When I shared
this example from Mabuni Kenwa’s book “ From GOSHIN KARATE KEMPO Defense and
Attack” Published
in March 1934. It was just one example of what he labeled as bunkai for the
kata Seiunchin.
He did not
intend this book to be a textbook for students. Rather as the book was
published in Japan, I highly doubt it was intended for Okinawan’s at all. Nor
was it written for the general Japanese populace. Rather it’s intended audience
was probably for those who had seen karate demonstrated and more for the
university leaders and the Japanese martial leaders, considering where
Funakoshi and Mabuni put their efforts.
He was surely
attempting to show kata had a self defense use with appropriate study. So he
kept his examples simple, not necessarily showing everything.
Then when I
translated a French edition of that book, I was of course captured to try and
work out what was shown. And as I have written, it was Sherman Harrill who
found the key for that use.
The Shito ryu
Senenchin has a definite similarity to the Isshinryu Seiunchin kata. Enough I
never worried about the differences, I was not attempting to be Shito ryu after
all, just attempting to discern what I could from what Mabuni wrote.
And it is
interesting, especially that it was probably Mabuni who popularized the use of
Bunkai, or in his context ‘.
But I located a
video of Shito Ryu students showing the bunkai for Seienchin, and it is much
the same as Mabuni originally wrote.
Of course I have
no idea if it was as he was originally shown by his teacher Hiagonna Kanryo or his friend Miyagi Chojun. Or was it
something they created over time because of that book.
I am going to
share some screen prints of the section of the kata, It is different from what
Mabuni wrote. Of course that does not
invalidate what Mabuni was attempting to show.
How we interpret
what was written in the past is often difficult.
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