Oldschool_EugueRyu

Everyone here seems to have the right idea. If you're cornered by 3 knuckleheads, I'd say your best bet is to rely on yourself to get out of that, whether that is using your karate, your surroundings, or just your words. Whatever it takes. That's combat. As for things that might make Karate helpful in such a situation, let me point to the Kiai. Master this and three unsuspecting knuckleheads will flinch whether you fight or not. ...not that I'm telling you to bark at people. xD But we have the saying of "The bark is worse than the bite" for a reason. It gets into people's heads and that can potentially even the odds if you're out numbered. The truth is, however, that you will not want to fight three knuckleheads no matter what color your belt and karate can help you cement the ways you can avoid such an encounter and teach you to get yourself out of them if you find yourself in one. In short, I'd say a trained person to be able to react to danger in a way an untrained person cannot. That training can mean a number of things, though.

Thank you, yeah, I'm aware of this school. It is a few states away from me, so not really accessible. My dojo used to also have a site hosting this type of information, but it is long gone these days. Looks like it might be my only options to learn the Eugue Ryu unique kata again. In both JKA and SKA Shotokan, this series of techniques is taught as a twisting escape from an opponent’s wrist grab, leading in a single motion to a circular bottom fist/hammer fist strike to the face. The techniques include a height change. The grab break is definitely an application in Eugue Ryu, as well, though we don't change our height at all. The hammer fist is downward, though, ending around hip height, forearm parallel to the ground. The issue is rather complicated, with each of the styles interpreting and adapting these and other kata movements and their applications in different ways. This brief historical article on the Pinan/Heian kata in general may serve as a helpful starting point for further inquiry: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/article/brief-history-pinan-heian-katas Very interesting! Didn't answer too many of my questions, aside from some of the Shodan/Nidan confusion, but still extremely interesting. Thank you for your time! I still wonder why the technique in this spot has changed so much in the different styles but the rest has stayed relatively the same. Just super interesting to me! If anyone else has details on how their style handles this spot, please let me know!

Right, I know. The style isn't at all mainstream. I've tried for a long time to figure out where it fits on the spectrum of various karate styles. Shito Ryu resembles our style the most, I think. There are still major differences, however. The movements and techniques seem very much like what I learned, but the kata are very slightly different, as are some of the techniques. Though it is minor things that stick out. For example, Shito Ryu does a lot more height variance in their kata, whereas our style, like Shotokan, teaches us to keep a uniform height. I could pick apart other things as well. Our Pinan/Heian Shodan, for example, has a cat stance sweep + hammer fist + stomp an early section that I've seen in no other style. Shito Ryu has something similar in the same section of the kata, but not at the same movement. They do a cat stance + hammer fist, but without the sweep in place of the first lower level block. We in Eugue Ryu do it following the second. Retract from forward leaning stance to cat stance with a powerful inside sweep of the foot and deliver a stomp + hammer fist in a short circular motion. Shotokan has a movement following the second lower level block that feels like the same thing we do. In Shuri Ryu, you see a single-hand middle level block after the second lower level block. Kyukushin has an inside block here after the second lower level block. In many others, I find a kick at the end of the section. I have seen Tang Soo Do do a break away following the second lower level block, drawing back into horse or cat stance with an a hammer fist either high or to the groin. Still no sweep, but they do shift into a stance very similarly to the way we do, and the hammer fist almost looks right. The sweep and stomp are missing, though. But they have the same circular motion, just larger and more exaggerated compared to the style I learned. In Eugue Ryu, we kept that movement crisp and compact. Very powerful punctuation to a gedan barai joint lock or throw. The sweep, I feel, is there to make sure they eat dirt in case they managed to stay up after being tossed around. Still, Tang Soo Do has the closest thing I've seen to this in the wild. Which kinda makes sense, since Ray Flowers picked up Eugue Ryu Karate in Korea. I have no doubt it picked up some influences there. I've been wondering about this apparently volatile piece of the first Pinan/Heian kata and it's relation between different styles for a long time. ... Actually, this sounds like it could make for a nice topic of it's own. If it hasn't already been done. xD Maybe I'll check later and repost as a general Karate question. Still, I've seen no other style have the same combo Eugue Ryu does following that second block and this has led me to a lot of kata deconstruction on this particular set, basic as it might be!

I hope nobody cares that I'm dredging this old thread back up. I used to be a practitioner back in the day at the Kansas City School. My sesnei was primarily James Hess though senseis Baswell and Jones would also show up to class once we had a decent student base showing up. I trained with the Ricky, Whitney, David, Garrett, Mason, and Freddie amongst others. Sadly, I've heard that my sensei died in 2017. To my knowledge, the Blind Dragon is still kicking but I have no information on Sensei Jones. The Kansas City branch has sadly dwindled into obscurity. This hurts as I learned two very special kata from Eugue Ryu that I have seen no where else. Ichikyu is simply a beginner kata on the surface, there's no doubt about it. But there are a few nice little secrets hidden in there. Things that Sensei Hess made us discern from the kata for ourselves and later affirm with him. He always wanted us thinking about our kata, not simply going through the motions. He wanted us to understand what we were doing and more importantly why we did it. I never touched Nikyu. Sensei said we didn't teach it anymore. If anyone knows anything about it, that's why I'm here. Moreso, though, the following kata. Sankyu wasn't something I hadn't perfected, I think that takes a lifetime anyhow, but had learned well enough to move on to Nihanchi which stole away much of my focus. I remember the movements well enough to reconstruct my old kata from various videos in different styles. Of course, there is editing that must be done but it is possible. However, Sankyu is a mystery to the internet. If anyone could lay out the three unique Eugue Ryu kata for me, I'd be extremely greatful. I struggled to cobble together a bit of what I believe is the beginning. If this is familiar to anyone at all, please help me complete the kata! Step back with left foot into righthand lower level block. Left Punch Step up, feet together, sword chamber. Left Side Kick Kiba Dachi Then there is another sequence that I've got stuck in my head but I can't hammer it out... Step back into righthand lower level block. Front Kick Back Kick Back forward leaning stance Shift forward Front Kick Side Kick Chamber kick Kiba Dachi Double Lower Cross Block Right over left Twist/Twirl Step back into Forward Leaning Stance Upper level block Left hand to right ear, one hand knife hand block, other to chamber Any help would be appreciated! ALSO! In this forum a handful of people have mentioned Eugue Ryu's Yellow Book. Blind Dragon (Sensei Baswell) posted it on his site, but that site is down now. Samurai Dave mentioned being something of a historian for this sort of thing and wanted to collect the book. OP had asked for it. A number of people seemed into it. I don't expect that this book would lay ouit the kata I am looking for, but I would like to see the original document I kept hearing about back in the day. Mostly, I'm hoping to drum up any interest in Eugue Ryu so I can stumble down memory lane for a bit, so even if you just know something here or that about it, I'd be interested!