YAMA UMI DOJO
|
Mount Coolum |
The Coral Sea |
Yama Umi Dojo is located in Mount Coolum, Maroochy Shire on The Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia. We carry on the San Sai Ryu teachings of Scudieri Sensei of The Delaware Budokan. Our natural surroundings of Mount Coolum and the Coral Sea are a part of our training. For fitness and endurance, a fast paced hike to the top of Mount Coolum and back down is a fantastic experience for the warrior within.
Although this has been argued by some, Mount Coolum is said to be the second largest monolith in the world, next to Ayers Rock (Uluru). My personal experience hiking the mountain has been one of conquering. I am not a big fan of heights, so every time I reach the top covered in sweat, gasping for breath, I look out over the Coral Sea and feel as though I have just claimed victory over a very strong opponent. Ah, but the battle is not over yet, still have to hike back down.
On the
way up the mountain you can feel a sense of mysticism from the battle of the
gods that took place thousands of years ago. This of course is a story passed
down through generations from the indigenous people of Australia, The
Aborigines.
The Legend of Mount Coolum, passed on by John Wood
The Legend of Mount Coolum
The name "Maroochy" comes from a local Aboriginal legend. It tells how Ninderry, a rival from another clan, stole a beautiful young woman called Maroochy from Coolum, the man whom she was to marry. When Coolum rescued his bride by stealth, Ninderry chased them. He caught up with them, and, throwing a boomerang, succeeded in knocking off Coolum's head, which rolled into the sea and is represented today by Mudjimba Island. "Coolum" means headless or blunt in Aboriginal language. His body is represented by Mount Coolum, which has no peak.
For his treacherous attack, Ninderry was turned into stone by the wrathful gods. Maroochy fled inland, where she wept so copiously that her tears flowed down the mountain to form the Maroochy River.
Surfing and Martial Arts by Jeff Previti
The Coral Sea is also a part of our training. I have been surfing for twenty three years and have been involved in martial arts for sixteen years, and feel that there is a strong similarity between the two. The more I thought about it, the more similar they became. I practice San Sai Ryu Aikijutsu and Kenjutsu. I would like to share with you the similarities of surfing and these martial arts that until now, I did not realize how many ways they are so similar.
Surfing and Martial Arts are activities for the individual. It is in this individuality that styles have developed. Instead of going out and riding a longboard straight down the line for the rest of eternity, certain individuals took on there own style and began doing radical maneuvers. While performing these radical maneuvers, it is important to keep the style and elegance. It is the two together that make it high quality. Sound familiar? It should, it is exactly what a good martial artist does. As in Kenjutsu when a kata is performed, some one was just violently killed, and it looked elegant. So I find that in both of these arts, there is a sense of radical/violence followed by style and elegance.
In both arts, every so often a certain individual comes along and pushes the limits to new levels using their individuality. They became so great that their style becomes what others want to adapt to. (Kelly Slater / Mihamoto no Yoshiie) What do the great do? They make the difficult look easy, and look stylish doing it.
In the same way the Samurai went to greatly skilled craftsmen (katana-kaji) for his katana. A surfer seeks out highly skilled craftsmen to shape his surfboard (the shaper). Both arts require highly skilled craftsmen to make the weapon needed to perform. The resemblance of the shape of the surfboard and katana is also similar in the way that they both have a similar arc to their shape.
Katana and Surfboard Sharp blade / sharp fins
Both designed to cut
The Samurai carries a wakizashi and
katana. As a surfer I carry a 6”8 short board and 7”2 big wave board. In both
cases the shorter weapon gets the job done, but the larger weapon is preferred
for more serious situations. Yes, victory can still be claimed with the
wakizashi or short board in serious circumstances, but to insure a victory with
fewer struggles, I would prefer the tool designed for the job. Bust out the big
one!
The stance is another similarity. Both feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, relaxed, knees slightly bent, and ready to shift your weight as needed. A good martial artist uses a set of techniques that flow smoothly from one move to the next. A surfer riding a wave does the same. Nagashi-waza on a wave.
Your opponent stands before you, all outside distractions are blocked out of your mind, the katana is raised, then the kokyu / the nagashi-giri. As I drive down the face of a wave going rail to rail to generate speed, I breathe in, then exhale as I transfer my weight on the back end of the board over the fins, I then put the board on its rail and radically change directions. Hence the maneuver “A Cut Back”. The cut back was a radical change in direction, keeping the elegance and style with the end result of water spraying over the wave from the fins, in the same way blood sprayed from an opponent after the radical, yet elegant nagashi-giri.
In the photo below, I execute a cut-back. No longer on my surfboard,
but on my Wave Katana!
Jeff Previti