First let me explain I am not an expert in Chinkuchi, nor did I teach Chinkuchi. I believe in Isshinryu without Chinkuchi, for that was how I was trained.
I believe in Isshinryu Chinkuchi, for one of my instructors, Charles Murray explained how Shimabuku Shinso trained him to develop Chinkuchi, and with all of his kata.
I
believe and practiced Isshinryu without Chinkuchi, can whoop Isshinryu
with Chinkuchi, for I believe in the training I was given and then
learned how to practice.
Let me tell my tale and then you can believe it or not.
Simply
put the training I received under the guidance of Tom Lewis did not
include Chinkuchi with our Isshinryu studies. Then when I trained as an
advanced kyu with Charles Murray, the versions of kata I was taught were
as he then did them, but Chinkuchi was not a part of my training. Then I made black belt and nothing of Chinkuchi was part of my testing.
When
I started training with Charles he explained as a new black belt
serving in the Air Force, he was stationed for a year in Okinawa. When
there he trained at Agena as much as his schedule permitted. He
described that training, the Marines were not training there, for they
had their own dojo on their base. Except for a few Americans who had
gone to Okinawa, the main part of the students were Okinawan and they
would train after work.
He explained Shimabuku Shinso took an interest in him, and trained hin in Chinkuchi. While
I was training toward my black belt test, he did not go into the
details of that training. After black belt we were only together a few
short months, before he re-entered the USAF. During that time he explained what that Chinkuchi training consisted of and showed me his training the kata with Chinkuchi. But there was not time to train me that way, and after he left me, I choose not to attempt to try and train myself, I did not know enough.
I
was quite content with my Isshinryu as it was. I started competing
because there was no Isshinryu in my area, and I competed not to win
trophies, but to keep pushing myself against the best competition I
could find.
I did travel to train in Dover and Salisbury when
possible, but that was a 6 hour drive and it was not possible to do that
often.
Those IKC clubs of Mr. Lewis’
students did a great deal of open tournament competition in their area.
Open tournament competition being what was most found in Maryland and
surrounding states.
So one day after several years I was
competing in an IKI Shiai in that area (I believe this was about 1983,
when I was 4 years into my own dan). During the shiai Mr. Lewis called
for a black belt meeting. I remember him addressing up, “In
the tournaments we have been attending, it seems the judges want to see
more power in our strikes, I suggest you have your students for
competition start sticking their techniques to receive fairer scores
from those judges.”
That was all he said, that was all I needed to hear, After all it was from Sensei.
Now
I did not change the Isshinryu that my students were studying. And at
that time I was studying many things, outside Isshinryu, so I decided it
would be a personal study that was for me. The next several months I
practiced doing Seisan kata, just that way sticking hard every punch and
kick. It was doing Seisan with a different dynamics for the kata.
So privately I practiced what I was going to do.
The
day of the tournament arrived, it was one hosted by George Iberl in
Southern Pennsylvania. Many of the contestants and judges were from So.
Pa. or New Jersey Isshinryu. Some I knew slightly, but I had no real
relationship with any of them. On the other hand I knew many of the
competitors, regularly competing with them in Pennsylvania.
So I warmed up waiting for my division to begin.
As
much as I can remember all of the judges for that division were from
Isshinryu (of course different as it was an open tournament, but it did
happen). None of them ones I knew. Then in time it became my turn.
I did Seisan kata, exactly as I had trained, sticking every punch, sticking every kick. In time I finished.
I
then stood before the judges awaiting my score. What next occurred was
something I had never seen. The judges moved together and began a
conference, with several of them glancing at me. What was discussed I do
not know, I just remained standing. Then after a while they all
returned to their seats and announced my score. It was in the mid-range
of the black belt scores that day.
I really didn’t attend
tournaments for any of the judges opinions. The only opinion I was ever
interested was that of my instructor. I was doing it just to push
myself, and in this case could I do what Lewis Sensei suggested.
When I then left the ring all the other competitors came up to me. The individuals who saw my efforts on a regular basis. All of them were of the opinion, that was the strongest kata they had ever see me do.
That was nice to hear that from them, of course I did not do it for their opinions either.
Driving
home from that tournament it occurred to me that Mr. Lewis was not
suggesting the kata be done that way for Isshinryu judges. Instead for
the Open tournament judges in that area they were competing (such as
Baltimore). I decided I did not need to do it that way again, for I knew I could do it that way anytime I chose.
Now
at that time I was instructing youth, it was a time I was studying a
lot of other things mostly for my own knowledge. Those studies would
have eventual impact on my art, but not at that time. At that time I was
not working on kata application potential or other possible Isshinryu
potentials.
So for my students and for myself I returned to the
way I was originally shown Isshinryu. Time passes, and eventually I
began to explore how Isshinryu technique could be used.
Also
remembering that tournament version I began exploring other potentials
within Isshinryu, and those studies became intertwined.
Over the
years Charles and I kept in touch, while he returned to the USAF in
1979 for a career, becoming an officer, etc. We would see each other
every few years for a few moments. Each time it was as if he never left.
We might spar or do kata. Then he travels went further and further
away. Visits became less. Decades later I remember when he went to
Okinawa on a TDY for a week. He trained with Angi, visited with Shinso and Mrs. Shimabuku.
He remained involved with training no matter where he was stationed. He
also informed me he was continuing with his chinkuchi training.
More
time passed, then Charles was stationed in Rhode Island, closer to
where I lived. I was able to have him attend a clinic with Sherman Harrill
there, and later another one I hosted in Derry. Then one day he retired
from the USAF, and began a job with a company that had him roughly in
my area, and I began to see him more frequently. He began training with
us.
I was past the time to change my art as it had evolved over the years, but I often had Charles cover details of chinkuchi for my records, to make available for my students.
One day Charles came to me with a gift. He had located an old movie of him taken while he was training in Agena. And, the kata he was doing, Sunsu and Seisan were being done with Chinkuchi as Shinso had been instructing him. Everything on that film was priceless to me. But more years would pass before I realized how priceless it would be to me.
One
day I was watching this youngster Charles Murray performing Seisan
outside of the base he was staying. Just a performance of his then
Seisan.
Something clicked, and I suddenly remembered that Seisan Kata I had done decades before in that tournament long, long ago.
Charles 1972 Chinkuchi Sanchin on Okinawa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2kXNz_yhY
Charles 1972 Chinkuchi SunNuSu at Agena
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q2JV8RNDB8
There
were no movies, nothing but my memory. Charles had not trained me in
this version. But as best as my memory recalls I was doing the same
thing when I did that kata.
So the question remains, did I accidenatly do Chinkuchi, or not? Believe it or not. That is your business.
I believe in Isshinryu without Chinkuchi, for that was how I was trained. I believe in Isshinryu with Chinkuchi.
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