Sunday, January 11, 2015

Kajukenbo revolution

The Spanish branch of KSDI used to have a couple of... mantra. One was around bullfights and such. The other was something called "evolution", to try to explain why and how our training method differed from the classic one. As I see it, it's more a difference of training focus than a difference in mechanics, but... well, MA and its societies and breaking up and...

What just pinged me is that some points regarding "pure" KJKB are evidently false. Misguided, at best.

I practice Japanese martial arts. Not "I trained a couple of months in Japan and I came back with a new system", but 500-yo martial arts (as in, there's documents about it). And a thing old Japanese systems have is that... they've changed. They get that kata in for such reason, they leave that kata only for high level instructors and people who really show a specific interest because no one needs it any longer... Even the teaching emphasis changes, and it has in the last 20 years. The principles are the same, the techniques... sort of, sort of not. And the execution and teaching changes from instructor to instructor.

Karate had that, and it's recovering it after the disaster that was the military build-up and the war.

Kajukenbo? Often, I can't see it. All I see is "pit" stress training, macho reps, shitty mechanics done faster. Sometimes even here. Why? Tradition? Gimme a break! It doesn't work like that. If you want to respect tradition, respect the substance, not the barest of forms. Substance can give you any form in your style. Bad form will never get you substance.

Sigh. Take care.

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