06/01/2026
Henka 変化 (Or, Growing up through proper changes and on Iha Sensei’s humility)
Iha Sensei had a very humble approach to learning. He never called himself a master and always kept a beginner’s mind (shoshin). In this clip he beautifully explains what he wants from us. Paraphrased partly for this who don’t speak “Sensei” he says, “I show you guys [my ideas] but you have to make better than I do. That’s what makes it practicing…I did, but you have to figure out and say to me that maybe you have a better idea. Then we can find out and practice together, always together.”
Here Iha Sensei explains something very revealing about his martial philosophy that he first learned under Gusukuma Shinpan, namely, that it is a student’s responsibility to explore and improve upon what they are taught, along with a teacher’s responsibility to have a secure enough ego to allow for such exploration.
But under what circumstances does this productively take place?
Each karateka develops their own accent and personal style based upon their teacher’s theory and their own effort and experience. Their martial creativity or freedom in applications is an example of their entrance into the kata, not away from it. But what must be remembered is that freedom or originality is not achieved by being sought. No one is ever original by trying to be different. Such attempts are only examples of pretentious self-absorption or immaturity, which miss the point of the martial arts as a way to go out of one’s self. We cannot get to ri (transcendence) without first passing through shu (imitation) and ha (mastery of the imitated material).
Besides, when we try to invent our own style artificially we are failing to give the past masters a vote, as if we have discovered the secrets that they somehow overlooked. In all likelihood it is we who have overlooked or failed to deeply explore what was handed down to us. One of the main reasons why we pay respect to the shomen at the dojo or in our home is to remember the dedication and insight of our masters, living and dead.
So the way to develop into our true selves is through maintaining perfect adherence to the tradition, and insofar as we maintain this faithfulness our true movement will naturally reveal itself. But there are limits. Physics is physics. We cannot recreate physics or the human body. Nonetheless, by following this path of conformity to the teachings we will discover that it is actually a gateway to true freedom of movement and legitimate development. In other words, we will discover the meaning of tradition. Thus we will avoid the error of mistaking the means for the end. On the one hand we will understand the necessity of form, yet on the other hand we will value such particulars as means to attain universals. As Jaroslav Pelikan has said, “Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition is the living faith of the dead.” Traditionalism is mistaking the particulars for the universals. The icon becomes the idol. Tradition is the proper understanding of particulars leading to universals.
There is nothing magical about entering into the meaning of kata. (But the master’s results may seem magical to those who do not enter into kata!) They are only tools to help us evolve into our optimal selves. They are the means and not the end. Just as we pass through kamae, we must pass through kata by entering into it and making it our own through patient, repetitious study. It is learning the scales and notes to be free one day to play your heart’s expression. Or like learning to speak a new language, but with your body. But you have to start somewhere. Notes are there for a reason. No one wants to hear random keys pounded out on the parlor piano.
#変化
