Master Senega's Kobudo

[GojuMaster]

diegoz_ar,

It sounds like you are studying the kobudo of Shinzato. I've always wondered why the kata I know as Ni Cho Sai is called Chihara No Sai in that group. Do you have the Japanese writing for that name?

Best Regards,

Russ

I practice the same Sai kata: Chihara-no-sai; and the same tuifa kata: Tuifa-ichi-banme. The Bo kata, he performed, in our school is for brown belts: and it has the same name.

Senaga Sensei, is very powerfull (poderoso). I like to see him performing kata from karate or from kobudo.

[diegoz_ar]

In the center is Masrer Shinzato and my kobudo Sensei (I am with the red T-shirt)


Hi GojuMaster, I do not have at this time the Japanese writing for that name. But I will ask a friend and Sempai who is Okinawan, he could write it down to me.

Saludos,
Diego

[GojuMaster]

Diego,

If you don't mind, I would greatly appreciate it.

Best Regards,

Russ

In the center is Masrer Shinzato and my kobudo Sensei (I am with the red T-shirt)


Hi GojuMaster, I do not have at this time the Japanese writing for that name. But I will ask a friend and Sempai who is Okinawan, he could write it down to me.

Saludos,
Diego

[Glenn]

Thanks GojuMaster...your info blows my theory for why they were different out of the water, but at least I did recognize there were differences!

Glenn,
According to my teachers, Matayoshi Sensei almost always modified kata if he thought he was being taped. In addition, he had a good memory, so he sometimes called people out who learned from video, and even knew from what demonstration (video) they "learned" the kata from. This is especially evident in the rampant "crane" forms that many people claim to have gottent from the Matayoshi line.

Darn, guess I have to stop learning from those tapes!

[John Giacoletti]

I'd venture to say that the Tsunami Dragon Times videos and DVDs (which are now available) of Vol. 4, Shinu Gushi Weapon Arts are acurate portrayals of the way Gushi Sensei performs the kata.

And now that its been mentioned, on reflection, I'd have to say that the Tsunami Dragon Times videos (2 vols.) of Shinpo Mayayoshi are flavorful samples and not the entree. The Bunkai are a joke; one or two examples. The DVD of Master Matayoshi's senior students is the real deal.

There seems to be a prevailing practice standard: if there are multiple angles of the kata shown, if there are slow motion and regular speed versions as well ... then it's a teaching demo from which you can practice the kata.

If it's a performance at a major event ... check out GEM's 33rd Anniversary tape of Uechi Kanbun's death ... there are many excellent weapons kata performed in completeness and not as a representative samplings of techniques for a particular weapon.

I have a Sakagawa No Koun tape out of Jamestown NY performed by some Goju karata. They advertise that is exactly as taught by a certain Goju master, The kata seems to me to be an enhanced and elaborated version of Sakagawa No Koun but very wooden with no drama or art.

I bet it is exactly as the master taught the beginner. It may be an excellent learning medium for the geography but there's no flow, timing or intensity.

[cdoucet]

I knew I had posted somewhere about the oar form... thats john I'm slowly climbing up the tree with the Gushi DVDs and i recently got the sanchin one. He is a most interesting individual.

I was blown by away by his physique when he started sanchin.
I can't wait to get the rest of the dvds of his.

Sorry for the altness of this reply.

Chris

[Rick Wilson]

Senega Sensei's Kata rock and are one of the best demonstrations of the dragon in Uechi Ryu.

[Chris H.]

John,

I found this picture on the web, it may be an old partial painting of Asato's battle. It looks like a samurai is meeting the working ends of the Eku.




Chris

[John Giacoletti]

Web Link Doesn't Work.

[Chris H.]

Lets try this again

[John Giacoletti]

Thanks Chris. That's a great painting. Mikio Nishiuchi has a bunkai with the oar vs. katana on his Panther Production video on the use of the Oar. Many people have scoffed at and downplayed such an encounter. There seems to be historical evidence that these confrontations did indeed occur. The skeptics of course have no expertise in the use of the oar

[John Giacoletti]

Yep. Looks to me like the swordsman has been whacked in the throat with a nasty old oar.

The songbirds have taken to wing and this dude is done.

[jwlavasse]

My understanding is that this is mostly due to the difference in naming between the Okinawan system and the Japanese. Each Kanji (Chinese character) has several readings in Japanese and while the Okinawans tended to stick with one syllable for each character in names the Japanese tend to use two syllable readings for names. It seems the Okinawans tend to keep the traditional Okinawan way of pronunciation their family name so Uechi 上地 stays the same but many now use the Japanese pronunciation with their given name. An example I know off the top of my head is the Shinjo family. In some works their name Shinjo 新城 (new castle) is translated as Arashiro the Japanese name reading of the same character. Then we have Seiryo, Seiyu and
Seishu in the Okinawan way, in Japanese that would be Kiyoyoyo, Kiyosugu and Kiyohide. Kiyohide obviously uses the newer Japanese standard while the older generations, his father Seiyu and grandfather Seiryo used the older Okinawan standard.

I can look all the character up if you want. I have them in my notes, including most of the Uechi family, but don't remember them all offhand.

FWIW - Okinawans often romanize their names in more than one way. Mike Giseck will have to correct me but Kan (as in Kansei Uechi) would be said "Hiro" in the north. So Kansei becomes Hirosei. But it is the same person.

So it may be a regional reading of the name...it is hard to tell without the actual Kanji and the actual person reading it. I've seen. Kiyohide Shinjo's first name also written very differently on a website I don't recall at the moment. It was something like Kisohanide or something like that.

Hard to tell what is "standard" sometimes.