A long, long time ago, in a distant land….. All good stories should start that way.

 

 The other day I was reading Mark Tankosich’s paper “Karate Ni Sente Nashi” and was entranced by the story about Choki Motobu. Reading that story triggered a long lost thought of mine about me in another time.

 

When I studied Isshinryu we did not get lessons about Okinawan karate past. There was never enough time for our studies for that. Our karate studies were very focused on using our karate  with the opponent standing in front of us.

 

Then several years went by, I had been reading karate magazines (the internet of that day) and had picked up some information about Okinawan martial history.

Of course I did not know then what I know better today. And in those tender years, I tended to believe everything written in those magazines. (o’ those days of lost innocence.)

 

So what I understood has little to do with the actual Okinawan history, with a huge boost from my imagination.

 

I knew there were the current practices of karate, and a foggy idea that there was a karate before that time. I had no idea what the actual history was.

 

I knew Okinawa was conquered by Japan, and some idea karate was preserved for self defense. My imagination supplied the rest. I imagined that the conquerors were hanging around everywhere.

 

What I worked out is that the best way to make karate work was to look like everyone else. Give out no tells of what you were capable of. Then you could walk past your oppressor not appearing you were going to do anything.

 

This would allow you to strike where they weren’t looking, towards their back. For I had worked out the best answer was to strike from behind where they were not looking.

 

This is not far different from what Motobu Choki had done.

 

As time passed and I learned ever so much more about matters martial I never forgot that thought.
 

So strikes hardened on the makiwara accompanied with correct alignment, with all the possible force enhancers are among the ways such a strike to the rear could do even more damage. (I have only suggested one answer where there a whole infinity of possible answers.

 

Of course I did not teach this, for I wasn’t interested at creating individuals who would study methods of attack. And what an individual is shown as an answer how a technique should be used, it normally takes great effort so see any other answer for their studies.

 

Striking below the opponent event horizon.

A Day in the Life

 

 

I believe information should be freely shared, providing there is access to that information.

 

1.     For several prior days I had been working on a series of blog posts from an interview with Kinjo Hiroshi, who I find a fascinating person. I had run across those quotes from an earlier article saved in my files, Reading them now after so much time they took on greater relevance. So I prepared some blog posts on Kinjo. https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2020/06/hints-from-one-who-walked-walk-1.html

  

     The one for this morning was on his experience from the changes of kata        execution.

 

 

2.     Then serendipity intervened and on this morning first I noticed in my history of daily Facebook posts a translation I had done on the Motobu Ryu site about Motobu Ippon Kumite back in 2016. But instinct took over and I searched the site  to find last year they presented their own English translation of that post. https://ameblo.jp/motoburyu/entry-12591751418.html?fbclid=IwAR2_3-0wDTClJ8tHhYT2NrCpSiFW2LqlOWI1TTr9A7Zbfwa-o0KQwpua0YI

 

Reading it gave me reason to look into YouTube and I found a YouTube video that was very similar to the same material.

 

 

Motobu Ryu Secret teachings . Motobu Ryu Moidi Shiroma Ha .

3.      But my day did not stop there for Joe Swift posted a YouTube link  for an Okinawan folk tales video. It was all in Japanese. But a little work and I discovered there was an English translation of part of that video. For it was about  Chan-Migwa (Kyan Motobu), not about his karate but legends that were told about the man.  http://okic.okinawa/en/archives/news/p4192?fbclid=IwAR0N0Lzj7DAcC2Vdeuzo_H7SxQAGN5cdYp-zy-ZXKK36fwowejPKQVfSb48

  

4.     Of course it did not end there for I also discovered a posting on FaceBook by Mark Bishop about Senior Okinawan instructors who were also ‘Kaminchu”. Which in a very real sense ties back into Shimabuku Tatsuo.

 

I shared all of this across various FaceBook discussion groups.

  

As I have found since I began participating in Internet discussion groups, none of which gained much discussion. But I feel better people at least had the privilege to see all of this and reflect on what they may have read.

  

Then there is the other side to me, what I privately share with my own students. Much of my personal analysis of many things, really only relevant to those who spent decades with me. More to contemplate and perhaps use. The choice is theirs.

 

I really am no longer sensei for none come to train with me

 

I am engaged with my own long term studies at best. The more I learn the less I know. There is not one answer, one size fits all.  Most often divergent ideas are extremely workable. The idea is not to try and do everything. Rather to understand what is out there and to work out how to disrupt that.

 

And this was a slow day.

SunNuSu (Sunsu) Kata – a derivative analysis

 This analysis is only what I see, not necessarily as other would see it.

I don’t see these videos as end points, rather glimpses of stages where they were at that time.

 

As kata SunNuSu (Sunsu) as the creation of Shimabuku Tatsuo

I am going to show kata which inspired sections of his creation.

Some are from his Isshinryu, meaning studies with Kyan and Motobu. As he was a senior to Nakazato Joen,  I am going to use the Shiornji Ryu kata for the Kyan example of Patsai For the Gojushiho I am going to show the Nakama Haruku version, his instructor was also a student of Kuan.

 

 

For the opening he began with his own version of Sanchin.

 

 

The next session came from the Kyan form Patsai.

Patsai Shorinji

 

 

Gojushiho

Haruku Nakama demonstrates the kata he learned from Okuhara Bunei student of Chotoku Kyan.

 

Useshi (Gojushiho) begins at 6:40 on the video.

 

 

 

 

Kusanku – I am using the Shimabuku 1958 video, which shows the section he used in SunNuSu

 

 

I am using the Hiagonna Morio Seisan Bunkai video

to show a likely source for the various kicking techniques in the Goju Seisan.

 

 

or he man have incorporated the elbow parry as in Itosu Pinyan San Das as in Matayoshi Ryu. 

 

 

 

Again IMO the rest of the kata represents the ideas of Shimabuku Tatsuo.

 

 

 

 1958

 

 early 1960s

 

1966

 

Charles Murray Sunsu in Agena

during his Chinkuchi training 1972

 

 

Charles Murray Sunsu 1980

 

 

Charles Murray Sunsu 2016

 

 

Andrew Ware 1980

 

 

Young Lee SunNuSu 2012

 

Naifanchi/Nihanchi and all spellings – a study in derivative variation

 

Naifanchi Shodan by master Choki Motobu

 

本部のナイハンチ初段 - Motobu no Naihanchi Shodan

right

left

 naihanchi - shinzato katsuhiko

 

 

Soken Hohan shinshii, Naihanchi Shodan & Nidan 祖堅方範先生 ナイハンチ初段と二段

 

 

tekki funakoshi naihanchi shodan shito.avi

 

a very personalized version

Naihanchi Ju no Kata  Katsuyuki Shimabukuro

 

 

One of the interesting things I discovered was I really don’t know of  Kyan Chotoku taught Naifanchi,

There are those who maintain he did and those who do not feel that is correct.

One adept of Nakazato maintains all of Kyan’s students who became instructors

Eventually chose to incorporate Naifanchi, each from a different source.

 

 

Matsubayashi-ryu from 1960's / Naihanchi Shodan

 

 

 

Nakazato Shorinji Naifanchi

 

 

 

naihanchi - shimabukuro zempo

 

 

 

Eizo Shimabuku Naihanchi Kata

 

Shimabuku Tatsuo Nihanchi

 

 

 

Naihanchi Kata - 1 of 3 -Angi Uezu –Isshinryu 

 

 

 

Charles  Murray 1980 Naihanchi Kata Instruction

 

 

Mike Cassidy 1990

 

 

My students performing Naifanchi kata in a stack

 

 

My own Naifanchi in my progressing decrepitude

 

Some thoughts about Motobu Choiki on Kata

We know Motobu Choiki was held in great regard in Okinawan karate because of his accomplishments. He wrote about karate, taught several kata to his students as well as developing some 2 person drills. His main kata study of Naifachin became the basis of his style of kumite. But what he felt about kata, is a bit something else, IMO.

 Found while I was reading “Motobu Choiki Karate My Art” by Patrick & Yuriki McCarthy.

 I want to begin with a quote by Charles Goodin; “With fewer kata, more time an effort can be devoted to bunkai. I do not think that Motobu-Ryu emphasizes bunkai because it has fewer kata. I suspect it has fewer kata in order to emphasize bunkai.” (Setting the record straight, 4^th quarter journal 2001, page 7)

 

Then ‘From Tales of a Great Bujun’ by Nagamine Shoshi, he writes

 Nagamine and Motobu – “The technique of kata have its limits and one must come to understand this.”  The technique of kata were never developed to be used against a professional fighter, in an arena or on a battlefield.  They were, however, most effective against  someone who had no idea of the strategy being used to counter their aggressive behavior. Motobu continued to say, “a small man can improve his technique as much as he can, and discover how it can be used regardless of time, place and opponent. In spite of a street encounter never being the same, the principles of the kata never vary.  However, one must learn how they are applied and how to blend in the winds of adversary.’

 

Motobu also said, “ Kata and waza are limited by themselves unless one learns how they’re applied in context”.

 

I am not a practitioner of Motobu-Ryu, and don’t accept everything even when written, but I think this is worth considering.

 

 

Kyan on Teaching Karate

I continually find how interesting that so much that has been written is never discussed on the nets in today’s ‘enlightened’ world. Rereading “Motobu Choiki My Art” is just one example.  Consider how Kyan Chotoku described teaching karate on one Okinawan school, and then contrast that with modern karate practice. This is geared more towards beginner and beginning instruction. Clearly not so much what more advanced training would become.

 

From ‘Karate  Training & What to Know About Fighting” by Kyan Chotoku for the Okinawa-Prefectural School of Agriculture and Forestry. Translated into English by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy (2001-2002)

From “Motobu Choiki Karate My Art” by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy

 

What to Know About Training

 1.       Teaching should take place in the following order:

a.  It is important to explain what karate is and what karate is not.

b.   Then, what one should know about physical practice should follow this.

                        i.      Posturing,

                        ii.      Forward and backward foot movement should then come next/

                         iii.      Gradually evasiveness can be introduced.

                         iv.      Teaching how to use the clenched fists,

                         v.      Striking with the elbows,

 

                         vi.      And kicking with the feet

                         vii.      Along with deflection, trapping and blocking, follow this.

c. When these points are learned satisfactory, kata can then be taught.

d.   When one is proficient at kata sparring can be introduced.

 

2.       In the past, sparring was often dangerous because there was no protective equipment used.  Because of this, it has, therefore, become necessary to wear protection in key parts, of the body, like they do in bayonet training (Juken-jutsu). Using this kind of protection and rubber hand pads on the clenched first will help reduce potential injury associated with the practice

 

3.       Except for what I already mentioned above, and the use of a makiwra, there ‘s really no other special training equipment required to learn/teach karate. More ever, training partners and spacious facilities are not required, either. These are some of the advantages of learning/teaching karate.

 

For one thing the beginner faced far more training in karate technique prior to the commencement of kata training. And I would suspect those beginning studies were at greater depth into the art than what we would do today.

 

It is something to think about.

Motobu Choiki on Sente

When I read something like “Collection of Sayings by Motobu Choiki” as translated by Joe  Swift, there are so many pieces that it is easy to go to fast and not focus on each of them. I see this is a problem, especially as there are so many sayings.

 

Perhaps a better answer is to focus on them individually. Let me focus on one of them as an example.

 

No. 7 Karate is Sente (3). Where in foot note (3) Joe adds. Here sente means the initative, or the first move. 

 

The footnote follows with the following. C.1. Karate is Sente Nashi – there is No First Move in Karate. Which I take as an example of the use of sente.

 

To me Motobu was expressing that one must use ones awareness of what an opponent might be going to do, and then move to stop it. I find this makes sense in actual confrontation with an opponent.

 

Of course in Japanese Sente might have many meanings, such as in the game of Go it might mean to take the initative. IMO similar to the use Motobu Sensei might mean.

 

Initative to be taken when appropriate. Especially  when taken in context with his other sayings.