Sam Shockley

 

 

I just thought of my first  Black Belt kumite contest at the Tamaqua Coal Kick-In in 1980. My fight was against Sam Shockley from Lancaster Pa.

 

We were not friends, just acquaintances at Pa. and Md. Tournaments back in 1980-1984.  But I have several very interesting stories about him. And I can find no reference to him on the internet nor any photos of him.

 

I want to keep him alive in my memory and this allows me to do so.

 

Now kumite was a very serious part of my training as a brown belt with Charles Murray, when I was a brown belt. Charles was unustually gifted at kumite and I recall class after class when he worked me over and I was unable to touch him. Then I went up for my Black Belt exam/initiation and passed. Then within a few months I was training myself, and teaching youth at the Scranton Boys Club.

 

I realized that with no one training me I was at a handicap and that was why I originally started visiting other local school to have someone to fight. But what I found was that almost none of them had kumite, when I visited. The only exception was one school I visited whenever possible.

 

Then I entered my first Kumite match at the Tamaqua Coal Kick-In in 1980. I knew I was handicapped without someone guiding me, but I did it anyway.

 

 

My first black belt fight was against Sam Shockley, then 10^th heavyweight in the PKA.  Now San would fight non-contact, semi-pro and full contact, I am sure just to fight.

 

Friends told me I was shaking like a leaf as I entered the ring, I was remembering he had once ko’d one of my senior instructors (a solid fighter), by mistake giving my senior the fight. Of course Sam whooped me, politely, as I was no threat. He was a gentleman. And surviving that I learned more about how to be a dan.

 

A more detailed account of that fight can be found at - https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/search?q=Sam+shockley

 

What I found over the next several years was I was spending money to fight with those about my size and averaging a decade younger that I, paying to let them pound me. Not that I could not fight, just I was not fighting smart.

 

One example was when I was fighting a young man down at Dillman’s tournament, where I nailed him in the abs with a punch, but he got the score with a backfist to my head. Both our strikes were at the same time, but his strike over top of mine was the one the judges saw. Yet in the locker room he explained to me that he was still feeling my strike.

 

So I for the most part stopped competing in kumite, concentrating in kata and kobudo.

 

But back to Sam.

 

About 1939, a friend who had gone with his friend who created a new school that was going into full contact, was convinced by his ‘instructor’ that he should enter the black belt semi-pro division at the upcoming Dillman tournament. IMO I did not see he was qualified, but I was not training with them and they were not soliciting my opinion.

 

My friend drew Sam Shockley. He really was not qualified for the fight. Sam taught him a painful lesson.  Nothing serious but solid enough to make his think a long time before he would do so again.

 

As I said Sam was a gentleman.

 

The next years Sam first fought in a non-contact division down at Dillman’s tournament for a warm up, then he fought in a semi-pro division.

 

He drew a young fighter from Philadelphia, and the fight went back and forth. Then the Philadelphia fighter nailed Sam in the groin with a very solid front kick.

(I would like to point out groin kicks were not permitted in thisdivision.)

 

Sam felt it and immediately began walking around the giant fieldhouse to walk it off. None of the judges stopped him. When he returned to the ring the judges allowed the competition to begin again. Very quickly Sam politely ended the match with him victorious.

 

Then when the semi-pro division was called Sam again found he was paired with the same young man. 

 

The fight began and Sam fought cleanly only to have the young man again nail him again in the groin.  Again the fight stopped and again Sam began walking around the field house to shake it off. Again not a judge uttered a word to same.

 

When Sam finished the walk, again he faced his opponent in the ring.

 

Sam nailed him in the abdomen with a very powerful front kick. Really extending I out. I watched as the young man folded over Sam’s leg, literally folded in half,

 

Then Sam retracted his leg and his opponent fell to the floor, screaming with the fall.

 

I thought Sam must have broken him in half, and those screams were a result of that kick.

 

But as the screams continued for a while I realized that young man was screaming to attempt to end the pain.

 

Eventually the screams stopped and he got up.

 

The fight continued but he had nothing left.

 

Sam finished him easily.

 

I believe that was the last time I saw Sam fight.

 

He certainly left me with memories of a gentleman.

 

Sam Shockley.

Budo – the Art of Killing (1979)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa1NqKYb_bg

 

Budo: The Art of Killing is a 1978 Japanese martial arts documentary created and produced by Hisao Masuda and financed by The Arthur Davis Company. Considered a cult classic, the film is a compilation of various Japanese martial art demonstrations by several famous Japanese instructors such as Gozo Shioda, Taizaburo Nakamura and Teruo Hayashi. Martial arts featured in the film include: karate, aikido, kendo, sumo, and judo among others. The only modern Japanese martial art not featured in the film is kyūdō.^[

 

Budo: The Art of Killing is a compilation of various gendai budō each demonstrated by famous Japanese martial artists from the late 1970s. The film treats its subject matter with deep respect and demonstrates a great reverence for both Budō and Japanese culture in general.

 

The film begins with Kunishirō Hayashi, reenacting seppuku, the ritualistic form of suicide practiced by Japanese samurai during Feudal Japan. This is followed by a demonstration of yabusame and footage of a samurai cavalry battle. The narrator then explains the connection between Budō and its universal symbol—the nihonto. After a demonstration of the effectiveness of the Japanese sword, the audience is shown the techniques developed by Okinawan farmers to combat the sword. Karate-do master Teruo Hayashi then demonstrates Okinawan weapon techniques. The film moves along with further footage of karate-do including makiwara training by Fujimoto (including the infamous shot of him striking a locomotive and chopping a beer bottle) and a demonstration of the nunchaku by Satoru Suzuki, a weapon made famous by Bruce Lee.

 

The film moves to footage of traditional Judo training such as mat rolls, pole-hopping, bunny-hops, and practice of hip throws using rubber bands tied around trees. The film moves on to discuss naginata-do, a budō popular with female martial art practitioners in Japan. Aikido is then demonstrated by Gozo Shioda, the founder of Yoshinkan aikido interspersed with shots of leaves falling into a brook. To emphasize the film's theme of "mind and body are one in Budo" the viewer is shown Shinto practitioners fire walking. The film then shows training in a sumo stable with rikishi Takamiyama, where the training shown is both tough and cruel. Scenes of young people practicing kobudo on the beach follow the sumo demonstration as the narrator discusses the succession of Budō to younger generations.

 

The film explains the importance of kata with Teruo Hayashi demonstrating more karate-do kumite. The narrator explains, "... karate training can be both severe and cruel, yet a sword can take away a life with one swing." The film shifts its focus to sword arts with demonstrations of iaido, tameshigiri and kendo by Shuji Matsushita and Tomoo Koide as the narrator discusses the fear instilled by the Japanese sword. The "limitless" connection between Zen Buddhism and Budō is discussed with Shuji Matsushita on the receiving end of a strike from an abbot's kyosaku while in zazen. This is followed by a highlight of the film in which Taizaburo Nakamura demonstrating various sword cuts including a shot filmed in slo-motion showing the shocking speed in which a Japanese sword can behead a man (1/100 of a second). Continuing with a focus on the sword, the film shows the art of traditional nihonto forging by swordsmith Amada Akitsugu, considered a national living treasure in Japan. Budo: The Art of Killing concludes with scenes of Noh as the narrator explains, "As long as the universal truths of heaven, the earth and man remain, the spirit of Budo shall endure."

·        From Wikipedia

 

 

Hoshu Ikeda karate throwing technique

 

Hoshu Ikeda karate throwing technique

When I Offered Advice

I only taught karate to young or old.

I was teaching at the local Boys and Girls Club with my programs.

Often at local events parents would ask me where they should take their 3,4,,5 or 6 year old child to obtain karate training.

I always told them the truth, they could not get karate training for one so young, and they would be better off getting beginning dance training from a qualified instructor, both the boys and girls.

In reality beginning dance is better youth movement instruction for every child, to later be built upon whatever they later choose to be.

But especially the parents of boys recoiled at the idea of their son in dance class.

Reality my son and my daughter both studied early dance, and when I was young I too had beginning dance.

They really didn't want informed advice, just what they wanted to hear.
 

The most valuable lesson

 

I had learned a valuable lesson once I began visiting other instructors and attending clinics. This was before I had availability of video tape. Each experience was likely a one shot opportunity to learn, I realized it was necessary to keep notes and to take them after one day to be sure what I had remembered was not short term memory but had transferred to long term memory. The next step of course was never ending practice so you made what you remembered yours. It might not be exactly what you were shown, but from effort it was what you had.

 

In January of 1980 I went to Hazleton Pa. to visit and train with Tris Sutrisno. I had competed against him in tournaments in kata and kobudo, and as time passed we had become friends. I only knew he was Shotokan and not much else about him.

 

So I went to visit his school and jumped into his class. I saw many things that were new to me, and never on subsequent visits did he repeat those lessons. One of them was his multiple striking drill where each technique when delivered immediately flowed to another strike. He showed me 3 Heian forms. Then his class worked as a group on a 12 technique Aikido drill.

 

In fact after watching his students perform the drill, he asked me if I would like to try it.  So I did the drill. And as they were working  8 of the techniques I had memorized what they were doing, then I just did it. He was impressed that I had learnt the drill from watching. It was then he showed everyone 4 more techniques and explained that as he was taught there were another 6 techniques to make 20 total.

 

When I made my notes I never realized those lessons would not be repeated later, I then worked on those drills over and over and made them my own.

 

Before my next  visit I worked on those Heian Kata too. I had learned the Tang Soo Do versions during my studies of that art, and with the assistance of the Karate Do Koyhan which my wife had given me as a Christmas gift, got the forms down. The next visit I made in February to Tris' dojo, the first thing he asked me was could I do those form for him and then I did so. After that I was very welcome to train with him when possible.

 

I guess I passed the test.

  

About 7 years later when I was living in New Hampshire he came up for a visit.

There he saw my adult class having a class on my drive way. During the class they were working the first 10 of the Aikido techniques. Tris had forgotten he had shown to me and I had to remind him he had done so.

 

Later that afternoon he gave a clinic at the club and I had the kids of my youth program perform Aikido drill 1 to 6. Once they had finished Tris explained he had changed technique 3 and demonstrated that change.

 

Later I worked out the why behind the change, as likely his students knew what was coming and they threw themselves in the throw making it much easier for the thrower,  Certainly not what was intended for without correct practice you could not develop the Aikido technique properly. His change was a different technique that yielded the same result and would not be faked.

 

Of course that was a decade of more unique training experiences and many more notes even to keeping video records of those experiences.

 

One time experiences can become a lifetime of practice.

 

A J Advincula on Chinkuchi

 

Arcenio Advincula 

I have heard that some say, I use the word "chinkuchi" too much. I must have got it from Shimabuku Tatsuo Sensei (1908`1975) who got it from one of his teachers, Kyan Chōtoku (1870~1975).

Since Tatsuo Sensei taught it, I think it is important to pass it on. After all, Kyan Chotoku Sensei said, “Even you learn ti (手 hand) if if you don’t know chinkuchi you don’t know ti (手 hand).” - Kyan Chōtoku (1870~1945) from “Memories of chinkuchi”.

Note: "Ti "meaning "hand" in the Okinawan language = "karate" in the Japanese language.

Now I also use punch, block, strike, kick, elbow, stomp, evade, lunge, step, stance, posture, yell, makiwara, and a lot of other terms used in karate and no one says I use those words too much. I wonder why. Maybe they didn't learn "chinkuchi". After all, it is nothing but a very basic term use in karate kihon. Since it is the way we generate power in Isshin-ryu karate, I learned it from Shimabuku Tatsuo Sensei.

What is chikuchi.

Chinkuchi (チンクチ) is a Okinawan word (Hogen dialect). “Chin” means “muscle/sinew”; “ku” means “bone” and “chi” means “energy or controlled energy” through the use of muscle and bone, tensing and locking specific muscles.

Chinkuchi is emphasized in the sanchin kata where are muscles are checked through “shime (締め tighten/tensing).”

http://asaikarate.com/what-is-chinkuchi-チンクチって何だろう？/

Ooops !

 

Another memory from a long time ago at a tournament if Wilkes-Barre Pa. In the black belt forms division I was competing in, there was a man from a system I regularly saw. Their forms were very complex and long.

So he was competing with this very long form, as we would define it today it would not be karate, but the judges then accepted those forms. And as it was quite long, he worked himself up during it’s performance.

Then suddenly, a bit before the planned end, the string on his gi bottom broke. The gi trousers fell, he was revealed to his wearing shorts with heart shapes on them.

Time to hit the breaks and stop, and he did.

Pulled up his trousers, retied the string. Then turned to face the judges, bowed and asked permission to begin again.

They said do so, and he did, doing his complete long form from the beginning.

I no longer remember the outcome. Of course at the time I was a bit annoyed having to watch the form again. But he completed his form, and received a score.

It did demonstrate composure, or rather grace under fire.

Now I have seen individuals break their Bo when striking their side, and completing their form without a break.

I have also experienced many who forgot the next move of their form, and ask permission to begin again.

But I believe that is the first time I have seen anyone lose their pants over a form.

A Deadly Weapon

In the hands of someone properly trained,

Anything can become a deadly weapon.

The weapon is not what is held or used,

The weapon is the adept.

 

Initial experiences watching karate breaking divisions

When I was a student of Isshinryu breaking boards was not something we did.

 

But often at large tournaments we attended we saw black belt breaking divisions. At times the competitors broke their target,  at times they did not break their target.

 

What I observed is that the more impressive and complex break that was intended, it was also more frequently one that would fail.

 

About a year later I attended a huge tournament run by a Bando school near the Washington DC area and yes they had a number of different breaking divisions.

 

One of them was a brown belt breaking division.

 

There was a competitor brown belt that was going to break 3 cinder caps.

 

He got down on his knees and warmed up by bending over and placing his forehead on the top cinder cap several times.

 

Then he smashed his head down to break them with his forehead.  It did not work the cinder caps remained unbroken.

 

So again he tried the break and again it failed.

 

A third time he tried the break and yet again it failed.

 

He was determined to succeed  and time after time he attempted the break.

 

Each time failing until blood was streaming from his forehead, down across his face.

 

The judges went over to him and made him stop.

 

There is a lesson there.

 

My further adventures in breaking can be found on my blog at 

 https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/search?q=board

 

Just a simple demonstration a long time ago

 

While sitting at my desk remembering what I have discovered cutting rock at the Sun City  West Lapidary Club, my mind started to wonder about what I saw when I was a beginner.

 

There were events at the tournaments I attended I Baltimore back in the mid-1970’s that I have not seen since. And knowing so little, I remembered and learned a bit.

 

One of those events was the Black Belt Karate Demonstration. There individual black belts showed what they felt was a good demonstration of their art, and scores were given.

 

Now I had worked my yellow belt mind up to compete in kata and kumite. But that left a lot of time to sit and watch what else was happening. We were to leave when the tournament was finished.

 

So one time this guy gave a demo with his whole school to assist him. He was talking about the superiority of soft striking and after the talk his students joined the demonstration.

 

He lined his students up in a long line, chest touching the back of the individual before them.

 

Then when they were set up, he stood before them, going through some breathing ritual, and then lightly touching the student at the front of the line.  Immediately student one by one fell back as if each was struck, a domino effect. At one level it looked impressive.

 

Then when the line collapse concluded, they lined up again and he showed the power of his light touch again.

 

Next he asked for a black belt volunteer from the audience.

 

Bob Maxwell from Bando volunteered.

 

I knew Bob as he was friend of my instructor, Tom Lewis. I knew there was a friendship between Isshinryu and Bando, but I had no idea what Bando was.

 

 

So Bob stepped forward and the instructor doing the demo placed him at the front of the line, to strike Bob lightly on the chest.

 

He struck Bob with his devastating light touch, and nothing happened. Bob just stood there and the line did not collapse.

 

Once again he struck Bob with his devastating light touch, and again nothing happened. Bob just stood there and the line did not collapse.

 

So the instructor made a change. He selected a senior student of his, and had him stand at the front of the line in front of Bob. Again he struck with his light touch. This time the student flinched from that strike and the line moved, including Bob.

 

As that the demonstration concluded.

 

This is how I remember seeing it.

 

My instructors never discussed what occurred. It was nothing like the Isshinryu I was being taught.

 

About 8 years later I was at a tournament in Lafayette College put on by a Pa. Shorin Ryu Group. They had impressive demonstration along with the tournament.

 

Then the Senior Instructor gave his demonstration, it was on light striking.

 

Now this was an extremely credible instructor. He had incredibly gifted students and his organization was well taught. I often competed against those students and they were good friends.

 

As I remember he talked about what he was going to do a bit, then he selected an individual from the audience to assist him.

He selected me. I am sure more for my size than anything else.

 

So I went onto the tournament floor,

 

Now at this time I was a san-dan in Isshinryu, I had been studying T’ai Chi for about 4 years, and studied with a whole slew of different traditions. None of them taught me to take a soft strike. This was new for me too.

 

The instructor told me to stand still. Then he got ready to deliver his touch.

 

His touch did nothing.

 

I had worked out that a soft touch would drive me back if I went into a rigid karate stance. So instead as I stood my ground, I simply relaxed in my stance, offering form but not attempting resistance.

 

 And when he touched me I did not move.

But I had extreme respect for the instructor, I simply wanted to show him I could present a very soft target, I was not trying to show him up.

 

That instructor made a 2^nd light touch. But this time I tensed my body and his touch moved me back as he intended.

 

That was my part in his demonstration. I just returned to the stands and continued to watch.

 

I have never told anyone about that event, until I remember this.

 

Just some memories running around in my head.

Once upon a time

 

Bushi No Te Isshinryu

 

Hit ‘em hard,

Hit ‘em fast,

Hit ‘em low,

So they don’t last

Do you remember when we had adult class Every Thanksgiving morning?

 

The full Moon on Okinawa November 2021

Understanding what Sherman Harrill shared.

 

 

In 1995 Garry Gerossie who lived north of me in New Hampshire, looked me up to invite me to a clinic he was hosting by his instructor Sherman Harrill. It was because Sherman had trained on Okinawa alongside my instructor Tom Lewis.

 

I had never heard of Sherman but I went to that clinic and was blown away.

I had been working on potential uses for Isshinryu technique for about 7 years at that time, and had made progress. But meeting Sherman was a jump of 40 years he had spent on that process.

 

For he next 10 years I hosted clinics and attended others in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts. About 80 hours worth. But when Sherman passed away in 2005 I went through my notes and private videos Sherman allowed me to make and wrote up 800 potential kata application uses he had shared, and a who lot of other stuff. I combined them in my personal Sherm Pedia.

 

Five years later I finally met John Kerker  and for the next 10 years I was able to attend 10 annual clinics with him in Chicopee Mass. Out time was always too short however John expanded on many details Sherman made privately to me. I gained even deeper understanding of what being Sherman’s student would have been like.

 

Now let me make in clear I never was a student of Sherman Harrill. Unfortunately I could never travel to Carson and train with him. Working to understand what Sherman shared is nothing like being his direct student.

 

Perhaps I can expand on that. Sherman once privately explained to me that what he shared at those clinics was not how he taught his students.

 

He was focusing on kata technique possible applications, ad nasaum.

 

It was not how he taught his direct students,  For one thing he did not really know those clinic attendees capabilities. Because of that, while what he shared was real, there was also a great number of things he was holding back.  So he was sharing a bit of what he worked on. More than any clinic attendee could remember, but nothing approaching the whole.

 

An example came from when I met John Kerker, At that clinic he blasted his partner over and over, hitting him harder than I had ever seen anyone be struck repeatedly and always his partner was able to get back up and begin again.

 

Another time John explained that there was not a square inch of the dojo floor Sherman had not dropped him on hundreds of times. And each time after doing so Sherman expected John to get back up and do the same to him.

 

That is a level of intensity that was never possible at those clinics.

 

And there so much more, John explained that all Sherman’s students did not train with that intensity. They had to choose for themselves that they wanted to train that way, for it involved much pain. I guess it meant there were different levels of Sherman’s training.

 

That is just my opening explanation.

 

For I just found a video of Sherman Harrill showing some uses for the opening of Seisan kata. It is shared on You Tube by Michael Calandra   And shows some uses for the opening movements of Seisan kata.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRa2U40B4hs

 

Sherman Harrill Sensei and Mike Best as Uki

 

It serves as a great example of how Sherman worked out kata application potential (uses). Offering 9 different examples for that one movement section of the kata. And I am sure Sherman had endless other application potential in his memory.

 

First seeing a video does not in itself mean much, it is too easy to move on and what is seen becomes vapor-ware. In a sense the same as experiencing those same techniques in a clinic and not working on them.. for many reasons.

 

Unless you are an instructor you probably have little say in your training program and without continual reinforcement of what you saw that does not help you remember how to work the technique. Not saying there is no value to your being exposed to those possibilities. But that is a different issue.

 

And even if you are an instructor it is often not easy to add great material to your already structured training program. In fact even when I picked up incredible technique applications it often would be 5 or more years before I could introduce it into my program, simply because I believe in the value of what I was teaching.

 

Then there is the reality that learning a kata application has a potential application is one thing. Having the work to make that application potential an application realization that can actually work is a very different project all together. That is a much more involved sort of training.

 

The most important part of the process of acquiring valuable information via clinic or video is that there is more involved to truly actualize that technique in your life.

 

What I found is to make notes of the experience. Yes a video can be view over and over, but frequently it is not watched that way.  The most valuable thing you can do is to takes notes of what you remember. That performs a time binding function in your brain. Those notes can highlights details to remember. Something to refer to as time passes. Another guide in your journey.

 

So this is how I view what Sherman shared on the opening of Seisan kata.

 

The attacker is stepping forward with his right foot and going to deliver a right strike.

 

As Sherman goes to open the Seisan technique he first crosses his arms before him, the right arm on top. Then he steps out with his left foot and performs a left side block, while simultaneously his right hand chambers at his side. Then strikes into the opponents solar plexus with his right fist. Sherman uses all those motions in his examples.

 

First Sherman is showing what would be the standard answer as to what the first technique would be.

1.    Sherman steps out with his left foot while delivering a left side strike/block to the attackers arm. Then he delivers a right strike into the attacker’s solar plexus.

 

 

But Sherman is showing how he utilized the crossing of the arms as the initial technique to Seisan.

 

 

2.    If the opponents strike comes in higher Sherman uses the initial crossing of the arms to deliver a rising strike into the opponent arm and at the same time strikes with his left fist into the opponents lower right abdomen. In effect a simultaneous double strike. Then his right hand slices down to become a block in the opponents following right punch, followed by a right strike to the opponents solar plexus from chamber.

 

3.    Then Sherman shows how the strikes from the crossing of the arms from the kata is used when shifting one’s centerline to cross the attackers arm at 45 degrees. Then the rising right punch strikes into their attacking right arm while the left strikes into the right side of their chest at the same time.

 

4.    Then Sherman works another variation on that theme. This time the left open hand is raised to move alongside their oncoming fist, while the right hand (using the ridge of knuckles) to strike into their wrist, causing intense pain. To be followed by a right front kick into their left inner thigh, at the same time a right fist strike is delivered into their right side ribs.

 

5.    This time as their strike comes in you step out slightly with your right foot and shift your center line to cross their strike at 45 degrees. Your right rising hand strikes into their arm above the elbow while your left hand strikes into their armpit. Then your right hand while slashing down as you chamber (which could slice into a striking opponents left punch). At the same time you deliver a left low slicing strike into the inside of their right leg, to be followed by a right strike to their solar plexus.

 

6.    As the opponent strikes forward, step forward your self inside their line of attack, delivering a simultaneous strike to their jaw with your right as you also strike into their abdomen with your left fist. Then you strike with your left arm (side block as another use) into the side of their face. Your right hand drops to chamber and then strikes into their solar plexus.

 

7.    This time you first use the X of the crossing hands. As they strike your right hand strikes atop their biceps and your left hand strikes down. This uses the  bottom of the X to trap their arm. Then instantly you raise your left arm and pull your right arm slightly back drawing them slightly forward. That motion bends their arm back, and forces them further downward from that lock. Your right hand can then strike into the side of their neck. 

 

8.    Sherman then shows the same motion but this time the left strikes across the forearm of the attackers strike, while the right punch strikes into their triceps from the bottom. This also forms the X block that can pull them forward and down with a bent back arm lock to finish the movement with a right strike into the side of their head.

 

9.    Then Sherman uses the same motions as in no. 8 to a left strike with the attacker stepping forward with their left foot.     Again they are bent down to their rear from the side as the arm lock is formed. To finish them with a right strike to their head.

 

10.                       As the attacker comes in from the right, your left arm strikes down across their wrist towards your center line. At the same time your right strikes across their biceps just above their elbow. From there your left arm rolls their arm back and up to form a lock using the chambers of your right arm as the fulcrum of that lock. Forming that lock moves them forward and to bend over from that lock to then allow your right punch into the back side of their head.

 

I am sure this is not everything Sherman saw, but it is a good example of what he explored into every motion of any kata movement.

 

And only when you have a clear idea of any movement application potential (and that is a task of its own) can you move into the greater study. That being how to reach the application realization to actually trust that movement against a solid attack (which may not be the same attack where the application potential is shown against).

 

You must work against stronger then more random attacks to work towards application realization.

 

I have seen this from several different instructors programs. To the uniformed it often seems brutal, but the instructor is sharing what worked for them. I believe it is a necessity to move forward.

 

I would not suggest my description of Sherman sharing is the best description of what he is doing.  I suggest you write your own descriptions, they will make more sense to you.

 

May you move forward in comprehension!