The Wooden Mirror.....

Machiwara, or Makiwara as we know it in the West  has been the staple training aid of many Karateka for more than 150 years.

There seems to be an air of mysticism about the tool and indeed that it may hold magical powers that the user may unlock.

One of several Makiwara
at my Kaimokukan Dojo

Well, I'm not too sure about magical powers, but I am certain it shows the user things about themselves that they probably don't care to see.....like a Wooden Mirror if you will.

The disseminators of Karate, those who founded it and developed it, used the tool as a focal point of training; and any modern day 'grassroots '
Dojo will most certainly have at least one.

The late Nagamine Shoshin Sensei, whom incidently my last Sensei was privileged enough to interview, once said.... there are no Karate men who do not use a Makiwara....
A Karateka of more than 60 years, then you would think that he would know what he was talking about and any serious karateka should not ignore his advice.

That so many Karateka today dismiss the Makiwara is a sign of the times I guess.
Favouring "the softer option"
of pads and paddles, where little can be achieved in developing the mind, from the uncomfortable sensations that are experienced to actually developing the hands into usable weapons, such is what can be attained from the Makiwara.

No soft option here....
The Sagi....hanging....
Makiwara is a tough training
Partner... 

So the upside to Makiwara training is the development of the mind first and foremost. It's uncomfortable, but develops tenacity and the will to carry on when it hurts a bit and thus conditions the brain to pain, shows up poor technique, develops the hips and targeting, but here's the big one ....power.
The big calloused knuckles that often accompany the use of a Makiwara are merely a byproduct of the training itself, and should never be the focus of it.

The down side is that it can be addictive, in this Karatekas experience anyway. I will explain....
As you develop or become hardened to the type of training over a few years, the uncomfortable sensations that are had turn into something else. The hypothalamus at the base of the brain releases endorphins, the bodies natural chemical product that makes you feel good.
And here is where you will find the danger. Injury....injury through enthusiasm and feeling good.
As I said, it's addictive.
Even with broken skin and blood being left behind with every strike, seems to be overriden by the euphoria experienced when everything is going right.

Toughest of them all
To work with, in my opinion.
The Ude Kitae, a Makiwara
for conditioning the
arms, hands and legs,  is real hard work...

The Makiwara should not be dismissed in a Karatekas development, it should be nurtured, embraced and looked upon as a reflection of the self. You will learn more about you in facing one than any amount of Kihon or Kata that may be engaged in.

But then again, for this reason, it's not for everyone.

...... The Wooden Mirror ......

Somebody somewhere at sometime said so.....

If Karate do, that is the way of Karate, is about stripping away the Ego, then why do so many Karateka have one....?

Double standards are everywhere.  From your low ranks to experienced Karateka who have been training for years.

Have you ever noticed that in martial arts magazines, you never see anyone interviewed below the Rank of 4th Dan.....
It's almost as if they are saying that if you're not at this perceived level (and I've seen some shit 4th Dan's,  trust me)....then you don't  really have an opinion.

There's a lot of emphasis placed on title. And of course this way of thinking is rubbish.

Sensei, Shihan, Renshi Kyoshi, Kancho......all titles that you could say command respect.
 I've heard it many times that you're not a recognised Sensei until you reach 3rd Dan. Until then you may be called Senpai if you don the coveted Blackbelt that is.
Renshi at 6th Dan and Kyoshi at 7th, assuming you do more for Karate than merely teach. And Kancho if you're head of your organization. It's all very militaristic of course and has developed into what it is over a period of time.
I presume (ref my previous post) that in the beginnings of Karate non of this existed and, most of it exists today simply because " Somebody, somewhere at sometime said so."

There is lots of hearsay about Karate on the internet....about its history, who trained under who, why this and that was developed.
But that's exactly wh a t it is, hearsay. And although there are some snipets of genuine info to be had, much remains conjecture....

Usually what we think we know is because somebody somewhere at sometime said so ......

Presumption........

Soji.....cleaning
I use my time engaged in soji to ponder over things.....
Human nature, my nature, am I doing better today than yesterday, is my training going in the direction I want it to, and so on.
So all this is present and future. I also use my time doing Soji to reflect..... the choices I've made, the positive and/or negative impact  I have, do I have an impact at all, and either way does it matter?

My limited understanding of Budo is to look at oneself through training.....

I was once told that I had had a 'Glimpse' of what Karate is,  which would suggest that I  didnt really know.
That's ok as I find other people attempt to speak for me all the time without really knowing what goes into anything I'm doing or even what my own thoughts about things are.

It would be easy to presume that this wasnt self inflicted or that it wasn't the result of hundreds of strikes...... 

It's a presumptuous world we live in where others would seemingly know the depths of someone else's psyche, when in actuality opinion is usually based on how an individual wants it to fit in with their own views and rarely on factual experience or first hand knowledge of something or someone.

The physical skill of Karate can be easily seen, but the emotion, thoughts and feelings going on inside a Karateka as they practice is something entirely different.

In any form of training it would be impossible to detect through the lens of an onlooker as to when a person felt like giving up and yet there they are still doing whatever it is they are doing. What pain or suffering was being masked by the will to simply carry on and do their best.

Presumption.....and assumption..... all they ever achieved or helped do was nothing.....