Kevin Matthews on Matsumora Orthodox

 January 4, 2005

 

The real key to Soken’s teachings (and his students) is they all taught/teach outer systems, not being important what they are or the kata source. Only when the person has proven themselves would they get into the actual Soken Crane technique.


And the secret were the underlying principles, not the form itself.   One example is Isshinryu’s Seisan stance, but done to allow them to use their full body to generate technique with the whole body involved.


Kevin hasn’t seen anything like this in whatever he’s seen.
 

It seems a parallel to my own efforts to do Seisan kata without taking a step, just using knee release, body shifting and alignment. This is likely a poor analogy to my own work, but it’s the best example I can write at this time.


Kevin says anyone who really trained with Soken can demonstrate this motion whatever they were doing (Charles Garrett (an old Kevin enemy) who has nothing, still has this. But his students mostly focused on the outer teachings, not the Soken Crane technique.

Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu Hakutsuru 

松村正統少林流の白鶴
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4syW1IklPp0&list=PLVTHPmzLOjfebgGUEQPdICqwbIam_pMOd&index=9

Ron Lindsey doesn’t have it. Soken would come by and use him for a target dummy, but he didn’t train with Soken. Kise used him as the public recognized head, till he moved is art further from Soken for Lindsey who then went with another. Again Lindsey was used, till that person moved from Soken. Apparently Lindsey never got it, not to undermine Lindsey, whatever the reason. Lindsey is a very powerful individual, who’s trained very hard in the various outer systems he’s studied. It’s just not the Soken movement signature.  Lindsey is also rather paranoid, which seems to rub off on his students. He had been an Isshinryu student which is part of the reason he’s so vemently anti-Isshinryu.

Seisan Kata - Kise Sensei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naCud4qstac&list=PLVTHPmzLOjfebgGUEQPdICqwbIam_pMOd&index=16

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But Kevin says a lot of the secret is in Isshinryu, like the stance. Go figure.


Apparently there are numerous Matsumura Ortohdox spinoffs.
Kise, and several other Okinwans.


Kise and then Greg Lazurus.
Ron Lindsey
Charles Garrett (and the deceased Ray Gothier from NH)
Ray Sunuka (The Aikido dude who was a Soken student)
And a number of others (less well known)

I have seen Kise Semseo compete several times, recalling how similar his Kusanku kata was  to Issshinryu. Then in 1992 Mike Cassidy and I attended a kobudo seminar with him at Greg Lazarus's dojo in New Hampshire.


Black Belt Exercises with Master Kise 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_76UV5VQMc4&list=PLVTHPmzLOjfebgGUEQPdICqwbIam_pMOd&index=19