Friday 14 September 2012
To enter

Ippon gumite

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Seven formal yakasoku gumite

Still a way to go before I am happy with this process.  This is one of the very few remaining 'set' exercises in our system.

Ippon gumite

Challenges spontaneity and thinking on one's feet as our ippon gumite is of a completely random nature.  The requirements are simple however, tori the attacker initiates a single attack which can be anything with a mind to succeeding in landing the technique.  Uke the defender is required to intercept the random attack and initiate his or her own counter attacks; I normally ask for a minimum of three counters.  Both the attack and the counter must look spirited and convincing.

What we did...

Sunday 9 September 2012

Walking and balancing.

Checked out Kata Shinzen, Tenzen, Tenshu and Channan.

One member taught the other members five consecutive moves of Channan, then rotated to next member who taught next five moves etc.  Promoted healthy discussion around just what was valid.

Compromise Sparring (Wakai gumite)

What we did on Friday 7 September 2012

Wakai gumite

Review of Kata Channan

COMPROMISE FREESTYLE SPARRING

By my late friend Vivian Dhaliwal 2^nd June 2000

The word compromise as defined by Funk and Wagnalls' dictionary means. "An adjustment or settlement by which each side makes concessions" or "something lying between, or combining the qualities of two different things".

Compromise freestyle is about the creation of an environment in which two people can experiment, learn and progress in every issue of their "freestyle"; their techniques, timing, distance and strategy. It has nothing to do with speed or power it can be as fast or powerful as the two persons decide it to be or as slow and passive as they like. The main criterion is the mind set of the people involving themselves in this exercise.

How do I compromise freestyle with another martial-arts person?

The first rule is that in compromise you are both responding and providing stimulus to each other. By this definition, how you provide that stimulus is important to the receiver of that stimulus.

For example the person receiving your stimulus whether it is a "punch" or "kick" can and must respond to it accordingly. Can they use a "technique" to effectively guard against your "attack"?

Many other martial arts utilize "drills" or "patterns" with similar structures. However, Shinseido compromise freestyle is the only concept that allows the continuation of flow in movement to continue. The "patterns" are not ended after one or two responses, the stimulus is continuous and the response is continuous.

Another main factor in this exercise is that neither partner shall be the person providing the stimulus all the time neither should one person be responding all the time.

The person responding should not "over-respond" by blocking heavily down on a passive kick, neither should he or she "under respond". The principle to be attained here is that both people are creating a harmony, an environment between them where a learning experience can evolve to the mutual benefit of both parties.

To expand, while practice should be carried out with seriousness and sincerity, it should also be tempered to adjust to the level of one’s partner.  A new beginner may practice using very low power in order to simply try to learn the movements of a new technique.  It wouldn't be appropriate for a more experienced member to respond so effectively that the beginner felt unable or afraid to execute the technique (at least not over and over).  Both partners should adjust their attacks and defences to the point at which it is challenging for the partner at whatever his or her level of skill is.  They should work to succeed but they must be allowed to succeed. The only thing one learns from having one's technique stopped over and over is that one's partner is more advanced than you are.  This will not make one's technique better.  When one sees someone attacking a junior in this manner it is not great power of technique one is witnessing, it is the power of a great ego.

Since each partner will take turns as uke and tori, it is important that this spiritual competition not be a matter of ego, one person trying to prevail over the other. This is not a matter of winning and losing; each person sincerely delivers his best attack with the intention that it helps his partner to be better.  He hopes that when it is his turn to execute the technique that his partner will return the favour by giving his best attack.  This all takes place with the recognition that since Shinseido is an art in which much of the practice is done with a partner, it is only through the growth of the partners that one's own growth can take place.

Show examples of "over-stimulus", "over-response".

As you progress through the learning stages of compromise freestyle you reach plateau's of learning where the awkward movements become flowing and less "thought about". However, this is the time where you must try to achieve a "strategy" of your own stimulus to achieve a required response.  A tactic whereby you have thought out like a game of chess of movements that if you stimulate your partner in one way you create an opening for you to achieve a result. This if looked at can be classed as a compromise freestyle with a tendency for point scoring. The compromise is less instinctive action and reaction but more planned and thought out. This introduction of a higher level of compromise freestyle does not loose out to the concept of competing with one another. The minds that are creating the environment are both learning from one another and have deep respect for each others bodies that they are practicing upon. That is the crux of the matter. That they have deep respect for that person's body. No ego or pride must be involved if a point is scored or a defence is broken but merely that you have learnt a lesson.

Through compromise freestyle then the more people you compromise with the greater level of understanding you can achieve through their body language and by that knowledge increase your level of understanding of your own body.

The Spherical Cubic Model

What we did on Tuesday  4 September 2012

Review of Kata Channan.

Learning the complete Spherical Cube model.  The four sets forwards and in reverse.  Starting at front right and working around the sphere, bottom, left then top; reversed starting at front right and working around top, left, then bottom.

The green lines represent the cube, the yellow circle the sphere; the black lines reveal the six conjoined circles around the cube or sphere and the red line shows the trajectory taken during the first part of the exercise.  The very small gap in the red line on the left marks the starting point around the front face which is shown at upper left.

What we did...

What we did on Sunday 2 September 2012

Balance, walking, posture, deportment and related issues for our member with Cerebral Palsy.  

Filmed the basic Cubic Model for the first time.

What we did...

What we did on Friday 31 August 2012


Looking at the applications for Kata Channan.  Moves 5/21/28/30 of Channan are reflex trigger responses of an emergency nature in order to take control against an attack that cannot be read as opposed to techniques that can be read.

In this respect my good friend Angel Lemus says of dojo practice and real fighting:

"This one of the most important things I can tell you about the relationship between the practice of karate and the real thing.No matter what you do in your practice, in the dojo, or at home when you practice solo, whether you like to use a lot of Koshi or a little, whether you understand the "short distance method" of executing techniques or not.  All theoretical discussions about how you position your hands in a block be it close to the attacking arm or leg (full range of motion or short range etc) are irrelevant, and ultimately a waste of time, here is the reality-

1- You will not have the ability to prepare or pre-cock anything
2 - You will not have the time you are used to in your dojo
3 - You will be caught off guard (most likely)
4 - Choices will be eliminated
5 - Your opponent will dictate the what, when, how, and why

And to make matters worse your reaction time will be close to "zero” or imagine that you see the fist that is on its way to cave in your face when it is several inches from your face.This is why you have to learn to eliminate wasted movement, shorten everything you do including stances and footwork, get close to the source (not run away from it), use movements that do not require you to wind up in the opposite then reverse the direction and then go into the attack.

Until you understand and can move like this, you are "Not getting it" and you and are still in the “dance" stage of karate, which means you cannot really fight like a karateka.  Notice I'm not saying that you cannot put up a good fight and defend yourself, but the latter is not what a karateka should be, a karateka is much more than this.

All this being said, is why the concept of the "walk-in" is so advantageous and allows you to take away many of the points listed above from your opponent, and gives them to you, thus putting him on the defensive, and in the worst position to be in.

Think about it, and start to practice with this in mind. Stop just moving your arms and legs and begin to get in the "zone" where time slows down, and you see, smell, and hear everything in perfect clarity and do things without though and in perfect timing in accordance to your opponent.

The scene from "The Last Samurai" where they end up in Hiki Wake (a draw) is a perfect example of this.

This is where we need to be, this is what we need to work on; everything else is just physical exercise.  To mature and stop the dance, your training and your focus needs to be on how you see, how you move, calming the mind, walking in, timing, and strategy.  Note - I did not use the term speed, speed is just a variable to be applied and adjusted, like angles, height, position etc...

Some food for thought...

Nincho"

The Cubic Model:

Consolidated the 288 techniques of the Cubic Model.  Found it was possible to reduce the number to 48 (24 plus reversed mode) working around the clock face (on the front anterior face) from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock; then in reverse (8 sets).

What we did...

What we did on Tuesday 28 August 2012

Review of Kata Tenshu, Tenzen and Channan with corrections and suggestions for working better renditions.

Sometimes I have to think carefully how to word what I write.  The above sentence would seem to be easy enough, yet again I was forced to reflect that my intuitively preferred word "performance" was actually incorrect because we do not perform our kata or our art.  Our art is not some demonstrative point scoring pastime that is measurable by appearance alone.  Our art is practised for oneself as a functional working tool, not to impress spectators.  As soon as the practitioner recognises and understands this  the better his or her karate will become. 

What we did...

What we did on Sunday 26 August 2012

Group 1:  Walking, getting up off floor, step adjustment for balance, squats.

Group 2:  Practise of all regular and core kata.  Identifying all returning loops in the basic kata.  A returning loop is a hand technique that goes first the one way and then by way of a looping action goes the opposite way; an S shaped movement.  For example:  a) I receive a right high punch by bridging outwards with my right back hand on the outside and simultaneously roll the hand over to grip the wrist and draw the attacker in.  b) I receive a right high punch by bridging outwards with my right back hand and then roll the hand over and come back in on the back his neck to control the attacker's head downwards.  c)   I receive a right high punch by bridging outwards with my right back hand, he fires off a second punch off the left arm and I switch direction picking up the punch and 'crossing' him up, shutting his right arm down with his left... There are many other examples including those in which a change of direction of the hand goes through a returning loop for the sake of functionality.  Curiously our kata show very few overt returning loops, curious because I use them far more than our kata would suggest. 

Hakutsuru and Shintai

What we did on Friday 24 August 2012

Kata Hakutsuru part one; overview and some basic applications.

It is rare that we teach Kata Hakutsuru because it is the last kata in our system and only taught to those able to embrace its principles, particularly in respect of the relaxed, fluid nature of the movements with its impulse ‘slingshot’ style receptors and counters. 

It is time for us to do some more group analysis of the kata which has its idiosyncrasies that deserve far more study than we have given previously.

Shintai Undo Kata Do: Review and consolidation of the Spherical Model which is now complete and reconciled with the movements of the Cubic Model. These exercises would seem best suited to having a relationship with Kata Hakutsuru.

The Spherical Model

Here is the final plan for the basic Spherical Model:

Starting and finishing point
Bottom	Clockwise	Forwards	Anti-clockwise	Backwards*
Front	Inwards	Forwards	Outwards	Backwards
Left	Inwards	Anti-clockwise	Outwards	Clockwise
Top	Backwards	Anti-clockwise	Forwards	Clockwise
Back	Backwards	Outwards	Forwards	Inwards
Right	Clockwise	Outwards	Anti-clockwise	Inwards

*Move through one quarter turn to pick up the starting point for the next set

Clockwise and Anti-clockwise refers to vertical circles on a longitudinal axis
Outwards and Inwards refer to horizontal circles on a vertical axis
Forwards and Backwards refer to vertical rolling circles on a transverse axis

Clockwise, Outwards and Forwards are Yang actions
Anti-clockwise, Inwards and Backwards are Yin actions

After learning the basic set there are many ways of exploring this model including the addition of an equatorial line of latitude, opposing hands, following hands and working the left and right spheres on different planes simultaneously.  A challenging way is to start (for example) doing the first set with the right hand, then moving on to the second set while the left hand starts the first set and following all the way through with the left hand one set in arrears of the set being described by the right hand.  The basic spherical model is your clue to understanding  the spherical model.

Next training session

Tuesday 21 August 2012 is cancelled because the floor is being renovated.
The next training session will be on Friday 24 August 2012

Shintai Undo Kata Do

What we did on Sunday 19 August 2012

Shintai Undo Kata Do development:  

The above illustration is my representation of the basic trajectory around the cubic model.

Reconsideration of starting points.

Only those of you who have been working with me consistently on this enterprise will know what I am talking about, but don’t be put off for all will be revealed in the fullness of time.  By the beginning of this month (August 2012) I had recognised that thinking of going around the cube describing Us, Ns, Ds and Cs, whilst serving its purpose was not entirely accurate even if useful to a point.  This model carried with it the suggestion that the arcs were semi-circular when in fact, to be more precise, they form a three quarter circle.  Andrew consolidated this train of thought with his insightful viewpoints on our August all day seminar.  Coming from the corners of the cube may only serve to confuse an already complex mind game.  As soon as one places the points of reference at the points where each circle conjoins with the next, everything becomes much easier to unravel.  Going around the cube (which is really a sphere) necessitates six three quarter circles going (in the basic or starting sequence) from the front at 3 o'clock to the top, left, back, bottom and right.  From there shift one quarter turn counter clockwise around the front face of the cube and begin again until you have worked around four times.  Then go to the top face of the cube and so on all the way around.  

I am not mathematically minded enough to work out how many of these trajectories are actually the same but with a different starting point on the same trajectory, and which ones are significantly different.  So my task at the moment is to go through all 48 starting options until I gain sufficient familiarity and understanding to recognise differences and what they are.  

Formal kumite, takedowns and 'flurries'

What we did on Friday 17 August 2012

Formal kumite practise and analysis.

Intro study posture and balance.

Takedown, knockdown, throw, decking.

Flurries, including takedown.

Gross motor movement.

Result: Compromise sparring ongoing at a slow to steady pace without a break to develop relentlessness.

The so called ‘formal’ kumite or what maybe should be better called Yakasoku kumite (association of the hands by agreement) has been bugging me for a long time now.  I maybe shouldn’t be so pedantic in wishing for there not to be overlaps in our training procedures; it results from a wish for reduction and to cut the vast mass of material back all the time to a manageable amount – but without loss…

Tony made a very good job of introducing takedowns into Kata Channan, a number of which reproduced those in the second half of the formal kumite.  Ever since I have been less than happy with part two of the formal kumite,  because of the repetition.

So on this session I asked for a review of the formal kumite takedowns on balance with those shown or implied within Tsukami Waza and Kata Channan.  It must also be born in mind that every technique within every of our kata has, even if not shown, an implied take-down to conclude.  The results of this review cum analysis may take a few sessions to reveal themselves.

…and talking of grappling and tornado hand techniques, there is confusion about similar names.  You should note the following:

Tatsumaki:  Tornado

Tsukami:  to grip, to grapple

Tsumasaki:  tiptoe, tips of the toes

There is also confusion about the terms ‘takedown, knockdown, throwing and decking.

Takedowns refer to the act of receiving an attack and then purposefully depositing an opponent on the ground.  This can be any way, by means of joint locking techniques, a knockdown, by throwing, unbalancing etc.  In Shinseido these are all ‘takedowns’ or what I tend to call, by way of slang, ‘decking’.  The term takedown does not imply that you have to go to ground too, although you could as a subsequent ‘policing’ control.  My philosophy is simple; I like to wear pretty colourful shirts and have an aversion to dirtying my clothes.   I would not wish to soil my clothing by rolling around on the ground, or even kneeling upon what could be a dirty wet surface.  I prefer to remain on my feet and have the attacker lie on the ground, preferably in a state which disallows him resuming an attack.

I am very much in favour of continuing a counter sequence relentlessly until the attacker has capitulated or is incapacitated to such extent that he cannot continue the assault; that, after I have already taken all reasonable care to avoid and prevent such assault in the first place.  Many martial arts train in an automatic stop after one or two counter techniques that form part of a well rehearsed but short drill.  I have had a number of students who had difficulty in engendering an ongoing ‘flurry’ (of techniques) mindset as a result.  Members should practise identifying available kyusho (vital or vulnerable points) during the execution of such a sequence.

We also recognised that in a real assault situation our fine motor movement may be compromised.  This should always be borne in mind when practising counters and takedowns, especially those that result from some complex joint locking procedure.

We thought it a good idea to extend our wakai kumite (compromise sparring) to embrace relentlessness and takedown, nor as a finale to a long sequence of counters, but at anytime the opportunity avails itself.

A mixed bag...

What we did on Tuesday 14 August 2012

Exercise 1.   Falling or ‘heavy’ hand technique.  Moving and advancing to the outside (body change - taisabaki), centre-lining, allowing the lead hand to ‘fall’ into the bridge (whilst retaining the passive cover hand in front of the sternum), ‘bounce off’ principle using the attacker’s arm as a bounce off platform projecting the back wrist to the head (jaw line).  Finish the exercise with a reversed back wrist or palm thrust

In respect of the Centre Line theory, the following should be noted:

Mother Line - A vertical axis line through the body from the crown of the head down through the perineum and into the floor.

Centre Line - A line that runs down the front of the body between your eyes, down your nose, over your navel and down to the floor.  Having made an evasive movement with the feet in order to offset and line up with tori’s (the attacker’s) mother line, and presuming that in the moment of response your attacker has not turned to face you, any straight counter attacks are delivered to the mother line, not to the centre line.  Only hooking or circular roundhouse counters can be directed to the centre line.

Central Line - The vertical plane between you and the attacker, extending from the mother line and passing for the most part through the centre line.  This is the line we use to protect our centre line.

Taisabaki (body change) and counter attacking to the mother line while at the same time protecting your own central line is fundamental to Shinseido practise.

Exercise 2.   Staying inside body limits.  Simultaneous body change crane wing style trailing hand bridge and lead hand counter.  Any delay in delivering the counter (which can constitute a disabling, weakening or distracting technique will result in the “shots across the card table”  situation in which neither tori (attacker) or uke (defender) has an advantage.

Exercise 3.   Receiving a (right) round house punch or strike with the back of the (left) arm and allowing it to deflect the attack over the head whilst at the same time using the other (right) hand to create a juji (crossed hand position) from underneath to feed the attacker’s arm into a ‘shut down’ situation where you are repositioned on the back of the attacker’s arm.  The receiving (left) hand then takes over in control of the attacker’s upper right arm.

Exercise 4.   Extending the above (exercise 3) process into an ongoing egoless flow drill. 

Exercise 5.   Breaking out of a corner.  Using the strategies rehearsed in the preceding exercises and with the emphasis on ‘shutting down’.

Exercise 6.   The 1–2–3 principle.  Right thrust attack – pick up on the wrist / forearm with the left hand.  Slip the right hand under and take up control of the upper arm.  Finishing with a left hand counter control to tori’s (the attacker’s) head or torso.

Exercise 7.   The unbending arm.  Utilising the concept of stability, strength and projection of energy in resisting attempts to bend or control the arm.  Recognising the mechanical limitations of that process and also practising loose ‘slippery’ snake responses to continued attempts to control your arm.

Exercise 8.  Shinsei’s ‘odd’ personal techniques. Kaeshi waza (Debana no kijiku waza) or attacking an attack with an attack.  Deflection of low and high straight thrusts and directly into a counter thrust with the same hand and arm.  The low response being spiral in nature and the high response being of a hooking nature.

Exercise 9.   Shinseido hooking hands.  Practising receiving and switching to the inside upper aspect of the arms of the attacker and then the outer upper aspect.  Maintain contact throughout (the ‘sliming’ principle).

All Day Seminar: August 2012

What we did on the All Day Seminar:  Sunday 12 August 2012

As always, the Bi-monthly Day Seminar gave us an opportunity to review a lot of concepts and principles.  Many thanks to those who came and made it a great day.

Group 1:  Walking.

Group 2:  Review of all basic kata.

Kata Shintai: Three dimensional statement; Spherical model; Cubic model.

Kata Naihanchi (ni) part one.

A good and productive day.  The elements of the so called Kata Shintai or Tancho are coming together now.  Of all the projects I have embarked upon this has been the most taxing mentally because I am no mathematician.  However, I am good at plugging away at something until I get where I need to be.  What I thought might take six months to resolve may well take a year, but where before all I could see was darkness, I can at last see a glimmer of light that is becoming brighter.

I have the components more or less organised into ten groups as follows.  

1.     Opening Symbolism
2.     The Sphere
3.     Arcs
4.     Spirals
5.     Sigmoid Curves
6.     Lemniscate Loops
7.     Slingshot Actions
8.     Methods of Working Two Hands
9.     Hidden Understandings
10.   Closing Symbolism

Congratulations to Rob Wise

Belated congratulations go to Rob Wise who was awarded Seito Dai: Higher Student Award (3rd Kyu Brown belt) on 10 July 2012.  

Rob has been a consistent and steady worker since joining us and has shown quiet determination throughout.  

Well done Rob.

What we did...

What we did on Friday 10 August 2012

Maintenance of Kata Shinzen

Advanced detail manner of working hands and body; ebb and flow; hip rotation; mechanical functionality; manner of crossing the arms; nature of relaxation etc.

What we did on Tuesday 7 August 2012

Hall cancelled for decorating

What we did on Sunday 5^th August

Review of all work done this year to date.

What we did on Friday 3 August 2012

Kata Shintai

???

Shinseido: A Life-Skill.

I am aware that some of our members don't really understand the nature of Shinseido.  Some members regard Shinseido as a kind of club you can attend from time to time as you feel like it, to pursue an interesting activity for a couple of hours, then go home and forget about it until the next time around.

Shinseido is a life-skill that takes a great deal of dedicated time to learn and understand.  It is not just a self-defence system; it is a way of living, a way of being, and a different mind-set.  You can’t just ‘do it’.  It is very difficult to learn and will take at least two years dedicated practice, training at least twice a week in the dojo, and with plenty of home practise 

to get the basics down with another eight years consistent practise before you even begin to perceive the real nature of the art – and that’s just the beginning. 

The ‘self-defence’ or ‘martial arts’ label is just a façade for something altogether deeper and more life changing.  You will end up living your art because you art contains all the principles and concepts required to lead a healthy, fulfilling and meaningful life.

What we did...

What we did on Tuesday 24 July 2012

This session was devoted in its entirety to Kata Hakutsuru.

What we did on Sunday 22 July 2012

Our cerebral palsy member Paul continued to practise his walking.  There are significant problems with balance, posture, length of step and confidence.  Paul told me that he doesn’t mind my videoing his progress and putting it up for the benefit of others who may have unusual problems with training.  I will try and do this soon. 

Kata Channan

What we did on Friday 20 July 2012

More work on Kata Channan.

Some members like to be hard and strong, they perceive their art as requiring them to be tense, rigid, powerful and immoveable.  They think that being so and working up a sweat is what it is all about.  It seems to be a young man’s thing that can follow him throughout life.  Hard and strong are important qualities, working up a sweat is important, but these things represent only one aspect of their respective continuums.  The way I have taught for many years is if I see a ‘hard’ practitioner I want to make him or her soft, not so that he looses his hardness but so that he can switch from hard to soft or place himself anywhere on that continuum in a moment.  If I see a ‘soft’ practitioner I want to make her (or him) hard.  The game is about balance and being able to shift one’s position depending upon the needs of the moment.  Being tense, hard and rigid most of the time is a bad and unhealthy way to be.  So most of this session was oriented to working Kata Channan in a soft, fluid mode with smooth uninterrupted transitions from one move to the next; what I often describe as a one move kata.

Kata Channan is particularly difficult initially because it requires smoothness and fluidity with the one hand and arm while at the same time delivering powerful impulse thrusts and strikes with the other arm.  It also demands an awareness of how we make use only of those muscles we need in any one moment, while those not needed should be relaxed.  Unless the practitioner can recognise and achieve a completely relaxed approach to the kata he will not be able to perform it correctly.  So it isn’t unusual for a group to be asked to work Channan in a completely relaxed, fluid way.

What we did...

What we did on Tuesday 17 July 2012

Unfortunately I was unable to attend this session because I was feeling extremely down, I was paralysed with lethargy and tiredness - a bug maybe. 

Tony sensei continued his work on Kata Hakutsuru that he started the previous Friday. 

Kata Shintai is 'Tancho'

What we did on Sunday 15 July 2012

More work on what I have been calling Kata Shintai.  The road to revealing this form has been tortuous, confusing, extremely difficult and complex.  I don’t often talk of my own perceived notions of my intelligence; neither do I often mention that I have been a member of Mensa (a somewhat dubious distinction I am the first to admit), I do so now merely to say that despite my ability to be logical and to unravel things, I do so with a great deal of difficulty.  This kata has severely challenged me in all kinds of ways.

It is clear to me now, that ‘kata’ may not be a perfect word for what I am putting together.  It is also extremely long and convoluted, it also has an ultimate randomness about it that transcends ‘form’ and becomes the subject for serious kinetic meditation.

I am aware that I will have to drastically shorten the form into what I perceive as a set of ‘keys’ that will open recesses of the mind and challenge the serious tankyusha (seeker) to discover a great deal about the nature of hand and arm movement. I am aware that it would be all to easy to loose the meaning of such a form in the sense that if a verbal or written explanation is not provided with the movements of the form it will be completely misunderstood.

One way of helping people who eventually learn this exercise to discover its real nature is to provide it with a name that challenges one to ask “Why is it called that?” without wishing to sound arrogant I suspect my intent here may well be lost on most people… it is easy to ‘see’ when you have been shown, but extremely difficult when you have not…  Nevertheless I decided today to call this exercise cum form ‘Tancho’ which means “a clue, start or beginning”. Extraordinarily it also means “Japanese red crowned crane” – I did not know that until after I had chosen the name to represent ‘keys’ or ‘clues’ to something more…

I have pretty well flogged this game to death now, and feel that I may have gone very much further into it than I needed.  But then I mayn’t have gained what I have…  In any event the game, which started out as very enjoyable has become an irksome and obsessive chore so I will be pleased to be done with all the reflection and research and boil all I have down into something meaningful.

Kata Hakutsuru

What we did on Friday 13 July 2012

Kata Hakutsuru (White Crane).  It is a rare occasion that we wheel out Kata Hakutsuru for dissemination, but tonight was one such.  Tony and I have taught Kata Shinseido Hakutsuru to only two other trusted Shinseido members in the UK thus far.  It is the ‘highest’ kata in the Shinseido system and while not the world’s most difficult form it does have some awkward moments initially.  

Traditionally (although the subject of a great deal of controversy) the kata was retained as the secret family form of the Matsumura family and handed down according to Matsumura Seito tradition from Matsumura Sokon Bushi (Machimura Bucho) (1797-1889) to Matsumura Nabe Tanmei (c.1850’s-1930’s) and from him to Soken Hohan (1889-1982) and thence to Nishihira Kosei (1942-2007) the last of the Matsumura line.  

During the late 1980’s a video of parts of Hakutsuru demonstrated by Soken Hohan was made public contrary to the agreement of those in possession of this video footage.  Since that time a number of people have attempted to re-contruct the kata from that footage.  A major problem is that the video is of poor quality and much detail is difficult to define.  Tony and myself were extremely lucky to be shown the kata by a student of Nishihira sensei, one Ted Lange of Australia when he visited London a few years ago.  Ted sensei is one of the most well informed and knowledgeable people in the world in respect of Matsumura Seito Karate.  Tony and I also have a video of Hakutsuru being performed by Yabiku Takaya (another student of Soken Hohan).  This version is alleged to have come by way of one Kojo sensei a student of Bushi Matsumura, so there are a few differences in the form. 

I made an intensive study of all the Matsumura Seito Hakutsuru material several years ago and the result was a Shinseido version that embodied all the principles of the other forms.  The now publicly known part of this kata can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oL1wM517VE   It is this version of the Hakutsuru (that contains the Nishihira version in its entirety and which is not shown on the video), that we teach to trusted Shinseido yudansha today.

Hakutsuru encapsulates the essence of Shinseido in its manner of performance, aspects of which permeate all the other Shinseido kata.

Kata Shintai.  While Tony taught the Hakutsuru I worked on what I currently call Kata Shintai, getting closer to whatever it is will be revealed by my somewhat obscure obsession with hand and arm movements of late.

Nine Modes for Working the Hands

What we did on Tuesday 10 July 2012

Formal kumite

Kata Shintai: Nine Modes.  My continuing analysis of Shinseido hand and arm movements has led me to recognise nine different ways we combine movements with both hands. I created a three dimensional exercise to show these modes.  The standard or root mode where the left hand mirrors what the right hand is doing (or vice versa) is carried out as follows:

1a	Circling around the longitudinal axis:  Left hand describes an anti-clockwise circle starting at the bottom and finishing on the right hand side of the circle (one and a quarter revolutions).	Circling around the longitudinal axis:  Right hand describes a clockwise circle starting at the bottom and finishing on the left hand side of the circle (one and a quarter revolutions).
1b	Circling around the vertical axis:  Left hand makes a horizontal flat circle going outwards (anti-clockwise as seen from above) all the way around and finishing at the front (one and a quarter revolutions).	Circling around the vertical axis:  Right hand makes a horizontal flat circle going outwards (clockwise as seen from above) all the way around and finishing at the front (one and a quarter revolutions).
1c	Circling around the lateral or transverse axis:  Left hand makes a longitudinal circle starting downwards, back, round and up, over the top forwards and all the way to the bottom (one and a quarter revolutions).	Circling around the lateral or transverse axis:  Right hand makes a longitudinal circle starting downwards, back, round and up, over the top forwards and all the way to the bottom (one and a quarter revolutions).

The subsequent modes, following the same sequence as the standard model, are:

2	Backwards	Going back the way you came for the standard model
3	In unison	Each hand reinforcing the action of the other as if one wrist were tied together with a short length or rope.
4	Reversed order	Reversed sequence for the standard model.  E.g. The same sequence but anti-clockwise instead of clockwise; backwards instead of forwards; inwards instead of outwards.
5	Contrary motion	Not the same as the mirrored version – but where the hands work exactly contrary to each other – so the left hand rotates backwards whilst the right hand rotates forwards on the lateral axis.
6	Following	One hand following the other on opposite sides of a circle
7	Contrary following	Contrary motion on opposite sides of a circle
8	Dual axes	Working two different t axes simultaneously: e.g. Left Anti-Clockwise - Right Outwards Left Inwards - Right Forwards Left Backwards - Right Clockwise Clearly there are many coordination challenging combinations to this model.
9	Random	A recognised option but not revealed in the kata

I hasten to point out that I am unconvinced of the practical self-defensive value of this kind of exercise.  It is more a part of what I am studying at the moment in terms of trajectory relationships, but the kata as a whole (this is just one part of it) has also thrown up some fascinating coordination challenges which form a fascinating subject for kinetic mediation.