LeighSimmsMA

Hikite - Just a hand on the hip? Hikite is the Japanese term for “pulling hand”. Hiki meaning pull and te meaning hand. Due to the way in which Karate has evolved, the meaning and use of hikite has changed over time and the practical application to hikite has, all things considered, fallen by the wayside. Nowadays it is common to see hikite being used to assist with “power generation”. Although no one has yet to fully explain to me how moving part of your body in the opposite direction of the target can accomplish an increase in power. Lets take the basic reverse punch application as seen here - https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6cc70b_b079cf0aba404b4293fde2404261e8f0~mv2.gif as an example. From a practical perspective, two things start to tingle my spidey-sense. The first is that the hikite is placed on the hip for no apparent reason. Common sense would dictate that surely my it would be better to have my left hand protecting my head as the enemy would more likely aim for my head than my hip. Also, I can probably take an unorthodox hip strike a couple of times, where as, one shot to my temple and I can be on the ground quicker than you can say Osu. The second is that the punch is aimed at the enemy’s chest/solar plexus. Now there is nothing wrong with the chest as a target area. But what I began to realize was that the majority of straight punches found in Kata (at least the ones I practice) were aimed at the mid-level. Again, looking at kata from a practical perspective, it would stand to reason that the techniques in kata would focus on striking the enemy in the head and neck, where we can cause unconsciousness so that the enemy is unable to continue to fight no matter what pain threshold they may have. With those two things in mind, I was reading Gichin Funakoshi’s 1922 book Karate-Jutsu (or To-Te Jutsu depending on the translation). In the section which describes hand techniques, Funakoshi writes that : - “Hikite is to use the opponents incoming punch and pull on it beyond its reach and to twist it at the same time, to throw the opponent off his balance. You can see from the image here - https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6cc70b_1a0494017cc045c3b452cb0607a692ce~mv2_d_2048_1365_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_293,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/6cc70b_1a0494017cc045c3b452cb0607a692ce~mv2_d_2048_1365_s_2.webp you can see that I used the concepts detailed by Funakoshi, pulling the opponents incoming punch beyond its reach, which is why my partner is leaving forward and it gives an explanation as to why I put my hand on my hip. Also by twisting my fist so that the palm is facing upwards, my partners arm is twisted further thus he needs to step and lean forward to compensate. With my partner leaning forward is head drops to my mid-level. Now what looks like a mid-level punch is actually a punch to my partners head! ​​ By taking the advise of Gichin Funakoshi, you can begin to practice the karate techniques as they were originally designed to be used and all parts of the techniques are used. Of course, Funakoshi is not the sole resource when it comes to the meaning and applications of hikite and I would advise you all to go out and research what other instructors have to say on this matter too. There can always be more than one right answer. For a video showing a basic application drill I practice, you can check out the video below. The drill shows also shows a we can use hiki-ashi, (ie the pulling foot) to pull the enemy’s leg beyond its range of motion in order to off balance the enemy! ​​ [/img]

Interesting to see how other arts systemise their drills and progressions. Many thanks for sharing Alan

Hi all, Last week I filmed a number of my foundational static and isolated drills for Tekki Shodan/Naihanchi which cover the sideways turn in the kata, the change from facing left to right in the kata, the "hiki-te" (pulling hand), striking targets & weapons and trapping techniques. I hope they are of interest to some on here. Drill 1 - Haishu Uke and Empi Uchi Drill 2 - Dealing with the enemy blocking the Empi Uchi Drill 3- Dealing with the enemy blocking the Haishu Uke

Hi Guys, Apologies for background noise in this video, it was louder than hoped on the camera! This video contains highlights of a flow drill for Gedan Barai, which looks at a number of ways of applying the motion and explores many different concepts (including embusen, attack-lines, angles, hiki-te, stances, striking vulnerable areas and many more). This video is not meant to be a full detailed instructional piece, but I hope it is of value! Leigh

To put into context, this was recorded after the students had been practicing the drill for a while. I noticed a few were missing the grab of the lapel, so I quickly gathered them around to point that bit out. At that time, this was recorded. It would have been nice to have had the initial demos recorded!

Hi Guys, Below is a little clip looking at one of our applications for Heian Shodan/Pinan Nidan (Gedan Barai, Hammerfist, Stepping Punch Sequence). Primarily recorded as reference for those in attendance, I feel it would be nice to share with this community. A lot of bunkai online still shows defences against karate attacks and the defences shown do not apply all the motions of the kata (ie blocking a mae geri with a gedan barai and having the second hand on the hip for no reason). One of the concepts taught in this drill is the use of the pulling hand (hikite). In this drill both hands are being used throughout to control the enemy. Another concept taught is to be pre-emptive. Funakoshi endorsed this in his writings and it would make sense to find kata techniques that deal with failed pre-emptive strikes. Not all kata applications need to be re-active. PS. It should go without saying that isolated drills to develop skills/attributes are only 1 part of a greater training matrix. Also the pulling/gripping hand on the final punch should pull the enemy into your attack, for safety reasons its omitted from my demonstration. https://www.facebook.com/leighsimmskarate/videos/1686078915018180/

Hi Jauslong, I am glad this thread finally got you to join in the conversation here at the forum!! I think you misunderstood me when I said that boxers don't train one-step sparring. What I meant by that was that boxers literally don't train one-step sparring as per the video links in my post. They obviously train a form of one-step sparring. A form that resembles the kind of attacks they deal with and a form that responds using the defences that work in live practice. This kind of training is a very important part of a holisitic system (something you vitally pointed out). My main problem with the type of one-steps I mentioned is that I don't think they are proxies that build up to the real thing. As the distance, timing, techniques used (enemy and defender) do not relate to either sparring or non consensual violence. Batting practice does not resemeble a real game, but batters practice hitting the ball thrown by a baseball pitcher. They don't practice against cricket bowlers. This is my analogy to defending against "karate attacks from 10 feet away". Instead we should be defending against common acts of violence if we are training for self-defence or we should be defending against common sports based attacks when training for sparring. We absolutely need drills that don't resemble street fighting (or sparring) but Ippon Kumite (as defined in my initial post) is not it,. I am yet to be convinced of the logical progress that can develop from Ippon Kumite (as it is widely practiced) to live drills. Nor have I come across any benefits Ippon Kumite can have, which cannot be replicated in more efficient/pragmatic forms of training.

In terms of applying stances in bunkai and I can only speak for myself (obviously ), I think the use of stances in Karate as a whole is greatly misunderstood. I refer you to two quotes. First from from Gichin Funakoshi's nijukun (20 precepts): - "Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai" (fixed positions are for beginners. Later, one moves naturally) and secondly from Genwa Nakasone on his understanding of the above precept: - "Karate has many stances; it also has none. Leigh If that's the case then why are the stances the same for one step sparring demonstrations between masters? And why aren't the higher level Katas with different stances? If that's the case then why are the stances the same for one step sparring demonstrations between masters? Because they are using/doing stances in a way that I believe is not in accordance with the way in which they were developed. Ippon Kumite (One Step Sparring) is a modern training practice and the Kata (which includes the stances that have been extracted and put the use in that practice) were designed to be used in situations of non-consensual violence and not against other Karateka. In 1908, so pre Ippon Kumite, Sensei Anko Itosu wrote that "Karate is not intended to be used against a single assailant but instead as a way of avoiding injury by using the hands and feet should one by any chance be confronted by a villain or ruffian". And why aren't the higher level Katas with different stances? I am unsure as to what you would even class as "higher level" Kata? I am going to assume, so correct me if I am wrong, that you are talking about Kata which are often taught to high Kyu Grades and Dan Grades. Looking, back at the history of Karate you will note that each Kata (or Kata series) is a stand alone system in itself. The order in which certain styles teach kata does not necessarily mean certain kata are of "higher level". Besides, I think I did not make my point as clear as I wanted, I was not saying that Higher Level Kata would not have stances or would have different stances. In fact, all Kata practice is to be done by performing stances as best as possible and their are only so many ways to move your bodyweight and or position to legs in a way that disrupts the enemys posture. What I was trying to say was when the applications of the kata are practiced against a partner, the beginner will be performing the stance as per the kata as they are not yet at a stage where they are understanding how to move their bodyweight naturally. However, the advanced student will be able to move naturally when performing the application practices as they understand "how to move their bodyweight".

Thanks for the support! I think you have made an important but above but I am not sure if I understood you correctly . I think you are trying to say that use of stances should be internalised by the individual so they understand and become comfortable with how their own bodies move?

As you have rightly pointed out any assailant wouldn't attach with a punch in a formal stance and I have already made a thread about the issues with this kind of practice earlier this month (it can be found here: http://www.karateforums.com/my-thoughts-on-ippon-kumite-vt50270.html) In terms of applying stances in bunkai and I can only speak for myself (obviously ), I think the use of stances in Karate as a whole is greatly misunderstood. I refer you to two quotes. First from from Gichin Funakoshi's nijukun (20 precepts): - "Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai" (fixed positions are for beginners. Later, one moves naturally) and secondly from Genwa Nakasone on his understanding of the above precept: - "Karate has many stances; it also has none. What I take from the above information is that beginners need to learn stances so they can understand how to move their bodyweight. For example a front stances moves the bodyweight forward, a back stance/cat stance moves the bodyweight back, a horse stance drops the bodyweight and keeps it centred. But once the student understand how to move their bodyweight, they should move onto apply the techniques within the kata in a dyanmic way where they move through stances and not into stances. Let's take a basic stepping punch (the second motion in Pinan Nidan/Heian Shodan). Ignoring the pulling hand for sake of clarity (and that Wado Heretic has already mentioned), you first learn the kata by stepping into a front stance ("fixed positions are for beginners" "Karate has many stances")and executing the punch. Now in reality (and in two-person training) the punch should be done in motion, if it is the end of the drill then the defender should be moving out of danger and if there is to be any follow-up techniques the defender should be flowing straight into these to ensure any build-up of moment is not lost by becoming stationary. As you begin to transition between techniques you are using stances but for split-seconds ("later one moves naturally" "....also has none"). One purpose of stance is to put the bodyweight behind the punch so that the punch hurts the enemy. The purpose is not to perform a "good looking stance" whilst you punch someone! Sometimes, we get bogged down in detail of trying to perform correct form and forget that for application purposes we need to be using the stance and not just doing the stance. Gichin Funakoshi's 18 precept "Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono" (Kata is to be performed exactly, Kumite is another matter) seems to be a succinct way of saying what took me 4 paragraphs!. Of course, there are other practical uses of stances, for example disrupting the enemys posture (think of the front leg of front stances driving into the side of the enemys knee) or to aid in keeping your centre of gravitiy low should the enemy have hold of you and is trying to move/throw you. In summary, Funakoshi wrote that we should start by learning fixed positions and then move on to use them so they become natural movement rather than fixed. However, it seems that many dojo do not move past the initial stage. Leigh

Hi Tempest, If it is ok with you I will share a link with you, privately, of one of the few drills I have online at the moment as I don't want to sidetrack the thread. I think it is important to note that benefits that may come from Ippon Kumite style practices can come from other forms of training which are more direct and efficient in approach. Besides getting good at "Ippon Kumite", I can't seem to find a benefit that it produces which can't be produced by more realistic training methods. In relation to your antedote, I can't disagree with your personal experience (at the same time however I know of plenty of stories where other karateka's training hasn't worked for them), but would like to ask this question if you had chance to go back in time and train the following, which would you choose? 1) Keep the karate training you had the same (i.e. stay with drilling Ippon Kumite); or 2) Drill defences against tackles, multiple opponents and getting back to your feet once downed. Leigh

Hi! thanks for the response and you raise some interesting questions and think you may have misunderstood me as I think we are suggesting the same things. Firstly, to the first bolded question above. If there is a way to use them, then I would challenge those to let me know what they are as I have not come across a reason to keep Ippon Kumite in my training. Ippon Kumite may well develop "operant conditioning" as you put it, but I retort (and I think you agree) that the "operant conditiong" is developed for Ippon Kumite and not for non-consensual violence of sparring. My suggestive replacement training methods for Ippon Kumite would develop that skill/ability and would do it in a more efficient and direct way and these are the kinds of "Ippon Kumite" drills you see in other Combat Sports. To the second point bolded, I hope my article reads in favour of that! In my dojo, we train a form of "one-step" that uses karate techniques to defend against realistic attacks and to deal with scenarios that are commonly found in non-consensual violence. Again the of isolation the techniques, is just the initial stage of a greater training matrix that ultimately leads to applying the principles/techniques in live practice.

Hi all, I have written a small post on Ippon Kumite and the issues I see with the practice. I hope it is of useful interest and/or debate within the community here. Ippon Kumite (one step sparring) is a form of practice that is prevalent in Karate systems and related arts such as Taekwondo. Whilst the practice differs between clubs, it does share a number of similarities. Usually there is an over-ritualised starting posture taken by both participants, one of which (for the purposes of this article will be called “the Attacker”) will proceed to attack, often from a number of feet away, with a karate-like attack (i.e. a stepping punch to the head) and the other participant (“the Defender”) will step back and perform a block, counter attack and retreat. Most who are reading this will be familiar with what I am talking about, but in case you haven’t I have embedded a number of examples below: - Shotokan Ippon Kumite - Wado Ryu Ippon Kumite - Shito Ryu Ippon Kumite - Taekwondo One Step Sparring - Just for sake of completeness, there is also Ippon Kumite’s sister practices: - Sanbon Kumite - Gohon Kumite - Before continuing, I please note that the above videos are examples I found online to show a range of clubs performing this practice. I fully understand that not all Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Shito Ryu and Taekwondo clubs perform Ippon Kumite like the videos above. I also understand that whilst some clubs perform set drills others do not. I always want to confirm that my intention is in no way to single out the participants in the videos embedded above. The videos above are purely for reference to show the kind of practices I am writing about in this article. Instead, my intention is to critique Ippon Kumite as a training practice in today’s Karate dojos. For the purposes of this article, there is no need for an in-depth history of the Ippon Kumite practice, although I believe that it was around the time that Karate changed from a solution to non-consensual violence and to a method of physical fitness and mental discipline in the early 1900s. To me, there is little doubt that those involved with taking to mainland Japan (including Gichin Funakoshi’s son studied Kendo and Iaido under Nakayama Hakudo) as a “Do’ system, not only took the Judo uniform and belt system but they also took some of the training practices prevalent in Kendo: - This may have occurred to give Karate more of a Japanese “feel” along with changing the names of certain Kata and changing the meaning of Karate from China-Hand to Empty-Hand. Regardless of the history of Ippon Kumite, I will now move on to critique the training method. Ippon Kumite is purported to be a useful training method when developing martial skills & attributes. Here is a quick list of the commonly attributed attributes: - • timing/reaction time • distance management • moving to angles • developing speed, power & flow • dealing with fear The problem with the above argument is that it is too general. Does Ippon Kumite develop skills for Non-Consensual Violence or for sparring? Or both? The problem for Ippon Kumite to develop skills from Non-Consensual Violence (NCV) is that the training method is set up as “Karateka vs. Karateka”. I have never seen an assault start with the criminal stepping back with a gedan barai, calling out the method of which he is about to attack in a foreign language! and then proceeding to step forward with a Karate stance and a Karate punch!! Additionally, the distance and timing of NCV is far different from that seen in Ippon Kumite. NCV usually begins at a lot closer range, doesn’t stop after one attack and the attacks used by criminals are not karate-style punches or kicks. Ippon Kumite is sometimes justified as attribute training for sparring. This may be for all-in type of sparring where anything goes or for more competition orientated sparring. Regardless of which, Ippon Kumite, suffers the same problems that plague it in respect of NCV. When it comes to all-in fighting, MMA has become the proving ground for effective training methodologies. Whilst, I have certain issues with the “reality” of MMA, generally speaking, the evolution of MMA has brought about an honesty and humility in martial art training methods. It is a prima facie fact that Ippon Kumite is not practiced in MMA gyms around the world. The reason for this is that Ippon Kumite training does not replicate the kind of fighting seen 1vs1 all-in style fighting. When it comes to Karate sparring, again Ippon Kumite is rendered ineffective. I have studied Ippon Kumite for many years and was often amazed at how it did not relate to the sparring that would happen in the same class. It is true that Karateka vs. Karateka sparring involves both sides using karate techniques, but it differs from Ippon Kumite in a number of ways. Firstly, the starting position for most Ippon Kumite drills is the gedan barai for the attacker and the yoi/shizentai position for the defender. Besides eccentric exceptions, I have failed to meet anyone who spars from these positions. Further more I have failed to come across anyone who only attacks in straight line with only one technique at a time. It simply doesn’t happen and to spend time training against these kinds of attacks from these long distances in unnatural positions is illogical. I do agree that the above list of attributes needs to be developed during Karate training. But Ippon Kumite does not develop these skills in respect to NCV or CC. It deals with them in respect of Ippon Kumite training only. By practicing Ippon Kumite you will get good at managing the Ippon Kumite distance, moving to angles against Ippon Kumite attacks and dealing with the fear or being attacked by these kind of attacks. When it comes to NCV, we need to look at ways of replicating the kinds of attacks criminals will use (i.e. sucker punches, threatening hand gestures, clothing grabs) as well as the physical scenarios that will occur during the confrontation (i.e. the criminal tries to cover his head after we have struck him, the criminal grips our wrist after we have attempted an eye gouge). Once we understand the kinds of scenarios we are dealing with, we can isolate them and drill the solutions to these. In response to Ippon Kumite developing skills for sparring, we again need to be looking at the kind of scenarios that occur in sparring contests and isolate those. I do seem to agree somewhat with the Jiyu Ippon Kumite training practices. These are where both participants start from a fighting position and defend against an attack in an isolated manner. We need to ensure that the drills include the footwork, defences and attacks used in sparring. Like any drills, these should be done slowly at first and built up once the students gain confidence. I have also heard that Ippon Kumite can be a good place for kids/beginners to begin getting used to being “attacked” and that it can be difficult to do this without exaggerating the distance. I totally agree that exaggerating the distance and sometimes the techniques being taught is a useful way of learning something. However, it seems that many clubs don’t reduce the distance after the students have progressed past the beginner level. Secondly, even if they did then the other issues mentioned above still subsist (i.e. the incorrect attacks and incorrect defences). Furthermore, please see below video of two of my youngest students performing my club’s alternative to Ippon Kumite. This myth that kids need to learn Ippon Kumite and that they are unable to develop skills to deal with NCV is simply untrue and the evidence is within the video where my students perform a series of techniques that can be used when dealing with NCV. https://www.facebook.com/leighsimmskarate/videos/vb.1405470313079043/1575212752771464/?type=2&theater I want to bring up a point that I hear sometimes in response to my critique of the effectiveness of Ippon Kumite. This is that “Master X practiced Ippon Kumite, therefore, it must work”. It may be true that Master X practices Ippon Kumite, but that does not necessarily mean that his success as a “fighter” is due to the Ippon Kumite training. If Ippon Kumite assists with developing skills for Consensual Combat then we would see MMA, Boxing, Thai Boxing, etc...training in this practice. The reality is that they do not. Instead, they practice defending against attacks that are likely to be used in the cage/ring. Another argument that I come across is that "it is right because we've always done it this way.” Essentially this is a form of the logical fallacy known as the argument from tradition and claiming something should be done for the sake of tradition is not an argument for the effectiveness of the drill. However, I fully understand that clubs will practice Ippon Kumite for historical purposes (i.e. to keep the practice alive). I also understand that a lot of clubs/students find them fun to do and will continue to practice them for those reasons. However, I hope that the future of Karate will progress to a point where Ippon Kumite (in its current form) is no longer practiced as training method purporting to develop fighting skills for both consensual combat and non-consensual violence. Leigh

Hi sensei8, Good post above. I don't think that anyone can judge your own personal expression of kata bunkai except yourself. Can I ask the question as to what you mean by effective bunkai?

Hi! Thanks for posting the kata. I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to Wado Kata and I don't usually like to comment on kata as I find it is generally a highly subjective matter and what one person thinks is important it not the same as another person etc.. That being said, I noticed your front foot on the back stances is slightly turned inwards and I believe it should point forward? And near the beginning of the kata (after the first move, you turn and do two mid-level Uke) when you turn back with the left arm doing the outside to inside "block" (move 4), the non-blocking hand does not go all the way back to hip as I believe it should? Maybe these points help, or maybe they're irrelevant