Koryu Naihanchi shodan and Nidan are katas that can be found in many different versions around the various karate systems. But what you cannot find in many places is the original knowledge about the purpose of the workings and principles of these kata. We at Shindenkan are lucky to be able to receive this knowledge as the system we train has a history and a foundation that is more than 1000 years old and thus a system where knowledge and experience have been passed on through generations.

At this black belt leader development seminar, the theme was to fill the contents of the bottle called Koryu Naihanchi Shodan and also Nidan. If the right content is not added, these kata, like so many others, become just a series of movements that are good fitness. And that's not the way we do it at Shindenkan. Here we fill the right knowledge in the right bottle and at the right time and place.

All the participants had for some time trained the movements in both kata so that we at SBTLUS could concentrate on getting correct knowledge. When you can perform the movements as they are, namely only movements, then you can subsequently fill them with content so that these movements go from being only movements to providing coherence and effect in a way you might not have thought you could perform.

The body can do much more than you actually think. And once you get the body to generate power, techniques can be performed so effectively that it can get behind anyone. That is you don't actually have to be big and strong to hit hard. If you have the right knowledge on the right bottle, you can actually hit like a horse kicks without too much movement.

It may sound mysterious and may not make complete sense to everyone, but there are actually things in life that can be done without mystery and without it becoming rocket science. It's simple logic and very easy – when you know how 🙂

In the Koryu Naihanchi kata, energy is generated in a size that makes the principle "one stroke one kill" make a little more sense - there is of course more to the principle than you think, but something entered the light board :-). At the same time, coherence and links to other known kata are created which also suddenly make sense.

For my part, it also shed a little more light on the coherence of the syllabus and the order of the kata's in our syllabus. Or I think it did, because it was as if something fell into place and I could see a common thread that I have seen before but which is now becoming more clear. It could be that I should start writing it down so that I can explain it - not least to myself 🙂

The first lesson at SBTLUS was ryugi. Here we had the opportunity to get answers to some of the questions we all had and about which we would like to know more. Kimu Sensei had screwed Ryugi and Ryuha together so we got answers to a lot of questions where they belonged. Some answers are easier to give under Ryuha than under Ryugi and vice versa.

The lessons made me think that if you let yourself be controlled by your surroundings and not by yourself, then your life becomes like the same empty movements you perform when you do kata without the right content. If you don't manage your life from within yourself, then you will never get in the direction you so want. You will never really be able to step into character as who you really are.

Friday's Ryugi and Ryuha lessons were a struggle for me. A battle that was about my self-pity wanting to take over, but there was something standing in the way of it having to fight. Namely, my own self. A me who was well aware that self-pity should not win. This fight is not a very sensible fight because it just shows that my attitude was not on the right track. So on Saturday morning I did what I should have done on Friday afternoon – namely making the right decision. I decided that I was the one who had to manage myself.

It's really strange, because the decision wasn't particularly difficult to make, nor was it difficult to carry out. It was a decision I knew was correct and a decision that seemed natural to make.

It was also a decision which, together with the rest of SBLUS, gave me an insight into the connection between the execution of kata and one's execution of life.

Kata is a battle against yourself – so is life.

The only person who stands in the way of success in kata is yourself – it is the same in your life.

The only person who can make a difference in kata is yourself – the same is true in your life.

The energy in a correctly executed kata comes from within – it does so in one's life as well.

So you can say that the expression "you are your own worst enemy" suddenly makes more sense. Or at least it does for me. And the only one who can do something about it is myself - if I want to.

You can fight against your inner demons and spend a lot of energy on it. You can also make a decision that states that you do not want to be controlled by them but instead want to decide for yourself. I made that decision during the SBTLUS and X-mas camp 2012.

A decision that felt right and gave me a good feeling. Also a decision that I now know I can make and that I can use when the times are right – because they will come again and again and again …….

SBTLUS X-mas 2012 showed me that inside myself is the true me. A me that is hiding and that I have to find, so that I can bring it out into public view for all and sundry.

A self that is neither evil nor bad, but a self that is proven about the decisions that need to be made and that is not afraid to make them.

And to be honest, I don't think there are that many places it can hide. I wonder if it's all about me seeing instead of just looking.