The new Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Seibukan Karate-Do Association of Negeri Melaka webite is up and operational. You can visit the site for the latest update on Seibukan Melaka and Malaysia. If you are amember of Seibukan Melaka and wish to contribute to the website in any way, please contact the webmaster.
The Ministry of Youth & Sports and The National Fitness Council is organizing the ‘ULTIMATE WARRIOR‘ tournament. Click on the banner above to go to the Ministry’s website for more info.
Filed under: academy
An idea is brewing on the net! Taking the lead from our East Malaysia cousins and from friends overseas, I have decided to initiate the ‘MARTIAL ARTS FESTIVAL’ in the historical city of Melaka. Not a new concept, I know. But I believe one that is overdue. In celebration of our Nation’s Golden Jubilee I’m calling all martial artists irrespective of style to join me in this endeavour. My aim is for as many martial arts schools/organizations especially from the same style to come together and SHARE! Target date is end of the year or early next year. I need ideas, volunteers for PR & A&P for starters. AND sponsors!! How big the dream will be realized depends on how much we will be able to spend on advertising and colleterals. Sad, I know, but in this and age, money talks. Until I can get a dedicated website for this ‘dream’, the Seiken website will serve as a temporary mouthpiece for the project.
Follow discussion on the project the the MARTIALARTS.COM.MY website.
Filed under: ramblings
Requirements for 11th Degree Black Belt, Cicak-Ryu
(Master of Karate, Lord of the Universe… All Hail Thee!)
Well before testing for this rank any experienced Karate Sensei should have already learned these basic techniques:
Escape from Dojo
the quick exit to avoid clean up and helping with the mats.
Sleeper Stance
standing at the corner of the dojo pretending to be observing the students as they sweat with exhaustion.
Sigh of Wisdom
sudden, forceful exhalation when a beginning student unexpectedly survives a dangerous body slam without injury.
Crossing Fingers
a hopeful posture used when uke has been choked unconscious.
Gift of Instruction
the act of taking credit whenever a student wins a tournament or performs a technique correctly.
Seeing Without Seeing
the dazed look of amazement given to the student who asks a stupid question.
Kuchi Waza (mouth technique)
using an hour of class time to answer the stupid question while students sit on their knees in seiza.
Mugger’s Defense
offering to lighten the student’s wallet to reduce the risk of confrontation.
Sensei’s Downfall
failing to ask for enough money to keep the dojo open.
Further requirements:
· Must be able to walk on water (while it is in liquid form).
· Must be able to disable a man using only a Kleenex tissue as a weapon.
· Must be able to make up meaningless Zen koans on the spot.
· Must be able to catch a fly with chopsticks.
· Must be able to defeat multiple masked ninja movie warriors after they disclose their evil plans to you and leave you to die in an easily escapable situation.
· Must be able to voice over a Godzilla movie properly (i.e. coordination between the movement of the lips and the voice).
· Must be able to take a bullet (not in the chest of course but maybe in the foot or something).
· Must be able to make your own nuclear device with a piece of bubble gum, a pencil, some coconuts, and an alarm clock.
· Must be able to change into a karate-gi in a phone booth at any given moment.
· Must be able to sing Karaoke.
· Must be able to use nature to your advantage (e.g. sick a dog on the enemy, throw stones at him, climb a tree and hide…)
· Must be able to fight blindfolded and win (against blind competitors of course).
· Must have completed a course in “Basic Samurai Sushi”.
· Must be able to choreograph street fights for Jackie Chan movies.
· Must be able to use an opponent’s skill as a reason for defeat.
· Must be able to keep all bleeding internal.
· Must be able to trim an entire forest into a bonsai garden in 25 minutes or less.
Note: Laughing at any time will disqualify the potential 11th dan. If a member of the Senior Board of Examiners makes a comment and then waits expectantly, it may be an indication that he has just made a joke. A half-smile may be tried at this time, but in no other instance. If you are not quite ready for 11th degree black belt take your 10th Kyu test now.
IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU QUALIFIED FOR 11TH DAN,
Yesterday, Karl Sensei and I went up to Kuala Lumpur to train with Pathmanathan Sensei. We had planned to go early in the morning so that we could come back early, but due to some work commitments on my part, we only left for KL at 9.45 a.m. After a two hour uneventful drive, we arrived at Pathmanathan Sensei’s apartment and instead of training, we chatted! We then were introduced to Master Bala, Chief Instructor of the Kuala Lumpur Taekwondo Association and we talked on the mess martial arts associations are in due to politics and power struggles. After a delicious lunch, Pathmanathan Sensei then drove the 3 of us to Youth and Sports Ministry in Putrajaya, where he had a meeting on the on-going Ultimate Warrior Tournament. Karl Sensei was a competitor last year and planned to enter again this year. He also roped in yours truly to enter 
for the Melaka Level Tournament. Even if I don’t win, it’ll be an invaluable experience. All this while talking about karate and kumite, this is the chance to try my skills against other exponents from other martial arts. It was way after 7 p.m. before we made it back to Sensei’s apartment. Karl Sensei and I hastily changed into our gi and went for the training at the neighborhood basketball court. We worked on Ippon Kumite and Kata. Needless to say, neither my Ippon kumite nor was my kata (and we only worked on Fukigata Ichi, Fukigata Ni and Seisan!!) was not up to Pathmanathan Sensei’s strict standard. This made me very irritable, yet determined to press on. Pathmanathan Sensei is a strict yet kind teacher who urged me on with his encouragements, and tweaking my moves to the minute details….. “Squeeze here…”… “Push this out…”…”This way…”… “Just a little bit this angle…”… “Lower….”…. “KIME!”. Pathmanathan Sensei is uncompromising when it comes to the training standards. By the time the 2 over hours training was over, I was grateful. We then met up with Revi Sensei of Seibukan Johor for drinks before leaving for Melaka around 11.30 p.m. We arrived around 1.30 a.m. to some well deserved rest. This morning when I woke up, the effects of yesterday’s training was showing, and I was cramping here and there. What that means is that I have to intensify my training to clear the little kinks out and if I hope to be in shape for the Ultimate Warrior Tournament in July.
Work and family have to be higher priorities than updating web sites with new content, in the past two weeks. A set of photos from the YAB Menteri Besar Selangor Challenge in December 2006 and from the grading are up on the website and on the Flickr site for your perusal. It’s been, to say the least, trying couple of weeks. A lot of people in the general martial arts community, be it friends or strangers have been very supportive of me. I have tons of e-mail relating their bad experiences and also those who have supported my actions and have given constructive criticism and ideas. They have bolstered my confidence that what I am doing is best for me. Most have requested that their comments not be posted on the website, and I respect their request. Knowing that there are others like me gives me great hope. It seems that my provincial blog has attracted attention from far and wide. Today this site has had 1,365 visitors since I migrated from my old web in March 12, 2007. Not too shabby I’d say. My heartiest thanks for your support.
Recent events have made me reexamine my involvement in the martial arts. A few options came to front:
1. To withdraw from public participation in karate-do, and only continue teaching my children. For this option I was rewarded with a sound smack to the head by my mentor, Naka Sensei and a tirade of ‘how much sweat you poured into it’ lectures by my good friend Kenji.
2. To affiliate myself with another association so as not to step on anyone’s toes…. another smack to the head. I was reminded that no matter what I do, there is always someone who will not agree with me or with what I do.
3. To keep on doing what I am doing now. To keep my faith in my friends.
There is the easy way to do things. And there is a right way to do things. The two are almost always not the same. What defines the right or wrong way? Look into yourself, and examine your motives. Why do I do this? What do I hope to get out of this? Two weeks of retrospection has led me to this conclusion: That what I do first and foremost is not for myself, my own gratification, nor my own glory. My foremost concern is my students. What do I have to offer them? If I had my way, they would not have to bother about competitions or being National Athletes or medals. They would concentrate on perfecting their kihon waza and kata. This study alone would take many, many years. And I don’t claim to be all knowing and a master in this. I myself am still a student of the arts. Continuously to learn from as many sources and I can manage. In the Muslim Quran, there is a verse that states (this is my own rough translation): That man’s knowledge is but a drop in the ocean compared to His Almighty. A drop in the ocean. And my knowledge is but is speck of that drop. But I strive to be like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It gets bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger as it rolls down. I strive to gather knowledge to make myself better, so that I can offer more to my students. A friend has given me an option that I train fully in non-mainstream karate (i.e., not involved in the politics and association), that I go ‘old-school’. But then I ask myself what if I have a student, a talented student who wishes to go for the National Trials. What can I do for him/her as the teacher? Do I react indignant that my student wishes to something that I don’t particularly like and hence chasing him away despite his loyalty to me, do I ask him to join another dojo that specializes in ‘sports karate’, or do I give him that option myself? It would be selfish of me not to think of my students welfare and future, for I want to nourish their lifelong passion for the ’Do’ and not make a one time fad. I do this by aligning myself with people who have access to such activities, irrespective of my own personal ideas and agenda. Gone are the days when impoverished masters knock on the doors of rich men for patronage. It is the age where service matters. One might not have the best product, but if your after sales service is great then people will flock to you instead of the one who have a superb product but poor service. To have both, great product and great service, would be heaven sent. But reality is oft otherwise. To be trapped in a time warp where one wants the students to obey their every whim without giving due explanation is just simply preposterous. There are still a lot for me to write, but my students have just started arriving for class. Till next time. OSS!!
