So we just finished training after a night of focusing on the usual hojo undo, conditioning, and kata, kata and more kata (or maybe more corrections than kata). Tonight however, slightly more extra “bits and pieces” were integrated. By that I mean things we don’t typically do as we are preparing a few students for their up-and-coming grading. Weird and wonderful stuff such as model-like pirouettes on the cat walk, loud kiais – or maybe standard for the regular karateka, but having our dojos connected to our homes, such energy and noise discharge has often resulted in the neighbours staring out their windows ready to call the cops on us, hence why we don’t often let out the loud KIAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII – Olympics anyone?
Yep, I know I know, and I know you know – and the ones in the karate world close to us all know, how gradings, rank and all that other shihan stuff OOOOSSSSU don’t, and will never mean much to us minority as it does for the masses out there. So why work on these bits and pieces solely for a grading then?
Our gradings over in Okinawa have always been a unique experience and very fortunately, have always partaken in ones for the locals, not them massive laughable gaijin ones. Anyway, one of our earliest gradings I remember, we were told that we had to incorporate that little spin, step, and walk off kind of move after completing kata. So here we were in Okinawa, the homeland of Karate learning how to walk and pirouette. I had thought that performing kata alone in front of a panel of senior instructors was intimidating, well executing these newly learnt spin and walk moves correctly made me crap boulders larger than your Aunt Betty! Not only are certain etiquette and “bits and pieces” performed at gradings over there, but also formal group events, gasshukus (Yeah I know they suck…) and so on.
The three of us all have the hope, or what seems at the moment, a distant dream that one day our students can go to Okinawa and experience the wonders for themselves too. So, in a way, we simply want to share what we have experienced and replicate what they may encounter- when that day comes who really knows? Will that day ever come? Hopefully, and the sooner the better!