social environment. I am most grateful to the people that have helped me overcome the obstacles in my life. I won t name you here. You know who you are. By way of peace and harmony, Jeff The Eyes Have It Peripheral Vision By Sensei Bob Palmer When I began competing in tournament kumite, I never knew where to look at my opponents. Should I look their head, their chest, their left ear lobe? And when I did ask my colleagues and instructors, I got conflicting advice. Look at the chest and don t look at the eyes. No, look at the eyes, don t look at the chest. No, look at the head but watch those feet. To say the least, I was confused. I finally got a hint from a martial arts book, The Mental Edge, by Loren Christensen. It s a concept from Kendo training called, fixing one s eyes on the far mountains. I figured that meant I had to move out west and join one of

9 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, our Wado Kai Clubs in Alberta, and it wasn t until I read a book by John Heider called, The Tao of Leadership, that I understood what was meant. This book suggests that you look into the pond and see the mountain. As I imagined doing that, my eyes felt very strange, my brain went very quiet and I knew I was on to something big. When you fix one s eyes on the mountains or look in the pond to see the mountain, your eyes act in a normal but strange-feeling way. They go peripheral and you see everything around you. Plus, and this is the bonus, your perception becomes quite literally 360 degrees as your sense of hearing and your sense of feeling become very acute and actually fill in the gaps. What is visually blocked behind you, you sense. Your head goes quiet. You become very aware. This peripheral-ness helps you to become very sensitive to the attack and you can learn to read tells very acutely. All fighters look for tells. Tells are minute movements that give away the opponent s attack a dropped shoulder, a slight lean of the body, a tight muscle on the side of the face. If you can read a tell, you can predict an attack before it has started. At the black belt competition level, if you see a punch or kick coming it is probably too late to block it. You need to see the tell. Sensei Lawrence Blakemore once told a group of us in a workshop that there are three stages in a fighter s development. Stage 1, he said, is when you see the attack and you block it, stage 2 is when your block and the attack seem simultaneous, and stage 3 is when your attack seems to catch your opponent completely flatfooted as you have anticipated his or her attack. At the time of the workshop, I did not know what he meant, but by learning to be peripheral in my perception as a fighter, his comments and the pond and the mountains suddenly made sense. Stage 3 felt a little like cheating. My unconscious mind was reading tells before I could consciously see them. My unconscious mind was translating tells into a FEEL and I reacted to attacks as a dancer reacts to a slight shift in his partner s body. Once I was locked in with this peripheral vision, my opponents telegraphed everything they were going to do. And although my techniques may not have been as good or as fast as other fighters, it gave me the advantage as I had the jump on them. This anticipation greatly unnerved my opponents as they soon figured out that I knew what they were going to do next. As well, they could never get used to my eyes looking right through them to the mountain. I m pretty sure they felt like looking over their shoulders at that darn mountain as well. To get this advantage you need get your eyes to go peripheral. An easy way to do this is to hold your index fingers straight out in front of you and look through them to a distant object. Then, as you keep looking at the distant object, move your fingers slowly out to the sides of your head. If you can see both the distant object and your fingers at the same time, you have it. Notice what it feels like. Notice how quiet you head becomes. Now try using this vision when you fight. It is not as easy as it sounds and it takes some practice and discipline a lot of both actually. Practice it while doing your regular 2-step training, and, before you know it, you will be picking up tells really fast. Once you learn to trust this process, you will be able to anticipate any attack. Oh, and your eyes will really drive your opponents nuts, and learning it may be worth it for this reason alone. Editor s note: Sensei Bob Palmer, from Barrie, Ontario, is a Peak Performance Trainer who works with clients in both sport and business. One of his clients is an Olympic gold medalist in skeet shooting. He writes on peak performance for two US magazines, has a book in the works and currently works with the Shintani National- Team. To comment on the article, you can reach him at bpalmer@sportexcel.ca. I look forward to receiving more of his advice in further editions of the Harmonizer.

10 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, SHINTANI WADO KAI KARATE FEDERATION DELHI KARATE TOURNAMENT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, DELHI DISTRICT SECONDARY SCHOOL DELHI, ONTARIO Registration: Starts 9:00 am, closes at 9:30 am sharp!! Black Belt Meeting: 9:30 am Tournament Start: 10:00 am All Events: $20.00 Shindo: $10.00 Family Rate: $45.00 Spectators: $ 4.00 SPECIAL GUESTS President: Sensei Denis Labbe -Hachidan 8 th Degree BlackBelt Senate Member: Sensei Danny McCoy -Shichidan 7 th Degree Black Belt Senate Member: Sensei Bruce Perkins -Shichidan 7thDegree BlackBelt Sensei Norm Volk - Godan 5 th Degree BlackBelt TO: All Shintani Wado Kai Karateka The Annual Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation Delhi Karate Tournament will be held on Sunday November 15, 2009, at the Delhi District Secondary School, Delhi Ontario. In order to facilitate registration I am requesting that as many competitors as possible register by mail in advance. This will prevent long line-ups at the registration table and avoid delays in the tournament start. The registration is $20.00 for one or more events, and $45.00 for families. Enclosed is the preregistration form. Feel free to make additional copies as needed. Please send completed forms to Spring Kaye at 219 Lynedoch Rd., Delhi, ON, N4B 2W4. Her telephone number is , and her address is springerkaye@hotmail.com. Checks should be payable to Delhi Wado-Kai. Please note that for those competitors who are registering on the day of the tournament registration will be from 9:00 am to 9:30 am. Absolutely NO registrations will be accepted after this time. Your co-operation would be greatly appreciated. Note: Black Belt meeting will start at 9:30 am. In harmony, Jim Atkinson, Rokudan.

11 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, SHINTANI WADO KAI DELHI KARATE TOURNAMENT ENTRY FORM (Please Print) NAME: AGE: SEX: BOOK #: RANK: INSTRUCTOR: ADDRESS: CITY: PROVINCE: PHONE: I the undersigned, hereby waive all claims against all persons connected with THE SHINTANI WADO KAI DELHI KARATE TOURNAMENT for any injuries sustained during participation in this tournament. Signature of Parent or Guardian Date Please Circle Events KATA: YES / NO KUMITE: YES / NO SHINDO: YES / NO JUDGING ONLY: YES

12 THE HARMONIZER VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER, SHINTANI WADO-KAI DELHI KARATE CLUB CLINICS AND BANQUET Dear Senseis Clinics have been scheduled in conjunction with the annual SWKKF Delhi Karate tournament. Guest instructors include Senseis Danny Mc Coy and Bruce Perkins (sichidan), and Sensei Norm Volk (Godan). This is a rare opportunity, and all karateka are encouraged to attend these clinics. CLINIC SCHEDULE AND FEES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 WEST LYNN SCHOOL, SIMCOE, ONTARIO 7:00 PM-10:00 PM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, DELHI, ONTARIO 6:30 PM-8:30 PM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009 JUNIORS ONLY CLASS SHINDO CLASS ADULT CLASS DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, DELHI, ONTARIO 9:30 AM-10:45 AM 11:00AM-12:30 PM 1:00 PM-4:00 PM ONE CLASS $10.00 TWO CLASSES $15.00 FAMILY RATE $30.00 JUNIOR CLASS $5.00 BANQUET AND DINNER SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009 GERMAN HALL(DOWNSTAIRS), DELHI, ONTARIO 6:00 PM-12:00 AM If you are interested in attending the banquet and require further details, contact Katrina Marques by telephone at or by at Kmarques@sympatico.ca. Do you have a submission for the Harmonizer? News of past or upcoming events, educational articles, and photos are always welcome. Contact Jeff Gervin, Harmonizer editor, at jhgervin@mts.net. THE HARMONIZER IS PUBLISHED UNDER THE MANDATE OF THE SENATE OF THE SHINTANI WADO-KAI KARATE FEDERATION (SWKKF). THE SWKKF DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR STATEMENTS OF FACT OR OPINION MADE BY ANY CONTRIBUTOR. STATEMENTS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS MAY NOT REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE SWKKF. ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICA- TION OF ARTICLES, ADVERTISEMENTS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DOES NOT INDICATE ENDORSEMENT OF SAME BY THE SWKKF AND THE SWKKF ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FO R THE ACCURACY.