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Just a nobody...

Hello hello. Seems fitting to start with an entry about myself and what this blog is for.

I’ve been training in the martial arts (specifically one art) for 30 years starting from the time I was a very young child. It’s been a constant in my life and remains one of my passions.

But within the karate world I’m not really anyone special. I’m not part of an organization. I’m not a champion competitor. I don’t own a dojo and I’m not in demand on the seminar circuit. I’ve never written a book or made a DVD of my fighting methods. I don’t have my own line of karate gi. No ancient scrolls either. A trip to Okinawa is still just a line on my bucket list.

I’ve risen to the rank of Sandan, 3rd degree black belt, which is… if not a low rank, not a particularly high one. I’ve had some great experiences dabbling in other martial arts, and intend to keep doing so, but my through-line has been Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-Do. It is the art that made me, the one that fits me best, and where I move out from.

I believe that I am like many other karateka out there. Someone in the middle, who’s working hard to keep the torch lit.

So why blog?

Well, I think best when I write things down and lately I have had cause for a lot of thinking.

I am currently a singleton – perhaps a Ronin would be a better term – after a split with my long-time Sensei and the closing of my more regular dojo during the pandemic. I’m in the awkward position as a mid-ranked black belt who is no longer part of any larger organization… but maybe a little too experienced to easily join another. I am not currently teaching. Probably most importantly, I have had major life changes recently to my family and career and have been working to acclimate to my new environment. And figure out how karate can fit in.

Like I said, a lot to think about, a lot to say. In the past I’ve gotten a lot of use out of several martial arts blogs. This my attempt to get use out of yet another one – my own.

Maybe some of this will be useful to you in your own study. 

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The Flexible Bunkai Model

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Core Bunkai

 I don’t know if it has subsided yet, but there was a period of time – let’s say 2005 to 2015 – where bunkai exploded. Suddenly the karate world was all about kata applications.   I think this coincided with the maturation of the internet and social media. Suddenly there were YouTube channels and Facebook groups that really spread the word about bunkai and how to practice it. They also spread the word about bunkai books and DVDs. I really enjoyed this and think it was good for the art as a whole. I certainly feel that I took advantage of it.* The dojo I grew up in always practiced bunkai applications. It was part of the testing requirements for each kata, but that is where it ended. There were allusions to “layers” of bunkai or higher-level applications, but the kata were never revisited to extract these applications and we never did “deep dives” into a single kata. Looking back, I view many of these bunkai as superficial, block-kick-punch level bunkai. My bunkai practice today
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