Itosu Anko, the root of many modern Shorin-Ryu styles Many karate masters of old have commented that the kata should not be changed, and this statement has been handed down to modern-day instructors. Despite that, we can look at pictures from the past and see, quite clearly, that the kata have been changed–even by people who said not to change […]
Kosa-Dachi (Cross Stance) Recently, on some of the martial arts study groups I am a part of, the topic of kosa-dachi (cross stance) has been coming up somewhat frequently. This stance is found in many variations, in several kata. The discussions we have been having have mostly focused on the use of kosa-dachi in Naihanchi, and similar discussions have cropped […]
In one of the study groups I am a part of, the nami-gaeshi (returning wave) movements from Naihanchi was brought up as one that doesn’t often have applications shown for it. This movement is also present in some versions of Passai, Kusanku, Seisan, and more! How could something so common and distinctive have no practical application? Well, it does have […]
This weekend, I recorded a few kata application videos. The first one is an application for the last few movements in our Passai Sho kata, also called Itosu Passai. In the kata, you perform a yama-tsuki (mountain thrust), followed by a turn and a sukui-uke (scooping receiver). This movement almost perfectly matches a variation of tai otoshi (body drop throw) […]
Here is a collection of video clips from Ulf Karlsson Sensei’s KishimotoDi seminar at our dojo last month. You can see some of the material he taught, most of which comes from his system’s version of the kata Naihanchi.
Tuidi in MMA – Shoulder Wrench Chibana Chosin performing the shoulder wrench in Naihanchi Sandan I make no secret about my dislike of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. He is arrogant, condescending, disrespectful, and likes to skirt the edges of the Unified Rules of MMA. That said, he seems to be the most frequent user of old-school karate techniques. […]
Last week, a Kyokushin karateka friend of mine mentioned learning a new takedown, and after reading her description, I thought it sounded rather similar to a throw that we work as an application for the morote-tsuki (double punch) in Naihanchi Shodan. As it turned out, she was talking about the “wedge throw” that is very popular in Shotokan–UFC fighter, Lyoto […]
I had a couple minutes after class this Saturday before I had to head home, so I recorded an ugly, quick-and-dirty demo of a broken-down bunkai drill I like for the beginning of Naihanchi Shodan. This video includes the application I described in my last post, Naihanchi Bunkai and Randori. I would have preferred better angles, close-ups of some parts, […]
Morote-Uke (Double Receiver) from Naihanchi kata On Wednesday nights, I usually teach the Self Defense Class at my dojo, which is usually attended by Youth Students, but adults are welcome. In this particular class, as I often do, I focused on Naihanchi applications. We started off with a basic forearm blocking drill against wide swinging punches, and then moved on […]
Sensei Vince Morris is a Hachidan (8th Degree Black Belt) in Shotokan and founder of Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do, and he held a seminar today (January 26, 2013) at Atkinson’s Martial Arts in Peoria, AZ. The seminar was on kata bunkai (breaking down applications of kata) and how to apply them in a realistic way. Sensei Morris has taught all over the […]
