July 4, 2012 Musa Qala District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan

For my karate friends, I thought I would share some thoughts I have had recently on karate principles.  I am not able to go to a dojo but I still train and think about karate.  It is a little long and somewhat random so forgive the lack of structure and coherence.  A few things that have been on my mind follow.  I hope you find this enjoyable and maybe even helpful.  I also hope you will recognize my intended sincerity and humility and will forgive anything that smacks arrogant or judgmental.
 I began Okinawan Karate training before my powers of recollection begin. My father tells me I was three - or two depending on who you talk to. Suffice it to say, I don’t recall ever starting to take Karate lessons. I don’t recall ever thinking of Karate in terms of lessons or classes at all; Karate was and is just the natural state of things in my life. As I got older I became interested in many different sports and activities. In college I ran every day and became a decent runner. I joined the military and as an infantryman conduct physical training and combat conditioning on a regular basis. In 1998 I became interested in running marathons and ran eight marathons over the next 10 years. I was in great running shape but my fitness became very one dimensional as a runner. My marathon experience culminated in Boston where I ran the storied Boston Marathon. By the time I got to Boston I was plagued with injuries. Nothing debilitating, just nagging injuries that I continue to deal with. It could be the hundreds of miles of hiking under heavy loads; it could be the endless hours of sitting at a desk writing policy or fitness reports. My inability to run the way I used to compelled me to vary my work out routines. I became interested in CrossFit and while deployed to Iraq did the Workout of the Day religiously. During my first deployment to Afghanistan I teamed up with a buddy and did the 6 week Insanity work out and then bounced around between CrossFit and Sparta workouts along with regular running of up to 6 miles or so. During my second tour in Afghanistan (where I currently hang my cover) I teamed up with the battalion Operations Chief and we started the deployment doing the TRX work outs together.
 These exercise formats depart from traditional thinking about effective exercise. Instead of isolating and fatiguing a muscle to get results like weight lifters, these formats emphasize multidimensional movement and muscle group coordination. They emphasize full range of motion and energy transfer between large muscle groups. Unlike distance running they emphasize core strength and an assortment of omni-directional movements. As I have dabbled in each of these formats I have realized there is nothing new under the sun. We are only rediscovering what I learned in the dojo (or the backyard or the garage) from the beginning. The principles of Karate are found in all of these workout formats. I would like to highlight some of those principles. I do not seek to convince anyone to change what works for them or to do anything different only to consider the wisdom in how we are taught to train in the dojo. It seems I am rediscovering what I always knew. Growing up in the dojo, I just never recognized it until now.

Kutsu o nuide keiko (Remove your shoes and train). When we enter the dojo we remove our shoes and train without their support. Interestingly, it seems the running and athletic fitness world is discovering the value of going sans shoes also. In the book “Born to Run,” Christopher McDougall talks about the Tarahumara people in Mexico who are known to run races that go on for days. While their endurance is noteworthy what is amazing is they run hundreds of miles barefoot. By and large they run injury free. The book has spurred a whole barefoot running movement. Even shod runners espouse an occasional barefoot work out consisting of strides and speed work on the infield of the track. CrossFitters are increasingly using the Vibram Five Fingers to maintain proper balance and stabilizer muscle fitness. One trip to Joshua Tree National Park and you will see barefoot (Five Finger shod) hikers all over the place. Nike came out with its Nike Free line of running shoes that are supposed to get out of the way of your foot’s natural motion when you run. Over the last few years as I have seen runners and hikers and CrossFitters (including me) latch onto this “new” fad, it occurred to me that I rarely ever worked out in shoes until I began running and wearing combat boots. There is nothing new here at all. It was only after multiple marathons in the cushioniest shoe with good arch support I could find for my medium arched, biomechanically efficient feet and a little bit of age that I began to feel leg and back pain. The only pain I ever experienced in the dojo was due to frozen feet on the concrete deck at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point dojo, or the occasional stubbed toe, cut lip or unintentional kinteki geri.  OK, there was that time when Moose broke my ribs during some "light" kumite only weeks before one of my marathons (I ran 18 miles the next morning) but I forgot about that long ago  -  that was painful and apparently not forgotten.  Working out barefoot strengthens muscles that are critical for martial arts.  It teaches us how to balance properly.  Shoes, by their design cast us forward and off balance us by lifting the heel of the foot.  Kutsu o nuide keiko.

The Core. It is hard to open an exercise or running magazine without seeing something that involves core strengthening. These articles convince us to get in all sorts of plank positions and strengthen the muscles that stabilize our center. In the Insanity work out, much of the core strengthening is done by lifting the knees high, often while doing jumping exercises. Imagine that, core-specific training. From day one in the dojo we learn about hara. Tuck your hips in, shoulders down, rotate your hips and drive power from your hara. Lift the knee high with the foot of the kicking leg coiled back before driving with the hips. When I was young, my father would have me walk up and down the dojo in zenkutsu dachi with my back straight, hips forward under my shoulders. He would admonish me to move from my hara. He would have me punch a bag with an imaginary pole running through my head to the deck locking my hips and torso at the end of the punch to generate power through my hand. Using a shinai he would check to see if I was maintaining a tight torso by tapping me (OK that might be a little understated but I don’t want CPS showing up and arresting the 75 year old) on the torso. Everything worked the core and if a technique was not executed from the core it was weak. If your core was weak your karate would be weak. As a runner, I realized that running does nothing for the core. Your body will rely on larger muscle groups to generate speed but your core muscles will weaken. Your hips will begin to destabilize and injury will set in. Thus the steady diet of core exercises for runners now found in Runners’ World magazine. Crossfit, Sparta, Insanity, PX90 all emphasize core strengthening through posture and core-specific exercises.

Explosive movements and the transfer of energy. If you do Crossfit you will notice there is not a lot of isolating muscles and fatiguing them like you see with weight lifters. The movements are powerful, full-range-of-motion movements that require the transfer of power from one muscle group to another and incorporate timing, balance, and coordination. The kipping pull up is a prime example. While kipping pull ups are easier to do than strict or dead hang pull ups they require a level of coordination, timing and energy transfer you do not get from strict pull ups. Every technique in karate is just that – a transfer of power from one place to another until eventually that power is delivered at the point of impact with all the energy of one’s body behind it. To generate that kind of power requires our feet to grip the deck, our legs to drive our hips forward, our shoulders to rotate but not enough to lose control and eventually to transfer all that moving energy in the form of a strike through the hand into the target area on our opponent. If the timing and coordination of all the disparate muscle groups is off, the strike will be less effective. Like a speed bump in the road the forward energy is interrupted and power is lost. Just like the kipping pull up, the less we get in the way of that power the easier and more efficient our techniques will be.  The value of the exercise is not in how hard we can make it but how efficiently we can coordinate the movement of the body.

Weight distribution. The barefoot runners talk about running on the toes and allowing our feet to work naturally to absorb shock. They also talk about keeping the feet under the body’s center of gravity instead of landing on the heel which reduces efficiency by interrupting forward motion. Crossfitters advocate driving through the heels when doing squats, wall ball shots or kettlebell swings and keeping your feet underneath your body and tucking the hips at the end of the motion. Both of these techniques are consistent with karate principles. As I learned the techniques taught in these exercise formats they all rang true to me.

As I said earlier, I spent a lot of time just walking up and down the dojo in zenkutsu dachi. When I graduated from zenkutsu dachi, dad would let me do neko ashi dachi. What a treat that was (the reader should sense a great deal of sarcasm here). I would literally go to the dojo and walk up and down the dojo until class was over, bow out and go home and eat cheese and crackers with dad while watching baseball games until past my bedtime. But in just walking up and down the floor I learned the very principles we now view as revolutionary. In moving from one stance to another we glide along the deck keeping the hips traveling on an even plane. The ball of the foot is in contact with the floor as we transfer weight. We keep our center of gravity over our feet. This echos much of what the barefoot runners talk about. But we drive with power off the heel. If a shiko dachi is too wide, it is not effective because our center is not supported properly. When we turn around in the dojo we pivot on the heel to generate power. When we punch we pivot on our heel to generate forward motion in our hips and create a solid surface (bone supported by the deck). When power is needed the Crossfitters and Sparta fans will tell you to drive through your heels. Your weight should not be forward when doing kettlebell swings or squat thrusts. Drive through the heels in a powerful motion, tuck the hips at the end as you transfer energy to lift the prescribed weight. I remember a camp I attended with Kevin Roberts.  Ridgley Abele sensei taught us these same principles during a class about generating power.  He also took us on runs in our gi and taght us about how to run efficiently.  I thought it strange at the time but now realize he was teaching us to apply karate principles into all of our activities.  Kevin has a picture of he and I on his website standing under a waterfall during that camp.  

All this sounded very familiar. Think about Kusanku dai when you drive from the shiko dachi to shizentai (hachiji) dachi at the beginning of the kata. The power that drives the hips up comes straight through the heels. If your knees, hips or shoulders are forward of the heels the strength of the technique is lost. If you are up on your toes, your shoulders lurch forward and your hips back; you have no power because you are off balance and the muscles are not able to transfer power efficiently so there is a loss of power in each transition. To get the power needed to execute the technique properly you must explode through your heels keeping everything aligned and sequenced for power.

Short intense work outs. A good number of Crossfit workouts only take about 20 minutes. They are intense, high energy workouts that will leave you puking your guts out before you can say, “Fifty Wall Ball Shots.” The Crossfit mascot is Pukey the Clown for crying out loud. The Insanity work out is basically 30-45 minutes of interval training turned on its head with sustained high intensity periods of work with very short breaks followed by subsequent sets of high intensity work. The warm up alone had me in the fetal position in a puddle of my own sweat during week one. Kata, if done with speed and power, can have a similar effect. Try doing all of the kata full power and full speed with a 30 second break between them. Starting at Naihanchi shodan allows you to start with moderate intervals and build to longer more demanding periods of work through Gojuushiho. Then make your way back down from Gojuushiho back to Naihanchi Shodan. Give yourself 30 seconds between kata. Throw Tsuken sunakake, Kubo no kon and Saijutsu dai whatever in there and prepare to get broke off. Intense bursts of effort with short periods of rest will quickly increase stamina, speed and power. Most fights are short and intense so make your kata that way sometimes.

Dynamic stretching. In the last few years I have seen an increasing number of articles about the value of dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching involves active movements of the muscle that bring forth a stretch but are not held in the end position. It loosens the muscles and joints through motion. If you attend a class with Eizo Shimabukuro sensei at his Ginoza, Okinawa dojo you will see this technique but I don’t think it comes from the latest Men’s Health magazine. He’s been doing the same warm up routine since Bill Hayes sensei was a Private. While in the 1980s static stretching (holding a stretch at the end of the movement) was all the rage (think the stretching racks we used to have in the dojo), now in some arenas static stretching is a hiss and a byword. The most effective way to stretch is probably somewhere in between. Since I was a kid we always warmed up lightly then moved the joints by rotating them and swinging them back and forth (dynamic stretching). We would do some bouncing as we stretched and in some cases we would hold the static stretch. I remember Perry sensei counting to 10 as we would dynamically stretch and then hold the last count for a few seconds as in static stretching. These principles are still seen in most of our classes in the dojo today. You will see a mix of static and dynamic stretching which convinces me that karate principles are timeless.

I have recently begun to create my own workouts that incorporate what I enjoy about all of these workouts. In Five Fingers I will do 4-5 rounds of 1 KM run followed by 20 kettlebell swings or wall ball shots, followed by a 3 minute round on the heavy bag, then some incline sit ups, elbows to knees, or planks followed by a kata. I will mix in strict pull ups, squat thrusts, switch kicks, burpees or other horrible exercise to keep things interesting. At the end of the workout I feel like I have worked hard and have applied karate principles I have known my whole life.  In the desert of Twentynine Palms I would often go on a 6 mile run that consisted of 3 miles then 4 to 6 kata at full speed with a 30 second break between then a 3 mile run back.  It was like doing a standard speed day with a warm up, sprints and then a cool down.  It is also develops the mind and body to accept hard work when you are tired.  I don't have that luxury here in Afghanistan so I stick to my circuits.

So why put these thoughts on paper - uhhh interspace? I am not trying to change the way anyone trains or alter what aspect of karate you find attractive.  Most of you probably already understand these principles because you had gym memberships and were doing the Nautilus workouts or Arnold’s get huge now workouts that just weren’t giving you the results you seek and discovered the wholeness of a traditional martial work out.  The very thing I am just now internalizing.  I never transitioned from that experience to karate. I never appreciated the uniqueness of karate as a workout system. I am probably handicapped by the fact that I knew nothing but karate from the time I could walk. Now that I am a little older and more prone to injury and soft midriff syndrome, I need to work out for my physical, spiritual and emotional health. I am reminded after doing all kinds of exercise programs that karate principles are enduring.  And therein lies the purpose of this essay. 

This doesn’t mean I am no longer going to run (with or without shoes), or knock out “Cindy” or “Fight Gone Bad,” or “Dig Deeper!” with Shawn T every once in a while but I do appreciate the martial principles in all the workouts I do.   I also work kata into my workouts much more than I used to. Instead of doing kata as a separate part of my regimen, I incorporate kata into my normal routine. We often talk about bunkai and oyo bunkai and find ourselves with our hands on our hips engaged in lively discussions about the intricacies of the techniques embedded in our kata. While this helps us understand the meaning of our art it does not condition our bodies or minds for the combat we so energetically discuss. Occasionally, we should put those important discussions aside and just go fight our way through kata. When I say fight I mean just that – make kata a combative event. Forget the meaning of the technique. The meaning is inherent in the movements themselves.  Case in point, just walk up to someone and execute the first technique in Kihon kata.  The meaning of the technique will become apparent very quickly whether you were taught the bunkai or not.  It is an inherently combative movement.  Learn to move with combative intent and commitment and you will learn a skill most of your potential opponents do not possess - and one that is often the decisive factor in an altercation. Dismiss the count and just go fight. Not only will the kata become meaningful in a combative context it will also become a challenging workout that incorporates all the principles that seem to be re-emerging in mainstream fitness. Karatedo ni Hissho.

By Charles C. Goodin
Recently, I was conducting a search of Yoen Jiho Sha /1 issues when I came across an article entitled A Small Talk on Karate - Kinjo, a Benefactor of Karate-Do in Hawaii, by Sosen Toyohira. November 16, 1961. /2 One section of the article in particular caught my attention:
"In Okinawa, an expert of Karate was called a "Bushi," which meant a true gentleman or a noble character. In feudal times in Japan, in contrast, "Bushi" referred to "warriors" or "samurai." Karate is a defensive art only - it is never used for offense. It is a self-defense art that should be mastered to conquer oneself and learn to behave modestly. For that reason, a well trained Karateman was looked upon as a "Bushi" - a noble Karateman."
This discussion made me start thinking - how did the Okinawan and Japanese concepts of "Bushi" differ and what does this mean for students of Karate? I started to review literature and websites and quickly found that many people associate Karate "Bushi" with the Japanese concept of warrior or samurai. If Karate people are this type of "Bushi" it is natural to think that they should follow the Code of "Bushido", literally, the way of the "Bushi." While at it, why not throw in Zen training for good measure?
Now wait a moment - at the time of the formation of Karate, Okinawa was not part of Japan. The Ryukyu or Loo Choo Kingdom, of which Okinawa was the largest island, was independent (albeit dominated by its much larger neighbors). It traded with Japan, China and many other countries. It had its own king, political and social structure, language, religion, arts and culture (don't get me going on this). Okinawans were not Japanese. So why should their martial artists follow the Japanese Code of Bushido, which was only applicable to the Japanese warrior class?
Was the problem with the word "Bushi" itself? Fortunately, my sensei, Katsuhiko Shinzato, is a professor of linguistics at the Okinawa International University. /3 I emailed a series of questions to him about this subject.
He explained that although "Bushi" uses the same kanji and is pronounced the same in Okinawa and Japan, it means different things. In Japan, a "Bushi" was a member of the warrior class. In Okinawa, the term "Bushi" was honorific. It was used to refer to a Karate practitioner who was respected and revered not only for of his superior martial arts skill, but for being a civilized, principled gentleman as well. "Bushi" did not mean the Japanese "samurai." As evidence of this, even the Okinawan King's official guards, who were referred to as "samurai" in Okinawa, were not referred to as "Bushi."
As it turns out, different types of "Bushi" are recognized in Okinawa.
A "Kakure Bushi" is a "hidden Bushi", one who never tries to let himself be known as a Karate practitioner. Occasionally we hear about Karate hermits, experts who live in caves, tombs, or the mountains, and have completely withdrawn from society.
On the other extreme is a "Tijikun Bushi" or "knuckle or fist Bushi." This type of Karate practitioner has large, grotesque knuckles and is known for fighting skill only. He lacks the culture and principles of a gentleman. A reference to this type of "Bushi" can be found in Noma of Japan: An Autobiography of a Japanese Publisher, by Seiji Noma assisted by Shunkichi Akimoto, The Vanguard Press, 1934. Mr. Noma, a kendo expert, was stationed in Okinawa as a schoolteacher in 1904. Okinawa used to be referred to as Loo Choo (or Luchu) and Okinawans were called Luchuans. Tijikun is a Hogen (Okinawan dialect) term. Noma uses the Japanese term "teko" (knuckle):

"My unruly behaviour was not confined to drinking and courtesans. I fought with roughs and thrashed men for imagined insults. The Luchuans are a pacific people, but like all those given to strong drink and leading a primitive life, they would commit acts of nameless cruelty if their blood was stirred. The Luchuans had developed through centuries of practice the peculiar art of self-defence and aggression, known as tekobushi, which consists in making incredibly deft and powerful thrusts of the fist after the fashion of jujitsu or even boxing. This was the only possible mode of self-defence for the Luchuans, who had been prohibited the use of weapons by their double rulers of China and Japan. A Luchuan expert in the deadly art could smash every bone in his victim's body with the thrusts of his arms, as if he had struck with a giant hammer. Not infrequently poor victims were found dead by the road-side bearing marks of terrible blows from naked fists. Near Tsuji at night there were always gangs of roughs supposed to be skilled in tekobushi, who were ready to pick quarrels with unwary strangers."

A "Tijikun Bushi" is the worst type, since he is the most likely to harm others, and in the process, impugn the reputation of all other Karate practitioners. Morio Higaonna, /4 who visited me at the Hawaii Karate Museum in August, 2004, explained to me that such a person is also referred to as a "Bushi Gwa," or "small Bushi." "Gwa" is the Hogen word for "small." /5 A "Bushi Gwa" grasps only a small aspect of Karate.
Another negative example of a Karate practitioner is a "Kuchi Buchi," or "Mouth Bushi," one who pretends to be well trained by bluffing. While a "Tijikun Bushi" might have callused, wart-like knuckles, a "Kuchi Bushi" has a silvery tongue - he can talk the talk but not walk the walk. He lacks or only has a low level of martial skill. Such a person spends more time reading about Karate than training and tends to dwell on and exaggerate the exploits of famous fighters. In doing so, he misleads young students who are easily impressed and distracted.
Higaonna Sensei also mentioned that there is an "Uhu Bushi" or "Greatest Bushi." He recalled hearing Kanryo Higaonna (an outstanding proponent of Naha-Te) referred to as "Uhu Bushi Higaonna No Tanme." "Tanme" is Hogen for "respected elder."
Shinzato Sensei further explained that "Uhu Bushi" is an honorific term for one who was the greatest among certain schools or styles of Karate. Kanryo Higaonna was considered to be the originator of present Goju-Ryu and thus deserved the title "Uhu Bushi." Likewise, in the genealogy of Shorin-Ryu, Sokon Matsumura and Kosaku Matsumora would be referred to as "Uhu Bushi" as they are regarded as the restorers of Shuri-Te and Tomari-Te respectively.
Now before anyone runs off to change their email address to "Bushi" or "Uhu Bushi," these terms are honorific: titles or phrases conveying respect. They are only used by others. I'm sure that Sokon Matsumura never introduced himself as "Bushi," nor has any sensei I have ever trained with referred to himself as "Sensei." Perhaps the only person who would do so is a "Kuchi Bushi" or "Bushi Gwa."
These terms also seem to be more or less reserved for the leading Karate experts of the 19th century or earlier. Anko Itosu was certainly a "Bushi" by any standard, but I have never heard him referred to as such. The same applies to Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro, Chotoku Kyan, Chojun Miyagi, Choshin Chibana, and others noted Karate practitioners.
The case of Sokon Matsumura deserves special attention because it both highlights some of the confusion surrounding the term "Bushi" and provides an example of what a "Bushi" truly is. Born in Shuri in 1809, Matsumura practiced the fighting traditions of both Okinawa and China, and also studied Jigen-ryu Kenjutsu (swordsmanship) while in Kagoshima (Satsuma). Due to his prowess in both Karate (which then was referred to as "China Hand") and intellectual studies, such as calligraphy, he ultimately served three Kings. There can be no doubt that Matsumura was an outstanding martial artist, one of the finest ever. However, he was not called "Bushi" simply because of his martial skills, nor was the title given in recognition of the fact that he was a "samurai" (or bodyguard) for kings, or trained in swordsmanship in mainland Japan.
Instead, Matsumura was given the title of "Bushi" by retired King Shoko-O (then called Boji-Ushu) for something he did not have to do. By now, I'm sure that you know I am referring to the episode of Matsumura defeating a wild bull. This story has been told in many books, but in a nutshell, Boji-Ushu asked Matsumura to fight a bull that had become a nuisance. In those days in Okinawa, bullfights were staged between two bulls. Knowing of Matsumura's Karate skills, the King wondered how Matsumura would fare.
When the time came for the fight, Matsumura entered the arena. He was either wearing a certain colored robe or carrying a small wooden club (depending on who tells the story). Upon seeing Matsumura, the bull cowered and ran away. It was terrified.
Before the stunned crowd, the ex-King promptly pronounced that Matsumura was to be known thereafter as "Bushi Matsumura. As we all know, Matsumura had sneaked into the bull's pen at night for the week preceding the match and beat it fiercely on the nose with a club. No wonder it was terrified when it saw him! What we don't know is whether the ex-King ever found out about Matsumura's strategy.
Now, if Matsumura had been a Tijikun Bushi, he might have killed the bull or it might have killed him. Perhaps he might have succeeded in breaking of its horns. But at best he would have been considered to be a "Bushi Gwa". Had Matsumura been a "Kuchi Bushi," he could have lectured the bull, boasted about his exploits, or shouted at it, but the outcome would have been certain - he would have been gored and probably killed. But because Matsumura was a true "Bushi," an "Uhu Bushi" at that, both he and the bull lived to see another day.
In a letter to his student Ryosei Kuwae, Matsumura described three forms of martial arts: gakushi no bugei, meimoku no bugei, and budo no bugei. The first two categories roughly equate to "Kuchi Bushi" (mouth Bushi) and "Tijikun Bushi" (fist Bushi). Only the third category is worthy of study. As he writes:
"[B]udo no bugei, [are] the genuine methods which are never practiced without a conviction, and through which participants cultivate a serene wisdom which knows not contention or vice. With virtue, participants foster loyalty among family, friends and country, and a natural decorum encourages a dauntless character. With the fierceness of a tiger and the swiftness of a bird, an indomitable calmness makes subjugating any adversary effortless. Yet budo no bugei forbids willful violence, governs the warrior, fortifies people, fosters virtue, appeases the community, and brings about a general sense of harmony and prosperity. These are the "Seven Virtues of Bu."

Yakusoku (約束) means appointment or promise.  Kumite (組み手) means to pair hands or spar.  Yakusoku kumite, therefore, is a prearranged set of movements done by two people.  One is a defender and the other the attacker.  Yakusoku kumite offers karateka the opportunity to execute kata-like offensive and defensive movements in a controlled environment.

Unlike Jiyu kumite or in  actual combat, each individual executes his / her technique with a complete understanding of what his aite (相手) or partner is going to do in response.  Practicing Yakusoku kumite has several merits but it also potentially teaches bad habits that if carried over to actual fighting may have unwanted results. 

If we accept that we fight the way we train, one must understand the demerits of yakusoku kumite and be careful not to allow those practices to become habits in our fighting philosophy or style.  Such is the case with any training tool to include kata, makiwara, jiyu kumite or other drills and exercises.  Each has its purpose and training objectives but each also falls short of replicating actual combat.  I would like to limit my thoughts to yakusoku kumite and offer a few merits and demerits each karateka should consider when training.

Merits

No training can completely replicate combat, therefore we train different aspects of fighting by means of various methods that stress certain, albeit limited, concepts of fighting.  Kata teaches balance, breathing, body mechanics and the fundamentals of combative movement.  But to be proficient in kata will not make one a skilled fighter in and of itself.  Kata must be applied in the context of the nature of combat such as fluidity, confusion, fear, fatigue, environment, etc.

Similarly, yakusoku kumite teaches valuable combat principles.  I will offer a few of them here:

1) Maai (間合い): Ma (間) means between or interval and ai (合い) means to meet or merge.  Maai is the meeting distance between two combatants.  Maai changes based on the individual, the techniques involved, and the intent of the combatant.  When properly done, yakusoku kumite can teach karateka how to manage this distance.  As the attacker closes the distance to execute a technique the uke or defender (literally receiver) must adjust the distance and direction between the karateka and the aite.  Both partners must attempt to adjust the maai to best achieve his/her intent (defend or attack).   Maai is a component of combat that can only be learned with a partner.  Kata offers ways to close or open distance but has little value in terms of managing maai in a fluid environment with an opposing will.

2) Initiative and timing: Kata can be executed in accordance with the karateka’s own understanding of the timing of the “fight.”  One look at modern Japanese shitei kata makes it clear kata timing is not realistic with its slow motion and long pauses for effect.  This results in pure theatrics vice applicable combative motion – performing a kata vice fighting through a kata.  Yakusoku kumite, on the other hand, compels a defender to react in response to the attacker’s timing and distance.  This is fairly easily done when the defender knows the method of attack.  Nevertheless, it is a lesson arguably best learned in the confines of prearranged movement before or as a supplement to progressing to free flowing attacks.  Because initiative is with the attacker, the uke must learn to relax and execute the response in an efficient manner.  Wasted movement will result in a successful attack even when the defender knows what is coming.  The value of this training lies with the integrity of the partners not to overly choreograph distance and timing.

3) Kansetsu and Kyusho jutsu:  Yakusoku kumite offers a controlled environment in which to experiment with how to attack joints and vital points without the danger of a free flowing sparring session. 

4) Fundamentals:  Yakusoku kumite is a great method of confirming the soundness of one’s fundamentals of karate principles.  Instability in one’s stances comes into clear focus when done with a partner, for example.  How many of us have thrown a punch at a partner and realized our stance was not nearly as stable as we thought?  The fundamentals of tai sabaki are also tested to a limited degree when performing yakusoku kumite.

There are no doubt other merits but I will stop there.  More important than what yakusoku kumite teaches us are the lessons we must not take away from the exercise.  Here are a few salient “Lessons to Avoid” when training.

1) Maai: I have put maai as both a merit and a demerit.  Generally, attacks in yakusoku kumite are straight attacks.  The defense normally involves the defender moving back in the opposite direction of the attack to defend.  In most of the dojo practice I have seen, the attacker is rarely ever close enough to actually execute an effective technique.  Similarly, the defender never does anything to gain a tactical advantage by either opening, closing or changing the distance or angle of attack.  The result is normally that the status quo comparative tactical advantage is maintained between the two combatants.  In other words, neither aite gains or looses advantage.  In a fight, we must always seek to gain positional, psychological and physical advantage.  Doing so requires us to change the timing, distance and direction before our opponent can observe, orient, decide and react to our action.  If the wrong lessons are taken away from yakusoku kumite we will only be skilled at not loosing advantage.  We will fail to lean how to gain advantage and initiative. 

Another lesson to avoid within the category of maai is that of appropriate combative distance.  Whether we are aware of it or not, kata applications often teach us to close with our opponent even as our opponent is attacking us.  By closing with (or entering) we change the status quo in terms of distance, timing and by creating a psychological effect on our opponent.  Karate is, despite its reputation otherwise, a close in fighting method.  Anyone who has experienced a fight or seen a fight will agree most fights involve opponents grabbing, pushing, pulling, swinging, and or wrestling each other at close quarters.  If we train ourselves to move away from an attack (as yakusoku kumite often does) instead of using it as an opportunity to gain positional advantage we fail to train ourselves to seize tactical initiative and change the status quo to our favor.  One of the most difficult things to do in a fight is to effectively close distance and gain kuzushi (off-balancing) over an opponent.  Judo players spend countless hours doing uchikomi (entering) practice for the various throws.  Getting inside the opponent’s defense in a way that establishes an advantage is difficult and must be practiced.  Yakusoku kumite can be used to teach us to seek opportunities to close but often those lessons are lost in application and training.  I have even had students talk about finding a good yakusoku partner because they move well together.  In reality we should seek partners with a variety of body types, timing, reach, and speed otherwise we are only seeking a dance partner not trying to close the gap between form and reality.

2) Focus on individual position vice opponent’s position:    One of the drawbacks to kata is that it teaches us to focus on our own posture but because there is no aite it fails to teach us to place importance on what we are doing to break down our aite’s posture.  Thus we often see karateka who are hyper aware of their own body mechanics (what angle should my foot be? What is my elbow doing during this technique? for example).  These are important elements but meaningless if there is no effect on the opponent.  Many of the mechanics / bunkai of kata are meant to teach us to break an opponent’s posture down and create vulnerabilities that we can then exploit.  The focus must be on how our aite reacts and how that reaction creates opportunity.  We may execute a technique with perfect form but if it does not physically or psychologically damage our opponent or create a window of opportunity to do so it is meaningless.  As karate ka we should be skilled at placing our opponent’s body in an unbalanced, weak and vulnerable position while maintaining our own center of balance and power.  In all but the final technique of the Yakusoku Kumite of Shorin Ryu Shorin Kan (and by extension Shorin Ryu Kensankai) does either aite attempt to upset the other’s balance, momentum, or power other than by rudimentary blocks and some taisabaki.  The focus is generally on ensuring both partners remain in a strong, balanced and powerful position until the culminating technique.  I recognize fully that this is by design but we must recognize that in executing yakusoku kumite we are allowing our brains to identify weaknesses, create openings and establish kuzushi and exploit opportunity to damage our opponent.  By understanding this shortfall we then see the need to use other training tools to develop our ability to create, recognize and exploit opportunity. 

3) Ukekata (受け方): Ukekata in Japanese means “way of receiving.”  Ukeru means to receive.  Kata means way or direction (this is a different character than what we all know as kata 型).  Most karate glossaries translate uke as block.  This is not necessarily incorrect but it does limit the meaning compared to the Japanese nuances behind the word.  Thus in English, a middle block is chuudan uke and an upper level block is joudan uke.  The English interpretation suggests the aim of chuudan uke is to prevent your opponent from hitting you with a strike against your midsection - say from waist to shoulders.  Similarly a joudan uke would suggest the action you take when someone attacks your head.  The Japanese term uke, however, suggests more than just prevention.  It implies receiving or reacting to or dealing with an attack.  In other words, it implies a complete response. 

Yakusoku kumite tends to limit the application of technique to its most basic form.  Generally, if an opponent attacks with a middle level punch, the uke steps back and executes a chuudan uke.  At that point the technique or response is complete and the next movement begins. 

At a more advanced level, chuudan uke is a complete technique with multiple potential applications that involve strikes, kansetsu waza, kyuushojutsu and taisabaki.  A chuudan uke applied only as a block is quite inefficient and ineffective when looked at in its most basic application, which is generally the application we see executed in yakusoku kumite. 

One other thought on blocks not necessarily related to yakusoku specifically:  For the most part karateka understand that a middle block (chuudan uke) is an appropriate response to a middle level attack such as chuudan tsuki.  While this is not incorrect, I offer a slightly different way of thinking about uke.  I am of the opinion the uke has more to do with how the defender intends to respond to the attack than it does with the location or intended target of the attack itself. 

When attacked we are generally unaware of the intended target of the attack (except in yakusoku kumite).  This means the defender must 1) recognize or observe the attack, 2) orient on the attack, 3) decide how to respond and 4) execute the response.  This decision making cycle is called the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act).  All of these steps must take place between the moment the attack is initiated and the moment it culminates.  The defender has very little time to react.  It follows then that a response to an attack must account for and defend against as many potential targets as possible. 

Executed properly the basic uke waza do this.  But because we have limited our application of chuudan uke to chuudan kogeki we have a tendency to execute improper technique. 

I prefer to think of uke waza in terms of how I intend to respond to an attack regardless of what my opponent’s intended target is.  Even if my opponent’s intended target is a low, I may respond with chuudan uke.  It is a middle level response to a low level attack.  A middle level attack (a punch to the mid-section) may be received with a low level response (gedan uke).  With this way of thinking, it is no longer incumbent upon me to first determine my opponent’s intended target to respond.  I only need to execute proper technique to cover as many potential openings as possible and then complete the technique.  In this way, I seek to gain the initiative, impose my will on my opponent and not merely react to his attack.

4) Gorei (語例):  Combat is fluid.  Combat is continuous motion, which generates a tempo that overwhelms your opponent’s ability to observe, orient, decide and act.  When we teach kata, we artificially break up what would otherwise be a continuous motion so we can teach basic principles.  Itosu Anko sensei simplified kata from their original form so they could be incorporated into school curriculum.  We teach kata at the basic level by artificially disconnecting what would otherwise be simultaneous techniques and break continuous movement up in time and space so we can break the kata down into “bite sized” movements.  Where one movement begins and ends is largely immaterial in terms of application.  Yet even after we get to more advanced levels we tend to execute kata and by extension yakusoku kumite the same way we did the first time we learned the kata – with a count.  I have often heard of groups going to Okinawa to learn new knowledge.  They come back with nothing more to announce, “the count for this kata has changed.”  The count itself is an artificiality of kata, yet we seem to be tied to it.  I often hear in class, “we will now do kata X or Y gorei nashi,” meaning without a count.  Yet when the command “hajime” is given the class executes the kata in perfect synchronicity as if someone were at the head of the class calling for the execution of each technique.  There may not be an audible count but each student is following a count in his or her head. 

This practice is often carried over into the execution of yakusoku kumite.  People seek out a good yakusoku partner who knows the count so the kumite can be done smoothly with little disruption.  To make yakusoku more effective the idea of count should be dismissed after the routine is mastered.  This will provide greater training value.  Otherwise yakusoku kumite becomes a dance with a partner just as kata without bunkai is little more than a dance.  Is looses true martial meaning.

Recommendations:

There are many great benefits of practicing yakusoku kumite.  I do not want to suggest we should not practice yakusoku kumite, however I believe we must do it in the proper spirit and with a clear understanding of the training opportunities and pitfalls of the drills.  Here are a few suggestions to make yakusoku kumite a more effective training tool:

1. Get close to attack.  Stay close when defending.  Learn to be comfortable inside your opponents reach.  Unlike in sport karate the safest place to be in a fight is either well outside attacking range or will inside your opponent’s optimal power generating range.  In karate we train to generate power through short violent movements – the nexus of chinkuchi and muchimi (maybe the topic of my next essay).

2. Get comfortable visualizing each technique as a complete technique.  For example, when executing a chuudan uke, use the “non-blocking hand” to parry and use the “blocking hand to attack a vital point or a joint.  Get the feel of how to bridge an attack between both hands/arms. 

3. The kogeki has the initiative and should execute on his/her own timing.  The uke must manage the maai to best disrupt the attack and create opportunities to gain kuzushi and positional advantage.  This must all be done within the stylistic constraints of the routine.

4. Stop synchronizing movements based on an artificial count.  Avoid having a designated yakusoku partner. 

5. Tai sabaki can be practiced in yakusoku kumite even when the movements are straight forward and back.  Yakusoku can be a great opportunity to learn the basics of the use of hanmi (half facing) to create off-balancing momentum and power for follow on strikes.

6.   Occasionally, work with a partner using the same techniques in the correct order of yakusoku drills but do it from more natural fighting positions and timing.  Move with a partner and try to effectively off balance your partner using tai sabaki and more realistic ukekata or uke waza.   

7.   Supplement yakusoku kumite with other training drills.  Types of kumite include but are not limited to kakie, renzoku kumite, iri or jiyu kumite, contact sparring or body sparring and/or randori kumite.  These various training tools can help fill in gaps left by other training tools.  These tools together can help karateka learn how to create, recognize and exploit opportunities when they are presented.

Now if you are reading this and your first thought is, “Congratulations, you are a master of the obvious,” then I apologize for wasting your time.  Nothing here should be overly revealing.  But in my observation, yakusoku kumite is often executed absent a clear understanding of the training value and limitations involved.  Yakusoku performance becomes an end – not a means to an end.  I am not suggesting we should not do yakusoku kumite.  It is a good learning tool.  Use it but be careful what you learn from it.