Aikido and the Blade

My study of Aikido began with my first visit to Sutrisno Sensei’s dojo, His students were practicing an 8 drill aikido exercise.  I watched them do it for 15 minutes or so and then Tristan turned to me and asked me to give it a try, I was able to do them, and I never forgot. They became instrumental drills we use at brown belt level, both for their aikido skill and their use to learn how to merge into an attack.

Years later when Trisatan visited us in Derry, he was surprised to see my students working on them.  He offered corrections and changed one aikido drill, I suspect because it was too easy for the uke to assist the thrower and the right skill would not develop, so the substitution on another technique. While they don’t comprise all our aikido skills from this origin, they are more interesting as they were selected for their use against hard attacks.

Of course later studies get into the aikido art in greater depth though it does not make us aikido-ka by any sense, just a tool used to develop other application studies.

Several years later Michael Cassidy developed the theory that they may have originally been used against Japanese style knife thrust attacks. Research showed that the grasping hand was force multiplier using the grab for pain to augment the defense.

Later I obtained a copy of Genwa Nakasone’s 1937 “Karate-Do Taiken” ,  which contains an article by Otsuka  Hironouri on Wado Ryu knife self defense ( Tanken Dori Nana-Hon No Kata) and saw similar techniques. I am sharing these photos from the book,  In our studies this would be aikido drill No. 9.

To read this in English I would add it is akso translated by Mario McKenna

http://www.lulu.com/shop/mario-mckenna/karatedo-an-overview/paperback/product-20584815.html

Kakushite - the Hidden Hand

A continuation on the theme of kata applications is found 

in an old issue of Black Belt magazine.

Fumio Demura discusses and illustrates Kakushite - the Shito Ryu Hidden Hand.

This is consistent with Shiroma Shimpan's use of Kata techniques.

Likely a practice descended from Itosu Sensei training too.

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This article on Kakushite was what would be the first cause in a long chain of investigations for me.

 

When my instructor Charles Murray re-entered the USAF he gave to me his collection of karate magazines from the 60s and early 70s. This article was in one of those magazines.

 

The paradigm under which I learned Isshinryu did not use the practice of what was called ‘bunkai’. Instead it developed our Isshinryu through a different powerful paradigm .

 

Then when as a new black belt I began visiting many other schools of karate, none of them ever mentioned  ‘bunkai’ was practiced in those schools. Which of course could mean they used it and I never saw it, or that it was not used by them either. That also applied to the many tournaments I competed in for no one there ever used the term either.

 

When I began my studies with Ernest Rothrock in Yang T’ai Chi Chaun, and in my later form studies with him, we never covered the use of form technique. I know he taught such to his students, but my studies with him never covered that, as it was not my interest.

 

Then when I began studies with Tristan Sutrisno, it was from him I first heard the term bunkai used. As time passed I learned more, but this was still before the term bunkai really was being discussed in the magazines either.

 

(The reality is his paradigm for bunkai, was extremely effective, yet to date I have not found any others which do it the same way. Of course that became how I accepted bunkai to mean.  After much reflection I believe his bunkai was a fusion of his fathers studies under Funakoshi, his families Tjimande and his studies with a student of Usheiba. All taking place in the 1930’s)

 

But my own studies I began from a different starting point. Part of which was from thoughts that article developed in my thinking.

 

No I never trained in Kakushile, and found interesting parallels in several of the 1930’s texts explaining karate to Japan.

 

But this article remains a first step in my journey.

A Look at Kata Application

If we look at this photo of Miyagi Sensei observing his students at practice you can see they are doing kata applications.

More specifically look at the following application.

Most interesting for this makes a statement on what Okinawan kata applications meant, for this application is from the kata Seienchin (Seiunchin). In 1934 Mabuni Kenwa documented this in his book on Sanchin and Seiunchin kata.  Mabuni was a student of Itosu Anko, Higaonna Kanryo and a friend of Miyagi Chojun. As his senior, Funakoshi Ginchin, had already written on the Itosu lineage arts he began his own works on the Naha side of his teacher Hiagonna and friend Miyagi.

This shows us something interesting, for the kata Seienchin (Seiuchin) contains no kicks. On the application there is most definately a kich shown, and to a most specific point, not the groin, but a close relative.

This is what Mabuni showed in the 1934

GOSHIN KARATE KEMPO

Defense and Attack

translated by me from the French Edition

From my translation of diagrams 9 and 10

When the opponent kicks to your stomach, you step back to the rear with your left foot and parry in harai tori, shown in bunkai diagram 9-1, then you catch his foot.

And if in this position, the opponent attacks towards your face, and you parry with a high block, and catch his wrist with your left hand.

Next you give him a left kick to the groin.

As my translation was not for the complete book, I consider Mario McKenna's translation worth acquiring as he was able to translate from the original.http://www.lulu.com/shop/kenwa-mabuni/karate-kenpo-the-art-of-self-efense/paperback/product-15747581.html

The Lesson which parallels that of Itosu's student Shiroma Shimpan writing in Nakasone Genwa's 1937 Karate Do Taiken also translated by Mario McKenna

http://www.lulu.com/shop/mario-mckenna/karatedo-an-overview/paperback/product-20584815.html

...is that the use of kata technique might also contain extra techniques. These would be taught at the discretion of the instructor, and logical analysis of the kata would not reveal their presence. Though logical analysis has a lot to say for itself.

Most interesting as an aside, Mabuni's text was I believe the first to use the term 'bunkai' which privately Mario Mckenna translated for me as "Mabuni uses the term "bunkai setsumei" or "breakdown/apart and explanation". which is somewhat different from how I believe it came to be used around the world. The Okinawan's did not use the term 'bunkai' but a friend who studies the Okinawan language has another term for the term. As I am not Okinawan nor did Mr. Lewis or Mr. Murray use the term from theit time on Okinawa,I use application. I do not have permission to use the Okinawan term and also choose not to share it as I don't wish to have instant experts citing me. I do study bunkai in my training with Tristan Sutrisno and his family version of Shotokan but their use of 'bunkai'' is beyond the boundry's as other's use the term.

I hope this offers some clarification on this application

Continue to think about the past and move along

Black Belt Class 10.04.2002

I focused on lower body development today, especially as a tool in application analysis.

First we ran Fukyugata Sho, concentrating on the lower body, compressing our step into the center line and then exploding out from same.

Then, to force one to concentrate on that, I overloaded the upper body response.

In that we changed the techniques being executed on each movement as follows.

1.      The low block became a multiple combination, Left Low Block, Right punch, Left Low Block.

2.      The lunge punch became a multiple combination. Right Lunge Punch. Left High Block, Right Lunge Punch.

3.      The high block became a multiple combination. Right high block, Left Punch, Right High Block.

4.      The reverse punch became a multiple combination, Right Reverse Punch, Left Outer Block, Right Reverse Punch

5.      The rising punch became a multiple combination, Right Rising Punch, Left Inner Block, Right Rising Punch

Substituting each Sho technique with a combination movement.

This became very complex for the trainees, yet as time passes, the use of the lower body to explode into each series becomes more evident.

Then we worked on SunNuSu kata.

Keeping the use of the lower body an underlying theme, I then undertook a training concept of reverse stepping (a name which I change from time to time, I really haven’t figured out the best handle for this yet) shared by a friend with a Kishiba Juku background.

The reverse stepping allows you begin a step into the centerline, and finish it with the reverse step of the other foot away from the centerline.

Hence for Left Foot Forward, left side block (beginning Seisan) instead your left foot steps into the center line (first ½ of the crescent step) but your right foot steps back from the center line, ending in left foot forward Seisan.

When you apply this to all of a kata’s movements, your kata tends to be done in one spot, but you’re still selling each technique with traditional focus.

In application, its very easy to get mixed up, as you’re crossing the spheres of dominance of the brain hemisphere, yet it gives one great tactical advantage.

Most applications we either move in, or we move away. This allows us to shift to the center, and choose which is most expeditious, yet be somewhat confusing for the attacker.

To apply this I took the 3^rd Elbow strike from SunNuSu kata, where you shuffle forward with the inner horizontal elbow strike.

Here is how I used this stepping for application.

The attacker is grabbing your right arm (around the biceps) with their left arm as they begin to punch to your head with their right.  A good grab and punch attack.

1. As they’re punching with their right, as in the kata movement, I’m drawing my right foot alongside my left, as my left hand slaps across, moving their punch across my center away from me. My left hand then grasps their grabbing wrist, while my right hand just slightly touches their lower abdomen.
2. The lower abdomen touch is to draw their thought away from you, so they ask why am I being touched down there (a concept which originated in my studies with Sherman Harrill).
3. Using the reverse stepping I explode back with my left foot into right foot forward Seisan stance.
4. As that happens, my left hand locks on their wrist/hand and pulls back to chamber. [This movement will explode their wrist over (counter-clockwise) and yank them forward and is the primary counter.
5. My right elbow strike actually just lays across their forearm, the touch helping pin the lock.
6. This is not a finishing technique, but simply opens the attacker up for the appropriate strike or kick to complete their finish.

The above is much easier to say than to do. It’s not easy (at first) to step in and then step away. Easier to do running Seisan, much more difficult against the pressure of a partner.

But this provides strategic  advantages.  Depending on the left hand of the person, is it empty or holding a weapon for a 2^nd strike. Does their hand slide back when I parry the punch, or is it ready for a 2^nd punch.
Strategically sometimes I want to go in, sometimes I want to pull back, and sometimes I want to use the reverse step capability to give myself maximum choice in technique.

Drawing on a different attack, say an opponent grabbing your left hand (or arm) with their left hand and still preparing to strike your head with your right. I employ the opening of Seisan as follows:

1.      Step into my center line with my left foot.

2.      Explode back with my right foot (often pivoting on my left to cross their grab with a 20 degree angle by my center line) and finish in left Seisan stance with a left side block. This turns their arm over.

3.      a. One version is to immediately strike the best target, ribs, triceps or the side of their left leg

4.      b. Another version is my left hand opens and turns over counter-clockwise, grabs their arm and pulls quickly back to chamber as you strike, drawing them forward.

I also explored options for the opening double rising blocks in Seiunchin Kata, and the closing Mawashi Uke from Sanchin (which is already using  some of this movement, but which we normally practice moving inward against an attack.

It isn’t necessary (IMO) to master this with every technique. But say taking your best 3 or 4 applications and add this layer of choice, you can then offer more strategic application of these techniques. Your response then isn’t as patterned, but more three-dimensional.

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This is what we were working on in 2002, from a time perspective.

Today after my fall on July 3rd, I am moving with some pain and the 3 broken ribs. Doc says it will take me 6 or 8 weeks to heal. My Paraneoplastic Neuromyopathy & Neuropathy continues too, O'well, the berries continue to ripen.

Blogger is being hard to use. Sorry for the structure of this post.

Sherman Harrill and Some Motobu Choiki self defense techniques found in Sunsu Kata

Jeff Perkins shared the photos form his files. They are of Sherman Harrill demonstrating the Motobu Choiki self defense techniques found in Shimabuku Tatsuo’s SunNuSu (Sunsu) Kata. Demonstrating with Shermam is Mark Radunz.

Thank you Jeff

Embrace the Ground

One of the first studies I had in the Isshinryu of Tom Lewis was the basic kicking drills of our system.

The first  night I learned what to do if grounded by using front kicks and side kicks on the floor. It remains one of the first lessons of my students 40 years later.  When taking the ground intentionally or un-intentionally, you are far from defenseless.

Later Charles Murray showed me how to accomplish this in sport karate when he groin was a legal target, and as time passed other experiences shared by Ernest Rothrock (both Pai Lum and Fan Tzi Ying Jow Pai) and Tristan Sutrisno (Sutrisno family Shotokan and Tjimande)  added to the vocabulary I had with these motions.

 Eventually I came across a tract in Fukien Ground Fighting (Chinese Martial Arts Series 4 – 1993) by Cat Chu Xian, that clearly shows many other options.

IMO, these optional studies are only meant for those who have been deeply prepared for them. It becomes necessary to learn to cherish the ground, with an eye to recognize when unpredictability is called for, for these techniques to be successful.

Below are some examples from the text.



Finally let us see some examples in action.

The Possible Motobu Choki SunNuSu Kata Connection

When Motobu Choki demonstrated his Karate-Jutsu in one of his early books it is possible these techniques were retained by Shimabuiku Tatsuo in his personal Kata SunNuSu (Sunsu). Perhaps this is also the confirmation Shimabuku did train with Motobu. Here are the techniques demonstrated by Motobu Choki.

read the photo's right to left as that's how it is done in Japan

It was Sherman Harrill, who had noticed this and pointed this out to me about 1990, Joe Swift obtained a reprint of the Japanese Edition and sent it to me to give to Sherman.