Self-Defense? Or a Trophy?

After training in Okinawa/Japanese karate, kobudo, self-defense, samurai arts, and jujutsu for a half of a century, it never ceases to amaze me that there are martial arts schools handing out black belts to people who have little idea of how to defend themselves. I don't know if this is just a mis-understanding by their instructors, or if there are that many martial arts schools teaching bad curriculum. Anyway, after stopping for breakfast at a cafe near Home Depot in Mesa just west of Country Club and north of Baseline this past September (2015), my wife and I dropped into a nearby store. The owner noticed I was wearing a martial arts shirt and told me about her kids. She and her husband sent them to a martial arts school where then learned sport karate, won trophies and earned 2nd degree black belts before being bullied in school and finding they had no idea how to defend themselves. I was shocked to hear this, but I've heard similar stories. In fact, I was just talking to a member at Lifetime Fitness. This person had signed up with her two kids to take Taekwondo and paid fees for 2nd degree black belts, and she indicated she too, had little idea of how to defend herself. She said they were never taught what to do if a mugger walks up and grabs them, puts a knife to their throat, or a gun to their head. This is not unusual in the sport martial arts.

Gun defense training in Mesa, Arizona

I grew up in martial arts, and never heard of such thing as paying in advanced for a martial arts rank - this is a new marketing ploy by many martial arts schools. Most never reach the yudansha (black belt) level: it's not that they can't attain a black belt, its just that few people have the necessary commitment. When people start in martial arts, they need to understand it is a lifelong endeavor and they need to train for the rest of their lives, teach martial arts, and be active. Possibly, this whole problem with a lack of ability to defend oneself, or having a doubts, goes back to the Japanization of Okinawa karate.

Several years ago, I taught an all-day self-defense clinic to a group of Taekwondo martial arts instructors and school owners from western Wyoming and Eastern Idaho who ranked from 1st degree black belt to 5th degree black belt and it was the first time any of them had been introduced to self-defense! Yes, they could all compete for trophies, had great kicks, but they were unsure of themselves when it came to someone grabbing them, etc. Over the years, I've had many black belts come in to learn karate after being in other systems. Most do not come with an open mind and it takes time to change their sport karate bias (if they last long enough). But I've had students from taekwondo and kempo karate stay in our system and become successful and positive martial artists.

About 3 to 4 years ago, I had two 1st degree black belts from a Mesa taekwondo school sign up for our traditional karate classes because they wanted to learn how to use their hands, even though they had great kicks. I never studied taekwondo, so, I honestly do not know that much about the martial art, but this was one of the more unusual requests I had received.

We also heard from another from Dallas who indicated he was frustrated at the schools in the area. They all required contracts (none were cheap) and each guaranteed their kids would earn a certain black belt within a specific time frame. In my experience, each person is different and takes a different amount of time to reach certain levels that cannot be guaranteed, but so much for that.

We often hear stories like this and its because some people teaching do not have credentials, others have a diploma from the Kick, Punch and Block karate association or something similar, and many others have little experience, but are good as selling used cars and contracts for martial arts students. About 80 to 90% of the instructors teaching karate, MMA, etc., have few of any qualifications. So beware!

So, when you are looking to start classes at any school, ask to see the instructors diplomas and find out if they have really trained in martial arts and whether they either purchased a diploma or self-promoted themselves. 

And for a very simple method to check out the instructor and school - just do a 'BING' and a 'GOOGLE' search on the instructor, the school, the type of martial art and the martial arts association. If it still sounds good to you, sign up.

Otherwise, you may be the next 2nd degree black belt who can't defend themselves on campus or on the street.

Here are some videos I recommend watching - particularly women who are looking for self-defense training:

Nuns Kick the Habit

Self-Defense in the Old Days

Age and Martial Arts in Arizona

Want to be active and live to be more than a 100? Move from Arizona to Okinawa! If you can’t move to Okinawa, watch calories, eat well, train hard and take evening walks.

There is a misconception in Arizona that martial arts are only for children. When I started training in martial arts in the 1960s, it was unheard of to see children in karate. So what happened?

 The misconception probably began with programs like Little Ninjas. Today, people train at almost any age and as many as 50 million people train in Okinawan karate, worldwide. I’ve had students in their mid- to late-80s training in karate and kobudo (my oldest was in his early 90s): one in particular, a professor at the University of Wyoming, had the fastest reflexes of all my students. So there is no upper age limit.

 How about kids? If you find a good instructor, kids can start very young (it’s recommended to start them young). My youngest was 3 years of age from Mesa, Arizona. But one major problem with children is attention span and maturity, so I suspect the best way to judge if a child is ready for martial arts is to determine if they can handle an entire class (45 to 60 minutes) without losing focus. If they can, it may be time to start them – just be cautious! There are a large number of martial arts schools that have no evidence of lineage (it is suggested as many as 80 to 85% have no proof of lineage or proper certification). And personally, I would also be very concerned about starting a child in judo, jujutsu, ninjutsu and aikido as these martial arts focus on joint manipulation. 

 A recent study on the elderly of Okinawa led to the access of more than 600 Okinawan centenarians. The research indicated Okinawans enjoy the longest average life-span in the world while having relatively good personal health throughout their lives. The study also indicated Okinawan people have the lowest frequency of the three leading killers of Westerners: coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer. Could this good health be a result of favorable Okinawan genetics?

 The research suggests Okinawan longevity is more a result of life-style choices of Okinawa people; particularly since Japanese people outside of Okinawa do not show the same increased benefits, and Okinawans who have been Westernized fall prey to the same health issue issues as Western people.

 Compared to Westerners, Okinawans age more slowly and are 80% less likely to get heart disease. They're also 25% less likely to be afflicted with breast or prostate cancer, they have a 50% lower risk of contracting colon cancer and they are less likely to get dementia. On average, Okinawan people spend 97% of their lives free of disabilities. These benefits are likely a result of diet and exercise.

Pencil sketch of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi – father
of modern karate.

Okinawans have learned the value of pushing away from the dinner table. An Okinawan rule ‘hara hachi bu’ (eat until 80% full) provides a guideline to limit daily calorie intake. Another Okinawan guideline: ‘eat mostly plants’ is very beneficial. The typical Okinawan diet includes green and yellow vegetables, some whole grains, tofu, fish and other legumes. Little sugar, meat, and very little dairy is in their diet. For those of you in Wyoming, this could be an obstacle. When I gave up red meat while a resident of Wyoming three decades ago, I often received strange looks from ranchers when I turned down steak dinners. Most thought I had a few marbles missing.

 The Okinawan people exercise daily in their labors in the fields, gardens and on fishing boats. And being that karate and kobudo originated on Okinawa, a significant percentage of the Ryukyu island chain population trains several times a week. And Okinawan karate and kobudo have been shown to be exceptional for burning calories. Past studies prove intense karate training burns more calories per hour than any other form of exercise. But karate should be practiced with the philosophy of Tim the Tool Man Taylor – with more power!

So what are the benefits to eating right and training all your life in karate and kobudo? The great majority of Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate masters from the Shuri-te systems have lived to be very old, not only because of their healthy diets but also because they remained active in martial arts. It’s been rumored this does not hold for martial artists from Naha-te systems: naha-te martial artists are rumored to die younger due to intensity of ibuki (breathing). But there are no statistics that I’m aware of to prove this one way or another.

There are many examples of elderly Okinawan karate practitioners. Visit the link of Soke Seikichi Uyehara demonstrating a kata. At 88 in 1992, he was quite agile. Soke Uyehara ended up living to be 100 and taught martial arts to the day he passed on!

Another Shorin-Ryu martial artist, Sensei Teru Hendrey an instructor of Yamashita Shorin-Ryu Karate is still teaching karate. Sensei Hendrey was born to an Okinawan family of samurai lineage in 1927. She was exposed to martial arts in 1941 and began a study of Shorin-Ryu Karate in the late 1980s while in her 60s. She is now 86 with godan (5th dan) certification in Shorin-Ryu. Tadashi Yamashita himself was born in Japan in 1942 and is active teaching Shorin-Ryu karate and works as a stunt coordinator for Hollywood at the age of 71. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the world at any age, who could punch harder than Yamashita.

Another martial artist - Shugoro Nakazato began studying Shorin-Ryu Karate as a student of Chosin Chibana (Hanshi Chibana lived to be 83) in 1935 at the age of 16. He is now ranked as judan (10th dan) and head of the Shorinkan Shorin-Ryu karate system at the age of 94.

One of many paths on Okinawa. When we think of traditional karate,
we think of karate-do. The way (or path) of karate. Photo by Jesse Bergkamp.

A prominent Kendoka on Okinawa is Sensei Moriji Mochida who reportedly trains daily at the age of 90. Another Okinawan, Sensei Keiko Fukuda began studying judo in 1935 under Jigoro Kano, the father of judo, and has been training and teaching judo for many years. Sensei Keiko is a judan (10th dan) in judo and 99 years young.

Shoshin Nagame, Soke, taught Shorin-Ryu Karate until he died at 90. Nagame was a soke of Shorin-Ryu and author of a couple of significant books on karate.

The father of Japanese Karate, Gichin Funakoshi, introduced Shorin-Ryu Karate (with Anko Itosu) to the rest of Japan. He passed away at the age of 88 and his system of Shorin-Ryu was renamed Shotokan Karate to honor of the great master (Funakoshi had a pen name of Shoto). There are photos on the internet and even a few movie clips of Funakoshi teaching karate at a very late age. At the time Funakoshi was introducing karate to Japan, another great Okinawan master – Anko Itosu, the person responsible for the Pinan katas, introduced karate to Okinawan schools (early 20th century). Itosu died at the age of 83 or 84.

As far as the Naha-te martial arts masters, it would be interesting to have someone compile statistics on longevity. The first karate I studied was kokusinkai developed by Sosai Mas Oyama. Kokusinkai was basically a modification of goju-ryu, a naha-te style of karate. Oyama died at an early age of 70 for a martial artist. But he was not Okinawan: instead was Korean who had been assimilated by Japanese society and changed his name to a Japanese name. There are suggestions his style of karate may provide underlying health problems which stem from ibuki (deep breathing) taught in some kata and due to many injuries and concussions suffered by kokushinkai martial artists. But Oyama’s early passing could also be a result of fighting bulls and trees with his bare hands. He was also known to travel the world taking on any fighters.

Two other great grandmasters of Naha-te and Goju-Ryu karate were Chojun Miyagi a very powerful Okinawan martial artist who died at the early age of 65 and Gogen (the cat) Yamaguchi, who was not born on Okinawa; even so, he lived to be 80.

Earning a Black Belt in Martial Arts in Arizona

Most novices and martial artists (deshi) in Arizona think of black belt (yudansha) as a symbol of the highest level of martial arts. But, it's simply another step some people reach in martial arts training in Arizona and only represents a beginning – meikyo okuden – of the entrance to the secrets of martial arts. For a martial arts instructor (budo sensei) it is a time of joy as we reward a martial artist for their commitment and accomplishments; but at the same time, it is a very sad time.  As instructors, this is also a time we say goodbye (sayonara) to many martial artists as we may never see them again.

The black belt represents a quandary to the awarding martial arts instructor (sensei). What will be the path of this student in the upcoming days? Will they decide to end their path in martial arts? It is a real problem because most people quit at this point, yet they have only reached the beginning in their martial arts training.

In legitimate martial arts schools, one does not buy a black belt. However, there are many mall-type schools that require a contract guaranteeing a black belt rank at the end of the contract. In traditional martial arts, one must earn rank - not buy it. One of my students recently told a story about a student who signed up for karate. This student was surprised he could just buy a black belt (yudansha obi) at the local martial arts school. When he inquired about buying one, he was told that he would have to fight the head instructor. It sunk in - he would have to train like everyone else to be certified as a black belt.

The amount of time it takes to earn a black belt depends more on the individual. Some can earn the rank in 2 years, others could take as much as 5 years or more. So one must be dedicated. But not only is it a great workout, it also leads one to develop skills for self-defense and positive thinking.

Unfortunately, the shodan (1st degree black belt) certificate often comes with invisible “STOP” sign to signify the end of a person's martial arts training. But this is not what it is suppose to be, it is suppose to be the beginning.

Martial arts should be a lifetime investment. Even at the 3rd and 4th degree black belt level, one still has much to learn. When one reaches Shihan (master of martial arts) level at 5th and 6th degree, one becomes smart enough to recognize they have a lot to learn: at higher levels you start to grasp how much you don‟t know.

"There is no end to learning martial arts - only a beginning".

We all know someone who was awarded a black belt and we see them for one or two more classes before they disappear. For those of us in Arizona, we've seen too many examples. It's such a problem that I even know of one major martial arts association that now provides expiration dates on all black belt diplomas simply because they believe a person cannot be a black belt unless they are training and/or teaching. I don't believe this is the answer. The answer lies within.

Some estimates suggest handing out a black belt certificate ends a career of 50% of all martial artists – it's a disease. The cause of this I believe occurs when one sets a goal to “earn a black belt” . This is a ticking time bomb to end a martial arts career!

"There are many paths to the top of Mt Fuji, but it only has one summit"

As a youth, I was completely bored in school. So bored I accidentally stumbled on a method of affirmation and goal setting. I would stare out the classroom window all day and day-dreamed about doing things, being someone. As you can imagine, I ended up on the teacher's naughty list with grades reflecting a lack of interest. I would place myself in imaginary roles. It was the only way I could get through the suffering of boredom. By the time I got to high school, some of my daydreams began to lead me by the hand.



My 60s rock n' roll band

The Beatle's invaded America: I imagined myself in a popular rock n‟ roll band. Another week or another day, I was an astronomer investigating the universe. I signed up for karate lessons and while bored in school, I dreamed of being a martial arts instructor. In these dreams, I was a 3rd degree black belt (sandan) (this was because my first two instructors were sandans). In other day-dreams, I was a prospector who explored old mines and ghost towns. It was the typical dreams of many kids, but the difference - I was so bored that my dreams came back every day as an escape, and slowly developed into affirmations and life long goals without my realizing it. They gave me a direction.

Later in life, a friend lent me some tapes entitled “Investment in Excellence”. It was a self-help program for goal setting. What I had done throughout public school was exactly what this person was promoting as goal setting. I had set up positive affirmations of what I wanted to do and these affirmations and visions worked their way into my subconscious until they actually starting guiding me towards those goals. I had accomplished essentially everything I wanted to accomplish in life because of the day dreams.  I became a professional musician, an astronomer, a writer, a geologist, an artist, a public speaker and a martial arts instructor.

Teaching Karate at the University of Utah

Martial arts captured many day-dreams. I wanted to be like my instructors (3rd degree black belts/sensei). This is where I realized goal setting can limit accomplishments, so be careful of what you dream.

By placing a goal dreams of achieving a 3rd degree black belt, this provided a STOP sign that I could not get pass until I met a martial arts grandmaster while I was teaching at a university! I believe this is the problem for the majority of people who receive 1st degree black belts. Many set the goal of achieving a black belt. Once this is accomplished, they have made their goal and they done. So one must set a much higher goal - such as reaching the level of martial arts instructor or shihan (master instructor).



Karate at the University of New Mexico

After I was promoted to sandan in the '70s, I had little reason to achieve anything else in martial arts other than the dream of teaching martial arts. I taught martial arts at four universities, and it wasn't until I met this grandmaster (soke) in 1990 that I discovered I had attached a STOP sign to my goal. This martial arts instructor gave me new goals and when I was promoted to yondan (4th degree black belt) the flood gates opened. I had a new path.

The Investment in Excellence program was a method of goal setting I already had been following without realizing. Still, the program provided me a means to write down goals. When there were roadblocks I had no control over that forced me to re-evaluate some personal goals, such as my rock n' band falling apart, and later in life, working for a full-blown psychopath at the Wyoming Geological Survey. I had to change my goals (this was not easy), but I found new paths.

Is your martial arts path leading you to an open or a closed gate?

We can't always control our path, but we can create goals to help us find a path or a new path around a road block. You don't need to plan how to get to those goals, you just need to provide the point you are looking to reach and then just let your mind find the to that end point over time.

Visualize what you want to be and don't place limits. Write down your goals and revisit them often until your subconscious achieves them (it can take a year or a several years, but it will happen if you set the right positive goals).

As a martial artist, do not set a goal to achieve a black belt. If this is your goal and once achieved, your mind will think you are done. Instead visualize being a master instructor (shihan) or higher. Write down a positive affirmation such as “I am a shihan and 5th dan black belt and operate a very successful martial arts school”.

University of Wyoming Martial Arts, 1999.

Another goal you should set for yourself is to teach martial arts. You cannot even grasp martial arts until you teach them. This is a major step in martial arts education that requires one to be able to take apart techniques and understand them. It is a time of martial arts enlightenment.

Open a martial arts school. Unless you are a wizard at business, you might rent space at a local church, school, college, or gymnasium. I taught martial arts at four universities, but also taught at several gyms. Gyms are a good place to start, but there are many uncontrollable problems (as there are at universities and colleges). Most have little regard for martial arts programs and consider then very low priority. You will seldom get help from management unless the manager sees potential for bringing in new gym members. If you are at a university, you chances of survival can be good unless you find a director of martial arts clubs who loves being in control, or doesn't care about your program. No matter where you teach, it will take 4 to 5 years to build up a good group of students. After you have a place to teach, have liability insurance, and liability forms, start with 1 or 2 classes per week - don't feel let down when no one shows up – it happens. I tried teaching at Arizona State University, and found the bureaucracy was a roadblock, so I went out on my own.

When I first started teaching, there were nights that I was the only person. But it gave me personal time to train. I also trained where in gyms where there was high visibility as a way to advertise and resulted in potential students asking about martial arts. When I taught at the University of Wyoming a few years ago, I was able to build up the group to more than 150 members and received national and international awards. But this took 20 years. Offer to teach public self-defense seminars to get recognition (at a modest fee). Look for any reason to send out a press release on activities.

Build a website. Find other outlets, and don't give up. You can supplement your martial arts school with a wholesaler license from a martial arts supplies outlet. Nearly all are willing to give wholesaler discounts.

Be a dreamer!

Induction into another martial arts Hall of Fame