The Bushi No Te Isshinryu story about Nijushiho

 Sunday, October 17, 2021

 

I learned Nijushiho (the 24 steps) when Tris taught it at the first Bushi No Te Summer Camp at an instructors clinic. That was back in 1981.  I did not learn its history, etc. Of course I remembered the form, even once competing with it in 1984 for fun. That camp experience was all the instruction I received.

 

Then in 1988 I was thinking of including one of Tris’ forms in my student curricula, thinking I would teach Bassai Dai.  Tris was up for a clinic and to attend a tournament over at Richie  Beernard's and I asked him about my idea, however he thought I should teach Nijushiho an then proceeded to teach the form and its bunkai the next day for a clinic.

 

Note I did video the entire clinic (viewing that video series one time, then setting it aside).

 

During the clinic I did not pay much attention to how he taught, instead working with everyone to help them learn the form. I spent more time on the applications.

 

The next week when I saw everyone practicing I noticed some technique sequences were a bit different  from what I did, and I worked to correct them, figuring out some memories were incorrect. And the version we did was what I was originally taught.

 

Never really went forward exploring his bunkai, probably because I was getting into my own bunkai paradigm at that time.

 

Those videos were VHS decades later I copied them onto CD’s and finally saved them on YouTube.

 

One day 20 years after the clinic I actually viewed  those videos and I discovered the Nijushiho kata Tris taught then was not the version I was showed at that summer camp.

 

What I believed Tris showed at the clinic was his source Nijushiho Kata that he would teach to his students. And then the version I learned was the bunkai version of Nijushiho kata. An amended version, for I had learned that when black belts study the bunkai of a kata, they get an amended version of that kata to mnemonically help them for their studies. That version was to remain secret for them alone. I believe, helped by too much drinking, that he taught the bunkai version at that summer camp. Not believing anyone would remember it. Of course we know I did and practiced it for a decade too.

 

After I saw what the video showed I know I shared  that information with you, your decision what to teach going forward.

 

Just saw an old blog post on Nijushiho Applications at https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2015/12/nijushiho-bunkai-notes-from-1988.html

 

But my notes were scanned and are not easy to read. So I created this .pdf of the notes. And these are the original videos my notes came from 

 

 

Young Lee performing my Nijushiho 

 

This is now Tris taught the clinic.

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 1

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 2

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 3

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 4

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 5

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 6

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 7

Sutrisno Nijushiho Clinic 8

 

Everything is a story with me.