Applied Karate #005 - Sensei Mark Tankosich
LISTEN HERE TO EPISODE 005 OF THE APPLIED KARATE SHOW
In this latest episode of The Applied Karate Show, I had the good fortune to have an in depth discussion with my good friend and fellow karateka, Sensei Mark Tankosich. Mark lives in Hiroshima, Japan, and is a long time practitioner of Shorinryu Karate, fluent in written and spoken Japanese, a lecturer at a Japanese university who is able to spend time researching into the history and traditions of Japanese budo….. Mark is also a practitioner of Jodo.
Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Pensylvania, Mark has spent 13 years living in Japan. He continues to train in Sho-Ha Shorinryu karate, under the guidance of his American instructor, John Hamilton Sensei.
Please join us as we discuss some topics that I found really interesting. In particular:
- Mark’s background in karate
- The Sho-Ha Shorinryu school
- Experiences with studying from afar
- Experiences with foriegners coming to Japan with wide eyes, looking for “the answers”
- Life in Japan and in a Japanese dojo
- Jodo practice
- Meeting the Emperor of Japan (and the foriegn minister, prime minister and former US President Jimmy Carter)
- The maxim karate ni sente nashi. Commonly translated as “there is no first strike in karate”, Mark has conducted research into this maxim, and the opinions of masters like Mabuni Kenwa, Motobu Choki and Miyagi Chojun into this core tenet.
This last topic in particular was of great interest to me, and I enjoyed Mark’s view that the phrase really reminds us that a karateka should not initiate aggression, but this doesn’t mean they should not take the initiative when aggression is certain.
You can find a copy of Mark’s paper on Karate ni Sente Nashi at Charles Goodin Sensei’s website for the Hawai’i Karatedo Seinenkai. Mark has also been a guest writer on Charles’ excellent Karate Thoughts blog, which I highly encourage people to subscribe to.
If you have comments or questions, please leave them on the comments section below. Alternatively you can leave me a voice message, which I may utilise in an upcoming show.
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April 18th, 2006 at 10:00 am
As a Police Officer I found Tankosichsan’s review of the principle of the first strike to be very enlightened. As a police officer I am often forced to make split second decisions in tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving situations. There are many times in which the first strike has been commited with out a blow being thrown. It is a struggle in these situations to remember that as a police officer, I am a protector, maintainer and restorer of peace and the concept of agression should be thought of as a resort only if certain situations have been met. Tankosichsan’s words “no first agression” clairify my position and strenghten my resolve. An excellent broadcast.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:07 am
James-san, thanks for your comments. I agree whole heartedly about your comments, and agree that those that “protect and serve” often find themselves in the place of having to make the choice in a heartbeat. Having close family members “in the job”, I fully respect and appreciate the job you guys do.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Its much appreciated.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Des, I have listened to all of your interviews and enjoyed them very much. I particularly like hearing about how the interviewees got involved in Karate in the first place and also the types of training techniques they employ in their dojos.
On a technical note, the sound quality of the podcasts is not always that great. Quite often I listen to these podcasts while travelling to and from work and there is quite a bit of background noise. The level of your voice is normally much louder than that of the interviewee. Not sure if there is much you can do about it.
Regards
Martin
February 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I have just got into podcasts, having received an Ipod for Xmas. I think yours is very very good.
I started my martial arts training in 1978, and have got to the stage of compiling my own martial arts kanji dictionary, and this particular interview with Sensei Tankosich stuck a cord with me.
The explanation in my dictionary is as follows:-
Karate means the art of karate; Ni is the particle meaning in; Sen means future, priority, or precedence and Te means hand, but as a single word (in standard japanese) Sente means the first move, or the initiative; Na(shi) as a suffix means none, or without.
As a whole sentence this means “There is no first initiative in Karate” amd not there is no first attack in karate. If an attacker makes you beleive his intention is to attack you physically, then he has already taken the first initiative, even though he may not have (yet) thrown the first punch. In my view a pre-emptive strike does not contradict Karate ni sente nashi but supports it.