When Your Logo Serves Another Purpose

It can also be a training tool.

Our logo or badge is a bold circle, around the name of our club and the martial art we teach. Inside this is another circle, though not as bold, surrounding an octagon with straight lines at the eight angles representing the basic idea of the eight angles of attack and defence. Inside this is another circle that surrounds a fist on a 45 degree angle with the Japanese Kanji for our school name, Heiwa Senshi Kai, next to it.

The part(s) this blog wants to deal with is/are the eight lines at the angles of the octagon. For this to become a training tool, we need to number each of the eight lines and imagine ourselves moving along the lines in attack and defence. To make things simple, Number 1 is the direction we are facing when attacked. If we put this into a Kata, it makes the teaching a little (not a lot) easier. Kihon Kata, Jo Chu Ge, for example, from Yoi Position, we take a short step with our right foot toward 1, and immediately pivot left to face number 3 in Sanchin dachi, with a left hand Jo Dan Age Uke. Step Right Foot forward toward number 3 in (depending on your particular style) either Sanchin Dachi or Zenkutsu Dachi and Right Hand Oi Tsuke. Immediately slide the Right Foot back toward number 4, pivoting to shiko dachi with your body facing number 1 and Left hand Gedan Uke toward number 3, looking there as well. Bring your left foot toward your right foot, into heiko dachi, but in a continuing motion, step it forward with a small step toward 1, and pivot to face number 4 in Sanchin Dachi and Right Hand Jo Dan Age Uke... 

It can help for teaching stances, like Sanchin Dachi, front foot can run number 7 to number 8, toes pointing toward 7 and the rear foot running number 1 to number 2 with the toes pointing forward to number 1. That's Left Foot forward, then Right Foot forward would of course be the front foot on the 5 to 6 line with the toes pointed to 5 and the left foot would have the toes pointed to 1.

Years ago, I trained in a style that used a standard clock face for reference, where 12 O'Clock was where you were facing when attacked. That is in the position that we now call Number 1. I had to change how I taught that because most of my students are under 15 years old and almost none of them knows how to read an analogue watch. 😖🙁

I also tried just talking angles and degrees to get them to understand their position(s) in time and space, but that failed dismally too. Turns out most kids under 15 can't figure out what a 90 degree turn looks like, let alone a 45 degree turn, or the funky 270 degree turn in the Kihon Kata off the Kosa Dachi.

Anyhoo, I'll keep on experimenting with what I'm teaching, and trying to find simple ways to explain things. I just have to keep reminding myself, they aren't adults and they're definitely not black belts... At least, not yet!

I am a huge fan of questioning everything. Thanks For Reading, Please Feel Free To Leave Comments Good Or Bad.