The two secrets of André Bertel | How to become a master (at anything) v2 

I was honored to have Kanazawa Hirokazu Sensei privately train my Enpi in 1996 thanks to Paul Wang Sensei. There were some differences from JKA/Asai Sensei's Enpi, but I really enjoyed learning the SKIF version. Kanazawa Sensei impressed me the most by how he was very caring of everyone. Such a nice man and exemplary human being. I will never forget that time, away from karate, with such a kind hearted man.

Thank you very much. I am not a master, but are trying my best to master each aspect of karate. This year in August, 40 years of training and I am still hoping to one day achieve 'good karate'.

@@andrebertel yeah, all mastery is self mastery. Thanks sensei, ossu🙏🙏🥊🥊👊👊🥋🥋🥋🥋🥋🥋

Real master with a toupee.

@@moehoward8691 ??

​@@andrebertelafter 2 years I still don't train every day - now more than 2 years ago... I'm better than was 2 ago. I'm stretching every day ... But it's very very very difficult to develop this two thinks... Very very very... Never give up?

Very glad you find it useful :-)

Thank you for your question! This an interesting one. Please note, I am not André sensei, so he may have a more qualified opinion. My assumption is that in case of pure sports Karate, you will probably not be able to defend yourself in the scenario that you describe. Or just by pure luck. The reason is that in sports Karate almost everything is forbidden that could seriously hurt someone. And winning points is not the same as surviving a combat. Without any kind of realism in your training, your Karate will be...let's be honest, useless! If on the other extreme end the training is purely and 100% Budo focused it may be a different story. It certainly depends on many factors, the most important one being your instructor. But you also need to consider the student's age, physique, constitution, personality and many other factors. A petite lady can't be compared to a bear of a man. Also, under which circumstances does the fight happen? Are we as defenders full of energy and it's bright daylight, or are we tired and sick and it's dark, cold and wet outside...? There are a million factors that will determine the outcome. Your question is therefore a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. If one learns to target vital points right from the get-go, i.e temple, throat, eyes etc. and everything revolves around "ichi gekki hissatsu" - and you actually translate all of it into regular kumite, then you might be able to survive after a few years or even months...?! Or still, never! No matter how many decades you train, there will NEVER be any guarantee. At the same time a totally untrained defender could knock the attacker out in half a second. How would you know? It's not at all deterministic. For comparison, even the most perfectly trained and skilled marine or SAS soldier can die from a tiny bullet if the trigger was pulled by a four year old child. In most cases the best option should be to run away and to avoid conflict in the first place. Self defense usually starts miles before the clash. This can be learned in one day, I suppose. Everything else might be a matter of probabilities and circumstances. Kind regards!

@@olliwaa Okay, thank you for your time!

@@olliwaa That is a truly excellent answer to what I'm sorry but had to be probably the most dumb assed question I've ever seen in my life. Respect 🙏

@@GeeDeeONE My question was to mr.Bertel, but thank you for your time. Having said that, why do you need to assume anything, my message can't be made any clearer. I know all of what you are saying, but I wanted to hear his opinion. Again, thank you for your time and opinion, I appreciate it.

@@outofthebox7 oh... sorry... you know it all... my reply has been deleted! good luck mr. knowitall!

My hair looks like a toupee? I guess that's a compliment??? All the best from Japan. :-)

@@andrebertel If you ever meet this guy, do a hair grabbing technique on him....lol. Love your work even though I am not a Karateka. All the best to you!

Out of all the Karate knowledge you could ask.....