Aragaki
Sensei, 10th dan IOGKF, lecture notes from 2008 IOGKF Budosai,
Okinawa
Translated
by Nakamura Sensei, 6th dan IOGKF
Personal
Notes taken by Sensei Linda Marchant, 6th dan IOGKF
“If
you don't try your best then you are missing things from your
life.”
'
When Aragaki Sensei was young karate was mainly self defence -
before you learned you had to be a good human being - training
your mind and learning respect he learnt little by little from
Miyagi Sensei. Before you learn self defence or karate
you have to take care of yourself, of the same body that your
parents gave you. You have to take care and not let anyone
hurt you but don't hurt anyone else.
As
there are lots of instructors here he would like to give stories
for the instructors.
In
old times karate or martial arts teachers taught you the right
way of life as well. If your students go in the wrong direction,
the Sensei will put them on the right road. Back then he was told
you show your appreciation when you bow, with your heart. Sometimes
when training and getting better you forget respect to your Sensei.
One student got very good and thought he was better than
Sensei - and Sensei saw ego and wondered what to do with him.
One day they went out – the student jumped into a boat,
Sensei jumped into the boat and the student attacked Sensei to
test him. When he tried to attack him at the same moment
and so quick the student was struck in the stomach with a kick,
the student didn't realise the movement and let it go. After
3 months the student was dead. His Sensei let him live as
he is- considered him bad for society and killed his own student!
The
Sensei doesn't teach everything – he keeps some techniques for
himself, just in case the student becomes the enemy you can still
defeat him.
Two
dojos were very close, one dojo stuck to only sanchin and there
were only a few students in this school. On the other hand
the other dojo taught many things and had lots of students, so
this instructor thought he was better than the other and came
to challenge the other. This Sensei said I only teach sanchin,
I don't want to fight, but the other Sensei was very insistent.
The next day he came again and kept asking but again the
offer was declined. However, eventually the Sensei accepted.
Once they started fighting, the sanchin students were much
stronger and easily beat the others. The sanchin Sensei
was very surprised about his own skill as he only practiced sanchin
every day. This is why sanchin is so important.
To
master the Goju system, you must practice hoju undo, everything
to have to train to become good, you must practice everything,
if you miss out anything, then you are not complete.
Just
books and DVDs and no practice - head big and no skill, you have
to train first and learn.
Karate
is like water - a lot of explanations use water - chudan fist
to shoulder, water falling towards fist. Water – surface
calm and if you touch even a little, the surface becomes rough.
For human beings we need water to live, rain & flood
- water can kill. In a bottle of water is clear - one drop of
red ink and whole lot goes red. Being good & pure is
difficult to achieve, as one drop of red ink turns all red.
Miyagi
Sensei holds a weapon and it was like giving a weapon to your
students. That's why they must be the right people. Just
like giving a weapon, or you teach the right people, good for
society, wrong person, wrong for society.
Karate
= essence skills amongst other martial arts - uses both sides
equally right & left. The moment someone attacks you,
you can react quickly, grab anything around you to protect yourself.
When you practice karate without knowing weapons, you will
find that that you can handle them easily and use them right away.
This is what Miyagi Anichi says - if you don't train for
1 day, it takes 3 days to get back to here you were. Like
a kettle boiling- like karate.
Some
of the senior students of Chojun Miyagi Sensei kept coming every
day so that they don't get kicked out. They were very worried
about being told not to come back if they missed a session.
Shoulder - koshi-tanden = develop punch. Goju Ryu uses every
single joint part of the body, finger joints - using your body
effectively to protect yourself and strike the enemy.
Kata
practise is essential practice for karate. When you improve
in kata and you can move very quickly like a cat and strike very
strong like a tiger. In your life it is very important that
you step back - do not always be pushy always step back - it is
a very sad thing if someone never tries hard, you only have one
life - try your best at something else. By watching everybody
(at the Gassshuku) - you are very lucky and happy people training,
and family support is very important. So how to live is
an essential question for all - find something you can try and
do your best. Goju Ryu you can have your whole life.
If you practise you bring good things and harmony in your life.
In Martial arts he wants everyone to feel thank you very
much and I have another day to train, I am very lucky.
It
is very important you learn one kata very deep - there are many
katas - it is very easy to see your level from kata because he
has been training for many years. Through martial arts training
you develop a sense for people in the street - after many years
training - in old times there were no tournaments - so to test
your skills - you would walk in the street and attack to test
skill. You must sense a good or bad person who may try to
hurt you. When you face your opponent, don't let your opponent
touch your body, poison or knife. He was taught that when
you fight, that person is not human but animal and that he will
try to kill you - when you step out of the dojo, when you fight
never lose or you will die - nowadays not so worried - as there
are police!
In
old times when testing skills – challenge - there were no rules,
and your eyes could be attacked, groin kicked etc. However,
once you realise different levels - your opponent doesn't try
to hurt you - so when you fight wrist to wrist and once you touch
- if you feel they are better than you, step back and acknowledge
they are better than you (Higaonna and Anichi Senseis can also
tell by touching your arm how good you are). If you are
healthy and not hurt next day you have a further fight. In karate,
you don't show your skill to others, it is to protect yourself
for the rest of your life.
Karate
instructor - you are not coach but lead to have a good life, that's
Sensei's job. You have to be a coach for life - for your
students if you don't help you will regret.
If
you keep training at some point in your life you will realise
how lucky you are to learn some point. 50 years ago he learnt
from Miyagi Chojun Sensei and only a single way of doing kata.
We are lucky because we can learn directly from Higaonna
Sensei the right way to us passed from Anichi Miyagi Sensei to
us. In old times we practice kata then go through and end
with kata.
What
is Goju Ryu like? It is like steel inside and sponge outside.
Okinawan
saying - your words
are like money - you have to be careful how you spend or say -
do not say things that you are not sure about or to make yourself
look big.
Okinawan
saying – if you have
a small gate - so move behind you cannot see but he can hear -
so don't say things about people.
Story-
Master- always practiced facing shomen and was very good at his
kicks - one day he was attacked by bad guys who beat him up.
He was so good at his kata but only trained one way, so when lots
of people attacked he could not cope with different situations.
So when you practice, try in different directions and places
- beach, mountains - so you can adapt.
Do
not talk about karate in front of strangers - once you start talking
about moves coming against you, how good you are, strong, they
might attack you - so keep mouth closed and you should being able
to ‘block' if so good!
Always
one step back and be humble - in Okinawa you never know who maybe
a 9th Dan martial artist!
In
self defence, you have to practice without anyone because you
don't want anyone to know your skills.
Your
own gi is part of you - no one else to wash it - it is part of
you - in the old days you had to wash in the river - so good training.
In old times Aragaki Sensei never let his wife or mother
– he always washed his own gi. Also clean underwear when
training and in home - Chojun Miyagi Sensei would have him take
his pants off to test and grab balls! So gi was off and
only in underwear for sanchin test. In old times if you
die in the street in dirty underwear – shame!
In
Goju Ryu style when you fight far away you are equal - once you
touch you can tell the opponent's strength and that's when actual
fighting starts.
Chojun
Miyagi Sensei taught that when you are in the street always be
ready and be careful whether someone would attack you.
