You Tube does not always tell the whole story

Monday, July 27, 2020

You Tube does not always tell the whole story

When you are watching a kata performance on YouTube you are not really seeing everything that is being done before your eyes. That is one reason you cannot assume you really know what is happening.

A case in point would be the Gohakukai Tomari Rohai

From older saved notes I find:

“According to Kinjo Akio and Tokashiki Iken, the kata “Rohai” originated from Monk Fist boxing or Lohan Quan. The pronunciation of “Lohan” then became Okinawanized to “Rohai” (ローハイ). When Rohai kata was transplanted to Okinawa is unknown. That said Gohakukai founder Tokashiki Iken states in “Karate-do & Kobudo: A basic investigative report” (pg. 74 to 84) that the Rohai he learned was taught by Matsumora Kosaku (1829-1898) to Iha Kodatsu (1873-1928) and finally inherited by Nakasone Seiyu (1893-1983). He comments that there are ryu-ha (流派）or styles and their off-shoots which use the kanji “Rohai” (鷺牌; heron – sign), but it is uncertain whether these kanji are either ateji (当て字) (Chinese characters selected to fit the pronunciation in question with little nor no bearing on the meaning of the kata) or have some relation with the originator of this kata.”

Back in the 1980s Joe Swift shared the several different versions of the Tomari Rohai kata with me on a video tape he sent me. One of those versions contained a form mistake. A shortened version cut short prior to the mistake can be seen here.

Joe also sent me an article from a Japanese magazine on the form, of course it was only in Japanese, but the accompanying photos were very clear.

Then Mario McKenna shared a translation of the article about this kata.

It clearly translated that what looks like 3 nukite strikes, as in the Goju Shisochin kata, are very deceptive. For as the empty hand strikes out, at the end of the strike the fist closes to form a descending ippon ken, which you can’t see in the film. While I had the photos I let the video version control my mind and did not see what was clearly shown on tht article

From his translations I taught myself this kata just for fun. At the time I was first doing so I used lightly the hidden ippon ken (descending single knuckle strike) into the chest of a student. It left a mark that lasted a month. I knew I really had something there. That practice never became one of our group kata, just something we occasionally fooled around with.

When I developed Diabetes II, and was almost immediately diagnosed with Colon Cancer. I began to make many changes to my life, dietary, walking and much more intense training. I also decided to enter a competition, which I had not done for over a decade, to push myself. And to make it more of a push I determined this form is what I would use.

I reengaged with this kata for competition, addressing my declining capabilities, to force myself to higher levels of my own training. Then about a month prior to my surgery I performed it.

This is a video record of my performance while at practice about a month prior to the competition. My NO Tomari No Rohai.