# Karate and Tai Chi.



## arnisador (Feb 22, 2006)

From an interview by Graham Noble of Shotokan stylist Hirokazu Kanazawain _Classical Fighting Arts_ #8 (the current issue):

_*GN:*_ Is it useful for Shotokan people to learn Goju-ryu kata?

_*HK:*_ I think so. The reason I can still do karate at seventy-three years old is because I do tai ch'i. Tai chi' is so different, extremely different from karate. In karate speed is important, but in tai ch'i youmust not use speed. Power is very important in karate, but in tai ch'i you must not use power; you must only move by intention, don't use muscle. Focus is very important in karate, but in tai ch'i you must not use focus; in tai ch'i before you can focus you are already starting the next movement.
[...]
Therefore it is also good to study other karate styles.

He also does a sort of ch'i-kung he developed from tai ch'i and Goju-ryu. He is primarily a Shotokan practitioner but has brought Shito-ryu's _Seiunchin_ and Goju-ryu's _Sepai_ into his organization's teaching. (It's unclear whether has borrowed other kata too.) He views it as bringing the more Chinese Naha-te tradition together with the more Okinawan Shuri-te tradition, he says.

What I find interesting is the bringing in of softer Goju aspects and of the tai ch'i connection. When I did Goju I was taught both Sanchin and Tensho. I was told that young people did the relatively hard Sanchin, but that for older people it was better to do the relatively soft Tensho. (Tensho was a favorite of mine, and I see some of it in the Wing Chun I am now learning.) In adding tai ch'i, it seems that he has taken that notion a step further to the truly soft tai ch'i. It's a great example of the Go-ju philosophy of mixing hard and soft elements in a complementary way.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 22, 2006)

I think tai chi practice is good with *ANY* other martial art.  If tai chi is a regular part of your training, you will be able to do your external arts for longer, and at a higher level.  I am not surprised by the comments in this article.


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## Cirdan (Feb 22, 2006)

Tai Chi can add valuable aspects to those of other arts. We do some Tai Chi at our wado club, and Tensho and Sanchin is taught at higher levels tough they are not usually part of the wado curriculum. I haven`t been training for very long, but it seems to me that Tai Chi makes our karate a much more complete art.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 22, 2006)

I would have to agree with this. 

I mainly do internal styles but I can easily see where practicing Tai Chi would help your relaxation in a tense situation. I have found that it can, in a cross style sparing  (ex. Aikido vs. Tai Chi, Karate vs. Tai Chi, TKD vs. Tai Chi) make it harder to apply joint locks and take downs as well as, on occasion make an other wise effective strike ineffective. 

It can assist in relaxation and fluidity of movement so I imagine Tai Chi practices with an external style would help.

I believe the old Chinese saying is external goes to internal and internal goes to external so it can only help.


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## jujutsu_indonesia (Feb 25, 2006)

Cirdan said:
			
		

> Tai Chi can add valuable aspects to those of other arts. We do some Tai Chi at our wado club, and Tensho and Sanchin is taught at higher levels tough they are not usually part of the wado curriculum. I haven`t been training for very long, but it seems to me that Tai Chi makes our karate a much more complete art.


 
We don't do Tai Chi in our Wado club, but I personally practice Tensho and Sanchin because I was ex-Goju. My sensei was also a crosslearner in Goju (he got a Dan, I got none   ) and so he knows the value of learning Goju Kata.


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