Hello. Welcome to the info page...
NEWSLETTER
March 2009
Katsu-Mi Kai Competition Westury – February 7th ‘09
THERE was an excellent turnout for the first competition hosted by Katsu-Mi Kai Karate, even though the weather left a few people with no option but to stay at home. It was also very well attended and supported by parents. Before the competition got under way various senior members of the Katsu-Mi sat their Referees and Judges exam. They then officiated for the rest of the day as the practical part of their exam.
Sensei Mark and Sensei Lionel would like to congratulate the following people on achieving the following grades: Referees Grade C - Steve Manning, Martyn Chapman and Simon Howe. Judges Grade C - Dougie Hewer and Nacer Boudebza. Also a big thank you to all the time keepers, First Aid and helpers for giving up their time.
The competition was such a success that Katsu-Mi Kai has decided to hold another low key competition in November of this year (date to be confirmed).
THE referees, judges and timekeepers (above) who officiated during the competition, some of whom became qualified at the event and (below) competitors from Melksham and Westbury show off their medals.
RESULTS
Westbury. Kata Novice-Purple: 1st J. Charlesworth, Melksham; 2nd D. Hewer, Melksham; 3rd J. Baross, Devizes + D. Coyne, Westbury. Kata Purple/White - Shodan: 1st A. Ibrahim, Melksham; 2nd T. Bishop, Westbury; 3rd N. Spencer, Melksham & B. Gmaj, Westbury. Team Kata All Grades Mixed: 1st Melksham, 2nd Westbury, 3rd Westbury.
JUNIORS under 16yrs: Pee Wee Kumite Mixed Under 4.2 Novice-Purple: 1st B. Hill, Westbury; 2nd B. Bishop, Westbury. Kumite Boys 4.2 - 4.9 Novice-Purple: 1st D. Coyne, Westbury; 2nd D. Hewer, Melksham; 3rd J. Charlesworth, Melksham + I. Ibrahim, Melksham. Kumite Boys 4.2 - 4.9 Purple/White - Shodan: 1st S. Carlyle, Westbury; 2nd T. Bishop, Westbury; SENIORS 16yrs and Over:
3rd B. Gmaj, Westbury.
Kumite Boys Over 4.9 Novice-Purple: 1st J. Baross, Devizes. Kumite Boys Over 4.9 Purple/White - Shodan: 1st A. Ibrahim, Melksham; 2nd M. Carlye, Westbury; 3rd D. Ahmed, Westbury + J. Roff, Westbury.
Kumite Girls 4.2 - 4.9 Novice-Shodan: 1st E. Bishop, Westbury; 2nd H. Wheeler, Westbury; 3rd A. Coyne, Westbury.
Team Kumite Over 4.9:
1st Melksham, 2nd
Kumite Male Novice- Purple: 1st B. Standen, Salisbury; 2nd C. Baross, Devizes.
Kumite Female Novice- Purple: 1st N. Coyne, Westbury; 2nd L. Barros, Devizes.
Kumite Female Purple/ White - 1st Kyu: 1st N. Spencer, Melksham; 2nd R. Jackson, Salisbury. Kata Mixed Novice - 1st Kyu: 1st B. Standen, Salisbury; 2nd N. Coyne, Westbury; 3rd C. Baross + L. Baross, Devizes.
KANKU-SHO KATA BUNKAI
COURSE
Sunday 29th March – 10.30 am to 4.30 pm Oasis Youth Centre, Cassin Drive, Cheltenham GL51 7SU – £15.00
COURSES & DAN GRADINGS Saturday 2nd May 1 p.m. til 5 p.m. Wellsprings Leisure Centre, Taunton TA2 7QP (next one 25th July)
KATSU-MI KAI KYU GRADINGS
to be held at Melksham for anyone wishing to attend/grade. Training begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday evenings 11th March, 10th June & 16th September
WEEKEND COURSE AT ST IVES
9th/10th/11th October at St Ives Guildhall Combine a training course with a short break in the seaside resort of St Ives, Cornwall
Kyu Grade/Junior Competition
Date to be announced in November
FOR those of you who don’t know me (which is certainly many of you), I think it is necessary to give myself a brief introduction before I get on to the real purpose of this posting, which is to tell you all about Sensei Mark Carroll. But first of all, me...
I am 40 years old, and I have been flying military aircraft of various types since I first joined the RAF in 1988. I am currently flying the Hawk (the same one the Red Arrows fly). Its main role is as an advanced trainer, and my job is teaching the next generation of RAF fighter pilots how to fly it. In the past, I have flown no less than 12 types of aircraft, 6 of those being jet types. My last post was teaching Pakistanis how to fly the K-8P jet at the Pakistan Air Force Academy. Before that I was a Jaguar pilot. It is an amazing job and I am very grateful to be doing it. Why am I telling you this? Well... I would not be doing it now if I had not met Sensei Carroll in 1997.
When I think back to who I was in 1997, I am not very pleased with what I remember. I was flying the Hercules at the time. It was a good job, but I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do, which was to fly jets. Unfortunately, I had not cut the mustard as a jet pilot. I had failed my Harrier training course, and been knocked back to being a co-pilot on the Hercules, which is one of the least-demanding military flying jobs in the RAF. It is for the ‘less gifted’ pilots, and although part of me felt I could do much better, the fact was I was in this position and there was not much I could do about it. In reality, very few people can move up from the world of big aeroplanes like the Hercules to the world of small jet planes; the RAF career structure isn’t designed to allow that kind of progression. Once you’ve been washed down the ladder, you can’t climb back up it. By being a Hercules co-pilot, you have demonstrated that you are not up to being a jet jockey.
The Hercules world was designed perfectly for people who want to gain weight. You spend all day sat in a chair being fed a constant supply of really unhealthy food. After landing, you drink a few pints of beer and go to bed. I was fat, unfit and unhealthy.
My wife Kathy had always been interested in martial arts. I thought it was all codswallop. She tried the Tae Kwondo class on base, then she tried the Karate class at the village hall. She liked Karate, and began regular training. I wasn’t interested. One night, I sneaked round the side of the village hall and peeked in through the window at a bunch of idiots in white pajamas poncing about in bare feet and shouting at thin air. Yep, it’s codswallop.
However, I was a little curious and so I decided to join in one night. Our instructor was Sensei Christiana. She was a shodan who was part of SEKU. I have to say I was impressed by her abilities, and I also recognized that Karate might at least help me lose a few pounds and gain some flexibility. So after a few months, it became a habit, and I was enjoying it.
Kathy and I did a few grades and attended the Isle of Wight SEKU gasshaku. I want to mention one thing about the gashaku because it is important later on: Sensei Mick Dewey was teaching us Heian Yondan, and he was demonstrating bunkai to one of the moves. He said,
‘‘This is one interpretation...’’ and showed a very ‘Classic Shotokan’ blocking and striking technique. Then he said, ‘‘Or for self-defence, you could do this...’’ and showed an eye-gouging, violent, nasty technique. Just a demo, no chance to practise it and make it my own. I asked him, ‘‘Sensei, what do you mean by ‘self defence’? Isn’t Karate ‘self-de- fence’’? He said, ‘‘Karate is Kata, Kihon and Kumite. Self-defence is another use of Karate technique that is not appropriate in competition or in the dojo, at least for lower grades’’. I simply said, ‘‘Ossu, Sensei’’ because by then I had learned that asking too many questions could be painful when training with senior instructors like Sensei Dewey and Sensei Hazard at the SEKU courses. However, I hadn’t really under- stood what he meant by this, and it wouldn’t become clear for a long time - it would in fact be Sensei Carroll a few years down the line who would teach me how it all fitted together. I was somewhat disappointed though, because I wanted the Karate I was learning to be something I could use in the street should the need ever arise, and his answer seemed to suggest that I was not really learning self defense.
By now we were hooked on Karate and mot missing a class. Then disaster happened - Christiana left! The club was finished, with no senior grade to take over. I resolved to find a new instructor for the club, and got Sensei Mark Carroll’s phone number from an RAF friend who had heard of him. I gave him a ring...
Whenever I think back to that phone call, I want to crawl under a table with my tail between my legs. Here was me, a fat 29-year-old yellow belt ‘interviewing’ Sensei Mark. I had no idea who I was talking to, and undoubtedly did not express myself with the appropriate form of respect
that any educated Karate Ka would demonstrate to a senior Sensei. Not only that, but I was more interested in evaluating his suita- bility to take ‘my’ club than in trying to per- suade him to give us a go. He would have to travel some dis- tance to take the class, and would be going out of his way. As I remember it, Sensei would have been perfectly justi- fied to simply say he wasn’t interested and hang up, given the undoubtedly irritating way I was quizzing him. However, he patiently answered all of my questions without once getting frustrated (and what ridiculous questions I asked! The shame of it...). In the end I agreed to ‘allow him to come and take the class on a trial basis’. In reality, of course, he patiently agreed to come and take the class...
Sensei Carroll arrived with two of his senior grades (one of whom was Sensei Steve Manning) and we lined up. Bearing in mind that this was 11 years ago, it is amazing what I can remember from the class. He taught us Heian Sandan. Up to that day, I really had no concept of the connection between Kata and fighting; it was still a mystery to me, and Sensei Dewey’s answer at the SEKU course was the best I had to go on at that time. I remember that Sensei Mark’s interpretation of the moves from the Kata would never have occurred to me in a million years. These meanings were techniques which I could plainly see worked rather well (even though I couldn’t make them work), but I found it impossible to keep the actual techniques in mind when performing the Kata. It was clear that to Sensei Mark, on the other hand, there was no difference in his mind between his performance of the Kata and his performance of the bunkai.
Normally after class, Kathy and I would go home with a bit of a sweat on, feeling like we’d had a good work out, chat about what we had learned. After the first session with Sensei Mark, we drove home - dumbstruck. It was just too much! A number of times in the class, I had been convinced that I was about to die or at least sustain a serious injury, when Steve Manning tossed me around the dojo like a pit bull with a rag doll. However, there was nothing more on my body than sweat and the smell of fear. I hadn’t taken much of it in, and couldn’t make much of it work... but to hell with that. Who cares? I wanted more. It was like getting out of the flight simulator and into a real aeroplane. I didn’t know much about Karate, but I knew beyond any doubt that what I was now learning was real.
Before then, I could say that I was curious about whether my Karate would work for me, and part of me wanted to have a chance to try it out. From that point on, I was under no illusions; my Karate would not work yet, I was not ready to have to try it out... But if I kept training with this guy, and in the cauldron of his dojo with his senior grades, that before long my Karate would be a weapon as reliable as any weapon I had learned to use in the military. Awesome. I wanted more.
After a month or two of twice-a-week sessions in our village hall with Sensei Mark, twice-a-week was not enough. We started going to anoth- er of his classes in another town. Then it was 2 other classes. Before long, it was 5 times a week, plus weekend courses. Then, I started cycling to the village hall. Then I started cycling to his other classes in other towns. I went to the senior classes. I went to the kids’ classes. I got fit. I got slim. I ran the Bath half marathon. I got Shodan. I went to international competitions (USA, Holland, Italy, Romania, Spain) and even won a few trophies. I had completely transformed myself, and I felt fantastic about it. Being stuck on the Hercules didn’t matter to me any more - I had more important things on my mind.
Sensei Carroll is a genius of Karate. That might sound like a bold statement, but I am going to back it up. According to Wikipedia, a genius
is described as follows: ‘‘An individual who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique. A genius typically possesses great intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject, or shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability, especially in the production of creative and original work, something that has never been seen or evaluated previously. Traits often associated with genius include strong individuality, imagination, uniqueness, and innovative drive.’’ Every time I read this statement I equate it with Sensei Carroll. He would not describe himself as some- one who ‘possesses great intelligence’, and I can’t imagine him scoring ‘genius’ on an IQ test. However, intelligence may be measured in several ways. To qualify as a genius, a vast intelligence is needed, but the mental state of possessing genius is based primarily upon an incredible understanding of complex issues and problems, and a pro- found creativity and imagination; i.e. not based solely on IQ tests. Sensei Carroll’s intelligence is in his astonishing ability to understand the ‘language’ of Kata and to be able to translate it into technique. He is so good at this that he can read it ‘fluently’ and for him there is no difference between technique and Kata. However, for most of us making this connection is very difficult to do. Honestly, when you perform your Kata, are you focussed perfectly on your imaginary opponent and the exact technique you are killing him with, or are you concentrating on the mechanics of your movements? I suspect that for most of us it is the latter, at least 95% of the time, only occasionally (and with great effort) managing to really visualize our bunkai.
I’ll give you an example of what I mean. Sometimes on a course with Sensei, I can see that he is getting a little frustrated when the class can’t grasp what he is teaching. I’ll sometimes hear him say, ‘‘Just do the Kata!’’ Well that’s easy for him to say. When he’s tying his opponent up in knots with some arm lock, or throwing him with Hane Goshi (spring hip throw), he is only ‘doing the kata’, and when he is ‘doing the kata’, he is tying his opponent up in knots or throwing him with Hane Goshi. He doesn’t always appreciate that for the rest of us, the connection is not so easy to make. In order to read between kata and technique fluently, you need 3 things: Complete knowledge of the kata movement, complete knowledge and practical ability in applying the technique, and the ability to imagine and visualize whilst simultaneously performing the technique / kata. Often on his courses, there will be a number of students who have learned Karate from only one or two perspectives. They might be able to perform a great looking gyaku tsuki, but have never really hit a makiwara or bag much. They might never have learned and practised spring hip throws (or any throws) in a karate dojo, even though the Kata are loaded with throwing techniques. The fact is, it is a case of chicken and egg; students won’t get it at all if they are missing the basic kata movement, and will struggle to get it if they are not proficient at the technique. In order to actually ‘get it’, the student has to be able to do both things before he will be able to really visualize the technique whilst performing the Kata. That is the reason why, when Sensei went to Liverpool to take a course, he taught - wait for it - Heian Sandan. His class (with numerous senior grades) were disappointed at first that it would be a Heian Kata and not something like Gojushiho Sho. How can we spend 3 days doing a single Heian Kata! However, by the end of the course, the attitude had become something like ‘‘Wow, I had no idea how much there was in Sandan. Now we only have 4 months to practise Sandan before Sensei comes back to start looking at Yon- dan...’’
The traits required to qualify as a genius include strong individuality, imagination, uniqueness, and innovative drive. In the Karate universe, it is hard to imagine how somebody can come up with something ‘new’ that actually works and is relevant and useful to Karate. Surely it has all been done before? Well, I believe that Sensei Carroll has come up with something innovative, something unique. It is something that helps his students to follow his training more successfully. Something that allows us non-geniuses to ‘get it’. I am sure you all remember (or will experi- ence in the future, if you are currently a novice,) how difficult it was to make the leap between jiu ippon kumite and jiu kumite. It is a huge step up in difficulty, and there are therefore numerous ‘intermediate’ training methods to make the step easier. Similarly, the step from kata and technique being separate entities to being able to fully visualize tech- nique during kata or kata during technique is a huge step. Sensei Carroll has recognized this difficulty, and invented something brand new to help us. He calls it ‘street kata’. It is a form of kata in which it is easy to visualize the technique, because you make the exact movement that you make in the performance of the technique. Watching somebody performing street kata is a little painful; they look like they’re having an epileptic fit. It certainly doesn’t look much like martial arts. However, I can assure you that performing street kata feels fantastic, because visualization is so easy. One of Sensei’s favourite exercises is to watch a student perform a kata in the usual way, then visualize using street
kata, then perform the kata in correct form again. I have witnessed this exercise a number of times and it is obvious that the intensity, intention, power, everything about the kata is transformed. Street kata works.
Modern martial arts have a habit of being categorized, and many will say that their art has such-and-such which is only found in their art. Additionally, the various arts have specialized and in most dojo you will find that the art being taught focusses on a very limited range of techniques. I nearly died laughing when I saw the Olympic Tae Kwondo. The hands of the competitors, flailing around at belly button height, served no purpose but to act as balance weights, or for blocking of powerless kicks. The Olympic version of the art has become nothing but a gymnastic kicking contest. Another example: people think Judo is all about throws, locks and ground work. I have seen Sensei Carroll’s Judo book. You might be surprised to know that the first chapter of it was all about punching techniques. How many Judo students these days learn how to punch proficiently before black belt? Not many I would guess. The most surprising thing about Sensei Carroll’s kata bunkai is that much of it is not what most KUGB or JKA Karate Ka would recognize as Shotokan technique. Admittedly, Sensei has followed Judo and Jiu Jitsu syllabi to a senior level of training and has been exposed to a far broader range of techniques than most Karate Ka, very senior instruc- tors including. This goes some way to explaining why he is so good at matching Kata movements to techniques more commonly found in Kung Fu, or Jiu Jitsu. However, I was lucky enough to be brought up in this environment. So, when I see a judo throw at the Olympics, I can name the Shotokan Kata it comes from (in my mind at least). When I watch an old nan doing Tai Chi at the old people’s home, I can name the move in the Shotokan Kata, because Sensei Carroll taught it to me. That re- minds me of the time I asked the Tai Chi instructor if she used that movement as a neck break or backfist strike, and she looked at me like I had just escaped from prison. She never even thought of any of her art as being a fighting method - and she was declaring herself an expert in her art!
Watching people do street kata taught me something else about kata. When the old masters perfected a technique on the battlefield and then wanted to turn it into kata, they really had to create something that looks like kata. You can’t pass down ‘street kata’ without technique - there’s nothing ‘solid’ to teach. You can, however, pass down kata movements without corresponding techniques, because you can define movement with strict parameters like ‘full hikite’ or ‘knee over ball of foot’. Kata movements obey basic rules of movement that make them easy to package up and pass on. However, the techniques that go with the kata can only be passed on if they are known. I don’t want to go into a whole history of Shotokan (I don’t know enough about it for one thing), but I am sure that nobody knows the precise technique that the originators of the kata had for every movement in each of the 26 Shotokan Kata. What I do know is that if there is any man on Earth today who can give us a practical technique that fits elegantly (but not always obviously) with every technique in Shotokan, then his name is Sensei Mark Carroll. Not only that, but he can teach us that there is hardly a technique in the whole of the martial arts which can’t be found within Shotokan.
There only remains one question: If Sensei Carroll is so great, then why isn’t his dojo stuffed every night with people queueing down the street to get in? After all, there are some pathetic Karate instructors out there who would get beaten up by my nan who are millionaires from their Karate businesses. Well, the answer to that is actually simple. Firstly, having thousands of devoted students and being rich from teaching Karate has nothing at all to do with being any good at the art. Secondly, learning Karate from a genuine master of the art like Sensei Carroll is incredibly difficult to do. Very few people have the determina- tion and self discipline, let alone the spare time to commit to training very hard 5+ times a week for a minimum of 5 years to begin to understand the art. It is completely unthinkable that Sensei Carroll could teach his art in some compromised way that just gives students what they think they want, but doesn’t really teach them Karate. So, I suppose that his amazing ability as a Karate instructor is most likely to fall sadly by the wayside. He should have people queueing up. He should be a millionaire under demands from all over the world to come and teach. But life isn’t like that, and real ability isn’t always recognized. However, I think that there is a certain momentum picking up around Sensei Carroll at the moment. His courses are always hugely appreciated by those who manage to turn up, and there is a growing swell of support and understanding for his teaching. He is now running his own organi- zation, Katsu-Mi Kai Shotokan Karate Association, and his courses are available to anybody who wants to turn up.
As for me... I am still loving the journey of Shotokan. Sensei Carroll has told me that he will give me my Nidan when I can perform the following feat: With a stack of 5 tiles piled in front of me, I have to be able to break any one (and only the one) that he nominates. I think I know how to do it; just need a bit of practice...
James Copple
Please call or e-mail me for any info.
MARK CARROLL
5th Dan
Contact: 01225 708391 or mobile 07989 860087 for course info
