GIRI

Giri is made up of two characters.

Gi which means loyalty or duty.

Ri which means reason or basic principle.

Depending upon the usage it might mean “duty”, “honor”, “Obligation”, or even “debt”.

If you have giri to someone, it might mean that you owe them a debt or are under obligation to them.  Alternatively you might give someone in  your office “giri choco” on Valentines day because you are expected to rather than because you are particularly friendly with them (as in the meaning of social obligation). A “giri no musuko” would be your “son-in-law” (as in a son through obligation rather than through blood relation).

The birth of the concept of giri occurred during the feudal period in Japan, and holds the highest regard in human relationships. A basic breakdown of the relationships are: Master-subordinate, parent-child, husband-wife, brothers-sisters, friends, and sometimes even enemies and business associates. The most basic definition one can give giri is a debt of gratitude and a self-sacrificing pursuit of their happiness.

Giri also has a very strong presence in Japanese business. To a foreigner, it can been seen as irrational and against the principles of Western business, where one is intent on personal growth. The Japanese business perspective is not the pursuit of individual gain, but one of support and respect for human relationships. This leads to mutual support in the work place instead of inter office competition and mistrust of one’s contemporaries.

On a nice warm (22C) afternoon in January Kim and I were sitting in Pizza House (best pizza in Okinawa) with Yasuda Sensei (Hanshi 10th Dan) I asked him why at over the age of 75 he still travelled all over the globe teaching Goju Ryu Karate. He replied “I have served Miyazato Sensei for many many years and now that he as passed it is my giri”

Make sure you understand your giri to your family, your art, your dojo, your sensei (if you have one).

Books

First Year of Karate-do Study:
The Karate Dojo by: Peter
Urban
The Karate Sensei by: Peter Urban
Karate-do My Way Of Life by:
Gichin Funakoshi
Zen In The Martial Arts by: Joe Hyams
The Empty Hand by:
Rui Umezawa
The Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary by: Emil Farkas & John
Corcoran
Moving Zen by: C.W. Nicol

Second Year of Karate-do
Study:
Okinawan Karate by: Mark Bishop
The Secret Power Within by:
Chuck Norris
The Way Of The Warrior by: Howard Reid & Michael
Croucher
A Book Of Five Rings by: Miyato Musashi
Okinawan Goju Ryu by:
Seikichi Toguchi
The Classical Man by: Richard Kim
Weaponless Warriors by:
Richard Kim

Third Year of Karate-do Study:
Ancient Okinawan
Martial Arts Volume #2 by: Patrick McCarthy
Bubishi The Bible Of Karate by:
Patrick McCarthy
The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia by: John Corcoran and
Emil Farkas
Dynamic Tension by: Harry Wong
Dynamic Karate by: M.
Nakayama
Karate-Do Kyohan by: Gichin Funakoshi
Living The Martial Way by:
Forrest E. Morgan
Advanced Kumite Karate Fighting Skills by: Earl
Robertson

Fourth Year (and beyond) of Karate-do
Study:
Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts Volume #1 by: Patrick
McCarthy
Tales Of Okinawa’s Great Masters by: Patrick McCarthy
Classical
Kata Of Okinawa Karate by Patrick McCarthy
Modern Shotokan Karate by: Cezar
Borkowski
History And Traditions Of Okinawan Karate by: Tetsuhiro
Hokama
Spirit Of Karate by: Andrew Bowerbank
Goju Ryu Karate-do Volume 1
& 2 by: Motoo Yamakura
The Traditional Karate Do, Okinawa Goju Ryu
Volumes 1 through 4 by: Morio Higaonna
Okinawan Karate Do Gojyu-Ryu Meibu-Kan
by: Carl Wheeler & Brock Vickerson
Goju Ryu Karate Do Kyohan by: Gogen
Yamaguchi
Goju-Ryu Karate~”The Cat”~ by: Gogen Yamaguchi
Goju Ryu Karate I
and II by: Gosei Yamaguchi
Spirit Of The Sensei, Teachings Of Masami Tsuroka
by: Andrew Bowerbank
Her Wits About Her by: Denise Caignon and Gail
Groves
Competition Karate by: Chuck Merriman Kyoshi

Canada Goju

Robert Marshall Dalgleish November 6, 1942 – July 6, 1978
If you want to talk about “Canadian Goju Ryu Karate” you must start with Sensei Bob (Robert Dalgleish). He is the reason we must call it “Canadian Goju”. If it was as simple as going to Okinawa, studying karate and returning to Canada to teach it then yes we could simply call it Okinawa goju. However Sensei Bob had many many influences in his karate life and it is these influences, which eventually made up what is known as Canadian Goju Ryu.
Canadian goju ryu has influences from Chito ryu, Shotokan, Ishin Ryu, USA (Urban) Goju, Okinawa Goju, Yamaguchi Goju, KyokuShin-Kai and more….
Sensei Bob was an information junky once referred to as ‘the dojo rat’ much like in Canada when we call someone a rink rat, a hockey player who is always at the rink getting in as much ice time and practice as possible. Sensei Bob loved to travel the rails and loved karate, this is how he came to meet and exchange information with so many top karate masters. .
Following are some excerpts of Sensei Bob’s bio taken from the Goju Kai Karate Dojo Handbook. Reprinted without permission
MASTER BOB DALGLEISH
Master Bob Dalgleish started his initial training in 1959 under the guidance of Master Masami Tsuruoka, 9th Dan and head instructor of the Chito Ryu style of karate do in Toronto, Ontario. Master Dalgleish studied with master Tsuruoka for a period of two years after which he journeyed to California to continue his studies under shotokan Master Hidetaka Nishiyama. Remaining with Nishiyama for a period of two years off and on, Master Bob Dalgleish attained the level of 1st kyu brown belt in the Shotokan School of karate-do. .
Having attained two separate grades of brown belt, Master Dalgleish then travelled throughout the United States and Canada, gaining knowledge and sharing with karate-ka throughout the nation. From 1959-1964 Master Dalgleish studied and trained in the following styles: .

• Chito Ryu (Japanese) under Tsurouka
• JKA Shotokan Ryu under Nishiyama
• Goju Ryu under Yamaguchi & Yamamoto
• Ishin Ryu under Armstrong
• Tai Chi Chuan under Master Jung of Vancouver Canada.

In 1965, Sensei Dalgleish taught in Vancouver, B.C. and was elevated to the level of 3rd degree black belt by Master Masutatsu Oyama of the KyokuShinKai style. Master Dalgleish stayed in Vancouver and established a dojo there and then returned to Toronto, Ontario where he introduced the Shotokan style and KyokuShinKai style to Eastern Karate Club.
Between the years of 1965 and 1967, Master Dalgleish journeyed from Toronto to New York, several times to learn Japanese Goju style under Master Peter Urban. However, Sensei Dalgleish had to start at the bottom and wear a white belt for a period of 2 years and after a 2-week grading period, he was again recognized as his previous rank of 3rd degree black belt by Master Urban. Sensei Dalgleish then retuned to Toronto and introduced the Goju style to Canada via the Eastern Karate Club.
In 1969, Master Dalgleish travelled to San Francisco, California where he was accepted by Master Gosei Yamaguchi, to train in Yamaguchi Goju Ryu (Japanese) and again, Master Dalgleish started from the basics and on up. When Master Dalgleish left Master Yamaguchi, he was recognized as a 3rd degree Black Belt in the Yamaguchi style of Goju Ryu.
Between the time periods of 1967 and 1968, Master Dalgleish travelled to Phoenix, Arizona, to train with Master Robert Trias, 8th Dan and founder of the United States Karate Association. Master Trias, without any doubt graded Master Dalgleish to 4th degree Black Belt and instructed him in the Okinawan Shorei style of Karate-do.
In 1971, Master Dalgleish was granted the 5th degree Black Belt in Goju Ryu and later was granted the Masters’ rank of ‘Renshi’ by Shihan Yamamoto, from Japan.
Master Bob Dalgleish travelled to Sudbury, Ontario in 1970 to establish the Sudbury Goju Kai Karate Dojo, until his death in 1978. Dalgleish’s most senior student and the man who even today is considered to be the senior goju man in Canada is Bill Hind Kyoshi. Bill Hind still teaches goju ryu today in Toronto, his group is called “Canada Goju” canada goju web page click here

West

A Short History of Goju Ryu Karate in Western Canada

My personal research of Goju Ryu Karate in Canada has brought me in contact with Sensei Tony Wilson Shihan a senior student of Tomoaki Koyabu Shihan of Canada Shorei Kan. Sensei Tony has been with Koyabu since 1975.
Sensei Tony has provided me with some very useful information but has stressed to me that he wishes it to be known that this is not meant to be the only information that should be used in providing a history of Goju Ryu on the West Coast
Sensei Tony told me: “I know that there were other instructors that probably taught Goju Ryu, many of those were “store front” type operations which may or may not have been officially recognised by International Karate Organisations. I can only provide that information with which I am familiar and of which I have certain knowledge.”
It is my opinion based on my personal research that Sensei Tony is extremely knowledgeable and accurate when it comes to the history of Goju Ryu on the west coast of Canada.
A small village called Steveston in Richmond, has been an established Japanese Canadian fishing community since the 19th century. During the late 1960’s the community lobbied the provincial government for a community centre, one that would reflect the character of the community and which could provide training in various Japanese traditional martial arts such as Judo, Aikido, Kendo and Karate which are all still taught there. The monies collected by the community and a grant from the provincial government enabled this wish to be realized. The community wanted to find a Karate instructor to teach and approached Tomoaki Koyabu Shihan to teach. He was unable to accept that offer and so the community then approached Uchiagi Sensei of Goju Kai who became the instructor at the community centre. Uchiage Sensei, Koyabu Shihan, Yabunaka Sensei and others started an organization called the “All Canada Karate Association” and held regular tournaments at the community centre. Those participating as member dojo were the only internationally recognised official dojo for Goju Ryu on the West Coast at that time.
Koyabu Tomoaki Shihan was directed to promote and supervise Shorei Kan in Canada as the official representative for Toguchi Seikichi Kaicho in 1971 and arrived in Vancouver BC in 1972. He began to teach a small core of students in a dojo on Knight Street in Vancouver. He taught there and at various other locations in Vancouver until 1979 when he bought a house and his student renovated a garage at the property and established the Canada Honbu Dojo, where Black Belt practises and testing took place. There have been only a relatively few Black Belt rankings awarded by Koyabu Shihan since his arrival in Canada. Koyabu Shihan teaches and has further developed the Okinawa Goju Ryu Shorei Kan style in Canada with the full approval of Toguchi Kaicho, who used to visit Vancouver regularly.
LINK FOR MORE ON Tomoaki Koyabu Shihan & Sensei Tony Wilson Shihan shoreikan.com
LINK FOR MORE ON Uchiage Sensei uchiagekai.com
One of the most popular and successful Karate Sensei’s in the province of British Columbia is SENSEI FRANK CLAYTON. Frank Clayton runs the Canadian Martial Arts Academy at 33211 N. Railway, Mission, B.C. V4S 1E3 and also has 2 other locations. Clayton has been practicing karate and kobudo since the 1970’s, his dojo web page is located at www.cmaakarate.com

Shodan or grand master?

A black belt does not mean you are a teacher. SHODAN means beginner NOT teacher, instructor or master. Further more a shodan who has not come to class in 3 years is actually a WHITE BELT. And white belts have no business teaching karate to anybody.

Man or Boy?

If you are old enough to drive, vote and drink alcohol then you’re a grown man or grown woman and will be treated as such in the dojo. You might be your mothers baby but the sensei will not treat you as a baby if you are of adult age. Men if you want to act like a boy then go join the Boy Scouts and girls well you can be a brownie and sell cookies.

Karate is great for sparring practice, but UFC guys chew them up.

“Karate is great for sparring practice, but UFC guys chew them up”

The above quote is from my facebook page after I posted a video of Yasuda Tetsunosuke Hanshi 10th dan teaching in Ontario Canada some 8 years ago. The quote comes not from one of my goju friends but from a customer of mine, a regular acquaintance I guess you could say. He is also a really nice guy who in his own words “I’ve had lessons in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Kung Fu.  I would have to say that karate was the most fun and also most practical towards a “real” situation”

I don’t like to debate and certainly will not do it on facebook, rather I will preach to the choir here on wordpress if you all don’t mind.

In real karate you are never training to fight somebody in a ring with rules at an agreed upon time and place. A karate person while he may be able to run 26 miles, dead lift 365 pounds, perform 100 continuous pushups and 200 continuous sit-ups is not an athlete and they who teach karate are not coaches. Karate is not a sport and never will be. (The general public is
familiar with a sporting aspect of karate where gloves and boots are worn but this is not karate at all this is just an exercise for children)

The best karate techniques, the heart and soul of karate are reserved only for those practitioners who remain with one instructor for a minimum of 3-5 years. These practices are rarely seen in any sporting fight where the 2 fighters have a mutual agreement.

Attacking tendons, twisting bones, attacking blood passages, seizing nerves, digging into the cavities of the body unprotected by the skeletal structure and impacting anatomically vulnerable zones.

MMA, UFC, boxing, wrestling, judo etc… Are great sports played by some phenomenal athletes who none of us would want to fight in a ring but they are apples and karate is oranges. While we share some if not many techniques with these fighting sports, the fight we are training for in karate is VERY different than what these fantastic athletes are training for.

 

Ken Jacobs 5th Dan Chief Instructor Toronto Kyobukan P: (416) 717-8455  www.jundokan.co

 

 

Nutrition

http://vegasport.com/the-making

The Vega Sport performance system is 100% plant-based, free from dairy, gluten and soy, and contains no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.

---

While training for my first half marathon and first 2 marathons I consumed a lot of Gatorade and PowerAde. During our numerous long runs of 20-36 kilometers we need more than just water, we need calories and electrolytes as well. After seeing “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” (http://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM) My kids and I started looking VERY close at all ingredients in what we were eating and drinking. You see, in the past we always read the “nutrition facts” (its a great way to get small kids reading in the grocery store).

After “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” http://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM I followed that up with Food Matters http://youtu.be/r4DOQ6Xhqss and Hungry For Change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MvAM97VDE8

(If you want to borrow these DVD’s let me know)

And finally after speaking with friends in the medical field, my massage therapist and my Osteopath I concluded YES Fructose IS in fact POISON…Soft drinks are not a “treat” for the kids they are poison, Coke is not junk food it is poison. STOP LET ME BE CLEAR This is just my opinion and in my opinion this stuff is poison for me and my kids!

This past April and May while watching both Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon on TV I noticed something I had never paid attention to in the past. The elite runners, especially the ones from Kenya and Ethiopia would grab a cup at the water tables, look inside and throw it away then grab another and possibly throw it away and then grab a third and drink it…all while running full speed of course en route to a sub 2:10 marathon.

It hit me like a good reverse punch in the solar plexus….THEY WILL NOT DRINK THE GATORADE!!! My students know this, they have run road races too….first table is Gatorade second table is water.

OK So where can I find a sports drink that is not full of poison? It took me quite some time but I found a few.

e-Load http://www.eload.net/

Herbalife http://www.herbalife.com/

Vega Sport http://vegasport.com/

Vega Sport is more readily available and has a bunch of benefits beyond being poison free.

Endurance athletes unlike martial artists can often run into serious problems of “gastric distress”. All marathon runners, tri-athletes and iron man participants have experienced it in training but on race day it can be a complete disaster! http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19166&PageNum=1 we need fuel that doesn’t mess with the gut. Warning you need a good stomach to read my friend/coach Michelle’s blog –>

http://michelletherunner.com/2012/05/09/shit-happens/

So in conclusion the moral of the story? Stay clear of THE POISON…choose smart natural clean and easy on the gut supplements like Vega Sport take it from me a self proclaimed former “supplement junkie”

Also ask Sempai Manan about this gear, he’s been using it for quite some time.

GojuKenJacobs

PS. Do me a favor and get your gear at Runners Mark
on Lakeshore in Port Credit http://www.runnersmark.com/ its a new
small business that we need to stay in business.

 

 

http://www.jundokan.co

http://www.etobicokekarate.com

http://www.dixonkarate.com

www.torontokarate.com

Kids Know What’s Up

If you want the bottom line and you want it fast ask an 8 or 9 year old child like Billy or Kendra. 

I’m currently running a writing contest and challenged about 30-40 youths to write a paragraph or essay (their choice really) on one topic.

The prize is:  *Movie Passes* 🙂

• What karate means to me.
• Why I like training with sensei Jacobs and senpai Leigh
• Why I like Kingsview karate

After 1 week I received 1 reply so far. Now I know a few others are still working on it but most of them have already had their final class and I know for them karate out of site, karate out of mind.

So I asked Kendra “What does it mean if they write nothing” 

Her answer?

 “It means Karate means nothing to them”

WKMTM-1

What Karate Means to Me

 

What Karate means to me is to train hard, meet new friends and to learn the art of  Karate with some fun on the way.

Karate also means having good sensei and sempai.  Just like my sensei Ken Jacobs and sempai Leigh Hume.  My sempai is very caring and she helps me correct my mistakes.  My sensei is also very caring and helps me reach new potential.

 

That’s what  Karate means to me.

 

Cody Gallant

Age 10