Karate is being dragged in many directions these days, with things like mixed martial arts, submission fighting and sports karate each taking a lot of the spotlight.  In turn, classical karate training, for the sake of self improvement and self defense is taking a back seat.  For many this is ok, but the lack of media out there to support practitioners of traditional or classical karate is astounding.

So The Essential Karate Newsletter is designed as a vehicle to share a little bit about whats going on in the world of classical karate, and related arts, and related areas of kobudo and strength and conditioning (primarily using kettlebells and hojo undo style equipment).

As the editor of The Essential Karate Newsletter I am also the host and producer of The Applied Karate Show podcast, on The Podcast Network.  The Applied Karate Show features interviews with many quiet achievers and well known names in the world of classical karate.  Each newsletter will feature a brief update of the shows held in the last month or so.

Episode 9 featured an informative and wide ranging discussion with Iain Abernethy, kata bunkai specialist and author. I highly recommend every karateka to listen to this episode.

Click here to listen to Episode 9 of The Applied Karate Show with Sensei Iain Abernethy.

I got into kettlebell training in June 2006, as I could see the promise of this form of strength and conditioning training for the martial artist.  Pavel Tsatsouline is the leading authority on kettlebell training, and having a karate background himself, this interview was a great discussion on the what and why of kettlebell training for the traditional karateka.

Click here to listen to Episode 10 of The Applied Karate Show with Pavel Tsatsouline.

With permission, I’ve posted a great article of his at Kengokai.com called Changing the Rules of Good Nutrition.

I strongly believe that the concept of self defence isn’t limited to technical skills for phyiscal confrontation, but should extend to mental attitudes and physcial activities to defend the self from disease.  In fact, I believe that the concept of Shin Gi Tai (mind technique body) reminds us to develop all three areas.  To do this we need to encompass proper exercise (some of it through karate training, some through strength and conditioning, some through aerobic activties), adequate nutrition and of course good recovery.

These Three Minds (the Mitsu no Kokoro) apply not only in all aspects of our budo training, but in reality in all aspects of life.  One of the most important life skills a martial artist can attempt to master is to understand and utilise the Three Minds - zenshin, tsushin and zanshin.

Zenshin is what can be refered to as “the preparatory mind” - the mental state that precedes an activity.  When we we commence a kata, zenshin would describe the state before we start, perhaps as we start our opening salutation.  At the start of a class, most of us meditate briefly as a way of focusing our mind onto the training ahead.  This is also a form of zenshin.

Tsushin is the “active mind” or “continuing mind”.  It is the focus we have whilst we are in the midst of what we are doing.  100% focused on the task at hand, yet still having a peripheral awareness about what is going on around us.  Tsushin is an important facet of our mental game in any task - be it a kata, a fight, a business transaction or even a conversation with a loved one.

Zanshin is commonly referred to as “perfect completion”, but is perhaps better translated as the “remaining mind”.  This is the mental state of awareness that follows a task or activity.  It is the place where we pause to ensure the task is competed, and that there are no new surprises waiting for us.  In a physical encounter, it is the time we take to ensure that the danger has been dealt with, and we are not about to be attacked again.

The Three Minds work together on multiple levels.  Zenshin, tsushin and zanshin apply before, during and after the delivery of a technique.  On another level they apply before, during and after an individual kata.  At yet another level they apply for an entire training session.  So our mind may be simultaneously in zanshin having completed a punch, in zenshin for the next technique, and in tsushin for the kata as a whole.

The Three Minds don’t apply only to budo training, but in all aspects of life.  Recently I participated in a kettlebell instructors course with Don Stevenson.  Don reminded us that our concentration on kettlebell techniques begins before we pick up a kettlebell, retains focus throughout, and does not stop until the kettlebell is safely parked back on the floor.  To do otherwise would be inviting silly and preventable injuries.  In other words, we protect ourselves through the use of zenshin, tsushin and zanshin.

In a business context, the Three Minds apply equally.  Zenshin is the stage of planning and preparation, tsushin is the process of executing the plan, and zanshin is the wrapping up, ensuring perfection completion of the plan, and making sure that new variables are accounted for accordingly.