The headline in the Nottingham Evening Post for Saturday Dec 17th 2011 read: “Teen fought off 18 stone attacker”. We hear of these kind of things happening on the national news with depressing regularity - but this incident was in Keyworth, literally a ‘stone’s throw’ from our dojo.

The female victim was confronted by a man armed with a 10 inch kitchen knife and a stocking over his face. After initially collapsing in panic there came a point during the ordeal when she found the will to fight back. She managed to swing her legs up around the attacker’s neck and squeezed as tight as she could and he dropped the knife enabling her to escape. There was no suggestion that the girl was a martial artist; but she had a martial attitude. She found the will to fight.

The founder of karate, Gichin Funokoshi said many profound things, among them was this: 

“spirit first, technique second”.

Those who train in karate, or indeed any fighting system, will overlook this lesson from the master at their peril. Authentic training in the dojo, and by that I mean training that has real potential  to develop functional self defence skills, has to be tough. You must regularly visit places during training sessions where you ‘override’ the instinct to give in. As the pro cyclist training for the Tour de France ‘suffers’ for hours in the saddle as he climbs mountain after mountain, mile after mile, so too must every karate-ka ‘suffer’. Whether it’s drilling repetition after repetition in kihon practice, pushing the boundaries of courage in kumite, or maintaining perfect form in kata when the body is all but spent, there must be discomfort to overcome.

Sensei Terry O’Neill 7th dan of the KUGB recently said this in an interview with sports writer Richard Buller (http://www.richardbuller.com/styled/styled-2/styled-3/index.html):

“Karate enables self-defence amongst many other things, including confidence and fitness. But the most important thing is the notion of ‘will’. The ability to transcend the discomfort and pain of training and injury to deliver beauty in the form of a perfectly performed kata, for example”.

The international Rugby ace, Jonny Wilkinson had this to say about training:

“Why train? Well, apart from the need to build strength and stamina, I think a major point of training is being able to strengthen yourself mentally – to be able to push yourself outside your comfort zones. What I’m talking about is being able to understand what it feels like to think you can’t go on, but then actually manage to do so, to go further; or to be able to approach a session knowing that it’s going to be incredibly tough and that you’re going to be in some kind of physical discomfort, yet not to fear that session, to actually look forward to it. That sort of attitude training, mental toughness if you like, can be the difference between winning or losing”.

The development of technique is of course important, and good technique can overcome untrained brute strength. But technique won’t work without the will; but will can work without the technique. The human animal is capable of achieving phenomenal things if aroused enough. The assault victim said:

“I knew I had to act quickly and I had absolutely nothing to lose”.

This is where instinct plays a huge part; our innate ability to solve a problem we’re confronted with; to allow the situation to tell us what to do and provide the answer; to improvise according to what’s happening to us. And karate techniques honed through hours of ‘suffering’ in the dojo must never be allowed to get in the way of this natural process; they must enhance it.

As I understand it, the teenager who fought off her attacker thankfully achieved this remarkable outcome without a knowledge of any technique. That tells us something about the power of will and the instinct to survive; and it’s very heartening. 

With correct training and proper understanding, the techniques of karate  provide extra physical skills to improve our chances of surviving a violent encounter.

But they won’t work without an indomitable spirit.

That’s the definition of the word in my Oxford English Dictionary. But I am concerned in this article with something slightly more combat specific: ‘fighting distance’. A working definition of this concept might be:

“The space between you and your opponent at any given moment in time.”

The space between you and your opponent is effectively your ‘field of play’ and it is never fixed. In fact even at its greatest it’s a pretty short ‘court’ - nowhere near the length of a tennis court or cricket wicket; and shorter than a table tennis table, where at the closest your opponent would be 9 feet from you. At it’s shortest of course, there is no space between you and your opponent at all – not even the width of a net!

Because your opponent is actively trying to kick, punch or grapple (or any combination of the three) the living daylights out of you, it’s imperative to start with this premise:

once the space between you and your opponent is such that he or she can hit you, in other words you are in range, expect them to try – and succeed if you are not already dominating that space.

They are likely to succeed because the space between you at this point will be so close, that unless you are one step ahead of them and anticipating what they will do,  you will not be able to prevent it if they do it. Or rather when they do it.

Too many fighters ‘drift’ into this hitting zone without realising it and then wonder why they get hit. It’s like an unwitting soldier wandering into the range of a sniper – the outcome’s inevitable.

So the starting point has to be keeping out of the hitting zone using agile movement until you decide to enter. But here are a couple of issues to think about: the first is that you are not in total control of the space between you and your opponent. It’s very fluid and can change in the blink of an eye. So you may be out of the hitting zone now, yet slap bang in the middle of it…now! The second is that you can’t stay out of the hitting zone indefinitely unless you are possessed with super-human powers and can deliver effective blows without touching. I certainly can’t do that and I approach things on the basis that you can’t either; the upshot of this then is that you will need to enter the hitting zone at some point in order to, well, hit your opponent.

The crucial thing is that when you enter the hitting zone you need to be the one doing the hitting; so you must be in the ascendency, dominating proceedings, taking the initiative in some way. If you’re not, you have to expect that your opponent will be.

Here’s an interesting observation: once you’re in the hitting zone (unless there’s a referee enforcing the rules of engagement as in competion kumite, or boxing) either one of you can effectively frustrate the hitting by eliminating the space between you by taking hold and clinching. Once in a clinch not only is the space between you and your opponent essentially zero, it is also no longer fluid; you are now grappling, the better grappler has enormous control, and fluidity is only likely to return if both of you decide it’s in your interests to allow that to happen. So what conclusions can be drawn from this? In reality you can’t ‘dwell’ in the hitting zone for any length of time, like you are at liberty to do to some extent when the space is greater. You either deliver a decisive blow or blows which ends the fight; your opponent does that to you; or you are grappling (I won’t entertain the other option where neither of you are able to deliver effective blows and the encounter is decided either by exhaustion or boredom!).

The space between you and your opponent also has a massive impact on the effectiveness of the hit. Quite literally. If the space between you isn’t right at the moment of contact, the blow will fail. It might fall short of the target, hit the target but lack penetration, or it might be stifled.  Of course, the space between you at the point of contact is dependent on your control of the space beforehand and your ability to recognise when the moment is right to strike (your timing).

 You have a variety of different types of blows available to use, from strikes using the elbow, to kicks using the foot. At the moment of contact the space between you and the opponent needs to be such that you are able to deliver the technique in a mechanically sound and effective way. This can be achieved in two ways: either you consciously decide the technique you wish to deliver and engineer an opportunity to deliver it by controlling the space between you and your opponent; or the space between you and your opponent tells you without conscious thought which technique to deliver. The latter is more instinctive and associated with more experienced fighters. Great fighters do both.

So understanding correct fighting distance is about appreciating the dynamic nature of the space between you and your opponent, controlling it if you can, and seizing the moment!

The key is to develop your basics to an advanced level. And you do that by good quality practice.  Once that is achieved, you can add to your repertoire with relative ease. This is because the more complex or elaborate skills are derived from the basics.  The most flamboyant rock guitarist, for example, has to be able to hold down the strings on the fret board cleanly; honing that basic skill to an advanced level was a pre-requisite.

During the learning process we can easily be ‘seduced’ by the complex or the elaborate because it is more exciting than the basic. It’s quite a natural reaction. We see the expert’s greatness and are wilfully blind to the very obvious fact that it was borne out of thousands of hours of training in the basics. This flash of greatness was the tip of a very big iceberg involving a lot of sacrifice and probably suffering hidden below the water line.

What’s important to appreciate is that the performance of a complex, elaborate skill is not great per se. It is only great if it is performed to a high standard; and those who can do that have one thing in common – they honed the basics first.

So developing the basics to an advanced level is necessary as a platform upon which to build the repertoire of the world class performer; so too is maintaining that level. That’s why the basics must be constantly revisited and honed.

So what are the basics? They are the core skills, essential attributes and fundamental principles. And the objective of basic training is always to enhance these in some material way.

Good basics are the building blocks of achievement and without them you will struggle. Acquire them, maintain them and you might just achieve greatness!

Progress happens because you keep making sorties beyond the boundary of your current competence until the boundary itself eventually shifts. This experience is usually physically and mentally gruelling; and it’s also psychologically tough. Why? Because you necessarily experience failure and you make mistakes. And the natural reaction to that is disappointment and often misguided dissatisfaction with the training regime itself. But ’experiential learning’, or ’learning by doing’, is all about failing and making mistakes in a safe environment - and learning from the experience.

So those who understand the process of ‘learning by doing’ don’t get disappointed or dissatisfied, they get inspired - because they know they are improving.

Those who don’t understand the process, or who don’t want to tolerate the discomfort, will retreat to their comfort zones and stop improving. It will only be a matter of time before they stop training altogether or move to an environment where the comfort zone is tolerated. Those who dwell there are like minded souls and they are content.

But they are not really training!

The three man team of Stefan Pacel, Ian Kelly and Teddie Henderson faced the reigning champions in a final of epic proportions! In the first fight Stefan unleashed a show-stopping kick which completely pole-axed his opponent securing an outright win by ippon! Ian and Teddie fought skilfully and with courage and by the end of play the score was: South Notts 1 win, Cambridge 1 win, and 1 draw. So honours even? Not a bit of it! Because our win had been an outright win by ippon we took the title!

Regional Champions!

Karate is a system of self defence and physical culture developed and refined in Okinawa and Japan. There are several fundamental styles of karate but use slightly different training methods and place varying degrees of emphasis on issues such as the speed, strength and range of techniques practiced. Shotokan emphasises a balanced development of all of these aspects, taught within a system which instils confidence and self control.

KARATE UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN

The KUGB is a democratic non-profit making organisation and is affiliated to the official European and World governing bodies. It has almost 12,000 members throughout the United Kingdom. The KUGB has clubs established in many sports centres, universities and schools and is recognised by Sport England.

SOUTH NOTTS SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB

The South Notts Shotokan Karate Club was established in Keyworth in 1985. The SNSKC is affiliated to the Karate Union of Great Britain the original governing body for Shotokan Karate in this country.

OBJECTS OF THE CLUB

The objects of the SNSKC are to:

a) foster and develop the art, sport and practice of Shotokan Karate in Keyworth and South Nottinghamshire;

b) organise and regulate club training, special courses and gradings;

c) unite persons locally wishing to learn and practice Shotokan Karate;

d) provide the opportunity for members to compete in regional and national competitions;

e) provide the opportunity for members to be selected onto the Central Region Squad and the England Squad;

d) develop the following, in respect of each member of the club:

i) a high level of skill in Shotokan Karate;

ii) an ability to apply the techniques of Shotokan Karate in lawful self defence;

ii) overall good health, fitness and wellbeing;

iii) qualities of commitment and dedication;

iv) a strong, confident and determined character.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE SNSKC

1. There are three types of club membership:

a) individual junior (8 – 16 years);

b) individual senior (over 16 years);

c) family (spouses, parents/guardians & children, siblings).

2. Application for club membership is made through liaison with the club instructor.

3. Club membership is renewed annually on payment of the annual subscription. This becomes due on 1st January each year and must be paid no later than 31st January.

4. A pro rata subscription fee is payable by those joining the club during the course of the membership year.

5. The annual subscription fee is as follows:

a) individual junior – 3 x junior training session fee;

b) individual senior – 3 x senior training session fee;

c) family – 3 x senior training session fee.

6. Club membership may be refused or terminated at the discretion of the club instructor.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE KUGB

1. Each member of the SNSKC is required to hold a valid annual licence issued by the KUGB.

2. It is the responsibility of each member to apply to the KUGB for a licence, immediately following acceptance into membership of the SNSKC.

3. It is the responsibility of each club member to ensure that his/her licence is up to date by renewing it annually.

4. The KUGB licence enables the member to enjoy the benefits of KUGB and SNSKC activities.

5. A current KUGB licence affords the member insurance cover in respect of certain loss or damage occasioned during training.

6. The KUGB licence must be produced by the club member at every grading examination or KUGB training course attended.

THE CLUB INSTRUCTOR

The instructor at the SNSKC is Rob Manning 4th dan who is a qualified black belt karate coach. He was awarded his black belt 1st dan in 1983 at the age of 18 and established the club in 1985. His introduction to karate competition was in 1980 at the age of 15 when he won the Central Region junior kumite event as a purple belt. Later the same year he came third in this category at the Shotokan Cup, the national individual championship. Rob’s proudest competitive achievement came in 1987 when at the age of 22 he became the National Students’ Champion by winning the senior men’s kumite event and taking 3rd place in the kata. The following year in 1988 Rob spent a month training at the headquarters of the Japan Karate Association in Tokyo, Japan. During a training session under Sensei Mikio Yahara 8th dan, Rob fought Richard Amos 6th dan who is now resident in New York as the chief instructor of the World Traditional Karate Organisation. On his return from Japan, Rob was runner-up in the 1988 Central Region senior men’s kumite event fighting former World Kumite Champion Dean Hodgkin in the final.

For many years Rob was a member of the successful Trent SKC kumite team and along with team mates Graham Millward and John Dornan won numerous tournaments. Rob has also been a member of the Central Region Squad under the direct tutelage of Sensei Frank Brennan 7th dan for many years. In 1988 Rob was privileged to be selected by Sensei Brennan to join a representative kumite team which travelled to Gent, Belgium to fight the Belgian national team at their annual championships. Rob won both his fights with ippon using his favourite leg sweep/punch combination defeating a well known Belgian international fighter in the process. Around this time Rob was invited by Sensei Andy Sherry 8th dan to train with the British team which was at the height of its World dominance. During this era the British team was captained by Frank Brennan and included Ronnie Christopher, Elwyn Hall, and Dean Hodgkin amongst other notables. Rob trained with the national squad at the famous Liverpool Red Triangle Dojo and at Crystal Palace.

Rob continued to actively compete during the 1990s. In 1996 he was runner-up in the London Shotokan Open men’s kumite event, and in 1999 he placed 3rd in the Central Region men’s kumite. Rob retired from competitive karate in 2000 at the age of 35. Rob now devotes his time to developing the SNSKC and attends specialist courses in areas such as first aid and coaching. He still regularly trains on advanced karate courses with leading instructors in order to maintain a high standard of tuition at the club. He is enormously proud of the achievements of his club members many of whom have enjoyed success in competitions, achieved high dan grades, and been selected for the regional and national squads.

THE CLUB’S CURRENT BLACK BELTS

Stephan Pacel 3rd dan

Ian Lea 2nd dan

Josh Ludlow 2nd dan

Zoe Collard 2nd dan

Alan Lea 2nd dan

Myles Ponsonby 2nd dan

Ian Kelly 2nd dan

Teddie Henderson 2nd dan

Gobe Hobona 2nd dan

Helen Cain 2nd dan

Rory Cave 1st dan

Martyn Collard 1st dan

Caroline Todd 1st dan

Charlotte Bonardi 1st dan

Kerry Lee 1st dan

Audrius Mickalauskas 1st dan

Caroline Rees 1st dan

Ryan Skilton 1st dan

Steve Cassapi 1st dan

Dave Newbury 1st dan

Rachel Tyler 1st dan

Tom Ludlow 1st dan

Jack Robson 1st dan

Anthony Mills 1st dan

Sheri Newbury 1st dan

Oliver Wood 1st dan

Becky Cassapi 1st dan

TRAINING

1. The training at the SNSKC is structured into three main sections. Each section has a range of complexity to suit the different grades of students:

a) kihon (basic techniques);

b) kata (set combinations of techniques);

c) kumite (sparring).

2. To facilitate training, club members should obtain a karate gi (karate suit) within a reasonable time of joining the SNSKC.

3. The following equipment should be obtained and worn at all times when training:

a) groin guard (men and boys);

b) chest protector (women and girls).

4. The following equipment should be obtained and worn during kumite (free sparring) practise:

a) gum shield;

b) white mits (KUGB approved);

5. Club members should ensure that their karate gi is clean and that their fingernails and toenails are kept short.

6. Club members should attend training sessions on time. In the event of being late club members should kneel at the edge of the dojo to await an invitation from the instructor to join the class.

7. Club members who arrive at the dojo early may change into their karate gi and wait at the edge of the dojo for the arrival of the instructor. Club members should not commence training or engage in any other vigorous exercise, warm up or activity in the absence of the instructor. Once the instructor is present in the dojo, club members may begin to warm up and/or otherwise appropriately prepare themselves for the start of the session.

8. Club members should sit quietly at the edge of the dojo if the instructor requests that a club member or group of club members need not participate in a particular aspect of a training session.

9.Training fees are payable at the beginning of each training session.

GRADING

1. Club members will be invited to take periodic grading examinations.

2. Gradings are conducted by senior external examiners from the KUGB. There are nine grades below black belt with 9th kyu (orange belt) being the first.

3. Club members must have a minimum of two months’ training experience prior to the first kyu grading (novice – 9th kyu) and have trained on average at least twice per week.

4. Club members must have a minimum of three months’ training experience between each subsequent Kyu grading (9th kyu – 1st kyu) and have trained on average at least twice per week.

5. Club members must have a minimum of six months’ training experience between attaining full 1st kyu status and grading for 1st dan black belt and have trained at least twice per week.

6. Club members who have achieved the minimum training experience will be entitled to undertake the appropriate kyu/ dan grading examination only when invited to do so by the club instructor.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CLUB INSTRUCTOR

The instructor at the SNSKC undertakes to:

1. instruct in Shotokan Karate so as to ensure correct development of karate techniques, spirit, etiquette and standards;

2. to provide and maintain a safe training environment within the dojo so as to minimise the risk of injury to club members;

3. train regularly so as to continually improve his personal standard;

4. at all times set a good physical, mental and moral standard to students;

5. ensure that high standards of dojo etiquette are explained and maintained;

6. ensure that the KUGB’s instructor guidelines for teaching children are applied;

7. ensure that relevant coaching qualifications are up to date;

8. ensure compliance with the legislation regarding CRB checks;

8. keep a record of the names and addresses of each club member including emergency contact details;

9. keep a record of attendance to be consulted in order to determine eligibility for grading examinations;

10. keep a record of all grading results;

11. encourage all club members to be as fully involved as possible in SNSKC and KUGB activities.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF CLUB MEMBERS

Club members undertake to:

1. abide by the rules of the SNSKC and the KUGB;

2. foster and develop his/her personal interest in Shotokan Karate;

3. endeavour to develop and maintain a high standard of technical ability in Shotokan Karate technique, spirit and etiquette;

4. train regularly and with enthusiasm so as to improve their personal standard;

5. observe high standards of dojo etiquette;

6. ensure that all techniques are controlled when practicing with a training partner or partners;

7. involve themselves as far as possible in courses and activities organised by the SNSKC and/or the KUGB;

8. conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to membership of the SNSKC and in accordance with the rules of the SNSKC and the KUGB;

9. uphold the true spirit of karate by refraining from aggressive and violent behaviour;

10. to use the skills developed through membership of the SNSKC outside the dojo only in lawful self defence, the defence of another or the prevention of crime.

Sat 19th Feb (squad selection at Holme Pierrepont);

Sat 19th March;

Sun 1st May;

Sun 12th June;

Sun 4th Sep;

Sat 15th Oct;

Sun 4th Dec.

 Oss!

Sat 19th Feb at Holme Pierrepont;

Sat 19th March;

Sun 1st May;

Sun 12th June;

Sun 4th Sep;

Sat 15th Oct;

Sun 4th Dec.

Oss!

Fri 18th March;

Fri 10th June;

Fri 16th Sep;

Fri 9th Dec.

All the gradings will take place at Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre.

Oss!

Art in motion!

The ESKA European championships took place recently in the picturesque German town of Koblenz and five club members were there to witness this festival of world class karate. The standard was phenomenal across the board. Cadets, juniors, seniors, men, women, kata and kumite; just phenomenal! 

The blue riband event, the senior men’s team kumite, was taken (just!) by the host nation. The German national side are good. Very good. But the England team so very nearly seized victory in a nail biting final that went to the last moments of the final fight! Joe Rawcliffe, one of the KUGB’s young rising stars, took the lead against Christian Gruner, the 29 year old German ace, only to get caught by an unfathomably quick face punch which clinched it for the home side. Joe was decidedly ‘down in the mouth’ after his loss but I’m sure there were many people to remind him that he played a pivotal role in getting the team to the final in the first place. In fact he was crowned U21 European Champion not 24hrs earlier following an outstanding performance in the junior individual kumite event where he won 6 fights with stunning ippons as he walked through all before him! He was also a member of the U21 male kumite team who went one better than the senior team by winning gold!

The 2011 tournament will take place in Poland and we plan to be there!