Sensei Mark Kupsz visits AOK

Sensei Mark Kupsz of the Burleigh Shotokan Karate Club in South Wales flew in to Los Angeles to visit Sensei Claycomb after 13 years of seperation.

During the time of his visit, sensei Kupsz conducted a few training sessions at the academy of karate in Duarte as well as taking a road trip to Caesar's palace to watch the US OPEN Karate Championships over the Easter Weekend in Las Vegas.



Sensei Kupsz was Sensei Claycomb's First mentor in Shotokan Karate when he started his training at the Awali Shotokan Karate Club in Bahrain back in the 80's.

Now with both sensei's running their own schools, they plan to strengthen their professional relationship in hopes of building an international Karate alliance between the USA, WALES and Bahrain as well as continuing to build upon their friendship.

for more information about Sensei Kupsz's dojo in Wales , just visit their website at www.burleighskc.com

or you can browse sensei claycomb's profile page at AOK's website at www.academyofkarate.net

Tekki Sandan reply on the shotokan way

Tekki Sandan blog from the shotokan way

Here is a copy of a blog from the shotokan way that i replied to ...
so i am only attaching what i responded with ..

The poster wrote:
I'm currently studying Tekki Sandan. I was taught when you do the morote uke, the left hand open on the forearm that you should kick mae geri straight ahead.

I'v seen videos and pictures for example of many JKA Instructors who simply just raise their knee.

What is the general happening here?


My response:
Hello everybody...

I would like to add to this topic from a neutral stand point of view.. although that might seem difficult...

In Tekki Sho-dan , Ni-dan or San-dan.. the kick that everyone is talking about is found in all three Kata. If i am discussing the same kick.

Since the only kick referred to as a fumi-komi to my knowledge is found only once in San-dan on the final sequence with the right leg, twice in Ni-dan on left and right and twice in Sho-dan on the left and right leg all following the kagi tsuki's. going into an uchi-ude-uke.

In kata, the fundamental movements of each technique are performed for the sake of training the body to do certain motions or movements..

I dont personally think there is a correct way or a incorrect way to execute any given technique in any Kata after you have obviously built a solid foundation for the basic movements. Again we are talking about the finer points of tekki not the general idea... I think there are many different ways and all are correct.

I think it is a matter of preference.... the fact that every well known and high ranking sensei teaches a different way, tells us that everything goes back to preference. Some teach uchi-mikazuki-geri, some teach mae-geri and many teach it as a fumi-komi.

With that said.. I strictly follow a committed means to learning.

Since many people have trained with multiple sensei's, myself included, I find it very difficult to determine what is the right way to do anything.. I think the easiest way is to follow what your Sensei says unless he tells you to start experimenting with things. but mean while your brain should be actively looking into it from a different angle all the time.

If at some point you find your self learning from someone else later on in your career then again by all means follow your sensei again.

Learn what you can from everyone whether it be this way or that way. When you have gotten to the point that you are looking for a deeper meaning, then you should simply try to apply each method you have learned and put it into application within your kata. I think that brings out the mental freedom of Kata.

Honestly, I don't think it matters what you do. So long as you are doing your techniques within the guidelines of the kata.

Now if you are exchanging a fumi-komi for a spinning hook kick then I would say you are doing something totally out of the question because it is not relevant to the Kata and has no validity.

But if it is a matter of mae-geri vs. fumi-komi or uchi-mikazuki-geri or Hiza-geri then i honestly feel it is a matter of preference since they all start with identical initial movement from the hip. They all require to lift the knee up to get anything going.

I have been taught Tekki Nidan and Sandan several ways. But if you go back to Nakayama's Kata, I think it is safe to say you are closest to the well.

My Sensei, Toshiatsu Sasaki is an 8th dan and a direct student of Nakayama. Needless to say, I follow his instruction without question.

Previous instructors have shown me Tekki differently, but never with a Mae geri. I have been taught it as a hiza-Geri as well as a mikazuki-geri.. but mostly I have been taught it as a Fumi-komi.

I also think many teach it depending on their own body, level of flexibility, and mobility.

Performing a hiza-geri I think is the easiest. Fumikomi seems much more difficult to do since you practically have to twist you leg out of socket with your hips remaining strait forward while in a kiba-dachi...lol

This takes a much longer time to master and become proficient at than the other ways. That might be a reason why variations came about.
But then again it could all be due to the different Oyo-waza that are translated from the movements themselves.

If you want my preference I believe it is a Fumi-komi because Nakayama taught it that way and it seems to flow better once you understand it and mold your body to execute the right way.

Thanks for the opportunity of this topic..
gook luck...

Oss
_________________
We are what we do repetitively, therefore excellence is a habit, not a single act

True Martial Arts compared to SPORT MMA

I think the original purpose of the UFC was to compare each martial art against another. I also think that it was some what of an infomercial to create another mainstream market which has somehow evolved into MMA.

I like watching PRIDE the most. I feel the fighters are the most skilled and good over all at what they do but NOT anything special when it comes to martial arts.

One thing is for certain though.. not one fighter from any MMA circuit that i have seen is an authority in any particular art . Most fighters are not even black belts in anything.. just highly trained physical specimens. Not normal people. So comparing a true martial artist to a highly trained MMA Athlete is very out of the question.

I firmly believe it is impossible to completely compare any style of martial art to another. It is impossible because they are all so different. An orange is a fruit and so is a banana. Both are fruit but very different.

How can you compare them other than give a personal preference in taste? You can compare color, taste, nutrients, smell and so on but what determines them to be better?

In Martial Arts it is even harder because there are too many aspects to even attempt to compare. But the most common and basic comparison is between striking and grappling.

This is pointless in my opinion. I think in combat it goes to who makes the first mistake in a ring fight that determines who has the advantage to carry on to a victory. If a good grappler gets a hold of you then look out! On the other hand you better look out with even more caution to the great striking artist!!! Chuck Liddell is a good example of a fighter who knows how to avoid getting to the ground and punches the lights out of most of his opponents. He has won the light heavyweight title more than once using good striking.

But I would still not consider a credible authority as a good martial artist. He is a well-trained slugger and pit fighter. Take of the gloves, mouthpiece and cup and use practical martial arts methods in the street and he would then appear to be more normal than we would expect. This goes to any MMA fighter in my opinion.

If a MMA fighter is to depend in his striking ability in the street then he needs to develop proper body mechanics, to know that the quickest way to a target is a strait line and also consider other uncontrollable factors like: no mats, no cage, hard ground to think about when getting slammed to the floor.

I guarantee that any human being will start to worry about the ground after hitting it while getting a concussion because he thought he was still on a mat, in a cage and in a controlled environment.

A real fight only lasts a few seconds. There wont be too much hugging on the ground getting hurt by the asphalt, rocks, glass and other hazardous things you find in a parking lot.. Let's not forget CURBS and PARKING DIVIDERS.

Most traditional martial artists train to avoid being taken to the ground and are pretty good at it after a few years of training.

The problem with people who are quick to judge traditional Martial arts as ineffective have no clue of what it takes to become a skilled practitioner because of their lack of patience to go through the process that it takes to to learn real self defense. So they turn to the sport of MMA thinking it will give them what they are looking for and are convinced of its superiority only after a few months.

Since there are rules in the ring, the bottom line is that MMA is sport oriented and not real combat.

We must remember this point before anything. If it is not a sport, then anyone should be able to get in a ring and fight, scratch, gouge eyes, pull cheeks, strike groin and collapse your esophagus and attack very vital points of the body in order to disable an opponent. Then it is no longer a sport and the risks are much higher. We might as well be in the games in ancient Rome at the coliseum entertaining Julius Caesar himself!

But since there ARE rules, then MMA should be considered a sport that is regulated in a controlled environment. So in short, it should be considered a sport with a combative attitude yet still far from REAL COMBAT.

That does not mean that none of these fighters are skilled at what they do. In fact, they are very skilled and more than amazing.

But to call MMA a mixture of martial arts is blasphemous when there is no standard to the level of any art practiced. No one is even close to being an authority in any art. The Gracie's practiced BJJ. Not MMA. If anyone were to be remotely considered a credible martial artist it would be one of the Gracie's. But to think BJJ is better than other arts I would seriously have to beg to differ. Again all arts provide an advantage in certain situations, but in the street it is way different than on a mat for an hour. Anything can go wrong no matter how good you are and no matter what you practice.

We should all remember the basic principles of true BUDO in the martial arts and what they can offer to us. Not try to knock one art for another.

Of course we are not talking about Mc Dojos and their commercial take of what real training is, only schools of credible and authentic training.

Good training!

Oss!