Seeing:
Published: 9/15/2011
By Spencer sensei
According to Chuck Norris’ autobiography, he would visualize his victory over an opponent blow-by-blow before ever stepping to the line in tournament sparing match. In Sensei William Hayes’ book My Journey with the Grandmaster he wrote of an incident that happened while watching OSensei Shimabukuro performing kata. His sensei was demonstrating what he called real karate. Shimabukuro sensei performed kata utilizing a visualizing technique where he mentally placed himself within the life and death struggle mirrored in kata. While watching the intensity of the master’s movement, Hayes sensei wrote that it transported him mentally to a brutal experience he had encounter during the war. He could see the brutal nature of the art in his instructor’s every move. Another aspect of the visual combat process is knowing-without-knowing. These are all pieces of a very advanced process of training some simply call this living the technique. Hayes sensei calls it “seeing.” What ever you call it, the serious karateka needs to add this dimension to their personal karate.
When I was a young man, I watched a program on television that tested your observation ability. The audience was instructed to watch a film clip and were instructed that after viewing the clip they would be given the opportunity to answer some questions about the films content. To the best of my memory, the clip started immediately, and a bad guy ran into a store and took a victim’s purse at gun point, and quickly made his exit disappearing into the night. Piece of cake… I saw all that had happened, or so I though. Next the audience was shown a line up of bad guys on screen, and we were asked to identify the robber. It must have been a trick, I thought, because I did not recognize the bad guy in that group of men. The truth was that I witnessed what had happened, but I did not see it. Yes, a woman had been robbed, but I did not note the details of her assailant. I only witnessed the event in the greater context. This is a normal human frailty. We watch countless events each day, and if we remembered each detail, it would drive us insane, so we delete most of what the eye records. The karateka cannot afford to just see the martial arts he/she must live their practice and note the details.
When most karateka perform kata, they only see the big picture and miss the detail. The big picture is preoccupied with power, balance, perfection of technique, and focus. Master instructor Perry Wolf once told a group of students that the karateka needed to live their kata. Living your kata means, that you visualize the opponent you’re facing as each piece of the situational self-defense is executed within the kata. The beginning karate student never performs a kata’s self-defense above the rudimentary punch, block, and kick level, but even at this level they should live the kata. In William Hayes book he wrote that Shimabukuro Eizo asked him, after the performance of a kata, if he saw his opponent and Hayes sensei replied,” Yes.” Shimabukuro sensei then asked him “What color were his eyes?” The point is you cannot examine or visualize the kata in too much detail. The more detailed visualization the greater chance of performing a real self-defense situation without thought. Just because you win trophies at tournament does not mean you see the greater meaning of kata.
The first step to seeing the detail, in a martial arts context, is to live your kata. This visualization applies to your rudimentary training exercises also. As you punch, block, or kick see the opponent. Eventually you can count the buttons on his/her shirt and smell their breath. Punch hard and fast as though the attacker is trying to harm you. Pick your target and make your punch land where it is directed. Use your body as a guide to visualization. Make your invisible opponent’s target areas the same level as yours. Advanced students can visualize opponents of various sizes, but in the beginning use your body structure as the guide. Develop hip rotation, weight transfer, and speed while performing kata and simple floor exercises. Without seeing your opponents as you are training, you’re just punching air, and in a real situation you will lack the power and focus needed to make your reaction an effective deterrent. A kata can be performed with perfect power balance and timing, but without living within the kata it has no life.
Another part of visualization is training the mind. We write the script that our lives follow. Visualization is used in all areas of competition. Although karate is not the only area where visualization is used, it may be the only area where it can save your life. Chuck Norris used visualization, so his mind already knew the plan before being put into action. Thinking slows the fighting process. If the fight is already scripted, you become faster by knowing the opponent’s tendencies. Once an opening is recognized, the body responds because the mind knows what to do. This goes beyond competition for the karateka. The true martial artist should be scripting their exit strategy anytime they’re in a potentially dangerous situation. Know your first move in a situation before you need to call upon your skills. Visualization of a what-if situation sounds like mild form of paranoia, but it can save your life. The female karateka should have her senses on high alert as she walks into a dimly lit parking lot. Know what you will do if a man grabs you. A young girl was killed one night in the parking lot of a Glendale Arizona gym. I have often wondered if she had any plan-of-action before she was attacked, or did she trust that no harm could come her way because well… that only happens to other people. Women and men should run the what-if scenarios and visualize their course of action before stepping into what could or could not be a life-threatening situation. Visualization is part of living the kata or seeing in the context of real karate.
Seeing or living your karate has many facets, but we are going discuss only one more element of living your karate. Ippon kumite (fighting) and advanced prearranged fighting build your knowing-without-knowing skills. This not some supernatural ability the karateka can develop. It is simply a learned process. In my dojo we train in real life confrontational situations via advance prearranged kumite, so the student learns to recognize the cues an adversary shows that can alert him/her to an attack. When you know it is coming you can preempt the attack. It will give you the appearance of moving faster, but it is simply subconsciously reading your attacker’s intent and reacting before they strike. Sparring is an excellent method to hone this skill. A boxer learns to avoid a punch by being punched. Eventually the fighter moves to deflect or slip the attack without thought. This not some gooey karate master thing it is simple training.
One benefit you will see, from this visualization, is an increase in speed and focus when you spar. This will not happen over night, but you should see some improvement in a few months. Ultimately the goal is for the karateka to turn the tiger loose without thought when it is justified. This is a form of mental conditioning that can save the karateka’s life. Even the blind man can be taught to see in the martial artist’s context