from a post on Facebook by Shigeru Nakamura Ryukyu Martial Arts Institute
Bunkai Is Not Tori
Bunkai
in Japanese means “to analyze.”
Tori
means bird in Japanese, but in Okinawa Kenpo it is code for an “unseen system
of fighting.
”
The concept of karate bunkai was birthed because only a select few in a
gen-eration were taught Tori. Consequently, the remaining 99.9% of students
were forced to obtain their knowledge of fighting through trial and error.
This
trial and error process became known as bunkai.
The
concept of bunkai is misunderstood by American and Japanese karateka because
they confuse bunkai with Tori.
Watch
the bunkai applications demonstrated on YouTube and you will see what I mean.
What are demonstrated as bunkai are actually failed attempts to create modern
Tori.
Tori
are ancient and passed on. There can be no modern Tori because there is no
mortal combat between karateka to test it.
Furthermore,
the term bunkai in traditional Okinawan karate does not mean to analyze the
movements in kata.
In
Okinawan karate, bunkai means to analyze your execution of the individual
techniques of kata during your fighting.
With
this frame of reference, a more accurate interpretation is “to learn.”
This
understanding of bunkai was one of the many reasons why Shigeru Nakamura
developed the bogu armor.
To
obtain technical knowledge of how karate techniques are used in combat, you
have to engage in combat; it can’t be obtained through hypothetical attacks.
An
enlightened sensei explains bunkai in this way: “This is how I use this technique in Wansu
successfully when I fight in the bogu armor.”
An
unenlightened sensei says: “This is how this move in Wansu works, punch me.”
More information about Shigeru Nakamura can be fount at
1 comment:
One of your best post!
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