Monday, December 23, 2013
Wankan katas Shotokan gift translation
En Exclusivite pour officiel karate Kanazawa Sensei execute Wankan.
Aussi connu sous les noms de SHIOFU et HITO, c’est un kata tres representatif de Tomari-Te.
La vitesse de la projection apres avoir esqive une attaque sans donner le temps a l’adversaire de reagir en lui donnant l’impression d’une techniquie secret en karate-do, est un des points tres importants a observer.
Wankan appartient au groupe de MATSUMURA. Il a ete adopte par les styles SHOTOKAN et SHITO-RYU, mais les deux versions sone tres differentes.
Dans le style SHOTOKAN, il se distingue par les nombreuses attaques at articulations, HASAMI-UKE des deux mains en levant simultanement le genou, JODAN SOTO-UKE, TETTSUIUCHI et KOKO-UKEau genou en bloquant KERI, etc.
C’est le KATA le plus court du SHOTOKAN. D’une execution tres difficile, il se termine avec YAMA-ZUKI en FUDODACHI, les hanches tres basses.
In Exclusiveness for official karate Kanazawa Sensei executes Wankan.
Also known under the names of SHIOFU and HITO, it is a very representative of Tomari-Te kata. The speed of projection after having dodged an attack without giving time has the adversary to react by giving to him the impression of a secret technique in Karate-Do, is one of the very important points has to observe.
Wankan belongs to the group of MATSUMURA. It has been adopted by the styles SHOTOKAN and SHITO-RYU, but the two are very different versions.
In the style SHOTOKAN, it is characterized by many attacks to the joints, HASAMI-UKE with the two hands while raising simultaneously the knee, JODAN SOTO-UKE, TETTSUIUCHI and KOKO-UKE with the knee blocking KERI, etc.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Seisan’s Opening Movement Study in 1990
In one sense the amount of time I had with my instructors was quite brief. Then I was not around other Isshinryu to train with others. When I did train with extremely skilled individuals, while I did learn, that training only intensified my need to understand Isshinryu better. I eventually moved my study into a different paradigm, trying to understand better how to use each gesture of the system. Logic being my main tool.
Starting from the point every gesture of Isshinryu should be able to stop any attack, I worked in the later 80’s toward understand how to do this. I did not consider this Bunaki. As I studied with Tristan Sutrisno he taught me ‘Bunkai’ before others were using he term and his ‘bunaki’ was extremely different from what others did. Actually more like Itosu’s other students explained.. In fact as ‘buakai a more modern version was later used, I felt what was shown while somewhat reasonable, was too limiting for my understanding.
As I made my initial studies, one of them focused on the potential for Seisan Kata’s opening movement. I have described this elsewhere on this blog.
While this was a 2013 listing back in 1990 I made a video of my first explorations. 5 years later I met Sherman Harrill and I felt I was in graduate school from his 40 years of work.
You will note I was ably assisted by my son Victor Michael, then ! year old.
------ Other thoughts on Kata application ______________
Friday, December 20, 2013
First Impression V John Kerker
Last is John Kerker who is Sherman Harrill’s senior student. I met him first in Chicopee, Mass. Giving a clinic to several of his students.
That first meeting made the impression of what direct training with Sherman would have been like. He struck his demonstration partner for the day harder than I have ever seen anyone strike another. And each time he went down he was still able to return for more.
Sherman always told me how much he was holding back because he wasn’t directly training them. Watching John in motion explained a great deal. Yearly visits there explained many other details about their art. I am grateful I have had the experience.
Cumulatively I probably studied sever thousand techniques from both of them.
More than plenty for a lifetime, yet each of their understanding of their arts still grip me, and also my students. I only have a small piece of their arts. But the first impressions remain strong.
First Impressions IV Sherman Harrill
In 1995 I first met Sherman Harrill. He had been a training companion with Tom Lewis. He then spent the rest of his life looking at the potential uses for Isshinryu technique.
On that June Day he did maybe 160 application studies. The mind grown numb, when first experiencing this.
At this time what sticks out was where he showed us ways to strike into the arm, and a while later I figured out how this could also be used to strike into the neck. Sherman then showed me how to use this more effectively.
Later during the day he used Naifanchi stepping as a lower body drill.
The whole experience blew me away.
First Impressions III Tristan Sutrisno
Soon there after a friend from tournaments, Tristan Sutrisno, invited me to visit his school in Hazleton.
From my study in Tang Soo Do I had a rough idea of the forms. What I experienced was different. The form he was using, though somewhat different, I could follow. But there was also Bunkai for the form movement, I had not seen that, at that time I was not taught the word from my instructors, not at many of the other schools I had trained at. Of course the paradigm for his Bunkai was different from any others I later saw
(Today Though I use ‘application study and practice’ and’ application realization’ for my own practice). The only practice I recognize as Bunkai is what he taught me. Of course this is what I studied.
There were also aikido drills which fit into his karate program. And the day he first showed us his skills in Kobudo (Bo, Sai, Tonfa, Kama, Jo, Kintana, Kama, Tanto)
I realized the depth of a program beyond what you could see at a tournament. Later I would discover he had other arts.
First Impressions II Ernest Rothrock
t was 1979 and I was a new shodan teaching karate at the Scranton Boys Club continuing the Isshinryu program Charles had begun in his church before he returned to active duty with the USAF. I ahd the time and I saw Ernest Rothrock was doing a Kung Fu demonstration including Tai Chi at his Scranton School.
( had been interested in Tai Chi since learning of it in college so I attended and watched his performance of the Yang form. )
That was all it took, I started with a ½ hour a week class. Months later observing his classes before my tai chi class, I thought it a worthy idea to study some kung fu in order to be a more knowledgeable judge at tournaments. He began me with a difficult Northern Shaolin form.
First Impressions 1 Tom Lewis ,Dennis Lockwood and Charles Murray
The first impression of someone often creates the basis for later bonds. Let me give some examples that have made greatest imprint on me.
I must begin with my first instructor Tom Lewis. When I had learned of his program from someone at work, I went to see him. It was a night that the club didn’t meet, but he did meet with me in his office. The dojo appeared to be a barn from a distance, however inside it was all business.
The first night, class for the beginners were taught by several greenbelts. During our class I saw Sensei working the brown belts on the bag. I heard his roundhouse kicks strike the bag harder than I could hit it with a baseball bat. That made the first of many impressions.
My second class I met Dennis Lockwood. After warmup’s and some drills, I remember he announced we would be sparring. I had no idea of what I was doing and my partner was a younger woman (by 8 years) green belt who kept hitting me in the mouth and kicking me there. I had no idea beginners were target practice for the green belts.
My third class, after warm-ups we were told by Sensei to practice kata. I just knew the first three movements of Seisan. For the next two hours I repeated them innumerable times till there was a puddle of water on the tile floor around me (which was am oft repeated experience in the future and proved to be my best weapon sparring brown and black belts). Sensei just stood next to the wall and watched.
He taught about 1/3 of the classes with Dennis Lockwood the most often instructor but there were a never ending chain of other Black Belts who would come to class and help.
A few years ago Sensei confirmed that his teaching paradigm was patterned a great deal by how Shimabuku Sensei taught class.
My greatest impression of Dennis Lockwood came on the night we were practicing Kote Kitae. He had chosen me to work with and began to strike into me. As his power became evident I worked to match it. Before long I was striking him as hard as I could and my stomach muscled worked to absorbed those strikes. He kept increasing the power. Suddenly he stopped and I was still standing.
Those classes were mostly for the White through Brown Belts. There were separate Black Belt practice times.
One night Charles Murray was home from college. He came to the Dojo with one of his friends. I didn’t understand why but others moved to the side of the dojo leaving the center open. Then the two of them began sparring, and I understood why no one wanted to be near. The fighting was levels beyond our best. with my attempts being non existent at best. Other times he came to spar with Dan our current strongest brown belt. He looked like target practice for Charles, but really he was sparring with him to help him improve.
A little later Sensei called me into his office. He told me for a demonstration at an Ocean City he wished me to spar with Charles. While I agreed to do it, no one said anything else. The next few weeks I drove myself into training. The day of the demonstration all of my seniors were performing, Charles had to be shown how to wear safety-gear as it was a new product those days. Sensei called hajime and I guess I tore into Charles. Then he responded to my attack and again I went all out (for me) so he proceeded to tap dance all over me.
Nobody had told me it was to go easy and I was trying my best to perform before my Sensei.
Later I heard someone was concerned that they should stop it for my safety, but Sensei let it go on. Charles and I were destined to become fast friends.
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