Satori and Karate-do
For my Shodan essay I focused on the idea of Karate-do, and how the lessons of Karate training were as much about the role Karate has played in my lifestyle and approach as it was in pursuing my black belt.
I concluded the essay by posing and answering this question: So is the culmination of all this training getting a Black Belt? It may be called a milestone, but in my mind earning a black belt is not an award nor is it a plateau. For me, it serves as a validation that I have constructed a strong and balanced foundation in Karate on which to begin the process of building upon. For me, it is an affirmation in Karate-do that I have been and am continuing on the right path.
Having now passed this milestone by three and a half years and continuing with my training, I have affirmed exactly what I had believed achieving Shodan would be for me; a foundation.
A former Sensei of mine had frequently made the comment, “Once you have achieved black belt, then your training can begin.” While I trusted Sensei’s advice, I never understood what he truly meant by this until very recently, and this realization has come with a new appreciation of the art and a rejuvenated excitement in continuing to train and learn.
I have found a parallel to this new “realization” in the Buddhist concept of Satori. Satori, loosely defined, is an “awakening, comprehension or understanding”. In the metaphysical sense, it refers to the process of enlightenment or more accurately those moments when one has discovered a glimpse of enlightenment.
While I do personally find spiritualism in the practice of karate, the relationship of satori to my own burgeoning experiences with the art seem more earthly in nature. They are in the nuances of refining one’s technique, and the flow and natural next steps that suddenly become clearer in activities such as kata or kumite.
Hearkening back to Sensei’s statement, all the training and experiences leading up to Shodan are the groundwork for finding a deeper comprehension of the art. While we never truly perfect our basics, we do reach a point in training where the basics become more natural, comfortable and in many cases more muscle memory. This is not so much a light switch being thrown once you wrap a black belt around your waist, as it is an evolution that begins somewhere around this level of experience. It is at this point that we become less burdened by getting the form “exactly right”, which allows us to explore much more of the body dynamics of movement as well as internal karate: Compression and expansion, a keener sense of kime, a relaxed mind and fluidity, the momentum that can more effectively drive one movement into another, etc.
The range of our experience at this point also allows us to see connections between one technique and another that had been segregated to us in earlier training. We practice kata, we practice lock flow, we practice kumite waza, but then we start to see how to put them together. There is no better example of this then in kata bunkai. There is a basic bunkai for each of our moves in kata, yet as we gain more comfort in the form of the kata and have more knowledge in other techniques, our mind opens up to numerous alternatives to the traditional action and response, and the flow between moves suddenly take on a whole new meaning. It is the early stages of finding Oyo.
To examine the idea of satori in karate in a personal sense, I have been beginning to experience this more frequently in recent months, where even in performing fundamental blocks or strikes I will find and feel slight refinements to a technique. I may lose it again the very next time I perform the technique, but it becomes easier to rediscover once I have had the initial moment of comprehension. For instance, in discovering the value of a tight chamber hand on a side snap kick. In developing this kick in earlier training, I focused on the kick itself, and then the retraction of the kick, and then the timing of the back fist strike that usually accompanies it, and then the tilting up of the hips, and then the grounding of the foot and adjusting balance. The latter seeming the most elusive to me, inconsistency in finding balance resulting in an ineffective kick despite its quickness or height. Then, after having thrown thousands of these kicks over the years, I recently found a slight adjustment to the position and tightness I apply to the chamber hand, and I found that my posture and balance, and correspondingly my kicking technique overall, improved. Now I certainly still throw some sloppy sidekicks from time to time, but I know better what to look for to improve this and how to adjust the next time round.
Similarly, when working on sparring techniques with a partner, someone will occasionally make a mistake on what the scripted technique is; a reverse punch to the face rather than a stepping in punch to the stomach. In such cases, the satori comes instantaneously in the midst of the engagement. I find not only am I able to comfortably adjust my defense, but more often than not am able to flow into a counter without pause or hesitation; a down block with a reverse punch becomes an inside block followed by an arm bar and a hiza geri. The outcome remains the same, block and counter, but the options for getting there can vary greatly.
This reinforces confidence and subsequently relaxation and clearer focus. The anxiety of “oh my god a punch is being thrown at my face” diminishes into a comfort level that you can now see it coming and adjust. Here again I am having moments of “awakening”, for as I am able to (on occasion) anticipate and respond more intuitively, my reaction can focus on the next step. Better stated my reaction can become action, which is the general idea of Sen Sen No Sen. We have discussed and studied this concept, but now with these new revelations it appears for me personally to be a tangible, attainable technique.
So does this mean I have a mastery of the basics of karate? Absolutely not. But, the fact is that I have achieved a strong enough groundwork with the basics that I can count upon with some consistency and reliability, which enables me to explore a deeper meaning of the art. This, it turns out, helps me to improve my basics further. And here, finally, is another moment of satori in the art: the cyclical nature of Karate-do. The further along that you advance, the closer that you get to the beginning.
About the Author
My early martial arts experience coincided with my college experience. My first dojo was a Kenpo school that I became a student of while pursuing my undergraduate education at CSU Poly, Pomona from 1987 through 1989. I then became a student with Shotokan Karate of America (SKA) under Sensei Sam Abboud, achieving the rank of 3rd Kyu with that dojo, while attending CSU, Fullerton for my graduate degree from 1990 through 1993. I originally joined USKL, at its former location on Monte Vista below Foothill Blvd, back in 1998 and re-earned my 5th Kyu before having to discontinue my formal training in 2000 due to the impacts of a new job and new baby. I returned to USKL in 2008, and have remained actively training with our dojo ever since.
Dan Hargrove
USKL Nidan
