Monday, July 13, 2020

Chinkuchi – the word wrap


 

 
Now I would like to make an observation, discussions about the ‘right stuff’ to  best describe an Okinawan term like Chinkuchi oft times end in endless discussion about other terms and the rightness of the words being chosen.

 
To be clear I did not practice Chinkuchi, and as there are a variety of force enhancers behind a technique, any, some, all or none still any of which answers can put the opponent on the ground.

 
Then consider there are many different paradigms in which a system may be studied and not necessarily using the same approach to study. Yet all of them can still be effective.
 

One of my instructors, Charles Murray, as a new black belt was able to train for a year in Agena at the dojo of Shimabuku Tatsuo (about 197172) and he received training from Shimabuku Shinso in his Chinkuchi tradition.

 


 
But before we go to far into the word wrap, he  was not there to study Okinawan/Japanese explanation of what he was shown and then practiced, For one thing there were ‘word’ barriers to prevent this. About 5 or 6 years later he was training me. Working within the paradigm of my and his original instructor Chinkuchi was not part of how I was trained. After I reached my black belt he did explain how he was instructed on Okinawa, demonstrating what was involved. But as he did not speak Okinawan/Japanese he turned the terms he heard into words how he heard them, very different from the term.
  

He also had worked how to explain what he experienced by selecting magazine articles (not about chinkuchi) which partially expressed what he had experienced.

 

Shortly after that he returned to the USAF for his career, I did not a have him to guide me and I was not going to pretend I understood the training involved.
 

Yet one time I may or may not have accidentally discovered it.

 
I was preparing for a mostly Isshinryu tournament down in Central Pennsylvania. I changed the manner of execution of my Seisan kata preparing for that tournament. I was flow locking and then immediately releasing each technique in the kata. I performed at that tournament, The judges were all from Isshinryu (none of my own instructors and most didn’t know me from adam as I wasn’t theirs either). 


When I completed my form all of the judges went into a huddle for about 5 minutes as what I had done was not the standard for Isshinryu in that area, Exactly what they discussed I do not know, and none told me. I finally received an average score, but I wasn’t disappointed as I had done what I set out to do. 

Friends I competed against all across the state came up to congratulate me. Not for my score, but  to each tell me that was the strongest kata they had ever see me do.

 
So had I hit on Chinkuchi or not, Don’t know, Don’t care.

 
For myself I reverted back to the paradigm under which I was trained.

 

Over the years my researches continued, I looked at everything. Eventually I ran across the term Chinkuchi and an explanation of the term. I realized it was what had been described to me by my instructor, but a vastly different pronunciation and spelling for the term.

 

I shared all that with my instructor (we saw ourselves infrequently over the years). He adopted that use of the term. Even to writing about his experiences, the same description he had originally received back when most of the training was non verbal, reality based practice.

 


Of course this is not a full explanation of what he experienced.

 
When he retired from the USAF he was able to visit my school every several weeks. I got on video the explanation he originally received. He also did a series of short videos on the details of his training for me. And though it was not the paradigm my students were taught, gave instruction to my students too.

 
Now is Chinkuchi as he was taught in Isshinryu the same as Chinkuchi in other systems such as Goju Ryu?  I have no idea. And not being an expert I would suggest there are more productive things to talk about.

 

I am of the opinion such discussions might be a useful as holding the water from a glass in your hand, most of it will dribble out in the end.

 

You really are not going to teach it to yourself from written description, and most of you have no intention to really try.

 
Understand what makes most sense to you then go back to your own training.

  

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