The Crystallization of Karate Terminology

 

Motobu Naoki  Translated by Jean-Charles Juster.

The photograph below shows us a passage of Naifanchi shodan, when the yoko uke side parade and the gedan barai parade are performed at the same time.

Motobu Chōsei, Osaka, 1984

When you see this picture, you probably get the impression that something is different compared to other schools. This is the way in which the gedan barai is placed, which does not "sweep" to the side, but "strikes" from the front.

In fact, this garry gedan barai, is not a low sweep, as the name suggests, but a parry by striking. In other words, one attacks downwards, with the fist to a phalanx (the part of the second phalanx of the finger), or one strikes with a hammer with the outer part of the clenched fist, seiken,

Much of karate's terminology was developed from the second half of the 1920s. Thus, the words uke, parade, and harai, sweep, should not be taken literally. Such names have been added in a practical way, in order to be more intelligible. In fact, sometimes a move that appears to be a parry, uke, is a thrust punch, tsuki, or both.

It was for this reason that Konishi Yasuhiro, whose teacher Motobu Chōki had been, said, "I'm not talking about side-parrying, yoko uke, but side-by-side technique. Indeed, if I say parade, uke, people will think that there is only the meaning of parade in this gesture." Konishi's opinion is probably due to the influence of Motobu Chōki.

In the photograph above, we have what is called Naihanchi's Morote-zuki "double punch." Motobu saw these gestures as a toritian joint technique. Fooled by the name "double punch", one may think "this is a strike on the opponent who comes to attack me from the side", but the kagi-zuki hook will not reach the opponent. From a technical point of view, this would be curious, to say the least. By the way, Motobu interpreted this crochet technique as a grasp, tsukamite. In this way, this gesture, which was apparently without possible application, becomes feasible as a complete joint technique.

For this reason, it is important to have this flexibility of mind to think that a parry, uke, can be a punch, tsuki, and that a punch, tsuki, can be a parry, uke. One must not be deceived by the conceptual fixation of words.

The original French translation was published on May 2, 2020 on the Ameba blog.