Bushi No Te Isshinryu Kyu Supplemental kata studies

I incorporated several supplementary kata from other systems in my students studies at kyu level to better have them understand what others do, ostensibly to make them not be concerned with what they are unfamiliar with. They then had a basic grasp of what other systems did. But this was for all of my students.

Specifically I wanted to slow down the pace youth students learned their kata, but keeping the slower Isshinryu pace interesting. But the adults also studied this curricula, for them the main purpose was to have a visceral understanding of what other did because they did that too in part.

While these kata are supplemental  to the Isshinryu kata, they are still mandatory.

This is the order they were taught:

Kata Sho – the Matsubayshi Ryu Fyugata Sho renamed so youth could not play with the name, I did teach kids for a long time. I did change the techniques to Isshinryu execution, as I used this as the first kata study.  But it was not just for beginners, everyone would work on it together, allowing even beginners to gain from working with brown belts and black belts too. It also was used for many dan studies as a basic platform everyone understood the embusen so well, other things could be focused on.

Kata Ananku – this was from the Shimabuku Ezio Shorin lineage. I chose it as a precursor to the study of Seisan as many of the techniques were there. The original version incorporated both vertical strikes and twisting strikes in the same form. Of course as Ezio was the younger brother of Tatsuo I could see the origin of that. This was later modified by me to use use vertical striking. I learned this version from Carl Long.

Kata Kyozai -  When I saw this form and understood it was created by teachers on Okinawa as a kata study for gym class, not karate class I became intreagued. Then I noticed it was constructed to pay tribute to many Okinawan systems, so I saw the value to sharing it too.

At that point students studied Isshinryu Seisan kata.

Next they were taught:

Kata Saifa -  I wanted my students to have a break with a  shorter form instead of immediately moving to the Isshinryu Seiunchin kata. I originally learned this form from Goju instructor Ed Savage in Ithica, but later learned many other goju versions at many goju dojo, I even attended a clinic with Chinen Sensei and observed his version. As I was not a goju student and had no goju instructor, the version I came up with seems to have been an amaligation of many of the versions I had been shown. This was at a time before youtube. But the Saifa I taught worked for my purposes.

Then the Isshinryu Seuinchin kata.

Then the Isshinryu Naihanchi kata.

Then the Isshinryu Wansu kata.

Then the Isshinryu Chinto kata.

 

Kuen Lung le Kuen (Supple Dragon) – This form came from the Pai Lum system, there it was a green sash form. I acquired this from Ernest Rothrock who at that time was teaching Pai Lum. I learnt it observing him teach it to one of my students. Years later he also taught it to my students in New Hampshire. Of course I had previously taught it, but he adjusted what they knew to his standards.  I realize other Canadian karate groups in Canada also performed their own version of this form.

Kata Nijushiho -  I also wanted my students to have a form from another of my friends, Tristan Sutrisno and his Sutrisno Family Shotokan. When my students were about ready for another challenge I was thinking Bassai Dai. 

But that weekend Tristan was visiting to give a clinic to them. He thought they should learn Nijushiho. A form I believed too advanced in Shotokan for my purposes. But the next day he taught the clinic on Nijushiho and that became that. He also gave his ‘bunkai’ explanations for many of the movements.   

Unfortunately I was working on helping people learn the form, as he had taught me the form 10 years before, and I did not pay close attention. The next week I observed my students doing the from with several changes, so I made corrections because what I originally was shown was my guide. 

I did film the clinic, And because I knew the form I once viewed those video tapes but really did not watch them Roll forward 20 years, when I transferred those video to dvd. What I saw was what he taught my students was not what he taught me. The changes were not gigantic, but I understood then what happened. 

What he taught was the normal kyu version of nijushiho, But what he taught me long ago was the first level bunkai version for nijushiho.

Bunkai was a dan study with Tristan, and when you got the 1^st level bunkai for the form, you also were shown a private bunkai version of the actual kata. That was what I had been shown, but was not explained. Of course it gets involved as to what that means. 

Then I had to go and explain to the instructors I had trained why perhaps they should go back to what they were shown 20 years before. I realize it only make a difference to me.

 

Then Isshinryu Kusanku kata

 

Then Isshinryu SunNuSu kata

 

Then Isshinryu Sanchin kata.

 

Those are the kyu kata curricula I adopted then taught over my career. That there were other kata taught at dan level is another story.

 

Sho    

     

Kyozai  

  

 

Annaku

  

                 

 

Saifa 

   

 

Lung Lek Kuen 

 

Nijushiho