My Tools .. My Rules!
- Matt Powell
- Sep 28
- 9 min read
I remember as a child feeling that time passed so slowly. This was especially the case when I had something I was particularly looking forward to.
Christmas or special holidays seemed to take for ever to come around!
I remember my Mum advising me, ‘Matthew, be careful not to wish your life away!’
Now as a middle-aged man the opposite seems true. I constantly check in with myself and realise that I feel like time is flying by.
Perhaps it is because as adults, we are all so busy? Or could it be that as we become conscious of time, we feel more aware of its preciousness.
Then we notice it moving on?
This time last year I had just taught alongside Sensei Ronnie Ross for the first time in the Highlands. As I prepared for this-years trip I felt the weight of his passing as I acknowledged how much has changed in the last twelve months.
But…. Sensei was courageous till the end and told me in January how he wanted me to support my friends up North. So, as is often the case when my purpose is clear, I gathered my thoughts and resolved myself to do my best work!
Since February the theme of my work has been boundaries and the acceptance of situations. I knew that somehow, I needed to ensure that this focus was evident in my classes in Inverness.
Last Thursday was a buzzing competition training night at Liss as we trialled our new mats for the first time. I didn’t get home from work till nearly 11pm, but I was full of endorphins and thus unable to sleep. Consequently, it wasn’t till 1am that I drifted off.
This was not ideal as I needed to get up early to pack for my trip!
When my alarm went off at 5am it was a wee shock to the system so I fuelled myself with a coffee while I ironed my favourite gi and packed my bags. I jumped into the car at 7.30am and was in autopilot as I drove and then parked at Gatwick.
I am a creature of habit so parked on my usual level, went straight to departures and queued up to head to the scanners.
As I did so a lady in front of me decided she didn’t want to navigate the labyrinth of barriers and ducked under the horizontal bands to short cut her route. In the moment I was tempted to follow suit and speed up the process. But something stopped me. I realised that if I did so I would jump ahead of those following the rules.
That’s not how I roll! … So, I carried on walking through the maze.
At that point an angry member of airport staff stopped the lady and loudly admonished her for her selfish and unsafe behaviour. She was clearly embarrassed and asked him to stop. But, he had a point to prove and a lesson to teach.
He highlighted to her how selfish her behaviour was and how rude it was to have jumped ahead of myself and others. The lady was visibly ashamed, and I was relieved I had stuck to my principles. Once again, I was reminded of the importance of boundaries and an appreciation of one’s own code of ethics and rules.
My flight was delayed as it taxied to the runway, but that made no difference to me as I always fall immediately asleep as soon as I sit in my seat on a plane (it drives my wife mad). When I landed, I was greeted by Kevin Slaney Sensei who had kindly treated me to a chai latte for our journey to our accommodation.
This year our course fell on the same weekend as the Inverness marathon so we were staying at a small village called Dingwall.
As always Kev and I enjoyed the drive by filling it with ‘karate chat’. 😊
After unpacking I had a quick freshen up before we headed to the Charleston academy for our classes. Kev quickly changed to teach the kyu grades while I relaxed and caught up with Gordie Walker and Phil Owen in the cafeteria. Whenever I am in the company of these lovely people I feel like we have been friends forever. They have a wonderful sense of karate family, and I feel so welcome and at home.
As I sat with my friends, I could see familiar faces turning up to train and was so keen to get changed and mentally in the zone. On leaving the changing room I was greeted by Juli and Steve from Northumberland with the normal smiles and banter before I shook hands with Harvey and other familiar friendly faces from the HKA.
Unfortunately, Findlay and Elidh who were driving up from Edinburgh were caught in a horrendous traffic jam, but such is their dedication they were still going to battle through and train on Saturday.
Soon enough the coloured belts had finished, and we entered the dojo which was very hot indeed! Sensei Slaney’s class combined with the heating provided a very warm welcome! I could tell the class was going to be a sweaty one.
The upstairs dojo at Charleston seems small when empty and then massive when full. It is quite incredible. Almost as if it is a karate Tardis!
I put it down to a combination of its history and the wonderful people lined up and ready to train.
I began the class by explaining that my theme was to be on Bassai-Dai with an emphasis on attitude and feeling in performance. I spoke briefly of imagining the kata in context and then set to work on warming myself up along with the group.
I then had everyone work in pairs slipping punches with variations of gizami-tsuki. This expanded to encourage reaction development for when punches are thrown without warning. I was building towards the theme of boundaries and accepting when they have been crossed and one must ‘go to work without fear of consequence’.
Since February I have been studying Matsamura Sensei who was one of Funakoshi’s most influential teachers. Being the Bushi (Chief bodyguard) at Suri castle for thirty years it is believed that Matsamura Sensei developed the kata himself and perhaps this is why Funakoshi explained it’s meaning as ‘storming the fortress or penetrating the castle’.
I flipped the context and asked the students to consider that the theme of the kata could in fact be that of defending the castle when attacked….. from Matsamura’s perspective. I asked them to put themselves in Sensei Matsamuras shoes. On realising the castle was under attack, they would have to immediately go to work!
Then with the help of Captain Jack Rawcliffe we presented some new approaches to the application of the opening sequences I have been working on and time began to fly by.
Ultimately, I was asking the students to approach the kata with a new mindset and appreciation. When our boundaries are crossed and our limits pushed. We must be clear that delaying action is not an option!
To be effective in self-defence we must recognise and accept the situation and act.
This fired everyone up and the room soon felt even hotter as the spirited pair and group work found another gear.
It was great to see Sensei Slaney working with Margaret who is a stalwart of karate in the highlands with a wonderful history and pedigree. (Thank you for coming). Meanwhile Juli found increasingly inventive ways of punishing Steve whose protective box is truly his best friend.
Normally I plan my timings meticulously for these classes, but on this occasion, I wanted to challenge myself and make the event more about feeling and appreciation of theme. Consequently, I knew we would not cover the whole kata but instead I wanted to enrich the student’s performances by giving them a new and fresh perspective on their story telling.
We managed to get through half of the kata before I had to encourage the group to finish the class with a spirited and meaningful kata performance. The atmosphere was electric!
I love seeing karate being fully absorbed.
Stuart Ross embodied this for me on Friday night.
Stuart has a persona that is best described as ‘pure kindness’ and he has a wonderful melodic tone when he talks that I find compelling. (Stuart you should record book readings for Amazon!) But when he performed the kata Friday he was absorbed and in the moment. It was a fantastic transformation.
Sophie Sensei and her students from the Inverness JKS dojo were also training and I really appreciate the support and feedback. 😊Karate is such a wonderful constant for us all and offers so many opportunities to connect and build friendships.
As the class finished it was great to shake hands with everyone before heading back to Dingwall where Kev found a takeaway that offered unique but incredibly tasty pizza’s. We soon polished these off washed down with the appropriate refreshment while we talked into the wee early hours.
The next morning we were up early for breakfast and soon back at Charleston where I was to teach the black and brown belt class. Kev had asked me for a kicking theme and I had prepared and rehearsed my content for this meticulously.
Back in June I had the privilege of training with Douglas Brose Sensei from Brazil the three times under 60kg kumite world champion. What an incredible athlete. (Thank you Roger and Anna of Bravo karate).
On this course Sensei had opened my eyes to different ways of setting up a yoko-geri kikomi for kumite matches and it had inspired extra investigation and experimentation on my part.
I taught a class on set-up, speed-and-reaction with variations on kick to make fighters less predictable to their opponents. Everyone seemed to have a blast.
Big Fin was moving well and the HKA have some incredible young kickers in their ranks. But that said Gordie Sensei was not to be out done and was throwing big legs with his partner sensei Owen.
This hour flew by, and the hall was again full of positive energy ready for the arrival of the kyu grades and the next classes.
Once again, I taught kicking but this time to the yellow, green and purple belts focusing on snap back and returning legs to their chambered positions. When we added impact and pad work it was great to see everyone’s kicking develop. Not least John the Viking and Scotty (aka Ethans Dad) who were kicking beautifully and clearly enjoying themselves.
Sensei Joli was sadly not training as she was resting before Sunday’s marathon. But on a plus note it turns out she takes a mean photo, and I was happy to show off my new haircut! 😊
At the end of the class, we took a short break before the kyu gradings then I joined the instructors at the table after quickly catching up with Callum (the punisher) Duffy.
In our group the students made Sensei Slaney’s job an easy one with excellent, spirited performances but the stand-out graders were for me young Jason and Mason.
Having completed their own grading katas, they stepped up to help another student who requires extra consideration and is actually Masons brother. I watched full of admiration as Mason discreetly checked in on his brother without patronising or compromising his own performance. He managed to exhibit care and kindness in a mature way that was beyond his years.
Jason without being prompted adjusted his timing and prioritised helping the young man grading. It took my breath away. Both students conducted themselves incredibly well.
On a weekend that I was teaching the importance of boundaries and ethics these young men educated me!
What an inspiration!
After changing and saying our goodbyes, Kev and I headed back to Dingwall and grabbed some carbs to fuel our next round of karate chat. But inevitably I was a little spent and retreated for a nap before heading into Inverness to catch up with some of the members of the HKA.
We had a wonderful evening with Rogun, Biriani-Brian and Balti Spice amongst others. Strangely Erin managed to dodge getting a nickname as did Sensei Neil, but this is a great excuse to do it all again. 😊
On Sunday morning, Kev and I once again headed out for breakfast, before we took a small tour of the highlands on the way to Sensei Owens house, where Anne kindly filled me with beautiful home-baked biscuits and rolls before I headed for the airport.
As is often the case I had half-written this blog in my head while I was working over the weekend, but I was unsure what to call it. I knew it had to reference boundaries and ownership in karate and accepting the situation at hand. I wanted the title to capture the need to take responsibility for what needs to be done and then empower the individual to go to work.
As I left Phil Sensei’s house my eyes caught sight of the sign on his workshop. Suddenly the blog had a title, and I believe it says it all!
Comments