The image, above, comes from Page 204 of Konishi Yasuhiro’s book, Karate Nyumon. I was inspired to go back and look at this publication by Victor Smith Sensei, who wrote an article on another section of the book. This book, in its original Japanese, along with many others, have been made available for free by Charles Goodin Sensei and the […]
Chudan-uke, as used in Shotokan sanbon kumite (three-step sparring) All karateka are familiar with some form of chudan-uke, although it has many names, depending on the style. Some call it soto-uke (“outside receiver,” referring to it’s movement to the outside of the body), some call it uchi-uke (“inside receiver,” referring to the part of the arm being used), and some […]
In one of the study groups I am a part of, the nami-gaeshi (returning wave) movements from Naihanchi was brought up as one that doesn’t often have applications shown for it. This movement is also present in some versions of Passai, Kusanku, Seisan, and more! How could something so common and distinctive have no practical application? Well, it does have […]
This weekend, I recorded a few kata application videos. The first one is an application for the last few movements in our Passai Sho kata, also called Itosu Passai. In the kata, you perform a yama-tsuki (mountain thrust), followed by a turn and a sukui-uke (scooping receiver). This movement almost perfectly matches a variation of tai otoshi (body drop throw) […]
Here is a collection of video clips from Ulf Karlsson Sensei’s KishimotoDi seminar at our dojo last month. You can see some of the material he taught, most of which comes from his system’s version of the kata Naihanchi.
Tuidi in MMA – Shoulder Wrench Chibana Chosin performing the shoulder wrench in Naihanchi Sandan I make no secret about my dislike of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. He is arrogant, condescending, disrespectful, and likes to skirt the edges of the Unified Rules of MMA. That said, he seems to be the most frequent user of old-school karate techniques. […]
Some of our Youth Karate Students Lately, I have come across a few discussions online about what karate material is appropriate to teach to children. From what I have seen, this discussion is always a Catch-22 situation. If you say that you teach effective techniques to children, then a bunch of people jump on you, saying that it’s too dangerous […]
Last week, a Kyokushin karateka friend of mine mentioned learning a new takedown, and after reading her description, I thought it sounded rather similar to a throw that we work as an application for the morote-tsuki (double punch) in Naihanchi Shodan. As it turned out, she was talking about the “wedge throw” that is very popular in Shotokan–UFC fighter, Lyoto […]
The bruises left by the #1 attack against women–a grab to the upper arm According to UK crime statistics, the most common attack that women reported being the victim of was a right-handed grab to the right upper arm, which was used to try to control them and drag them to another location. From talking with women who have been […]
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 […]
I had a couple minutes after class this Saturday before I had to head home, so I recorded an ugly, quick-and-dirty demo of a broken-down bunkai drill I like for the beginning of Naihanchi Shodan. This video includes the application I described in my last post, Naihanchi Bunkai and Randori. I would have preferred better angles, close-ups of some parts, […]
