Here is another interesting parallel between academia and the martial arts (both links courtesy of Sensei Kao Chao). These tell more or less the same story with the same moral. However, one attributes the lesson to a karate instructor and the other to a professor.
A philosopher and teacher of the ‘Way’ began addressing his students. He produced, from behind a screen, a large glass container and a box of fist-sized rocks. After a few moments of carefully placing the rocks into the glass container, he came to a point where no more would fit. He then turned to his students and asked: “Is it full?” “Yes,” came the reply.
He then produced a smaller box of pebbles and managed to fit a few more stones into the container.
“Is it full?” he asked again.
“Yes, it is now,” was the answer.
From a small bucket he began to pour gravel into the spaces between the rocks and pebbles, every now and then shaking the container until no more would go in.
“Is it full?”
“Probably not!” his students replied.
Out came a cup of the finest sand, and the teacher began to pour. With just a few gentle shakes, he was able to bring the contents of the container to the very brim.
“Is it full?”
“No!”
Next came a pitcher of water and with this he allowed the liquid to drip slowly into the container until, in time, the pitcher was empty.
“And now, is it full?” he said.
“Yes,” the students shouted. “It’s full! It’s full!”
“So,” asked the teacher, “what have you learned today?”
One eager young man jumped to his feet and said, “No matter how full your life is, there’s always room for more.”
“Thank you,” said his teacher, “but that is not the point I was making. What I was trying to show was that you have to get the important things in life, the ‘big rocks’, in place first; otherwise, you will never fit them in.”
Source: Big Rocks: The Hidden Values of Traditional Karate
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else–the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
There are several schools or branches of Goju-ryu that have diverged from each other in various ways since the death of Chojun Miyagi. Although they all retain the major elements of the style, they do differ in some notable ways. For example, they are distinct is in the ranking systems that they use in terms of the kata requirements for each belt. I have compiled a table that summarizes the belt requirements from the four major schools (three Okinawan: Meibukan, Jundokan, and Shorei-kan; plus Japanese). Some of the details undoubtedly vary within each school, either by organization or even by dojo, but this is still an informative comparison. Additional notes are provided after the table.
Shorei-kan uses a white-green-brown-black ranking system, which is more common in Okinawa than in the West, where some variation of the multi-colour system is most common.
Sanchin Ichi is a version of the kata developed by Chojun Miyagi that does not include turns. Sanchin Ni is the original version of the kata taught by Kanryo Higaonna which includes turns.
Meibukan, Shorei-kan, and Japanese Goju-ryu each include katas unique to their schools that are not part of the core Goju-ryu system.
Taikyoko 1,2,3 refers to the kata Taikyoko Gedan, Taikyoko Chudan, ans Taikyoko Jodan. Taikyoko 4,5 refers to Taikyoko Mawashi Uke and Taikyoko Kake Uke. These all follow the same pattern but use a different block. A similar pattern is found in the Meibukan exercise of kakomi kumite.
Sanchin-Tensho is also performed by Meibukan students but is not necessarily part of the main syllabus. Here is an example of the kata performed by Meitatsu Yagi.
There are several spellings for many of the kata names.
I wrote a brief overview of the different branches of Goju-ryu in one of my earlier posts. As I mentioned, the major schools of Okinawan Goju-ryu that were founded by Chojun Miyagi’s direct students are the Meibukan (Meitoku Yagi), the Jundokan (Eiichi Miyazato), and the Shorei-kan (Seikichi Toguchi).
Meitoku Yagi (1912-2003)
Meibukan
Eiichi Miyazato (1922-1999)
Jundokan
Seikichi Toguchi (1917-1998)
Shorei-kan
These schools differ in various ways, such as the order in which kata are learned and in some details of the techniques and stances in them. This highlights the dynamic nature of even traditional karate, as these were all students of the founder of the style and yet they did not perform their kata in an identical way.
Although all three masters have since passed away, we are fortunate to have examples of them performing several kata. I have put together some examples from what is available on YouTube:
I hope you enjoyed the various episodes of Enter The Dojo, which I collected in a previous post here. One of the scenes that I find especially funny is the one in which Master Ken describes a series of techniques in response to a guy “getting up in your face”:
What makes this clip funny is that it is so over the top and disproportionate to the offence. It also manages to work in a well-known martial arts cliche (“It’s better to be judged by twelve than carried by six”).
The best humour, especially satire, is built around an element of truth. It isn’t hard to find examples of that which is being parodied here. Indeed, I came across the following while searching for examples of defences against the haymaker, which apparently is the most common first attack in street fights.
Truth be told, that guy won’t be throwing any more haymakers for a while, what with the punches to his carotid artery and the head stomp.
In addition to learning basic techniques, kata, and drills, students of traditional karate need to learn many Japanese terms (such as the names for basic techniques, kata, and drills). This includes being able to count to 10 in Japanese. Now, sometimes people forget how to count in Japanese. That’s ok. But sometimes they forget while the rest of the class is stuck in a painful stance or a strenuous position. For those times, I say: PLEASE STUDY!
Here are the Japanese words you need to know for class:
One – Ichi
Two – Ni
Three – San
Four – Shi
Five – Go
Six – Roku
Seven – Shichi
Eight – Hachi
Nine – Ku
Ten – Ju
To be fair, some Japanese folks have trouble counting in English as well — but don’t laugh, OR ELSE!
In the particular martial art that I study (Meibukan Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate), the ranks are as follows: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Brown, Brown with black stripe, Black. The coloured belts are known as “kyu” belts, and are ranked in reverse order (i.e., the 1st kyu is the highest). Black belts are “dan” ranks, of which there are 10 (Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, etc). Dan ranks are also referred to as “degrees”. Thus, a person who holds a “Sandan” is a “third dan” or a “third degree black belt”.
You may recall that many years ago, I held the rank of brown belt, which was considered “1st kyu” in my previous style (Jundokan Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate). I never achieved a dan rank because I stopped training at that point. The main reason, as I have discussed previously, was that I felt that I had to focus on my academic studies and that I would not be able to dedicate the kind of training necessary to live up to a dan rank. I don’t regret the decision, though I am certainly glad to be back in the dojo after all these years.
Some readers may be wondering what exactly is involved in pursuing an academic career.
Well…
Undergraduate — Bachelor’s degree (white to green belt)
The first step is to attend university as an undergraduate. I studied at McMaster University for four years to earn my Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. At McMaster, everyone in science had the same basic set of courses in first year (chemistry, biology, physics, calculus, etc.) and then would choose a major for second year. I ultimately ended up in the Honours Biology program, where I focused on topics like physiology, animal behaviour, evolution, and ecology.
As part of the Honours Biology program, we had to complete a senior thesis in which we conducted an independent research project. I did mine under the supervision of Dr. Chris Wood, in which I investigated trade-offs between growth, dominance, and swimming performance in rainbow trout. (I’ve written about it in detail here). However, for the most part undergraduate training involves a lot of courses in the standard lecture format and focuses on learning basic concepts.
For this reason, I would say that having an undergraduate degree is roughly equivalent to earning the rank of green belt. You know some stuff, but you’ve really just gotten a basic introduction.
Master’s degree (blue to brown belt)
Graduate school is about as different from undergraduate as undergraduate is from high school. In Canada, students who continue in their studies generally complete a master’s degree (MSc) after their BSc. In this case, there are only a few courses and these tend to be very small (10 students or so) and are much more about discussing and debating topics rather than learning basic content. The main thrust of an MSc degree is conducting original research under the supervision of an advisor. The advisor-student relationship is a bit like an apprenticeship or perhaps what traditional karate training was like, with one Sensei and a handful of full-time students.
The typical time taken to complete a master’s degree is about two years. It culminates in writing a thesis and defending it in a public defence in which your advisor and several other professors attempt to pick it apart. I would say that getting your MSc is similar to earning a brown belt. Now you have some exposure to the “real deal” in science and you have shown that you can follow a (hopefully publishable) study through from idea to analysis. The analogy breaks down a bit, though, because sometimes a student will upgrade to a PhD program after a year without completing the MSc. This is what I did.
PhD student / PhD candidate (brown belt with black stripe)
Depending on the school, there may not be any course requirements at the PhD level. Instead almost all of the emphasis is on completing (publishable) research. It’s still done under the guidance of an advisor, but the expectations for PhD-level research are significantly higher than for an MSc and more independent thought is required.
After the first year, a PhD student begins studying for the dreaded “qualifying exam” or “comprehensive exam” or “comps”. Basically, you are given a reading list (which might include a couple of textbooks) and have several months to study before spending several hours being grilled by five professors. I have heard of many students who decided not to pursue a PhD because they did not want to go through this exam. That’s rather extreme, but let me tell you, comps are not fun.
The good news is that once you get through the qualifying exam, you become a “PhD Candidate” and your only major task for the rest of your program is to do your research. At this point, you have reached the level of a brown belt with a black stripe. The next major “grading” will be your PhD defence.
PhD (1st degree black belt)
As with the MSc, the PhD concludes with the writing of a thesis detailing the research that you did. Unlike a scientific paper, which is usually about 20-30 pages in manuscript form, a PhD thesis is often hundreds of pages. (Mine is here, if you’re curious). This shouldn’t be too surprising, given that it represents four or five years of work.
“PhD” stands for philosophiae doctor or Doctor of Philosophy; literally, “doctor” means “teacher” and “philosophy” means “love of wisdom”). A PhD is the first time that you get letters in front of your name (and not just after, as with BSc and MSc), when your title becomes “Doctor”. (You are not “a doctor” [noun], though, as that refers to medical doctors only).
Including undergraduate and a PhD program without an MSc, it took me 9 years to complete my PhD. I would say that graduating with a PhD is roughly the academic equivalent to earning a 1st degree black belt. You definitely know a lot and you have proven yourself to be capable, but really it’s just the beginning.
Postdoctoral Fellowship (2nd degree black belt)
Most people who complete a PhD with the intention of remaining in academia will complete a postdoctoral fellowship (“post-doc” or “PDF”) under the supervision of an advisor at a different institution from where they completed their degrees. At this stage, you have a PhD and the title “Dr.”, but you do not yet have your own lab or a permanent position. The PDF is a time to focus entirely on one’s research, to publish more papers, and to establish oneself in the hope of landing a faculty job. The post-doc stage can last for several years. In my case, I worked for a year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and then for a year at the Natural History Museum in London, UK.
Following our karate analogy, completing a post-doc (which can last up to several years) would be akin to being promoted to 2nd degree black belt.
Assistant Professor (3rd degree black belt)
If you are fortunate enough to land a highly coveted faculty position at a university, you will begin as an “Assistant Professor”. The name is a bit misleading, though, because you are not actually anyone’s assistant. Rather, this is just the junior faculty rank and most of the basic duties are the same as for more senior colleagues.
Assistant Professors are not tenured, but they usually are “tenure-track”. The main objective at this level is to establish both an independent research program (i.e., obtaining grants, supervising graduate students, publishing papers) and a teaching portfolio (i.e., developing and delivering undergraduate and graduate courses).
The Assistant Professor stage is easily the most stressful of all the ones covered so far. For one thing, you are now expected to teach, supervise students, write grant applications, and serve on committees, and for the most part you have minimal experience with all of these. Moreover, the pressure to gain tenure can be pretty intense, especially with the need to balance teaching, research, and service. The first time I taught a course, I quite literally survived on 2 hours sleep per night for several months. I had a few all-nighters in my undergraduate and graduate days, but nothing even close to what it was like when I was a new faculty member.
Becoming an Assistant Professor is on par with receiving a 3rd degree black belt and opening one’s own dojo. There are many parallels between running a lab and running a small business, and the early years of both can be particularly challenging.
Associate Professor and tenure (4th degree black belt)
Eventually, you figure out how to develop courses, how to run a lab group, how to get grants, and how to keep on top of the dozens of commitments and responsibilities that you have at any given time as a faculty member. After a few years, you should have established a productive research program, have taught several courses, and have served on various administrative committees. The workload doesn’t get any lighter (quite the opposite), but you get better at managing it.
Junior faculty are evaluated by a committee of colleagues each year. After the 6th year at the latest, an Assistant Professor will be reviewed based on his or her performance to date and considered for tenure. If successful, he or she will receive tenure and a promotion to Associate Professor. If unsuccessful, his or her position will be terminated. Assistant Professors are allowed to apply once for early consideration and if they are not successful then, they will be considered again at the 6-year mark. Most people will apply in year 5, since there is nothing to lose by going for it at that point. I happened to apply in year 4 and was successful, and I have been an Associate Professor for about 2 years now.
Promotion to Associate Professor is a major step in one’s academic career, and is probably more than just receiving a 4th degree black belt because of the added component of being awarded tenure. Close enough for our imperfect analogy, though.
Full Professor (5th degree black belt)
There is one additional rank among faculty, namely “Professor” or “Full Professor”. In general, Associate Professors will apply to be promoted to Professor several years after their first promotion, once they have clearly established a very strong record in research, teaching, and service. Unlike the promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, this one is not necessary to remain in the job and there is no specific time line for when one applies for it nor any limit to the number of times one can apply.
The Professor rank is more like an acknowledgement of continued contributions and accomplishment rather than passing a specific test. For that reason, I would liken it to being awarded a 5th degree black belt.
So, there you have it. I started training in karate in the first year of my undergraduate program and stopped around the beginning of my fourth year. After that, I completed five years in a PhD, two years as a post-doc, four years as an Assistant Professor, and have been an Associate Professor for the past two years.
I have been acquiring and making a variety of training tools to include in my home dojo (“hojo”?), which I am nearly finished building in my garage. This includes modern training apparatus like a heavy bag (modified with grappling arms) and a Body Opponent Bag (“BOB“) as well as traditional implements for hojo undo like the makiwara.
I mentioned that the tire-type makiwara that I made is particularly neat because it can be quickly swapped out for other striking targets to hang from the same hook. I will be hanging my breaking board holder, for example, and today I made a smaller, lighter-weight punching bag that can also be hung there. The reason I want two punching bags in close proximity is that I want to practice combinations on multiple attackers from different directions. If I move BOB closer to the heavy bag, I will have targets on three sides.
To make the lighter punching bag, I picked up an army-style top-loading duffel bag from a surplus store. Then I simply stuffed it full of old clothes and rags, tied the top shut, cut off the strap and handle, and added chains to hang it.
Although it is comparatively small, it is surprisingly heavy and solid. It’s no substitute for a heavy bag, mind you, but it will be perfect as a supplemental target. Of course, if you happen to be constrained in terms of space and/or cost, this is also a great option.
I discussed the purpose and construction of a makiwara in a previous post. The platform type that I built last time is good if you want to have a self-contained version of the traditional style that you can move from one room to another or take outside, rather than having it buried in the ground or attached to the floor of the dojo. However, it’s heavy and is at best only semi-portable.
So, I decided that I would also make a smaller type of makiwara that can be mounted on the wall. Of course, you can buy small, wall-mounted makiwara that consist of a leather pad on a piece of wood, which in turn sits on top of a foam cushion inside a metal bracket. We have one of these in the dojo, and it seems to work well. It would be easily portable based on its size, but I am not sure how simple it is to mount/unmount it.
As you may have guessed, the fun part for me is to make my own equipment using materials that are readily available. So, with that in mind, here is the second type of makiwara that I have built. This one makes use of an old car tire and is truly portable.
The first step is to get an old tire. Tire shops and auto mechanics are good places to try, especially because you will probably be able to select the size that you want. In all likelihood, they will let you have a tire or two for free since they will just be recycled anyway. In my case, I had access to a large pile of tires that some jerk had dumped next to a walking trail near where I live. I spent a Sunday morning hauling them all out of the brush and am planning to dispose of them properly. In the meantime, I have lots of tires to choose from for this sort of project.
Anyway, once you have the tire, it is a good idea to wrap it in tape because, well, tires are dirty. I chose to use hockey tape but duct tape would work fine as well.
Just to make it interesting, I made a little pattern with black and white tape. I actually decided to make two of these at the same time, using two different tire sizes. One was a standard car tire and the other looked like a trailer tire.
Once the tire is wrapped in tape, cut it down the middle all around the inside, and then stick it to the inside walls of the tire. Basically, the flexing of the rubber is what will provide the cushioning for the strikes, so it’s better to have the two walls of the tire free to give and rebound properly.
The next part that you need is a piece of hardwood and some material for making the striking target. It so happened that we have a box of hardwood flooring planks left over from some renovations that we did several years ago, so I just used small pieces of this wood.
For the striking target, I used two types of foam: the black foam flooring that I used when making the breaking board holder, and the grey camping foam that I used in the heavy bag arm project. I simply taped these to the board and wrapped them with hockey tape. This made for a nice pad for striking.
Then it was time to add the leather. I picked up a well used leather jacket from Value Village for about $10, which provided enough leather for lots of these covers. Just to make it seem more authentic, I attached the leather by tying it on the back. You could just as easily tape it on.
Once completed, I drilled four holes into the wood and through the tire, and bolted the boards on to the tires. I used lock nuts and included a washer on top of the wood and another one underneath between the nut and the rubber. I also drilled a hole in the top of the tire and attached an eye bolt (again, with two washers). I mounted the makiwara on the wall by hanging it from an eye bolt and ring that was screwed into a piece of wood attached to the wall and was aligned with a stud. Note that the walls in my garage are wood, not drywall, so you will need to take this into account if you want to mount one of these somewhere in your house. I assume no responsibility for any damage that you do to yourself or your walls!
I also added an eye bolt to the bottom of the smaller tire and attached the larger one to it. Here is the finished product:
This is very cool because it provides two different targets, one at about head height and one around stomach height. It’s fun to throw combinations at the two targets, like you might do on a heavy bag — but with the benefit of the progressive resistance that you get with a makiwara. The makiwara generally doesn’t swing from side to side unless you give it a push (which can be interesting as well).
The double makiwara is part of the home dojo I am building in my garage, and is conveniently located near my heavy bag. This allows me to practice combinations on multiple opponents. Because they are attached by clips, the makiwara can be used together or one at a time, and the height can be adjusted easily by using a chain. They can also be removed easily and replaced with other pieces of equipment that can hang from the eye bolt. For example, I have since attached a chain to my breaking board holder so that it can now be hung in place of the makiwara if I want a different sort of target to hit. It’s a quick-change system for punching targets!
Overall, I am very happy with this makiwara. It was pretty easy to make and it cost almost nothing (just some tape, foam, old leather, and bolts). I think it looks good on the wall as well. The ability to quickly change it for other pieces of equipment or to adjust the height is excellent. And it provides a great use for an old tire.
The idea for making this type of makiwara came from a couple of sources, including the videos here and here, and The Art of Hojo Undo by Michael Clarke. This is my own take on the design (one of the others is hand-held whereas another is screwed directly to the wall — plus mine has double targets).
A makiwara is traditional Okinawan training tool used for developing proper striking technique and power. It serves a similar purpose as a heavy bag, but differs in that it consists of a stationary post rather than a swinging bag. A heavy bag swings backward when punched, which means that the highest amount of resistance is encountered on first impact before the bag starts to move. By contrast, when a makiwara is punched it causes the board to flex such that the resistance pushing back against the fist increases the farther it bends. This provides feedback on proper technique (a bad punch will simply bounce back) and helps to develop power because it requires the transfer of force deeper into the punch than is needed to move a heavy bag.
The term makiwara literally means “wrapped straw”, which refers to the traditional practice of making the striking target out of straw rope. Traditional makiwara are often anchored by burying the bottom end of the board into the ground outisde, but this is not particularly convenient in a climate with cold winters. There are also several styles of makiwara that can be installed inside a dojo, usually by bolting to the floor or the wall.
There are also some makiwara designs that are more portable, and one of these is what I decided to make first. (I’ll talk about some other styles later). The one I made is what I would call “semi-portable”, in that it can be moved from one room to another or taken outside, but it isn’t something you would transport from home to the dojo. There are versions of this style that can be taken apart for storage, but this one is permanently assembled and, in my case, will be stationed in my home dojo in the garage.
The idea behind this type of makiwara is that the striking post is affixed to a raised platform, with the user’s weight holding the platform down as the post is struck. The materials required are straightforward and are available at any hardware store:
Plywood sheet (4′ x 3′)
2″ x 4″ boards for raising the platform and reinforcing the post
4″ x 4″ post
Post bracket
Misc. nuts, bolts, and screws
A striking surface
The first step was to cut the 4″ x 4″ post so that it is tapered (thick at the bottom, thin at the top). I based the cut on this article, with the top about 1″ thick and the bottom of the taper 3″ thick, plus another several inches of the full 4″ x 4″ width to place in the post bracket. I used a 4″ x 4″ post and bracket in large part because I already had these lying around. There are other styles that use a 2″ plank and a different style of bracket.
(Note: you can click on any image for a larger view)
I made the cut using a circular saw. This involved drawing the line of the cut, then cutting one side, flipping the post over, and cutting the other side. There was a little bit of chiselling to get the two halves apart, but then I had two pieces with the correct taper (i.e., enough to make two makiwara). The cut was somewhat rough, so a little hand planing was required to smooth it out. Note that the cut side will be the back of the post. In my case, the post is more or less vertical, but some styles of makiwara, especially ones using thinner planks, that are angled slightly forward toward the user to add more resistance; this isn’t so important with such a thick post.
Meanwhile, I had also cut the plywood sheet into a 3′ x 4′ platform using a table saw. I then cut four 3′ lengths of 2″ x 4″ board and glued and screwed them to the bottom to raise the platform slightly.
The bracket was mounted using bolts down through the platform, plus some screws up through the bottom of the platform into the post inside the bracket. I also reinforced the front of the bracket using another piece of metal, as shown in the photo below.
I also reinforced the front of the bracket using another piece of metal, as shown in the photo below. It’s bolted to the platform along with the bracket, and also screwed into the post through the bracket.
In addition, I reinforced both the front and back of the post using angled 2″ x 4″ pieces.
The final step was to add the striking surface. There are plenty of options for this, from the traditional straw rope or a modern equivalent, to a garden kneeling pad, to some foam and a piece of leather. The main criterion is that it provide enough padding that you will not injure your hands or feet but not so much that it absorbs all the force of the strike without allowing the board to flex. The point of the makiwara is NOT condition your knuckles by beating the heck out of them. Yes, you see traditional martial artists with huge callouses from using the makiwara, but this is a byproduct rather than the main purpose of training on a makiwara with a striking surface made of rope.
I intend to use the makiwara for improving technique and increasing power in my strikes (rather than impressing girls) and I don’t really want my hands to look abnormal, so more padding is good as far as I am concerned.
It so happened that I had my old sparring gear, which was in rather bad shape after being put through the wash, which fit quite nicely around the post. In traditional hoju undō (supplementary physical training), you use whatever you have access to, so I think this fits well with the spirit of the original makiwara.
If the plywood ends up being uncomfortable (assuming I use it with bare feet), I may add a little padding to the top. Otherwise, this makiwara seems to work pretty well and it’s nice to be able to use it either indoors or outside according to weather.
As I noted, there are many different designs for makiwara, so go ahead and explore online to find one that would work for you.
