Jiffa: Okinawa's Deadly Hairpin

[Victor Smith]

The current issue of Classical Fighting Arts (Vol 2, No 13, Issue 36) has a photo pictorial of Shinyu Gushi Sensei performing Mee No Jiffa Kata.. THe Jiffa is a large pin that was worn in the hair. Shinyu Gushi Sensei learnt the kata from Saburu Uehara Sensei.

Interestingly this ties into the old interview with Hohen Soken who described Kusanku Kata begin done with a hairpin in the hands.

IMO, Mee No Jiffa Kata is very close to the Shito Ryu Kusanku Sho Kata but of course with the hairpin in hand.

[Bill Glasheen]

I saw Dana Hathcoat perform this kata for Shinyu Gushi Sensei when the two of them were up in southern Maryland at Rik Lostrito's dojo. It is a most interesting form, and Dana breathed life into it like nobody else can. What a treat! She even approached the group of us with pin in hair, and pulled it out after bowing.

I have a handful of women in my dojo who probably would love to learn this. I guess I'll just have to give one or the other of these martial talents a visit.

- Bill

[Van Canna]

Dana is just a special woman

[Bill Glasheen]

Jiffa

[MikeK]

Jif

[Joseph G Bellone]

Hi Bill,
Hope all is well.

Joe Graziano Sensei also has trained with Gushi Sensei and trains with the Jiffa that is included in his Kobudo practice.

Best regards,
Joe

http://thestudywithin.blogspot.com/

[MikeK]

Once again I find it interesting how common place objects turn into seemingly exotic weapons.

Time from 1964
Arlene Del Fava, along with many another New Yorker, has decided that from now on there is only one side arm that will keep her safe from both cops and robbers—"a hatpin like grandmother used to carry."

March 1, 1910

Interview with Hohan Soken...
http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=426

Soken Sensei: Well, kata, yes, the most important Matsumura Seito kata is the kusanku. Sometimes we would practice the kusanku (Kanku) with kanzashi (hairpins) held in the hands - this was a common method of fighting. The hairpins were symbols of rank and many Okinawans carried them for decoration and also for protection.

The hairstyle for men in Okinawa (as well as Japan) prior to the modern era was to tie long hair in a knot on top of the head and secure it with a single hairpin, as shown here, or with two hairpins pushed through the topknot from different angles. The two hairpin option is probably what Soken used for kusanku (kanku) kata practice since one could be held in each hand. In the begining of the kata the hands are raised overhead, a move which could be modified into a grab of the hairpins. Hairpins also differed. Men of the noble class wore special hairpins in their Samurai-style topknot to signify their social position as shown in this drawing. Made of metal or bone, hairpins were pointed on one end and had a round flat end or wire configuration that would hold the pin in place. Sometime after Japan formally annexed Okinawa, the Meiji authorities outlawed the wearing of topknots (as an old style warrior symbol) and thus hairpins were no longer used.

[Victor Smith]

If you want to see Jiffa kata there's always YouTube.

Victor

Ryukokaku kobudo Jiffa Kata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZbAOzr6nZw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yisdDYsHZZ8
Jiffa Kata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ehIo31t20Y

[MikeK]

Given how well certain weapons add effectiveness to many karate techniques and how easy they were to conceal, carry & integrate I have to wonder how much an "empty" handed art karate really was back in the day.

[Bill Glasheen]

Given how well certain weapons add effectiveness to many karate techniques and how easy they were to conceal, carry & integrate I have to wonder how much an "empty" handed art karate really was back in the day.

My thoughts exactly, Mike!

- Bill

[jorvik]

I love the idea of the hair pin being a weapon, kinda cool and gives you an image of Okinawa being a rural backhaven with secret arts .but I can't say that I'm impressed by the kata, it looks like something a Korean might invent

[Bill Glasheen]

I love the idea of the hair pin being a weapon, kinda cool and gives you an image of Okinawa being a rural backhaven with secret arts .but I can't say that I'm impressed by the kata, it looks like something a Korean might invent

On the contrary, to me, it looks a lot more like something a Korean might copy and tweak to make like TKD.

The moves are very basic. But with something in the hands, suddenly these "basic" moves have attitude. You can't get too cute when you have stuff in your hands. Otherwise you end up slicing or poking yourself.

The little spin with the crescent kick makes sense to me when you consider you need to make up for an inability to grab (because your hands are preoccupied) by using some foot dexterity.

The foot blade kicks are another giveaway that this isn't contemporary Korean. They are very old moves, and designed to manipulate rather than destroy the body. You are setting the attacker up for a strike with the jiffa. That's why they are part of a sequence. I've seen people try to turn them into thrusting yoko geri techniques, only to find out later that it is both hard on the back to do so and it shows a lack of understanding of what you are trying to accomplish.

- Bill

[jorvik]

I watched it again.......and I'm still not impressed, that type of crescent kick is sometimes used to break grips to your hands....the foot blade kicks don't impress either, I don't think they would do much, certainly not to somebody who was used to martial arts..how old is this kata anyway?

[TSDguy]

It doesn't impress me either, but do we need to be impressed? You're basically using brass knuckles. Just jam that son of a bitch in there and it hurts.

For that matter, the only thing anyone could ever find impressive in a kata is nice body mechanics (in my opinion).

[JimHawkins]

Wow...

Can't use your hands so you do a spinning crescent kick?

Good Lord..

Looks like some post modern era kata with some Shotokan flavor--but to each his own..