Author: Steve Rowe

Martial artist, philosopher, author, writer,
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Power For Punching

Steve Rowe

“Junzuki Hidari Gamae…….  Ich!”  The atmosphere changed to that of total awareness as the class took up left step and punch in forward stance posture with an audible snap of their Karategi. “Kette Junzuki……  Ich!”  Front kick followed by Junzuki punch again. “Yameee!  What was that?”  Delivered in Sensei’s immaculate take off of Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon….. “A finger pointing to the moon Sensei!”  Exclaimed one wag sensing that there was a bit of humour in the air. “More like a retentive hop with a finger in Uranus and mind in neutral…” mused Sensei. “Let’s look at the … Continue reading Power For Punching

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Training With Age

Steve Rowe

Leo was obviously trying too hard. He was no spring chicken, in his late forties he was trying to compete with the youngsters.  He had old, long term damage to his knees and ankles, he had a bit of “middle age spread” and here he was trying to leap around as if he hadn’t started shaving…… “Leo, take it easy,” said Sensei.  But this just seemed to aggravate him more. Well, it had to happen, his face got redder, his knees more wobbly, his movements more frantic and then one of the young bucks swept both his legs and unmercifully … Continue reading Training With Age

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The Structure Of Kata

Steve Rowe

It’s nice to get away on courses with Sensei……. He had been invited to teach on a course that includes many students and Instructors from different styles of Karate so it was interesting to see what their interpretations of the same movements that we practised were and also how they reacted to Sensei’s teachings.  It was also fascinating to watch Sensei’s diplomatic way of dealing with the differences…… Everyone was keen to share knowledge and were all patient with each other to get to the bottom of each interpretation.  Often with a lack of good instruction many of the attending … Continue reading The Structure Of Kata

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Looking Back Down Our Eyes..

Steve Rowe

Looking Back Down Our Eyes.. We can’t look back down our own eyes, To see who’s looking out, Or listen down our ears, To find who’s listening. We can’t smell who’s smelling, Or taste who’s tasting. We can’t bite our own teeth, Or even beat our own heart. We can’t hold our breath until we die, Or stop our heart from beating, Our internal organs work by themselves, Until it’s time to die. We think we have control, And we may have a little, Not as much as we’d like, Or do we have any? Who or what is our … Continue reading Looking Back Down Our Eyes..

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Magpies and Monkeys

Steve Rowe

Ooohhh…… shiny object…. Damn.. I was supposed to be meditating, Then I started thinking about that argument, Then what I was having for dinner, And then… oh well it doesn’t matter. How can I think of nothing? Surely that’s a thought in itself? And if I don’t know when my mind wanders, How can I bring it back? I feel like have a monkey on my back, Always chattering in my ear, Finding things for me to think about, When I’m supposed to be concentrating on one thing. Single whip again in Tai Chi, damn! It occurs in the form … Continue reading Magpies and Monkeys

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Move Like A Porsche

Steve Rowe

“Straighten the front foot, move from the Seiki Tanden, circle the foot through a line dropped from the hip, put the bodyweight through the power point on the foot, sink the chest to find the feet, tuck in the tailbone and stretch the neck as you would touch the opponent and apply the movement……..” We were working on Sanchin Kata and Sensei was working our “brain muscle” hard. “What’s the hardest muscle in the body to train?” “The brain muscle Sensei!” we all chorused, familiar with question. “Then why aren’t you using it?” “It’s too hard to think of all … Continue reading Move Like A Porsche

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Revenge Of The Stolen Pen

Steve Rowe

Steve Rowe talks to well respected Doorman and Shi Kon Martial Artist Dennis Jones. This interview was done in March 2005. Dennis visited the centre and bought a videotape with a collection of violent confrontations taken from his huge archive of footage from 25 years of door work on some of the most violent night clubs in the Medway area to help the students understand how violence starts and how to avoid and deal with it.  Whilst he was here I asked him to talk about how bullies single out their targets. SR  Dennis, we’ve just watched a videotape made … Continue reading Revenge Of The Stolen Pen

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The Aliens have Landed!

Steve Rowe

The Aliens have landed! The mysterious spaceship lands, The leaders of humanity arrive to greet it, At last, we get to know what’s out there… The crowds gather, Everyone waits expectantly, The doors ‘woosh’ open, And perfectly circular beings roll out.. The Prime Minister steps forward and extends a hand, The circle recoils, gathers itself and moves forwards; “Sorry, your appearance is terrifying…. And I was taken aback.” “You have tentacles – and tentacles on tentacles, Eyes that swivel and scary teeth when you smile. You look shaven with ugly bits of hair in strange places and move strangely; We … Continue reading The Aliens have Landed!

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Arrogance At Black Belt

Steve Rowe

“Hey!”  It was Manfred, we hadn’t seen him for ages, he passed Shodan several years ago and had trained only sporadically since, but he was a happy guy and it was always pleasant to see him. “How’s it going?”  I asked. “Not bad, fathered another rugrat since I saw you last, got promoted at work and been working out in the garage when I had the time, how’s things with you?” “Yeah, OK…..”  I hadn’t the time or the heart to even begin to tell him how much study and change he had missed. “Thought I’d get back to it … Continue reading Arrogance At Black Belt

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Soft And Slow Or Efficient…

Steve Rowe

Another visitor to the Dojo, as we were changing, the visitor explained that he had trained with all the “best” instructors for over 15 years and liked to “travel” around to see what each Sensei had…… He had heard of our Sensei “on the grapevine” and wanted to check him out.  He then went on to pull each senior Sensei to pieces and thought that the majority of them were overrated.  As he put on his somewhat “designer scruffy” (and smelly) Karategi we could see that it had “designer” blood stains strategically placed to impress….. He obviously did a lot … Continue reading Soft And Slow Or Efficient…