Doing the rounds on the web at the moment is the wonderful Mikka Bouzu series of comics about a martial arts student travelling the path.

I think I identify with this one….

Interesting forum discussion and poll over on Iain Abernethy’s website about “Karate: Jutsu or Do”.

Pop over and answer the poll.  It will be most interesting if a lot of people answer it!

Like many, I am somewhat sceptical when I see a book advertised as having the “previously untold” secrets of karate that were handed down to an author, but no-one else. The fact that Hidden Karate by Gennosuke Higaki also claims to tell the story of a pact by Okinawan karateka, including Gichin Funakoshi, to hide the true bunkai of kata when introducing karate to Japan also made me somewhat dubious. However, I also admit to being a little intrigued, so went ahead and ordered it anyway.

First impressions always count, and I must say that this book is beautifully presented. Clearly a great amount of effort was put into the exterior look and feel of the book, and it immediately made it to the top of my reading pile. Second impressions also count, and reading the author’s bio was interesing as it was clearly written in a poor version of Janglish - that hybrid of Japanese and English. I must admit to worrying about the overall quality, but my concerns were reduced when I set out on reading the intro - clearly the translator did an excellent job on the actual content of the book.

To be honest, I quite like the approach taken by the author. With rules along the lines of a primary attack is a punch, kick or strike, and that the effectiveness of a strike is greater if an opponent is immobilised, a good game plan for interpreting kata is provided, whilst continuing to rest on karate’s primary weapons augmented by the locks, holds, strangles, etc.

This is kind of refreshing in an age where many have interpreted karate kata as being primarily responses to very close range, grappling encounters. Although those aspects are clearly catered for, I am a believer that our primary weapons tend to the longer range punch, kick and strike scenarios.

In all, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see an approach to kata application that sits somewhere in between the primitive punch and kick only scenarios, and the grappling only scenarios that seem to have some favour today. You may not agree with everything (I don’t), but there is some good food for thought.

Buy Hidden Karate at Amazon.com (aff.)

Fresh from Mark’s Daily Apple comes this post highlughting 8 “health” foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

High fructose corn syrup is also terrible for you, and not even the most conservative of nutrition experts disagrees with that. While there are a few slightly more terrible liquids out there - liter fluid, for example - it’s really a shame that the “foods” available to us are so commonly laced with HFCS. And it’s even worse that they’re often promoted as being suitable for a healthy lifestyle or weight loss! They may look very cute, but beneath the fiber sprinkles and happy labeling lurks the heart of darkness. Really.

HFCS is a really bad additive to foods, and along with trans-fats is one of the two ingredients we should look for and absolutely avoid on food labels.  The stuff has a major correlation to obesity rates and those of metabolic syndrome.

The fact that HFCS is present in junk food is pretty much a given.  But its presence in so called healthier foods is a major cause for concern.

Read the article on Mark’s Daily Apple to find out 8 foods that should know better….

Thanks to both Straight to the Bar and Rif’s Blog for this excellent link to a video on YouTube about Okinawan Karate and Kobudo.  It features Goju and Shorin karate, Bojutsu, Saijutsu, Hojo Undo exercises and more.

Caught this video promo of a Kettlebell beach class run by Kettlebells Los Angeles.

Nicely put together!

Shihan Dan Hayes of the Island Budokan brought the following article to my attention.  Apparently diet soft-drinks are not the healthier alternative that they are made out to be.

They found adults who drink one or more sodas a day — diet or regular — had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome — a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of “good” cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.

Reading into the article, it may be that diet soft drinks in themselves are not the problem.  Instead it may be that those who drink them are likelier than the average person to have a diet high in saturated fats, trans fats and a lifestyle lower in exercise. 

Another theory is that the colouring used to give softdrinks the caramel look may promote insulin resistance, thereby leading to metabolic syndrome.

So its not certain that soft drinks are a direct contributor, but there is certainly a statistical correlation.  Its important to note that the American Beverage Association, the lobby group for the soft drink industry, refutes the idea.

I am a big believer that we need to be drinking a lot of water, and that hydration is an important aspect of our health.  Green tea is the only real drink that is a good substitute for water, and with its antioxidants is something that should be factored into every diet.  For me, I have all but weaned myself off softdrinks over the past year, and allow myself a single diet soft drink per week, and make an exception if I need a caffeine hit.  But for each can of soft drink I consume, I add an additional 500ml of water or green tea.

No calories, same taste (and heart risks) - Health - TODAYshow.com.

Applied Karate #011 (mp3 - 19MB - 55 mins)

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 011 OF THE APPLIED KARATE SHOW

In this episode of The Applied Karate Show we start the show with a bit of a round up some news in the world of karate, including

• The deafening silences of The Applied Karate Show (I promise to be more regular)
• Shorinjiryu Karate Australia becoming a part of the Shorinjiryu Kenyukai Watanabe Ha World Federation
• The new series on the History Channel – The Human Weapon

I also discuss the introduction of my new regular karate and related arts newsletter and blog, The Essential Karate News. Sign up now for regular information on karate, kobudo, kettlebells and related aspects. Its free, and I will do my best to make it informative.

In the main feature of Episode 12 our guest is Mario McKenna Sensei.

A karate and kobudo instructor now resident in Vancouver, Canada, Mario is the only western exponent of the little known branch of Naha-te known as Tou’on-ryu Karate, founded by Juhatsu Kyoda, the senior most student of Naha-te under Kanryo Higashionna, and a fellow student of the famous Chojun Miyagi of Goju-ryu. Having lived in Japan for many years, Mario sensei is a well versed practitioner of Gojuryu and Tou’on-ryu karate and Ryukyu Kobudo. A psychologist by training (with a Masters degree in Sports Psychology), Mario clearly works to balance both the academic and physical aspects of our art, in the tradition of Bun Bu Ryo Do. Please join in as we discuss

• Starting out in Gohakukai Karate in Canada
• Moving to Amami Ohshima in Japan’s south, and taking up Ryukyu Kobudo under a direct student of Shinken Taira
• Moving to Kyushu, where he continued his studies of Ryukyu Kobudo (under Katsumi Murakami sensei, a direct student of Motokatsu Inoue), and taking up Tou’on Ryu Karate
• The differences between Tou’on-ryu and Goju-ryu
• The value of weapons practice for karateka (something that Mario sensei says shouldn’t be considered in the first 2 years of training – listen why to find out)
• The concept of Bun Bu Ryo Do

Be sure to visit Mario’s website, and also subscribe to his informative blog.

We love feedback. You can leave an audio message by clicking on the icon above. If you’re in Australia, you could also leave a message on our feedback line at (02) 90189302 (+61-2-90189302 for international callers). I would love to include appropriate audio messages in future shows! Email can be sent to podcast@appliedkarate.com. Of course, you can leave a comment below, or alternatively, post over on The Applied Karate Forum.

I’d appreciate it if you could pop over to PocastAlley.com and vote for us, or comment and rate us in iTunes through the music store.

Applied Karate #011 (mp3 - 19MB - 55 mins)

LISTEN HERE TO EPISODE 011 OF THE APPLIED KARATE SHOW

The form of kettlebell practice that I follow is based on the RKC system of Pavel Tsatsouline (our guest is Episode 10 of The Applied Karate Show). The RKC system is commonly regarded as a hard style of strength and conditioning practice, which utilises the Russian kettlebell. Leading RKC proponent and instructor, Mark Reifkind has put together a very interesting post on his blog regarding The Soft Side of Hardstyle

And while the hardstyle of generating force( segmented body segments.compensatory acceleration techniques and an explosive mindset) is the predominant concept in the ballistic lifts one thing seems to be forgotten when this way of swinging is talked about: that for each high force hip snap there is a concommittent relaxed stretched phase that preceeded it and will preceed the next high power rep

This is an excellent post, and provides very useful principles for both kettlebell practice, but also for karate practice.

Whilst karate is generally regarded as a hard style martial art, it is a true-ism that the hard cannot exist without the soft, and that in order to generate maximum power (hardness), we need to be able to focus and generate power through the use of relaxation and dynamic tension as two sides to the same coin. Rif continues:

Just like Okinawan karate moves, the goal is to focus all one’s power into one very fast, concentrated movement that create as much force and as possible

Younger practitioners of karate often try to make everything hard. They try to exert maximum tension into every technique, yet if you can’t relax dynamically you won’t be able to do that. Speed cannot be generated while muscles are tensed, and power can’t be generated without speed.

One of the key pieces in the Okinawa karate bible, The Bubishi, was a line that reads “Ho Wa Go Ju O Donto Su”. This translates to something along the lines of “hard and soft is the foundation of the method”, and reminds us that we must explore both hard and soft. Master Chojun Miyagi thought this line imoprtant enough that he named his style of karate as “Goju” ryu – the school of hard and soft.

Another important maxim that reminds of the importance of this balance is contained in one of the “5 Principles of Kata”, which reads “chikara no kyojaku”reminds us to practice with both strong power and passive power (relaxation).

Practicing hardness and softness in your technique is an important reason why it is not productive for a karateka to practice their techniques only to the air. You have to hit something, and be able to hit hard. This is where the use of tools like bogu (protective equipment), makiwara (striking posts), punching bags, focus mits and so on come in. Its also why karateka like to break things, using the techniques of tameshiwari.

The practice of kettlebells for me is not just about developing strength and burning fat. Its also very much about refinement and further building of the same type of power that I need to support my karate practice.

True power can only be achieved through a balance of tension (strength) and relaxation. Focus on these things, and you will find your techniques can improve dramatically.

Rifs Blog: The soft side of hardstyle..

One of the original podcasts about karate, Martial Secrets, is back.

Some of you might be aware of Martial Secrets, a Podcast hosted by Kris Wilder. Kris has authored several books on the martial arts and has trained and taught seminars around the world.

But a little known secret is Martial Secrets itself, the Podcast that takes in a wide range of martial artists and people on the edges of the arts as well. When you tune into Martial Secrets you will hear from a wide group of people like a Screenwriter, a Physical Therapists, a Dr. of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a Black Belt Magazine columnists, to name a few.

As the new interviews are coming up – after a 18 month long hiatus – explore the back catalogue, you will not be disappointed. Kris was also the guest on Episode 3 of the Applied Karate Show and he maintains a crisp and poignant blog at http://www.myspace.com/kris_wilder