Kyoshi’s Training Tip of the Day

Kyoshi’s grandaughter, Zoey Caponigro born Jan.14th 2012 9lbs. 6oz. to Chris and Jackie Caponigro.

Just want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, emails, phone calls…….another quick year, I guess it’s true, “once you’re over the hill, it picks up speed as you go down the other side”!!! …however, with every beginning year, I start “up” another hill. I hope to enjoy many more hills…….

Thanks again, Kyoshi

For the last two months I have been dealing with some personal health issues and I am doing 100% better, thanks to the Yudansha and students from NAMKA as well as other good friends and students who kept the encouragement going. I’m looking forward to a new start in 2012 with a Black Belt workout. True karate training, and a positive attitude is the key to longivity………………..

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season…………..

Kyoshi

I’m personally having some health issues and this training tip of the day will be my guidance…..

Please see March 2, 2010………………….

1) Never forget that karate begins and ends with respect.

2) There is no first attack in Karate.

3) Karate fosters righteousness.

4) First know yourself, then know others.

5) Rather than physical technique, mental technique.

6) Let your mind roam freely.

7) Inattention and neglect cause misfortune.

 Never think that Karate is practiced only in the training hall.

9) Karate is a lifelong pursuit.

10) Everything you encounter is an aspect of karate; find the marvelous truth there.

11) Karate is like boiling water; if you do not keep it hot (with continual training), it will turn cold.

12) Do not think about winning, think about not losing.

13) Respond in accordance with your oponent.

14) Wage the battle with natural strategy.

15) Regard your hands and feet as weapons.

16) Step out the door and you face 10,000 foes.

17) Learn various stances as a beginner, but then rely on natural posture.

18) The traditional forms must be practiced correctly; real combat is another matter.

19) Never forget your own strengths and weaknesses, the limitations of your body, and the relative quality of your technique.

20) Continually polish your mind.

Matsubayashi-ryu is the concept of in-close fighting, you must learn to be effective from 6 to 10 inches from your body. Once you have drawn your opponent in you must be able to get maximum power with minimum amout of effort. Practice on being explosive for 6 to 10 inches without: winding up, tightening up, or pushing. The concept of kata, and in some instances bunkai, is learning to put your body in a position to fight, regardless, of bunkai, or fighting strategy, can you be explosive for 6-10 inches in any given situation? Perfection of short-range techniques is the key to in-close fighting. Keep in mind every technique you do is effective at the half-way point with the end of the technique being the so call “focus” point. In other words, when you break a board or a brick, the old saying was “think-through” the object but your technique hit the object “half-way” through. This is why a 12 to 18 inch strike has to be effective at 6 to 10………..

You get a box of crayons with all the different colors, think of the different scenes you can color, the pictures of sunsets, sunrises, scenes from the woods, scenes from the mountains, if you learn how to color properly you will only need one box of crayons, and there is a way to color that looks good and not just scribble…….. Some people just look to aquire more and more boxes of crayons with new colors, but they never learn how to color……. Think about this and how it pertains to Martial arts……….

See training tip June 28th 2008…………………

So my two key instructors were Nagamine and Grant, I was loyal to both of these teachers when I was their student. Loyal in a way that they were my teachers, I listened to them, I took instruction and correction from them, I followed them and I was led by them, however, when I wasn’t on the deck with them, I was either reading about the art, visiting other dojos, attending seminars and clinics or training with someone else. I was always trying to better MY ART, FOR ME, not for anyone else including my instructors. I learned and took notes, but I was still loyal to my instructors, I did not change what they taught me or their philosophy, but I used the knowledge I was learning to enhance what I already knew. You can still be “loyal” to your instructor, but don’t limit yourself to just one person to get everything you need to be a well rounded Martial Artist.

People often get confused with the difference between loyalty and learning… they feel they must be loyal to their sensei therefore they will not entertain the notion of attending a class, seminar, clinic if their sensei is not attending. This has nothing to do with loyalty and everything to do with learning. Your sensei will not be there when you have to use your martial art, regardless of the situation be it physical confrontation or verbal, your sensei will not be there when you are alone practicing the technique wrong, your sensei will not be there when you move or he/she moves. Your martial art will be with you no matter where you go or what you do. Learning and being in pursuit of knowledge is never-ending, to limit yourself to just your sensei and when he/she wants to learn is just like waiting for knowledge to come knocking at your door. I feel sorry for those who limit themselves and the opportunity to change their lives because they feel “loyal” to another human being…this is absurd. The next post will be about loyalty……