I learned this multiple striking drill during my
studies with Tris Sutrisno, It was a black belt exercise to work on moving with
fluidity from one technique to the next.
Part of making the most of this exercise, we often
combine it with out kata Sho practice replacing each strike with a multiple
strike drill, over and over.
I have since developed several other multiple
striking drills, and was shown other ways multiple striking could be done. I
have also found other drills in Silat which serve the same purpose.
This was filmed sideways originally, and Mike
Cassidy, who is performing the drill, is showing the drilling speed. It is not
slowed down for instruction.
Of course there is the legend of the
shipwrecked Chinese sailor, Chinto, who used his art to negate the attempts of
Matsumura to capture him. Whether this kata came from his teachings or
not, I can see how the use of the turning movement within Chinto Kata is a
powerful weapon in its own right.
My original instructor simply taught the
kata. Another of my instructors told me it was designed to fight
opponents on a narrow path or a bridge. He even explained how Ninja were jumping at
me out of trees and that Chinto was used to grab and down them.
My instructors used to place two bo in
the floor to simulate the bridge for individual practice of Chinto.
Stories.
There are many today who wish to
discredit the stories. Instead its only the strike or the throw which matter.
I grant you, I don't practice Chinto to
defend myself on a narrow bridge. But I have always found a way to use
those stories to good merit.
Training outdoors, especially in the
summer, has been part of my practice for the last 20 years. While living in
Scranton, I used McDade park outside of Moosic for summer training. There was a
narrow bridge over a culvert which I and my students used to practice Chinto.
Working the kata to keep yourself on the
center of the bridge involves a greater control during the turns. If you
were fighting on the bridge and you allow yourself to move away from the
center, you make it easier to be driven off of that bridge.
It makes you consider each technique of
Chinto most carefully, and make appropriate adjustments to keep centered
with each movement. This is often akin to the adjustments made to apply a
kata's technique against various attacks. I've found the internal
awareness this practice develops helps in the study of Chinto application.
Here in New Hampshire, I use a narrow
path between two rows of bushes for the same practice. Yesterday morning, my
class was running Chinto between those bushes trying to keep in the center of
that narrow path. Kind of makes me think I might start a new story about
Chinto being designed to fight opponents in a narrow hallway.
But before we began Chinto practice, I
was using Ninahchi to prepare everyone for Chinto practice.
Earlier Paris Janos of Kashiba Juku was
so kind as to remind me of a quote from Motobu Choki that I had previously used.
"Twisting to the left or the right from Niafaunchin stance will give you
the stance used in a real confrontation.. Twisting ones way of
thinking about Niafuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each
movement of the kata will also become clear."
<<from a
private translation by Joe Swift.>>
That was 'lightbulb' time. Not in the
sense I now knew applications of Nihanchi, but rather I saw how
Nihanchi's movement from side to side prepares one for Chinto's movement. So much of
the Nihanchi stories as to its being a very important source of technique for
much of other karate, made sense to me.
First I saw Nihanchi's strikes from side
to side as a tool to make the turning movement in Chinto stronger.
I've long realized how shorter kata are important tools to develop technique.
But this triggered new thinking for me. Some of you are fortunate to have an
instructor guide you through these processes. Unfortunately, most of the
time I have to work though them myself.
Hearing how some spend a great deal of
time on Nihanchi now made more fundamental sense. That night I began to
see how Nihanchi can strengthen so much of our practice. We were working
some of our Aikido drills, and in every case, Nihanchi movement could be found
within them. In every case Nihanchi practice could make those drills better.
At this moment I can see many uses of
Nihanchi to strengthen the advanced techniques in our practice.
So a prior Saturday morning we were
working Nihanchi and then onto Chinto on the narrow path.
I believe it was the combination of
Nihanchi loosening my waist as I was driving strikes from side to side, and
then performing Chinto in the confined area of the path, but as I watched my
friends run through their own Chinto kata, I began to circle my waist, hips
or kyoshi as I would do with some of my tai chi chaun drills, and work on the
opening of my Isshinryu Chinto, or perhaps more accruately a variation
thereof.
In my left foot forward cat stance I would
roll my waist/hips/kyoshi back to the right (clockwise), and then complete
the circle clockwise while rolling my right hip back forward. This
variation of my tai chi drills helps me activate my chi, and the more I did it
the stronger I felt is presence.
I have no words to explain this. My Chi
is a fact in my martial arts training. I feel it, I know it is there,
and know when I can use it. I can't show it or prove it. Thats ok its
mine.
After a number of cycles I began to work
a variation of my Chinto opening hand techniques with my waist..
1. Right hip rolls back, left open hand
parries inward (fingers up) - this is a horizontal parry into my centerline. 2. Right hip rolls front, right back
hand parries outward (fingers up) - this is a horizontal parry into my centerline 3. Right hip rolls back, left open hand
parries inward (finers up) 4. Left foot steps forward right foot
drags behind into a new cat stance closer to the opponent. While this happens the right hand circles down
in a right lower palm strike (fingers down) (3. and 4. are done t simultaneously) 5. The left palm turns over (outward)
(where this would be a left backfist strike in my Chinto, I felt the outer palm strike felt much stronger). As this happens, once again the right hip circles back.
For the first four moves 1, 2 and 3 an 4
both hands begin circling in a horizontal circle inward toward my
centerline.
This seemed very powerful, so I decided
to test this. I had John Dinger step in and throw a right punch. My right hip
rolled back and my left hand flowed back deflecting that punch to my right.
Then my hip rolled forward and my right open back hand parry continued to
keep their strike from my center. With both hand now circling, my lower
body slipped in as my left parried and my right palm struck towards his
abdomen. Finally with my right hip rolling away I ended with a soft outer left palm
strike towards John's head.
As my group isn't young, I tried to be
most careful not to damage John.
I found, working softly and trying not
to strike hard I almost took his head off.
Now I wasn't trying to strike him, I was
just going with the flow and trying a soft execution of a new application
for me.
Chagrin set aside, and still trying to
understand this application I asked John to strike me again, promising to go
softly.
Once more I went through my cycle and
trying ever so carefully to be soft I once again most carefully almost took
his head off.
Sometime apologies aren't enough. It
struck me this is when my students beg me not to try Tai Chi in Karate class or
the reverse. Of course all I was doing was Chinto, wasn't I?
It took me a few moments to realize that
when I slipped into the attack I was vastly shortening the range of my left
strike. This is very powerful, for if my opponent slips back to avoid the
lower right palm strike,they are still within the range of a most powerful left
outer palm. Made more powerful by the hip rolling away at the same time.
Quite an interesting morning.
As I write this I hear the evening
showers. Starts reminding me of when I taught a camp clinic on Kusanku as a
night fighting kata one summer at midnight in pouring rain. The
applications were most interesting as your opponent was slamming into the water and
the mud. But then that would be as story and everyone knows there's no
truth to stories such as Kusanku was designed for night fighting.
When
I was much younger. In fact it was from 1979to 1983 to be precise.
The
Penna, competitions werepretty fierce
in kata and kobudo, Among them were Cindy Rothrock, Tris Sutrisno Joe Brague’s
students Gary and George Michak, Vince Ward and John Hamilton’s students, Ron
Martin’s students, Manny Agrella’s students, Al Smith’s students, Bruce amd Ann
Heilman’s students, the entire crowd who showed up from New Jersey and many,
many more including Jesus Christ a great Kung Fu Competitor. Those names
probably mean little to you but then they did superior kata and Kobudo in the
Pennsylvania region.
And
I was thrown into that mixture. Into the Lion’s Den so to speak. Those
competitors forced me to continually challenge myself, and in return I grew a
little. The interesting thing was competing against individuals who were much
better than you were, caused you to improve your own game.
But
in time things change, Competitors for many reasons move on, and the same group
I had been competing with were no longer there.
Tris
had stopped. Garry and Cindy were going national. Vince’s old crowd had
stopped, the same for many of the rest. Not having them competing made it a
little less fun.
I
was pretty locked to that area. I did not have the money to try other places.
Reese
Rigby, one of my seniors, had success switching his Isshinryu kobudo forms to
supplement them with some Bando ones, ones I also had been taught.
That
spring I tried the Bando Horseman’s form at Hidy Ochai’s in Binghampton NY and another tournament in SE
Penna. Nothing special happened for me, However Bruce Heilman,who I only knew
very casually, approached me and suggested that the strikes should be done with
a corkscrewing motion. I did not pay much attention to that, as that was not
the way the Bando people did the movement.
Now
the funny thing was no one was giving me any training advice. I was on my own.
My seniors were quite far away, and the places I trained no one paid what I did
with my art much attention. But as I was training about 7 days a week, I kept
at it.
But
one Saturday at Ernie Rothrock's School where I normally worked on my Chinese
studies, he watched me work on the Bando Staff form. Then it was unusual for he
have me some advice. Noting that the Bando was similar to Chinese staff, he
made some suggestions how I could perform several of the motions more cleanly.
It was interesting advice and I paid it heed.
Then
a few weeks later training with Tris Sutrisno and during a break from that
class I worked on my Bando staff. He also decided to give me some suggestions
about how the eye focus on the strikes should be done.
This
was unusual for he never paid any attention to my own art, it was not what he
shared.
But
I gave both set of comments heed, My practice made those changes.
The
week prior to Tris Sutrisno’s tournament in Tamaqua Pa. I did little practice
on the floor, more in my mind, thinking about performing it the new way.
Then
the day of the tournament I remember, all of the judges had their own students
in that division. The center judge was Bruce Heilman.
This was me when I was much younger. Though this was me doing one of the Chinese forms I studied with Ernie Rothrock. There are unfortunately few records of those days.
On
the spot I decided to change the way the strikes were done to what Bruce had
suggested, using twisting strikes.
I
was up to compete. I preformed the form with all those suggestions. My Bando
staff, the Horseman’s Footsoldiers Form, cut cleanly though the air with its
strikes. Before I knew it I was done.
And
I won first place in Kobudo. Whatever it meant it was my time I guess.
I
also felt guilty, as I had altered the form with Bruce’s suggestions, because
Bruce was judging. The suggestions of Tris and Ernie did not change the shape
of the form, just more effective execution.
Whatever
my drive had been, it was the last time I seriously competed.
I
had known success within my instructors shiais which did mean much more to me.
But the drive to compete evaporated for me. At times for different reasons I
would compete to push myself, but no longer to chase the bubble.
I never did the Bando
staff with that corkscrewing movement ever again.
Dr. Muang Gi, the founder of American Bando, while I did not study with him. My forms came from my Isshinryu instructors. I did work out at a training session on Bo that he ran at a Bando Summer Camp.
My student, Young Lee, performing the Bando Horseman's Form.
