Thoughts for the World Tournament October 2007
This was very good and well organized tournament. The competitors were well prepared. In my opinion day one was the most exiting with a lot of Hiza Geri knockouts. This year the rolling kick was very effective and popular.
After the tournament the branch chief seminar was held with about 200 people in attendants. It was a good camp and a fitting end to the World Tournament 2007.
Back Up
Thoughts for the year 2007
Where are we today?
Where is Kyokushin today?
The good old days ! How many of you have heard that expresion, I am sure that you have all heard it at one time or another. Usualy its from parents to their children. Of course not everything was good but we tend to remember the good times that made us happy.
So what were the good old days for Kyokushin, well naturally it was when Sosai was alive but having stated the obvious what else.
The two years I spent in Honbu when all I had to do was train were good days, eat, sleep and train a simple lifstyle. I suppose this could be described as being an Uchi Deshi, simply put it means an inside student, someone who lived in the Kyokushin dormetory and trained every day, It does not matter how much I try to describe those days to students its very hard for them to understand, good old days.
I have heard and read about many people who claim that they were Uchi Deshi. On inquering how long they were training as Uchi Deshi they say anything beetween one month and three months! Not really sufficient time to understand what it is like to be Uchi Desh. Kyokushin has changed since Sosais death there is no escaping that fact, the Uchi Deshi system the Hundred man fight those are things from the past because without Sosai they surley have lost their value.
Todays students have many organizations to choose from, comments I made Thoughts for the year 1999 offering a wide variaity of arts. Todays society wants a quick fix fast answers and instant black belts. Sometimes I get asked by people if they can try one lesson to see if they like it! I tell them that one lesson is not enough. And perhaps by asking the question they allready have doubts in their minds a negative attitude. When I started to train I did not think about asking for a lesson to see if I liked it, I would not have concidered that to be good manners, not only that but I wanted to find out what it was all about, a posative attitude. Back Up
Thoughts for the year 2001
Will the Year 2001 bring peace
and harmony to the Kyokushin world? I hope so but I doubt it. As long as
we continue to fight amongst ourselves about who is the official IKO there
will be no true Kyokushin. Sosai said that Kyokushin was for everybody,
not just for one group or even one person.
If you surf the net looking for
Kyokushin you will come across many pages of information about Kyokushin.
For some strange reason we have been categorized into groups, IKO 1,2,3
etc. For my part I am simply a student of Sosai and wish to continue teaching
Kyokushin the way I believe it should be taught, the only group I belong
to is Kyokushin.
I travel extensively teaching
Kyokushin and during my travels I am asked about the situation of Kyokushin
in the world and who is the biggest or who is the strongest? Does the biggest
mean the most members, does the strongest mean the strongest fighters, my
answer is NO. We need to focus on how Kyokushin should develop and grow,
technically and morally. Not just to have a big organization.
Self defense is a word I hear
very often show me some self-defense, demonstrate self-defense. What is
Kyokushin if not self-defense? You cannot take parts of Kyokushin and say
that this is self-defense and what is left is not. It is a word that is
used to often, now we are going to learn self-defense. This comment shows
how little understanding of our style that some people have. Self-defense
is not only defending yourself against physical attack but mental also.
Consider those moments when you are tired and you feel like giving up, at
work, in school or in the Dojo it does not matter, you must have the mental
strength to keep going. This is also a kind of self-defense although a more
philosophical approach still very important.
Time allowing I plan to include
some information about technique and kata. Back Up
Thoughts for the year 2000
For
those who were unable to attend the World tournament in December last year
I would just say that you missed a good tournament, full of action. Of course
there were disappointments, not everybody can win. Being able to represent
your country in itself is a fine achievement, so for those who felt a little
sad after the tournament I would like to say well done.
Another
year has gone by for all of us, young and old time moves on, this is something
we all have in common. We are all supposed to have one other thing in common
and that is Sosai's philosophy. We tend to forget what we have learned or
even taught? It is easy to tell people what they should do, or how to behave,
doing it is another matter. Manners and discipline are just two things that
I believe can improve our life style, " The Martial Way begins and ends
with courtesy. Therefore, be properly and genuinely courteous at all times."
The first of Sosai's mottoes. Genuinely courteous, not just acting, there
are always people who act in order to further their own ends, for a better
job or even grade.
The
person who pretends to be something they are not will always be found out,
just be yourself do not pretend to be someone or something you are not.
I started my comments with the World Tournament, so I will end on the same
subject, although not about the World Tournament.
Over
the past few years some competitors in tournaments have forgotten their
manners, very often you see them jumping and screaming if they have scored
a point or even lost. Before the match their team members gather round in
a circle and perform some kind of ritual, ending with a big kiai? Is
this Kyokushin? I do not think so; stop it before we degrade the name of
Kyokushin. Back Up
Thoughts for the year 1999
Choosing,
making a choice, is something we do daily, what to eat or drink for example.
One could also say that this kind of choice is a reflex, do you want a cup
of coffee? Yes thank you, did you think about the choice you have made or
not, simple everyday choices are relatively easy.
About
four years ago we had to make a choice which organization to support, four
years later and people are still making choices but for different and even
the wrong reasons.
While
Sosai was alive we had no choice. If you wanted to train Kyokushin then
you picked Sosai, although some people left Sosai and continued to use the
Kyokushin name? Soon after Sosai's death it became apparent that there would
be a split in the organization, (the IKO). This was the first choice, which
group to choose.
Over
a period of time choices were made who to support. For various reasons only
known to ourselves, we chose one or the other, loyalty to Sosai and Kyokushin
were two most reasons. What other reasons could there be?
Now
you have a choice of who you want to work with. So if you do not like the
person in charge then you can simply join the other group; perhaps you want
to be in charge?
There is also the question of grades if one group will not give you a grade
then join someone who will? There is always the easy way.
There
is even the question of Sosai's will, in the beginning I heard comments
that if the will was declared illegal then they would support the other
group. It has been declared illegal but nothing has happened?
Sosai's
family is also in this circle as the court cases are still going on who
knows how long it will take for these problems to be solved.
What
will you do in 1999 will you stay loyal to Kyokushin or change sides in
order to benefit yourself? Back Up
Thoughts for the World Tournament 4th of dec 1999
Time
goes quickly, here we are again close to another World Tournament, fighters
from all over the World have been preparing for this event, as have the
referees and judges.
Some
will be disappointed after the Tournament, some will be happy. The important
thing is that we all get together and remember what Sosai did for us, he
gave us this Tournament. Now there are two such tournaments, two world champions
and two organizations? There will never be another true world champion.
I hope that every competitor fights according to the kyokushin spirit and
that we all enjoy the two days of competition.
Sosai
was very adamant that we were Budo Karate and that we should have honour
and good manners. It happens so often in other kinds of sports that the
competitors argue with the referees and even fight amongst themselves. Is
this what we want to teach? I hope that Kyokushin is not just fighting it
is many things, honour and manners are just a part of our style.
Some
time ago just before one of our European Tournaments one of the competing
countries had been refused exit visas for their team. A rival organization
had spread some stories about them, causing problems for them. Luckily the
EKO managed to convince the appropriate people that the stories were false
and they were granted visas. Is this what Kyokushin has become? We all claim
to train Kyokushin but who amongst us understands what that means.
I wish all the fighters Good
luck at the World Tournament. Back up
