I first came into martial arts via Nippon Shorin Ken karate. Basically it was a hard, vanilla style of karate with mostly closed-fisted techniques and bread-and-butter kicks. The stances were the traditional zenkutsu, kiba, kokotsu, and nekko ashi dachi. We did a little kata and a lot of sparring.
When I transferred to UVa, it was necessary for me to change styles. My first choice was a similar "vanilla" style, but the teacher couldn't hold a candle to my first Japanese instructor who had the heart of a lion (even if he beat the *&%$ out of us for grins). A half year later I discovered Rad Smith and Uechi ryu. I studied the style not because I thought it was particularly effective. In fact I really didn't like it much. I studied it because Rad was such an incredible practitioner and had a little extra something in his practice that I hadn't seen before. I figured it would eventually rub off.
But it took a long, long, long time. It was too easy for me to revert back to McKarate. Every time I sparred, I just reverted back to the same old stuff that everybody does in the sparring ring. Using sparring as my proving ground didn't really help me learn what was unique about Uechiryu. In fact this is the big reason why I say sparring and competition is great but.... Anyhow that's another discussion.
There are a number of aspects to our system that I consider unique. One is the multitude of unusual weapons that are used. Consider the shoken, the hiraken, the boshiken, the nukite, and the sokusen. No other Okinawan style has these so prominently in the system. These are truly Chinese-style weapons. Consider also the original three kata. There is no seiken fist! None! Nada! Zilch! A whole martial arts system ignores a weapon that the Okinawans consider to be a staple.
Quite frankly I considered the bridge kata to be what kept me studying this system. I could not have accepted the style if it did not have the traditional punch and a ball-of-foot front kick. Those were real weapons! I could teach or learn those with little fuss and go home immediately with ability in my pocket. And I suppose one could consider that the kata could be more abstract and the practitioner has plenty of license to interpret and adapt according to ability.
Being a crane and not a tiger, I naturally took to the seiken. And considering it was my introduction to karate, I couldn't imagine a style without it.
But I've always felt that it is the obligation of the instructor - and particularly a master - to be able to do all things so that one can present a "buffet" to the students. Time has taught me that we should make all the aspects of a system available to the many students that walk in the door, and individuals will pick and choose what the want and what they are able to make work. It was necessary for me to do a convincing shoken or sokusen. And so all along I worked on them.....
The strangest thing has been happening lately. I'm not as fast as I was in my twenties, and I'm not as strong as I was in my thirties. But...these Chinese techniques are starting to take hold. I keep thinking of that old comic line used by Flip Wilson in describing a bad joke. It's one of those things that creeps up on you later - like them Fruit-o-the-Loom shorts.
And now that I: 1) see so much emphasis on McKarate, 2) see a need to differentiate us from TKD and other "vanilla" styles, 3) am able to convince myself of the effectiveness of these techniques, and 4) have a broad array of ages that I teach, I am fascinated with the "ideal" in presenting this material. And I ask myself these questions:
* Have the Okinawans distracted us from the essense of this system by introducing the seiken fist?
* Have others noted late development of these core techniques?
* What is the ideal age for developing these finger and toe techniques? I mention this because I have heard of stories of a young, spry and slight Tomoyose Ryuko running around the room on his sokusens to demonstrate how facile one can be with this technique. I have met this man. He is no bionic wonder. But he is good. Nature? Nurture? Both? Training from childhood?
* I'm wondering how much others have pondered over the dual (and more) functionality of all these techniques: both thrust and grip. I'm wondering how much others have linked these to Bubishi methods.
* I have begun to come up with more modern versions of the traditional pangainoon hand training methods. I was wondering if others had developed creative methods for developing fingers, toes, grip, etc. And I'm not talking about beating on things and developing deformed appendages. One must remember that these more-peripheral joints are much more susceptible to osteoarthritis. One does not want to do this the wrong way.
Other comments and observations are also welcome.
- Bill
Beyond the seiken
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Bill Glasheen
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Evan Pantazi
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Beyond the seiken
I realize that I have not been working with Uechi for long, but I have had other versions of Sanchin and Seisan. The hand positions of the Uechi Kata all have a more penetrating structure and an in-close ability that your usual (May I borrow a phrase Bill San) "Vanilla" variety. These are also seen in some southern Gung Fu like Bak Mei (White Eyebrow) another devastating in close style. These hand positions (Shoken, Bushiken, Hiraken...) also strengthen the hand and grip much more than an ordinary Fisted position due to the smaller and tighter motions needed to make them. One exclusion would be the Nai Fuan Chin/Nai Han Chi Fist that is illustrated in Gichin Funakoshi's Kyohan. One has to wonder were Seiken and ball of Foot kicks all a part of the transition of watered down versions of Karate that were taught to the school kids and American GI's? It's nice that some of the more potenet positions were not lost to the ravages of this deceit.
Bill San,
I believe that these hand positions do not require extensive conditioning, to illustrate let's use a Nukite. In close, as most situations will bring you, there is no room and or time for a full thrust, (this would require severe finger training and incredible accuracy as the longer the throw of the hand the worse the accuracy factor becomes). When in close if your hand is placed on the specific target and the strike is delivered via a body pulse or contraction as taught in Sanchin, there is no training needed. The Nukite would target the Cavities of the body not hard structure. For instance even in the rib cage, designed by Ma Nature to dissipate shock (like Seiken and full throw punch), there is still the intercostal spaces to penetrate (each complete with a Vien, a Nerve and a Artery) for more damage and pain with less power and speed (for us aging). The UFC has shown us that slugging it out toe to toe is only if your opponent wishes to do this, but if they rather grapple then that is where it will end up. your fingers can find great targets by feel and pulse into them with little to no room.
Imagine being in close (6 to 8 inches from your opponent), as your hands work to find superior position, the fingers find their way to the neck (Preferrably Carotid Sinus Area), and you deliver a pulse with the Nukite (Ala Sanchin, this won't take any more conditioning than Kata Practice (Correct Kata).
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Evan Pantazi
www.erols.com/kyusho
Bill San,
I believe that these hand positions do not require extensive conditioning, to illustrate let's use a Nukite. In close, as most situations will bring you, there is no room and or time for a full thrust, (this would require severe finger training and incredible accuracy as the longer the throw of the hand the worse the accuracy factor becomes). When in close if your hand is placed on the specific target and the strike is delivered via a body pulse or contraction as taught in Sanchin, there is no training needed. The Nukite would target the Cavities of the body not hard structure. For instance even in the rib cage, designed by Ma Nature to dissipate shock (like Seiken and full throw punch), there is still the intercostal spaces to penetrate (each complete with a Vien, a Nerve and a Artery) for more damage and pain with less power and speed (for us aging). The UFC has shown us that slugging it out toe to toe is only if your opponent wishes to do this, but if they rather grapple then that is where it will end up. your fingers can find great targets by feel and pulse into them with little to no room.
Imagine being in close (6 to 8 inches from your opponent), as your hands work to find superior position, the fingers find their way to the neck (Preferrably Carotid Sinus Area), and you deliver a pulse with the Nukite (Ala Sanchin, this won't take any more conditioning than Kata Practice (Correct Kata).
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Evan Pantazi
www.erols.com/kyusho
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Evan Pantazi
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Beyond the seiken
One more thought:
This would be in the realm of Gung Fu and Kara-Te (China Hand), rather than Karate (empty hand). It's all in a Kanji.
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Evan Pantazi
www.erols.com/kyusho
This would be in the realm of Gung Fu and Kara-Te (China Hand), rather than Karate (empty hand). It's all in a Kanji.
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Evan Pantazi
www.erols.com/kyusho
Beyond the seiken
I initially posted this reply to the wrong note. Sorry!
Bill,
I don't profess to understand the concepts well enough, but one of my Okinawan instructors (the one in the video I sent you, and with whom I will be training this weekend) has tried to explain to me how the contractions to close the hand to make a fist actually actually restricts maximum forward thrusting velocity and effect, thus reducing the amount of energy transmission to the target. He indicated that the default Okinawan (Ti) technique was the open-handed one. I will try to extract some more from him on this topic this weekend and see if I can post something a little more intelligent.
John
Bill,
I don't profess to understand the concepts well enough, but one of my Okinawan instructors (the one in the video I sent you, and with whom I will be training this weekend) has tried to explain to me how the contractions to close the hand to make a fist actually actually restricts maximum forward thrusting velocity and effect, thus reducing the amount of energy transmission to the target. He indicated that the default Okinawan (Ti) technique was the open-handed one. I will try to extract some more from him on this topic this weekend and see if I can post something a little more intelligent.
John
