Hi Gary I'm quite interested in the purpose and therefore direction behind the change. You've mentioned the desire to be effective, and I've seen that same sense come through in Mitch's description of what you do. But effective at what? At sparring? At knocking people down? At using Karate techniques against the body? At using any techniques against the body? At fighting in a particular competitive format? Personally I still struggle to get round the omission of head strikes in the system. I recognise that head strikes are problematic. They cause nasty injuries, they cause bruises etc etc... even if you wear heavily padded headguards people will still be likely to get knocked out from time to time, and that has its dangers. I understand and appreciate that there are many other good targets than the head. As someone who uses full contact I really do appreciate that. However lb for lb of force, and especially if having to fight someone with a high pain threshold or on drugs or with tremendous willpower, the head is the game changer. What is the purpose behind the training you are doing (other than fun) and what is the rationale for omitting head strikes? Thanks JWT
I'm still training in and teaching TKD, no change there, but I also train at Gary's class in Loughborough. You'll remember something of Enshin from the seminar you came to, which as Gary says is a good system. What he's doing now just opens things out more though; instead of having to grab the gi you can grab the leg, instead of only being allowed to grab one side in sparring you're free to grab wherever and so on. Should be fun Mitch
Hi jwt As you know, it's the person that makes the skill effective, not the other way around, so a key value of hard training is forging that extra bit of spirit and resillience. When I started training we used to punch to the face (bareknuckle) and kick to the groin (without groinguards). Both were meant to be controlled but inevitably the odd one got through by accident of design so the injuries took the fun out of it a bit ... So I have no plans to re-introduce them in sparring. I have no magic answer. No sparring system can be complete and safe at the same time. Highline and low-line strikes will be practised - of course - but in a more controlled manner. I've been teaching SP alongside karate for 30 years so I feel confident I can build in the SP skills required without regular trips to A & E Best regards Gary (Formerly Gary - Enshin)
I'm still uncertain as to the purpose behind the change. PS - Ask a MOD to change your username. Setting up a new account is against TOS.
Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps 'Pragmatic' would be a better term. As we agree, the person makes the difference. I am confident the skills I will be teaching are fit for purpose. I considered PPE, but after talking to various people decided against it. Some of the Kudo people I know feel it gives a false sense of security. Each to their own. This is very much a work in progress, things will be added / deleted as time goes on. Purpose of the change? In a nutshell, I can no longer afford to travel the world attending Enshin courses so decided to stand down as branch chief from 1st October. On being asked to continue coaching I decided to tweak a few bits and bobs to make them a little more practical and less stylised. I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel. Kyokushin (29years) and Enshin (11years) have - I believe - given me a good background in robust and challenging training, and further training with people like Geoff Thompson, John Skillen and lately the very effective Mick Coup have given my methods a more practical bias. Regards the name change, I spoke to one of the mods. It would be wrong to continue using Enshin. Best regards Gary PS It's still got to be fun though. I never take myself too seriously ...
I certainly enjoyed the seminar I attended with Gary. Although primarily a TCMA practitioner I did practice a Japanese karate style back in the 70's. At the time I moved to attend university and went to another club to keep up my karate training. In this instance the new club basically was pedantic about differences in how the two styles approached techniques (the high block for them had the wrist bent whilst we had it straight etc....) and this seemed to be far too much the focus than whether the skills were comparable or useful. For me it wasn't worth the bother and thus I switched to TCMA. I remember sparring back in the 70's and yes we allowed groin kicks , head shots (with gloves), sweeps, throws etc and whilst not as pretty leaving all options open meant people did not leave openings that would have gotten you hurt in a real fight. I guess this comes back to a question that has been asked by Master Betty. If you can produce effective karate by sparring, padwork and kihon then what does kata add to the mix?? He obviously thinks nothing. Are you leaning that way Gary or is this strictly because you no longer are part of a larger organisation? I am sure there are kata that are not ''owned'' by any particular system and would be acceptable to include in your training.. Have you decided they are not worth the time and effort or is it something else that keeps you from adding them?? By the way, I think if you enjoy your training and feel it's acceptable to you then it's not really anyone else's business unless they are your students. People will vote with their feet and that may or may not be something that is important to you. Only time will tell. LFD
Thanks LFD I'm glad you enjoyed the seminar in Loughborough. At this stage I have no plans to include traditional kata. People have pointed out that the Enshin kata are similar to Ashihara karate, so therefore it would be OK to keep using them. I don't feel that's morally right. I won't state we'd never include kata, but at this stage I just want to focus on getting a strong foundation in place. Gary
keep em out, include some head punches and churn out K1 style fighters. You've got a good basis for it and it's pretty much the closest way for guys from your school to REALLY test themselves without actually goin out lookin for fights. good luck with the school mate.
jwt Clive Taylor? - Top man. I enjoyed working with him. He loved holding the pads for me as well. (Ask him about "20%") Haven't really seen him much since I retired as I'm not the type to keep hanging round the station. Please give him my regards. Gary
Congratulations to Ros Montgomery. Our first Tournament since leaving Enshin and a well deserved 1st place in the Scottish Open Knockdown Championships. Great to start with a win! Proud of you! Gary
Hé Gary, I wouldn't be to limited by that thought. Joko Ninomiya published these kata in multiple ways; videos and books. So these kata are prone to be copied by the public. You might consider contacting Ninomiya Sensei and ask about his view on these matters. Since you were Branch Chief and have specific reasons why you resigned from Enshin. However it is your choice what to do with your knowledge of these kata and if you would teach them or not.
I find the idea that the kata somehow "belong" to an organisation somewhat odd. LFD, this goes back to what I was saying a little while ago about the lack of evolution in TCMA. Historically it was more a case of school than style, and so renowned teachers developed their own branches. There was also no internet, and prior to 1905 (in China) no printed books, so arts evolved, movements and forms changed etc. Judo's the exception rather than the rule, as pretty much all Karate styles have new styles forming from the first generation of students. I would say it is the Olympic status of Judo that stops it diversifying, as certainly with the Kyokushin offshoots the splinters have been largely about competition formats. It also depends on whether you view Judo as it's own thing or as a Ryu of JJJ. Judo is often trained alongside a more rounded form of jujitsu in the west, and when people then formulate a new system they call it Jujitsu. I reformulated my classes last year, and it's along similar lines although we still do a bit of form. With CLF though the forms correlate to the fighting well, whereas with a lot of Karate schools there seems to be a big disconnect. We spar with MMA gloves and Koushu headguards with essentially Pro-Koushu rules (unlimited striking, unlimited grappling, brief groundfighting).
Thanks for the comments. I do feel it's wrong to leave a group but continue to use their style, except in a general sense. I'm not trying to do too much, just focus on what works (in combat sport) as for me the 'budo' concept has worn a bit thin. I like coaching / developing the spirit and challenge of combat sport and enjoy playing around with training methods to satisfy the fitness requirements. I don't try to make people 'better' or feel the need keep things traditional. Quite liberating really! Each to their own ... Gary
