100 ways to use the opening of Seisan Kata to conclude an attack. 2023

 

The  first on a series of posts to my blog on this topic.

 

 

About 1988 when I began to investigate the application potential of Isshinryu Kata movement, I began with the initial movements of Seisan Kata. As  Seisan was the first kata I had learnt.

 

In time I worked out over 50 ways Seisan’s opening might be used to conclude an attack directed towards oneself. Then as time passed I discovered more and more uses for that kata session, finally referring to them as the 100 ways to use Seisan Kata’s opening.

 

I spent over 60 hours training with Sherman Harrill from 1995 to 2005, then more hours with John Kerker from 2000 to 2015. I learned many exceptional kata applications from them, a few made in into this study, but most of these applications were my own analysis.

 

I just realized I never wrote them down and so I am going to recreate them now. I  realize all of them were never documented by me, however I believe this gives a fair summary of what I discovered.

 

Of course all one needs is one answer that works, and all of them work with the practice of Seisan kata over a lifetime. But one needs to keep growing and changing what one uses to keep fresh. And this approach can be applied to each movemeni of every kata, more than enough to keep growing for a lifetime.

 

Here are a few of these possibilities I filmed in 1991 for my instructors back in 1991. My son Victor Michael is assisting me as I describe what is occurring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6UZr0RTPOU

 

To the best of my knowledge no one else in the Isshinryu system has attempted to share similar knowledge in this manner.