The Very Definition of 'Osu!' 押忍！

A couple of days ago a very high ranking, important Black Belt in Japan posted a video on Facebook showing his students’ fine performances at a Tokyo tournament. They did extremely well, but barely missed taking runner-up. He lamented that this was because of lack of practice due to COVID shutdowns. He further commented that he, too, could not practice as he wanted. He is a national tournament champion, and feels that his inability to train as he did previously has exacerbated his back pains. It is upsetting to not work his kata more than a few times before the pain becomes intense.

The last thing this wonderful Karate master needs is advice from lowly little me, but that didn’t stop me from commenting on his post. I thanked him for posting the video of his students’ excellent competition. I then brashly added the following:

We knew an American competitor, Jim Smith. If he did not make at least runner-up he would say, “The answers are back in the dojo”. This is difficult when pandemic has closed your dojo. Stay strong, COVID will end soon. I, too, have back pain (and knees, and hips, and shoulder). Keep a strong positive attitude; it does help. I believe the correct phrase for pushing forward against great adversity is: Osu! 押忍！

Why Can't I Test?

We had a small Shinsa (rank examination) last month for one student. COVID has prevented us from training in contact elements like kumite (sparring) and ippons (self-defense). I have allowed any ready members take one test, giving them conditional rank which will be certified once COVID restrictions lift and we can certify these contact elements.

One brown belt student asked me if he could test. I said ‘no’ for several reasons, one is he already had a COVID promotion. Once a student reaches 4th Kyu purple belt, they have a minimum wait requirement and must be invited to test. As my Sensei often said, if you ask permission to test, you show you are not ready. Many intangibles are taken into account, not just the physical ability to perform new kata. The student must show mental readiness, which includes the patience to be invited to test.

The biggest reason this student was told ‘not yet’ is because he still hasn’t learned his fact sheet given out to all white belts, told to learn, and quizzed on at each rank examination. This consists of one page of history and Japanese terminology we use every day in class. “What’s the big deal? I know my new kata, and I know how to fight.” He may know the sequence of the kata, but has very limited understanding of the techniques. “What good is learning the fact sheet? I ain’t never gonna need it.” We train more than the body, also the mind and spirit. Learning the fact sheet takes some discipline and dedication – two important traits for higher ranks. As a brown belt, he should set an example for other students. If a yellow belt asks him for help on a history or terminology question, it looks bad if he says “I don’t gotta know that stuff.” When the class is going through basics, it looks bad when he has to watch what others do because he doesn’t know his Japanese commands, or worse, slow us down as I must say and demonstrate the term he should already know.

Did I mention this brown belt is an adult in his 40s, a college graduate, and successful business owner? I put it in collegiate terms he should understand. To get his degree in business, he was required to take liberal arts courses. Were they useless, or did they help him by rounding out his thought process, helping him think faster on his feet? If he wanted just business classes, there are schools that offer certificate programs. If he wanted the degree, he was required to pass all the non-business courses as well. If he wants to just learn fighting, he could enroll in boxing, or MMA, or jiu jitsu. (And don’t yell at me how those arts are mental as well as physical. I know that, but try to convince my brown belt of that) You want rank in a traditional Karate dojo? Meet all the traditional requirements of that dojo.

A higher ranking student should never ‘ask’ to test. His technique, knowledge, and attitude should necessitate his being told to test. “So, can I test yet? Pleeeze!!!” No, not yet.