Thoughts for the year 2007

Where are we today? Where is Kyokushin today?

The good old days! How many of you have heard that expression, I am sure that you have all heard it at one time or another. Usually its from  parents to their children. Of course not everything was good but we like 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 lifestyle. I suppose this could be described as being an Uchi Deshi, simply put it means an inside student, someone who lived in the Kyokushin dormitory 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 inquiring how long they were training as Uchi Deshi they say anything between 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 surely have lost their value.

Todays students have many organizations to choose from, comments I made Thoughts for the year 1999  offering a wide variety 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 already 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 considered that to be good manners, not only that but I wanted to find out what it was all about, a positive attitude.