Shotokan Karate Magazine Issue 160
Featuring SENSEI ELMO DIEDERIKS 6th DAN WKF.
June 2024
Shotokan Karate Magazine Issue 159
June 2024
Contents
Editorial.
SENSEI ELMO M.D. DIEDERIKS 6th DAN WKF . Interview By John Cheetham.
THE DECEPTIVE SIMPLICITY OF THE TEN-NO KATA. By Slavko Bubalo.
KATA: FORM OR MOLD. By Albert Cheah.
SHOTOKAN & THE WRITTEN WORD. By Paul Dowell.
YOU JUST HIT ME! By Matt Price.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
GEDAN BARAI – A TECHNIQUE OF RECEPTION. By Martin Hurley.
PRACTICE ACCORDING TO FUNAKOSHI. By Dr Wolf Herbert.
EDITORIAL By John Cheetham.
After reading his excellent in-depth Document (thesis) which we have posted on the SKM website, by Sensei Elmo Diederiks 6th Dan WKF, a 50 year old Shotokan instructor from the Netherlands, I definitely wanted to do an interview with him. I wanted to learn more about his karate journey and philosophy, especially going forward after a prestigious competition career, where his main focus and success seemed to center on Kata. Elmo is at the age where he has been through and experienced both worlds of Traditional Karate and also, WKF Sport/Karate; his story has a modern, progressive approach.
This is an interview with a lot of technical content but also tons of common sense! I wish my generation had been privy to this training knowledge in the 1970s. Then we wouldn’t have so many physical problems now, in later life! Although we don’t feature Competition (WKF) Sport karate in the magazine, this interview shines a light on a modern perspective to training. So, I make no apology for its inclusion in SKM.
I’ve changed my training massively since I’ve been older. I just wish I’d have known many years ago what I know now! It was only after about 3 years of regular training, that I was advised for the first time to ‘Relax’. It was on a training course in Bournemouth on the south coast with sensei Gerry Breeze in 1975. Gerry kept saying to me (with a big smile on his face), to Relax. I wanted to say, “How”. But in those days it was unheard of for a lowly Kyu-grade student to ask a question in the dojo whilst training. How things have changed!
Relax, is certainly solid advice which many Karate instructors also advocate and even offer various ways of achieving this, but usually it’s only ‘ourselves’ who can discover the answer and find a solution to this physical/mental problem! Holding your breath when under stress is a Big culprit here! This problem happens a lot with many students, especially during the kyu grade stage of their training.
Personally, I figured out this problem re-relaxing when performing one’s karate quite a few years ago through having various injuries, when the only possible way to practice was by being more relaxed; but that does not mean, by being casual. Training is such a personal experience and finding what suits us best, both physically and mentally is vital. We must have a selfish approach to our own training.
Matt Price’s article is very thought provoking in today’s karate world. As we now know, many karate clubs around the world have a strictly no-contact policy. I agree with him that if you’ve never been hit you’ll never know how you would react if you were ever in a physical confrontation. As with everything there’s striking a balance, the key is building up an individual’s resilience.
The majority of Shotokan karate-ka do not practice the Ten-No Kata. Reading Slavko Bubalo’s article makes you think that we may be missing out on something here. It reminded me of early Kyu grade examinations of 2 techniques e.g. gedan barai-gyaku zuki, uchi uke-gyaku zuki, etc. I’m all for simplicity as long as it has depth.
Good training, Editor.
