A discussion from a long time ago, about Tatsuo videos

 

Some times there are discrepancies between what Tatsuo Shimabuku does on film , what I see students of Tatsuo Shimabuku do, and what I was taught. It might seem the simple solution is to just do what Tatsuo Shimabuku does , Problem is that without explanation we can not learn from a film, all we can do is mimic and IMO this leads to a poor practice of the method. We can sometimes get a explanation, from students of Tatsuo Shimabuku , (very) often they do not agree, or do things differently. When there are differences , I do not believe that these teaching are wrong , or that these students changed what they were taught, Rather I believe that each one of these teachings is a facet ,dimension , or perspective of what Tatsuo Shimabuku was really teaching.

 

What Tatsuo Shimabuku has done is actually quite remarkable ,he found a way to impart far more of his understandings to his students then I will be able to impart to mine. It is difficult to teach someone a understanding , we can approach a teaching from different angles, and try different ways of teaching , (we all learn differently) , in the end , most of our students do not get the whole picture of what we are describing or teaching either,

And they also end up with parts of the overall understanding.

 

I think it is incumbent upon Blackbelts to seek the missing pieces , To try to broaden their understandings, and I hope that the questions I have been asking and the responses that have been discussed are helping us to see better ,  the larger picture, that is a full understanding of the method.

 

Victor Donald Smith Of course those films were not intended to replace instruction. They may have just been him referring to an earlier version of the form for a demonstration, following old custom on Okinawa, that presentation during the demonstration was not the total art, or they may have just been what he was doing at that instant in time, as we have plenty of evidence that his art kept evolving. Mereli imitating a film without understanding the context leads to a shadow understanding imo. I do not have

 

Craig Ross I have seen most if not all of the publicly available films of TS. In most of them, he doesn't perform them with any speed, or even focus. Almost like he is just walking through the moves loosely. So using that film as educational material is not in ones best interests. Could he have done this with that thought in mind? I only use videos to view the differences in kata, small nuances and to view/judge ones proficiency compared to my own personal standard. I never use them to learn a kata. Nor should anyone.

 

Michael Allan I have to disagree with your statement that using the films of TS as educational material is not in ones best interest. We are lucky enough to have the founders interpretation of kata and because it's not dramatic enough you want to dismiss it? To me that's not in ones best interest.

 

Michael Allan "using that film as educational material is not in ones best interest" seems mighty dismissive but if you prefer how about diminish. The point is I disagree with the statement no matter what speed I read it.

 

JudyAnne Bonafede I was recently told a story that seems appropriate. Three blind men wanted to know what an elephant was. One grabbed the tail, one grabbed the trunk, and one grabbed the leg. They all viewed a different perspective in their minds eye, but not the whole picture. None were wrong, each had a piece.

Bob Cherone What we learn from listening to others speak or watching videos may be forgotten quickly. What we learn with our entire body we will remember.

 

Victor Donald Smith Obviously you can choose to learn from the films, individual choice. Nothing wrong with that, but it is equally reasonable not to use them, both are rational choices. For myself my instructors were sufficient. TS was their instructor after all.

 

Wayne Jurs The films were when he was older, did he really want to give it all away ? I would not think .

 

Victor Donald Smith Remember it was not a custom to write books or make movies to instruct back on Okinawa then. They were probably allowed as favors for students, just a demonstration not the complete art. Try to keep that in mind, as well a making changes when performing public performances was often the standard on Okinawa.