Shotokan Karate Magazine Issue 162
Featuring Sensei, Martin J Smith 9th Dan KBR.
December 2024
Shotokan Karate Magazine Issue 162
December 2024
Contents
Editorial.
SENSEI MARTIN J SMITH 9th Dan KBR. Interview By John Cheetham.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
KAMAE: A MIND CONNECTED with ENERGY of the COSMOS. By Slavko Bubalo.
YET EACH MAN KILLS THE THING HE LOVES. By Mike Clarke.
ZANSHIN – THE MIND OF A WARRIOR. By David Stainko.
CLASSICAL SHOTOKAN TECHNIQUES: OI TSUKI. By John Cheetham.
A TIME TO REFLECT. By Kevin Healy.
SENSEI ROD BUTLER 6th Dan SKE. Interview By Chris Lafbury.
EDITORIAL By John Cheetham.
We have two interviews in this issue of SKM with two very experienced sensei. The first features Sensei Martin J Smith, a British instructor with a quite different story to tell. Martin started his Karate journey in Shotokan Karate then studied various other Martial Arts including Traditional weapons. After 50 years of continuous training, his focus now is on both Shotokan Karate-do and Kobudo. This was the original Classical approach to studying a Martial Art, as we can see from early photos from Gichin Funakoshi’s era. Sadly this formula seems to have been overlooked by most students (and instructors) during the last 50 years or so. Training with Traditional weapons, e.g. Sai, Bo etc, as Martin explains, adds another dimension to one’s Martial Arts experience.
The other interview in this edition features 80 year old London based Sensei, Rod Butler, a former student of the late legendary Keinosuke Enoeda sensei. Rod tells some great stories of training with Enoeda sensei and with various legendary JKA sensei in London and Japan. Still training and teaching with SKE (Shotokan Karate England), Rod is the author of the best selling book, dedicated to the life story of Enoeda Sensei entitled: ‘Keinosuke Enoeda: Tiger of Shotokan Karate’.
Much attention is given to the physical techniques and various strategies we use in our training. Less so, is the focus on the ‘mind’ which in truth is probably more important or certainly equally important to our overall progress and maintenance of our training. With this in mind (no pun intended) we have two articles dealing with this subject, one by David Stainko and the other by Slavko Bubalo focussing on the mental issues we all face in our training lives, aside from the physical problems.
By complete contrast, my article is purely technical in principle. Here looking at the different options we have regarding basic techniques. In this instance focusing on two methods of performing oi tsuki, also written/spelled as, oi zuki. There are of course different ways of executing oi tsuki apart from the two examples in my article. One other being the hip-snap to square-on as the technique is completed.
However, the proof of the pudding with all the various methods obviously is, does it work in application, or is it just a nice looking technique in ‘fresh-air’? The only way to find out if your own way of performing oi zuki is effective, is by testing it out on the makiwara, or better still, an impact pad/shield held by a training partner, who can give you honest feedback. Impact training can often deliver quite a surprise to one’s individual perception of effectiveness!
We had such a positive response to the articles by Kevin Healy and Mike Clarke in the last edition, that we again have two more offerings by both Kevin and Mike. Both men have very different writing styles but they get their stories across in a thought provoking, realistic manner.
I’d just like to make it clear to overseas subscribers that it is still possible to obtain a printed paper copy of SKM and not solely the digital version, you do have a choice.
Good training, Editor.
