Monday, September 26, 2022

Memories of a lesson or two (or three or more).

 

Before I begin this is definitely not the answer for every type of attack. More a discussion about first steps, with much more to follow. Yet everyone must begin somewhere.

 

Consider how much useless talk involves decrying kata applications against useless standard attacks (not realistic). Ignoring the reality that such standard attacks are but the tool to begin instruction with. Critically necessary, but to be moved past, when the basic skils have been acquired. And more advanced attacking patterns to become the next step in skill acquisition.




 

I seem to eventually recall most of what I have seen, and oft times much later put it into context. These events occurred over many years before I realized they were interrelated.

 

1Today I recalled my third trip to visit Tristan Sutrisno and much of what he showed that day. (Most of which were always one time lessons, so remember of it becomes vapor-ware.

 

That would be in 1980 in a room in an apartment building that was his dojo. What he was explaining was that most people attack automatically ‘knowing where you are standing’, that means the focus of their attack is known to them from where they saw you standing.

 

He was showing a simple defense I had never seen before. Facing a stepping punching attack, he just swayed slightly back, the punch did not connect and he readily struck back.

 

A little later when facing another stepping punching attack he shifted slightly to face the left (across the punch) then his left open hand flowed up to descend atop the striking punch. While that ocurred his right ascending top of the wrist strike hit into the wrist of the attacking punch. The descending palm strike and the ascending bent wrist struck simultaneously into the attackers wrist causing it to bend (leaving it powerless. Then his top right bent wrist struck into the side of the attackers ribs, causing him to bend forward from that strike.  That was followed by the right hand grabbing the flesh of the attackers right side to  twist him forward with a counter-clockwise motion to then allow the left fist to strike into the back of his head.

 

At the time I just saw two techniques which worked, I did not understand what was behind them. I kept them for myself, I did not teach them.

 

 

On my first visit to Tristan I observed his students doing their aikido drill for karate-ka. I observed 12 of them, After that I practiced them for life (that was all the instruction I received) they were taught at green belt and brown belt level for his students.

I time I came to realize they were using evasion to move away from the attack, and then used aikido to maneuver the attacker as one worked the spaces an attack offered by the attack (to either side of the attack). Only at black belt would they learn their most unique bunkai which often used the principles of those aikido drills.

 

 

2About 1980 Ernest Rothrock shared with me his black belt students manual. I saw the descriptions what he called his Ghost Techniques. I worked out how to do them from his descriptions. I did not realize the similarity to what Tristan had showed. I taught them to my black belts, and had fun with the first two with the kids on Haloween.

 

 

3Around 1989 I attended a clinic Sherman Harrill was doing in Rhode Island one Saturday. For one study when the attacker was stepping in and striking, he responded by just stepping back with the left foot, causing the attackers strike to fall short. Then simply by releasing his knees, he was able to strike into the opponent without stepping forward.

 

 

At that time I did not realize all of them were using similar operating principles.

 

 

Also about 1989 I had made friends with Joe Swift several years before and at that time he convinced me to allow him to purchase several reprints of 1930’s Japanese books, Of course they were in Japanese (which I did not read), He considered them priceless (though the purchase price for me was about $100.00 each.

 

One was Mutsu’s 1933 - ‘Karate Kempo’ and the other Nakasone’s  1938 - ‘Karate Do Taiken’. I could not read them but the pictures made much sense to me.

 

Kaarte Do Taiken has later been translated into English by Mario McKenna.

 

Karate Kempo was planned to be translated by Joe, that is still to occur but Joe took pity on me and did translate the initial section showing uses of karate techniques for evasion, (pleases see the appropriate blog entry below.

 

 

Now I have found it normally takes me at least 5 years (and often more) to realize the relevance of material within the book. In this case it was many years more.

 

But I just realized that each of the examples I have described (and quite a bit more) All worked around the principles of subtle evasion.

 

And at times knowing something takes some time.

 

 

 

 

Mutso’s Karate Kempo contains much about use of evasion for karate.

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2021/10/become-ghost.html

 

 

On Ernest Rothrocks Ghost Techniques

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/search?q=ghost+techniques

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