Shoshinkan Okinawan Shorin Ryu
Karatedo
Tegumi (Grappling Hands) - Foundation
Tegumi Important?
Hohan Soken Sensei (3rd
Grandmaster - Matsumura Shorin Ryu)
As karateka our intention if involved in a ‘physical’
incident is to remove ourselves from that situation, ensuring our own safety
and that of others. However we can find ourselves in a position where we may be
unable to do this, examples would be if we have been attacked and find
ourselves grappling, or perhaps we wish to restrain a violent/agressive person
for arrest without to much damage being inflicted?
Striking and evasion may be the main focus of our art
but Tegumi plays a vital role in our ability to cope in all situations, and in
some cases our survival.
Tegumi has been practised for hundreds of years in
almost all cultures, it is simply wrestling (to begin with…..), often this
pastime was used when villages got together for festivals, and it provided
exciting entertainment!
Of course our focus is on the Okinawan practise and
the benefits/structure it brings to our karate practise, much wrestling
developed into non lethal ‘sport’ and whilst exciting we need to understand how
Tegumi is simply an important part of karatedo.
If we think of children wrestling/playfighting then we
are beginning to see how tegumi should be practised, no stopping or points, no
winners announced. 2 people simply wrestle, this practise highlights how our
bodies work and prepares /supports our further training of atemi (striking of
vital targets) amongst other things.
Tegumi practise is introduced and practised in the
form of drills and free practise, to build our skill level and
introduce/experience the principles, it is also excellent conditioning, stamina
work and builds a strong physical structure – reason enough to practise
regulary.
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Tegumi ‘Push’
Simply engage your partner, one person is active, one
is passive, the passive person ‘leans’ natural body weight into the active
person. The active person is allowed to take a maximum of 2 steps with the goal
of pushing the passive person around. Stop and start, do not simply step
forward with momentum, the passive person steps back as needed to accommodate.
Notice how our hands position on the body (hips and
shoulders?), do not just use the shoulders, but connect your upper and lower
body, hands might go high and low , left and right, like the jaws of the tiger.
Tegumi Pull
Simply engage your partner, one person is active, one
person is passive, the passive person simply ‘roots’ to the ground natural body
weight. The active person hooks under/over the arms/around the neck/back of the
passive person, and is allowed to take 2 steps with the goal of pulling the
passive person around. Stop and start, do not simply step back with momentum,
he passive person steps forward to accommodate.
Notice that to ‘enter’ and ‘engage’ we need to break
the grip and structure of the arms, our bodies become close, use our whole
natural structure to transmit energy. Naturally ‘hook’ make the connection of
using our arms to transmit our body’s natural power.
Tegumi Drop & Lift
Simply engage your partner, one person is active, one
person is passive, the passive person lowers a little allowing the active
person to place palms on the shoulders, upper chest/arms, the passive person
simply ‘roots’ down, the active person then palms down and try to keep the
passive person in the lower position, it
is not fixed and our feet are allowed to move to shift force and recover.
Notice how movement can help us to maintain control,
how one hand becomes heavy and the other just rests, the effect of dropping our
shoulders and keeping the elbows in and down. Find places to ‘hook’ our arms to
maintain the down pressure, notice that to ‘flat’ foot our partner opens
opportunity rendering them immobile.
Tegumi Twist
Simply engage your partner, hook one arm around/under
their shoulder/upper arm, the other palm on the front of the other
shoulder/upper arm, the active person experiments with twisting, push/pull to
turn the passive person at the shoulders and waist, the passive person simply
roots and resists a little.
Notice how our footwork and hip movement help us move
the partner, how slight up and down movement helps break their strength. As we
progress we aim to get ‘around’ our partner, to be behind them, start slow and
build up, notice how close we can be and how in control this makes us.
Tegumi ‘Free Play’
‘General Practise’- simply engage your partner and
begin to lean on each other, use your arms to control (no straight arms), try
to keep the centre line, use your foot work to remain stable (rooted) and to
keep your balance/manipulate your partner, begin to find out where our bodies
are strong and where they are weak. Use the palms of the hands to transmit
pressure/energy, no grabbing, locking, tripping, striking etc etc.
When you feel your partner is off balance, push or
pull them a little to make them step to regain balance. Only work to a level
slightly uncomfortable to your partner, this is not a contest but training, it
is always ok to relax and take the pressure off if your partner is struggling.
2 min rounds are ideal. Contact is constant, with no
clashing, notice how our breath makes us light and heavy, notice how our energy
is transmitted better when breathing out, and how we receive energy better when
we breath in.
Keep our ‘wedge’ and natural structure, do not over
extend our limbs (arms and legs!), step with our feet to remain ‘centred’.
General Observations/lessons
To control the centre line (arm placement) not only
gives us better control but also creates a strong barrier to avoid head
clashes.
If we use our footwork to lead our structured movement
we unite upper and lower body strength. Keep our centre of gravity low and form
a good ‘base’ without being static.
Think about the muscle used in Tegumi and how it
differs from our ideas of ‘strength’, ligaments and tendons are worked rather
than major muscle groups.
Begin to understand our partners intention by ‘feel’
rather than observation, this is an important step towards ‘sensitivity’.
Look at rhythm and change it, tempo often becomes
regular in drilling, try and vary the rate at which we work to confuse our
partner, the reverse is also important as we need to cope with unregulated
movement and forces.
This concludes the Tegumi foundation and leads onto
further more specific study which will be trained at our next mini seminar (3rd
June 2006), I hope this has been of use to you and thankyou for your support of
the Shoshinkan,
Yours In budo,
Jim Neeter
Shoshinkan Okinawan Shorin
Ryu Karatedo
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