Jiffa: Okinawa's Deadly Hairpin

[JimHawkins]

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).

How about useful mechanics; a cohesive arrangement of useful body/limb motions/techniques that all build on each other and that all re-enforce a small set of core system concepts, that are well understood--performed well...?

[MikeK]

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.

I agree Bill.
One of the things that strikes me about Uechi, at least to me, is how obvious many of the techniques in the kata seem to be. Generally the hand shapes fit targets, the legs are moving you or not moving you in a way that fits what the hands are doing. Things mostly make sense in regards to a truly empty handed civilian art. In other words while Joe Uechi could use a weapon his hands were his stock and trade for f-ing someone up.

On the other hand styles such as Shotokan and some other styles always feel like something is missing, the hand forms tend to be simple and some of the target/weapon matches don't seem to be optimal. But put an always handy set of brass knuckles or jiffa in the hand and suddenly things do make more sense. Even the one strike ideal makes more sense.

If that bit of wild assed speculation were true what would it mean for the bunkai chase?

[MikeK]

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

Not secret arts but practical for the culture. I'd think only the upper men wore the top knot and not many would have the cash for, or access to horse shoes .

Tekko

http://okinawakarateblog.blogspot.com/2 ... ecchu.html



Horseshoe Tekko


http://www.rkagb.com/weapons_tekko.htm

[jorvik]

I dunno when was this kata created?....in the fifties when folks had quifs

[JimHawkins]

Not far off IMO..

It appears to have started as..Kusankusho which did not have the hair thingies as far as I can tell nor the cool spinning kick....

This kata is identical to Kusanku sho kata from Kobayashi shorin-ryu whos founder Itosu Sensei (1813-1915) created Kusanku sho and Dai from the older kusanku kata.

http://www.wadokikai.com/mov/kusankusho.html

[jorvik]

I have a deadly hairdo

[f.Channell]

I know some of the old school Kenjutsu and Iaido folks train with a fan (tessen), Never heard of a samurai hairpiece thing. It's not in Secret Weapons of Jujitsu a book I have which has lots of these alternative weapons in it.
Probably just an Okinawan thing, maybe originally a womans art?

I have a video of Gushi Sensei demonstrating a jiffa kata, I'll have to re watch it and see if he mentions the origins.
I like the eku Bo as a kick butt weapon.
A friend of mine was attacked by some thugs and struck in the ankle with an oar (he lived near a marina), almost lost his foot. That oar would have nothing on a nasty oak oar like the Oki's use.

[jorvik]

We have a secret weapon in Liverpool it's called a Ball pane Hammer ....although I don't know any katas, but you get hit with one of those thingies and your in diapers and a wheelchair for life

[JimHawkins]

We have a secret weapon in Liverpool it's called a Ball pane Hammer ....although I don't know any katas, but you get hit with one of those thingies and your in diapers and a wheelchair for life

No kata?

Hmph..! How deadly could it be.?

[JimHawkins]

Although Nagahama Sensei was only a year older than Itosu Sensei, Itosu respected him as a senior and a teacher. Thus, they got along very well. Itosu Sensei once told me the following story.

"When Bushi Nagahama was on his sick bed, and knew that he was dying, he called me over and told me the following words: `Itosu-kun, I am finished, and prepared for the end. As I look back on my life, I realize that I made one huge mistake. These are my final words, so listen well. It seems that my style of martial arts places too much emphasis on hardening the body. Upon reflection, this is wrong. The training that was supposed to have given me a strong body has instead made me weaker. I taught you to make your body hard, but from my experience, I know now that this is not good. It would be a crime for you to teach this way to future students, so I want to correct this one point: These were his final words to me."

[jorvik]

I wonder what we could draw from that

[Victor Smith]

I've been looking at different Kusanku Sho kata variations and this one is closest to the Jaffe kata, IMO. There are differences but it does seem this might be a close fit.

kusanku sho Shorin Ryu Butokukan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwkq4wTbIBk

[f.Channell]

We use pneumatic nail guns here in the States, What is your problem over there?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTz54uOE ... re=related

[jorvik]

Yeah
but we are 10 years behind you

[Bill Glasheen]

Many weapons are capable of giving new meaning to empty-hand movements.

I've always thought a sai was a shoken with an attitude. That's just about how you hold it. And a tonfa is a vertical fist with an attitude. Both give new meaning to a side and back elbow thrust, or any kind of simple uke.

Weapons like the jiffa are a poison tip on the end of the seiken tsuki, tettsui uchi, and chudan uke.

I've always felt that the Uechi supinated nukite worked well with a blade in the hand.

It's like brass knuckles in the west. The intent is obvious.

- Bill