february dojo kun · doryoku no seishin o yashinau koto cultivate a spirit of effort and...
TRANSCRIPT
You don’t quit karate because of age, you age because you quit karate
February Dojo Kun
Doryoku no seishin o yashinau koto Cultivate a spirit of effort and perseverance
2012 CLINICS Hanbojutsu Clinic* -to be rescheduled at a later date.
Tsue-Kioga Clinic* - to be rescheduled at a later date at the Hombu Mesa, Arizona
Utah Shorin-Kai/Arizona Hombu Training (April 12th
-14th
). Some members from our affiliate association
(Utah Shorin-Kai) will fly from Murray to Phoenix to train at the Hombu. Training will include Friday
evening (6:30-8:30 pm) and Saturday (11 am–3 pm). All students of the Arizona Hombu are invited to
train with our Utah members. The Utah affiliates are also invited to train with us Thursday evening if
they arrive in Phoenix early.
Utah Gasshuku – August 4th
, 2012, East Canyon Lodge. Annual Outdoor training for Seiyo Kai and
Utah Shorin-Kai (contact Sensei Watson ([email protected]) or Sensei Stoneking
([email protected]) for information on camping and training at this clinic. * A minimum of 8 people are required to preregister for these clinics.
Makiwara A few members recently asked about training with heavy bags vs makiwara. Personally, I don’t like
heavy bags as they tend to respond to force in an unnatural way. They pivot along an axis attached to
an overhead chain or rope, just exactly the opposite of striking a person whose feet would be on the
ground and pivot along an axis attached to the earth. But there are bags available that have water-filled
bases that tend to take care of this problem, but essentially every one that I’ve tested have been cheaply
constructed with very thin padding. So if you go this route, I would highly recommend checking the
padding.
BUSHIDO - THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
SEIYO no SHORIN-RYU KARATE KOBUDO KAI
February, 2012 W. Dan Hausel, Soke & Eric J. Hausel, Soke-Dai v.9, no.2
Newsletter of
SEIYO SHORIN-RYU HOMBU
Okinawan karate-ka developed an
excellent tool in place of a heavy bag that
doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. All you have
to do is go to your local lumber or
hardware store and buy a few materials to
build one, dig a hole, and ‘walla’ – you’ll
have a makiwara.
The makiwara can be constructed using a
board about 10 feet long. However, the
Arizona soils (if we can call them soil) are
filled with so much clay, caliche and ash
that they are very hard to dig in. So you can
get away with an 8-foot board (which is
what I did when I planted my makiwara in
the back yard of our house). I used 2x8 inch and 2x12 inch boards in
Wyoming. But this time, I went for a thinner board (1x8 inch) and
was surprised that I liked the thinner board much better because of its greater flexibility.
After you purchase a board, take your 8-foot board and dig a
3-foot hole. Now go and find two large rocks while resting
from trying to break through the layer of caliche in the Arizona
soil. If you are in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming (or anywhere
else in the US except maybe New Mexico), you might want to
get a 10-foot board and plant it 5 feet deep. I’m not sure what
to recommend for members in Alaska or Canada other than
wait for summer weather before you plant your board and get
an ice pick to break though permafrost.
Now that you have a hole for your makiwara, place the board
to the appropriate depth and take two large football-sized rocks
placing one in front of your board at the bottom of the hole.
Now fill in the hole and when it is nearly full, place the other
rock on the opposite side (in the back). The rocks will provide
spring to the board. Now go buy some hemp rope from a local
hardware store and get some pieces of carpet. These are for
padding. We found hemp at Harbor Freight in Mesa and be
sure to tell them what it is for. The hemp is great for training
knuckles and side of your hand.
Next, place pieces of carpet under the hemp to increase the
padding. When your knuckles get use to striking the board,
you can remove some carpet pieces. Ideally, you will want to
practice tsuki, shuto, koko and empi uchi along with mae geri,
maewashi geri, yoko geri, kozumi geri and other kicks. Now
you have an excellent tool to supplement your karate training at home and drive your neighbors nuts
(they’ll love peaking through their curtains and wondering what is wrong with you). At first, it will be
difficult to hit the board with a lot of force with your bare knuckles; but after months of training, you
will look forward to hitting the board full force. When it breaks (the board, not your hand), buy another.
Promotions Congratulations to our members who were promoted in rank. The following members tested for rank
and demonstrated excellent proficiency in martial arts at their rank level: Adam Bialek was promoted
to 7th
kyu (blue belt), Dave Hargreaves to 7th
kyu (blue belt), Lou Ferzacca to 6th
kyu (blue belt),
Patrick Scofield to 6th
kyu (blue belt), Brandon Brown to 6th
kyu (blue belt), Charles Jean to 5th
kyu
(green belt), Chase Cassidy to 2nd
kyu (brown belt). Brandon and Chase are from the Gillette dojo.
Photo showing some
of our promoted
members including
(back row) Sensei
Paula Borea and
Sensei Bill Borea (3rd
and 4th
from the left)
and (front row) Adam,
Dave, Lou, Patrick
and Charles (2nd
, 3rd
,
5th
, 6th
and 7th
from
the left).
In the photo below,
Sarah is standing in
the back, 2nd
from the
right. (see more photos
of our students at the
end of the newsletter).
The following
awards were
presented at the
Hombu dojo.
Sarah Kamenicky
came to us from
another school in
Texas where she
held the rank of nidan. She has now been training with us for several months and reached the level of
nidan in Shorin-Ryu and was presented certification in Shorin-Ryu karate.
Bill and Paula Borea have helped out at our dojo since it opened and are assisting in our classes and
periodically run classes when Shihan Adam and myself cannot be present. Their assistance is very
much appreciated and keeps our doors open 12 months a year. Both were presented Sensei
certifications. Sensei certifications are usually reserved for members who reach the level of sandan, or
black belts who open a dojo. Bill, Paula and Sarah will now be training for sandan over the next few
years.
Matsuri Festival The Matsuri Festival is scheduled for Phoenix on February 25
th and 26
th. Matsuri is a local Japanese
festival and many are held in Japan.
Tameshiwara As the sun rises higher and higher, it will reach a point that it will be daylight during our evening
classes. When this happens, it will be time to learn tameshiwara: the art of breaking!
When I started training in karate, most people in the
US were of the impression this was the primary
function of karate and jujutsu. In reality, it is a very
minor part of karate and is practiced to assist in
development of self-confidence. Many schools
today use rebreakable boards, but being that I’m a
geologist, there are plenty rocks out there willing to
assist us. So, I have a bag of rocks I picked up from
the Salt River flood plain that we will attempt to
break. I picked rocks of all different sizes, so this
will be a fun sunlit night for us.
Tameshimara photos – (Clockwise) I introduce University of
Wyoming karate club members to Geology 101 (breaking
rocks). The rocks were collected adjacent to the University of
Wyoming and are specimens of limestone (Mother Nature’s
concrete). Everyone broke a rock that day! This page
(clockwise). Old photo of me using my head at a
demonstration in Las Cruces (breaking Mexican roofing
tiles). At some demonstrations at UW, I used large blocks of limestone and sandstone from the University of Wyoming
quarry. George Chakmakian, 1st dan, takes his first geology exam outside of the Education Building Gym.
This page, Eric Hausel, Soke-Dai, picks on large chunk of limestone at the University of Wyoming. Donette Gillespie
breaks rocks in front of Laramie Bushido Dojo in downtown Laramie as a white belt. Donette retired from the UW dojo
years later as a sandan and moved to Alaska.
Hombu News The Hombu changed its class schedule which is displayed
on our websites. Our new Shorin-Ryu schedule follows (for
the Tai Chi Academy schedule, visit our website): When I am
not teaching, I will either be training by myself, or searching
for gold and gemstones.
Tuesdays
6:45-7:50 pm Shorin-Ryu Karate Basics & Kata
7:50-8:20 pm Advanced Shorin-Ryu Kata & Applications
Wednesdays
3-4 pm Family Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo
4-5 pm Shorin-Ryu Kids Karate (by invitation only).
6:45-7:50 pm Shorin-Ryu Self-Defense & Jujutsu.
7:50-8:20 pm Samurai Arts
Thursdays
6:45-7:50 pm Shorin-Ryu Kobudo (weapons).
7:50-8:20 pm Advanced Kobudo & Applications.
Honbo Clinic HANBO CLINIC (半棒). When I taught martial arts
(karate, kobudo, self-defense and jujutsu) at the
University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate
and Kobudo Club, we had a much larger group.
Typically about 100 members a year. There were a
few years when I was also teaching classes in the
Department of Physical Education and Department
of Kinesiology, we had as many as 200 to 250 a year. As a result, we periodically held clinics on a
variety of martial arts at the Sandan School of Traditional Martial Arts in Saratoga as well as at the
Education Building Gym and Corbett Gym at the University. It will take serious effort, but the
University Club can again become a major martial arts center in the US.
The clinics were put together so that our students could be introduced to a variety of other martial arts
that we seldom have time to cover in our regular classes. After our students took these clinics, they later
tested for certification in various arts and weapons that they later used for yudansha exams. I am
willing to teach these kinds of clinics again in Arizona, but we will need to get enough members
attending the clinics. If anyone would like to assist and organize these clinics, we can schedule these
for some Saturdays. We also had a great time training all day on Saturday, and the price can’t be beat.
The hanbo would be a great first clinic as this is one of my favorites and works well with follow-up
clinics with the kioga (keibo or ASP police tactical weapon), tsue (cane), nitanbo (two batons), jujutsu
and manrikigusari (chain), as these all employ several similar waza. In a hanbo clinic, members have
the opportunity to learn 2 to 3 dozen waza including strikes, blocks, throws, chokes, restraints and
pressure point strikes.
Hanbo (known as a half-bo) techniques include simple strikes and blocks and more complex throws
and chokes that were initially developed against samurai with armor. Attendees at past clinics learned
basic strikes, blocks and stances with many self-defense bunkai (applications) and ippon kumite (one
step attacks) against unarmed and armed assailants. In the past, we also trained in kumite (controlled
sparring) against a variety of attacks. Shihan Neal Adam created a hanbo kata filled with pragmatic
techniques that he agreed to teach at such a clinic. This is the only hanbo kata that I know of.
TSUE & KIOGA CLINIC. A combination of Tsue (cane) also known as Jou or Kuai and Kioga also known
as a Keibo (telescoping tactical police baton) are also two great martial weapons - the cane in particular
is an excellent weapon as it can be carried anywhere in the US. These would provide a great follow-up
clinic to the hanbo.
Funakoshi Let Neko Out of the Bag Anku Itosu and Gichin Funakoshi already let the cat (neko) out of the
bag. They told everyone about Okinawan Karate so it’s no longer a
secret. Please don’t keep us a secret either. Bring a friend, family
member or co-worker to visit our Shorin-Ryu family. Please also forward
a copy of our newsletter to an associate and we would appreciate anyone
making copies and distributing a few.
The cats (err raccoons) are out of the bag.
Seiyo Kai Membership Dues Membership dues for Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai are due
by February 15th
to keep from missing future newsletters and clinic
discounts. Mail to Soke Hausel, Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai, 1053 W. Cantebria Dr.,
Gilbert, AZ 85233. Dues are $35 for first year members, and $20/year thereafter.
Links Shorin-Ryu History Blog International Martial Arts Center The Arizona Hombu
Man of Year Nomination Kids Karate Karate Anniversary
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Self-Defense Gilbert Karate Yelp
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Self Defense Hanbo Hombu
Arizona Karate Official site of Seiyo Kai Traditional Okinawan Karate
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Naginata Meikyo-Rohai Kata Secrets of Karate
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Photos
Photos-Left, Shihan-Dai Kyle Gewecke tolls two
volunteers during Shitai Kori at the Gillette clinic.
Above, Kyle assists Hanshi Finley by choking him
during body hardening clinic.
Above left (Chase Cassidy accepts knuckle punch during Gillette Clinic). Center photo (Brandon Brown
trains in kenjutsu in Gillette). Right photo (Nate Cina kicks Chase in stomach during body hardening clinic).
Below (members of Utah Shorin-Kai train at hombu dojo in 2011.