The End

I wish I had something interesting to write...but I don't. I have over 160 posts here and I feel at this point that it is time to stop. I think I have said all I can say and much of my writing is beginning to repeat itself. For anyone just wandering in there is way too much for them to read in order to play catch up, never mind also reading anything new that I would write. I feel that without having followed me from the start it is too easy to misinterpret me and not fully "get it."

This actually turned out to be much more than I had originally intended. I only meant to jot down a few notes! Anyway, I think it has run its course and I am bringing it to a close. I have a few things going on in my life that deserve my attention and my time would be better spent seeing to these things. I really don't feel there is much more to say. My blog isn't really accomplishing anything anyway...nothing of great importance. For anyone who has contacted me for advice or anything of that nature, my email is always open and I will do the best I can to help. But the blog has reached its end. I will leave it up but I won't contribute anymore.

Maybe this is good...now there is a beginning and an end.

Keep training and stay smart. Ask the important questions and know your goals. Do whatever it is that makes you happy as long as it's what you want to do. Be careful that your training isn't set up to make you "think" it's what you want. By the time you find out it's wrong it may be too late...bad habits develop fast.
Be well and feel free to contact me at: tnt730@yahoo.com

Tommy Pressimone

You Say Hello And I say Goodbye

If you study Shotokan karate you will more than likely begin to judge all other karateka by their form. A long low stance will become important as will correct lines and posture.
However, if you practice an Okinawan form of karate, such things may not be so important. While corrections might be made concerning certain points of your kata or your form/kihon they may not be as exact as in Shotokan’s criteria.

So who is correct? The Shotokan stylist will cling to the idea that a perfect stance and minute adjustments down to the last 1/4 inch are important while the Okinawan practitioner will pay little mind to such aesthetics. We can say that one form is for survival while the other is for appearance or sport. Shotokan/Japanese systems are new while the Okinawan styles are the root. Does the child instruct the father?


T. Pressimone
© 2009

What Makes "You" Feel Proud?

Watching a class in a more eclectic style of martial arts I gazed at the visiting “head honcho” and was forced to wonder. As everyone bowed down to him and stood in awe of his presence and rank, I had to wonder what was going through his mind. Seeing as he was just a fat little turd with no real fighting experience and a rank fabricated by his cronies, I wondered if he felt good inside. How could he look at himself in the mirror and face the fact that despite his high rank he was only a human display case for a karate belt?

Everyone looked up to him as the master but he couldn’t perform…he never could! The rank was a political thing and had nothing to do with actual experience. Personally I couldn’t live with that. That is why I follow the course that I do. At the moment I have the respect of my peers. The respect I have isn’t due to rank and/or the assumption that I know what I’m doing. The respect isn’t because my peers or those below me think I must be a killing machine and wonder what it would be like to see me in action. It’s not because they assume I don’t do anything because they think it would be too dangerous. It “is” because I do it every training session and I actually put myself out there on the firing line. I actually get in there and fight for real, deal with the black eyes and swollen face, bruised shins and thighs, and all the rest of the aches and pains. I have been approached about my fighting and knowledge by my peers and complimented as well as having proven my self on the mat as they say. To me, that is worth more than any rank or stature that equates to me sitting (kneeling) in front of a class giving me the oohs and ahhs. Traditional karate taught me well but at the same time it held me back. I always felt I was better and could do more if they let me. The “system” didn’t let me. I could go only as far as they allowed never really showing my true potential for fighting and self defense. Beyond “me” I also saw the potential for what karate had to offer but again got stymied by the system. I am real…I want to be remembered as real…I want to be respected as real… I want to look inside myself and feel I’ve proven myself for real and not by a piece of parchment or a fancy belt. After all, why should I mislead the students? Why should I lie to myself?

T. Pressimone
© 2009

The Future of Traditional Karate (the rebirth?)

Traditional karate has seen a change over the past few years in many dojo. In a good many schools the student base is made up of kids below teen years and kindergarten age and at the other end adults. The adults in many instances are the parents of the children. The prime age of mid teens to mid 20’s seems to have disappeared opting for MMA or BJJ. Could this be the downfall of karate? I don’t think so.

What I see happening in the future is a return of the traditional arts although probably in a modified version. The old ways will probably remain intact and hold onto their newer clientele of children whose parents are seeking to add some structure and discipline to their children’s life. And the older crowd will also remain as some of the same focus and discipline attributes will appeal to them as will the exercise and cultural aspects.

But what about the fighting and self defense concerns for traditional karate? If we take a close look at some of the traditional karate schools we can already see signs of them trying to keep up. The addition of ground fighting or similar grappling techniques have been surfacing more and more and with claims of it having always been there. This has already been addressed so I won’t get into it here; but this isn’t so. Unless your kata has you fall to the floor and mimic fighting from the ground….it isn’t there. But I digress.
This still hasn’t stopped the current perception of karate being less valid for real fighting than MMA or Muay Thai or the like. Karate is really taking a beating these days, and rightfully so in most cases. As I have proposed all through this blog, I think karate can be valid and that it contains many techniques and tactics than can be utilized to a fighter’s advantage. However as I have also stated, it depends how you train these things and most times the stylization of a karate system will hold you back. But an open mind, hard and proper training methods and a deeper understanding can actually help you.

As we progress into the coming years traditional karate systems wishing to keep their self respect as a valid fighting method will more than likely begin to go the way of styles such as Daido Juku/Kudo. The modern dojo will probably be a hybrid of karate strategies and training combined with more modern MMA type training and ground work. In these new dojo kata may become a thing of the past. In other cases new kata may be developed that fit modern day fighting methods and are more relevant to today. Maybe they won’t get as intricate as BJJ but they may touch on it a little more. But even the ones that don’t; I think they will become more like Kyokushin and go full contact. Even Kyokushin itself might start to add the face contact back into the mix. People will start to realize the great potential of traditional karate taught in the Japanese fashion of strict discipline and rigid training. The Okinawan systems fall more into the category of self defense and may just remain comfortable there. But the Japanese styles translate better into sport fighting as they many times forego the Okinawan attention to kata application and focus more on single techniques (a glorified kickboxing). Things such as tai sabaki (body shifting), distancing and timing, building a strong spirit, cultivating a sacrificing mind and attributes like this will soon become appealing to fighters looking for new approaches to their training. Modify karate’s kicking and blend it with Muay Thai kicking methods and I think you have a valid weapon. Combine karate’s straight punching methods with MMA and boxing type of handwork and you add another valuable tool to your toolbox. After all straight punching is a better option when takedowns are a threat. The less punches in a combo the better. Stability, balance and a strong base built by strong stances can also become appealing to the newer breed. Lastly, it may be the traditional mind and mindset that becomes attractive. Many fighters already follow the writings of Miyamoto Musashi from his “Book of Five Rings.”
I know what makes me a bit different from most of my MMA training partners. I know what I have taken from my karate training and what (with a little adapting and removal of the style constraints) has aided me in my transition. Using what karate has to offer and progressing into the future just might be close at hand. Daido Juku may just be the beginning. Rebirth.

We shall see….time will tell.



T. Pressimone

©2009

The Evolution of Tommy P

I think I've touched on this already somewhere here but I would like to brief through it once more, albeit in a somewhat simplified version, to mark a one year anniversary of sorts. In two weeks I will have been training with my MMA club for one year. That is one year since I left formal karate and two years since I stopped teaching. I began my journey in martial arts because I liked the fighting. Over the years that was my main focus. Not sport fighting but fighting for self protection or street fighting. Throughout my training I of course took on all the other martial arts attributes and as I got older and more mature I obviously wasn't getting into fights anymore. But my goals never changed...however much of karate did. The Shotokan organization I was with took a turn toward tournament type of karate after my instructor became ill and closed the main dojo (his) which is where I trained. The new chief instructor under my teacher took the organization in a direction that was a bit too soft for me. I had already been training in Kyokushin also for many years so I just focused more on that. The fighting there was very hard and for a long while it kept me satisfied.

But looming in the background was the ever growing MMA and being a fighter all my life I was aware of its validity. Karate is standup for the most part and that is fine. After all so is Muay Thai and no one would question their ability to defend themselves. I pity the fool who attempts to rob a good Muay Thai fighter in a parking lot after a movie or something. But Muay Thai doesn't focus on ground fighting. Karate doesn't either and if you look at karate from a self defense standpoint rather than "sport" then the lack of ground fighting becomes less of an issue. Of course taking into consideration you are training your karate in a valid and progressive manner. But then that is what this blog is all about…isn’t it? I am aware that fights are messy affairs and ending up on the ground is common, but I've addressed that issue elsewhere and won't go over it again. See my article HERE.

I have always been about "fighting" and self protection. This means the asshole in a bar or some jerk who swears you cut ahead of him on line at a crowded amusement park and wants to start some shit, or the guy who accosts you in a dark parking lot etc. I just want to be ready to fight...or get away! Ok, I haven't hung around in bars in years but the mindset and goals remain the same. In my Kyokushin training although it was bare-knuckle and lacked the use of shin or foot pads or any protection for that matter, and contained all the head kicks, leg kicks, knees and face/head contact with kicks etc, it didn't allow punches to the head or face. This is because it is too easy compared to getting a foot up there covering all that distance. Kicks usually get partially blocked while straight karate punches get through pretty easy and it's a bloody mess. Anyway, the point is that I wanted more and needed to progress. I was progressing right out of organized systems. The system kept me confined by style constraints and form issues and all that. I was more interested after all these years in expanding my knowledge of fighting and my skill before time ran out. There were too many things I saw valid from other systems as well as other fighting methods that I couldn’t bring with me to the dojo. Again “system” constraints and stylization.

Enter MMA
I started out with a few months of BJJ to get used to rolling around on the ground and to see what it is I would have to defend against. I made it clear that I had no interest in becoming a ground fighter or rank or any of that. I'm not about sport and I'm only interested in learning how to "not' go down. Or if I do....to get back up quickly. On the ground is where I want my attacker to be, and not get up...and without me down there with him. Eventually I ended up also working on my own self trained MMA style training in my garage, combined with the BJJ and my Kyokushin training. After about 7 months or so I dropped the BJJ and eventually the Kyokushin. I found an MMA club nearby and have been there since. But my goals haven't changed. I'm still not training for sport. Yes, I do want to get in the cage at least once before I get beyond a reasonable point of being able to do it. But it is more of a matter of "testing" myself and being real than it is for being a sport competitor. It makes Tommy' Ps karate/martial arts (and current training) "valid."

I don't really concern myself too much with learning ground fighting. That is because that is more important for those who go down and stay there in an effort to win by submission. That is sport. In the street I would want to get back up before my enemy's friends start kicking my head in. I wouldn't be shooting in on someone and risking my knee against the concrete of the ground. I wouldn't be on the ground fighting for a submission. I would be "avoiding" going down and focusing on putting my attacker down. I would be getting back up if I was put down. I understand that in order to do that I need to know what it is I'm defending. That is why I do familiarize myself with some of the tactics and techniques etc. I just don't focus on it as if I am out to win a contest. More important to me is a good clinch game. Wrestling would be a close second; from there it is a few techniques on the ground enough to deal with the situation should it happen in the street.

If I fought in the cage my game would be mostly standup with ground as a backup should I end up there. But again my efforts would be on getting back up...not submission. The sport aspect doesn't really interest me as far as goals. I am involved with the sport end though....I have to be at least by association. I follow MMA and read the magazines as well as watch the fights. I am behind our team and look forward to competing myself. And I also train in the same manner as the rest of the MMA sporting world. It is just that my goals are different. MMA has become my base for training as it is the closest representation of a street fight. This allows me to take my martial arts to the next logical level. It makes me somewhat like the Muay Thai example I used earlier approached by a thug. The only difference is that I am also prepared should I hit the ground be that by trip, slip on ice, punch or tackle during the fight. I am completing myself as a martial artist. This is where “my” karate has led me. It is no longer stylized. It is all part of my evolution. As I said when I first started this blog; with my very first scribbling on my webpage. It’s all about progression….. “growth”

T. Pressimone

What Are We Hiding From?

In days of old when kata were transmitted there were many techniques within them that were disguised. These hidden techniques were supposedly the secrets of a system or the fighter’s special preferences. They were closely guarded and understandably so because you don’t want your enemy to learn all your tricks!
The problem today is that the kata are still practiced the same way. When a student learns a kata he wonders what all the movements mean. Usually an odd looking movement may come into question and eventually he will be allowed to know the “secret.” “This technique isn’t actually what it looks like….it is really…”
Why is this? What are we hiding from in this day and age? Unravel the kata, expose the true techniques and practice it that way. If I bring a cake to your prison cell with a file hidden within, it will do you no good unless you take it out!! When I do my kata I do it with the hidden stuff brought out of hiding. I do it as I would use it. But wait a minute Tommy! I thought you don’t do kata anymore ….what’s this?
This is partially true, I don’t. But it isn’t that simple.

I retain about five kata. That doesn’t mean I *practice* five; only that I retain them. Out of that five there are two I actually practice and consider useful. Those are Sanchin and Tensho. If I had to choose only two kata to keep it would be those; if the choice was one it would be Sanchin. There is much to be learned from Sanchin and much that is applicable to fighting. I’m not talking about application in the classical sense but more of the inner workings of the kata. Its exercise value is a whole other issue. Tensho follows a close second. To explain would take a book so I won’t get into it here. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But let me just say that I think these two kata are the keys or the cornerstones of all else that is karate. They are the starting point from which to progress. These kata I practice seriously and daily (for the most part).

The next kata is Naihanchi. This kata isn’t really practiced as are Sanchin and Tensho but I do (during the course of the day) perform a few techniques or sequences from the kata; most times in no particular order. I mix and match according to my imagined attack scenario. Sometimes I’ll do the whole kata intact but it has my modifications. Also, I will unveil the hidden kicks, the hidden punch as well as at times the takedown, rather than performing the kata as if my enemy was watching. This kata actually has some benefit as far as my fighting style goes and I have used its principles in my MMA drills. Again “not specific application,” but principles (* See Motobu’s fighting drills). In a recent training session my partner asked what the hell I was doing that was bruising up his forearms. It was the dropping of my own forearm on his and making use of Naihanchi type blocking while in close. But I don’t practice “the solo kata” for this. I “use” sections as kihon (basics). I also like to add a bit of “muchimi” to this kata as well at certain points.

Other than those kata the only other kata I might “mess around with” are Kanku Dai and Saifa. I like Saifa for its self defense value as well as being applicable for me in certain standup instances in my MMA training. Although I don’t make a habit of drilling all the techniques. And it is probably the kata of all five that gets the least attention or performance. Kanku dai is another story completely. This kata is sort of a play thing for me. I just call it Kusanku and have retooled it to fit my close fighting style and preferences. This kata I don’t apply in MMA but only mess around with it in a self defense related application. I sort of did away with the cat stances as I believe them to be weak and outdated. I use a more general stance and it is pretty natural. I only change my weight distribution and centering rather than my foot placement or making any drastic movements. I changed the first nukite (spearhand) to a high palm heel as it fits my self defense application better. I changed the couple of the block/punch combos before the last side kick to a reverse cover (again with a stickiness) and thrust taken from Mas Oyama as well as a couple of other changes to the overall theme. The kata now fits “me.” But like I said…I don’t make a “practice” of it. It is more of a fun thing. The kata is actually now more functional though. And it continues to evolve as needed. The three kata mentioned, Saifa, Kusanku and Naihanchi all cover pretty much “my” self defense techniques. They are my kihon. But I don’t dwell on them nor do I need them. For me Sanchin and Tensho are complete for my “fighting needs” and fundamentals. If I add to that a handful of techniques (blocks and strikes) that I use as basics (the ones I prefer and use for defense and fighting) and some escapes, locks, holds and takedowns and defenses learned over the years from wherever (or extracted from kata) then I’m ok for a more complete defense training. It’s all very simple.

When I practice any Kihon (basics) it is only a handful of techniques that I would use on the street as well as those I use in MMA. I don’t do endless basics or marching. When I practice application of anything it isn’t with a partner repeating a scenario. I practice it a little more realistically and live. I bring it into the ring when I train MMA and see what works when I have no idea what’s coming. I just fight with it and then I adjust it as needed.
Nothing is hidden, there is no need. I don’t practice low what should be high in actual application. I don’t do an elbow where a punch would be in actual application. I don’t “indicate” a kick and I don’t stylize anything. Everything is free flowing and has blurred lines. Keep in mind nothing is bound by style. It doesn't look or strive to be "karate-ish." Fundamentals and principles. No measurements or rules of performance and everything can be molded and made to fit to the user. Individuality based on sound fundamentals.

So, when I say that the statement "I don't practice kata" is partially true, and that it isn't so black and white; this is what I mean. Other than Sanchin and Tensho, I really don't. The other three I mentioned are not what I would call "practiced," although I do utilize certain aspects...well I think I explained all that already.
The point is that if I have anything to do with kata, I'm not concealing any techniques. I don't see the point.

T. Pressimone

Naihanchi/Tekki

I have long been somewhat of a fan of Choki Motobu. His book “Watashi no Karate-jutsu” which I believe was published in 1932 was very eye opening but at the same time a little disappointing. I’m not reviewing the book here so I won’t get into detail only saying that it hinted at some deep rooted suspicions of mine. Let me just say I never like to see karate against karate applications. But that isn’t the point here.

If we look at Motobu’s fighting drills we can see the relation to Naihanchi kata and how the strategies and defenses are taken directly from the techniques and principles of the kata. This differs entirely from most “applications” shown by instructors when it comes to kata in general. Normally what you get are specifics and techniques taken directly from a kata sequence and force fit into a defense. Looking at the fighting drills put together by Motobu we can clearly see how he has taken the techniques of the kata and formed them into live drills to be practiced with a partner utilizing the feel (and principle) and purpose of the kata rather than specifics as to what a particular sequence is doing. To me “that” is application. It is beyond the basic “bunkai” which in actuality is only analysis anyway. Let me also note that Motobu was noted as referring to Naihanchi as the “system’ of Naihanchi. This lends support to the idea that one kata can represent the ideas of a whole system. This would definitely change the outlook of “application.” Again, in my opinion, this falls right into Motobu’s fighting drills.

But here is my problem. It’s the sideways movement. I’m sorry but I have to go back to “you fight as you practice.” As tanren kata I can see Naihanchi being practiced to strengthen the knees in a sideways movement or strengthening the thighs or the delicate balance of the horse stance, posture, centering or whatever your imagination can come up with.

When it comes to application I like Motobu’s drills and I would say that, “that” is the application of the kata (or any kata for that matter) but there is still a problem. In that case, then the kata should move forward and not sideways to be applicable to fight practice rather than exercise. The drills (application) move forward and it stands to reason (by way of “you fight as you practice) that the form should follow the function. Moving sideways takes a good thing and screws it up in my opinion. It reverts that kata back to exercise and if that’s the case I can get more out of Sanchin and Tensho.

This is only one issue as far as my problem with kata and the way it is commonly practiced and understood. For every good reason I get for kata practice I can come up with something that disconnects the dots in relation to fighting. Naihanchi/Tekki has been said to be a fighting kata and it may have even been Motobu who said Naihanchi was pretty much all you need as it contains all fighting aspects. You know what? I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with him, “BUT” I would still have to say “Ok…then why not do the kata forward and back rather than side to side. Not to mention the hidden kicks, takedowns and the disguised face punch within the kata.

Pleeeeeeze don’t give me any fighting on a boat or against a wall crap!!!

T. Pressimone

© 2008