Alternative Karate: A new country, new path?

Alternative Karate: A new country, new path?: Zoe was a young teenager when she first walked into our dojo and discovered karate. It soon became her passion and she excelled, both as a ...

A new country, new path?

Zoe was a young teenager when she first walked into our dojo and discovered karate. It soon became her passion and she excelled, both as a student and teacher. Her profound understanding, powerful physical prowess, playful nature and gentle femininity was an awesome mix. Not surprisingly she became a highly sought after instructor and role model to other young women in our club.

In 2012 love of a good man took her to Calgary, Canada where she now lives with her husband and baby daughter.

Despite being so far from her home and karate family, she has continued her martial arts journey encountering a range of difficulties along the way.

She has kindly agreed to share her thoughts in this candid and honest interview.

When did you start practising karate and why?

Funakoshi's grave.

I was 17 years old, so that's, 1997 I think! Growing up as a teenager in Bristol made me realize that as a woman I needed to protect myself. I would often go down town with my friends, we would see fighting and the male attention was sometimes quite intimidating. Little did I know that Shotokai Karate would become so much more than a system of self defense.

Describe your karate journey so far. What have been the highs & lows?

I've seen associations split, egos clash and Karate reveal people for who they really are good and bad.

But mostly I have had a marvellous time meeting some of the most incredible and inspirational people in different countries around the world.

Highlights being -  practicing with the Japanese Masters (The Yutenkai) in Japan and in Pisa, Italy. Also practicing with the warm and exuberant Italians on the hot sand in Pisa. Sharing great friendships. Watching people grow and seeing them progress is the most satisfying and amazing thing.

Low point: Is probably right now actually. Trying to find my way in North America and find people who understand what I am trying to teach. Trying to get past the people who want instant gratification of just punching and kicking. Its a long journey with many twists and turns. Sometimes you want to just give up but something always calls me in my heart just to keep going.

Has karate informed your private life? If so, in what way?

Its made me the person I am today. I seek to be a better person because of it. It turned my life around as a teenager and has constantly kept the demons in my head that say 'you are not good enough' at bay. It's a constant test of resilience and determination, this helps relationships and goals in all areas of life. It has kept me humble, patient and generous.

How did having a family and moving away from Bristol affect your karate aspirations?

Its tough, I miss helping dedicated people learn Shotokai Karate. It will come. As I said above its another twist in my journey that is testing my commitment. I have explored other martial arts and enjoyed what they have to offer but I am always drawn back to passing on my experience. I love to teach and I need to do what I love. I know that I have to have huge patience to build a club and balance that with finding something new that fits with my beliefs. Also having a child means she will always come first, she is my first priority and any parent will know that it takes some time to adapt to this new role and responsibility.

What qualities do you hope to find in a karate instructor?

HUMILITY!! Kindness and a genuine spirit for wanting to help people become their best. An understanding of connection, long term progression and the art of martial arts.

What would be your ideal practice environment? In other words, what do you look for when assessing whether or not to visit / join, a new club?

HUMILITY!! Kindness and a genuine spirit for wanting to help people become their best!  Not trying to suffocate my previous experience. Openness and respect. FUN people, who don't take themselves too seriously and who want to help others.

What has been your biggest martial arts challenge to date?

Canada!

What advice would you give to someone starting out on their karate journey?

Persevere, stay open and try to leave your baggage at the door of the dojo at each practice. Enjoy the journey, don't rush, be very patient and kind to yourself and others.

Have you ever studied any other martial art apart from karate and, if so, how do they compare?

Aikido, Kickboxing, Wing Chun Kung Fu. Each style has great things to offer. Aikido for it flow and lack of violence toward your partner (neutralize the attack). Kickboxing for its fast pace, great kicks, learning to get in do the damage and then get out. Wing Chun for its fast compact techniques that constantly stick to their attacker, a great system for street self defence and as I like to call it, Telephone box fighting. Wing chun is a great influence right now to me as it was designed by a small woman and understands how to use the energy of a large male against them. I see a lot of similarities between Wing Chun and Shotokai Karate.

What would you have written on your karate headstone?

Stay Humble. Be kind. Keep an open heart.

Karate Belts - More than keeping your trousers up?

"It is not what you wear ..... its what you do" - Master Chen

 When the white belt becomes dirty and discoloured by years of hard training it turns to black, then after more years of dedicated practice, the “dirty” belt becomes frayed. The white cotton stitching is revealed thus returning the black belt to white symbolising that however great the master, there is always more to learn. It’s a popular and romantic view but opinions about the value of karate belts are mixed.

I have had the great pleasure to practice with a truly authentic Grandmaster, Chen Xiaowang. Although not specifically referring to karate belts, Master Chen made the point that your value as a martial artist was not determined by the colour of a piece of cloth around your waist.

The need to have a visual signpost illustrating the student’s current point along their karate path seems to have had its roots in the early 1930’s. Many believe that Gichin Funakoshi, one of the founders of modern karate, was instructed to adopt the judo approach to rank if he wanted karate to be accepted as a main stream Japanese martial art. Funakoshi agreed, and the coloured karate belt system was introduced.

Today there are as many coloured belts as there are colours in the rainbow. Our dojo adopts a basic primary colour system. However manufacturing improvements have resulted in not just bold, primary coloured belt designs, but also multi coloured striped belts, chequered belts and two tone belts being widely used and available.

There appear to be two main schools of thought.

The first believes that the novice student should wear a white belt until they are considered good enough to wear the coveted black belt. Variations on this approach have resulted in some groups adopting a single intermediary grade of brown belt, before black.

The other, arguably more widespread view, accepts that there is at least some value in having a coloured belt grading system. The precise colours of the belt vary from group to group, but generally begin with white, moving through to a black belt, via six or seven other colours.

What are the benefits?

Personally, I subscribe to Master Chens’ view, but recognise there is value in an overt ranking structure. Recently, a mature student successfully completed a basic assessment and as a result was awarded a new karate belt. She remarked it was the first time since leaving school, that she had been publicly recognised for any type of achievement. She went onto explain that this recognition had raised her sense of self worth, and had profoundly impacted on her long standing acceptance that she would never achieve anything.

This may sound extreme, but this type of acknowledgment resonates on some level with many ordinary people. When I talk about ordinary people, I don’t mean to sound disparaging but I refer to the type of person who is never going to be an Olympic athlete, or “Champion.” It’s the silent majority who have to put age, infirmity, family, or work first before embarking on any physical challenge.

The setting of achievable goals or objectives is important for many people. These sign posts along the path to karate mastery can be a powerful motivator for the student.

Of course like most things there is a darker side. Jealousy and desire linked to ambition and the acquisition of power can unfortunately result in a misuse of the belt ranking system. Also the use of coloured belt awards as rewards is open to abuse by some instructors whose income depends on student numbers. I have seen such instructors unfortunately influenced by the prospect of a student leaving if not awarded their new belt. For those leaders, the temptation to reward, and therefore retain the student, must be a constant challenge.

Instructors, group leaders and those with this responsibility, should also be alive to the impact promotion of a student to a new rank can have on the micro culture found in karate clubs. On balance

if managed correctly, with integrity and appropriate value, the coloured karate belt system provides many students with a sense of context, and the opportunity to set meaningful goals; such a system also allows instructors and leaders to plan lessons more effectively, providing appropriate practices in line with the students experience and ability.

Keeping this perspective helps encourage achievement with challenge, and healthy competition, but at the end of the day, a belt is just something to keep you trousers up!