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Dear Friend
The concept of the OPENHAND has been percolating
in my mind for the past 25 years. Since first
starting judo nearly 50 years ago and then embarking
on a 40 year karate journey, I have been rewarded
by meeting and befriending some of the world’s
leading martial artists and other “Openhand”
practitioners. I have had the good fortune of
sharing training time, techniques, strategies
and anecdotes with them.
However, increasingly I see organisations splitting
into independent factions on a worldwide scale.
“Is this a bad thing, or is this a good
thing?”. Whether it is good or bad does
not matter. The truth is that it is happening
and that a good number of excellent Openhand
practitioners and associations are becoming
isolated; existing on their own personal islands
so to speak. This is sad.
Having said this, though, there is today an
emerging breed of martial artist like Miyamoto
Musashi (the famous Japanese sword strategist)
who would not bypass a master of any art without
learning from him or her. In other words, this
new breed of Openhand experts (as I would call
you) are more than willing to learn from each
other, irrespective of whether their faction,
art or discipline is different to other disciplines.
It is only after an automobile accident and
being forced to have both of my hips replaced
12 years ago, that I came to realise that other
Openhand forms, sports and physical activities
could add value to my life and to that of my
students. Today, my training approach is very
different because of this.
My original approach was a one-way habit which
bred in me a closed, arrogant view of what karate
meant to me. Arrogance and feelings of superiority
are stumbling blocks to ones progress and prowess
as a competitor, practitioner and more importantly,
as a human being.
Being arrogant and feeling superior or angry
will not help one defeat a challenger who is
fit and well trained in unexpected disciplines.
It is like the man who was pushed off the top
of a high-rise building by his enemy.
A group of All Styles South African karate leaders,
senseis and top competitors gathered for an
All Styles training seminar to share ideas –
way back in the 1980’s. Pity this type
of get together was not repeated until recently.
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Stan Schmidt
connecting with Suresh M. Nair [(Ph.D) –
Netherlands Institute of Brain Research] at
ISKF Master Camp]
On the way down he cursed him and ranted and
raved, shouting what an idiot and a bad man
his enemy was. Doing this, of course, did not
help him one iota. His body still went “Splatt!”
when it hit the pavement.
OPENHAND is not meant to describe karate per
se, which translated means Empty Hand. “OPENHAND”
has broader connotations and is meant to reach
across all martial arts and physical disciplines,
hopefully connecting them.
“OPENHAND” is a word I coined denoting
the idea of being OPEN and RESPECTFUL and SHARING
with other experts, ie. to take in, to recreate
it in yourself and to give what is applicable
and of value to your students and others.
The underlying credo of The College of the
Openhand is
- TAKING FROM THE PAST
- CREATING IN THE PRESENT
- GIVING TO THE FUTURE
It is all about creativity and innovation –
the two essential life-giving components, no
matter what discipline one is engaging in. It
is NOT about tying one down or removing ones
independence. The idea of The College of the
Openhand is “Connecting the Martial Arts”
AND TRUE MARTIAL ARTISTS IN A SPIRIT OF RESPECT
AND RECOGNITION FOR ONE ANOTHER. I have produced
this small journal to see how you feel about
the role of the College and whether or not you
would like to be involved, be it on a small
or large scale, or not at all.
Thank you for your excellent input into the
field and I invite you to contact me at openhand36@hotmail.com
Many thanks,
Stan Schmidt
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