Sunday, November 30, 2025

An Isshinryu Poem by Victor Smith

Hit ‘em hard,
Hit ‘em fast,
Hit ‘em low,
So they don’t last

Chopin and Karate – a parallel?

I find I have many passionate interests in life I try to follow a bit.

One of them is to try and understand classical music better. I enjoy an extremely wide range of music but my musical education has always been extremely limited.

Over the years I discovered BBC Music, a British magazine dedicated to classical music that also includes CD’s with complete works (unlike other classical music magazines that have CD’s with pieces to try and get you to buy those CD’s). I find it very interesting to gain some more knowledge about things I enjoy.

The May 2004 issue has an article “the Final Score – can a score ever tell us exactly what the composer intended us to hear” by John Rink that I feel incredibly parallels many issues in the transmission of Karate, especially on the question about a kata’s original composer.

Consider how exacting music has been transcribed for hundreds of years. Exact notation in infinite detail, much more than the shape of kata. Yet the article suggests other issues worth considering. From page 30.

“Performers often say their goal is to realize ‘the composer’s intentions’. On the face it seems noble enough, but can such an ambition ever be achieved, and if so to what avail? And which composer’s intentions’ do they mean: those at the time of the music’s conception, or when the first manuscript was finished, or when proof sheets of the first edition were corrected, or at the first performance, or after years of performances and if so corrected by whom? What if those intentions conflict – and what if the composer’s view of the music was less fixed than our own might be, whether as listeners or performers.”

“These questions are difficult to answer, and they challenge any simple truths we might choose to hold about how music “should” sound. The fact of the matter is that when it comes to composer’s intentions, we believe what we want to believe – and our beliefs are inevitably based on knowledge that is less than complete. Taking hold of someone else’s music, whether in words or in performance, requires educated guesswork on the one hand and our own creativity on the other. That partly explains why no account of the music could ever conform to what the composer intended: we as interpreters and co-creators get in the way. And for all the convictions we might have about how composers X and Y wanted their music performed, no one has the requisite insight or authority that some have proclaimed over the years…..”

“Chopin offers a particularly interesting case study of how ‘composer’s intentions’ can change over time. His artistic convictions were more or less immutable and passionately, if quietly, held, and with few exceptions, he dismissed those performances of his works violated the aesthetic principles that he professed. But he was far from rigid when performing his own music. ……we know from Alfred Hopkins… that Chopin never played his own compositions twice alike, but varied each according to the mood of the moment.’…..”

“…his creative genius was irrepressible and forever engaged. To that extent he continually modified his compositions on paper as well as in performance….. Chopin reveled in the music’s creative potential by indulging in all manner of variants, whether in a given piece or at successive stages of the compositional process.”

“… So which reflects of the two extant manuscripts best reflects Chopin’s intentions: the earlier of the two, prepared when he was most alert and his ideas freshest, or the later one, copied out more of less mechanically but with the opportunity to refine initial thoughts and introduce new ones?”

Think how this parallels so many questions we hold about the origins of the Okinawan arts? What was the right version of Seisan kata? The original created one? Or later versions on the theme?

I think that a link such as karate to Chopin’s music may suggest the study of the kata may never have been a fixed shape as much as a theme to work with.

If the originator of a kata could return today? Would they be distressed that kata drift occurs, or would they be thrilled their original theme continues with new life generation after generation.

No comments:

Ufcuchiku

Another found older post discussion made by Robert Oroczo

Angel Lemus This is truly an incredible story. Enjoy the read.

This was the first issue of Bugeisha, I was Marquez' student at the time and he had just gotten back from Okinawa with tons of knowledge, information, katas and bunkai and most fascinating the old "karamidi: from the Ufushiku-Den system. I was actually the ghost writer that helped Marquez sensei on this article.

Kaishu Isa is an incredible man, not only a humble and funny character who did not hold anything back from Marquez Sensei and his entourage, he is one hell of a knowledgeable martial artist.

I went nuts when I saw what Isa Sensei was doing, he was so fluid, fast and took absolute control of people 2x his size and reduced them to rubber chickens, hitting pressure points, locking them, twisting them while all the time smirking and cracking up like if he was a little kid, and I don;t mean to say he was malicious, I just think he enjoyed doing what he did so much that it put a smile on his face. He truly enjoyed sharing and showing and doing.

One thing I noticed was the total lack of tension, he was relaxed and that allowed him to move like the wind. His mastery of weaponry is what began an influence on me that has changed how I look at kobudo to this day. Using the the Bo and Sai like I had never seen any other kobudo system before, and I had studied Taira and Matayoshi Kobudo and Isa's methodology and applications were clearly superior and made sense, using the full length of the bo instead of the common 2/3 hand positions, similar to Yamanni ryu but even more. Using the Sai he demonstrated blocking like I had never seen, again it made sense and it worked because it took into account the force of the other weapons coming at you and it showed who to receive the force and move with it to your advantage.

Next Saturday we have here in Hawaii the 1 year anniversary of Pat Nakata Sensei's Passing to that big dojo in the sky. And one of the kata I am going to perform is one of the ones from Kaishu Isa- he never really called it anything, so I just call it Ufushiku Sai. I will post it on the Zentokukai Youtube page and you can check it out. It is a very cool kata with a definitely flair of Ufushiku kobudo.

For those of you familiar with Yamanni Ryu and have seen or done Kyan no Sai, that is a Ufushiko kata from Shosei Kina to Shinyei Kyan. Shosei Kina studied with Kanagusuku Sanda (a.k.a.- Ufushiku).

Angel Lemus No it ran for 2 years 96 to 98. I plan to republish it as an IBook for iPad then a kindle book. Maybe this year or 2015 but there is one major project I'm trying to get off the ground before I can re publish bugeisha which will be of interest to the entire karate world and will be material never before seen by anyone. I guarantee it will knock everyone's socks off. If you think this article on bugeisha was incredible this thing I'm working on is in a class by itself. So for bugeisha I'm not talking about new material, just the existing issues 1-7 and the never published issue #7.

Ufuchiku No Eiku http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yldd0nHkSA

Ufuchiku No Tonfa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKAKVlF5__Y

Kina Kama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC5M4fWO7uo&list=PL4989A5BCB768B278

Saijutsu – Gyakute Moochi Jodan Uke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noREe4yb_Jc

Bo demonstration Kina http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HGOl94RpU&list=PL4989A5BCB768B278

Chinkicki-n or Chinkichikiti by Robert Orozco

Hello Everyone,

Going through my files I found an old post made my Robert Orozco.

It is worth reading. Among other accomplishments he does read and speak the Okinawan language.

I hope that everyone is doing well.

In the Okinawan language the verb to Pinch is Chinchiki-n and the gerund form is Chinchikiti.

Also, the Okinawan verb to grip is niji-in and the gerund form of this is nijiti. I learned from my teacher that there are parts in kata that contain pinches or grabs/grips of various parts of the body. Included in these were neck pinches as well as side and specific muscle pinches and grips.

Please note that these were not just random pinching/gripping areas as many of them if done correctly will cause serious damage especially around the neck.

The first kata that I became aware of these particular things from my teacher was in the kata Shiso-chin which was sometime in the early 90's. Of course, as time progressed I would learn that there was even more of this contained in other kata.

Some of the gripping was done with the pinkie and others were done with other fingers. The same was with the pinching. There were various ways to pinch as well and this had to do with various hand formations.

One of the techniques I learned in shiso-chin was a gripping near the clavicle. I later seen other people do this as part of their bunkai but there was a big difference.

When I seen other people perform something similar the "uke" would generally lean backward however when my teacher performed this technique the "uke" moved down and forward. I once asked if these meanings were all the same for all four movements since they all contained what looked like a palm strike.

However, I was soon to find out that because the movement was performed seeming the same way there was difference based on the side of the "uke" being attacked and this also changes according to the movement of the stance.

(Note: There are at least two different types of zenkutsu dachi in Shisochin, the angle of the front foot has a great influence on how much one can or can't turn their gamaku)

I will be concentrating on some translations this weekend so I may not post anything until next week. I hope everyone has a safe and peaceful weekend.

Respectfully,

Robert Orozco

Higaonna Morio Empi Striking Sequence

After seeing this sequence on a Panther promotional tape

This is the closest I have come to seeing Morio Hiagonna

Even showing a part of that drill which was longer.

Worlds Karate Legend MORIO HIGAONNA Goju-ryu Master 10th Dan (pt.2)

3:46-4:00

Morio Hiagonna Empi striking sequence

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

That Panther video as I remembered it.

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2019/04/an-elbow-striking-drill-remembered.html

Elbow striking from Isshinryu

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2016/09/shimabuku-tatsuo-and-elbow-strike.html

Goju Kicking by Higaonna Morio

Higaonna Sensei kicking technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoUXVJDS6aM

Tai Sabaki. The foundation of evasions

The tai-sabaki [tǐ bāki], literally movement (sabaki) of the body (tai), is the displacement of the body out of the line of attack, is therefore the first response element to override the effectiveness of the attack first and in turn the imbalance of the aggressor.

As a first point is the exit of the line of attack, the main foundation for in the first instant counteracting aggression and acquiring an advantageous position over the attack, this security position will allow the counterattack to require less effort and more effective.

The second aspect is that the ′′ disappearance ′′ of the attacker's target at the moment of impact causes an imbalance by emptiness, therefore, weakening the attack and creating imbalance in the attacker. Especially if when performing the tai sabaki we managed to find the so called ′′ dead angle ′′ or shikaku. This dead angle is the place where the aggressor has no chance of directly fighting back.

This imbalance occurs not only on a physical level, but also on a psychic level, because it creates in the attacker's mind a surprise that will have to process which will take those tenths of second vital to neutralize it.

Tai-Sabaki must be fast, stable and accurate. Running a perfect Tai-Sabaki we'll have more time for problem solving. This entails a lot of grassroots work to get to intuit the moment, to be as fast as possible and maintain a position stable enough to perform the counterattack.

Attending the maximum of the jujutsu-derived arts, give in first and then win, combined with those that carry the aiki concept, if you pull enter, if you push pivot, tai-sabaki becomes the fundamental tool to carry out those principles.

Tai-Sabaki is not used only as a method of elusive, it is used in the execution of many projections and also in luxations, strangulations, controls... says J. Kano ′′ tai-sabaki control is the key to optimal execution of projection techniques ". Also Kyuzo Mifune asserted that ′′ tai sabaki is the first and final stage in Judo practice ". R. Hernaez for his part said that ′′ if Tai Jitsu weren't called that it would definitely be called Tai Sabaki Jitsu ". With these words they suggest the importance of elusive. Distance (mai) and timing are essential for your proper execution.

In Tai-Sabaki there are two very important principles

Irimi: It's a linear displacement going into the attack, slightly out of its line, taking the initiative. It involves getting into the attack. It's hard to assimilate because the natural instinct of defense is to go back, but for the attacker it's a surprise because it's not expected either.

Tenkan: It's a circular shift, a 180 o turn, which aims to redirect and / or absorb the attack. It's a quick turn to the opponent's dead angle that puts you in an advantageous position for the answer. The twist itself allows it to merge with the attack and translate the opponent's own attack movement into the defender's power generator.

According to Taoist theory we could say Irimi would be the Yang, the action and Tenkan the Yin, the passive.

According to where we move, four new concepts appear to us

Omote: by the attacker front
Ura: Behind the attacker
Uchi: inside the attack
Soto: out of attack

Top Tai-Sabaki according to our displacement

Soto / Uchi Nagashi: Back
Soto / Uchi Hiraki: Lateral
Soto / Uchi Irimi: Go ahead
Soto / Uchi Tenkai: Circular
O Soto / O Uchi Tenkai: Great Circular

1900 French Jujitsu

The Tomari Passai and Tukumine No Kon

Kata TOMARI PASSAI (Old style) - Okinawa Shorinjiryu

Demonstration of the kata TOMARI PASSAI (Okinawa Shorinji-ryu),

in front of the late Nakazato Joen sensei

at the Okinawa World Karatedo Tournament 2009, Budokan, Okinawa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap5JRbz5Hew

This is likely how Tatsuo learned it from Kyan.

He used to teach this at one time, later dropped.

However you can see how some of the opening

Was an influence in his own SunNuSu kata.

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沖繩古武道 • Hitoshi Oyakawa –

Tokumine No Kon –

Okinawa Kobudo Joen Nakazato Lineag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Llnsg_oVWY

Sherman on how to always strike into an attackers arm.

Reviewing my notes I made in 2005 following Sherman Harrill’s death and were then placed in my Sherm-Pedia, I always found the principles that Sherman shared, the most important thing I learned from him. My notes are 15 pages long. This is one of the principles that I understood.

1. “You can always Punch Your Own Palm” june 10, 1995.

Working on Wansu applications, Harrill Sensei made a point, without looking you can always punch your own palm. He then used this principle to strike into an arm, where you only had to place your hand on the other side, and 100% of the time you’d strike the arm, aiming for the hand……

The 10 years when I attended Sherman’s clinics continually I was seeing kata applications that were only shared once. This is an example of how Sherman shared.

Sherman arm striking – June 1995

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6gpW6URhHI