Monday, May 16, 2011 by C. Michial Jones
In the Jundokan lineage of Eiichi Miyazato Sensei, the second line of the Dojo Kun provides a vital safeguard for the lifelong martial artist:
Hitotsu! Tairyoku ni ojite tekkido ni shugyo sayo. (First! Train considering your physical strength.)
Training in Karate-do is an intensely personal journey. You can only do it for yourself, and because every practitioner is a unique landscape of age, physical build, and personality, the path cannot be identical for everyone. Even the founder, Chojun Miyagi Sensei, was known for tailoring his instruction to the specific body types of his students, recognizing that one person’s strength might be another’s limitation.
The Purpose of Practice
The ultimate aim of training is to build resilience, health, and fitness. However, there is a delicate balance to maintain.
- Over-training: Pushing the body to a state of chronic stress leads to physical deterioration and illness rather than development.
- Under-training: Practicing with insufficient intensity provides no benefit and allows the spirit to grow soft.
The goal is to train in accordance with your current ability while pushing just a fraction beyond your comfort zone. By gradually building intensity over decades, the body grows stronger without breaking.
Adapting to the Seasons of Life
There is an old saying: “When you are young, train like the young; when you are old, train like the old.” In my youth, I embodied the “Hard” aspect of Goju. I trained relentlessly on the makiwara, kicked trees until my shins were numb, and spent hours in high-impact sparring. When I injured myself, I ignored the pain and refused to heal. Looking back now—feeling the aches of those old decisions in the morning—I can recognize the “young and foolish” mindset that drove me.
Life also has a way of forcing adaptation upon us. In 2003,, while on duty, I was hit by a car. The resulting damage to my hips fundamentally changed my relationship with my own karate. I went from a practitioner who loved head-high kicks and endless sparring to someone who had to spend nearly a decade just conditioning my hips to regain basic mobility.
The Shift in Emphasis
Because of that injury and the natural progression of age, my training has evolved. I no longer feel the need to prove my athleticism by sparring with the “kids” in the dojo for hours on end. Instead, my emphasis has shifted toward:
- The Depth of Kata: Finding the power within the forms rather than external flash.
- Kakie and Waza: Focusing on sensitivity, sticking hands, and the efficiency of technique.
- Refined Hojo Undo: Continuing to hit the makiwara and use the traditional weights, but with a focus on longevity and structural integrity.
I have determined that I no longer need to run sprints. The competitive “sprint” of my tournament years was a blast, but it is over. I am now pacing myself for the never-ending marathon I embarked upon decades ago. True mastery is not found in how high you can kick at twenty, but in the fact that you are still stepping onto the mat at seventy.
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