"Old Men Say"

(Welcome to my first Sport Karate Museum Newsletter 2025 column entitled “The Old Men Say.” Now, this being 2025 I am celebrating the beginning of my 69th year in martial arts so perhaps that qualifies me to speak as an “Old Man” and hopefully I also have something of value to Say. During my years of practicing the Way, I have inherited numerous stories from my sensei, many of which were handed down through the traditional Legacy I have served, other's I acquired through years of historical research. There is a beautiful method of personal transmission in the old schools that helps to illustrate and explain many of the somewhat esoteric dynamics we use to merge our body, mind, and spirit into one being, thought, and action. At times the stories also help to illuminate the times, culture, and prominent individuals beyond the typical data transmissions of the martial arts training we have received. Another valuable aspect of these stories helps us to integrate our martial arts teachings into our daily lives.)

My first installment (Winter edition) in The Old Men series is “The Art resides between Sei and Ki.” The term SEI can mean, in a broad sense, spirit. In this case, it can describe a person's mental and emotional state, or motivation. In other words, the inception or perhaps the integrated mind, body, and spirit initiation of movement. In turn, Ki, as a martial arts term, is expressed as the intrinsic energy of the cosmos, the universal truth. An action taken in a particular state of mind and body can have a physical/psychological/physiological effect on the outcome.

The ART that is karate and its expression manifests between the recognition of the need for action and the answer to that need culminating in its conclusion. Therefore, it is less about what you do than how you do it. My Karate-Do sensei would remind me, “I should respond rather than merely react!” It is in the content and execution of the response that the art manifests.

All too often we focus on the data points of our practice. The dynamics of movement, unification of self, and seeking a Munen mindset (no thought or preconception) are often left to esoteric practices or just unfortunately deemed impractical. Instead, it becomes about getting to the block, punch, or kick and we depend on our basic practice to get us there. Practice is important but mindfulness of the doing is also beneficial. The growth of our practice is within ourselves as practitioners through maturity, self-exploration, and awareness. It's not just about being better fighters but better human beings, and citizens.

The space between the movements acts much the same way as the spaces between the notes in music. Those pauses, rests, meter, and rhythm connecting the notes give us the character of sounds as does the volume. Seek to understand and experience what is expressed between SEI and Ki, whether it’s sparring, kata, or just an engaged verbal conversation. Remember, the silences are as valuable as the sounds.

(First printed in the SKM quarterly newsletter Winter 2025 edition)

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Ukinju-Ryu Budo Acromyns-

The acronym D.A.S.H. stands for:

a.       D – Distance (Near and far)

b.      A – Angle (Directional variant)

c.       S  - Speed (Fast and slow)

d.      H - Height  (High and low)

The old men say, “The essence or manifestation of training in a martial way is the investigation of the Near and Far, the High and Low, and the Fast and Slow of the universe.”

An advanced level of unification of the Body, Mind, and Spirit -

In my dojo, we say relationships are often expressed in the Old Man Saying, “The Art Manifests in the Fast and Slow, Near and Far, High and Low.” A recurring dynamic in martial arts has long been the relation of dualities witnessed in Yin and Yang, light and dark, hard and soft, etc. I will elaborate on the Fast and Slow portion in this first of three pairings from this subject title. 

There is power in words. For instance, it is said in the warrior community that “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” Therefore, this suggests that focusing on accuracy and smoothness in the execution of a task rather than on speed alone ultimately leads to faster and more successful results. I pursued speed for many of my early years until I witnessed an Okinawan Grandmaster of advanced age demonstrate what appeared to be deceptive speed in a one-step encounter with a younger expert while evading a full-speed attack and effectively countering the younger man with ease. I discovered in watching this encounter a second time that it was less the physical speed of the step off the line but the timing of the movement. I noted that the Grandmaster's movement lacked any cocking motion, armoring up, or preparatory movement thereby alerting the attacker to the master's intent. Having no red flags, the youthful opponent fully committed himself to his attack ignorant of the consequences that awaited him. The movement was like a tree branch merely moved by the invisible wind of intent. Speed in one’s movement is an important goal but the calm spirit of no thought (Munen) or discernable intent in the moment is the mature goal of the master’s in advanced practice. Penetrating our adversary's defensive guard requires armoring up our attacking weapons and, in turn, can slow them or make them more perceivable. This is especially true when fighting in a linear engagement. 45-degree angle line of engagement and broken rhythm strategies help to alleviate this issue. Speed is not just of the body but also of the mind, and spirit. A mind of the moment, free from holding hopeful strategies and waiting for a perfect moment, is free to respond to the flow of combat faster and more appropriately to the evolving needs of the contest.

Slow is smooth, a well-oiled machine, free to focus on accurately assessing the situation and smoothly adjusting to the flow of the action. Strategies that hamper the advantage of speed such as Broken Rhythm, can also refer to speed, but timing strategies like broken rhythm come to mind. In addition, blending and baiting an opponent to confuse or deceive one’s adversary can interdict his thinking process and slow his reaction time. Grandmaster Kyan Chotoku, when speaking about the three Sens, 1) Sen Sen no Sen- Preemptive Attack, 2) Sen no Sen- Simultaneous Attack(During), and 3) Go no Sen- Counter Attack(After) that ”Three ways to support the practical application of Sei and Ki (see article 1 in this series). Which of these combative initiatives best resolves any confrontation depends entirely upon the individual and the circumstances.”

I hope this first of three articles on this subject gives you food for thought. Join me for article two in the series investigating “Near and Far” in the summer edition.

Enjoy your spring!  Pax, Tom Spellman (first printed in the SKM quarterly newsletter Spring 2025)