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Yakusoku Kumite [約束組手]

The four characters/ideograms don't have a combined meaning in the first translation I performed. In the second it said "kumite promise," which does not compute. The first character means, "promise; approximately; shrink," the second character means, "bundle; sheaf; ream; tie in bundles; govern; manage; control," the third character means, "association; braid; plait; construct; assemble; unite; cooperate; grapple," and the fourth character means, "hand."

Yokusoku kumite is prearranged sets of kata techniques as well as fundamentals/basics used to take us out of the strict kata form of fighting practice so we can start to develop our own free style of using kata techniques, bunkai from kata, and basic techniques in a free form unique way of applying what we are learning.

One of the most important aspects of this type of training is the need to practice it in a manner that allows one to concentrate on proper mechanics of executing the techniques, which do come from Kihonteki, kata, and various drills. The speed should start slow and then increase to moderate speed with softer free form sparring with emphasis on proper technique.

Charles Goodin Sensei of the Hawaii Karate Museum and the "Karate Thoughts Blog" states, "Yakusoku (promise) kumite is a prearranged sequence between two students. One student will usually attack, and the other will defend. Sometimes there is an exchange of attacks and defenses. But the main point is that the sequence is prearranged -- each student knows what he will do and what his partner will do."

Yame or Yameru [止める]

The characters/ideogram mean "to stop; to turn off." The character in front of the kana means, "stop; halt." The obvious meaning in martial systems therefore it to give a command to stop or halt doing something.

Yobo jushi no ishiki [予防重視の意識]

The characters/ideograms mean "prevention oriented awareness." The first character means, "beforehand; previous; myself; I," the second character means, "ward off; defend; protect; resist," the third character means, "heavy; heap up; pile up; nest of boxes," the fourth character means, "inspection; regard as; see; look at," the fifth character means, "idea; mind; heart; taste; thought; desire; care; liking," the sixth character means, "discriminating; know; write."

Yobo jushi no ishiki or prevention oriented awareness is actually a self-protection model used before the physical techniques of martial arts. It is also a model of avoidance. Self-protection is healthier and more beneficial than self-defense. Self-defense models tend to lean toward what is done physically after the fight has begun or the violent attack has already occurred.

Self-protection involves all those things you must do before resorting to self-defense. Yobo jushi no ishiki is a model that teaches you all those things you need to know intimately to have the type of awareness that prevents your ever having to endure the repercussions of a violent situation be it a fight or a violent attack. Prevention is much like health prevention. If you want to avoid health issues that are damaging and possible lethal it is better to take preventive steps before you get sick. In conflicts it is healthier to know what it is and do the preventive things necessary to avoid the repercussions completely.

If you have one of those rare occasions where violence is unavoidable then resort to all you learn in self-defense courses, practices and trainings. Take the aspirin before a headache into a migraine. Quit smoking before you get lung cancer. This is worth the effort, you think!

Yobo to kaihi [予防と回避]

This combination characters/ideograms mean "prevention and evasion." The first two characters, i.e. Yobo [予防], mean "prevention; precaution; protection against." The last two characters, i.e. kaihi [回避], mean "evasion; avoidance. The individual characters mean as follows: the first character means, "beforehand; previous; myself; I," the second character means, "ward off; defend; protect; resist," the fourth character means, "round; game; revolve; counter for occurrences," the fifth character means, "evade; avoid; avert; ward off; shirk; shun."

In martial systems, i.e. in self-defense or combative systems, we speak of avoidance and deescalation but often forget the precursor to those defensive strategies of prevention and evasion. If you can either prevent or evade a violent situation then you are one up on the entire violence curve. If all these fail then you do have the right to defend yourself but to certain societal requirements.

Yobo to kaihi is to train, practice and apply the art of prevention and evasion. What that entails is also complicated and huge. The question to ask when you sek out defense training is "do they teach prevention, evasion, avoidance and deescalation" before they teach you the physical actions and reactions to remove, reduce and to maintain legal and moral levels of defense?

Yoha [余波]

The characters/ideograms mean "aftermath; after-effect." The first character means, "too much; myself; surplus; other; remainder," the second character means, "waves; billows."

The aftermath or "yoha" refer to the aftermath of an adrenaline dump in all its forms. The following are reactions you will experience in a adrenaline-epinephrine induced state usually due to some event that caused fear that in martial arts involves violent encounters. These types of effects can occur outside violent encounters, i.e. where ever and whenever you encounter conflict in any form such as a confrontation with your boss, an argument with your spouse or significant other or a predatory attack.

It is also advisable to understand all of these as they can relate to the aftermath of a fight or violent encounter because this stuff can cause all kinds of mistakes in perceptions that can either get you in more trouble or get you out of the fire with legal institutions.

Okan [悪寒]; Shakes (pre-fight) Remember when you first found out you were going to have to fight someone? You tend to get the shakes. There is a plausible reason for this reaction as associated with the fight or flight survival response humans have. Knowing this and practicing to overcome or at the very least "hide" this from an opponent or attacker is necessary. It also means breaking things like the freeze or the desire to give up, etc.

Kokatsu [口渇]; Dry Mouth is another physical manifestation that should trigger your training that your under the stress of the adrenaline dump so do what you are trained to do to overcome or control this in a more effective way that benefits you and your survival.

Koe no furue [声の震え]; Voice Quiver's come from this dump as well and manifests itself as a nervous audible quiver in your voice. You simply have to practice so that adrenaline is dumped and use your voice to hide any voice quiver. One of the best uses of tournament kumite is to approach those who you will fight in the ring and talk to them to demonstrate your lack of fear since the gaol here is to talk with a strong confident voice. It also psych out the opponent. It is one of those things that will promote confidence and self-assurance if trying to deescalate a tense situation, etc.

Shiya kyosaku [視野狭窄]; Tunnel Vision is another problem that comes from an adrenaline dump where your practice and training to scan and use peripheral vision helps to overcome the problem. It is also good to breathe as slow, deep and rhythmically as possible. Often the breathing can be used to prepare for the inevitable prior to an encounter. If you determine that a conflict is on the horizon start your combat breathing. You can practice this in any event that causes a dump such as public speaking, etc.

In reality based practice you can have several practitioners approach you simultaneously where you practice using your peripheral vision and scanning techniques, i.e. constantly looking to everyone approaching locking on then moving to the next. This can keep attackers at bay for a brief time, sometimes depending on the attackers goals, etc., to find an escape tactic and strategy, etc. Think avoidance and escape - it makes me think of Rory Miller's Dracula technique.

Te ni ase [手に汗]; Sweaty Palms are another signal that things are going south so you can mentally pull back from the extreme effects of the dump and gain some semblance of control. This type of knowledge, which applies to all of these, are necessary for recognition and practical training as well as actually utilization in a tense situation, fight or violent attack.

Hakike [吐き気]; Nausea comes up especially if you recently ate a meal. Your body tends to want to evacuate things in preparation for combat or in the case of survival instincts flight or fight. This one and the next can actually happen. Your bladder will often release as well. It is not a bad thing as most assume to "piss your pants" or "blow chunks" before combat so go with it and just smirk if the attacker or opponent witnesses it cause you want to keep giving the impression your ready to battle, if required.

Cho no yurumi [腸の緩み]; Bowel Loosening is also a matter of dumping extra baggage to streamline and gain advantages so the body can flee or fight the good fight. It can happen before entering a combat zone, during the events of combat and after it is all over and your safe once again. It is not something to cause discomfort but something normal for survival. Many Marines and other professionals would make sure they didn't consume a lot of food and cleared both the bladder and bowels before going on patrol or entering a building or working a bouncer job, etc.

Chokaku jogai [聴覚除外]; Auditory Exclusion is a loss of hearing or a hearing state where some things are heard while other things are lost to memory, both short and long term. You may not hear things during the fight. Shots could be fired, shouts could occur and other such noises where you won't hear anything or at least you won't remember hearing them even tho the ears receive the vibrations and the brain may receive the interpretations of said vibrations or sounds. It just is one of those things that happen - accept it and deal with it.

Tonso jotai [遁走状態]; Fugue State is an altered state of mind during a dump in a conflict. It focuses on triviality and ignores important facts. It is coupled with memory issues described below, i.e. distortions and loss, as well as, "time distortions and time loss," etc. It comes down to exposure for training and practice to control these events as best as any given situation can be controlled.

Muryoku [無力] yokaku [予覚]; Total Acquiescence (helplessness and foreboding) Hope, the word that sometimes results in this type of feeling is hope. The kind of hope that is external and reliance is on others to come to your rescue. Your hope that this just cannot happen to you. The hope that the guy who is pummeling you into the ground and who may just kill you is going to see that your down and take the gentlemen's approach and back off. Ain't gonna happen in a violent encounter!

Foreboding is the mind set that takes anticipation and subjects it to speculation along with all those doubts and most often legal considerations in the heat of battle. You cannot rely on the hope that some one else or some entity is going to release you from a violent encounter. The only hope you have is your own. You hope that you will have made the decision to act before your in the heat of an attack. You hope your training and practice are reality based and then your only hope is to "get to the action necessary to stop the damage and find safety from the adversary."

Both helplessness and foreboding are things to consider when practicing the mind training necessary to act properly and in a defense model. If the mind is not knowledgeable and properly exposed and conditioned to violence and actions necessary to defend against it then consider a change.

Karada ridatsu taiken [体離脱体験]; Astral Experience is an out of body type experience. In an extreme case you might find yourself outside watching the action.

Shirimetsuretsu-banashi [支離滅裂話]; Logorrhea (excessive/incoherent talking) is manifested sometimes as incessant talking or blathering on about things you perceive as related to what is going on.

Kyohi oto [拒否応答]; Denial Response is denying that this could possibly happen to you and/or at any moment it will stop or someone will come to your rescue. I can say personally that no one in any violent situation is going to come to your rescue so make sure you train to overcome this aspect and do what is required to survive and gain safety.

Jikan yugami [時間歪み]; Time Distortion

Jikansonshitsu [時間損失]; Time Loss

Kioku no yugami [記憶の歪み]; Memory Distortion

Kioku soshitsu [記憶喪失]; Memory Loss

This aspect, i.e. time and memory distortions and loss are critical especially in self-defense models when confronted by legal ramifications of the actions you took to end the conflict. I cannot go into all the important factors here but you can find them in the books and sites by folks like Marc MacYoung, Rory Miller, and others. This is important for what you think happened is subject to these effects on your mind. It is best to make sure you understand and train to retain as much control over this effect as possible and you cannot do that without this knowledge and the use of this knowledge in practice and training.

Yokaku [予覚]

The characters/ideograms mean "hunch; foreboding; premonition." The first character means, "beforehand; previous; myself; I," the second character means, "memorize; learn; remember; awake; sober up."

Hunches are related to the development of intuition. Look at it as a feeling based on intuition rather than known facts: acting on a hunch. This does not mean that your actually basing this hunch on no facts at all. The key word is known facts but could better be expressed as facts in storage. Hunches and Intuition are based on a combination of knowledge and experience. When a hunch triggers your spidey senses it means something previously known and experienced but cannot rise up to the most conscious level has triggered the spidey sense or the hunch.

Yokaku or hunches in martial arts or self defense are those experiences and knowledge trained and practiced to a degree that the hunch arrives and you act. Hunches also provide you the means to avoid circumstances that could result in violence. The ability to have hunches is to use intuition and analysis to act according to the stimuli in the moment. Calling this a hunch is sometimes limiting without a greater understanding of how all this works.

It is not some mystic sixth sense technique but rather the acquisition of knowledge and experience that practiced and trained diligently result in reprogramming of the lizard brain to act appropriately in sometimes volatile situations.

Yoki shinai [不意]

These characters/ideograms mean "sudden; abrupt; unexpected; unforeseen."The first character means, "negative; non-; bad; ugly; clumsy," and the second character means, "idea; mind; heart; taste; thought; desire; care; liking."

In the martial arts, karate, this teaches us to train for the unexpected, the unforeseen, suddenly abrupt actions. It is indicative of the concept shu-ha-ri with greater emphasis on the "ha" levels.

It is taking the specifics and creating a holistic instinctive random chaotic eclectic individual perspective, perception and view toward actions in response to actions. It is taking the training, i.e. reality based, "yin" and melding/forging with experience and you, i.e. yang, into one whole holistic system of protection.

It is beneficial to gain health and fitness through repetitive practice of specifics such as upper and lower body techniques. It takes individual thought and spontaneous innovation to achieve proficiency and that means to "expect the unexpected." Bring the unexpected into the reality of training for reality.

Yokkyu fuman [欲求不満]

The characters/ideograms mean "frustration." The first character means, "passion; desire; craving; greed; covetousness; longing," the second character means, "request; want; wish for; require; demand," the third character means, "negative; non-; bad; ugly; clumsy," the fourth character means, "full; fullness; enough; satisfy."

All this to speak on the subject of frustration. Yokkyu fuman or frustration in martial arts covers a variety of areas. The one that comes immediately to mind is the frustration felt when learning and practice hits a wall. You know that feeling when your mind says you should be able to do this or that but your body does not want to cooperate.

This sometimes and often temporary feeling of an inability to change or achieve something. An event or circumstance that causes you to have this feeling of defeat and disappointment - all fly against the survival instincts we humans have innate to living. It is related to the other major emotional roadblock toward common sense and avoidance, etc., i.e. anger. The greater the resistance to fulfilling your will or the greater the obstruction the greater the frustration.

When we encounter something, especially an emotionally charged scenario, we tend to become highly stressed and that is coupled with the emotional dump of anger and frustration therefore locking the mind into a monkey driven lizard response, i.e. if you have not trained for it that means greater frustration, anger and mental freeze in no-mind land of often "rage." It is something beyond your control since you have nothing to relate it to and therefore nothing to find as to how to handle it so to avoid, evade or deescalate it. No reference point thus frustrations.

It is an internal source of frustration and can create cognitive dissonance. It is a feeling of discomfort due to tow or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In this state you may feel "disequilibrium": frustration, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc. all pumping chemicals like adrenaline into your system further debilitating the ability to handle it appropriately.

I quote wikipedia: "Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality. According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed "dissonance reduction", which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.[6] This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior."

When anger enters the situation due to frustration you experience the emotion which is attributed to external factors that are beyond your control. It is the perceived uncontrolled problem that instigates the more severe, and perhaps pathological reactions. I quote wiki again: "An individual suffering from pathological anger will often feel powerless to change the situation they are in, leading to and, if left uncontrolled, further anger."

Wiki on symptoms of frustration: "Frustration can be considered a problem–response behavior, and can have a number of effects, depending on the mental health of the individual. In positive cases, this frustration will build until a level that is too great for the individual to contend with, and thus produce action directed at solving the inherent problem. In negative cases, however, the individual may perceive the source of frustration to be outside of their control, and thus the frustration will continue to build, leading eventually to further problematic behavior (e.g. violent reaction).

Stubborn refusal to respond to new conditions affecting the goal, such as removal or modification of the barrier, sometimes occurs. As pointed out by J.A.C. Brown, severe punishment may cause individuals to continue nonadaptive behavior blindly: "Either it may have an effect opposite to that of reward and as such, discourage the repetition of the act, or, by functioning as a frustrating agent, it may lead to fixation and the other symptoms of frustration as well. It follows that punishment is a dangerous tool, since it often has effects which are entirely the opposite of those desired""

All this can lead to frustration-aggression, i.e the hypothesis is "a theory of aggression proposed by John Dollard, Neal E. Miller et al. in 1939,[1] and further developed by Miller, Roger Barker et al. in 1941[2] and Leonard Berkowitz in 1969.[3] The theory says that aggression is the result of blocking, or frustrating, a person's efforts to attain a goal."

If a martial artists is to truly take control of themselves and to apply the full spectrum of what it takes to apply martial arts, i.e. from avoidance to the physical manifestations, then all aspects of the human condition are required. Yokkyu fuman or frustration is one of those aspects.

Yoko geri [横蹴刀蹴 or 横蹴り]; side kick knife edge foot

The characters/ideograms mean "side kick knife." The first character means, "side; sideways; horizontal; width," the second character means, "kick," the third character means, "knife; sword; saber," the fourth character again meets "kick."

Yoko geri or the side knife kick is used below the waist and directed often to the knee area say on the side of the knee or just above or below the knee. It can be even lower but that is a matter of preference and teachings, i.e. be it Isshinryu, Shorinryu or Uechiryu, etc.

Yokoken (横拳)

The characters/ideograms mean "horizontal fist." The first character means, "sideways; side; horizontal; width; woof," the second character means, "fist."

This term provides us the positioning of the fist in karate. It is sometimes a horizontal fist chambered at the waist or the horizontal fist at its apex striking a target. The rotation of the fist from a horizontal position, i.e. the palm is pointing to the sky, until it rotates to the target where the palm has changed to point to the earth.

See also, tate-ken.

Yomi (Yomitoru) [読み取る ]

The characters/ideograms/kana mean "intuitive anticipation; know the mind of an opponent; to read (someone's) mind; to read between the lines." The first character means, "read," the second character means, "take; fetch; take up." The supplemental or suffix kana to both characters are verbs/conjugations/transitive that expand the meaning.

Yomi is the older character used in the current character or word yomitoru. This is one of the three elements that would be used in a fundamental sense to determine if the practice of karate were in the class of "budo." It is an intuitive anticipation of the actions of an adversary. This is one of the most difficult of elements to achieve mastery over overall and is one of the three integral elements of karate budo practice/training. The other two are waza and maai-hyoshi.

Yoshiki [様式]

The characters/ideograms mean "style; form; pattern." The first character means, "way; manner; situation," the second character means, "style; ceremony; rite; function; method; system; form; expression."

Patterns, that which form the kata. Why patterns in lieu of just practicing combination which if you look closely are also smaller patterns of physical movement. Could it be that the ancients understood intuitively how the brain and human actions learned, retained and recalled specific actions without thought.

Looking at fundamentals of "habit or patterns" which both apply in this instance for the patterns tend to instill in humans those habits that become automatic, without though and are perceived as instinctive. The brain experts theorize that the part of the brain responsible for this is the "basal ganglia." A small nub of material located inside the brain near the top of the spinal column.

In laymens terms and from a total not a brain specialist/expert view all human habits and patterns everyone uses every single day of our lives comes from a neurological processes, i.e. "urges," in lieu of what most think are well-researched thoughts. The brain initially flares up in a variety of brain area's when we first encounter something but after a period of repetitive encounters and responses centralizes in the basal ganglia where the urges drive the actions.

Therefore my theory is that realizing that to achieve the kind of perceived instinctual actions in response to stimuli especially when the actual experience of combat is not available one must train the brain to respond and the best teaching method in lieu of actual experience, multiple experiences, is to train using patterns to achieve habits or urges that rise up faster than light speed when the basal ganglia receives signals already encoded, etc.

I can see why it is easier to develop a hand full of combinations for those patterns used repetitively in practice tend to come instinctually in a fight but the rub here is when someone wanders outside the patterns and habits of either attack or defense to freeze the brain while all the normal reasoning thoughts try to find an adequate answer.

It solidifies the understanding I have that learning the patterns and habits is necessary but once you achieve a certain level of proficiency you must change them dynamically to achieve a greater association that would either bypass the freeze or at least break it to survive the fight, combat or predatory attack. Now, the answer as to how that is done is a bit more involved and cannot be taught in a blog post.

Looking at the snapshot of the basal ganglia and its purpose in other area's you can see how it might be referred to as the "lizard brain."

Shukan [習慣]

The characters/ideograms mean "custom; habit; manners." The first character means, "learn," the second character means, "accustomed; get used to; become experienced."

Yu Dan Sha [有段者] & Mudansha [無段者]

A term used to denote one who holds or has earned a "black belt" in a martial system. A Mudansha [無段者] describes the rank below black belt, i.e. kyu ranking. When this set of characters/ideograms are defined they don't actually symbolize a senior or junior belt rank, i.e. dan-grade vs. kyu-grade. Regardless the two are used in western martial systems to denote a holder of black belt and a holder of a non-black belt - very loose definition.

The first character for yudansha means, "possess; have; exist; happen; occur; approx." The second character for yudansha means, "grade; steps; stairs." The third character for yudansha means, "someone; person."

The first character for mudansha means,"nothing; naught; nil; zero," and at another site for translation it means, "nothingness; nothing; nix; zero; there is no; have no; be without; be devoid; not." The other two characters for mudansha are the same as for yudansha.

Yuki [勇氣]

The characters/ideograms mean "brave; courage; heroic." The first character means, "courage; cheer up; be in hight spirits; bravery; heroism," the second character means, "spirit; mind; air; atmosphere; mood."

One of the seven virtues of the bushido code. Courage is something that permeates all social tribal groups. It is necessary for survival. It is often, in the west, described as an ability to do something that caused fear. It is considered a strength of moral character when one has to face fear, pain or grief (danger, uncertainty, intimidation, hardship, death, etc.).

It is that ability that allows a human to act rightly in the face of opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. It is doing the right thing, regardless. It is an intestinal fortitude that allows one to act against all odds, against instincts, and against common oppositions.

Courage is a complex trait that is perceived differently by each individual and group regardless of the accepted definitions already provided. How one perceives courage and what it takes to have courage is difficult. No where does courage become evident then in the professions of the military and civil disciplines, i.e. police, corrections, fire, medical, etc.

Courage is used indiscriminately to mean many things but is not often perceived as it is meant to be. Courage is one thing that is misconceived by television, movies and other publications such as books and magazines.  What may seem like courage may not be while what may be seen as cowardice is actually courage.

The use of courage can often move one into conflict when it is attached to misconceptions and misinformation along side both ego and pride as perceived by the group or tribe. Discerning true courage over other concepts is difficult at the best of times.

Many sound bits are attributed to the concept and trait of courage but few actually understand it enough to see, feel or act with courage. Misconceptions often lead to bad actions.

It is imperative, especially those who desire to work in such professions, to know and understand courage and to foster it as a part of training and practice. Fear is a tool that is best used to foster courage so actions of an appropriate nature can be trained and applied in any given situation. Fear does not come from courage or a lack thereof but rather the fortitude to train and practice to use fear as a fuel for courage in doing the right things.

"For I fancy that I do know the nature of courage; but, somehow or other, she has slipped away from me, and I cannot get hold of her and tell her nature." - Plato

"It is hard to be brave. It is hard to know what bravery is." - Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone

"The man's try must be wholehearted by some objective standard, not that kind of 'nice try' that can barely be uttered without contempt unless to encourage a child." - William Ian Miller, The Mystery of Courage

I think that courage is a very individual thing that must be defined by that individual and that individual alone. The obfuscation of definition warrants such a view for one cannot allow others to push their interpretations upon them. Courage is not some simple thing that can be labeled, although I try, and passed around to all human beings. It must be that something that supports not only the individual but the tribe to which that individual belongs as a part of the survival of human beings.

The level of severity to that which I define dictates courage to me. To assume some simple action of every day life denotes courage is to lessen courage as a whole. The one thing courage dictates is some action that overcomes an adversity mostly within the mind and body of the individual. It is to overcome for the betterment of the individual and to overcome adversity for the good of the whole. The degree is fluid and to the moment. It changes as do the tides of the ocean and the phases of the moon as well as the changes of seasons.

Courage is not just one thing. There is a courage for offensive actions while another for defensive. The many things that take courage require different types of courage so to be just as complex and convoluted as the system of self-defense and violence of which there are many publications and teachings. What we require to face an enemy in combat vs. facing an adversary in a civil police scenario; from storing a castle to fighting a fire; from security at a pub to security of a position in war. Many, many facets that are courage and still an individual thing.

"Courage is a gray virtue, equally serviceable for both good and bad causes." - William Ian Miller, The Mystery of Courage

It might be said that courage for the individual shall be the capability to recognize your courage and have confidence in its summon-ability. If you don't know what it is for you and you cannot recognize it so it can be summoned in the worst of times then how can one summon the courage to act accordingly?

"Pain endured, real danger faced."

"The core is about fear of violent death, pain, and mutilation, the fear of being killed and at times, too, the fear of having to kill. From this core courage expands and we will follow its various emanations outward."

"Courage of endurance as well as for the courage of attack and aggression. Courage as self-realization is present at the ancient core, but only a kernel, for self-realization in honor societies was about proving oneself in battle and feud; in those cultures self-realization was inseparable from acquiring and displaying courage of confrontation, attack, and defense." - William Ian Miller, The Mystery of Courage

"No theory of courage can ignore war or the experience of fighting, without being hallow to its core."