Mizuumi ryu Karate – Home Page – Supplementary PostsWritten by Owen Johnston

http://owenjohnstonkarate.com

Visit the Mizuumi site and click on the “Home Page” link at the top for more information about the style and links to useful resources.

mizuumiryukarate.blogspot.com

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The posts below are copied over from the primary Johnston Karate website and intended to act as supplements to Understanding Karate Do, my student training manual.

Johnston Karate home page – http://www.johnstonkarate.comUnderstanding Karate Do – http://understandingkarate.com

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Mikiri Applications in Karate

If you're not familiar with the concept of mikiri, the basic idea is that it is a "way of dealing with an attack other than blocking it" (Dave Lowry's definition in quotes). The word literally means "cutting with the body". Dave Lowry wrote a very good article about "mikiri" in which he gives a very concise yet useful analysis of the concept and how to drill it. As he states, though, it does take a lot of practice. I know that, for myself, it took me a very long time to become a good judge of range "on the fly" in sparring - especially when dealing with partners who have great economy of motion and do not telegraph (or very little)! Indeed, timing and distance are primary concepts in any martial art. Japanese styles, from my experience, term the concept that deals with range - "ma-ai". Working on sparring drills - such as one steps and kata "bunkai" - with my students has helped us all work on of distance management, especially "mikiri".

Dave Lowry's article on "mikiri" is part of his book "The Karate Way: Discovering the Spirit of Practice". The printed and Kindle editions of the book are available for purchase at the below page -

http://astore.amazon.com/thekarateway-20

View the below syllabus for excellent descriptions of Mikiri and De-ai applications, as well as some useful drills -

http://groups.northwestern.edu/karate/syllabus.html

Supplementary Posts, page 2

The concept of Shin Gi Tai

"The concept of Shin Gi Tai has long since pointed the way for karateka to make progress. By it’s insistence that the physical techniques of karate are understood through the development of your spirit (character); Shin Gi Tai acts as both a bridge, and a barrier, to those training in karate. Where techniques (Gi) and physical fitness (Tai) show signs of improvement relatively quickly once karate training has begun; your true character or ‘spirit’ (Shin), will inevitably take much longer to reveal it’s self."

- Michael Clarke, in his article Shin Gi Tai – Karate Training for Body, Mind, and Spirithttp://ymaa.com/articles/shin-gi-tai-karate-training-for-body-mind-and-spirit

This is a major concept to Karate styles in general, and in a way I'm sure it extends to the serious practitioner of almost any martial art. I hardly pretend to be a great expert on the subject, but certainly, developing the body, mind, and spirit through daily discipline is something I remind myself and my students of. This kind of discipline is highly emphasized in not just our style, Mizuumi ryu Karate, but by many others as well. When you push yourself in training - past the point of wanting to give up - a growing process takes place. The deeper aspects of karate start to reveal themselves once you have developed this kind of discipline and "stick with it". Ultimately, with time, "Shin Gi Tai" becomes more than the sum of its parts, and has many benefits for not just karate, but life in general. The philosophical and moral benefits are certainly among the higher goals in budo. It certainly reminds me of the purpose of karate training that my fellow students and I repeated aloud before and after every class -

"Not to conquer others but to conquer the weaknesses within oneself."- From the JIKC Karate opening ceremony

Be sure to read the article above for an in-depth treatment on the subject. Training for Shin Gi Tai - maintaining the connection between mind and body through challenging training techniques - is the goal of "hojo undo", or supplementary exercises, that have their roots in Okinawa. Michael Clarke has also written extensively on the subject, including a book titled "The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate". I have written up a short article about the book at the page below -

http://www.johnstonkarate.com/2013/01/recommended-book-art-of-hojo-undo.html

The author has also written a book about Shin Gi Tai. The book is available through his publisher's website -

http://ymaa.com/publishing/book/karate/shin-gi-tai

Supplementary Posts, page 3

Dirty Boxing

In martial arts, timing, misdirection, feints and so forth are indeed very important. Below is a video that details dirty boxing. The check hook that is mentioned in the below video has been successfully used by many boxers, such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. The video demonstrates how to set up for it and other methods. Notice how the subtle body twisting and evasion up close sets up for the misdirection, intercepting your opponent's intentions, and counter punches. This all makes for great ways to drill in-fighting. The guy shows how to set up for an overhand right, and later, a shoulder push that sets up for a hook - it reminded me of the ways I teach my students to set up for and utilize "blind spots" when practicing their dirty boxing. Of course, it takes a lot of practice and awareness of subtle body movements, and being loose in sparring drills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UqOGaefy_E