Gorindo Kata Kiito Shodan (front & back) for 9th Kyu White Belt by Claudio Iedwab
Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, September 2009
Gorindo Kata - Kiito Shodan by Claudio Iedwab
Kihon (slow) from Gorindo Kata Kiito Nidan for 8th Kyu Yellow Belt by Claudio Iedwab
Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, September 2009
Kihon (dynamic) from Gorindo Kata Kiito Nidan for 8th Kyu Yellow Belt by Claudio Iedwab
Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, September 2009
Gorindo Kata Kiito Nidan for 8th Kyu Yellow Belt by Claudio Iedwab
Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, September 2009
“Learn Gorindo and develop your strength and purity. Strength to be alone and purity to be with others.”
The tree is one of the earliest examples I received in a grappling class many years ago. Claudio Iedwab Sensei said not to tense our arms so much, but to relax. Be like the trees, they are flexible enough to bend with the wind. So if we relax our limbs, like the trees, we won't hurt ourselves. (next >>)
“Plant our feet firmly, like the roots of the trees.
Have strong legs, solid stances, like the tree.
Build our techniques from the ground up, like the tree.
Learn the footwork of the katas first, then work on the techniques for the upper body.”
In O'ahu, I saw at least 2 types of trees: the old, old, big trees with strong roots and trunk and aerial prop roots hanging from the branches to reach the ground to provide additional supports so the tree can spread out laterally to cover a wider area (banyan) and the smaller and supple trees (coconut palm or bamboos) which are tall but thin. We build our knowledge and techniques over many years. When we've developed solid techniques and reached higher levels, it is important not to forget the basics, go back to the roots and continue to broaden our minds and be wiser. Coconut palm trees or bamboos can withstand strong winds because of their elasticity and pliancy. Being relax and flexible are just as important in training, small and skinny do not mean weak.
We have yet many things to learn from the trees...
“In seiza, start breathing from your abdomen, progress then to breathing from your hips, and be yourself when you can breathe from your knees.”
“Who wants to be a ‘grand master’ when you can became a grand student! There is so much to learn!”
“Martial artists of all expressions begin by learning how to stand and walk. Even at the highest levels of training they still apply simple stances but with the added benefit of tons of experience about the how, when, where and why.”
“Do not leave the practice of a kata for tomorrow when you can do it today!”
“We are who we perceive we are, so change your perceptions to change yourself.”
“I meditate, then I exist...”
“Think and act positively even when you find that you are part of a small minority in the shadow of a majority of nay-sayers.”
“Do not let anybody to tell you that you are an empty shell without spirit, and even less when such individuals pretend to ‘fill you up’ with their own limitations under the name of their pedantic ‘Mastery’.”
“Many martial arts teachers promote themselves as winners of hundreds of street fights. I don’t question their claims but I have my doubts about what kind of paths they were walking as budoka to find themselves in so many troublesome encounters.”
“Your fitness level may be improved according to how you train, but the openness of heart and mind will improve only according to how you live.”
“The difference between real barriers and automatic excuses is how determined we are to accept, dissolve or reinforce them.”
“Avoid any kind of pain but if it is with you already take advantage of it and then call it a lesson.”
“During the practice of kihon, train the complete range of motion of defensive techniques as if you might apply contact at any point along the trajectory. Do the same for the attacks repertoire.”
“Every martial artist is permanently under construction.”
“If you clearly understand that looking at the sky longer or gazing further than me does not make you a better martial artist, then you can comprehend that there is no need at all for competition in Gorindo Martial Art.”
“Anybody can do a roundhouse kick but not everybody can do a ‘mawashi-geri’... a particular spirit must be expressed through it!”
“The audible expression of your kiai should be as genuine as your laugh, otherwise it’s better to stay quiet...”
©2011-2015 Claudio Iedwab & Roxanne Standefer