My Story
Karate has been a central part of my life for close to 30 years. I started my martial arts journey during my first year at Dalhousie University in 1990 where I started practicing Shotokan. I enjoyed many years of training with very skilled and qualified senseis to whom I am grateful for their years of instruction and continued support.
Karate is my passion but teaching high school is my profession. In 2005, I was blessed with the opportunity to teach an accredited course in martial arts. I am so fortunate to get paid for doing what I love. You can read about my experience in the March 2018 (issue 135) of Shotokan Karate Magazine or click here.
Over the years, I enjoyed modest success on the competitive scene. I competed provincially, nationally and once at the ISKF world championships as a senior (the ‘old man’ division) where I advanced to the semi finals in kumite and won kata with Nijushiho. I have always enjoyed competing. It is fun and has a lot of benefited me in many ways.
At some point in my training, I started to question the practicality of traditional Shotokan. It was always sold to me by all the masters as a means of self defense but the long range punch/kick model seemed more suited for tournament fighting than self defense. Also, the 3K model (kata/kihon/kumite) seemed a bit disjointed. The three Ks were always pitched as essential and interconnected but to me they seemed like three separate entities. In particular, kata was practiced just to be good at kata yet I heard from many high ranking instructors that practicing kata would make my kumite better. I didn’t understand it but I drank the Kool-Aid and even helped to propagate the myth.
I always had a distaste for bunkai. The interpretations of kata that were taught by all the Japanese masters I trained with were ludicrous. No disrespect intended here. They were good at what they did but lets face it; they did not understand the practical application of kata. Eventually, I stumbled across some YouTube videos on the practical application of karate. I had found my answers. Kata actually had a purpose. Hidden in it’s movements were techniques not just for striking and kicking, but also for locking joints, throwing, choking and more.
Seeing the true purpose of kata launched the beginning of a new journey for me. I became focused (maybe obsessed) on kata application. This required a lot of learning and unlearning. I took up judo to learn some throwing skills. As much as I loved it I eventually had to concede to the nagging head-to-toe pain as a result of the constant ukemi waza. Apparently, my 46 year old body had other plans. “Judo is a young man’s game.” my sensei told me. To my surprise, I enjoyed the newaza (ground fighting) in judo which prompted me to take up jiu jutsu. Today, I incorporate both martial arts into my teaching.
Some may argue that what I teach isn’t really Shotokan. To that I would counter that Funakoshi never had a liking for ‘styles’ of karate. He believed we should be one karate family. ‘Applied Shotokan‘ is a focus of the practical application of Shotokan karate. It is my goal to be a source of information and inspiration for all karate-ka who, like myself, are looking for meaning in their art. Karate doesn’t have to be entrenched in the dogmatic preservation of impracticality. Karate can and should be more.
In the western world, there is an ever growing movement to bring legitimacy to karate by bringing back the old ways. At the risk of sounding cliché, I am merely standing of the shoulders of giants and am excited to be a small part of this movement.
To the ‘purists’ intent on preserving post WWII karate like some prehistoric mosquito preserved in amber; my intent is not to offend, but rather to educate and validate those looking for answers . If karate is to improve and evolve, we must continually critique pedagogy. Master Funakoshi wrote, “Times change, the world changes and obviously too must the martial arts change.”
To the pragmatic karate enthusiasts; I hope you enjoy what I have to share on this site. You will find topics on practical karate, karate myths (read nonsense) and critiques of the paralyzing effects of dogmatic pedagogy found in many traditional karate institutions.
Andy Allen
On Ko Chi Shin. "Study the Old to Understand the New.'