Uechi-Ryu.com

I have a Bob and I value it highly, and as Van says it will teach you to pick vital targets. This is very important because you can really go at it with full force and have no fear of injurying anybody. It is also a very versatile piece of equipment, and with a bit of imagination can be used to train all sorts of attributes. I sometimes put a jacket on mine and then pull him round to where I can strike him better, I also use weapons such as a single stick or my favourite a pocket stick.
I've borrowed from quite a few styles in my time .but I do like american Kenpo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXqqwGtp ... r_embedded
I've practised this many times

and also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0W8sJ2CnZo

I really like this second guy coz he breaks stuff down and has some awesome vids.like this one..............http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Fh4Ten0Vo&feature=plcp

One thing that I think about a lot from a tactical perspective is if you are prepared to put the hours in doing fast and hard repetitious drills against something like Bob then it may be rather difficult to explain your self defence moves to a court or jury ....................I think Uechi stylists, more than most, would benefit greatly from Bob drills because of the nature of the style

Its no surprise I like Ricks's approach to body conditioning

commitment to regular conditoning really sorts out the wheat from the chaff

Im also a big fan of contact sparring as a substitute , under various rulesets sometimes designed for conditioning purposes .

I know some really skilled martial artists that have never really confronted there fear of contact , they have all the tools , and some are incredibly tough , but having never being able to get themselves there ... have severely limited there ability to utilise their skills.

I think its something that has to be gradual and gentle , but on the other hand you really need to get passed the hurdle and move onto real training as quickly as possible .

Bob looks a great tool , Im sure the old masters used makiwara for the same thing , times have just given us better tools , but the message I think is the same , keep your weapons sharp if you expect to be able to use them when you need them .

Josann:

You are absolutely correct another safety failure is no head shots. I am not sure there is much head contact that can be done safely but I do agree if you have never been hit in the head it is also another experience.

So yes some experience with head contact is needed. We have a few drills for this but I will say we do not do much intentional hard head contact – now unintentional….


Hey Kumites can be done with intensity and impact so if that works for folks then they should do them. Drills just have to serve a purpose testing your blocking and avoiding and conditioning in Kumites or anything else you find in them is a purpose. The foundation Conditioning Drills are prearranged.

Van and Ray:

BOB looks like an excellent tool and I liked the clips. The Kenpo was nice and I loved the stick work clip.

Marcus - yeah we tend to agree on a lot fo things.

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Rick Wilson - http://wpd-rc.com/

Well said Marcus. Getting into the ring with unknown opponents and under contact rules, is a great way to 'get an introduction' to hard hits, adrenaline 'kiss'_ learn how to deal with victory, defeat, adversity, fatigue, criticism, praise and the pressures of the 'face off' _

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Van

Some boxing with 16 oz gloves and boxing headgear, not the little karate helmet, helps because you learn that you can get a face shot and it's not a big deal. You learn to shake it off and keep going, a very valuable skill.

Bob is a great tool. I got one at home and my dojo has one as well. Makes you realize what an eye gouge might look like to some small degree.

And kumite is merely that-a drill.

Any thoughts by guys on bunkai and how we can make that real? Not formal bunkai, but our own improvised?

One way to improve on our prearranged bunkai, is the implementation of the concept of Jiyu Kobo [free attack/defense]_in one way or another.

I have covered on this forum before…the concept of this training that Kanbun appears to have introduced in his small Wakayama dojo…

This basically, consisted of a well-timed, explosive attack without
warning. Any type of attack is appropriate - fist, foot, and swinging
strikes, combination attacks, anything…with the defense diffusing the attack and countering, by using ONLY the moves from Uechi Kata…

Today, in modern times, I think it would be good to include the most common ways of street attacks [the 36 HAPV] and use Uechi moves and concepts[only] the ones we practice day in and day out so as to become embedded in our subconscious.

Cross training is OK but only if we then embrace the 'new stuff' in constant dojo practice which most do not…ending up like 'jacks of all trades and masters of none' …this is crucial to understand.

Given that Uechi has all the best concepts of dealing with any attacks, if properly understood and practiced, it is revealing to see how a good practitioner under attack will usually respond with extremely effective moves that include pre-emption as built in our style.

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Van

The very best training drill would be "intercepting the opponent's intention."

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Van

Quote
"Im also a big fan of contact sparring as a substitute , under various rulesets sometimes designed for conditioning purposes .

I know some really skilled martial artists that have never really confronted there fear of contact , they have all the tools , and some are incredibly tough , but having never being able to get themselves there ... have severely limited there ability to utilise their skills."

many years ago I tried Nippon Kempo. It is a full contact martial art were you wear body armour and a face guard, but you can also use throws and kick people when they are down, with no weight catagories. I spared with a black guy who was about 6ft 4ins, and unbeknown to me an ex boxer.even with the headguard when he punched to my head he really rattled me, in fact I was concussed for a few days after that .and it really scared me, so much in fact that I went and learnt escrima, I figured with a weapon I might stand a chance. I think a head shot can even kill you, it just depends on the relative size of you and your opponent

Quote
"The very best training drill would be "intercepting the opponent's intention."

This is what the old masters talk of " moving in the spaces of your mind"

This is very true, and it calls for certain strategies when sensing a fight is imminent...it all depends on the size, strenght, and number of opponents.

Something that I found best learnt while studying with deadly force instructors...

http://www.striketactical.com/newslette ... &archive=0

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Van

Ponder this

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Van

You’re right, Van Bunkai is a great way to learn our system and what it can do.

Jiyu Kobo is an excellent way.

One of the ways I have played with Bunkai is to take a “theme” and run every move through it.

It could be grabs, clinches, kicks etc.

Most of the time we create and explore and move on not really recording or remembering them but one theme really stuck and we play with it every now and then. I also had a nice video record made when sharing it at Dave Chow’s school.

The theme is takedowns so it follows some of what has been posted on this thread.

I often use Kanshiwa for this exploration because it is a Kata known by most Uechika of almost all ranks.

These have been posted previously on youtube so some may have already seen them

There are three parts I will load them up over the next few days.

Here is part one:

http://wpd-rc.com/blog/kanshiwa-takedown-bunkai-part-1/

Darn i have added the intenral link three times now I hope it sticks.

Let me know if you can't see the clip.

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Rick Wilson - http://wpd-rc.com/

Good post Rick and the clip is playing fine. As you say the Uechi concepts shine through.

It is a well documented fact that techniques and concepts will have a good chance of working, only if they are an intrinsic component of what we practice the most so as to 'become us' in 'operant conditioning'...and something that will need continuous practice lest it fades quickly.

Any move or concept needs thousands upon thousands of repetition and with partners or will not be worth much.

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Van

From the Stryke link above

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Van

I love taking a piece of a Kata and trying to see what could be done with it.

I love getting outside the box and see if I can do things with it that weren’t obvious to me.

Which is why I like the “theme” approach to Bunkai.

• Try all attacks must come from within six inches and the side.
• Try all attacks begin with the aggressor grabbing you and trying to rip you off balance.
• Try all attacks are the aggressor trying to clinch with you for a takedown.
• Try all attacks are with a weapon.

The only other thing I would recommend is if you come up with something good – record it. I regret not having done so for others we have done.

Here is Part 2 Kanshiwa Takedown Bunkai:

http://wpd-rc.com/blog/kanshiwa-takedown-bunkai-part-2/

Part 3 tomorrow night.

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Rick Wilson - http://wpd-rc.com/

Rick:
Thanks this is a really great demo of the grappling side of uechi that is often talked about but not so often demonstrated in our training.I really like the entering- i.e. coming forward when attacked, something that we don't always train but is in our kata. We do many of our kata moves moving forward, but in kumite and bunkai we move back before countering. Many never consider that the moving back is a dojo thing for the safety of the participants and not an etched in stone thing. I consider the moving forward before the elbow strike in kanshiwa to be an example of an exception that most people get, but there are limitless ways we can use the kata and the stances if we consider going forward as well as yielding.

The first elbow strike in seisan is a great move to get inside. The hand near the temple and elbow in tight to body makes a great weapon to enter into an attacker's space. I especially like a video that one of your peers,Rick, posted a few years back, I believe it was Laird Elliot, called Dracula's Cape. Great video demonstrating this, and right out of seisan.

Many of the combatives guys, Lee Morrison, Kelly McCann, and Carl Cestari for example, talk about the palm strike. We also got that in seisan. Very effective, especially when moving forward to get inside the attackers wheelhouse.Brachial strikes are also lauded by thes guys. Our style has hundreds of spots where we use them if we use our imaginations.

Enjoying this thread. I agree 100% with Van that we need to ingrain a few really solid moves that we do thousands of times so that they are instinctive and immediate. We do kata, many of us daily why not make them martial exercises?

It would be a shame to be attacked and get hurt because we did some move we saw in a movie rather that an effective move we have practiced for decades.I know we hear "all is in sanchin." Although that takes some real study, I think with a little imagination for self defense "all is definately in seisan."