Isshinryu - The Final Frontier

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man (and not excluding women) has gone before.

 

 

I always liked that and as I like Patrick McCarthy’s one definition a karate as Infinite Hands – as in the empty as infinite hands of  the universe, it seems appropriate to use it here.

 

I was conditioned from my earliest training to think for myself. When Charles began my training for Sho-dan he constantly reinforced the idea I must think for myself. I have ever since tried to live up to the ideal he spoke to me and shared it with my students, who in turn have lived up to it often questioning me, making me work to give them answers.

 

I was fortunate to have wise friends in Isshinryu and many other arts. Much wiser than I was, to have shared so much with me.

 

I came to see kyu training as preparing one for the ongoing study. As Sho-Dan training as entering the larger study looking at some of the umderlying principles, as Dan studies into the infinite choices one must choose.

 

By way of an example let us take one technique and consider it a Dan study. A basic one at that.

 

An Open Hand Drill – use of the knife hand strike

 

From the original Upper Body Chart

 

LFF Left Open Low Block, Right Knife Hand

also from Kata SunNuSu and Kyan Patsai Kata

 

Attacker RFF, Right punch to the face

 

1.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Then use your left knife hand to strike into their lower abdomen continuing the motion of the arm.

c.     Next continue with you right knife hand strike to their neck over their arm.

2.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the knife hand strike to move their arm down.

c.     Next continue with you right knife hand strike to their neck over their arm, with a rolling motion

3.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the knife hand strike to move their arm down.

c.     Using the right foot crescent step behind their front foot.

d.    Next continue with you right knife hand strike to their neck over their arm, with a rolling motion causing them to fall.

4.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the left knife hand strike to move their arm down away from their center.

c.     Next strike to their right side of their body with your right knife hand.

5.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the knife hand strike to move their arm down away from their center.

c.     Next strike to their right side of their body with your rolling right knife hand strike.

6.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the left knife hand strike to move their arm down away from their center.

c.     Use your right foot for a right crescent step behind their front foot.

d.    Next strike to their right side of their body with your rolling right knife hand strike causing them to fall.

 

7.    Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

a.      This becomes a light adhering parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

b.    Continue to use the left hand to move their arm down and use the left knife hand strike to move their arm down away from their center.

c.     Use your right foot for a right crescent step behind their rear foot.

d.    Next strike to their right side of their body with your rolling right knife hand strike causing them to fall.

 

 

 

Attacker LFF, Left punch to the face

Attacker RFF, Left punch to the face

Attacker LFF. Right punch to the face

 

Each of the defensive movements work against the varied attacks.

 

An including options like,

 

8. Attacker pivots 45 degrees clockwise on the left foot, spinning the right foot away while with your left open hand towards your right ear.

a. This becomes a parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.     

b. Then use your left knife hand to strike into their lower abdomen continuing the motion of the arm.

c. Next continue with you right knife hand strike to their neck over their arm.

9. Attacker pivots 45 degrees counter-clockwise on thelr left foot. , spinning the right foot away while with your left open hand towards your right ear.

a. As the do so the inward motion of the left hand parries into    

    their arm       

  b. Then your left knife hand then strikes into their right side as

      you continue the flow of your strike

   c. Use your right foot to step behind their lead leg,

            d, Strike into their neck (or solar plexus)with your right knife       

                hand

 

And so forth, you should get the idea by now. And there is so much more.

 

No matter what the attack, the technique must stop it.

 

Then a step beyond, perhaps using Jing-do principles this time.

 

 

 

10. Step forward with your left and chamber your left open hand towards your right ear.

e.      This becomes a parrying strike to the punch moving it away from your centerline.

f.      Then use your left nukite to strike into their lower abdomen continuing the motion of the arm.

g.     Then the same left flows up and strikes into their solar plexus with a reverse ridge hand strike (haito)

h.    Next continue with you right knife hand shuto strike to their neck over their arm. Striking into the right side of their neck,

i.       Then strike into the left side of their neck with a left knife hand  shuto.

 

 

This is not more an example of what the Dan should be doing. Not cataloging technique possibilities, rather training to make each movement work.  So each move can drop an attacker, to realize the full potential of a technique, and then to move on to another technique.

 

Of course this is not the full study. There is much more training involved for you as student are also always a beginner, each day training your ever changing body anew.

 

Finally, to boldly go where no one has gone before.