How do you facilitate 'healing' through traditional Karate? (Goju Ryu Karate)

Brief context:

The below stages rests on the therapeutic idea that "you are the one you've been waiting for (Richard Schwartz)."
I coach with the angle of Karate as a long term 'way of life' and harness destruction towards the deepest forms of love and peace.
My methodologies and answers is one of infinite and is simply just a circumstantial interpretation.

Creating and nurture a grounding safe working space within you through basic guided 'somatic' therapy
Self-awareness, regulation and retuning
Envisioning the best version of you
Grounding self-love to further intuition, presence, calmness and a hint of playfulness
Testing, reflecting and refining practice

I take an unusual approach because...

For me personally... Growing up in Sydney as a Gen-Z with a Feudal/Imperial-like Japanese martial artist father, exposed me to a wide range of cultural experiences. Interestingly, my father, who was my Karate teacher, pushed me towards education before martial arts and formatively shaped me to study and think critically. I apply this to my martial arts training.
As individuals... I believe we all deserve and ultimately yearn for love and peace (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs). As an educator and coach, I was destined to choose Karate and education as a medium.
Societally... I don't think we need more individualism in the West, rather we should have more collectivism: 'togetherness'. The traditional dojo culture structures your mind to be more collective and conscientious. This space is far more than self defence and fighting, but a lifestyle towards intrinsic self-development.

Tell me more about the physical training...

In my opinion, this is the easiest part of the training journey and my sentiments may be summarised by the quote, "We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training."

My most objective interpretation of life itself, is like the visual of Yin and Yang or more scientifically, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction (Newton)." Philosophically, all attitudes and actions are valid and inevitably have bias.

Ultimately, I find that all we can control is our 'free will', a series of physical, mental and spiritual responses before, during and after a given situation. The outcome itself, comes down to probability well beyond our control.

I believe that humans aren't very capable to truly master many things. As per ethos of the Japanese Way, I focus on nurturing the mastery of one or two techniques I deem suitable to my students' context.

Aidan, Maksim, Harrison March 2024 WMAC.JPG

The 21st century challenges of Karate, which to me, gives it beauty

Karate in the 21st century landscape, faces contrasting intergenerational interpretations, largely spurred by rapidly transforming contexts. For 20th century practitioners in Japan and in the West, Karate was far more pressure tested as life for the average person was more physically threatening.

Today, I find more Karate practitioners using Karate as a medium towards more of a way of life. As an Australian with Japanese blood and lived experience, I aim to synthesise both East and West and share esoteric insights personalised to ones' circumstances. In essence, I aim to act as a bridge between both contexts, minimising 'losses in translations'.

Below are what some students said about our journey together...

Alex Wei

Harrison Saito has been one of the most influential figures in my life. Through Karate, he has given me a path of purpose and to be part of something larger than myself. I could not thank him enough for his admirable wiseness, experience and could not recommend Harrison more."

Andy Horvath

"I think a lot of us get stuck on the idea of what to practice in life. Whether it be BJJ, MMA, boxing, drumming, dancing, photography, art... My suggestion would be to find something that lights your inner fire. When it comes to martial arts, there is no right or wrong martial arts to train in and you can forget about the finish line. What's more important is the journey and process. You will reach the end of the line one way or another (if you're lucky enough to make it there of course) and you will figure that out along the way. We always seem fixated on the end goal. When I do this, I'll be happy/better. When I get this, I'll be happy/better etc etc. Round and round we go. No matter the colour of your belt, the status you hold in your job, the amount of money you make a year, the amount of followers you have bla bla... All of that is superfluous compared to the time we have in the present moment and how we choose to use it. I'm not saying to give those things up, they may be the fire you have in your belly and that's cool. I strugge with many things in life (and I don't mean for this to be proclamation of the self). I really want to express the idea of finding something that challenges you in a positive way, both physically and mentally. Karate is the perfect bridge between physical and psychological. Not only do you deal with strength, balance, stamina and physical resilience, the mental game takes you even deeper. Understanding and connecting with the body on a deeper level which also happens to cross over in everyday life. Structure, beauty, patience and fortitude are just some of the positives to take away from this practice. The Japanese have cultivated this way of life for centuries and although I've only scratched the surface, I feel more connected everyday. Thank you Harrison for your guidance and for teaching me. Love."

Jimmy Verykios

"Before training at KPS in Waterloo, I had attended a few gyms and could never find my place until I decided to join in on Harrison's karate class. After observing, I noticed how much of a challenge it was and saw it as an opportunity to grow as a participant in martial arts. I remember asking him if I needed a Gi to train and he said "we'll give you a Gi when we see that you are taking it seriously." After reflecting on that, I realised that was the first lesson. Eliminating all ego and pride, display integrity and keep to your word. As Harrison says, "your word is your bible." I was raised with strong moral values and I wanted to show Harrison that I was worth teaching. How he understood me as a student and as a person meant a lot to me because I respected him a lot. I didn't even care about the Gi, I just wanted to work on being a better person day by day with his guidance. Immediately, joining in, he made me feel at home wherever we were, as home became a concept that transcended physical place. We established a mutual understanding of being present and purpose driven and seeing the integrity within an individual based on how they train, how they carry the lessons of martial arts throughout life. We also discuss patterns whether it be dissecting a round house kick frame by frame or a behavioral pattern and recognise the source of it to lay better foundations. This encourages balance and being the mediator of holding yourself on the central, narrow path. I'm grateful to have him as a mentor, teacher and friend and value how he holds me accountable for everything and allow me to see the good in myself without ego. Harrison will always push you to try new experiences that challenges you physically and mentally as you shift your perspective from a macro an micro sale inside and outside the dojo. His voice will definitely echo in your mind in everyday life as I often catch myself doing 'horse sance' in the most ordinary situations. It's become a habit and I start laughing when I notice it because I'm aware of all the new healthy habits I'm doing consciously. It makes me very happy that one baby step at a time, I'm growing as an individual because of all these lessons. I've also never seen someone smash a whole Oporto's chicken like Harrison does. That's definitely an experience too. Much love bro."

Initial talks on problem solving and strategies are complimentary.

+61417884131

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www.shinbukan.com.au
151 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove, NSW

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