Iain Abernethy - The Practical Application Of Karate

Welcome to the longest podcast we have ever done! This month’s podcast follows on from last month’s on the grading system and the black belt. I received a lot of requests for more information on what I felt a syllabus should include and what a dan grade should be. So I picked up a copy of my syllabus and clicked the record icon on my laptop. The resulting “stream of consciousness” is this month’s podcast. The podcast is split into two halves. In the first half, I discuss the topics that I feel a holistic and pragmatic syllabus should include and why they are so important. I think it would be fair to say that the majority of martial arts syllabuses omit these things so I hope it provides some food for thought. The second part of the podcast discusses how my personal syllabus (which I keep private) is set up and the podcast also breaks down what we do for 9th kyu and 1st dan; and a little bit of what we cover as students make their way from one to the other. As I hope I made clear last month, I personally don’t believe that a universal and standardised criteria for dan grades is a good idea (listen to the podcast for the details of why I think that). So in that vein, I am not suggesting that what I do is what others must also do; nor am I suggesting that all syllabuses adopt the criteria I personally use. I do, however, hope that this discussion on what I personally do is helpful to you in structuring what you do. I hope you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with a standard length podcast next month! All the best, Iain

In this month’s podcast we discuss the always controversial subject of the grading system and the coveted black belt. On internet forums, message boards, and in the letters pages in the martial arts magazines we frequently find discussion on how standards are falling, the black belt does not mean what it once did and that there is no uniform standard anymore. So in this podcast I’d like to give my take on the black belt and the plusses and pitfalls associated with the grading system in general. I cover the origins of the black belt; how the grading system can encourage the pursuit of things that have no bearing on combative function; how the grading system can both encourage and discourage the inappropriate rise of ego; what could happen if we got rid of the grading system; the lack of standardisation in grading criteria (which I think is a good thing); what grades are legitimate; and many more of the issues surrounding the grading system.   This podcast also has a little bit of information on some of the exciting changes that will be coming to iainabernethy.com in the next few weeks! I hope that you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with a new one next month!   All the best,   Iain   PS The picture associated with this podcast is drawn by Lauren Fast and is of myself strangling Scott Knowles (the “official uke” of my recent Canadian trip) using a technique from Pinan Yodan. I’ll share high resolution versions of these with you in coming weeks, because they are amazing works of art! Thanks to James Freeman for arranging these pictures, to Lauren for drawing them … and to Scott for being happily strangled for a fortnight!     

In this month’s podcast we discuss the always controversial subject of the grading system and the coveted black belt. On internet forums, message boards, and in the letters pages in the martial arts magazines we frequently find discussion on how standards are falling, the black belt does not mean what it once did and that there is no uniform standard anymore. So in this podcast I’d like to give my take on the black belt and the plusses and pitfalls associated with the grading system in general. I cover the origins of the black belt; how the grading system can encourage the pursuit of things that have no bearing on combative function; how the grading system can both encourage and discourage the inappropriate rise of ego; what could happen if we got rid of the grading system; the lack of standardisation in grading criteria (which I think is a good thing); what grades are legitimate; and many more of the issues surrounding the grading system. This podcast also has a little bit of information on some of the exciting changes that will be coming to iainabernethy.com in the next few weeks! I hope that you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with a new one next month! All the best, Iain PS The picture associated with this podcast is drawn by Lauren Fast and is of myself strangling Scott Knowles (the “official uke” of my recent Canadian trip) using a technique from Pinan Yodan. I’ll share high resolution versions of these with you in coming weeks, because they are amazing works of art! Thanks to James Freeman for arranging these pictures, to Lauren for drawing them … and to Scott for being happily strangled for a fortnight!

In this podcast I’d like to explain how an individual kata can record a complete fighting system! There is a common view that individual kata are for specific circumstances, and it is only when all the kata are combined that we have a complete style. I think this is an incorrect and mistaken view; both from a practical and historical perspective. Surely, one kata can’t record a complete fighting system though? Well, in my view it can! You may be asking how a relatively small number of techniques can ever be considered to be a full system? Well if you are, listen to the podcast and I’ll do my best to explain my thinking to you! Kata are a lot deeper and much wider reaching than many people suppose. As part of this discussion we will also cover the nature of kata, how kata should be practised in order to realise its full potential, what some of the past masters had to say about kata and its application, and how and why kata were created in the first place. I hope you enjoy this latest offering and I’ll be back with a new workout podcast and online video next month! All the best, Iain

In this podcast I’d like to explain how an individual kata can record a complete fighting system! There is a common view that individual kata are for specific circumstances, and it is only when all the kata are combined that we have a complete style. I think this is an incorrect and mistaken view; both from a practical and historical perspective. Surely, one kata can’t record a complete fighting system though? Well, in my view it can! You may be asking how a relatively small number of techniques can ever be considered to be a full system? Well if you are, listen to the podcast and I’ll do my best to explain my thinking to you! Kata are a lot deeper and much wider reaching than many people suppose. As part of this discussion we will also cover the nature of kata, how kata should be practised in order to realise its full potential, what some of the past masters had to say about kata and its application, and how and why kata were created in the first place. I hope you enjoy this latest offering and I’ll be back with a new workout podcast and online video next month! All the best, Iain

This month’s podcast is a cardiovascular martial arts workout! It’s been a while since we have done a workout podcast and I’d been receiving lots of requests for one. All you need for this one is a little space and some light dumbbells. You then play the podcast and work along with it for a 23 minute training session that involves various cardiovascular exercises, muscular endurance exercises, and various types of shadow fighting! Before doing the workout, you should watch the video that goes with this podcast (found on the blog of iainabernethy.com if you are accessing this podcast via iTunes etc). This video has demonstrations of the key exercises and should make it clear what is required. IMPORTANT: If you are unsure of how to perform any of the exercises safely, effectively and efficiently then do not attempt this workout without first seeking instruction from a suitably qualified and experienced person. Also be sure to work at a suitable pace and immediately stop if you feel any undue pain or discomfort. The workout is cardiovascular and muscular endurance in nature and is time-based (i.e. each activity is engaged in for a given time). It is therefore important to work at a pace that allows you to keep moving for the duration of each section. If you find that you need to stop / take breaks because of exhaustion, then you need to reduce the pace at which you are working. I hope you enjoy the workout and find it a useful addition to your training program. I’ll be back with a normal podcast in a few weeks! All the best, Iain

This month’s podcast is a cardiovascular martial arts workout! It’s been a while since we have done a workout podcast and I’d been receiving lots of requests for one. All you need for this one is a little space and some light dumbbells. You then play the podcast and work along with it for a 23 minute training session that involves various cardiovascular exercises, muscular endurance exercises, and various types of shadow fighting! Before doing the workout, you should watch the video that goes with this podcast (found on the blog of iainabernethy.com if you are accessing this podcast via iTunes etc). This video has demonstrations of the key exercises and should make it clear what is required. IMPORTANT: If you are unsure of how to perform any of the exercises safely, effectively and efficiently then do not attempt this workout without first seeking instruction from a suitably qualified and experienced person. Also be sure to work at a suitable pace and immediately stop if you feel any undue pain or discomfort. The workout is cardiovascular and muscular endurance in nature and is time-based (i.e. each activity is engaged in for a given time). It is therefore important to work at a pace that allows you to keep moving for the duration of each section. If you find that you need to stop / take breaks because of exhaustion, then you need to reduce the pace at which you are working. I hope you enjoy the workout and find it a useful addition to your training program. I’ll be back with a normal podcast in a few weeks! All the best, Iain

It’s officially our 30th podcast! I say “officially” because we’ve done things like double-podcasts and workout podcasts in the past. Regardless, I’m classing this as our 30th podcast … and it’s my website so no one can stop me! Thanks to you all for your support of the podcasts. The amount of downloads is fantastic (and pushing our bandwidth limits!). I’m truly delighted that so many of you are finding these podcasts useful. This month I want to discuss what many seem to regard as the biggest secret in the martial arts! While there is no doubt that many martial artists are aware of this secret, there are very few who will publicly discuss it. Indeed, most will totally deny this highly influential secret and seem to regard it, and the influence it has, with great distain. Want to know what the secret is? Well I can pretty much guarantee it has a big impact on how you train. It certainly does with me. The picture that goes with this podcast (assuming you are viewing this on the blog of iainabernethy.com and not on i-tunes or elsewhere) also gives you a clue.  It’s myself and Dave Hazard at the recent British Combat Association residential course. Dave’s superb session certainly involved this rarely discussed “secret” aspect of the martial arts in large quantities. Still not sure what this secret is? Then I suggest you listen to the podcast! I hope you enjoy this podcast and I’ll be back with our 31st podcast in a few weeks! All the best, Iain

It’s officially our 30th podcast! I say “officially” because we’ve done things like double-podcasts and workout podcasts in the past. Regardless, I’m classing this as our 30th podcast … and it’s my website so no one can stop me! Thanks to you all for your support of the podcasts. The amount of downloads is fantastic (and pushing our bandwidth limits!). I’m truly delighted that so many of you are finding these podcasts useful. This month I want to discuss what many seem to regard as the biggest secret in the martial arts! While there is no doubt that many martial artists are aware of this secret, there are very few who will publicly discuss it. Indeed, most will totally deny this highly influential secret and seem to regard it, and the influence it has, with great distain. Want to know what the secret is? Well I can pretty much guarantee it has a big impact on how you train. It certainly does with me. The picture that goes with this podcast (assuming you are viewing this on the blog of iainabernethy.com and not on i-tunes or elsewhere) also gives you a clue.  It’s myself and Dave Hazard at the recent British Combat Association residential course. Dave’s superb session certainly involved this rarely discussed “secret” aspect of the martial arts in large quantities. Still not sure what this secret is? Then I suggest you listen to the podcast! I hope you enjoy this podcast and I’ll be back with our 31st podcast in a few weeks! All the best, Iain

Happy 2010 everyone! Is it just me or have the 10 years since the millennium flown by!? The passage of time is what inspired this first podcast of the new decade. In it I discuss the influence “history” can have on today’s martial practise. It is my view that history can lead to ever increasing efficiency and growth, or stagnation and death depending upon how we view the martial practises passed on to us through history. There are many different ways in which history can impact upon us and in this podcast I discuss the following: How important is it to be “historically accurate” with regards to kata bunkai? What is “traditional”? Should we faithfully preserve what has been passed on to us? How can we integrate modern developments and remain true to our martial heritage? How should we use “history” to ensure a positive future? Is the “historic way” or the “modern way” the best? And a few more issues relating to the positives and pitfalls when looking at the history of the martial arts. Thanks once again to all the regular listeners for your support of these podcasts! The number of listeners is growing all the time and I thank you for your continued support and for telling others about these programmes. I’ll be back with more next month! Enjoy! All the best, Iain

Happy 2010 everyone! Is it just me or have the 10 years since the millennium flown by!? The passage of time is what inspired this first podcast of the new decade. In it I discuss the influence “history” can have on today’s martial practise. It is my view that history can lead to ever increasing efficiency and growth, or stagnation and death depending upon how we view the martial practises passed on to us through history. There are many different ways in which history can impact upon us and in this podcast I discuss the following: How important is it to be “historically accurate” with regards to kata bunkai? What is “traditional”? Should we faithfully preserve what has been passed on to us? How can we integrate modern developments and remain true to our martial heritage? How should we use “history” to ensure a positive future? Is the “historic way” or the “modern way” the best? And a few more issues relating to the positives and pitfalls when looking at the history of the martial arts. Thanks once again to all the regular listeners for your support of these podcasts! The number of listeners is growing all the time and I thank you for your continued support and for telling others about these programmes. I’ll be back with more next month! Enjoy! All the best, Iain

In this month’s podcast I’d like to look at what I feel are the three biggest errors made by karateka today. As regular listeners will know, I like to keep my podcasts positive as it is way too easy to stand back and point out what is wrong with the martial arts. Personally, I’d rather put forward solutions and suggest how things could be made better. However, people will only be interested in potential solutions if they are aware there is a problem in the first place. So what I thought I’d do in this podcast is point out what I feel are the three most common, and yet frequently unseen, mistakes in karate. I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little “negative” on this occasion and that you appreciate that my purpose in pointing out these errors is to encourage us to think of positive solutions and to help ensure that both the art of karate and its practitioners can reach their maximum potential. These three mistakes are so important because people often do not realise that they are making them. There are other common errors to be sure, but what makes these three so problematic is that people either don’t recognise they are making them or don’t fully understand the serious implications of allowing these mistakes to creep into their martial practise. Curious as to what these three mistakes are? If so, you’ll have to listen to the podcast! In the podcast we explore these three mistakes and then move on to suggest what steps we need to take to ensure we avoid them. I hope you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with more next month. All the best, Iain

In this month’s podcast I’d like to look at what I feel are the three biggest errors made by karateka today. As regular listeners will know, I like to keep my podcasts positive as it is way too easy to stand back and point out what is wrong with the martial arts. Personally, I’d rather put forward solutions and suggest how things could be made better. However, people will only be interested in potential solutions if they are aware there is a problem in the first place. So what I thought I’d do in this podcast is point out what I feel are the three most common, and yet frequently unseen, mistakes in karate. I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little “negative” on this occasion and that you appreciate that my purpose in pointing out these errors is to encourage us to think of positive solutions and to help ensure that both the art of karate and its practitioners can reach their maximum potential. These three mistakes are so important because people often do not realise that they are making them. There are other common errors to be sure, but what makes these three so problematic is that people either don’t recognise they are making them or don’t fully understand the serious implications of allowing these mistakes to creep into their martial practise. Curious as to what these three mistakes are? If so, you’ll have to listen to the podcast! In the podcast we explore these three mistakes and then move on to suggest what steps we need to take to ensure we avoid them. I hope you enjoy the podcast and I’ll be back with more next month. All the best, Iain

In this latest podcast we look at what kata actually is and what purpose it serves. Kata can be a kind of shadow-fighting, a physical exercise, a form of moving mediation, a pointless dance, a relic that should be consigned to history, a repository of forgotten “secrets”, and a whole host of other things besides. All of these views on what kata is can have merit depending upon what is meant by “kata”. However, none of them get to the heart of the matter in my view. In this podcast I explain what I see as the core purpose of kata. As part of the discussion that leads to my definition of kata, we also discuss how kata came into existence and the nature of the link between kata, kumite and combat. I also look at the relationship between principles and techniques as it relates to kata. Whether you agree with my final definition of kata or not, I hope that you enjoy the podcast and find it interesting and entertaining. I’d like to thank you all for your support of the podcasts. All feedback and suggestions are always gratefully received (iain@iainabernethy.com) and I’ll be back with another one very soon! All the best, Iain

In this latest podcast we look at what kata actually is and what purpose it serves. Kata can be a kind of shadow-fighting, a physical exercise, a form of moving mediation, a pointless dance, a relic that should be consigned to history, a repository of forgotten “secrets”, and a whole host of other things besides. All of these views on what kata is can have merit depending upon what is meant by “kata”. However, none of them get to the heart of the matter in my view. In this podcast I explain what I see as the core purpose of kata. As part of the discussion that leads to my definition of kata, we also discuss how kata came into existence and the nature of the link between kata, kumite and combat. I also look at the relationship between principles and techniques as it relates to kata. Whether you agree with my final definition of kata or not, I hope that you enjoy the podcast and find it interesting and entertaining. I’d like to thank you all for your support of the podcasts. All feedback and suggestions are always gratefully received (iain@iainabernethy.com) and I’ll be back with another one very soon! All the best, Iain