Kata Nijushiho Young Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey93NWlg0YM
In 1988 Tristan Sutrisno was visiting us. I informed him I wanted to teach one of his kata to my students, at brown belt. I thought Bassai Dai was a good choice. He responded they should learn Nijushiho and then that weekend taught it in a clinic.
In Japanese Nijushiho means 24 steps (the original Okinawan version meant Niseishi or just 24). Funakisno Ginchin got the kata from Mabuni Kenwa, founder of Shito Ryu, And the founder of Wado Ryu who studied with Funakoshi retained the original version in his art. You can look at the historical links I provide below to see how the kata changed over time.
I had first learned the kata at Tris’ first summer camp, in a black belt training session. I kept working it and years later even competed with it. So I felt I knew the form. What I didn’t know was he was teaching the 2nd degree black belt version of the form (there are 5 bunkai versions the normal Sutrisno Bunkai standard. Essentially in all versions it reflects subtle soft blocking). Normal JKA Shotokan teaches this as a 3rd Dan form. We are fortunate that we filmed this ,
Directions for Kata Nijushiho
1. Natural Stance – start in natural stance.
2. Drag and Drop – Reach forward with the left hand open, palm down and the right fist out at the side of the left and step back into a back stance with right foot and drag the front foot back about 6 inches. As you step back perform a pressing down block with the left and draw the right hand back to the waist. The left arm ends in the position as if you had performed a hook punch.
3. Punch - Shift forward six inches by lifting the front foot and pushing off with the right leg. As you do this leave the left arm in place and punch with the right fist under the left arm.
4. Elbow strike - Shift forward as before into an hourglass stance with the feet about one foot width apart. Begin the technique explosively and finish slowly with tension.
The right hand comes from its punching position under the left and grabs forward over it. At the same time the left arm draws back with the hand still open to just above the right-side waist. As you pull back with the right the left elbow pushes forward to just above shoulder height. The right fist pulls all the way back to the right waist.
5. Turn - Turn by pivoting to the rear on your left foot. As you pivot open both arms wide with the hands open. Raise them upward and around you in a circle until they cross in front of you at the wrists then draw them back strongly to punching position.
6. U Punch – Punch immediately using both fists with right fist over left. The right fist punches at chin height the left under handed at middle level.
7. Knee raise and block - Raise the right knee into the chest. Simultaneously pull both forearms up in front of the face with the palm sides inward. The elbows and fists touching and the elbows at a 90-degree angle. Set the foot down in a front stance and slowly wedge block with both hands.
8. Block and Elbow - Pivot to the left into a front stance raising the right arm in an open hand and then upper-level rising block with the left arm. Immediately follow up the rising block with a rising elbow strike with the fist in a vertical position. The right fist finishes next to the right ear.
9. Block, kick and punch - Pivot on the left foot and shift the right foot back a little so that you assume a horse-riding stance. Look to the right as you pivot and sweep the right hand in a round movement from left to right in a vertical knife hand block. As soon as the block is complete raise the right knee to throw a right side thrust kick to armpit level. As you extend the foot from the chambered position (don't pause), pull the right fist to the right hip strongly. After kicking set the right foot back into the chamber and then down on the floor into horse riding stance again. As the foot lowers punch with the left arm.
10. Repeat Again - Repeat the above three techniques again to the opposite side without shifting or altering the positioning.
11. Round Block - Pull the left foot back to the right so that the heels touch. Move the right foot to the left 45-degree angle into a front stance. The right fist should be flipped over so that the palm heel is turned up and the back of the bent wrist is used as a hooking block moving downward. The left hand also in a palm heel, strikes slowly from overhead as you lean into this technique. The leg movements of this technique are done quickly but the technique ends slowly.
12. Ridge Hand - Pivot in place using both feet to rotate to the left. Use the rotation of the body to swing a reverse side ridge hand strike to the upper level. At the same time swing the other hand back and around behind you in a horizontal palm heel strike to the rear.
13. Step right foot up to the left so that you are standing with your feet together. Don't bend the knees visibly. Bring the left arm up in a swinging motion so that the back of the left hand smacks into the upraised palm of the right hand. Kiai.
14. Grab and Break - Step left foot back into the unmovable stance and bring both open hands down and away from each other a little. The left moves as if scooping the underside of a leg as it front kicks. The right should move as if striking with the open palm to the knee.
Immediately follow up with a U punch with the left hand in the higher position at 45-degree angle downward
15. Back Handed - Pivot 180 degrees to the rear so that the right leg is the rear leg in a back stance. As you pivot fold the arms for an back knife hand block with tension. Perform the block quickly and then decelerate as it progresses.
16. Vertical Elbow - Step right foot forward into a side-facing horse-riding stance. Strike upward with a vertical elbow strike so that the vertical fist of the right hand finishes next to the ear. Immediately move the right fist over the left shoulder and reach forward with the left arm to prepare for a right downward block. Think of this as a lower-level punch with a block accompanying it. Shift the feet toward the right foot 6 inches as you make this punching action. Throw the block as you shift toward the left foot about 6 inches by lifting the left foot and then pushing off with the right. Shift in and out quickly and immediately throwing the punch and then the block.
17. Another Back Hand - Pivot 180 degrees and make another back stance and block with the left knife hand as above.
18. Elbow strike - As you step into a horse-riding stance strike with the right elbow into the left palm so that the arms form a rectangle at middle level in front of the body. Immediately strike downward with the right fist (as in Bassai Dai) following the elbow strike.
19. Another Back Hand -
Move the left foot in front of the right so that you take a 90-degree angle to the line you just travelled up and back. In a back stance make the same vertical knife hand block. Step in and back out with the vertical elbow strike, punch, and downward block as above.
20. Turn 225° to the rear to the left and step forward with right foot into a three-point stance while pulling both hands strongly back into drawn posture. Pivot on the left foot at first. As soon as the right foot is planted move the left foot as well, shifting it to the right about one foot and forward about one foot so that it becomes the front foot of the stance.
21. U Punch - In place, punch with the right hand on the high side and the left on the middle level at the same time.
22. Step forward with the right foot and back hand block with left and right hands turning them in a circle until the right hand is at the right waist and the left hand is in front of the left shoulder.
From the U punch hook the back of the right hand using the back side of the palm heel posture. The left hand does the same. Move both hands clockwise keeping the palm heels facing into the center of the circle your hands are describing in front of you. Once the hands are vertical with the left on top in front of the face and the right on the bottom in front of the belt they are really facing to the sides now. Rotate your wrists so that they are back-end leading again as you continue around this circle one more time. This time the palm heel backside blocks never make it back to the vertical position. Instead, pull them to your sides as you draw the circle a second time. The right palm heel is drawn at the right waist, the left is drawn over-hand style at the left shoulder.
Slowly ease two palm heel strikes forward with the left hand high. Finish by drawing back the right leg into the natural stance.
Tristan also went into great detail showing how he would apply the techniques of the kata. I would later learn they were his family's 1st level bunkai for the form. Very dynamic in their execution.
The Sutrisno family Bunkai for Nijushiho
The applications shown are not for now, but later black belt study, when you have worked on the form for a few years (you really have to know the form, likewise the applications have little to do with the movements (this is Tristan’s standard, kata moves are mnemonic devices to remember techniques. I feel this approach goes back to older Itosu karate. This in another approach to application study, as opposed to my logical analysis approach.
This is one example and the application does not appear in the kata. consistent with Sutrisno bunkai. That means viewing the kata itself does not show what the performer might accomplish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa4Dx1jibXo
Among the subtly shown, one bunkai version (not shown) is where the crescent kick drop to the floor is done one advanced version is doing a jumping crescent kick and then air back kick before going to the ground (more akin to kung fu's butterfly kicks (and also might be used for advanced kusanku application)).
While I watched him teach it, and helped participants for he taught the applications too, I didn’t notice it was not what he taught me, it was the first dan version, the main difference were the Flow parry blocks as opposed to the parry and grab blocks. The next week I corrected performance and was using the 2nd version of the form, The guys told me they learned parts of it differently but changed it to my way.
About 20 years later I watched the video of him teaching it and saw for the first time what he taught. There is a lesson about perception here. I then choose to teach brown belts the Tris first version.
If you watch Young’s good performance, you’ll see the 2nd version I originally learned.
Nijushiho Applications – Tris Sutrisno from 04/1988
Opening
Right knee up and step back into back cat stance with a left descending parry
Attacker RFF Right Punch
⦁ Step back moving away and parry strike down to the side
LFF into Left Zenkatsu Dachi with the left arm rolling across (palm up) elbow against the side, following with the left hand chambering and a right reverse punch
⦁ Left hand grabs the attacker's wrist (or pad of the thumb, or even pressing the thumb in,
⦁ Pressing the left elbow against the side, roll the attackers arm over to the left, and with the opening created the right reverse punch goes into the solar plexus of the attacker
Pivoting on ball of the left foot
Turn 180 degrees clockwise, both feet end up alongside each other and there is a double back elbow strike, hands in chamber.
⦁ After the attacker is struck you turn away from them, so they are behind your left shoulder
⦁ Option 1 – turn your upper torso clockwise to allow your right arm (open hand) to press against the attackers' head and roll the head clockwise till they roll face up, your arm around their neck and the back of their head/neck on your right shoulder [You’ve moved them into a neck lock or break.]
⦁ Option 2 - turn your lower torso clockwise till it faces 180 degrees to the rear. Take your left hand across their face (to their philtrum under their nose) as your right hand rolls down and grabs their inner right leg (or pants or groin). Then you press their face back and down as you lift their leg to throw them backward. Depending on where you choose to move your right hand you could also go under their leg, making this similar to the throw later in Nijushiho, too.
Execute a U Punch (left to the face and right to the lower abdomen)
⦁ The attacker is leading with a right punch. As you step LFF your left hand deflects the punch as you strike towards the face, your right-hand strikes to the lower abdomen. Then your right foot steps in alongside the left as you deliver a right uppercut to the jaw. Turn 90 degrees to the left, allow your left hand to slide down to the attacker's wrist and deliver a right horizontal back elbow strike to their ribs. Then your right arm rises (outside the side of their arm) straight up, your left foot steps behind (to the corner) and you pull them to the rear with your left hand. The right arm behind their upper arm becomes their new center of balance and you roll them down. This is one of the tjimande basic takedowns. Complete with a twisting arm lock when they’re on the floor.
Step forward RFF into Right Zenkatsu Dachi, with a right-side block and a left low block
⦁ Attacker double horizontal punches (like in Saifa). Left low inside parry block and right-side high parry block. The right arm then rolls their arm clockwise into your left hand (grabbing their wrist). The right hand then completes with an outer wrist turn with you dropping to your knee to lock them down.
Turn 90 degrees to the right with a right bent wrist outer parry, followed by a right palm strike to the chest.
⦁ Attacker RFF Right Punch. You step outside of their strike with a outside right open hand parry to deflect their strike. Then drop the right hand and horizontal palm strike their chest. Follow with a right step alongside their body and then a turning left step, to turn behind their back as your left arm rolls across their neck/face. Complete with the right foot stepping back as you use a tjijmande takedown on the opponent.
Remaining in LFF Zenkatsu Dachi, Left Rising Block followed by a Right Rising Elbow Strike
⦁ Attacker RFF Right Punch. You left high block their punch, then right rising block their face/jaw. Next your right open hand rolls their head down clockwise, following the motion of the rising right arm strike. Finish with a Left descending elbow strike to the base of their head on the neck.
Raise your left knee so your foot is behind your right as you turn to the right. In the kata Then your left foot steps back into kiba dachi horse stance. As this happens, to the right side, and with the left hand chambered, Tris turns with a soft outer right knife hand block, but in practice he shows a right outer ridge hand strike and then turn the hand over into a knife hand block.
Next step up with the left foot, raise the right knee to the side (but don’t lean away) and throw a right front kick to the side. Then put the foot down and throw a right hook punch.
⦁ Against a RFF Right Punch to your right side. You step up and then step away with a parry, then pull back. As they are drawn forward, you step up with your left and throw a right side kick (behind their leg), to loose it for balance. As they’re falling you pull back and hook punch them as they’re going down.
**Historical information
Nijushiho History
Master Nakayama once recalled how Master Funakoshi took him to learn this kata from the Master Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Shito-ryu. It was also with Master Mabuni that Master Nakayama learned the kata Gojushiho Sho.
Nijushiho, was apparently created by Anikichi Aragaki, and is a very popular kata. The kata name is translated to mean ‘twenty four steps’, and the simplicity and ambiguity of the name has been a topic of much debate. Kata such as Sochin have a translation that perfectly highlights the attitude and feeling of the kata. Nijushiho however, a kata of much personality has a name of limited symbolic significance. It is this fact that has challeneged many to learn more about the philosophy of the kata, for it is not blatantly clear in the kata title.
This kata teaches you to move and defend from many angles, and helps teach you co-ordination. Many use this kata as a tool to highlight the need for total concentration. If you take a student and force him to perform Heian Shodan in an angle that is different from the regular (for example, facing a corner of the room) they find it quite simple to finish the kata correctly in the accurate position. Nijushiho however does not use such basic and predictable angles, so to perform this kata accurately in a position that is irregular takes much concentration, since it is very easy to lose your co-ordination.
This kata wonderfully contains sudden contrasts between very slow, and an explosion of power. To achieve this, the karateka must fine-tune his ability to shift from relaxation to tension., which requires great control of the body and its muscles.
Funakishi Nijushiho Kata Historical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGuqR668Og0
Probably what Funakoshi originally taught
Niseishi Kata - Wado Ryu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEvi_8P8Oww
What the JKA turned the kata into.
Nijushiho Kara JKA Shotokan *Kanazawa*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gj7pDus8vg
As taught by the Shito Ryu Niseishi Shito Ryu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBzNY2id2Ak
One Okinawan version Niseishi Kata – Ryuei-Ryu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EWGQ_ZUz8k
More historical information
Nijushi means "24." Ho can mean "direction", "side", "part", "walk", and "step." Since there are exactly 24 steps within the kata, it is generally believed that Nijushiho was named for the number of steps in the kata. "Twenty-four Steps" is a good translation of Nijushiho. "Twenty-four Directions" is another acceptable interpretation. "Twenty-four Parts" is also thought provoking as is "Twenty-fourth Step."
The original Okinawan name for Nijushiho is Niseishi. Numbers hold different names in Okinawa from their Japanese Mainland counterparts, so the name doesn't translate any differently on Okinawa other than not having the word "step" at the end. There are apparently two Niseishi kata that have migrated from ancient times to the modern day, one which has nothing to do with Shotokan's Nijushiho. Nijushiho is commonly referred to as an Arakaki kata. The Shito-Ryu Niseishi is virtually identical to the Shotokan version. Mabuni, son of the founder of Shito-Ryu, has said that his dad learned the kata from Kanryo Higaonna. Higaonna picked up the kata from Seisho Arakaki.
The kata is different from the other Shito-Ryu kata attributed to Arakaki Seisho such as Sochin and Unsu in that it lacks the "Arakaki trademark" of the double outward blocks from cat stance, reverse hand thrusts while stepping forward three times. These techniques were apparently removed from the Shotokan version of Sochin when it was ported over by Funakoshi's son. However, the Ryuei Ryu version of Niseishi (similar to the shito) has them. That would mean that these three kata descend through Shito-Ryu to Shotokan together from the same source, Arakaki Seisho.
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