Why Not to Drop your Heel when ending Seiunchin Kata

 

Sherman Harrill with Mark Radunz

 

 

Radunz Sensei,

 

 

Ssensei Harrill told me explicitly NOT to drop my the heel in the last m technique of Seiunchin because setting the foot down limits how far you can drop your weight in the stance. In fact he told me to lift my knee while keeping the ball of the foot on the ground while doing this technique, so that I could drop my weight more smoothly. 

 

 

Here’s something to try and prove it to you self. Bet into a ‘T’ stance with both feet planted on the floor and drop your weight as much as you can. Now, lift the heel of the front foot and drop your weight again, You’ll find you can get another couple of inches of obi drop. If you can drop lower you can get more reaction from the forearm rubs.

 

 

This bends the opponent’s elbow, and consequently the wrist to weaken the trip, and brings their face/head  in closer to attack with the palms, thumbs, etc. The techniques that Sensei Harrill showed me  most often involved using my forears to work the uke’s forearms from the outside for the most part, but he included inside as well. Sometimes to force a release of his hands, other times just to bring the head closer to work vital targets in the upper body or manipulate their balance.

 

 

Sensei taught me NOT to ram my elbows into the oponent’s forearms if the opponent has a lapel grab sine all this will do is stuff their knuckles into my chest. Besides you can’t elbow someone in their wrists if they grab as some advocate, because the wrist is too close to you. The best you can do is strike their radiun bones and maybe the radial nerve. Either way you end up using their hands to strike you in the chest. It sucks.;;

 

 

Over the years I had the opportunity to work with Harold Long, Allen Wheeler, Harold Mitchum and a few others that have used the “foot down” or “stomping” method coupled with the downward elbow strike. While it hurt because of the repetitive attempts, I usually released my grip to avoid getting hit with the elbow again. Once was not enough to break my grip. I always wondered what their chests felt like after driving my knuckles into their chest so many times.

 

 

I;m in favor of whatever works for someone, but the foot down method that I’ve seen to date does not fit into my karate.

 

 

Ogenki de,

 

Both Mark Radunz and Lee Norton were students of Sherman.