SHORIN RYU SEITO MATSUMURA KARATE & KOBUDO

2011-12-29T15:23:00.007Z

International Seito Karate Kenkyukai (UK Division)
Karate & Kobudo Workshop
Sunday 5th Feb 11-3pm

Jim Dart Sensei, Jujitsu/Kata Nage Waza
Neil Malpas Sensei, Shorin Ryu Karate & Kobudo
Malcolm Bates Sensei, Seito Karate Concepts

@St Mary Church Hall, Butlins Lane, Roade, Northamptonshire, NN7 2PU, £8 ISKK members/£10 Non-Members

Confirm place direct with Jim Dart Sensei, sensei@kenshindoryu.co.uk .

Unfortunately I cannot make this event, but please try and support as it will be an excellent day.

Jim

2011-05-06T13:47:00.001+01:00

Here is one of our Makiwara installed in one of my students home dojo where we work out from time to time.

Makiwara is not for everyone of course, however IMO it is an important tool to at least experience for a few months.

I have found once used it changes our concept of Kime significantly, body mechanics/alignment and concepts of acceleration/mass are really 'taught' using the Makiwara.

The main thing to train is Seiken Tsuki, be sure to keep the body in correct alignment, and the elbow down strike with the 2 large knuckles.

However various Tsuki, Uchi and indeed Uke and Geri Waza can all be worked on Makiwara, and it is VERY different to the heavy bag (of course another important tool, for different reasons).

We are producing a small number of Makiwara to our very well researched and tested design, these are available to UK karateka whom are interested along with free advice to get you going.

Please email james@neetersolutions.co.uk to find out a little more and discuss your requirements.

Jim

2011-01-18T23:00:00.005Z

Shoshinkan is proud to present

Giuseppe Meloni Shihan Of Bushido Academy Italia

Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito Karate & Kobudo
21/22 May 2011, Uckfield, East Sussex, England

Naihanchi Sho or Ni, Renzoku Waza, Tsuken No Bo, Rohai, Soken No Sai, Kihon Waza & Tuite Waza were trained.

Bunkai, Strategy & Principles Explained

£35/day or £60 for weekend in advance, Lunch & Green T provided both days,
optional local Indian Meal Saturday evening £15 all you can eat

Contact Jim, james@neetersolutions.co.uk payment in
advance please, strictly limited places available

Thank you Sensei for a great weekend!

ISKK Workshop - Feb 2011 Sussex

2010-12-31T13:37:00.012Z

International Seito Karate Kenkyukai

Karate & Kobudo Workshop

Sunday 20^th Feb 2011, 10am-2pm

Jim Neeter Tsuken No Bo, Kata & Bunkai

Tom Maxwell Sensei, Kodo Ryu Push Hands and Naihanchi Tuite

George Bishop Sensei, Practical Karate

Uckfield, East Sussex.

This event was well supported with 18 of us training, my thanks to all who helped make it happen - I look forward to the mext ISKK Workshop in Maidstone October 2011.

Thank you George Sensei and Tom Sensei for your presentations and teaching.

For info on the ISKK please visit - www.seitokarate.com

Jim

Karate Tournament & Training April 2010

2010-04-13T21:58:00.003+01:00

event organised by Craig Finch Sensei of the Matsuri Dojo,

http://www.matsuri.org.uk/about.htm

Tournament Sunday 25th April
Evening meal Sunday

I had the pleasure of assisting at the tournament and was impressed with the spirit shown and friendly level of competition.

Our dojo looks forward to supporting this annual event going forward.

Jim

Karate Workshop In Sussex

2010-01-16T13:59:00.006Z

International Seito Karate Kenkyukai (I.S.K.K.) Workshop

Sunday 21st Feb 2010, 10am-2pm

Light Refreshments Provided

Paco Sensei, Knife Defense kata

Jim Neeter, Matsumura Pinan & Naihanchi Footwork
George Bishop Sensei, Pratical Karate

My thanks to all those who taught and trained, a great day was had and we look forward to the next gathering later in the year in Kent.

Jim

Training Trip To Italy - Jan 2010

2010-01-04T15:54:00.004Z

Im just back from seeing Sensei again to train at his dojo and learn a little more about Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito Karate & Kobudo.

I had 5 days in Milan and we worked very hard, as always!

Sensei and my Sempai made more corrections to my kata, we worked alot of Kihon and Kumite practice, I also confirmed the 'formal' versions of all kata to Shodan for our dojo, and corrected my Chikin No Kon kata in line with Nishihira Sensei method.

Sensei hopes to visit UK in July 2010, and I will be going to Italy a couple more times before the end of the year.

As always all students and good friends are welcome to join in these training oppertunities, it's very rewarding.

Thankyou Bushido Academy Italia-Ciao!

Jim

International Seito Karate Kenkyukai Workshop

2009-09-23T20:14:00.006+01:00

International Seito Karate Kenkyukai
Martial Arts Workshop
Sunday 4th October, 2pm-5pm
Quick drink after

Sessions With-

Malcolm Renshi – Modern Kata Development

Jim– Partner Kata Drills

guest instructor Sam Sensei – Jodo

A great training session was held at Malcolm Sensei Kent dojo, my thanks to all who taught and trained.

Jim

Training Trip To Italy March 2009!

2009-03-13T00:09:00.010Z

I have recently returned from a trip to train with Giuseppe Sensei in Italy, and what a few days it was!

As always we trained very hard, and I was looked after by my friends.

On the sunday Sensei had organised a seminar where I taught around 30 fellow martial artists - Sensei then taught some Tuite methods which were very interesting.

The karate was top quality, and I have now formed an important direct link for myself and dojo with Giuseppe Sensei accepting me as a direct student for Seito Matsumura Karate/Kobujutsu.

I enjoyed training with all the students, my Sempai and Sensei and look forward to our next trip to Italy in June/July, and to our Italian friends coming to England in October.

Thankyou Bushido Academy - Ciao Ciao !

Jim

A Great loss.....

2008-12-23T01:14:00.005Z

http://www.cw-fc.com/karate/articles/about_kosei_nishihira.htm

One of my greatest disapointments is not being able to have made the trip to Okinawa in time, to meet Nishihira Sensei before he passed, his karate is inspiring to me and I aim to do my best and practice hard what little I know about it.

Rest in peace Sensei.

I now hope that I can simply learn from his surviving Senior Students as best I can, and teach this to my students,

Jim

Talking................Training

2008-10-30T10:56:00.002Z

I have recently been thinking about the different types of people who train martial arts (scary.....) and possibly the reasons why (scary as well!).

One of the traits I have noticed over the years is there are generally three 'types' of people who train, those who talk alot when they should be training, those who train to much, and should have a chat now and again and those who find a nice balance between the 2.

Clearly there is no rights or wrongs here, I proberly talk and train to much for most peoples tastes! But my point is at least I do indeed train alot...............

My general view is that most of us talk to much in training time, there is time in the pub after dojo time to go into real detail or off at real tangents, obviously the nature of karate does mean we talk during training, but lets try and make it relevant to the training!

This way we get more useful work done, and everyone moves forward.

Jim

Our Italian Friends Have Visited Us In England !

2008-08-01T00:05:00.009+01:00

Group training at the Shinseido honbu, Sevenoaks, England.

I am pleased to announce that Giuseppe Sensei, his wife and student Mari Sempai and Mauro Sempai have visited the UK, August 2008.

We arranged a series of training sessions over 4 days, Thu 14th (2 hours), Fri 15th (2 hours), Sat 15th (4 hrs) and Sun 17th (6 hrs), the sessions were split between our dojo in Uckfield (Thu, Sat) and the Shinseido Honbu in Sevenoaks (Fri, Sun).

Many aspects of the late Nishihira Sensei Shorin Ryu Seito Matsumura Karate & Kobudo were covered with Giuseppe Sensei, Mauro Sempai and Mari Sempai leading the training.

The whole event was superb, with an extremly high level of friendliness, skill and knowledge coming from our Italian friends.

We also visited Brighton (Fish and Chips on the pier no less) and had a group meal in Uckfield.

My thanks to all those involved in making this happen, particulary to Scot (a student of mine) & Anna (his wife) and my long suffering wife Monique for all the hospitality shown.

Ciao !

Jim

Okinawan History - Social, Political and Cultural

2008-06-12T23:36:00.005+01:00

Anyone who knows me in relation to karate will tell you I have more than a passing interest in the history of Okinawan Karate, whilst this book is not specific to karate at all ,it does outline historial aspects of Okinawa, looking at the social, political and cultural aspects.

Personally I find this book the best easily avalaible to get a 'picture' of where our art came from, and to assist my understanding of the main influences of its development.

It's a tough read (im no academic), but im on about my 5th read through and I always pick up interesting information.

If you are seriously interested in the History Of Okinawa, then this book IMO is the best avalaible to give a broad outline and undertanding of the island people.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Okinawa-History-George-H-Kerr/dp/0804820872/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213310244&sr=8-2

also here is some good online 'general' history of Okinawa, well worth a look -

http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_of_uchinanchu.htm

Jim

Seito Matsumura Friends In Italy, Europe !

2008-06-04T22:23:00.014+01:00

Giuseppe Sensei, Myself and 3 of his Senior Students.

I am just back from my family's holiday in Italy, I had been invited to visit to the Bushido Academy (in Milan, Italy) to meet and train with Giuseppe Sensei, a Senior Student of the late Nishihira Sensei.

We arranged to meet at 8.30am on Sunday 25th May, Giuseppe Sensei and Mari very kindly drove over an hour to pick me up.

From our first handshake I was welcomed and treated like an old friend, we arrived at the dojo where we trained for several hours, I was invited to lead training and after a couple of hours Giuseppe Sensei did the same, we covered kata, worked Nishihira Sensei Kumite drills, some Kobudo kata and Kumite, some Tegumi concepts and bunkai from the Pinan Kata as I work it.

The standard of karate at the Bushido Academy was extremly high. We also adopted an 'open' dojo in relation to filming, so I have more video to help me along in my research of the system.

After a good workout I was honoured with some gifts and we all went to lunch at a local (and excellent Chinese eatery), I was treated to lunch, and then dropped off back to my family.

Many aspects of Nishihira Sensei karate was discussed and demonstrated throughout the day.

My sincere thanks go to Giuseppe Sensei and his students, I really do look forward to further training with the group both in Italy and England, UK.

Ciao !

Jim

Words Of Matsumura?

2008-05-18T13:27:00.003+01:00

Sokon Matsumura's letter about Martial Arts, written May 13, 1882

To:
My wise and young brother Kuwae Ryosei

You can only understand the true way of the martial arts through determination and continuous training. It is quite interesting to note that the martial arts and the methods of scholarly study parallel each other at a fundamental level.
When examining the methods of scholarly study, we find there are three distinct elements or methods:

The first method is the study of powerful words, skills needed in communication and the pursuit of high-paying positions.

The second method is the study of comparing the wisdom of traditional literature, and instilling a sense of duty by way of example.

Despite the fact that these two methods are both unique, they fall short of comprehending the true essence of the way. They encompass only a superficial comprehension of scholarly studies, so they should be regarded as incomplete.

The third method of literary study is a complete method. By understanding this third method is how we can understand the true way. Some of the things that it teaches us how to do are the following:

(1) To gain a more profound understanding(2) To gain strength from our weaknesses(3) To become more sincere(4) To become more righteous(5) To better control our emotions(6) To have more peace in our homes.

This is a doctrine that can be applied to not only our country, but to the whole world. Therefore, only this study is a complete one.

If we investigate the martial arts, we also see that there are three distinct divisions or elements in them:

The first method, or division, is more like a game of psychology and tactics. It actually has no practical application in fighting, but it is more like pretty dancing. It is quite superficial.

The second method is nothing more than physical exercises. Its only goal is to win. In this there is no virtue. The practitioners of this method are contentious. Many times they bring injury to others and to themselves. Very often they cause dishonor to come upon members of their family.
The third method, in contrast, is always performed with conviction. The practitioners of this third method gain a solemn enlightenment, free of strife and depravity. It promotes loyalty among family, friends and country. It also promotes a natural demeanor, which develops a gallant character.

If you have an unconquerable calmness, you can overcome the enemy without force, with the ferocity of a tiger and the swiftness of a bird.

Some traits of this third method:
(1) It prohibits intentional violence
(2) It rules the actions of the warrior
(3) It edifies
(4) It promotes virtue
(5) It promotes peace among the people
(6) It produces harmony in society
(7) It brings about prosperity

These are called the "Seven Virtues of the Martial Arts." They were taught by wise men, and are contained in a book called the Godan-sho.

Thus, the true way of the martial arts has more than one element in it. A wise man does not need the first or second methods. All he needs is the third method.

In this method, you will find the true way.

This unconquerable strength will deeply influence your judgment in recognizing opportunities and in taking appropriate action. The circumstances will always determine what the correct approach is that you should take.

It might seem like I have no respect for the other two fighting methods, but my conviction is rooted immovably in the doctrine of the third method. I have revealed my words to you. There is nothing left secret or hidden in my mind, nothing held back. If you accept and heed my words, you will find the true way.

Signed:
Bushi Matsumura, May 13, 1882

enjoy, Jim !

2007-06-11T22:40:00.000+01:00

Karate - My Art, is a very interesting compilation and translation of Motobu Choki O'Sensei works, presented by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy.

If you have a genuine interest in 'old style' Okinawan Karate then this small book is an absolute must have!

Avalaible from here - http://www.koryu-uchinadi.com/motobu_choki_book.htm

McCarthy Sensei does a wonderful job in giving us a glimpse of the good stuff!

Jim

Okinawan Information Links

2007-03-17T12:40:00.002Z

Love it or hate it Youtube allows many of us to see and hear things we other wise never would, please take a look at the various RyuKyu clips avaliable at -

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=ryukyu&search_sort=relevance&search_category=0&page=1

for lots of historical and current okinawan news and information visit -

http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/eng/ryukyu/

a good place to start getting information on the Historical RyuKyu Kingdom Period is here -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABky%C5%AB_Kingdom

Jim

Okinawan Cultural Events In England, UK

2007-03-17T12:26:00.003Z

Myself and various friends visit a London University to attend gatherings of Okinawan people and their family's and friends. The focus is on music, sanshin practice.

The music was very interesting, a very casual approach and very much a social occasion. Obviously alot of skill is involved with this instrument, I particulary enjoy the singing!

We discuss many aspects of Okinawan culture, history and traditions and are honoured to be part of the group.

Towards the end we are sometimes asked to show some of our karate,

Our particular thanks to Hisano and James who I have spoken to for a while to arrange these meetings, I hope to attend each 1/4.

If you would like to join us please contact me to discuss arrangements, we also tend to train somewhere, visit the local Oriental bookshops and blag our way into a rather nice library!

Write up in the okinawna Times re one of our visits -

http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/kaigai/kaigai20070407.html

Jim

Secrets Of Long Healthy Lives !

2006-09-08T09:41:00.001+01:00

One of the most significant things I have learned from my Senior's is to treat our karate as a true life preservation system.

The begining of this process for me was to purchase The Okinawa Way/Program book and begin to try and understand it's truly life saving contents.

If you do nothing else buy this book, study it's contents, act on the information given!

It gives solid practical methods of obtaining excellent physical, mental and spiritual health - now that is 'good old' karate.

The Okinawan people live long, active healthy lives and we can learn much from their historic culture and lifestyle,

Here is a nice supporting documentary on the subject - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7te6UwgSOY

Jim

HOHAN SOKEN SENSEI - KOBUDO

2006-08-10T01:08:00.003+01:00

Here we see the late Master with the main weapons (Left to Right, Bo, Kama, Sai, Nunchaku, and Tonfa) used in the Shorin Ryu Seito Matsumura Karate & Kobudo.

I am very proud to learn this line of kobudo, it is simple, direct and very interesting.

We also work defense against knife and clubs in the dojo for practical self defence work.

Jim