Chia Fa my story

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Chia Fa my story

Every post in time seems to become another post about the rest of the story. In 2012 when I posted https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-kobudo-of-shimabuku-tatsuo-tonfa-of.html

I was sharing this with my students as a source comparing some historical videos with the Isshinryu of Shimabuku Tatsuo.

About 1977 I was a brown belt studying with Charles Murray. One day he approached me and said Victor, I borrowed, from Mr. Lewis, the Armstrong movie to work with my own bo kata studies. But he told me “I have an idea I want you to take my movie film editor and teach yourself the form Chia Fa on that movie, then when you learn it you can teach it to me.”

In those days the Isshinryu taught by Tom Lewis did not contain the tonfa form. It was not taught in Agena when Sensei trained there. When in 1971-72 when Charles, a new Shodan, trained in Agena himself, tonfa was not something he studied there either. (in fact the sai was what he was taught there ‘Chantan Yara No Sai’. Along with many other things.Often training with the Okinawan students who trained there, I cannot recall him mentioning he ever saw them performing tonfa.

Minor note, in those days there was a real lack of information about Isshinryu. No public review for the Armstrong Shimabuku movie. So what you saw was what you saw.

So I took that film editor and the movie home. The film editor allowed you to view the movie frame by frame. So I began to view it and attempt to work out what Shimabuku Tatsuo was doing with the tonfa for that form. Over and over, frame by frame until I went ‘blind’ trying to work out what was being done.

Then attempting to do the same with my own set of tonfa I had previously purchased. It was a most difficult time, but somehow I worked out something. I got to the point I could not view the movie again. What I had was what I had. (another note I from that time forward was unable to bring myself to view that form again. Lasting for decades. Later when I saw the Uzeu Angi tonfa form video, outside of that one time viewing I could not view it in detail either, I just noted it was similar to what I was doing and then moved on.

Then I ‘taught’ Charles the form I had worked out and of course in a week he was doing it better than I.

As the movie labeled the form as “Chia Fa” that was what I referred it to everafter. There was no credible Isshinryu source I had access to that would suggest otherwise. In any case I made no difference to my practice.

On the day of my black belt test, Mitchum Sensei held two clinics at Mr. Lewis’ dojo. Between the brown belt clinic and the black belt clinic. Charles had me perform my Chia Fa for Mitchum Sensei and Lewis Sensei and the rest of the group. I did so and afterwards Mitchum Sensei remarked that the tonfa form was not part of his studies on Okinawa. My form was not part of my black belt test.

Then for decades the form was just part of my practice. Again and again. Much later I taught it so my senior students. At no time did I face attackers armed or otherwise and needed those tonfa skills for personal defense.

Again in time, having seen more than a few versions of the Isshinryu tonfa form over the years, not studying with any other Isshinryu I kept to what I worked out. While I observed those versions, I had no context as to whether one was right as compared to the others.

In fact having seen different tonfa forms, to me what I saw did not seem the best way to use the form. Gathering my thoughts on Tonfa I created my own Wansu NO Tonfa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMwbjMupcGM

Not for performance as I had no interest in that, just to work on my own thoughts.

After about 20 years at the time I was newer training with Sherman Harrill he asked to see my tonfa form. I showed him what I did with my ChiaFa form. After watching it he remarked what he did was somewhat different and then he showed me his form. He just observed my different form but just to understand where I was , not to comment. My time with Sherman was mostly in those clinics. It never was to study his versions of the forms.

Many years later I came to a different understanding of the value of Isshinryu kobudo. Not for performance rather as a force enhancer to strengthen our karate. The variety of the forms, even my Chia Fa, was to each form work on a different variety of skills to then strengthen our karate, especially as a way to fight against aging. The correctness of any version was much less than any version being used. The key fact was that it was being used.

Then the internet happened and with the Isshinryu discussion groups. I was informed I was all wrong. The form I had studied was wrong, it was named wrong, etc.

None of that made a difference to me. I had no reason to accept anyone elses answer as correct. I was not associated with anyone but Mr. Lewis (then mostly retired from Isshinryu) and Charles Murray (then in the USAF), meaning effectively on my own. I accepted them might be correct, but that it made no difference to me. I had my own years of experience and as the form I learned was labled Chia Fa, that is what it would remain to be called by I. (all of which I explained to my students and they were content with that.) My Isshinryu is first and foremost the Isshinryu I was taught by my instructors and what I practiced.

Never filmed our tonfa Chia Fa form as such. Then I discovered this on one of my saved videos which has a walk though demo version some of my students did for a visit from my friend, tai chi and northern Chinese forms instructor, Ernest Rothrock. It has many demo and what he shared at that clinic for them. At the end of the clinic we shared some of what we were doing.

Here is another valuable video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybr7eXgOuSM