I did some video recording last Saturday, and finally got a few clips edited and uploaded to share. The first is an application for the one-legged turn (a jump, in some styles) in Kusanku/Kanku. The technique is a throw found in Okinawa Shima (a grappling sport in Okinawa that descended from tegumi) and Sambo. This video simply shows the throw in isolation, without setups or distracting strikes, and I set my partner down lightly to avoid injury, so the landing doesn’t match the kata like it would if I slammed him. This throw works quite well if you have the grappling experience to apply it, but could be difficult for those without grappling experience, particularly if they are trying to overcome a size disadvantage.
The second video is for the kata Wansu/Enpi, where you sink into a horse stance and execute a low block, then shift into a front stance and punch. In the version I learned, the punch is done as a keiko-ken-tsuki (Phoenix eye fist punch), and I carried that over into this application. I demonstrate it as a defense against a shirt grab with a punch to the head, although it can be done from the grab before a punch is thrown, and if you sink into the arm enough you can actually turn them enough to prevent the punch. It’s hard to see in the video, but I aim my keiko-ken-tsuki for the brachial plexus or vagus nerve, depending on what is available to me. There are other target options, of course, and your strike could be a regular punch, or a palm strike, or any number of other types of strikes. The deflection of the punch across the centerline can be difficult, and you really need to have done muchimi-di (sticky hands) training to feel comfortable with it, as it works best if you stick to the punch early.
The last video isn’t a kata application, exactly–it is a quick explanation of a “side-step” uchi-mata (inner thigh throw) performed in conjunction with a shoulder lock (which can be found in Naihanchi kata). The “side-step” uchi-mata is one that I was taught by my judo sensei in Mesa, AZ as a way to throw people that lean forward to keep their hips away from you in an attempt to prevent you from throwing them. As it turns out, this works quite well in karate, where many of our tuidi joint locks bend our opponent over at the waist. In this demonstration, I let go of the lock and allow my partner to flip with the throw for safety.