SHOTO-KAI KARATE IN POST-MODERN WORLD
By Borko Jovanovic
October 2013
Thank you for inviting me to share my thoughts with you here at the global meeting of Shoto-Kai karateka in Gaia, Portugal. I am very humbled by and grateful for this opportunity.
The Foundation: In my view, our style of Karate has three defining components.
Physically: Flexibility throughout the body, low center of gravity, deep-reaching penetration, and perpetual continuation of movement.
Emotionally: Love of the teacher and the lineage, non-attachment to phenomena in practice, non-attachment to sport competition, non-attachment to success or failure in practice.
Spiritually: Awakening of one’s fundamental mind with which one perceives opponent’s intentions, meditation on nothingness as a preparation and as a practice.
Now I will try to express some of my views on questions asked by organizers, as well as put forward one or two of my own opinions.
I began to practice Karate as a 16-year-old young man, in 1969. The world has changed since then, perhaps more than once. So, let me try to take a quick historical look at where we may be now.
The “Modern Age” can perhaps be defined as one that was created by Industrial Revolution and massive presence of mechanical devices in daily life, beginning in late 19th and early 20th Century. It eventually gave us better standard of life, electricity at home, automobile, Fascism, Capitalism, Communism, two World Wars, Atomic Bomb, and some comprehension of ‘World as One’. Great science and art emerged in the process.
The “Post-Modern Era” is more difficult to chronologically define, but let us say it began in the 1950’s and 1960’s, with massive development of post-mechanical (electrical, electronic) devices in daily life and with increased communication across the world through Television. It also brought in “deconstruction” of established values in art and philosophy, youth demonstrations and public dissatisfaction with wars and establishments. Men stopped wearing hats and grew longer hair; jeans and alternative life styles became a common sight.
Fifty years later, we seem to be already in the “Post-Post-Modern” era. I will define it as age with hugely increased computing capabilities, mobile phones, instant messaging, Internet, Facebook, massive travel, global epidemics, genomics, trips to Mars. In principle, anything that happens anywhere can be known instantly; Wikipedia and Google are replacing books, which remain present for pleasure reading. A sense of global coming together seems real, especially to a new generation of people who grew up with Internet, can type fast and take pictures of everything. In fashion and architecture we see the same forms around the globe.
Shoto-Kai Karate as we know it, is a variant of an old art. The art originated in Okinawa, moved to Japan with Funakoshi sensei and then moved West after World War II. The roots of Karate are in China, and the Chinese have a very long tradition in the Martial Arts, going back centuries, all the way to Lao-Tsu and Boddhidharma. So, if we look back, we are following what has come a long way.
Shoto-Kai Karate in the present form was introduced by Egami-sensei, in 1960’s and 1970’s. From a physical point of view, it took a hard, somewhat mechanical Shoto-Kan of Master Funakoshi to a new, fluid and spiritually more alive level. Much of it is described in the book “The Way of Karate Beyond Technique” by Egami sensei, with Miyamoto sensei presenting the technique. Also, much of it is available on YouTube, including videos with Egami sensei, Murakami sensei, Harada sensei, de Carvalho sensei, and many others, in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Chile and other countries.
In the process, as pointed out earlier, the world has changed. There is a sense of global coming together, and the ‘basic enemy’ of a Karateka is slightly different. In the past, the external enemy was a local tough guy, a thief and a robber. The internal enemy was one’s fundamental laziness, complacency and boredom with ordinary life.
Presently, the external enemy is more complex. In addition to toughs, thieves and robbers, it includes armed men of strong political persuasion, security forces with little patience, global political passions, global epidemics, collapse of pension funds, and most importantly, the increased speed of day-to-day life.
Internally it is also more diffuse; in addition to laziness, complacency, and boredom, we find anger, confusion, impatience and struggle with social hopelessness amidst the ‘good life’ available on Internet, a click away. Life and industrial progress after WWII, with social movements in the 1960’s seem to have promised so much to many; what do we have today, we often wonder?
So, as practitioners of Shoto-Kai, how do we adjust? I believe we should keep doing what we normally do, but perhaps with a slightly different emphasis. There are three distances to consider in combat: the short, the medium and the long. The short is hand-to-hand, the medium is two steps apart, and the long is from “surveying the landscape”, perhaps 10-50 meters away. The last one requires perpetual meditative alertness, and I know it is nothing new to you. But I think this is the one we should focus on a bit more. To practice this, in Kumite the opponents can begin walking toward each other from afar (say 10 meters, depending on Dojo size!) and commence combat when they reach each other sufficiently. I remember doing this with Murakami sensei, and with de Carvalho/Boyer group in Paris many times. In Kata, joint practice with making the moves exactly as everyone else (or just the opposite: completely independently and fast) can bring us to this “landscape awareness”. I know many of you already do this; I know this had been done at Serignan Plage many times.
Externally, such broad increased awareness should get us out of problematic situations in presumably safe places, and give us stronger presence in daily activities. Internally, with self-confidence brought by practice we should seek clarity of basic mind at all times. A broad awareness without ego allows us to take the ‘long view’. I also propose a study of your neighborhood and world events, and internally addressing the question: “Who is the enemy today?”
After careful consideration, we may find that the enemy is not just outside, but largely our response to the changing world. The world can’t be changed according to our wishes – I am sure of that – so this leaves us with lots of internal work to do. Whether you do it in seiza, kiba-dachi, kata or in friendly combat – it is up to you.
Finally, my answers to the questions posed by the organizers.
What are we doing in the Dojo? We are practicing an ancient art of war. Most of us are just ordinary citizens, students, truck drivers, office clerks, engineers, doctors, etc. The war is always on, and in most of it, the battlefield is internal. Just try to be normal and aware in daily life, have faith in practice and do your best, it is a hard thing to do. No need to climb Mt. Everest, unless you really want to.
What is good practice? When your opposites come together and you walk out of the Dojo as a complete woman or a man.
What makes a good teacher? It is the one who recognizes what you need to practice.
What is the future of Shoto-Kai? The future looks bright to me. Although there may be fewer young people willing to undergo voluntary physical hardship that lacks entertainment, the middle-aged and somewhat accomplished people do see the advantages of our practice, perhaps more so than in the past.
Lurking behind our description of the new enemies we see ‘Time’ as the central antagonist. I suggest a link between the external "increased speed of daily life" and the internal "anger, confusion, impatience", a continual surrender to distraction in the post-post-modern pace of life.
Those of a young age starting practice are particularly afflicted by our post-post-modern distractions, and seem to need more years to develop a taste for the timeless and ripen for the practice. Perhaps we need to meet them halfway and explain better the advantages of ‘inner work’, while accepting their physical limitations and hesitation.
About the author
Borko Jovanovic began his study Karate on January 16, 1969, in Belgrade, Serbia, under late Dusan Rakic. He had the fortune to meet Master Murakami in 1972 and became his disciple, remaining under his guidance until Sensei’s untimely death on January 24, 1987. In 1980, he moved to the United States to study Mathematics, and presently lives and works as a scientist in Chicago. Over the years, he and his students have formed Shoto-Kai Karate clubs in Belgrade, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York City and Chicago. He studied Tai-Chi Chuan under Sifu Andrew Lee of Chicago, and Soto Zen under late Kongo Langlois Roshi of Chicago and under Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston Roshi of Atlanta. Shoto-Kai Karate remains his main interest and practice.
