Embusen and Chinto Kata

When I was a beginner I watched my seniors practice Chinto between two bo's on the floor, just that way. Later on when training with Charles Murray we would also do it that way at times.
Over the years I recognized the purpose of that was not to be able to perform on a narrow bride (and when teaching in Scranton in the summers we would train at McDade park which also had a bridge over a stream and of course I used it too. But to me the more important lesson was in a narrow space you had to use tighter turns to remain in the middle of the path, then more difficult to be forced off the path.



When I lived in Scranton in the summers the adults would practice outside of my home.Anomg the places we practiced were amidst the rows of blueberry bushed, which made natural paths for the kata. There was the added value of uneven ground for practice.

However my favorite place to practice Chinto was on a narrow pathway near my house. One with bushes directly against the sides of the path. For I had come to see that tighter turns in Chinto could also be used as weapons, and this was a great place to test everyone’ Chinto.




The goal was to stay in the middle of the path, and except for one row that was possible. One of the rows slightly moved off center but after it was completed the form would readjust. If you were not exact you would end up falling off the ‘bridge’ or rather go into the bushes.




I learned so many different lesson from Chinto on that path. The learning never stops

 

This version of Chinto our Chinto-Chinto

shows the embusen we used.