Ippon kumite and kata applications

A bit of a brain teaser this one but if you can make sense of what I’m trying to say then I would welcome your feedback……..

This may seem like a strange question to ask for someone who is very close to grading for shodan in karate! My question is: What is the difference between ippon kumite and bunkai?


I thought I knew the answer to this until last Saturday when I went on a black belt/brown belt course with my organisation. We didn’t focus at all on kata or bunkai but spent a lot of the time practising ippon kumite. It was made clear to us that what was being looked for in our demonstration was a clear understanding of the application of basic kihon moves to a one step attack showing particular heed to distance and timing.

Well, that explanation tightened up my understanding of ippon kumite a bit but didn’t offer any new major revelations – I already knew what ippon kumite was about.

Here’s a definition of ippon kumite: Ippon kumite is the practice of not allowing your opponent more than one attack. In other words, due to the evasive and blocking actions of the defender the opponent is prevented from continuing his attack. A counter attack may or may not be necessary. It's all about shutting down your opponent's attack quickly. Ippon kumite techniques are generally learned against a range of pre-defined attacks.

Here’s a definition of bunkai: The analysis of moves extracted from a kata. In other words, a study of the applications of movements taken directly from a kata or an analysis of the meaning of the kata.

These two definitions don’t sound too similar until you delve a bit deeper.

Old karate master, Chotoku Kyan said, “First learn the movements of karate, learn how to strike, block and immobilize, learn the kata and you will then be ready for kumite.” The implication here is that kumite is the application of kata movements. Dan Smith Kyoshi of Shorin Ryu Seibukan adds, “…the kata is designed to always provide an ‘ippon’.”

So if ippon kumite techniques are built from basic kihon techniques; kata are the assembly of kihon techniques into set sequences and combinations, and kata provide us with sets of ‘ippons’ then isn’t the analysis of kata (bunkai) just the analysis of ippon kumite techniques within the kata? Are bunkai and ippon kumite essentially the same thing?

All the bunkai I have learned are effective against a single step attack (bar one*) and are therefore essentially ippon kumite techniques. However, many of the ‘ippons’ I have learnt have not necessarily come directly from a kata. So does that mean that all bunkai are ippons but not all ippons are bunkai?

Not many people will talk about ippon kumite and bunkai in the same breath (or even write about it in the same book) suggesting that they are different things. In fact, some people who consider themselves bunkai experts may even be very dismissive of ippon kumite considering it to be too stylised and people who are proponents of ippon kumite may not even refer to specific kata in their teachings of it.

So, what is the difference between ippon kumite and bunkai? Perhaps they are just different sides of the same coin or perhaps bunkai is a process and ippon kumite a practice? Perhaps bunkai just assumes more realistic attacks and ippons use more stylised 'karate' attacks? I’m just thinking aloud here.

What do you think about this condundrum? Ippons and bunkai – same or different?


* I have learnt a kata application from Bassai Dai which requires the attacker to throw two punches. In Iain Abernethy's Bunkai Jutsu book he suggests that one should not assume that the attacker will act in a pre-determined way and throw a second (known) attack in response to a block. If your bunkai application requires a second predicted attack then perhaps the interpretation should be looked at again.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Six things I'm looking forward to post black belt....

I was inspired to write this post by Michele’s post, “Things I only understood after Black Belt”. Of course I don’t really know what things I will come to understand after attaining my Black Belt as this is in the future for me. However, I know the things I’m looking forward to!

1. Being liberated from grading. Though I support the coloured belt and grading system and our club is not focused only on training for your next belt I am looking forward to some respite from it. Once I achieve 1st dan level it will be at least 2-3 years before the subject of grading rears its head again. This is a lot of breathing space to just enjoy the training!

2. Consolidating the basics. I think post black belt will be a good time to reflect on what I have already learnt and identify and improve on the basics that I am still weaker on.

3. Learning to spell! I’ve been told that all pre black belt training is about teaching you the alphabet and post black belt training is about teaching you to spell. Well, I’m looking forward to learning to spell.

4. Learning some ‘off’ syllabus stuff. This could be things learnt within the club or externally through attendance at seminars and courses. I always like the chance to meet new students and new instructors and try new things.

5. Spending more time dissecting and understanding the kata and bunkai. As kyu graders we learn some bunkai from each kata but I don’t feel we really get our teeth into them properly, mainly because the syllabus is so packed there just isn’t time. I’m hoping to have more time to study the kata after black belt grading

6. Spend more time teaching. Though I currently help out as an assistant instructor with the junior class I’d like to eventually take on more. Hopefully I’ll have more time to work with my instructor on improving my own teaching skills and knowledge.

I’m really hoping to avoid the ‘black belt blues’ that many new black belts seem to suffer from. I don’t feel that it is an inevitability that one should feel like that after grading and maybe thinking about what you want to achieve after black belt is a good way of avoiding it. Too many people drop out completely after achieving their black belts; I don’t intend to be one of them.

Did you think ahead to what you wanted to achieve post black belt? Has post black belt training been all you expected it to be?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Karate 'blocks' are much more than blocks

Blocks are often a very misunderstood technique in karate and often come in for a great deal of criticism from non-karateka. These techniques are often criticised for being to hard, stiff or slow to be effective. Your average non-karateka may say that it is better to evade, parry or re-direct an incoming strike than do a hard block. I would agree with them.

 

However, this is to misinterpret the many applications of the so called karate 'blocks'. To start with the word is misleading. The classic 'blocks' in karate belong to a family of techniques with the suffix uke. For example, age uke, uchi uke and soto uke. The word uke, as you know, actually means 'to receive', it doesn't mean 'block'. The other common technique often taught along with the uke techniques is gedan barai. The approximate English translation of this term is low level sweep and not even your average karateka would interpret this move as a useful 'block'. So none of these techniques should necessarily be thought of as blocks. Thinking of them as 'receiving techniques' or, as Iain Abernethy calls them, 'response techniques' opens up many more possibilities for their use.

 

So what are the applications of these 'blocks'? In my karate class on Wednesday we looked at several applications of 'blocks'. We focused mainly on gedan barai and uchi uke. With the gedan barai we used the sweeping arm movement to grab the opponents arm and pull them down and forward, completely unbalancing them. Keeping a grip on their wrist, this was followed through with a second gedan barai (with the other arm) in which you then used the sweeping motion to apply pressure above their elbow and push them down into an arm lock. This is actually bunkai out of the pinan nidan kata.

 

With the uchi uke, we applied this to defending against a single lapel grab: the opponent grabs your lapel, you trap their hand with yours (same side) and with the other arm perform a classic uchi uke move by bringing your arm across your body so that your forearm crashes onto the opponents outstretched arm that you've trapped, causing them to become unbalanced and bringing their head down slightly, then you pivot your arm up from the elbow (in classic uchi uke style), hitting them in the jaw with your fist on the way up. We also did something similar with a shuto uchi uke in which the first 'block' was used to strike the opponent's grabbing arm to unbalance them and the second 'block' used to strike into the neck (bunkai out of pinan shodan).

 

With all these techniques what started to emerge was a general principle : the first movement was used to unbalance the opponent and the second movement used to strike or lock them. This is what I like about karate, it is taught at the level of principles rather than just specific, unconnected techniques. When we are practising 'blocks' as part of kihon training, we are not learning a specific technique but we are learning a principle of movement that can be applied in many ways - as both offensive and defensive techniques.

 

So next time your instructor has you standing in rows, practising your 'blocks' time after time to his/her count, and scrutinises and criticises every little part of the movement until you get it right, remember he/she is trying to instill into you a pattern of movement that you will later be able to call upon in the application of a range of self-defence techniques. Nothing is wasted in karate, everything we do is connected to each other. Kihon and kata train us to move and control our bodies in particular ways based on sound principles of combat, which in turn feed into the specific techniques we learn in our self-defence training.

 

And remember......in karate, a 'block' is more, much more, than just a block.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Fantastic seminar by Iain Abernethy

I attended an Iain Abernethy  seminar yesterday - what a treat! He's an excellent teacher and an amazing karateka to watch. The course was held at the SKK Judo Centre in Newton -le-Willows, near Manchester.
This is a brilliant place to hold a seminar because the mats are so soft (it's like walking on the moon!)

Holding the rank of 5th dan, Iain Abernethy is a leading exponent on applied karate in the UK and gives seminars all around the world. He has also written several books,  produced several DVDs and produces the online 'Jissen' martial arts magazine. He's also a really nice, approachable guy.

During the seminar we were looking at several different bunkai applications from the pinan katas. This included the proper use of shuto uchi, the need to use the correct stances as they appear in the kata, the application of arm locks and counters to those arm locks, take downs, escapes from grabs and various other locks. We also did some interesting exercises with our eyes shut to demonstrate how proprioception works.

We then finished off with some grappling and ground work skills, though this was more for fun than for serious self-defence.

He interspersed each drill with a discussion on the principles held within the kata as well as some useful historical context and some amusing anecdotes about the old masters in karate. The historical context was particularly interesting as he explained the reason why pinan shodan should precede pinan nidan (in most systems pinan shodan is generally taught as the second kata rather than the first as its name suggests). Though pinan nidan is technically easier to perform than pinan shodan, the bunkai applications are more complex than those for pinan shodan - that is why Itosu put it second. The pinan katas are ordered according the difficulty of their applications rather than their performance.

The things I most remember Sensei Abernethy saying are (slightly paraphrased):

"In a real fight, instead of rising to the level of your expectations you will fall to the level of your training, you will fight like you train".

I think he was actually quoting someone else as having said this but I can't remember who! Because of this he said you must train in the way you would want to respond in a real fight, so, never help your partner up in training after you have thrown them - you may find yourself helping up your attacker instead of running away! Always assume there is more than one attacker around so don't spend time holding people in locks - the second guy may get you if you do. Once you've thrown someone down or struck them down, back away looking to your left and right (you'll have tunnel vision as a response to the adrenaline dump). You should do this in your training because it won't come naturally when you are in a real fight and you may not notice the second guy next to you. Also, he said attack the head repeatedly and try and control their head by grabbing the hair or holding them behind the head. He also talked about the effectiveness of the pre-emptive strike - if a threat looks imminent then don't wait to be attacked first or you will lose.

Overall the course was very beneficial, enjoyable and relevant to our syllabus. Hopefully our organisation will be booking Sensei Abernethy again next year. If you get the chance to go to one of his seminars don't miss it.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

A seminar with Patrick McCarthy Hanshi

What a week! It's been so busy I haven't had time to blog. However, the highlight of the week has been attending a seminar by Patrick McCarthy Hanshi. The seminar was hosted by Sensei John Burke at his dojo in Newton Abbot, Devon.

Patrick McCarthy is a highly experienced martial artist who has made it his life work to study the real applications of karate kata and develop a method of training that allows all karate-ka to take their karate back to its original intention as a fighting art by looking not just at realistic defence but also realistic attack. He has travelled widely throughout Japan and East Asia, studying with many eminent senseis and training across a variety of  martial arts styles. From his extensive field research he has developed the theory of Habitual Acts of Physical Violence (HAPV) and developed his two man kata application drills, which focus on pragmatic defensive practices. Sensei McCarthy is the founder of the International Ryukyu Karate-jutsu Research Society (IRKRS)  Click here for more information about Patrick McCarthy.

Nine of us from the SSK set off early on Tuesday morning to travel the 250 miles to Devon. The seminar didn't start until 6pm but being a bunch of keenies we arrived at lunch time! At least this gave us plenty of time to check into our Guest House and relax a bit after the journey.

We still managed to arrive at the dojo an hour early but were allowed to register and get changed. Sensei McCarthy arrived in the dojo about 5.30pm and before changing into his gi made a point of introducing himself to the various groups of people who were now congregating in the dojo, shaking every ones hand and asking our names. He chatted very informally with us all and we were all impressed with his friendliness and approachability. This informality generally set the tone for the rest of the seminar.

Once Sensei McCarthy was changed we lined up for a bow and then sat around him whilst he introduced the purpose of the seminar and provided a bit of background about the 2 man flow drill we were about to learn and just generally provided some context for the practical aspect of the seminar.

Next we got on with a fairly unusual warm up which involved working with a partner to stretch each other in ways you didn't know you could be stretched! It turned out to be a rather fun but effective way to warm up and left your body feeling ready to get on with some work.

We then got on to the real business of the day - the 2 man flow drills known as Tegumi (Te = hands, gumi = unite, cooperate and grapple). The principle behind this method of training is that it incorporates the reenactment of realistic attacks, i.e. chokes, grabs, bear hugs, etc., and a corresponding defense from both a standing position, called tachi-waza, and from the ground, called ne-waza with partners alternating roles between active and passive, attacker and defender ( we only did the standing techniques). By learning these drills, the meanings and principles of the movements and postures found within kata are revealed.

The drill that we did was taught to us technique by technique. It started simply with some soft blocking, gentle pushing and trapping and then flowed into striking, grappling, bear hugs, locks, slaps - you name it, we had it. The whole point though was that the drill was performed in a continuous flowing motion within a realistic fighting distance - i.e. close up. The attacks were meant to represent the range of realistic attacks that have been documented in real fights and the defences were applications from a range of kata. I certainly recognised many of the defensive moves as being techniques I have seen in kata.

In the 2 hours we had to practice the drill we probably strung together about 30 moves but clearly these drills can be much longer than that. I have to admit that learning the drill became very mentally taxing towards the end - requiring a lot of concentration. I started to get a bit befuddled by the last couple of techniques added to the drill, partly because they were quite complicated and partly because by 9pm I was pretty tired after such a long day. Fortunately we managed to video a couple of our instructors performing the drill as a reference for when we got back to our dojo so hopefully I'll get the chance to do it again!

At the end of the seminar Sensei McCarthy very graciously stayed behind to be photographed, sign autographs and generally chat to people and answer questions - what a nice guy! Here's me getting my copy of the Bubishi signed by Sensei McCarthy:

If you get the chance to go to one of Patrick McCarthy's seminars - take it! You won't regret it.

Some useful websites:

http://www.koryu-uchinadi.com/index1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koryu_Uchinadi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Honouring technique

When practising martial arts with a training partner one is often told that you must ‘honour the technique’ that your partner is trying to practice on you. But what is exactly meant by ‘honouring the technique’?

In karate, partner work is undertaken during the practice of ippon kumite (1 step sparring), bunkai (kata application) or goshin waza (self-defense techniques). The main aim in all these training approaches is to learn good body and foot movements; develop strategies for dealing with certain types of attack and perfect individual defence/counter-attack techniques.

In the early stages of training a lot of thought needs to go into developing and executing techniques and so they are generally performed slowly, with many pauses, rewinds and re-runs as learning takes place. As training advances hopefully you do a little less thinking and begin to execute techniques a little more speedily and with greater intent. The very advanced practitioner will just act and not think at all and training should become much more ‘realistic’.

So if training becomes more ‘realistic’ as the practitioner progresses through the kyu and dan grades then presumably one’s training as an uke also needs to progress if the attack and response by uke is to simulate realism. It seems likely then that ‘honouring the technique’ will mean slightly different things at different stages of training.

However the basic principles of ‘honouring technique’ hold fast at all stages of training and include: not allowing your partner to get away with sloppy or ineffective technique, offering a level of resistance that is commensurate with your partner’s skill level and giving feedback to your partner about whether locks are on or pressure points have been effectively accessed. It also includes delivering attacks at realistic distances and with a speed that is commensurate with your partner’s skill level.

I think that good uke training is often a neglected component of karate. To be a good uke and to be able to follow the principles of ‘honouring technique’, one needs to have a certain set of skills and knowledge. To start with a good uke needs to know how to breakfall and to feel confident with this. But uke’s role also involves simulating a lot of responses and thus they need to have the knowledge of how to do this. Many techniques delivered by tori may depend on uke simulating the correct physiological response to a counter-attack. For example a groin strike should make uke bend forward, a palm heel to the chin should have uke throwing back their head and their weight moving backwards. If uke doesn’t simulate these predictable physiological responses then they are not ‘honouring the technique’.

However, uke should not confuse simulating predictable physiological responses with ‘going with the technique’. For example, if tori is attempting a leg sweep then he must sweep uke off his feet – you shouldn’t fall for him. If tori is trying to unbalance uke then he must actually unbalance him for real.

The concept of ‘realism’ in karate training often becomes very abstract. The only way of introducing concrete realism is to have a real fight but paradoxically a real fight is not the best environment in which to practice techniques in. So we have to train with abstract realism instead. Apart from the use of many simulated responses, abstract realism ought to include realistic types of attack.

Only if you have been in a real fight can you know what the experience is like. I, like many other martial artists have never been in a real fight so I have to rely on descriptions of others as to what a real fight would be like. Apparently a real fight is fast, furious, un-relenting but technically very sloppy. How do we simulate this?

One of the problems with martial arts training is that we train with other martial artists, yet we wouldn’t face a real attack from one. The person that may attack us is likely to be an untrained ‘yob’ who doesn’t know how to kick or punch correctly. We are not likely to have to defend ourselves against the perfect oi zuki or well snapped back front kick that is too quick to be caught. It seems to make more sense for uke to deliver an attack in a sloppy, unpredictable but more ‘realistic’ way.

If our aim as martial artists is to learn to defend ourselves against a street attack then we must ‘honour’ our partner’s techniques in both the way we attack and the way we respond to their defence. Only through this mutual cooperation and trust between partners can we develop and internalise the strategies and techniques that may one day save our lives.

What does ‘honour the technique’ mean to you?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Pinan katas and Itosu's legacy to karate

The Pinan kata series (Pinan means ‘peaceful mind’ or ‘peaceful spirit’) are widely taught to students in a variety of shurite karate styles, generally as beginner’s katas. They are attributed to Itosu Yasutsune (1830-1915) who is said to have adapted them from older kata. However from which kata is less than certain.

Itosu introduced karate into Okinawan schools, systematised it and simplified older kata to make them easier for children to learn. Some sources suggest that Itosu developed the pinan katas from the katas kusanku dai and Gojushiho. Other sources suggest that Itosu learnt a kata called Channan (Chiang Nan) from a Chinese man living in Okinawa and developed the pinan katas from this.

The Channan kata no longer exists although I did manage to find this YouTube video of a kata called Channan which is a combination of pinan nidan and pinan shodan:



Since the kata in this clip does not contain all the pinan katas it is hard to say whether it preceeds the pinan katas or has been invented as a way of linking two pinan kata together.

The Kusanku dai kata seems a more likely precursor to the pinan series. If you watch this video you can pick out several combinations found in the pinan katas:



Itosu simplified the katas by changing many of the more lethal strikes into straight forward punches. He felt it too dangerous to teach the applications of the kata to school children and so taught karate as a form of physical exercise and means of self-discipline. He also re-labelled many movements to disguise their true meaning and dissociate them from their applications. So the use of the word ‘block’ was used to disguise the more lethal strikes, grabs and locks that these movements in the kata really represent.

Without Itosu’s modifications to the katas, and later, Funakoshi’s continuation of the process in Japan, such that karate gained wide acceptance in the Okinawan and Japanese schools programme, karate may not have found its way to the rest of the world. Indeed it may even have died out altogether. However the downside of this watering down of the kata is that the understanding and appreciation of what kata are really about has been lost amongst many karate clubs and systems.

Many of the pinan kata’s movements are often misinterpreted in the study of bunkai with many applications wrongly interpreted as ‘block and punch’ combinations. A skilled bunkai practitioner will see that the pinan katas are in fact a rich source of strikes, locks, grabs, sweeps, throws and ground techniques.

When Funakoshi took karate to Japan in the early 20th century he renamed the pinan katas to Heian katas. They are still known by this name in Shotokan karate. Funakoshi also inverted the names of two of the katas so pinan nidan became heian shodan and pinan shodan became heian nidan.

In Shukokai karate we teach pinan nidan first as it is considered easier for beginners to learn. Here are the five katas:

Pinan nidan:



Pinan shodan:



Pinan sandan:



Pinan yondan:



Pinan godan:



My favourite pinan kata is pinan shodan, followed by pinan yondan. Do you have a favourite pinan?

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Martial Arts requires Application AND Beauty

I have just read a blog post by Mario McKenna (Okinawa Karatedo and Kobudo) which was both inspiring and refreshing to read. It was titled Yo-no-Bi which, as Mario explained, means 'application' and 'beauty'. When applied to martial arts it means practicality should be balanced by aesthetics. In other words martial arts is not just about fighting and learning in the fastest, most practical way but must also give regard to the efficacy, fluency and beauty of the techniques.

For some martial art practitioners the point of training is purely to get better at fighting and the more pragmatic the chosen art the better. Some of these people think that kata is a waste of time and is just flowery nonsense. The problem with reducing a martial art to its 'practical bones' is that in the end what ultimately counts is brute strength. The big, strong guy is likely to win whatever his technique is like. Purely practical fighting arts may offer a fast-track way to learn some self-defence but the practitioner will ultimately lack the higher skills and understanding that will make techniques dependent on skill rather than brute strength.

In his post Mario describes 'aesthetics' as those things that perfect distance, timing, composure, balance and other similar concepts. These things can be learnt through kata and then, when they are applied to self-defence, enable techniques to be executed exactly, fluently and effortlessly - no brute strength required!

Of course to transfer skills learnt through kata to self-defense takes time, experience and patience. It is not the fast track route. However, it is ultimately the best route to highly skilled (and beautiful) technique.

Thank you Mario for your excellent post.




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Pine winds and the King's crown

I am learning a new kata called Matsukazi, though in some styles the kata is still known under the older name of Wankan. However, you mustn't confuse this kata with the Shotokan version of Wankan, which is completely different.

I decided to try and research the origins and meaning of Matsukazi/Wankan. This is what I have managed to piece together:

Apparantly Wankan is one of the oldest kata still practised today. It comes from the Tomari-te style of karate and is preserved in Shito-ryu, Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) and some other styles. Tomari-Te was developed during the 19th century out of the Shuri-Te style of karate. Tomari was a small fishing village near Shuri, though it is now in the district of Naha on the island of Okinawa. The differences between the two styles is slight. However, there were several Chinese visitors to the Tomari region that did not reach Shuri so their teachings did not originally influence Shuri-Te, though later an exchange in ideas and katas did take place. Many kata became part of both styles but there are several kata that are unique to Tomari-Te. These include Wankan.

However, Wankan is probably older than 19th century. It is thought to have been introduced to Kudaka Island before reaching Tomari by a Chinese kempo pratitioner who may have used the name Wankan as his own. Wankan's Chinese origins lie in the Hakkyoku ken system of Kempo.

It is suggested that the kata became a family kata of the Ryukyu royal family handed down for many centuries from generation to generation. In fact, the name of the Kata literally means "King's Crown" or "King's Victory", which may be a reference to the royal significance of the Kata.

An actual lineage for Wankan may be something like this (at least for its inclusion in the Shito-ryu style):

Chinese kempo > Okinawa-te > Tomari-te > Matsumara Kosoku (one of the founders of Tomari-te style) > Itosu Yasutsune > Mabuni Kenwa (founder of Shito-ryu)

When it also became known under the name Matsukaze (meaning "pine tree wind" or "wind through the pine") is unclear but may be when the kata was brought to Japan.

So, what does the kata mean? Matsukaze is considered to be an intermediate kata in Shito-ryu and in Shukokai. It contains both offensive and defensive techniques done together in one motion at various points. It is said that the meaning "pine tree wind" suggests strength but flexibility in the face of adversity, like a pine tree on top of a mountain facing fierce winds. Thus, all movement is in the forward direction, driving the opponent backwards or standing ones ground.

A slightly more pragmatic interpretation is suggested by the alternative translation of the word Matsukazi which apparantly is "jugular vein region of the throat", one of the body's most vital points. In fact, all attacks in this kata are focused on the body's three most vital points - the jugular vien (matsukaze), the solar plexus (suigetsu) and the groin (kinteki).

Both of these interpretations offer useful insights into the meaning of the kata. Thinking about the steps in the kata there is an emphasis on moving forwards a lot, either moving several steps forward in cat stance or with an alternating kick, strike sequence. The neck is also attacked at several points i.e. a cross-block is performed suggesting a strangulation technique where the crossed arms form a 'v' around the throat and the collar of the clothing is grabbed and pulled sharply together to assist the strangle. Several shuto blocks are performed which could represent strikes to the throat. Several punches are thrown at both chudan and jodan level and the kick sequence could certainly be aimed at the groin. All this fits in with the tomari-te style which emphasises defending and attacking the mid-line.

There are also two points in the kata where you stand still and use a sequence of side-evasion, blocks and counter strikes which fit in with the idea that this kata uses both defensive and offensive moves simultaneously.

Wankan kata was the absolute favourite kata of the famous master and founder of Matsubayashi-ryu - Shushin Nagamine (1907 - 1997). Here is a video of him performing the kata in 1992.




Here is the Shito-ryu version of Matsukaze - performed a little quicker!




Sources:

http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/eng/008/001/index.html
http://www.bushido-kai.net/images/downloads/Empi.Matsukaze.Wankan.pdf
http://i-budo.org/content/view/284/29/
http://us.geocities.com/matsubayashiryu/kata_history.html

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Kata and Bunkai Confusion

We have been doing a lot of kata and bunkai practice in recent classes. I like doing this as it feels like we are really getting to the heart of traditional karate training. Learning kata has always been an enjoyable part of karate for me and it is no chore to practice a kata repeatedly. Bunkai on the other hand has been more difficult for me to learn and I did not initially like doing it. However, I could see that there was no point in learning kata if you did not understand what the applications of it were, so I have persevered with trying to understand the bunkai and I have made reasonable progress.

The problem for me though is that although I theoretically understand that the kata and bunkai are mutually related things, in practice they sometimes seem mutually exclusive. When sensei is teaching us some bunkai he will demonstrate the sequence from the kata that represents the application being taught. Then he will demonstrate the bunkai. Unless it is a very straight forward application I often cannot recognise the kata sequence in the bunkai application. It looks different - often very different.

I realise that the techniques that are performed in the kata are generally very stylised and need to be adapted in the bunkai. Distance and timing will be different. Some moves may be omitted (or occasionally added) and stances may sometimes may be altered. Sometimes the bunkai explain a move from the kata that seemed strange but on the other hand something that seemed straight forward in the kata such as a knife hand block, transforms into a grab or a strike in the bunkai and looks completely different.

If sensei were to demonstrate an application from a specific kata I would have difficulty in saying Oh that's from pinan yondan or whatever kata it was from. Just occasionally I can see the relationship between kata and bunkai but more often than not I can't. I don't think this means I'm stupid or slow to learn, I think it is just difficult.

I've often read in books how in the early days of karate students would spend a year or more learning one kata and wondered why on earth you would need to do that. I'm now starting to realise that just learning the kata itself takes a long time and understanding it - well that takes even longer!

I'm sure with training and practice the mist will start to evaporate and I will begin to see things more clearly.




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.