Theme for my blog

December 4th, 2007 at 1:35 · Filed Under Blogging, Karate, Okinawa, Philosophy, Training Journal · 2 Comments 

Ever since I revamped my blog to give it a new look in October, I received quite a number of correspondence from my regular readers and fans. They asked me why “The Eccentric Logic of An Eclectic Mind”. Well, another similar representation of the theme (as portrayed in New Look), it is vicariously a random experience and non-concentric logical reasoning of my mind by which referring and/or combining various elements such as philosophy in karate and those seen through my eyes.

This theme is graphically represented by the random header images which I made from photos I took on Okinawa while I was having a walk at the ruins of Zakimi castle. I took some photos of flowers and plants, scenery and artifacts.

This is my favorite. Before I came to Okinawa, I was quite lost in karate. All my surroundings seemed to be thick stone walls. Suddenly, I found an exit, which led me to the Sky! This also signifies my understanding of “karate” as Sky Hand as Seizan Sensei told me. In Uechi-Ryu Zankai, karate-do is like the sky, without border and endless. People build walls surrounding themselves and others to restrict seeking of knowledge and truth as well as to protect their own benefits. I am glad that I have found an exit to this confinement.

These images indicate the road ahead is difficult and the woods on both sides represent challenges, confusions and distractions which can easily get lost in. Fortunately, there is a small road that leads to the destination. The road, as if Uechi-Ryu Zankai.

The gardener on the left represents Toyama Sensei. The two trees represent Seizan Sensei and Sumako Senpai (as well as other Sensei and Senpai) setting a goal for me to reach up there.

These two images are made of floral and artifacts found at Zakimi Castle site. No special significant meaning.

This is an image of some surf boards at Torii Beach. No significant meaning. Just a photography image.

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Uechi-Ryu Zankai - My Anamnesis - Part 4

October 22nd, 2007 at 13:08 · Filed Under Essay, Karate, Philosophy, Training Journal · 4 Comments 

Previously, I mentioned about some training philosophy of Uechi-Ryu Zankai, how the organic training enhances our health and strengthening our body. In this episode, I am going to dissect the basic foundation of all techniques which we can find in the kata Sanchin using natural phenomenon, ocean waves. I am not going to write the length and breadth of every techniques, but I am going to particularly focus on Wa-uke or circular block.

The old-style Uechi-Ryu (Zankai) is a defensive style and deploys different approach compare to most modern style Uechi-Ryu. So I am not talking about modern style but my focus is the old-style.

Wa-uke is the most important and the only blocking technique used throughout every kata. It is the most misunderstood blocking technique in Uechi-Ryu. Many people, including some of my students, have misunderstood wa-uke. Some say it is slow. Some say it is ineffective. Some say it is less defensive compare to other blocking techniques in other style of karate. Some say how can one blocking technique be applied to all kind of attacks.

Yes, Wa-uke is one blocking technique that applies to all kind of attacks including grappling. Thus, the old-style Uechi-Ryu is a CQC (Close Quarter Combat) system but still remains as effective for long range combat. This misunderstanding is due to lack of in-depth study and understanding of the technique itself and the application (bunkai) and philosophy of Uechi-Ryu kata.

As the name implies, wa-uke or circular block, travel in a circular or elliptic motion. Uechi-Ryu is not a linear system, rather, it is circular. To understand the underlying concepts and philosophy, you have to think circular or elliptic. The movement in Uechi-Ryu kata is like ocean waves. When you are practicing kata, you need to move like ocean waves.

Ocean waves are mechanical waves that propagate along the interface between water and air. The restoring force is provided by gravity.
Uechi-Ryu Zankai Ocean Waves
(Source: Wikipedia)

After we understand the mechanical concept of ocean waves, we now can apply the concept into wa-uke and techniques in Uechi-Ryu kata: A wa-uke is a circular or elliptical mechanical arm motion which propagate in a plane between the defensive and the offensive body. The motion is circulated by gravity and centrifugal force.

The Sanchin kata is the foundation for all Uechi-Ryu kata. As I mentioned in previous episode, all Uechi-Ryu kata have staggering effect, complementing each other. To understand the application of wa-uke, we have to gain deeper understanding of Sanchin. While the understanding of Sanchin increases, it complements the understanding of other kata in the system. One significant point we need to focus in Sanchin is the turning of our body. It not only creates centrifugal force, it is the fundamental movement we need to understand and master in order to apply wa-uke effectively.

With wa-uke, you can perry an attack; a kick or a punch or any combination followed by counter strike. Or if you wish, you can lock then throw or a take down depending on the degree of damage you think is necessary to be inflicted onto your assailant.

The mastering of Sanchin movement and wa-uke is more than enough to defend against any untrained attacks. If the assailant is a trained attacker, deeper understanding and years of training will be required to defend against such attack effectively with combination of other techniques. But if the mastering has exceeded the expert level, the wa-uke and Sanchin movement alone is more than sufficient.

Sanchin alone requires entire life time to understand and master. It embeds vast concept and knowledge like the ocean; providing unlimited exploration, improvement and perfection. We are only a tiny dot floating in the ocean.

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Floral at Zakimi Castle

August 2nd, 2007 at 17:28 · Filed Under Environment, Flowers and Plants, Gardening, Karate, Okinawa, Philosophy, Photography, Training Journal · 1 Comment 

I took a day off training and decided to have a walk at the ruins of Zakimi Castle. After all, there was no training in the afternoon and I needed some rest and to take my mind off training so that I could recover from my learning curve.

I noticed some beautiful flowers and plants along the way so I took some pictures of them to share here.

Too bad I have no idea the name of the plants. If anyone knows, please share here using the comments. Thanks.

The bud of this Cycad is really huge. Cycad is one of my favorite plant. I used to have a few at home but they did not flourishe. Whenever new bud (small) is growing, it got chewed up by caterpillars. I gave away some and left one in a pot when we remodeled our garden last month.

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People come and go

January 17th, 2007 at 23:04 · Filed Under Buddhism, Days in My Life, General · Comment 

When I look again at my Happy New Year 2007 post here, it struck me again about “People come and go”. Who are we? No one will give a goddamn care about us (except our family), especially those who do not know us. When I look at the picture of Angie and the pictures at her website here, it is as though she were still alive. Her lights still shine like the twinkling stars in the night sky.

I can understand why some people will do something great so that they can leave behind for generations to know about them.

Sigh! That’s life. We are nothing but only a capitalization sapheads for corporation and government. We are worthless unless we have something great to leave behind. Like Buddha, he left behind his great philosophy but after three thousand years, there are so many deviation and fraternities. I wonder people are still remembering the true teaching of Buddha?

i always wanted to write about Buddhism and to finish my article about Buddhism but I never find time for it. I don’t know why I will write about Angie, life and Buddhism today. Although this is a short post, I believe it will be a good beginning.

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