This month marks the passing of my twentieth year of training in Shotokan karate. The following is a short and far from all-encompassing collection of thoughts that surfaced as I reminisced over this past year on where I am now relative to when I started training at the age of 7. Hopefully this will be of some aid to anyone early in their training years or looking for guidance. Feel free to share your thoughts as well!
1. Train hard, train often.
A favorite refrain of my late Sensei is to “train hard and train often”. If you truly want to become good at something, you have to invest a lot of time into practicing it. Going to the dojo once a week and not training when off the tatami is probably not going to lead to rapid results. Similarly, showing up the dojo five times a week but only going through the motions and never pushing yourself or actively trying to improve is going to lead to stagnation.
As with learning most skills in life, consistency in training is key. Intensity is the other pre-requisite to progress. Showing up is half the battle – the other half is actually fighting it.
If I could add one thing to the refrain, it would be to “train hard, train SMART, and train often”. There is no substitute for training, but there is also no substitute for listening to your body, thinking critically about what you are doing (see #2 and #15), and modifying your training as a result of your analysis.
2. Think about your karate.
Train smart. If you are an adult, there is no excuse for not studying basic human anatomy. You don’t have to be a physical therapist or physician, but you should at least have a framework for how the human body functions anatomically (and ideally, biomechanically). If you are taught something, you should be able to think about whether what you were taught makes sense and should be able to look up the basis for it on the internet without being totally clueless as to what is right and what is wrong. We live in a golden age of sports science and understanding of how the human body works (see #12). Information transmission has never been so free, instantaneous, and easily accessible through social media and the internet.
Think about your karate, research what others have discovered, and make adjustments based off of your analysis.
3. Don’t overthink things.
The phrase “paralysis through analysis” refers to an all too familiar affliction that even very seasoned karate-ka can succumb to. It is easy (and cheap) to wear a black belt and pontificate about what works and what doesn’t work, but if you are so out of shape that you can’t kick or punch for a few minutes without being completely out of breath, perhaps it would be wise to train first and think later. Train hard, train smart, train often (see #1).
4. Karate is physical.
From an anatomical and biomechanical perspective, karate is no different from any other physical endeavor. If you want to be a great runner, you don’t just practice running and forsake all other forms of training. If you want to be a great soccer player, you don’t just practice kicking a ball or defending a goal. If you want to be a great tennis player, you don’t just practice on the court.
Improving one’s abilities requires physical training in the form of cardiovascular conditioning, resistance training, flexibility and mobility work, and dietary and nutritional attention. It requires work not just on, but also off the track, field, and court. The same goes for on and off the tatami.
5. Do something physical other than karate.
Karate by itself can be a fantastic workout depending on the intensity and structure of one’s training, but inevitably, there are only so many times you can throw a punch, practice a kick, or repeat a kata before efficiency in improvement begins to plateau or decline.
My Sensei would often tell his students to do something outside of the dojo in addition to their karate, and I wholeheartedly agree with that advice. Most serious athletes cross-train to take their art/sport to the next level – are you? Do something physical other than karate to supplement your training (see #4).
6. There is a time for hardness and a time for softness.
Beginners often fixate on developing strong, fast, and hard techniques, something that commonly perpetuates into one’s more experienced years if one is not exposed to alternate methods of generating power. Power through softness is a very viable alternative and something that I believe to be a significant step in advancing one’s karate. Neither hardness nor softness is necessarily superior to the other, and the latter is often not realized (if ever) before the former. Study, train, and be able to utilize both methods of generating power.
7. Hit something.
Most of karate as it is currently taught and practiced involves kicking, blocking, and punching at air. If you have never hit something before, how will you know whether your techniques have the integrity to stand up against resistance?
One of the best ways to instantly tell whether you have proper structural alignment, body weight transference, and power behind a technique is to hit something. Hit the heavy bag, hit the makiwara, hit your training partner (within reason and with their permission) – hit something so you know what it feels like to meet resistance. Do not fall into the delusion that your techniques are highly technical and capable of great power without first testing them out on resistance. If you are not happy with the results, think about what feels wrong and course-correct (see #2).
Trial and error in training is far better than no trial and only error in a situation in a real-life situation. Even in modern times like today, hopefully this is self-evident.
8. Nothing is more important than the basics.
Just as with any skill in life, without a solid foundation or understanding of the fundamentals and basic principles, it is usually not possible to consistently utilize “advanced” biomechanics or perform highly refined techniques. I have gone through many cycles in my training where it was kata or kumite that invigorated me the most, but over the last decade of training, it has been kihon that I have found myself constantly returning to in order to continue experimenting and exploring within my karate further.
Ironing out the wrinkles at the most fundamental level has positive downstream effects on everything else.
9. Go beyond the basics.
Some karate-ka unfortunately become so stuck with a mindset of always training for the next belt test or tournament that they never move beyond the basics. Repeating a test syllabus endlessly or refusing to go outside your organization’s prescribed shapes from fear of being docked in a tournament is a surefire way to never progress. You don’t want to be a yudansha who has been training for decades but whose karate has not evolved and continues to looks the same as it did five years ago.
There is nothing wrong with perpetuating and practicing tradition, but if you allow it to shackle your individual growth as a martial artist, you will be forever limited by the confines of your organization’s standards.
Look at other karate (and other martial arts) organizations and instructors, keep a skeptical but open mind when others present different ideas or approaches to techniques/training than you are used to, and use your own intellect and physicality to determine if something outside of your framework of karate makes sense.
I was fortunate enough to train under a Sensei who always encouraged his students to visit other dojos and train with other instructors and style, but over the years I have met many who refuse to go outside of their organization’s bubble. In karate, we often extol the virtue of having a beginner’s mindset, of being able to “empty the cup and fill it back up again.” Ask yourself if you truly do this or if it is just lip service.
10. Learn how to make yourself work.
It is always easy to become motivated when a teacher, coach, or Sensei is yelling at you or hitting you with a shinai, but at some point, you should be able to internalize your motivation and adopt the mindset that you are the only one who can improve yourself. There will be times when you can’t make it to the dojo or your Sensei is not there – what will you do?
Ask yourself if you are just making shapes up-and-down the dojo floor or if you are truly immersed in the moment and completely committed to making every technique as powerful as possible. When the instructor isn’t looking, are you easing up in your stances? When you finish a drill before everyone else, do you stand there and wait or do you keep doing additional repetitions?
The ability to push oneself to the limit without needing external motivation is very hard but extremely rewarding. You are your best Sensei, you just have to decide to be so (see #16).
11. Everything is everything.
This is a well-known refrain of Rick Hotton and one that I tend to agree with. In my own musings, kihon, kata, kumite – everything that you practice in your karate – is all interconnected. The kihon we practice are the fundamentals that provide the basis for all spontaneous execution in kumite. Kata is a connection of kihon with different thematic principles. Kata is also kihon in motion as is kumite.
Your gait cycle affects your spinal-pelvic alignment, your posture affects the amount of oxygen you can utilize, the quality and amount of sleep you obtain affects your energy levels and limits of exertion, your diet informs the quality of your physical existence, and your relationships outside of the dojo affect your mental clarity and your ability to still yourself when training, etc.
Everything is interconnected if you want it to be, and everything is interconnected even if you aren’t aware of it yet. To some this is profound, and to others, trivially self-evident. For some, karate begins when putting on the do-gi and walking onto the dojo floor and ends when the training session stops. For others, even the most mundane daily activities and vicissitudes are all interconnected. You are your karate, and your karate is you. Everything that you are and experience in life affects your karate. This is true of anything we do and experience in life, not just karate.
Be mindful, everything is everything.
12. There has never been a better time to practice karate in history.
Knowledge of the human body and sports science has improved tremendously over the past several decades, and social media and the internet has made it easy to share information instantaneously. There was a time when one used to have to travel to train in an instructor’s backyard or receive their tutelage. Now information is readily available for free.
I routinely tell more advanced students to consult YouTube for videos from different instructors and organizations demonstrating or explaining kihon, kata, bunkai, and oyo. Even if some of the videos they come across are not of quality, they at least provide a starting point and many different perspectives. Then when they return to the dojo, we can discuss what they watched and go beyond what they have already learned and likely tried out for themselves. The wealth of information online can help discerning students learn to triage and think critically about what they are being taught or shown (see #2). For beginners, recommending certain videos over others can also be of benefit. Teaching a kata to someone is easier when they are already familiar with the embusen and techniques.
Paradoxically, it has never been easier to be lazy and passively consume endless information without actual application or practice. Get off the internet and train.
13. Trust your Sensei.
The whole point of having a teacher, a coach, or a mentor, is to learn from someone more experienced than yourself. The word “Sensei” supposedly means “one who has gone before” (see my thoughts on using Japanese in the dojo here). Ideally, you are training under and learning from someone more skilled than yourself who understands how to help you reach the next level because they have been in your metaphorical shoes before.
Not all teachers are created equally, and especially if you are new to martial arts or combat sports, it might be difficult to tease out the Bullshido from quality instructors. Assuming your teacher can communicate well and you can understand what they are trying to convey, trust them and let them guide you in your training.
While there are some things that can only be learned through personal experience and trial-and-error, trusting your teacher to help you on your way will save you time and aid you in ascending to greater heights.
14. Your Sensei is not a god.
I am incredibly fortunate that my Sensei, among many things, was humble and down-to-earth. Yet there is a disturbing amount of cult-like worship in karate and other traditional martial arts where instructors are almost revered like gods. Traditional martial arts have a knack for attracting odd personalities and those who often like to flex their rank and status as way of feeling powerful and controlling others in the artificial environment of the dojo or training.
Your Sensei is human and a person just like anyone else. They are not a god.
15. Question everything you are told.
Freedom of information in the modern technological era is a wonderful thing, as instructional videos online are plentiful. However, make sure to maintain a filter through which you process everything you are learning.
Does what is being taught make sense? Does it seem practical? Does it respect basic anatomic and biomechanical principles? Does your intuition tell you the instructor knows what he/she is talking about? Just like with anything else in life, think critically about what you are reading, hearing, watching, or being taught, and draw your own conclusions. There is much noise out there among the signal.
16. You are your own Sensei.
Having a good teacher is a wonderful thing, but at the end of the day, you are your best teacher. You are the only one that can control your body and you know how to use it best. Listening to your body and making adjustments based off of your internal biofeedback is an invaluable instructional tool.
What happens if your dojo closes or you move towns? Just as some people tend to always need to be in relationships, I have met many who must always have a Sensei that teaches them and guides their training.
Become comfortable training alone and teaching yourself and you will gain more from other instructors when they are instructing you.
17. Karate is an incomplete form of self-defense and combat.
Not everyone starts practicing karate with the goal of actually using their skills in real-life fighting. People start karate for all sorts of other reasons: it can be a fun way to burn calories, to socialize with others in a group setting, a technical challenge of coordinating your mind and body to control refined movements, the delayed gratification that is starting something new that takes time to become skilled in, the point-fighting tournaments, artistic expression, a way of self-discovery, or even achieving human potential. People start training in martial arts for many reasons beyond purely fighting.
Yet over the years, I have met many karate-ka who have never actually fought against someone without any fighting background, let alone a trained fighter, who believe that because they have a black belt over their gi, they can defend themselves or defeat anyone.
There was a lot of this delusional thinking with the whole mystic and magical quality to martial arts in the 80s and 90s that is today colloquially referred to as Bullshido, but given the advent of mixed martial arts and technology that allows for video and live-streaming, it is very clear to see what works and what does not.
Traditional karate as it is practiced in the majority of places today does not emphasize throws, grappling, wrestling, groundwork, or submissions. What is the point of learning how to kick and punch if you get taken to the ground and you don’t know how to defend yourself or manipulate your position? I think there are many legitimate fighting skills that karate teaches – the ability to manipulate distance and timing, efficient and powerful striking techniques, etc., but it is incredibly important that one not be blind about their own skills or what they are practicing.
While certain martial arts are certainly better suited for actual real-life combat than others (and karate is probably not high on that list), it is the individual rather than the martial art itself that determines whether one will be successful in actual combat. If you want to be able to defend yourself, karate is great for learning a certain skill set – but diversify your training and learn from other martial arts to fill the gaps that karate does not.
Become a complete martial artist and study other skill sets outside your own.
18. Karate does not make you a better person.
Is it possible? Sure. But nothing is guaranteed. There is nothing special about karate. It does not make you superior to anyone else. It is not mainstream and most of the society views karate as a rather nerdy activity that has next to zero social proof or value. A person with a terrible personality that starts practicing karate is not going to magically become nicer or somehow enlightened – they are now just a terrible personality who thinks they know how to throw a punch or kick.
19. Your rank is only as meaningful as you feel it is.
There is no standardization to rank in karate. With so many different karate organizations out there and more sprouting up every year, there is no consensus on what defines a black belt or certain skill level. Switching between affiliations often requires re-testing (not to mention ridiculous testing fees) to sit in front of a panel of judges who make judgments based on your karate in that period of several minutes. If you pass, you are rewarded (sometimes) with a piece of paper that holds little value in society. The rank conferred is objectively meaningless. If you respect the person who gave you your grading, then it likely holds great personal value and will be respected by those in your dojo or organization; otherwise, there is no difference between your rank and the belt bought from Amazon or a McDojo. I am obviously exaggerating, but there is an element of truth to this callous view.
The act of testing itself can be anxiety-inducing, and repeatedly putting one’s ego aside, internally trying to calm the tension that is giving yourself up to the judgement of the examiners, and learning to perform under that tension is likely a healthy thing to experience during one’s karate development.
I personally think that both kyu ranks and dan grading can be a healthy and motivating system to progress through for children who often need some extrinsic motivation. It can help them put forth their best effort and gives them tangible milestones to aim for that represent their progress. Hopefully they realize eventually that they simply enjoy what they do and don’t need a colored belt as proof of the worth of their time spent training.
However, I have seen far too many adults over the years that are obsessed with reaching the next dan rank as if being able to say they are 4th dan vs. 3rd dan is somehow going to change their actual martial prowess as opposed to feeding their ego.
In a perfect system, there would be rigid guidelines and standardization as to what each rank represents. However in karate, much of rank progression is based on whether an individual is reaching their unique potential. Are you going to hold the same standards in grading for a 18 year-old in excellent physical shape versus the 60 year-old with a blown out knee and back problems? Of course not. No rank between two people is equal and trying to make comparisons is probably futile.
Spend your time being more concerned about your own personal progression rather than whether other people recognize you for your rank. My mentality has long been that I couldn’t care less what color my belt is – someone who gets on the floor and sweats with me in training can determine for themselves how skilled or unskilled they think I am. Whatever people think of my rank is irrelevant to me and is not something that I let affect my training. Find instructors you respect and learn from them and as many different styles as you can, but don’t get caught up in obsessing over the rank someone holds.
20. Enjoy the friendships.
Through my years of training I have forged lifelong friendships with former karate-ka that are still strong even if those friends are not training anymore. I refer to them and everyone who trains with me as my “dojo family.”
Some of the best and most significant relationships I have are with the friends I made through karate. I suspect this is similar for anyone who has ever pursued an athletic endeavor for a long period of time, or perhaps more accurately, anyone who commits themselves wholly to an endeavor with other like-minded individuals. The violinists who practice for years, the bodybuilders who sculpt their figures, the painter who loses themselves in their canvas – any activity that is given 100% consistently is often is hard to understand or relate to by those on the outside. Something about pushing one’s physical and mental limits to the maximum, dripping sweat, and drawing blood creates a profound bond with those who undertake the same journey.
Although all of my childhood friends who started training around the same time as me have since stopped practicing karate, every time we reconnect it is as though no time has passed and there is great mutual respect given our common backgrounds. My karate friends are my dojo family, and I cherish the bonds we have forged across time.
