Tjimande Jurus

 

I was a shodan when I first began to visit Tristan Sutrisno, who I used to compete against. One of those early visits he taught the first two jurus to his senior students, Eddie and Dave, who were brown belts at that time.

 

I went through a lot of sweat to remember them, eventually including them in my black belt instruction as I saw their value.

 

The jurus were a set of 20 2 person fighting combinations, used to develop tjimande fighting skills. Taught in a specific manner, yet as skill advanced if mistakes occurred you made them work in any case. Thus advancing skill developed.

 

The entire set covered many types of attacks. Though I only learned 3 of them. One time Tris gave a private clinic on one and two for all of you.

 

I have described them in my blog often including videos of you performing them. (These descriptions are accurate)

 

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2016/05/tjimande-juru-1-and-2.html

 

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2018/09/a-dynamic-drill-from-tjimande.html

 

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2015/03/moretjimande-basid-drills.html

 

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-one-time-i-attempted-to-show.html

 

You Tube videos of a Tris Clinic on the Jurus

Tristan Juru 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTx6bYnL4Bs

 

Triatan Juru 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2CahY4CoAI

 

The Kempo of Kume Village by Charles Joseph Swift

 

The Art of Karate Beyond Technique

2-8-2002

Sometime I wander into interesting conversations on the inter-net.  Among the most passionate are those decrying the value of kata training in the martial arts. The lines of disavowal proclaim:


Only actual fighting really matters,

Today’s attackers are too sophisticated for the techniques of kata (which are centuries old) to actually work. Nobody attacks that way anymore,

Being worthless except for exercise only a few kata are needed for that anyway,

If kata are needed, only a few are needed anyway, after all how can anybody Master more than that anyway.

And so forth……until the inevitable “Cause Bruce Lee said so!”…..



Its interesting how people pick and choose their ‘justification du jour’ to make their case.


A great deal has been written regarding the fringes of kata, what’s right, what’s wrong, how much is or isn’t taught. Then as I review my library and research notes, I find that very little substantively has been written about kata in Okinawan Karate.
 

I don’t mean he description of forms, such as in “move here, block there, punch and strike after this”. Rudimentary movement descriptions abound, supplementing an instructors efforts, and occasionally providing inspiration for somebody to try and capture the form described on their own efforts.


Likewise I wasn’t referring to the cataloguing of who studied what kata, of which various records abound.


What I see as missing is an inquiry into the depth of kata training.



    My perception on Kata’s Okinawan Genesis


I believe there are several reasons why the long term role of kata has not been discussed in depth, openly. First among them being the fact that Karate developed in a culture choosing a non-literate method of transmission.  Historically this was done by direct physical instruction and accompanying oral transmission of the arts. There is nothing to suggest that an instructor felt there was any additional value by having a student read accompanying material.


When the first ‘Karate’ texts did appear in the 1920’s and 1930’s my opinion was they were geared as much to be a justification of karate’s nature for the Japanese Martial society, as for a basic reference for students. They were more basic how to texts, with in-depth instruction to be provided under the direction of the senior instructors (the old fashioned way).


I don’t believe things (prior to WWII) changed a great deal on Okinawa, with the Seniors remaining in charge until the next generation took over in the passing of time. On the other hand, in Japan, looking from a distance, instructors seemed to spring up with scant years of training, new styles sprang into existence and the nature of kata in training began to deviate from the Okinawan origins.


I’m not referring to the ‘changes’ which took place in kata, stance, etc., IMO, that is Karate’s nature, to flow through the human culture, but a shift in Kata’ emphasis took place, it wasn’t the springboard for application, instead sport became the driving force for execution. And/or Karate without sport and without application, an even different creation from the Okinawan origins.


It would be presumptuous for me to believe I fully understand the changes which took place. Most of my knowledge came from my reading, and I’m very aware how faulty the scholarship in martial matters has been in too many texts.


Instead I would offer my personal view on the place of kata in lifelong training, the myriads of opportunities which present themselves (more than any of us can fully attempt) and offer this as a trade off against various martial trends of which I am aware.




        On The Historical Relationship of Kata to Training


Collectively the Okinawan systems of training which are classified under the label ‘Karate’ retained the study of kata as their primary core.  In plain speech, if they didn’t study and practice Kata they weren’t doing Karate.  In that sense, Karate and the study of Kata become synonymous.


At a very high level of abstraction, the Okinawan stylist admitted to training in basics, and studying kata, and involving decades of study in that vein. With so much of the history of a Karate lineage passing orally, we have no simple recourse to believe otherwise.


The Karate historians who try to pin down kata’s sources find many contradictions in most of the stories, such as Kata which were believed to be imported from China in the late 1800’s, were actually publicly performed (and documented) in the mid 1800’s.


It is exceptionally difficult to know who taught whom what in those classical (pre 1900) days. On the other hand, should one find reference to ‘Many instructors knew only one or two forms’ many are willing to take such simple words as justification that only the bare minimum of forms are necessary for karate.  So un-creditable words by unknown sources are sufficient justification for present decisions?  [Too often an example how people pick and choose material to justify their answers.] Whereas if one’s instructor only did teach one , one or two forms, then it is an accurate transmission from Senior to Junior.  But one really has to work to find a contemporary Okinawan system that does so. [With no slight to the Ueichi group schools, who actually came from a tradition of 3 (and then often became 8) kata. But then I’ve not found the Ueichi system disbelieving kata’s purpose or existence either.]


Among the ‘evidence’ we have is that of Funakoshi Ginchin, who wrote he spent his first 10 years studying the three Nihanchi Kata, a long time later, he took an official syllabus of 19 kata to Japan and documented them as his system. But his students studied other kata (from other instructors)  and eventually many made their way into many Funakoshi derived groups.


With such surprisingly little documented Kata history, we can safely make some wide understanding how kata was used.


One with only oral and direct transmission of kata from instructor to student, and no outside template to compare against, an instructor could view kata as fluid as he wished, keeping it unchanged, or modifying it as often as he felt necessary. [My use of he isn’t an attempt to fight politically correct speech, but rather a reality check as in those past years, it was the men who were the instructors. Today things are quite different, but it doesn’t change the past either.]  It is only when books and movies became available that comparison (time binding) was directly a possibility, and not necessarily the best one.


Without the bother of worrying about a ‘template’ the instructor could focus on structuring the students use of form (kata) as directly as possible to their individual needs. In those days the purpose of an instructor wasn’t to keep a large bunch of students correctly lined up in practice. Learning one kata for three years, meant three years of one to one, constant instruction, shaping the student toward their maximum, not the outline of a template.


Application wasn’t the primary purpose of training. Perhaps a range of simple responses were taught to the newer students, after all no instructor wants ones students to loose a fight, but as Okinawa really wasn’t a terribly violent place, the purpose of training wasn’t to try and turn out an instant warrior either.


Kata were recognized as the source of martial knowledge, but as it is really difficult to teach one to actually use the depths of kata’s potential, I honestly believe that mostly basic applications were taught (when a new move was shown) and those basic applications formed the basis of a students abilities until they developed a consistently high level of kata technique.  Once that occurred (maybe 2 or 3 decades into training) where the student actually performed a technique correctly, then would the other potential be addressed.


I believe this was based on realistic assessment of advanced skills. You can teach a technique to anybody, very quickly, but if they don’t have the ability to sell the technique correctly they can’t use it for defense. And if they really can’t use it why waste their time.


I believe this is the underlying principle why sport kumite didn’t develop out of Okinawan Karate. Having students try to fight with little technical ability, leads to developing only a portion of martial skill, and there are other tools to hone those abilities. On the other hand taking the time to develop higher skill, the student has less need to contest because their skill training has become so consuming.


The record would seem to indicate instructors taught out what they knew, and if the opportunity arose to learn more, most often they seem to have taken it. Individuals like Mabuni and Taira appear to have taken it to its further heights in Karate’s Traditional period (1900 to 1950), by infusing large number of kata from many sources into their teachings. They had the opportunity and took advantage of it.


With even these few examples it is easy to see there is a wide range of practices on can pick and choose to be the ‘Example’ to follow.  But enough of Historical Musing. As my argument needs I’ll return to these examples and others. Instead let’s move onto Kata as a Life Long Potential


 
KATA – The Life Long Potential


Before I begin to delve into kata practices, I feel I should define my understanding of ‘KATA’.


Kata, or Form, is the rock pattern on which Okinawan Karate is built. It is a tool to help shape the new karate-ka’s abilities. It may be one technique or it may be a sequence of techniques that shape the martial potential of movement. It is a goal of focusing your energies to totally involve every aspect of your existence in practice. It is the opening movement of taking those techniques and gaining skill in combat, and it also represents a glimpse into the infinite potential of every aspect of Karate’s capabilities.


It is not meant to represent a mindless, repetition of technique to drive automatic response into a nervous system. It is not meant to be a group drill solely to hide behind ‘good’ group performance. It is not a thing to be mastered. It is not a restriction of what can be done.


The fullest study of kata involves much more than the kata itself, it involves actually learning and applying the movement against structured attacks and moving to applying the same techniques against random, spontaneous attacks.


It represents an unlimited wealth of opportunity in application, and the utter surety that dwelling too deeply in that depth of knowledge can yield absolutely nothing at the same time. While that may sound absurd, it really isn’t. Against an unlimited amount of movement potential, any system takes a piece of that potential as its bedrock. The goal isn’t being able to reach infinity, but to know how to use what you possess and make it work.


A life time of study yields but a scratch on the surface of technique and knowledge.  Against such weighty words let me try to bring my thoughts to life.


First, let us recognize that vastly different potentials of kata are best used at different levels. That which is appropriate for the novice, is not the same which is appropriate to the advanced beginner approaching ShoDan. That which is appropriate for one gearing for combat, is entirely different from the mature karateka with say 30 years under the belt. And the Senior Researcher or Senior Instructor have entirely different aspects to consider.


It is necessary to understand how the tool kata is being used to make sure it is being used wisely.



        Kata Studies for the Novice


Regardless of whether the system teaches 3 kata, 8 kata, 20 kata or 50 kata, every path starts with the beginner.  There are numerous approaches that I’ve seen used to introduce people to the study of kata. I’d prefer to characterize them into two rough categories (with many layers in-between).


The one approach is to start small, and work the student to trying to perfect each movement before progressing onto the next one. In this approach every small detail is stressed from the beginning and the student is focused on approaching perfection in movement, ASAP.


The other side of instruction is to start large and work small. Permitting far less than performance in the beginning, and once the student learns the roughest shape of the form, continue to refine their movements as their physical and mental potential advances. This approach is what I use and am an advocate for.


In part, from the earliest Kata, one step and a block or strike, on to combination movements and finally to kata study I have not seen either approach turn out instant perfection. If you take a period of time such as 10 years, you will find both systems are adequate at turning out technicians. But it is my contention that accepting far less than perfect performance from the beginning, and patiently guiding the student’s development over the years allows the student to more naturally enter the shape of the kata.


Any kata can be taught in scant hours, and if the student has the focus of mind, they can remember it and continue its practice immediately. Does that mean they have an advanced understanding behind the movement, no!  That isn’t the intent.  Advanced skill allowing one to focus every aspect of their body in union, the real direction behind kata study, has no short cuts. By having them learn the pattern (embusen) early and not focusing on all the incorrect details, as you clean them up, one by one, you’re also cleaning up future kata studies before they begin.  The student has the advantage of feeling the accomplishment of acquiring the shell knowledge, and if they’ve been shown how far their studies have to go, it can help them focus towards the ever growing goals.


Now I take some guidance from my instructors, some from what I understand happened in Okinawa in the past, and no small part from my own study and my working with my students.



Notes:

Modern need for instant gratification: such as if Bunkai exists, then I have to have my kyu’s studying kata Bunkai.
Impetus of actual combat
Military
Police
Dangerous Local Circumstances

Variety of practices.
Two Person Practice
     i. advanced Two person Practice
Controlling the body
Bow’s and alignment
Stance and movement
Keeping both hands (and other extremities) alive
The Study of Application Potential
Methods of transmission
Very very slowly
Medium speed
Fast speed
Small Focus
Large to Small Focus
    e.  Kata with ½ stepping, advancing/retreating

Super Foot Bill Wallace

Bill Wallace, a unique presence for his time. He really could live up to the title of Super Foot.

 

When my wife and I attended a clinic with him in 1976  in York Pa. he was extremely engaging. Part of the reason I was there is because it was near my hometown. For reasons never clear to me, almost no one attended, In fact if Reese Rigby had not brought a group up from his school in Dover. But there was a small group and he worked us.

 

First there was an hour of stretching, Drill Instructor style. He pushed us, and pushed us. We found out his daily routine was to spend 3 hours stretching every day. It became clear that this was what he did for life.

 

The next 2 or so hours we kicked. Three kicks. Round kick, side kick and hook kick.. Over and over, all on the same foot. Each of the kicks were to be thrown from the same chamber, one where the leg to kick was bent and held against your chest. So the center of gravity for the body was a straight line from the knee to the foot on the floor.

 

And how he did kick. From that chamber he could throw hundreds of kicks without putting his foot down. Fast ones, slow motion ones, in innumerable combinations. I recall one of those drills, he had us throw a hundred round kicks, not letting us put our foot down. By the end our round kicks were inches off the floor. And the whole time he was screaming, exhorting us to do more, as in boot camp.

 

 

Then he allowed us to try and block his kicks. He would tell you which combination he was going to use, show you first in slow motion. Then come at you with speed. And nothing you  could do would stop them.

 

Now I was just a blue belt, and my wife a yellow belt. So not being able to stop them was not much. But Reese Rigby was a regional fighter and good, He also had no chance stopping those kicks. Most impressive.

 

And if when he was walking around the floor he noticed your hair had come down, why in slow motion he would lift up his foot and use a hook kick to slowly brush it back into place.

 

For years I worked on what he shared. Too soon I was on my own as it was. But it didn’t take. I did not realize that my body type was not one for that style of kicking, nor as I observed many times over the years, how few people could successfully adopt those strategies.

 

It was worth the experience training with Bill Wallace, if only for the stories you could share.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFiHb5AKCNI&t=1s

 

I woke to pink skies this morning and balloons.

The Kumite Paradigm

My response to Rich Ruberto about sparring. 

Rich I believe remarked how nobody uses kata technique in sport karate. I’d like to expand that to read how almost nobody uses traditional training (or classical training) in sport karate. With perhaps the operating word being almost.

If I use Joe Swift’s quick definitions of Classical, Traditional and Modern for Karate.. 

Classical being pre-1900, pre any large group classes. 

Traditional being post-1900, with the development of group classes.

Modern being post 1950 or so, including the tailored day glow green gi’s too.

Sport Karate is really an outgrowth of the Traditional Period (mostly from Japan).  Mutsu Mizuho’s (a student of Funakoshi Ginchin originally) 1933 book ‘Toudi Kempo’ extensively details (to quote Joe again) ‘Tokyo Imperial University-Style Competitive Matches, including rules of the game, and rules and strategies of engagement.  (Again, drawing on Joe’s description of the book’s chapters.) My studies seem to indicate lack of application practice (Bunkai), and perhaps a desire to imitate Judo’s competitive matches underlay such development in Japan.

Not being terribly familiar with Japanese sparring practices, essentially what developed in the USA for Sport Karate, involved focusing on several hand strikes (back fist, reverse punch, ridge hand) and several kicking techniques (front, side, spinning back, roundhouse and hook kicks). And as the individuals were sparring for points, with the action stopping when the judges called a technique, specialization in a very few techniques actually became a plus for many players. This development of ‘tag’ karate bore almost no relation to kata technique and most traditional kihon.

On the other hand, having spent 10 years training with Tris Sutrisno of Hazleton Pa, his family Shotokan practice were extremely effective against tournament free sparring.  His technique was to utilize the actual Shotokan training practices handed down by his father, and most often simply overwhelmed whoever he faced, throwing and countering with techniques and combinations their tournament skills couldn’t handle.

At Dan training his family uses a very complex series of two person sparring drills, that with time enable any attack to be met with traditional responses. Likewise at about 3rd Dan they change their technique execution (but not for kata practice), so in their drills they stop chambering and explode into strikes, blocks, etc., by hitting the correct body alignment on the end of the technique.

Very simply put, somebody trying to dance in with a backfist might be countered with an explosive high block, then reverse strike, and following with whichever chain of techniques he chooses, until he cuts through the opponent's defense.  As his family system is a blend of older style Shotokan, Older style Usheiba Aikido and Indonesian Tjimande (in their advanced training), I can’t fully say where these practices originated.

But they most certainly do develop one capability. They never use kumite in class, either.

So, there is a small percent of people who can use their ‘traditional’ training in kumite.

Maureen Smith, Wife , Karate-ka and Valentine

 Wednesday, March 9, 2022

One of the most important people in my Isshinryu life is my wife Maureen.

 

When I began my studies in Salisbury Md, at that time she was playing in a woman’s volleyball league (as a Phys Ed major she played in college),

Then about 6 months later the league play finished, so she decided to join Mr. Lewis’ Isshinryu program.

 

I was a yellow belt at that time when she began. Everyone was quite amazed that she made her own yellow belt in one month. But I was not as she was skilled physically.

 

I paid for my classes by cleaning the dojo on Sundays, and of course was able to train there then. One Sunday she joined me and I attempted to teach her how to spar using a backfist attack. So I showed her what I was doing and asked her to get ready. I did not attack very fast, had fair control of my backfist, but she leaned in as I threw it and received a black eye.

 

A few classes later she had the chance to spar with the greenbelts (all of whom were superior fighters) and I could hear them saying we have to take it easy on Victor’s wife.  Then kumite began and they were on the receiving end of Maureen’s quick viscous attacks.

(Women’s volleyball is not for the faint of heart, taking repeated dives too the floor for the ball). They did not expect her ferocity so she tore into them. Mr. Lewis’ eyes lit up at her attack.

 

(Just to be fair Maureen had two older brothers, and never was one to hold anything back.)

 

As time went on and training continued, she would travel with me to train at many other Eastern Shore dojo to get more training time.

 

One weekend there was to be a George Iberl tournament in York Pa.,quite close to my families home. We went up to the tournament and competed there. Maureen won a 3^rd place in White Belt sparring, receiving a trophy long before I won one much later.

 

 We stayed over for the next day because there was a clinic with Bill Wallace. That too was a special day.

She trained until I had to leave Salisbury for work. At that time she was a blue belt. Moving to Scranton I worked at a Bank, and she was employed by the YMCA as a swimming coach and to help with the gymnastics team.

She had team practice at 5am in the mornings and team practices in the evenings working there until close.  We did not see each other a great deal. I joined a Tang Soo Do program that trained evenings. And would travel to the YMCA to work out more after class. Then Saturdays I would go to tournaments or to train with other instructors and she would take the team to swim meets many places.

 

When in 1989 I began my Isshinryu program at the Scranton Boys Club, too soon I discovered I did not know how to teach youth.  I had just made black belt and while I knew my Isshinryu, I was teaching at the pace I was prepared at brown belt when in preparation for my own Isshinryu black belt examination.

 

It was Maureen who patiently explained how I needed to understand what the kids were showing me and how to gear their instruction to what they needed. She also shared her college texts on teaching swimming, anatomy and physiology and so much more.

 

Her patient instruction made all the difference. Teaching me there was so much more to learn and use.

 

That continued to be our path for the next several years, I used the time I had to train so many places and attend so many tournaments.

 

Then Maureen wanted to spend more time with me, so she left her job at the YMCA for a new position that left her evenings and weekends free. That  was when she joined my program at the Boys Club. She was a blue belt then.

 

Personal aside. While I was teaching at the Boys Club the kids all really liked me. Many times single mothers would try and invite me for dinner. I always turned such invitations down.  But when they saw my wife in the program, especially as a blue belt, that was the end of those invitations. Go figure.

 

Maureen was a big help with the classes.  Then two times she and I sparred after class.

 

The first time Maureen struck me with her reverse punch while sparring. She sprained he wrist, necessitating a trip to Emergency at the hospital. 

The 2^nd time she nailed me with a front kick and that twisted her ankle. Another trip to emergency, etc. 

All her friends thought I was beating her up. I never laid a glove on her. We learned from those occurrences and never sparred again.

 

Then there was the time she joined me on one of my frequent training trips to a friends dojo. The guy (black belts all) were preparing to spar and Maureen wanted to join in. I could see them telling themselves we have to take it easy on her because she is Victor's wife. When Hajime was called for her fight they never had a chance as she tore into her opponent with a backfist and went on from there.

Maureen had progressed to green belt.

 

Then in time we had to move again, December 1984, relocating to Derry New Hampshire. As soon as our move was completed I approached the Derry Boys and Girls Club and offered my services to teach a free program. They accepted and Maureen was a big help for me with the program.

 

Roy Blackwell, my first black belt, moved up with us for advanced training for about a year. He also assisted with the program. One result I had been thinking about the lack of karate material available compared to the texts Maureen had studied in college about coaching  junior high swim teems.

 

The more I thought about I realized I wanted to prepare something for Roy to have and use if he needed it after he would leave.

 

Maureen worked on it with me, actually preparing two manuals, me one on advanced Isshinryu by me, and one on anatomy and physiology by Maureen. Then one of the parents had it typed for us then putting it together. To the best of my knowledge what we had produced was something new. Roy got a copy and copies were sent to my instructors. I still have my own somewhere.

 

As the years progressed Maureen advanced and eventually made black belt, always helping me teach.

 

When we had children even as infants they came to the dojo as we taught. Of course they eventually participated in many other activities, dance, gymnastics, little league, soccer along with karate studies and school.

 

As they both participated in the local soccer program Maureen got more and more involved with it. As my son grew into little league I attended every practice, my reason I knew what reputation little league had to draw out passions. I do not recall any other parent which attended all of the practices. I was not a baseball person just wanted to keep an eye on things.

 

My daughter because of an injury from gymnastic training eventually discontinued karate, but my son kept plugging away at all of his activities.

 

Then Maureen stepped up and began to coach soccer for the kids team, eventually finding it fit her interests going back to her earlier  training. As that occurred the gradually moved away from karate.

(aside) She eventually became the NH state secretary for the NH State Soccer League).

 

At that time she was a 3^rd dan in Isshinryu. This covered the time from 1975 through 1999 or so.

 

However she always supported what I was doing in Isshinryu.

 

Maureen has always been my Valentine!