French Budo

As I was travelling to France from December 17 to January 6, I had the great pleasure to meet and train with my old Budo buddies from a long time ago...

I got to train twice with the Kendo club of Friville Escarbotin . 

My friend and instructor Francis Hollier, originally a Judoka, founded the Kendo club 30 years ago. I started to train with him in 1989 just back from Korea. Since then, I have tried to go train with him at least once a year...

From Left to Right : Pascal Barraud, Frederic Lecut, Abel Brunet, Francis Hollier. 

The four of us were training together 25 years ago in Kendo, Tai Jitsu and Tai Chi... After 22 years in the USA, I can go back to France and meet these guys, it is just as if I had left them last week !

While I was training in Kendo under Francis, he asked me if I would like to open a Tai Jitsu class. Which I did, under supervision of Jean Luc Lemoine, who was teaching in Rouen, 90 km South of Friville. I was not a black belt at the time and could only teach under supervision of a licensed black belt instructor.

On January 3, at Jean Luc's request, I had the pleasure and honour to teach a Yoshukai Karate Class for the Tai Jitsu club of Normandie...

Everyone had a great time...

Once you have practised Budo for years and years, there should be a realization that maybe this is not at all about fighting, but rather about making peace. 

Unless you are able and ready to fight, it is going to be difficult to live in peace. 

Faithfull friends are part of this...

Henri Plée Hanshi

The Father of European Karate Henri Plée Hanshi left us on August 19, 2014.

Henri Plée Hanshi was one of the rare Westerners to hold the rank of 10th dan karate masters. 

Born in Arras, France on 24 May 1923, he started his martial career with French Savate, Ju Jutsu, and Fencing. His studies were interrupted by World War II in 1940.

After the war, he learned Judo in Paris under Mikonosuke Kawaishi. He was the 96th French black belt and is now ranked 5th dan at Judo.

In 1946, he returned to French Savate, also known as French kickboxing, and trained and sparred with some of the best French fighters such as Rigal, Pierre Plasait, Cayron, and Pierre Baruzy. Despite quality of this training he was still feeling the need to go stronger and deeper, and was looking for something else.

In 1953, he discovered aikido, karate and kobudo with Minoru Mochizuki. This was the start of his karate career.

Minoru Mochizuki Hanshi

In 1955 he founded his dojo where he taught the four pillars of Japanese Martial Arts : Karate, Judo, Aikido, and Kendo. Henri Plée Hanshi instructed many black belts who, at a later stage, became the foundation of the European karate institutions, and are today some of the highest ranking karate masters in Europe. 

From 200 karate practitioners in 1961, Henry Plée's efforts have led today to more than 200,000 practitioners in France. The French government considers him as one of the greatest international experts in Martial Arts, and knighted him with the French Ordre national du Mérite in 2008.

Ranks

Karate

• 10th dan, Hanshi Karate in Japan, by Tsuneyoshi Ogura in 1987
• 8th dan, in France by the Fédération Française de Karaté - FFKAMA in 1975.
• 5th dan, Renshi Karate in Japan, by Chojiro Tani.
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd dan, karate in France, by Minoru Mochizuki.

Judo

• 5th dan, Judo.

Aikido

• 3rd dan, Aikido, by Masamichi Noro.
• 2nd dan, Aikikai Hombu Aikido, by Tadashi Abe.
• 1st dan, Yoseikan Aikido, by Minoru Mochizuki.

Kendo

• 1st dan, Kendo, by Minoru Mochizuki.

Bōjutsu

• 1st dan, Bo-Jutsu, by Minoru Mochizuki.
 

Henri Plée Hanshi 1923 - 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finally did it !

This morning I completed  a goal I had set about a year ago : Practice each waza of our KNBK curriculum 150 times each.

Well actually, I only practiced the waza I know. Advanced techniques such as Okuden Suwariwaza I never really studied enough to feel comfortable with them.

Also, these are just the solo practice waza : Batto - Ho (12 waza), Shoden seiza (11 waza), Chuden tatehiza (10 waza) and Okuden Tachiwaza (11 waza). Katachi are not included. 

I also had to limit myself to  the standing version of Chuden Waza as my right knee is not ready yet for Tatehiza.

But all together that makes quite a few waza, quite a few Nukitsuke, Kirioroshi, Chiburi and Noto ! With a total of 44 waza, that makes a total of 6600 waza.

Does it make me an expert ? certainly not, but it has helped me improve. I strongly believe that only the consecutive repetition of the same waza, times and times, allows you to become acutely aware of body positions, the muscles you actually use, the way you bend your joints... Develop muscle memory - And is the only way to get better by researching and fine-tuning your moves. In my personal case, I think I have to practice a move at least 12 times in a row to be able to really feel the details of how my body relates to it.

Most of us have heard the saying that every move should be repeated 10,000 times to be perfected executed. Where does this number actually comes from ? Is it accurate ?

Well, it comes from Chinese Taoism and it is not to be taken literally. In Taoism the "ten thousand things" means the Complete Universe, all that exists. So when you are told to practice each waza 10,000 times, what you are told really, is to keep practicing them for ever...

Nevertheless, I believe in progressing step by step, and in recording your progress. Every time I practice one waza 10 times, I draw a little line on a recording sheet. It is easy to do, and I invite you to follow me.

If all goes well, I will visit my friends Francis and Jean Luc, also my Kendo and Ju Jitsu Instructors in France next week. More to learn and enjoy. 

For those of you who cannot practice from Seiza or Tatehiza positions, the standing versions of the Shoden and Chuden waza are beautifully described in the Advanced Samurai Swordsmanship set of DVD by Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi and Carl Long Kyoshi.

In a next post I will elaborate on the healing aspect of this kind of practice on the joints.

 

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

This is generally attributed to the Buddha.  

If you try to figure out when and where He said that, from which Sutra it comes from, you better be patient and ready to never find it ! 

It is a common use to attribute to famous people words someone less famous said... Lao Tzu, Confucius, Abraham Lincoln and Einstein, among many others, are also credited with lots of apparently deep things they probably never said. 

Go figure...

Years ago, before I moved to the US, I suffered from depression. It lasted several month. It sucked. Nothing mattered to me anymore. The only time I was able to forget about my misery was when I would get on a mat to teach or study Ju Jitsu or Kendo. 

Once a month I would drive to Paris to study Ju Jitsu under Master Rolland Hernaez. I was just 1st degree black belt then. 

One night I had been driving 2 1/2 hours under rain and slit to get there, wondering why I was doing this, feeling sorry for myself - depression does that to you... I had arrived early at the Dojo and was changing clothes, by myself in the dressing room. Sensei Hernaez opened the door to see who was there. He looked at me, said nothing, and smiled - a big smile. I suppose he was happy to see me there. 

All of a sudden, my sorriness gone. Light had chased the darkness away. 

He must have been 7th Degree Black belt in Ju Jitsu back then. (Not counting his ranks in Karate, Judo and Aikido...) I was just a shodan, and this great Man  smiled at me... He did not have to do it, but he did and it made a big difference in my life.

Never waste an occasion to smile to people. It's easy to do, it is free to you, and you never know what you can bring them. 

Travel to Europe

Shihan Travis Page and I will be traveling to France for 2 weeks to save the Euro Zone, as well as visiting with family and friends. We plan to train there with my Ju Jitsu instructor and friend Jean Luc Lemoine and Kendo Instructor and friend Francis Houlier of the Kendokan, and possibly meet some of my old Ju Jitsu students

While I am gone there won't be any Zen or Martial Arts activities at the Yoshukai Dojo (Beside Yoshukai Karate of course)
 

You are welcome to meet to train in Tai Chi Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Geri's will be your instructor at Westgate. 

I plan to fly back once the Euro Zone is saved, on November 29th, that is a Tuesday, and we will resume normal classes on December 1st with Tai Chi and IaiJutsu

May all of you have a happy Thanksgiving among your loved ones.

PS : do not forget our December celebrations :

• December 10th : Zazenkai at the Jap House in Headland.
• December 17th : Iaijutsu  Seminar at 11:00 as usual at the Yoshukai Dojo, followed by a joint Budo - Zen BYOB Christmas party at the Headland Jap House.

Christmas dinner.

As I was reading a post about Choki Motobu in the excellent Blog Karate by Jesse, it reminded me of a story I heard from my Ju Jitsu Master Roland Hernaez.

It happened I think in the early 80′s. A group of French Martial Art Masters (Ju Jitsu, Karate, Aikijitsu, Kobudo…) were gathered in a small bar-restaurant in a small town of the suburbs of Paris for a traditional Christmas dinner.

The dining area of the restaurant was a separate room in the back where people could eat away from the crowd and noise of the bar. This is a pretty standard sort of arrangement in that sort of establishment.  

So there were probably 8 or 10 masters there having a good time together, sharing some good food and drinking good wine.  Some of these people, such as M. Hernaez were nice and peaceful persons.  Some of them were not. Some of them were experienced in street or combat fighting and/or had served during the terrible independence wars of Indochine (Vietnam) or Algeria, and had little opportunities to practice their self defense abilities. Also remember, they were not drinking iced tea. 

All of these men were in their 50′s or 60′s, and looked like regular guys. They could have been a group of employees working in the same office, gathered there to enjoy a traditional Christmas Dinner, as the French love to do. 

A group of bikers had entered the bar and ordered  their drinks. They realized there was a group of old men eating in the back, and decided to have a little fun at their expense and to scare them a little.

It was not a brilliant idea, but of course, who said you needed a 120 IQ to join the Holly Fraternity of the Rueil Malmaison Bikers ???

They entered the back room. 

Very shortly, most of them were on the ground , with various injuries. The cops - called by the bar owner - arrived too late to prevent the incident. They handcuffed some bikers to take them to the local jail, while they let the other ones  leave for the hospital on stretchers. They took the deposition of the old men, and left.

The masters ordered their coffee...

Katsuoh Yamamoto - Defense against grabbing

Another video from the 70's of our Grand Master Katsuoh Yamamoto demonstrating defense moves against grabbing opponents. Some of the techniques are the same his instructor Dr Chitose was using, which you can see in one video on one of my previous posts.



These tapes being pretty old the quality is far from good. These are however interesting moves. I was practicing most of these in a slightly different form when I was studying Ju Jitsu with Sensei Rolland Hernaez in France.

I will soon post on You Tube an other video of defense against atemi (Punch and kicks). Stay tuned...

Nihon Ju Jitsu

I could not resist posting this video. I had the honor and pleasure to train under Master Rolland Hernaez, Hanshi, founder of Nihon Tai Jitsu, and am myself a 2nd degree Black Belt in this Art.


I hope you enjoy the great variety of throws (Nage waza) and joint manipulations (Kansetsu waza) displayed in this video. Reminds me of my 30's when I would bounce back from the mat as if I were made of rubber....

Because Nihon Tai Jitsu is strictly about Self Defense, numerous techniques are aimed at very sensitive parts of the body (eyes, throat, groin, spine and joints...) which are potentially dangerous. No Fighting competition are organized, only technical challenges during which competitors are judged based on prearranged self defense demonstrations.

The drawback of such a situation is sometimes a lack of realism in the use of certain unusual waza, and the fact that students may not be used to being actually hit. This is why the study of a full contact art such as Yoshukai Karate combined with Tradidional Ju Jitsu is an excellent mix. Full contact fighting provides a real experience of how a punch or kick can really hurt, the acceptance of this risk, and the DEEP willingness to avoid them by only using safe waza that minimize that risk for ourselves.
On another Hand, Nihon Tai Jitsu provides a variety of wazas and target usually not used in Karate, which may enable a lighter person to get out much safely out of situation where they are attacked by more powerful individuals. (It also looks really cool !)

What did you say ? This is what MMA has been doing for several years ?

Well, not exactly, for one thing, as MMA is mostly focused toward competition, a number of techniques used by Traditional Ju Jitsu are also banned. Then MMA has usually lost contact with the Traditional Part essential to Karate or Ju Jitsu. Fighting is not the ultimate goal, but a way to achieve something else...

THANKSGIVINGS

When I came back from Korea to France, in 1989, Sensei Rolland Hernaez allowed me to open a Dojo to teach Nihon Tai Jitsu.

The first year, I had 5 students. 2 of these stayed with me until I moved to the United States. They later placed 5 and 6 at the National Championship in their category.

One of them, Mathieu, a tall skinny guy, was a little shy to start with. Little by little he developed a very friendly and happy attitude as well as great throwing abilities! Mathieu was raised by a single Mom. It was uncommon in our remote part of Picardie, and sometimes he had been picked on because of that.

At the end of 1992, during Christmas Dinner, Mathieu’s mother came to thank me for what I had done for him.
Thinking that she was making reference to his ability in Martial Arts, I told her that it was my job, I had just helped the kid train hard and develop his skills.

No, she told me, you do not understand. When Mathieu started training with you, he was going in the wrong direction. Without a father at home, he was hanging around with the wrong kind of boys, and was aiming at troubles. I had no clue how to handle him. You put him back on the right track. Without you, he would probably be in jail today. I was touched, and thankful to her for having told me that.

Sensei Hiroyuki Koda – who came to the United states in 1969 sent by Grandmaster Yamamoto - used to say :

“We are the results of the influence of our parents, our friends, and our teachers.”

I had not realized the beneficial influence I had had on Mathieu. As instructors we can have a serious influence in the lives of our students, let’s be aware of this, and use it for their own good.

Wrist Stretching

Illustrated Article about wrist stretching. In traditional Ju Jitsu and Aikido, various wrist locks are applied. It is a wise precaution to stretch these joints before classes.

6 Acupuncture meridians flow through the wrist : 3 Yin : Heart, Pericardium and Lungs; and 3 Yang : Stomach, Small and Large Intestine. When you flex your wrist by bringing the pal of the hand toward the elbow, you stretch the Yang Meridians. When you extend your wrist by bringing the back of the hand toward the elbow, you stretch the Yin Meridians.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is said that "Chi follows Blood". This means that when blood or lymph do not circulate, the Chi is stopped and pain arises.

Stretching the wrists before a Tai Chi class loosens the little bones and help a better circulation of fluids - and Chi, through the joint. These exercises are also good to release tension in the forearms of persons suffering of Carpal Tunel Syndrome, or who simply spend lots of times typing on a keyboard.