No
matter how hard I try there are mental assumptions where I believe I know what
I read and the something else takes hold.
Like
my use for decades of Funakoshi, Ginchin, where the name should be Funakoshi,
Gichin. When I first read it my mind
changed Gichin into Ginchin. Then forever after when I read or used his name
because I KNEW the name in my mind was Ginchin that is what I saw or wrote. And
that was of course incorrect.
There
are many other examples of my incorrectly spelling names and words because I
KNEW the correct spelling. And knowing what was correct I missed the obvious.
This
extends into my martial practice. On the whole I have always been able to learn
forms/kata/kuen quickly and then retain what I learned into my practice and
more.
One
August in Pennsylvania around 1982 I was at a summer camp where Tristan
Sutrisno was sharing the form Nijushiho with the Black Belts there. I retain
what I was shown, incorporated the form into my practice and even competed with
it one time for fun, just to prove to myself I could do it.
About
10 years later when Tristan was up to do a clinic for my students, I told him I
was adding a Sutrisno kata as a supplemental kata for my students to honor his
sharing with me. I thought Bassai Dai would be a good choice. But Tristan
disagreed feeling he should teach them Nijushiho. I filmed that clinic but as it turned out I never did
view those videos.
The
next day he did, along with his bunkai for that form. I even filmed the day.
But as I felt I knew the form that day I worked with the students to assist
their learning. The next week I noticed a few changes in their kata from what I
recalled so I then worked with them to correct those changes.
So
that is what the practiced and also taught other brown belts over the next 20
years.
Then
one day I was transferring those VHS tapes into digital format and finally
watched what occurred that day.
Turns
out my students were doing what he taught after all. And it was not the same as
he taught at that Black Belt Clinic.
Slowly
I put things together. At that clinic he ‘knew’ we would not remember the form
(ahem.. ahem) and following his fathers advice to give those in a clinic
everything because they will not remember it. Those in that session were not
his students and probably after the clinic nobody worked on that form. I also
knew much more about the structure of his system and worked out what happened.
When
kyu student (brown belts) learn the form in his school they do not worry about applications
for the form (kyu students have other concerns to occupy their time. Then at Sho
Dan they learn ‘bunkai’ for every movement point of every of their kata
studies. Of which there are many dynamic ways to use those ‘bunkai’ to conclude
an attack. Another fact at each dan level they also learn a ‘bunkai version of
the form’ to aid their practice. This continues for each of the 5 dan levels.
As I see this is what occurred. At the summer
camp for all the Dan non-students what he showed was the 1st level
bunkai for the form Nijushiho. Knowing all would forget the form.
For
my students he showed the actual form as he taught it, along with some of the 1st
Dan bunkai for those movements. Then
what I did was reverse the form he taught them into the bunkai version I
learned.
When
he gave clinics he never came back to correct what my students were doing, that
was my business. So everyone was unaware of what was going on in my group.
The
differences between his Nijushiho and
his ‘bunkai’ Nijushiho are minor.The bunkai version is taught at Sho-Dan, It does not change the form a great deal. Being
more a mnemonic device to assist the dan’s remember the detailed bunkai. We
understood the bunkai he taught, but did not teach it, as my long range intent
was to use that form for attacks to work to consider with my Isshinryu
application studies.
Recognizing
my differences, I then explained what occurred to my instructors I had trained.
Advised them of the differences and telling them to begin teaching the form
that way to new brown belts. And let the other version become another study
after black belt.
I did not change what my other black
belts were doing. After all that time it did not really matter for them.
So
Mea Culpa, when we assume we know it never hurts to keep checking.
While
I have corrected the latest Ginchin to Gichin, I am not going back to correct
former errors. Those remain tests for the reader.
Of
course any spelling errors found in this piece are intentional spelling tests
for the reader.
1 comment:
It was I the summer of 1982 where the instructors attendied Tris’ summer camp where shown Nijushiho in a one hour seminar. Bu that time I knew how to remember what I was shown even in such a short time.
So it became another of my private practices.
A bit after that Tris explained privately what bunkai was in his studies. But outside of the broad explanation he did not go into details.
Now remember I was never formally his student. Just remembered most of what I saw and then practiced.
It was years before I saw his black belts doing the Bunkai version of his Bassai Dai form. It was they who explained what the bunkai represented.
A year later as I was living in New Hampshire, he brought his senior students up for a visit, to conduct a clinic with my students, and on Sunday morning teach the bunkai version of his Bassai Sho and explained how the bunkai worked. I recorded us doing all that on video tape.
About a year later he again came up accompanied with one of his senior students. I explained that I wanted to include a supplemental kata from him in my students studies. I thought Bassai dai would be the one. Instead he decided it should be Nijushino. And that is what he taught the next day. Nijushiho and some of how he would apply the form. Again I videos it but did not watch the tape for decades.
Then at times he shared pieces of other bunkai for his Hangetsu. Some 3rd and 4th bunkai for Heian Ni and San dan. Even an aikido bunkao for Heian yodan.
Of course nothing like the full bunkai for his system. But everything worked too.
The day came when VHS was no longer useful, and I managed to save much of my VHS tapes to CDs. After that was done I finally viewed the Nijushiho video and discovered the Nijushiho he taught everyone. Was not the Nijushiho he originally taught me.
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