Describing Karate using the laws of thermodynamics!

 

 

                Yes, you read that correctly! I will be attempting to describe Karate to you using the laws of thermodynamics. Well Actually I will be using thermodynamics to answer some of the more common questions I get about Karate from people that are looking to Join Karate or those observing different Shotokan groups and wondering why they see what they see…and also its kind of geek cool to look at it using this.

                Before I go there I have to do some quick review  with you about the laws of thermodynamics and then you will start to see how they apply to the vast differentiation of styles, both personal and systematic in Karate. The laws also start to show how and why this occurs and explains why it is PERECTLY NORMAL AND OKAY to have different ideas, different techniques and how being creative and different is good. I will also start to throw in some ideals that I learned growing up in Karate to show that the idea of creativity is important in Karate and how our more modern practice of conformity is bad for Karate and stifles our potential.

 

                The laws of thermodynamics define the fundamental physical quantities that characterize a thermodynamic system. This closed thermal system is kind of like  a Dojo or auditorium that has Karate black belts training in it, let’s say doing Kata. The laws explain some very interesting things that can be applied to different sciences outside of Thermodynamics; such as genetics, but for our purposes we will be sticking to Karate.

                So Thermodynamics have three laws that we will look at Zeroth law, and the first and second laws. The Zeroth Law states “if two systems are both in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are seen as in equilibrium with each other. Basically if your Kata looks like another students Kata and their Kata looks like the instructors Kata…then your Kata looks like the instructors Kata….simple right. Well only to a degree. Basically its more of an overall for Karate. If my Kata looks like our national instructors Kata and his looks like the world instructors Kata then my kata is the same as Ueki Sensei’s kata…probably not but it’s a gross generalization that we are looking for anyways and we found it using this.

                Basically the Zeroth law is how we form systems and styles in Karate and to a certain degree how we form Karate vs Kung fu or other systems that have forms in them. Our Karate looks like Karate, so if your Karate looks like someone else’s Karate…well its Karate. That’s a grand scale kind of thing.  Think of it this way, if you have a room full of Karate people all from different styles you will be able to tell the difference between the different styles as an observer from a medium distance, but once you go into a faraway view of the room and watch them all doing Kata you will see one thing…Karate! If you were to  introduce a Kung fu person in white doing a slightly different form you would see him no problem as being different, from further out however you would see a vast sea of white movement and think “ah, Karate”.

                The damage occurs to this closed system in equilibrium when you start moving in on it and analysing the different movements of the individuals. You would first see the Kung fu guy and then the Goju guys would look different from the Shuri style guys….then the differences of Shito and Shoto groups would come into view, then finally you would see the difference in Asai style guys and JKA or SKA Karate ka. 

                Basically this law states that when observed the similarities of one to the next is only confirmed when you view the similarities of those two to a third body. So the root JKA stylist will look similar to a ISKF guy and a IKD guy will look similar to an ISKF guy so the IKD guy is similar to the JKA guy. That is the law of Zeroth in a confusing little nut shell that you can forget now.

                Now I am going to use the second laws to describe why variation is a good think in Karate and how it actually benefits the greater good over conformity of style and training. Its also why having multiple instructors with different skill sets and different approaches excites me as a student and why I feel, as a head instructor, its important for students to be exposed to different ideas and different teaching….after they have a solid base and foundation in training.

 

                The first real law of thermodynamics has to do with energy and its very important in Karate…but not in what I am trying to write here, nor is the third, which again is really cool and can be applied to Karate (see what I did their….no…ready about the third law and you will chuckle) so I am going to jump to the second law and how it applies to Karate and the growth and creativity we need as individuals in Karate.  

 

                Before I get into the second law of thermodynamics let me explain a key component to the understanding of this law and how it applies to Karate…Entropy. Entropy is a degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. It’s a process of degradation or running down to a trend of disorder. In essence it chaos from order! Easy enough eh! No?  Okay think of it this way, the natural trend of things is to start off very ordered, the system is in perfect harmony and all objects or structures are not just similar, they are the same! Then over time and as things progress they degrade and start to change, sometimes big changes and sometimes small changes and then you have “chaos”. 

                First thing we need to address is that “Chaos” is not a bad thing, well in some instances. Chaos is the defining component of creativity and change! Chaos is another way of saying Randomness or without pattern or predictability. In Biology Chaos is often called Evolutionary Synthesis. Let’s face it that’s a good thing! Without randomness in evolution we would not be here! As Hominids we grew out of lesser Bipeds and continued to evolve into…well us. Without the random selection of genetic selective in our evolutionary path to “us” we would still be clubbing dinner and not yet figuring out how to read or do math, sciences or even cook proper Yorkshire pudding!

                So, what the heck does Entropy or Chaos have to do with Karate and our evolution to what we train in now….well its about selection and changes, personal spins on ideas and growth and development of basic fundamentals…then learning to express them in specific ways. Entropy and chaos are not absolute however, and this is very important.

When you have complete chaos and complete variance on key fundamentals in biology you develop a runaway body that is acting against the purpose of the cells that it in habits, or cancer! In Karate you have off shoots that don’t look anything like the original at all, like Shuri Te! (note, I am NOT comparing Shuri Te to cancer…not really….its nothing like Cancer!).

Entropy and Chaos must be introduced in small doses for it to be effective and for the alternative system to survive and prosper. So in this case when Shotokai and Shotkan gave burth to the SKA system under Oshima it was similar enough to both and held the same principles that it looked rather like Shotokan and rather like shotokai but unique enough to be different, but survive. When Kanazawa or Asai changed their system of Karate to be variations of JKA system Shotokan they survived because they were similar enough to the origin that they looked and sounded like Shotokan but they broke several rules to become separate systems.

In mainstream Karate and even more so in Shotokan style Karate the level of entropy is minimul, you will see some change between an ITKF student and a JKA style student or a ISKF black belt and a JSKA Student but if you compare them to a similar style like Shito Ryu you see a massive amount of entropy. Get them to do Bassai Dai/Passai Dai and watch the differences! If you put the Shito Ryu student in with people who are ITKF and JKA you will see the vast differences in the Shito to Shoto guys, but strangely the level of entropy from the ITKF/JKA students seem minimal. Now remove the Shito student and have the two students do Kanku Dai. The Entropy levels seem to raise…but its perception.

                Entropy means change with in a closed system. In this case Karate is one system, Shuri Te root style would be the next enclosed system and then Shoto styles the last. Entropy is not a bad thing. It’s the minor changes in Kata, the changes in approach, Kihon changes or the dynamics of a system, even the way that they are presented that create variance that we see as Chaos but really should be seen as creativity.

 

                Okay, now that we kind of understand Entropy/Chaos and how it’s a good thing lets look at the second law of Thermodynamics and how it can directly apply to Karate and our training. The second law of Thermodynamics basically states that the entropy of the universe is always increasing. So entropy of any isolated system increases spontaneously and evolves towards thermal equilibrium. For us I will break it down. The alterations and changes in Karate will continue to develop and grow until new systems and ideas develop that break away from the normal standard and established system. This…is a good thing.

                One way to look at this is that a system that is constantly changing in a vacuum that has no access to the root system will continue to change unabated until it’s a new system.  In the law of thermodynamics it states specifically “lack of order or predictability; gradually decline into disorder.  In essence it is inevitable when you add unknown quantities to a system , like the individual and unique thinking and perspectives of individuals, that the system will adapt and change and subsystems will grow out of the root system that look similar but often have unique qualities that make them different. This is how different sub systems are created and why not everyone is doing Shotokan and JKA system Karate or why we are not all doing Shorin ryu or some other ancient style.  Entropy and specifically the second law of thermodynamics explain why evolution of the systems exist.

 

                Entropy in Karate, on a much smaller scale, is seen in one’s conformity, or lack thereof, to individual training. When you start in karate you are given a series of principles, a foundation in the system that you train in as it were. Then you begin to develop and train and understand your training, you internalize the training and begin to play with different ideas. You go from Ippon and Gohon Kumite which drills the fundamental ideas to Jiyu Ippon and Jiyu Kumite to help build your own style after working on the core believes and system specific strategies. After a while you begin to bring your own ideas to the table and your Kumite changes and shifts to be more developed for your body and more in line with your skills. After a while you realize you don’t move like your instructor taught you to as a Kyu level student and you have now demonstrated Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics at work.

                When you move into a Dojo view and watch the black belts develop different systems and skill levels and movement patters the entropy in a Dojo becomes much more noticeable. I always say YOU SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE ME WHEN I DO KATA OR KUMITE, but the fundamentals should be the same!  At a Dojo level the instructor should be managing the entropy and to a certain level encouraging it for variety and to help the individual in Karate train to their maximum potential. If we all looked the same, like those cookie cutter Dojos we all know about, then we are stifling creativity and the individual is going to find that they get bored being forced into a specific mold.

                I want to be clear here however in that the fundamentals of a system the Kihon and to a very specific level the dynamics of a movement should be all the same, it’s the application and the unique way that a student develops their expression of those core principles that you are trying to encourage.

                If you take a dojo full of black belts and randomly have six of them do Bassai Dai at their own pace…it should be Complete Chaos, each of them doing Kata at their own pace and with slight variations on Bassai Dai…but all Bassai Dai! However the fundamentals and core principles will all be the same, this means they are doing the same style but expression of that style is unique to the student. This is true Karate Entropy.

                Now an interesting thing happens with Entropy in a large scale enclosed system like the JKA organization. When you compare it to itself you should technically see different seniors doing things differently, but when you compare it to other groups like KWF or SKI you will see that the similarities are greater with in the single enclosed system like the JKA. The JKA takes it a step farther however and tries to make everyone look as close to the same as possible, but I will get to that later. ON a larger scale however the differences should disappear when you compare the large enclosed system to another large enclosed system.

                To really see how entropy works watch a single person doing a kata in your club. The performance should fit into specific criteria to be seen as “Shotokan” or “JKA” Style Kata. The individual will have to perform specific movements in a specific way to meet a fairly moderate set of rules. Then put two or three people in the same situation and you will see that even with the moderate parameters being met by all three…the three Kata will look different slightly. Add more Karateka doing more varied Kata. Take the spectrum of performers now and find two people that are at different ends of the spectrum and have them do the Kata side by side. The differences will make them look like different organization based students, but because the two ends of the spectrum are close enough to the norm or middle, they are the same…thus the first law of thermodynamics is used to say they are the same.

               

                I am about to make a GIANT leap here and jump from thermodynamics to Karate theory, but I will bring it back around. Don’t think it’s a different paper you are reading, this is going to make sense…I hope.

 

                In Karate we have a Theory or explanation of how students grow in Karate…or are supposed to. When a student starts in Karate they begin learning to perform movements that are rather unique and foreign to them. The system is not natural and they must study hard to incorporate it into their movement systems. The basics are drilled and the instructor tries to manipulate, teach, cajole and push students to do the movements correctly. We create a “cookie cutter” environment and we push them to capitulate and not be creative. However there are reasons for this….to create power most people are not moving correct, or they are limiting their ability to increase speed with horrible movement dynamics. We have to teach people how to use their body correctly…which in some cases is funny because I have students joining at 40 who don’t know how to use their body…they have been using it wrong for 40 years! Well, wrong in the sense that they are not able to defend themselves, they can walk and they know how to eat and move their arms, but they lack the fundamentals of movement dynamics to effectively use their body.

                In the Karate vernacular we call this level of training “SHU” or to “Obey” its learning fundamentals, Techniques and its about traditional wisdom or the learning that my instructor went through. A perfect example of the “Shu” level of training is line work in Kihon or basic Kumite and Kata work. You line up and a senior or your instructor counts, you repeat the movements over and over and try to increasingly build up the “Same looking and acting body dynamics as your instructor and senior”.  This level of training is illustrated in Sanbon Kumite. You step in three times and perform a specific movement, and then you step back and do the same movement. The instructor/senior makes a few corrections and hopefully explains what was “wrong” and then you do it again till you get it “right” and hopefully you improve and move towards the norm.  Thus you are fulfilling the first law of thermodynamics in your Karate.

                Now the “Shu-Ha-Ri” concept of stages of learning or mastery is supposed to have different levels and the masters, instructors, and seniors should ALL be encouraging this, I was lucky enough to have a instructor growing up in Karate who saw that uniqueness is a gift, creativity and freedom of expression is the way to create better Karate and make things more pliable and applicable to the individual….not all instructors get this and some…I fear most….discourage this! To some extent I see big organizations trying to cookie cutter the hell out of student practice and stick the students under Shu from white belt till they leave or till they are beaten over the head with conformity so much that they end up avoiding the next two levels for fear that they won’t grow as individuals.

 

                The next level after Shu is “HA” or Detachment from self. “Ha” training is when you notice that a student is starting to use the traditional and the level of conformity is complete. They are doing the Kata the way they were taught exact and now they have perfected the ideals an concepts. And some would say they have “made them their own” but I say that the system has taken over the student and they are conforming 100% to the system. In some cultures this is seen as bad….”oh, conformity is bad” but for Karate its actually a necessary step and one that can be seen at Shodan and Nidan level.

                The student has now made his body work exactly like his instructors and he has adapted, to the best of his ability, his instructors methods and ideas. In terms of Kata he strives, and to the most part, meets the requirements for the system and is now doing what the “Ha” level best provides for…understanding and study of the system.

                The student now has the opportunity to work on improving his foundation, but more importantly he is learning why the foundation was set up that way, what the concepts are is part of Shu, Ha is the why and how. The student now is working on understanding the why and how of hip rotation, Kime, body movement and dynamics and the multitudes of other ideas and concepts that the system has, he has gone from what…to how and why! This is a huge leap and some never make it. Most students who fail to make this leap do so because of poor instructors or jealous and ego driven instructors not wanting to share the why and how and keeping the student in the dark. They want to have the student regurgitate what they were taught and that’s all, doing it well, understanding why and how is of no interest for fear that the student may start to make the leap to the “Ri” level.

 

                “Ri” is the level that most people at Sandan or up will reach, most…some will maintain at Ha and stay their due to issues with change or wanting to conform and fit in. “Ri” is about creativity and moving beyond dogma. It means “Transcendence” at this level you see that the constructs of the system disappear and you can now create new and dynamic movement styles and your overall skills become unique and creativity sets in, you experiment and bring new elements into the training. Its about expansion of your understanding. Now that you have a solid base of understanding and you know your body better as it pertains to movement patterns you can create new ones and experiment with developing new concepts or encompassing ideas from other systems. In essence you create a new twist on the old ideas to make a new system.

                The Ri level of learning is something that you should naturally move into, not to soon or you will fail to create something new and just be melding together different systems that are not your own, in essence you are stuck in Shu or Ha but putting together two systems incompletely without mastering your own. If you don’t go to the depth of one style and conform, understand and get hardwired with the ideals and concepts then you should not go to another to try and bring parts of it to your system you are currently studying.

                I have seen people try and make the leap to soon and the training system that comes out of it is a mess, also the student regresses in their understanding by trying to mix to many concepts to soon and the worst part is they don’t see it. The result is a “Student of several styles” at the Shu level who has no hope of moving forwards and who begin to develop an ego issue. The system they create for themselves is a mish-mash and not complete, they don’t get to the point of mastery before they begin to dabble in other systems and the resultant system is weak and ends up being two separate systems instead of a single system with a deep conceptual grounding and additions or alterations that make it unique.

 

                Having said all that I have to say that I am all for students dipping into other systems, being creative and reaching out to find new ideas, exploring different ways of moving or different systems to see if you can take some aspect from that and apply it to your Karate….but you have to understand your Karate and the concepts well enough before you make that leap and try this or it will hamper your progress.

 

                The idea of being different, of moving different, of exploring and creating new systems and new movement skills/patterns is fairly new to modern Karate. It was an excepted norm in the past when masters would go from one style to the next in China and study forms of fighting, train daily for hours and study them meticulously and then move to the next master…then they came back to Okinawa and created a system that was then designated as a new fighting art. Take for instance Sakakawa Kanga or Sakugawa Satunushi (Tode Sakukawa)…..all the same dude just three ways of saying his name. HE was born in Akata village on Okinawa and studied Tode with Peichin Takahara, he then studied under Kussanku in Chun fa. He had mastered Tode when he began working in the Chun fa system and created Te or “Hand”. His student Matsumura Sokon studied Te for many years and then studied Jigen Ryu (sword fighting) and merged the movement system of this system…and then learned from a Chinese sailor named Chinto or Annan. The system he learned was a crane style system and he built his style out of this. 

                Both men took systems they were deeply trained in and then built new systems that looked similar but had new aspects of movement to them. The idea of being different was good, as long as it worked in a real fight….did I mention that both men were royal body guards that were tasked with protecting the royalty of Okinawa during a time of great violence with the Satsuma clan?  These men knew that expanding their ideas and skills was very important, being creative but effective was very important. Matsumura once said that he took from Annan some of his movement patterns that made Annan untouchable when they were fighting, but he also discarded much of the movements that were of little to no benefit.

               

                The ideal of Entropy is one that should be explored more by heads of Karate organizations. The fact that our evolution as a species relied on entropy to develop is a sign of its worthiness as an approach. We should foster a practice of teaching our system to students using this three level approach, first we teach them and force them to comply to our standards and systems and then we move to helping them understand why, this seems to be the most effective way to present your system to new students, not to much talk…just lots of practice and then explanation as to why. Then we encourage them to expand their training and figure out what works for them, what outside ideas assist them and teach them how to critically look at the subject of movement patters, defensive skills and Dynamics and let them grow as individuals. In essence learn my system, make my system yours and then create your own system. With the first law of thermodynamics as a rule to follow the student will stick with in the standards of the enclosed system even at the third stage and will create a new twist on the old style that is still recognizable as the original but masterfully manipulated to be more effective for the individual expressing the art.

                In the end the base model is the same as the new model, but with extras or with things removed that are not needed. My style of Karate is different than my instructors because he encouraged me to study and develop my own ideas after I had focused for more than 20 years on his style of teaching and training, while we were built differently I got the idea of Kihon-centric training from Dingman Sensei and modeled my training after this. The idea being that all Karate should be focused on having the best possible Kihon. And also not to skimp on Kihon to try and gain a “point” in Kumite or to make a Kata look more dramatic. You have to focus on scoring points in Kumite with good form and you have to do your kata with good form.

                However My karate also takes some aspects from Aikido and Judo as well as from my brief study in Itto Ryu to study movement patterns. I also put a great deal more science and specifically kinesiology into my training and studies, I understand the body differently and the mind of my students from a different point of view from my instructor. This brings a new perspective to my students who will hopefully follow the same path as me and create a system that suits them better as well.

 

                Through the study of the laws of thermodynamics, at least the first few, you can gain an understanding of the idea of entropy and how variance in the norm is a great way to build a solid system and work towards the future. I think that its important to maintain tradition, but its also important to make tradition work for you!