Old School Okinawan Karate
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About our Philosophy of Teaching and Practice of KarateIn a one line sentence, "We practice kata that have effective self-defense applications, and we practice those applications relentlessly." To be long winded, At Old School Okinawan Karate, we believe that we teach karate as it was taught hundreds of years ago before the never ending changes started to be introduced from Anko Itosu's students. Much of modern karate has had its kata changed making the original applications ineffective, and usually forgotten. In the process, Self Defense has either been lost, or other exercises have been added to teach self-defense. Karate is often called a "Martial Art". While I agree with the characterization of karate as a "Martial Art" I believe that this is a loose translation of a Japanese term "Budo" which I believe neither properly applies to karate, nor is "Martial Art" a correct translation of "budo". I agree with Donald Draeger in this. That being said, it is clear from reading either Sokon Matsumura's words or Anko Itosu's 10 Principles that karate is meant to provide an ability to defend ones self, but is not strictly for fighting. This is one of several stark contrasts to modern MMA, who's only goal is to learn how to defeat another in a ring or cage Another stark contrast to modern MMA is the goal of health. If one reads the various translations of Anko Itosu 10 Precepts, it is obvious that health was a major goal of karate. From a karate's perspective, the modern MMA goal of causing a concussion in order to learn to defend ones self is an unwanted contradiction with good long term health. The goal of Karate prior to Modern/Traditional karate was to learn to defend ones self without causing injuries (injuries that today can be treated often were not treatable in pre-modern Okinawa). At Old School Okinawan Karate, we believe that if you don't learn to defend yourself, then you haven't learned karate. Likewise, if your only goal is to learn to fight, then you are not learning karate. Cooperation and Friendship are EmphasizedCompetition exists only as self competition. One is always trying to improve oneself, but one should never be concerned with being better than another. There is an old saying in karate, "When fighting, do not think about winning, but don't lose either." This is a mindset that is often initially difficult for a westerner to understand and achieve. As it was long ago, our practice is based upon karate kata (forms). Applications and partner work are key to understanding the kata. We start students off with learning kata immediately, and partner work very soon after that (usually the first day). Free sparing too early in ones training often hinders a student's learning, so free sparing is reserved for advanced students (if at all). Our practices consist of kata practice followed with relentless practice of bunkai (applications of kata) with partner(s) to achieve proficiency in application of techniques against opponents. This is in stark contrast to some karate schools where their kata practice bears little resemblance to actual self-defense. Many would be hard pressed to show where their sparing techniques come from a kata. We can. We believe in karate practice MUST have the goal of obtaining proficiency is self-defense against one or more opponents. But, this must be done safely. Our karate kata are not dances, and our bunkai are not dances. Contact Information:Contact us at: |
