Shin Gi Tai

Michael Clarke

Description

Prepare to have your beliefs challenged about what karate really is.

Within these pages, you will discover traditional karate; along the way, perhaps many of your own beliefs about karate will be confronted. You might have a body capable of mastering karate's physical techniques, but do you have a mind with a level of awareness that is able to grasp the true spirit of karate?

For adults only. Regardless of how many people you can defeat in combat, the deeper aim of karate has always been to conquer your own ego, and by doing so, you increase the likelihood of avoiding conflict. When you can control your ego, you have a chance to establish peace in your life: this is the tradition of budo karate.

Shin Gi Tai has a literal translation: mind–technique–body. A karate-ka's mind (shin) must be developed ahead of his technique (gi) if he is to discover a sense of balance within his body (tai). While the mental and physical aspects of karate are daunting and causes many to stop training, if you can just endure the early years, say - the first decade - then there is opportunity for real and lasting benefits.

Budo is a concept more often discussed than put into practice, and yet, as part of traditional karate training, it has the capacity to dramatically change lives for the better, but only if you are prepared to move past the obvious and strive to understand the philosophy and the morality of budo.

Your life is yours, your karate is yours, accept ownership of both and reap countless rewards.

Sujets

• Ageing
• Struggle
• Teacher
• Martial arts
• Character
• Health
• Sifu
• Karaté
• Senior
• Master
• Black Belt
• Okinawa
• Spirit

Informations

• Publié par: YMAA Publication Center
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781594392450
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 14 Mo

Extrait

Shin Gi Tai
KARATE TRAINING FOR BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT
MICHAEL CLARKE
YMAA Publication Center
Wolfeboro, N.H., USA
YMAA Publication Center
Main Office: PO Box 480
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
1-800-669-8892 • www.ymaa.com • [e-mail]
ISBN-13: 9781594392177 (print edition) • 9781594392450 (ebook edition)
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Copyright ©2011 by Michael Clarke
Cover design by Axie Breen
Edited by Dolores Sparrow


Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication
Clarke, Michael, 1955-

Shin gi tai : karate training for body, mind, and spirit / Michael Clarke. -- Wolfeboro, N.H. : YMAA Publication Center, c2011.

p. ; cm.

ISBN: 978-1-59439-217-7 (print) ; 978-1-59439-245-0 (ebook)
“Traditional karate’s philosophy and fighting techniques revealed”--Cover.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Karate--Training. 2. Karate--Psychological aspects. 3. Martial arts--Training. 4. Martial artists. I. Title.
GV1114.3 .C534 2011 2011934943 796.815/3--dc23 2011
Disclaimer: The author and publisher of this book will not be held responsible in any way for any injury of any nature whatsoever, which may occur to readers, or others, as a direct or indirect result of the information and instructions contained within this book. Anyone unfamiliar with the karate techniques or exercises shown should exercise great care. Traditional karate training is not recommended for people under the age of fourteen. If any doubts exist in regard to your health, consult a doctor before commencing. Always practice karate under the supervision of a qualified teacher.
This ebook contains Japanese translations of many terms and may not display properly on all e-reader devices. You may need to adjust your Publisher Font Default setting.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Dr. Damon Young
Foreword by Stan Schmidt, 8 th dan Shotokan
Foreword by John Porta, 9 th dan, Hanshi, Okinawan Goju-ryu
Preface
1 Introduction
2 The Dojo
A Map: Knowing Where You Stand in The Dojo
What to Expect: Dojo Etiquette
What is the Difference Between a Karate Dojo and a Karate Club?
Who is Going to Teach Me: Your Teacher’s Qualifications
Sport, Health, and Martial Art: Kyogi, Kenko, and Budo
Interpreting The Kanji
Budo
Budo—Bushido
Karate—Karatedo
3 Shin—Mind, Spirit
The Circle of Budo
Shinjin: Awakening
Hosshin: Making a Start
Bussho: Doing Something Every Day
Jikaku: Self-realization
Unraveling Knots in The Thread of Life
Zen: The Way Unseen
Bunbu ryo do: The Way of The Martial Scholar
The Author's Ten Precepts: The Way of One
Austere Training: Shugyo—Kangeiko—Gasshuku
What is Balance: Change versus Stability
4 Gi—Technique
The Purpose of Training: Karate Renshu
Fighting Strategies
Irimi
Kuzushi
Sen No Sen
Go No Sen
Sabaki
Fighting Applications
Bunkai
Ippon Kumite: One Attack—One Response
Renzoku: Multiple Attack—Multiple Response
Kakie: The Application of Subtlety
Kata: Focus on Gekisai Dai Ichi
Ippon Kumite Bunkai
Two-Person Kata
Flow Drills
5 Tai—Body
Preparation Exercises: Junbi Undo
Apparatus Training: Kigu Undo
Supplementary Training: Hojo Undo
Ude Tanren
Ippon Uke Barai
Sandan Uke Barai
6 The Future for Karate
From Whence We Came: Okinawa
Music
Textiles
Language
Ceramics
Architecture
Cuisine
The Nature of Karate, Why We Train
Modern Trends: Reality-based Martial Arts
We Stand Alone Surrounded by Many
7 Stories of Three Great Men
Kosaku Matsumora (1829—1898): The Ethical Master of Tomari te
Kanryo Higaonna (1853—1915): The Fist Saint of Naha te
Gichin Funakoshi (1868—1957): The Gentle Teacher of Shuri te
8 In Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Recommended Reading
Recommended (DVD) Viewing
Online Resources
About the Author
Index

Jo Kyu Mu—Follow Your Dream, written by Eiichi Miyazato
Foreword
by Dr. Damon Young
Karate-do is no simple thing. To begin, it requires draining, painful, or dull physical labors—from hundred-pushup sessions to hours of precise kata and bunkai to vigorous kumite. To the novice, and perhaps to many naive film-goers, this is karate: physical prowess, backed up by sweat and sometimes blood. And it's true: it is impossible to develop in karate without physical labor.
But for karate to be karate—rather than simply exercise, dance, or calisthenics—one must recognize its roots in Okinawa and Japan. Despite commonalities, these offer two very different experiences of lifestyle in general, and martial arts in particular. Where the latter stresses a more formal approach, the first is more informal—but no less austere or committed. What both traditions have in common is a long history of martial arts, known as ‘te’ in Okinawa, which must be understood if ‘karate’ is to have any meaning beyond kicks and punches. There are philosophies, scholarly and folk, which are bound up in the way of life, and the way of karate-do. One can be a fighter and ignore this, but not a karateka.
And yet sweat and study are not enough. Alongside physical and mental exertion, karate-do as budo asks something more: existential labor—in other words, a change in character and consciousness. This is neither a simple cognitive trick, nor a mystical epiphany. Instead, it is the transformation of one's psyche that comes with continual effort, challenge, and dedication. It involves the cultivation of virtues like sincerity, patience, restraint, and care. And it is characterized by a clearness of vision: a willingness to see things without delusion or confusion. The fight begins against others, but ends against one's own vices: one's vanity, ignorance, and laziness.
This is the journey of the karateka, and it is one I've taken only a few steps on. But even as a novice I recognize the importance of Michael Clarke's contribution with Shin Gi Tai: Karate Training for Body, Mind, and Spirit. It is many important things at once: an introduction to the culture, language, history, and rituals of Okinawa and Japan; a primer on karate's rites, techniques, and etiquette; a discussion of sport, fitness, and budo karate, and their value; and a very personal meditation on the ‘inner life’ of the dedicated karateka. It explores in detail the physical, scholarly, and existential dimensions of the martial arts and does so with an impressive balance of philosophical discussion and straightforwardness. Michael Clarke is erudite, meditative, without being pretentious or esoteric. If he refuses to name or describe something, he's not being mystical—the reader must experience the ‘something’ first hand.
If I may sum up the book in a single word, it would be ‘gratitude’. Michael is certainly opinionated, confident, and sometimes blunt. He does not suffer fools, and in his youth many fools apparently suffered for this. This is not a book for those seeking glib happiness or easy answers. But the overriding mood of Shin Gi Tai: Karate Training for Body, Mind, and Spirit is thankfulness: to the masters, students, and teachers who keep karate-do alive; for the chance to train, learn, and live well; for the opportunity to literally change one's mind. This is the spirit of karate, and it is alive and well in Shin Gi Tai. And I am certainly thankful for the opportunity to read and re-read it.
Dr. Damon Young
Honorary Fellow in Philosophy, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Foreword
by Stan Schmidt, 8 th dan Shotokan
Those who are truly keen and passionate about whatever art, sport, or devotion they have chosen will inevitably make a journey to the source. But sadly, some never take the risky path or have the guts to take that first step on a voyage of discovery in which their hidden potential is tested and brought into being.
Michael Clarke is an advocate of the traditional way of karate-do, which he explains throughout the pages of this book. To Michael this means immersing himself in daily training, as karate practiced in this manner doesn't build your character as much as it reveals your character. It means having to dig deep and uncover your true nature.
Michael is passionate about his chosen art of karate. This is evidenced by the four books he has penned already and by the hundreds of articles he has had published on the subject. But, first and foremost, he has ‘put his money where his mouth is’.
In addition to interviewing many karate masters of all styles and descriptions, he has himself walked the walk—the long walk to Okinawa, the source and home of karate-do … a number of times … where he undertook the challenging rigors of Goju-ryu under a number of traditional masters, masters who had also been taught by masters.
Michael has earned the right to write about the deeper aspects of karate, as he does in this book, thus passing on valuable hidden treasures to other teachers and practitioners of the Art of the Empty Hand. The themes Michael writes about in Shin Gi Tai: Karate Training for Body, Mind, and Spir