Releve assuree en Alabama

Mission accomplie !

Felicitations a mes deux eleves George Hill et David Marteney qui ont passe avec succès leur examen de 2eme Dan (Niddan) en Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu en Octobre dernier. Le test a eu lieu au Big Green Drum Dojo a Pensacola en Floride. Carl Long Hanshi était l’examinateur. 

 

David Marteney et George Hill

 

George et David ont repris l'activité Iaijutsu de Mokurai Dojo a Dothan en Alabama aux Etats Unis après mon départ en 2021.

J'espère les retrouver pour m’entrainer (et partager quelques bières et hot wings ) avec eux en Alabama ou en Pennsylvanie avant l’ete 2024. 

 

 

 

So we had better think again and use our common sense. 

If we let our mind mistreat us so that we spend our lives suffering and making others suffer around us, that’s a sign of a lack of common sense. The thoughts and words that come from a disturbed state of mind can be considered “negative.” 

Instead of complaining about our fate, if we cultivate altruism and compassion, so that those “positive” states of mind improve our well-being and that of others, that shows that we do have common sense.

JIGME KHYENTSE RINPOCHE (born 1964) 

Oral Advice translated by Matthieu Ricard

Sand Mandala by Tibetan Monks in Dothan, AL. March 2015

Please note that Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche does not say that thoughts and words coming from a disturbed state of mind are negative, but that they can be considered "negative." This is important !

 

Yoshukai Karate Dothan Tournament

Last week end was the 35th edition of the Dothan Open Karate Tournament .

Attendance was great, good competitors in Fighting, Kata, Kobudo, some old faces, some new ones.

The 2 highlights of this event however were the presence of both Soke Katsuoh Yamamoto and Kaicho Hiroaki Toyama. 

Soke Yamamoto brought with him his new book : 

and signed it for those students who purchased it. 

He had come from Japan with his daughter and grand daughter who also competed in the tournament.

But the most emotional part of the tournament was the return among us of Kaicho Toyama. Last February, Kaicho Toyama fell very ill, victim of a sudden infection. For several weeks, we were not sure he would survive. 

After Multiple surgeries, Kaicho Toyama beat the disease, and he was among us for the first time this week end, signing on Soke's book for those of us who asked him to do so ! 

Mr Toyama's will to survive and overcome the disease, and the way his family helped him should be examples to us all. At times, we might feel miserable for having missed a plane or having been treated unfairly by life. The next times this happens, let us remember Kaicho Toyama. 

Iki o sakan no subeshi

(Keep High Spirit)

Choun no Kun kata

Kaicho Mike Culbreth is teaching the first part of the Choun no Kun Bo kata to a group of Black Belts. 

Taped at the World Yoshukai Karate Kobudo Karate Headquarters in Dothan, Alabama on January 15, 2014. 

The BO (KUN in Okinawan language) is a 6 foot wooden staff.

The Bo kata taught in Yoshukai Kobudo are 

• Bo kata shodan, 
• Bo kata Nidan, 
• Bo kata Sandan, 
• Choun no Kun, and 
• Choun no Kun Dai.

Bo kata Shodan, Nidan and Sandan were created by the late Sensei Koda to teach the basics of Bo to beginner students (before black belt). They essentially are selected parts of Choun no Kun . 

Iai in Auburn

Travis Page Sensei invited me to teach a MJER Iai class at his Auburn Yoshukai  Karate Dojo yesterday, February 12, 2013.

Altogether 9 Yoshukai Karate students attended the class. Some of them had already trained with Patty Heath Sensei at the Dothan Dojo. Some of them were new to the Way of the Sword. 

We spent 2 hours together. First wie practised basics :  Nukitsuke & Kirioroshi, Chiburi & Noto; then the first 2 moves of the Batto-ho : Junto sono Ichi and Ni. 

Later on we switched to Kenjutsu with the first 2 Katachi waza : Deai and Tsukekomi.

When teaching to beginners, I concentrate on the big picture - I want the student to try to memorize the overall "form" of the waza. I am not pushing for perfection for I believe it is counterproductive at this level. I want the student to get an idea of what the whole move is about - so he can picture  himself in the action, and enjoy it !  I believe it is more important than boring them to death asking them to perform a perfect cut.

Practice Sheet

To really improve a waza (or technique), it is better to practice it at least 10 times in a row. This allows to pay more attention to details, how to move a foot at the beginning in order to raise faster, how to shift weight, open hips or not... This can only be achieved by repeating the move again and again, and by paying great attention to the actual feelings in the joints and muscles...

At the Dojo, the students generally practice each waza 3 or 4 times to allow the instructor to correct them, and then get to another one. It is their job, back home, to practice again and again, to try to adjust the move based on the instructor's remarks, so it becomes a sort of second nature.

It is difficult to remember from one week to the other what we practice. As each one of us has preferred moves, and moves we don't particularly like for different reasons, it is very easy to practice certain moves a lot, and forget some others.This should be avoided.

I created this Practice Sheet to record one's practice. It is easy to use. Whenever you practice one waza 10 times, you draw a small line on the row in front of it. It is an easy way to visualize your training.

In this example, I recorded 70 Seiza Mae, 30 Seiza Migi, 30 Seiza Hidari, 30 Seiza Ushiro and 50 Yaegaki Omote

This document is public. Feel free to download it and use it to help your practice.

The waza I listed are the ones we practice at the Yoshukai Dojo in Dothan, Alabama, USA. As you probably practice other waza, you can modify this document to fit your needs. 

Have fun, Train hard.

MJER Tatehiza - Renzoku Waza

A very clean and smooth demonstration of  the Tatehiza (half sitting) Waza of the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu (MJER) Iaido by Noboru Kataoka Sensei - Instructor of the New York City Kendo club.

Kataoka Sensei performs the waza of this series  in a continuous (Renzoku) sequence at different angles.

The Waza of the Tatehiza no Bu (立膝之部) series are :

1. 横雲      Yokogumo
2. 虎一足    Tora no issoku
3. 稲妻      Inazuma
4. 浮雲      Ukigumo
5. 颪        Oroshi
6. 岩波      Iwanami
7. 鱗返      Urokogaeshi
8. 波返      Namigaeshi
9. 瀧落      Takiotoshi
10. 真向      Makkō

Their full description with pictures is detailed in the book Flashing Steel by Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi

To practice MJER Iaido in Dothan, Alabama at the Yoshukai Dojo contact Frederic Lecut

World Tai Chi Day

We will celebrate this event on next Saturday, April 30 2011 at 10:00. I am still to find the right place for it. Last year and the year before, we held it at Solomon Park, but I am considering other options this year, Once things are set, I will let it be known. 

Our Menu : Breathing exercises, Qi Gong, and the 4 Winds Short Form

Please plan to attend this great event, and advertise it around you. It is up to us to spread the word. 

The practices of Tai Chi and Qi Gong help people harmonize their lives and better contribute to their communities

IAIDO : Zantotsuto

Another video taped at the Dothan Botanical Garden last Thursday with my students, in the first part a group practice of the Sword waza "Zantotsuto", the 6th one of the "Batto-Ho" series. In the 2nd part the Bunkai practice of the same move.


Batto Ho is a group of waza common to several Styles of Iaido, including Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu.
the one we study in Dothan at the Yoshukai Dojo and in Pensacola at the Big Green Drum Dojo.

In our Bunkai interpretation of Zantotsuto, the two opponents walk toward each other. As Uchidachi (the bad guy) raises his hands to draw his sword, Shidachi (the good guy) stops him by drawing faster right on top of his hands. As Uchidachi steps back Shidachi follows him with the intention to skewer him (Tsuki attack). Uchidachi draws his sword under Shidachi's sword and tries to whack it out of the way by hitting it upward with his own sword. However, Shidachi keeps pushing and cuts Uchidachi, either in a vertical downward cut (Kirioroshi) or in a forward slicing cut of his hands.

As previously stated for our other videos this is not a perfect demonstration, but simply an example of what we practice in our Iaijutsu class at the Yoshukai Dojo in Dothan, Alabama. If you wish to see the real stuff, please refer to Masayuki Shimabukuro Sensei videos : Samurai Swordmanship



The Bunkai is our own interpretation of a situation where Zantotsuto could be used. There would be other interpretations, and I invite you to figure some out and post videos on Youtube for us to compare and discuss. Remember however that Sword Practice, even with a Boken (wooden sword) can generate serious wounds.

Good luck in your practice.

IAIDO : Shato

This is another video taped at the Dothan Botanical Garden last Thursday with my students , first come a group practice of the Sword waza "Shato" which is the 4th one in a series named "Batto-Ho". Second comes the Bunkai practice of the same move.

Batto Ho is a group of waza common to several Styles of Iaido, including the one we study in Dothan and Pensacola : Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu

Shato means "Diagonal sword" in this waza, Shidachi (the good guy) stops Uchidachi at high level and cuts him obliquely from Left to Right. Uchidachi jumps back and cuts. Shidachi parries in a sort of Ukenagashi move, and then cuts Uchidachi obliquely from Right to Left. The 2 diagonal cuts (Kesa Giri) are the reason for the name of this waza.

Of course, this is not a perfect demonstration of Shato. If you wish to see the real stuff, please refer to Masayuki Shimabukuro Sensei videos : Samurai Swordmanship

Still, we enjoyed the exercise.

The Bunkai part is our own interpretation of a situation where  Shato could be used. There would be other interpretations, but this once works, and we had a good time trying to figure it out, and practicing it.

Bunkai brings to your practice an element of reality. The Waza has to be adapted to the environment, the size of the opponent, the timing, distances... 

Also, once one has practiced a Bunkai, he or she may go back to solo-practice, and visualize what he or she could actually be doing !

World Tai Chi Day - The First Wealth is Health

The first wealth is health.
  – Ralph Waldo Emerson -

If you regard your life as a trust, you realize that the first resource you have to take care of is your own body. And this can be startling. 

For even your body is not really your own. It belongs to life, and it is your responsibility to take care of it. 

You cannot afford to do anything that injures your body, because the body is the instrument you need for selfless action. That is the fine print of the trust agreement: when we smoke, when we overeat, when we don’t get enough exercise, we are violating the terms of the trust. 

If you want to live life at its fullest, you will want to do everything possible to keep your body in vibrant health in order to give back to life a little of what it has given you.

Take responsibility for your own health ! 

Join us on Saturday April 24 at 10:00 a.m. to celebrate World Tai Chi Day at Solomon Park in Dothan, Alabama.It is a FREE and Worldwide event !

World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day

World TaiChi and Qi Gong Day, a wold wide event, will be celebrated on April 24. This is a FREE event, sponsored by Frederic Lecut's School of Martial Arts and the City of Dothan Deparment of Leisure Services.

Join us at Solomon Park on April 24 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. to practice Tai Chi with thousands of other fans in the World.

More information to come about the detailed organization and free pre-event classes