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It was Gichin Funakoshi who asked the question: the way, straight and true, who will pass it on? Actually, anybody can have The Way, and it is easily passed on. The key, of course, lies in good, old, hard core physics.
When karate was brought out of Japan, it was taught in the old way, memorizing strings of random techniques, and eventually bringing this practice to intuition. In spite of the fact that this works, it is an amazingly inadequate way to teach. The best way to teach is through giving the student a thorough understanding of physics.
Physics is how one measures the universe. It is not a mystical body of knowledge, yet, when understood, physics can actually lead to the understanding of such things as Chi. I should add to that, however, by saying that the subject of Chi is representative of a second set of physics which are above the physics of the physical universe.
The secret of physics is that they must be true. There can be no junk science, like you will see in TV advertising, in the martial arts. Junk science is actually the beginning of mysticism...it will make you how big?
The key to this can be seen through the simplicity of aligning a tire. An out of alignment tire will wobble, and this is out of true. An in alignment tire will not wobble, and this is in true.
Now you have to ask yourself the question, what wobbles in your martial arts form? An obvious wobble would be the wrist being improperly bent and bending upon impact. Another obvious wobble is when a student steps forward and punches and the buttocks wiggle, which is just out of alignment and wasting of energy, no matter how good it feels.
The trick of finding out what wobbles can occupy a lifetime. One must examine the body, watch it in a mirror, see it in pictures, feel it in technique, have others see it, and make sufficient sense out of the input to de-wobble it. The best method is to do your techniques plant and push style, slowly, searching for the most efficient paths and means of resistance within the body.
Ultimately, the resolution of physics results in the true art. And, the resolution of physics on the body level will lead one to the resolution of physics on a higher level. It is on this higher level that you will find the miracles of the martial arts. and the real reason for studying them in the first place.
When karate was brought out of Japan, it was taught in the old way, memorizing strings of random techniques, and eventually bringing this practice to intuition. In spite of the fact that this works, it is an amazingly inadequate way to teach. The best way to teach is through giving the student a thorough understanding of physics.
Physics is how one measures the universe. It is not a mystical body of knowledge, yet, when understood, physics can actually lead to the understanding of such things as Chi. I should add to that, however, by saying that the subject of Chi is representative of a second set of physics which are above the physics of the physical universe.
The secret of physics is that they must be true. There can be no junk science, like you will see in TV advertising, in the martial arts. Junk science is actually the beginning of mysticism...it will make you how big?
The key to this can be seen through the simplicity of aligning a tire. An out of alignment tire will wobble, and this is out of true. An in alignment tire will not wobble, and this is in true.
Now you have to ask yourself the question, what wobbles in your martial arts form? An obvious wobble would be the wrist being improperly bent and bending upon impact. Another obvious wobble is when a student steps forward and punches and the buttocks wiggle, which is just out of alignment and wasting of energy, no matter how good it feels.
The trick of finding out what wobbles can occupy a lifetime. One must examine the body, watch it in a mirror, see it in pictures, feel it in technique, have others see it, and make sufficient sense out of the input to de-wobble it. The best method is to do your techniques plant and push style, slowly, searching for the most efficient paths and means of resistance within the body.
Ultimately, the resolution of physics results in the true art. And, the resolution of physics on the body level will lead one to the resolution of physics on a higher level. It is on this higher level that you will find the miracles of the martial arts. and the real reason for studying them in the first place.
About the Author:
Al Case has researched martial arts for forty+ years. You can check out His Perfect Form at Monster Martial Arts.
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