Report by Jorge F. Garibaldi, Ten Chi Jin Martial Arts Academy, Århus, Denmark

I think that this report that follows, is as good a description, as any I've seen, or read.

"Looking in from the Outside"

My first seminar with Vince Morris Sensei

By  Jorge F. Garibaldi,

        Ten Chi Jin Martial Arts Academy

               Århus, Denmark

Saturday 15^th of September 2007, that’s a day I will remember.

That day I attended a seminar taught by Vince Morris sensei. I had read a couple of his books years ago, but not being a Shotokan student, and blinded by my own bigotry I decided that there was probably nothing to this guy. After all, he wasn’t Japanese, and as we all know, if you don’t have the right passport, your martial arts are rubbish…

But the years had passed, and finally I had learnt that knowledge and wisdom know no national boundaries. My years of dogma were finally over.

So there I was, Saturday 15^th, not really knowing what to expect, but hoping to find someone who knew what he was talking about and could back it all up with theoretical knowledge and hands on demonstrations.

There’s this old saying, “be careful what you wish for, you may get it”…

Well, I got it!

Vince Morris sensei turned out to be a great martial artist and a great teacher. I could sense the maturity of his Karate, not just by what he taught, but mostly through his way of moving, smoothly and quickly, pushing against the floor, and his explosive and devastating techniques.

That particular day we worked with Kanku Dai (Kushanku). In the opening movement of the kata, and its applications, he answered questions that had been poking at my mind for over 20 years.

Every time I would ask my instructors about the opening movement of Kanku Dai. The answers would vary depending on the instructor. If he was Japanese, the answer would be “kamae!”, if he was a westerner, the answer would be: “you are looking at the stars”, or “you are gathering ki” or something to that effect.

Not this day. Not Saturday 15^th of September 2007. This day I was finally told that one recurring theme of Kanku Dai is unbalancing your opponent and positioning him where he can be hurt, and was shown how this ancient technique work. A wonderfully effective and devastating way of “looking at the skies”, don’t you think?

Time seemed to stop or to cease to exist. We worked intensively and with deep concentration.

We were shown a sequence and paired off to try for ourselves, stopped for corrections, and paired off again, trapped in an exhilarating vortex of knowledge and energy.

It was raw fun and motivating. Thanks to sensei, I had found my beginners mind again. After more than 20 years, the joy of discovering was rushing through my veins again.

Within the frame of Kanku Dai, we worked with footwork, energy generation, controlling the opponent in such a way as to make him predictable (I definitely want to dig deeper on that one), distance or maai, the use of stances, kyusho jutsu, mental attitude, etc. It was clear that a lifetime of studies was ahead of us, if we aspired to master these concepts.

Another surprising thing was his age.  I thought that Vince sensei was in his fifties. Everything about him spoke of martial maturity and physical ability, his physical appearance, the way he moved, etc.

Imagine my astonishment when he said that he was 63 years old! That gave me something to think about. I have just turned forty, with all the anxiety that figure brings to us “aging” martial artists. Will I be able to keep up my training? Will my abilities start to diminish? Will I stop developing as a martial artist?

Well let’s put it this way. I would be very, very happy, if I could move at forty, the way Vince sensei moves at 63!!

So from now on, my training is all about moving like a 63 year old!

Jorge F. Garibaldi

Ten Chi Jin Martial Arts Academy

Århus, Denmark