Miick 11

Different than using a blade but similar , the best thing about it is , 'keeping track of what happened ' (afterwards ) during the more realistic knife drills ; - large red texta pen - { One time a mate wanted a go , he is pretty rough and crazy but not a martial artist . For some reason he became fixated with trying to stab me in the groin . Anyway at the end he was boasting ; ' Martial arts .... HA ! Look at his arms ! He got red marks all over them ! " Me ; " Well, it is a 'knife' fight , both are sure to be cut at some stage . " Him ; " I wasn't ! " Me : " Come with me . " I took him into the bathroom and got him to look in the mirror ; " What ? " Me ; " Lift your chin up . " He did ... and then saw a thick red line going from near one ear under the chin, across the throat and over to the other ear . " Whan did you do THAT ! ? " - and no one got hurt .

Crash : " seriously, a bo has to be licensed????? does no one there have walking sticks for hiking? " Yes . They also have broom and tool handles for sale .... but they are not considered a bo . Crazy huh ? The law here (NSW ) can be just as silly ; someone breaks into your house, you clout them, that's assault . I also teach some SD 'legalities' . If it ever comes to it do not tell the police ; " Well, he broke into my house, my wife and kids where home , he seemed crazy like he was on something , so I grabbed my bo and smashed him over the head . " No no no . " Well, he broke into my house, my wife and kids where home , he seemed crazy like he was on something , he advanced towards me and I backed up but the wall was behind me and he had me up against it . He grabbed me so I fumbled behind myself and my hand came upon the broom, so I took that up and used it to push him away from me . Then we started wrestling with the broom , I was able to subdue him . The head of the broom must have come off at some stage . " - yeah , my brooms do seem to have thicker handles than usual .... I get tired of them breaking all the time .

It would not work in my club . Because we dont have 'kyu' to be 'promoted' through . An instructor tried it in the past and after a couple got to Shodan ..... they stopped coming so much , so it sort of backfired . The 'traditional' way ( with us , via Kosei Nishihira ) , with those he considered his students , after some time he would just tell them ; 'Now you are Nidan . " or whatever . And that was based on attendance , skill and comprehension . One thing he appreciated and encouraged in overseas students , when visiting, was involvement and interest in traditional Okinawan Culture .

" I think at least two states have outlawed me owning any kind of powerful tools! " ??? In my state, MA training weapons are legal , except for nunchuks and tonfa , but we dont do them , but in the next state south , you need a license to have a bo and supposed to keep it locked up in a gun safe - weird !

- by repeatedly hacking into opponents with them ? Seriously though .... be a shame to blunt a good knife . We have 3 'Soken Sai' and 3 ' Soken Gamma' katas , so I used to two weapon wielding . I realized I can do most of these moves with a machete ( one of the most common assault weapons here ) but people didnt like that , they really backed off ! I didnt think blunting them would work as its hard to tell from distance , people still worried about the crazy guy in the park twirling and slashing with 2 machetes - so I got a wooden pair made , I luv em ! Custom made , can still deliver a clout or stab and even from a distance people can see they are wood and assume ; 'martial arts practice ' instead of potential danger . I usually blunt stuff on a grinding wheel , or angle grinder but I guess you dont have one .

In case you have not seen this yet . http://ryukyuma.blogspot.com/2012/06/okinawan-kiko.html

Thanks! I am familiar with the Daoist traditions in this regard (water method) by being an initiate in the Longmen Pai (Dragon Gate Sect - 龙门派) of the Complete Reality School (Quanzhen - 全真) of Daoism. My interest here is in learning more about the Okinawan Kiko (気功 - gigong) methods that seem to be almost impossible to find. The water methods concentrate right from the beginning of training to open up the joints. The joints, by the way, are said to all have "energy gates" and opening them (via and in conjunction with) opening the joints are of extreme importance. Thanks! IMO joints in 'improper alignment ' block or 'leak ' ki . Tight or 'closed' joints restrict flow . The 'gates' can be closed by ' ki flow' relating to aligned movement / posture eg . Some one grips my forearm with both their hands . I can direct ki through my body and down my arm and out my hand and fingers and 'surge' forward and the other will fold backwards . Or do the same 'high' , they will go up on tippy toes . But if I step in in a cross stance , bend my arm so my elbow is pointing down and ( close elbow gate ) and direct my ki through my body and arm but now out my elbow point , to the ground , down they go .

Ah! Thank you sir! That helps. I would not, personally, rely on a fictional TV show to impart any sort of historical fact. However, if it does spur personal interest, research and learning...then I guess that it has served its purpose. I think in answering this question, you really have to understand the situation at the time. Many folks have posted good snippets along those lines. It is important to understand that prior to about 1900, there really were not martial arts "schools" (dojo - 道場). Or styles, or ranks...or any of the things that we would normally think of along those lines. You were merely a "student of so-and-so". 1900 is used a general line of demarcation because it is around this time that "karate" was being pushed into the school system in order to popularize the art and make it more "mainstream" to not only the educational system, but on mainland Japan as well. Funakoshi Gichin was one of the main proponents of this (under Itosu Anko) even said the following: “Hoping to see Karate included in the physical education taught in our public schools, I revised the kata to make them as simple as possible. Times change, the world changes, and obviously the martial arts must change too. The Karate that high school students practice today is not the same Karate that was practiced even as recently as ten years ago, and it is a long way indeed from the Karate I learned when I was a child in Okinawa.” Not only does Funakoshi state clearly that he changed the martial arts that were currently being taught as compared to about 10 years ago, but there is a clear implication (that I think may folks often overlook) there as an even earlier change in the martial arts from what he (Funakoshi) learned as a child...or further back in history. Consider also the quote from Mabuni Kenwa: "As up to now [1938] karate has only partly been introduced in Tōkyō, people who exercise karate in Tōkyō believe that it solely consists of atemi (punching) and kicking techniques. When talking about gyaku-waza and nage-waza they assume that these only exist in jūjutsu and jūdō. This way of thinking is exceedingly counterproductive with respect to karate itself and can only possibly be attributed to a lack of knowledge. In any case, with respect to the propagation of karate-dō it is exceedingly disappointing that only a small part of the entirety of karate had been introduced in Tōkyō. To those who have the future of karate-dō in mind I recommend to under no circumstances narrow-mindedly hold on to the “nutshell” of a style and a school, but rather to synthetically explore karate as a whole. We can see that even in 1938 (with just a couple of decades of real exposure in Japan), "karate" had changed such that it was thought of and primarily taught as a punching and kicking art only. Thus loosing a large part of the whole of the original art and being a changed art from what it originally started as. So, can we say that there are "secrets" that were not being taught at this time? Sure. Look at the pre-1900 situation. No real formal classes or schools that were open to the public...with only a small handful of students being taught at a time. So, technically, a level of secrecy there. Then, as those that were working to make "karate" more mainstream to the public, even they say that what was taught "back in the day" was very different than what they themselves learned (reference the quote above). So, at least in technical terms, there was a level of secrecy there because the art being publicly taught was different than what it was originally or at least in the historical past. In general, consider the following quote from Soken Hohan from about 1978: "There are many secrets in karate that people will never know and will never understand. These ideas are really not secret if you train in Okinawa under a good teacher. You will see the teacher use these so called secret techniques over and over again until they will become common knowledge to you. Others will look at it and marvel that it is an advanced or secret technique to them. That is because they do not have good teachers or their teachers have not researched their respective styles." The above is a deep, deep statement. According to Soken, there are "secrets" in karate. But, he does indicate that these secrets are not secrets since you can see them displayed (and by inference, not necessarily taught or explained publicly) by a good and qualified instructor. This reminds me of the fact that Yamada Haruyoshi (9th dan, Hanshi) had a scroll on the wall of his dojo that said: “The esoteric principles of karate are found within basic technique” This idea goes back to the discussion we had here on the forum about the terminology of kata and, in particular, kakushi (隠し or kakushite/kakushidi)...that which is hidden or obscured even though it is clearly shown or evidenced (in the kata). And even the concept of "nanjiru gokuden"...that is the secrets learned by yourself and understood through great trial and effort. So, again, secrets or hidden/obscured aspects to what was being taught? Yes, but not so much in the way modern and/or Western students may think of it. More hidden in plain sight and/or hidden in the sense that you have to personally uncover what is there (i.e. what is being shown to you by a qualified teacher but not specifically being taught explicitly) by means of you continued hard work, training, exploration and learning. Lastly, look at how the koryu (古流 - old school or traditional) martial arts in Japan were taught. There is a great and interesting (as well as expensive) book by Maki Isaka Morinaga with the title "Secrecy in Japanese Arts: 'Secret Transmission' as a Mode of Knowledge". Secrecy was very much a means of teaching. Such teaching utilized hiden (秘伝 - secret writings) and this was very often in the form of densho (伝書 - a scroll or some form of a "book" that was handed down generation to generation and was considered to be a "book of secrets"). They also used kuden (口伝 - oral instruction) and that too was "secret" as what was taught verbally to one student or deshi was not necessarily taught to others. All of this was a part of the menkyo (免許) licensing system (as opposed to the dan/kyu ranking system used by modern of gendai budo (現代武道). So, if two people trained for 25 years (just as an example) in a koryu art and one of them attained the rank (or license) of menkyo kaiden (免許皆伝 - a license of "total transmission" - the highest level of rank that one can receive), then he will have learned all of the true "secrets" of the art that were not taught to anyone else...including those that had trained for the same amount of time. Just as a side note, there could have been (and were) more than one single person that received a menkyo kaiden in a given ryuha or school of koryu budo. The point here being that, yes...there were secrets that were taught to some and not to others (for a variety of different reasons). Jeez...I am rambling here more than I usually do! LOL! Bottom line is, in my opinion, there are secrets in the martial arts. And, in particular, there are secrets within the Okinawan martial arts ("karate") that were not taught to the Japanese (or anyone else for that matter). The art in Okinawa was changed to make it acceptable to the educational system (of Japan and Okinawa) and the mainland population of Japan (given the socio-political environment of the time). So, it was not "appropriated" as was originally asked. The issue is that you have to define, really, what kind of secret you are asking and looking for as there are several. There are things that became "secret" because they were left out as the art changed. There are things that are "secret" because even though they are clearly visible in what you are shown, you are expected to figure them out yourself. Additionally, there are also things that are "secret" because your instructor never learned them or learned them correctly (for a number of possible reasons). Sorry to have rambled so much. Hopefully someone will find benefit from all of the above. Sometimes I feel we have the same insights But I got them via Hohan Sokken > Kosei Nishihira > their students ( ie some where students of both ) > me .... and my own study and research . We practice the old style from Hohan Soken . I wrote this here before ; Soken came back from Argentina to Okinawa and saw some people practicing ' karate ', he asked ' What are those people doing ? " ..... the surprised response was "Karate " Soken didnt even recognize it as karate . Much of our kata has 'historical' application : eg , a double flying big toe kick ; the first one up the second one out ; the first flicks the brim of the amigasa, or similar, up, puling the strap and chin up, the next goes into the throat . or Kusanku , where the arms of the other are swept down , their front hair comb is snatched out and rammed back into their throat .

Ah! Thank you sir! I would appreciate it very much. I heard the term used once by Higaonna Morio at a Gasshuku back in the 90's and was not at a point where I could follow up with him personally. I then read it in an article that, for the life of me, I can not find (also back in the 90's) in relation to Okinawan kiko (気功)...in particular. It is along the lines of kai he gong (opening and closing work - 開合功) in qigong traditions and, I am supposing, follows much of the Taoist training found in Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan. From those traditions, it is very much an opening (elongating if you prefer) of the joints...done for "energetic" reasons. I would be very interested in anything at all that you (or anyone else!) could help me uncover. The Daoist site I am a member on has a heap of stuff on those subjects and I think you would get a wide variety of opinions there on your questions . Not sure if I can post that here so I will PM it to you

I cant offer much but it did make think of exercises like this ; Also, some of the wrist and shoulder locks when applied seem to give the same 'therapy' . After training in Aikido for some time I began to look forwards to my 'joint massages ' Senior got me pinned on the floor, applying pressure ... applying more ..... " Give in yet ? " ' A little more please ' .......... tap tap ...... "Thankyou ! " beginners thought I was suffering from that 'over polite Aikido syndrome '

By and large, the terms are Japanese. The Okinawan language (at least one of them...primarily spoken in the central and southern region/islands...I think there are a total of 6 or 7 actual languages spoken throughout Okinawa) is Uchināguchi (沖縄口). Most people in Okinawa speak Japanese except for a contingent of older folks. Actually, the language is danger of dying out in the next decade or so unless something is done to keep it alive. Most martial arts these days on Okinawa (at least in my experience) are taught in Japanese. There are some terms like chinkuchi (チンクチ), gamaku (ガマ) and others that are the actual Okinawan terms as opposed to Japanese. Here are a few examples that I had handy in my note taking software. Obviously there are more, but I don't have them handy: Punch - chichi [or chikei] (tsuki) Straight punch – chichidi (tsuki-te) Clenched fist – tijikun (seiken) Back-fist - ura tijikun (ura-seiken) Hammer-fist - uchidi (uchi-te) [usually called “tettsui-uchi” in Japanese] Sword hand - tigatana (shuto) Spear-hand - nuchidi (nukite) Back-hand uradi (ura-te) [usually called “kaishu uchi” in Japanese] Forearm strike - udi-uchi (ude-uchi) Pulling-hand - fichidi (hiki-te) Elbow strike - hijigee ati (hiji ate) Kick – giri (geri) Front kick - mee giri (mae geri) Side kick - yuku-giri (yoko geri) Back kick - kushi giri (koshi geri) Knee kick - chinshi giri Toe kick - iibi zaachi giri Naihanchi kick - naifanchi-giri (naihanchi-geri) Reception [block] - uki (uke) High reception - wii uki (ue-uke) Rising reception - aji uki (age-uke) Down reception - hicha-uki (shita-uke) Outside reception - fuka-uki (hoka-uke) Inside reception - naaka uki (naka uke), uchi uki (uchi uke) Heavy-sticky – muchimi (mochimi) Heavy hands - ti nu umumi (te no omomi...something along the lines of iron palm) Changing hand - findi or finrii (henshu) Hopefully, that is of some help to you. Certainly is ! Thankyou ...... 'reception', 'to receive ' - seems the opposite of 'block' . This is all significant and I will get back to you on it . I am just navigating through some other issues first .

A bit rushed for time at the moment , but a quick question : The terms you cited re blocks , their names . Thats Japanese yeah ? How did they get those names ? Are they translations from Okinawan or tier own terms . anyone know the Okinawan names of those techniques ?

Did you know that if you are teaching any of the Niharchin forms ( 1 - 3 ) , you can stand facing the students and do them in reverse and if the students copy your moves they will be doing it the right way around . Its a 'mirror image ' kata

That is exactly how I teach kata ! People have trouble learning in class as there is never a breakdown , the whole kata is done . So I teach them , in my lessons , like this : " Show me the first move 3 times , no mistake ." Then I add the next move . Even if they are up to 8 moves and they are doing it the third time and make a mistake , " Nope, do it 3 times again , when they do THEN the next move is added . One guy after 6 months still did not know Niharchin Shodan ! he was amazed that he learned it after 20 mins with this method . Oh yeah .... but they arent reall 'doing kata' as such . Here is one ; look at a kata and its main technique Eg In our goju-shiho , its a crane form PART of its main techniques , the , wings , beak and neck of 'the crane' are used . So 'sparing ' ( here more like 'flow drill' ie, slower , precise, telegraphed, to an extent , so as not to 'get a point ' but explore technique ) is done with one only using those techniques . " You ! Fight him ... but only use techniques from Chinto ." - it a very interesting exercise . Here is an example of 'flow drill ' ; ( Ahhhh .... Sikiran ! I did it my youth )

tatsujin wrote: At the outset, let me say (for the sake of bushido_man96 and anyone else reading this), my comments and questions below are not ment in any way to necessarily disagree with or question what he (bushido_man96) has said. I like to ask questions...because questions (and the resulting answers) helps me better understand. Sometimes, when I question things, people will think I am in disagreement with them or what they have said. Not necessarily always the case... You sound like me ! ya know, back in my youth shotokan days , not much made sense so I asked about it . I was eventually told " Its rude to ask questions ." Most of the time I think it was because they did not know the answers themselves ! tatsujin wrote: When you say that you don't delve too much into form or kata applications, does that also mean that you don't do much work with individual katas themselves? Or does that mean that you have katas and you do them, but you don't do much work on the application side? I ask the question above because it initially reminds me of my Shotokan days. In class, after bowing in and doing our warmups, we would then begin to work on various techniques. Whatever the sensei that night want to do (and based on the skill level of the class). After a bit, we would work on kata. Randomly we would have a bit of bunkai (incorrectly used...it was really oyo). So at this level, there was a little bit of a connection from the kata to the techniques we had been working on. But, the most importance was placed on the performance and look of the kata. Then, on most nights, we would finish up with sparring (free sparring with pads...jiyu-kumite - 自由組手). What was interesting was that when we were doing the free sparring, it really did not at all resemble the techniques we were doing in the basics. The kicks were probably the closest match. But, the punching was much different. Hands held different. The actual punch itself was delivered different...as was the starting point of the punch as virtually everyone was in some form of "Western boxing stance". For a long time, I just really wondered why there were, essentially, three (3) different categories of work and none of them really crossed over much to the other or built upon each other. That ^ aways amused me . Still does . First time I hit my instructor with an uppercut (because it was the most obvious, closest and most direct technique - 'opportunity ' - to present itself ) he had no idea where it came from or what happened . Very stuck 'in the box' . Every punch delivered seems a "Jun - tzuki " . He says to someone ; " Punch! " and they automatically do Jun-tsuki ( even though they and him do not know what that means ) . He says to me , inviting me to punch him , "Punch! " And I used to say ' What type of punch ? " ... and no one seemed to know what I meant ? Not sure what is going on in karate sometimes ! Well, I am actually but it took several years of studying some intricate inside revelations about Japanese culture before I did . I heard the same from 'Jessie - Karate Nerd ' on video ; he is warming up before training in Japan . He does some punching warming up and the Japanese students are watching and ... " OOOOOO ... boxing ! " , " He bring boxing into it ! " Jessie gave that as an example of 'what is wrong with karate' . People punch different in kumite as the other way DOES NOT WORK ! Mostly becasue they have no concept of what 'the other way' is supposed to be used for . A good example is people attacking using the other hand in a hitake movement . You soon learn NOT to do that in a fight , (unless you are using the technique correctly ) . Even my 'instructor' doesnt get it . I had to show him ; Me ; "Punch ! " - he does a Jun-tsuki and retracts opposite hand to hip . Me : " Show me beginning of Seisan ." ..... stop . Now, that series of punches you did then, you had your other arm up and forward in a head guard , why ? " Him ; " That's the way its done . " .... < sigh > ..... Me: "Okay then , punch my hand ." I offer my right palm , he steps in and whacks it with a right Jun-tsuki ... HARD .... ( just to show me , but this isnt the point at all ) and retracts his other hand to hip . I smack him upside the head with my other hand , he does not like that at all . Now I say , "Punch my hand again with a ' Seisan punch' ." He steps in, punches my hand with a right and his left us held up protecting his head . I go to slap him upside his head with my other hand and with a minimal movement of his non punching arm he easily deflects it . Then I ask , "So, why do you punch and teach people to punch and attack always with Jun-tsuki ? " He thought about it . 2 weeks later, new student , he teaching them to punch 'properly' , only the one punch and its Jun-tsuki again ! Ho-hum . tatsujin wrote: So, after my long story, I am just curious to know if you do work kata and don't do much or any work on the applications or oyo from the kata then why do the kata? Again, assuming this is the case (you do kata, but not applications of or from the kata), what value do you find from the kata / Sorry if I am bouncing off your questions to someone else . I have noticed Okinawans LUV kata . Just the kata itself it doesnt even have to mean aything , they just love watching it . Of course, the Masters , are different : Hohan Soken was impressed with WATCHING Americans do kata when he went to USA ... until he asked them for their explanations , 'break down' . Someone observed he appeared to be laughing. Later he told them ; ' You do beautiful kata , but it break my heart , you do kata.... but you dont know why . " He did go on to show some his understanding of it .... but they just sorta ignored that and went on the way it evolved to become . Soken also asked them " How you get 3 , 4 even 5 degree black belt here ? people come study Okinawa , we give a few maybe one or two dan . They no come back study ! How you get 5 Dan in America ? " That was met with an embarrassed silence . tatsujin wrote: When you refer to not using Japanese terminology, I can understand that from the point of it being confusing to some...especially for beginners. But, do you (as an instructor) find any benefit from it? I find that actually understanding the actual translation of the Japanese names and/or terms helps me to understand what the earlier generations and founders ment as opposed to how it is viewed today (like uke being a block). The Japanese (and Chinese) are well known for "hiding things in plain site". Alot can be "hidden" in the words and names given to things. Additionally, alot can be lost when an interpretation or translation of something is incorrect or only partially correct. Again, thanks for your comments! As before, I look forward to your response when you get a chance. I find my teaching is entirely UNsuitable in a regular karate class . Perhaps only for special 'seminars' . Its a bit challenging for most .

Not just that . Many teachers never had dojos or dojo tradition in Okinawa ( my style is a 'traditional family' style ) . The last master of my style , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosei_Nishihira never did . He never charged fees either , not to HIS students anyway ( you might have been drafted into his production line though when his training room got converted back into a bento box business ) . Only time I saw him in gi was for group photo with students . Once when asked what belt he had he looked down at his slacks ( that he usually trained in ) belt and said " Today , it is brown . " . Other Masters came from all over the place to get his teaching . At his funeral many of these attended , amazing the neighbors - they had no idea he had been a world class karate master . His teacher , Hohan Soken commented ( way back after his trip to USA ) " We teach a few people from America . We tell them, you come back and study more . But they never come back . " ( it needs to be remembered that even ten a back then this was not even a club, dojo nor had a name , they where referred to as Mr Soken's group - later they adopted some names but soon changed them ) " Now I see many many people here doing karate , clubs , competition . We had no idea when we taught you that you would go home, open clubs teach so many people. " At a guess I would say he was impressed by their love of karate but not the 'big $$$ biz' it became ..... or maybe thought he should have got cut ..... I dont know if Soken charged fees . I dont , I refuse . I see what happens to karate when its tried to be turned into a business , especially a primary income business ! - got no gi nor dojo either . Training is at park by river in town or at home in my outside grassy flatish area " The Circle of Death ' . Certainly , there is more than one perspective !

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. I am assuming (?) that with the wink there that you already know the answer to the question you ask...but gedan barai is an interesting point to discuss. Maybe others might find it interesting... So, gedan bari (下段払い) translates to lower level (gedan) sweep or sweeping motion (bari). Could it be a "block" of some kind? Sure, I guess it could. But, in going by the translation of the name? Not necessarily. It's also interesting to note that the same general movement is also called gedan ude uke (下段腕受け or 下段腕受ける - sorry, I am rusty). So, in this case it is a lower level arm receiver. Would folks consider this to be the same as the lower level sweep of gedan barai? I don't know for sure. Certainly, gedan barai could just be a description of the movement itself (which is another can of worms to open). But I don't necessarily think that it is. I could most certainly see two totally distinct categories of techniques here. As an interesting side note to this from my aikijutsu days and ashi bari (足払い). This is commonly translated as "foot sweep". And, technically (based on the translation) correct. BUT...it can also mean leg sweep. When training with a very high ranking shihan in aikijutsu, he explained to the class to not just get caught up in ashi barai being soley a "foot" sweep as it could be any part of our foot OR leg used to unbalance and/or take down an opponent. It can also be used as an irimi (入り身) or entering technique. He then told us to go play with this...and I have been doing so now for a number of years. Interesting thought though...

Agree ! ....... Thoughts ? Awesome . I'd like to know your thoughts on Japanese terms for basic single moves . Here is a good one ' Gedan - barai ' ...... that translates to ' downward block' ......... yeah ?

Hmmmm ... cant see where it was suggested that it was appropriated by Japan . But in a way, I felt it had been . I started Shotokan as a kid and did it for many years . Not once did I hear of Okinawa or the real history of karate's origins . It was all Funakoshi ..... a little shoman in the east with his pic on the wall . I guess if I pressed anyone ( that knew about it ) they would have said , 'Yes, originally Okinawa , but that is part of Japan . " Thing is , Japan 'appropriated' the whole country of Okinawa , not just its karate

I am sure many Okinawan masters kept their best moves secret . And by way of this, not everything passed into Japanese karate . In particular one needs to look at Itosu . He trained for a bit with Matsamura (who told him he was not fast enough and did not want to teach him anymore ) so he went elsewhere and trained hard under another master who actually only taught him body building - which he didn't even seem to realize until Master tells him on his deathbed . So he went elsewhere again . Then he developed his own style suitable to teach in school system in Okinawa . So already a HEAP of stuff is left out or modified for school kids . Also he was Funakoshi's teacher And then he took this system to Japan , pre-empting Funakoshi ; " It was Itosu who brought Karate from the shadows into the light of public study. (4) In 1901 he began instructing karate at the Shuri Jinjo Primary school (Iwai 1992, Okinawa Pref. 1994) and taught at the Dai Ichi middle school and the Okinawa prefectural Men's Normal School in 1905 (Bishop 1999, Okinawa Pref. 1994, 1995). ... " In October of 1908 Itosu realized it was time for Karate to reach beyond the shores of Okinawa to the heart of Japan itself. It was to this end that he wrote his famous letter of Ten Precepts (Tode Jukun) to draw the attention of both the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of War. After demonstrations were held for several naval vessels, the most important of which was the 1912 visit of Admiral Dewa, karate emerged as an attractive vehicle for developing young fighting men for the imperialistic Japanese government of the period. " http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=1 Then there was all the stuff Funakoshi cntributed to Japanese karate . So we could say , NO not everything was shared with the Japanese . Not everything was shared with the Okinawans ether . Eg from the same source above ; " It is perhaps one of the greatest testaments to the skill of this karateka ( Itosu ) that he developed such a group of superb students, who in turn promoted his art. The karate that descended from Itosu represents one of the great Okinawan karate heritages known as Shorin-Ryu. His students comprise a virtual "who's who" of the founding fathers of modern karate. They include: Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro, Jiro Shiroma, Chojo Oshiro, Shigeru Nakamura Anbun Tokuda, Moden Yabiku, Kenwa Mabuni, Gichin Funakoshi, Chosin Chibana, Moden Yabiku, and Choki Motobu (who contrary to popular stories spent some eight years of training under Itosu). " yet here , and nearly all karate history nothing is said of that 'other line from Matsamura ' that did not undergo all these dynamics and changes . And the names of the people in that tradition from Matsamura do not appear above . Hence that tradition is sorta secret , to most . It certainly is not in Japanese style , nor 'Okinawan school style' nor anything that followed on from it . Its not even in many "Shorin-ryu " schools . - I have written more about it here in other posts . I hope you liked the 'juice' above .

I started Karate, Shotokan, as a school kid, so I learned Heian forms . Then much later I did Shorin-ryu Pinan forms . I prefer the latter due to a greater depth of applications and techniques . However I have seen many different ways of doing Pinan some little different from Heian . Even a single move , transitioning from one stance / direction to another has so much 'significance' in it and its other possible applications . This is entirely lost in Heian as that move isnt even executed in it ! Originally we only did the first 2 Pinan , although now the 5 of them . Mr Nishihira 'started' off with Niharchin Shodan ( his favorite kata to teach people his form ) . However I would never teach school kids, or even youths and adults whom I considered 'irresponsible' these techniques ..... hence their changing so as to make a 'school physical education system' out of them .

Maybe it has something to do with the coronavirus? I know that I would not be thrilled to be inhaling someone else’s hot dragon breath at point blank range. Socially distanced kata practice seems pretty attractive given the current pandemic situation! I’m not exactly sure that we ever saw a good matchup of “elite athletes” in the early days of the UFC since I seem to remember it essentially being a Gracie promotional campaign. It would have been nice to see someone of the caliber of a JKA instructor or the son of an Okinawan master that was eating/breathing/living karate like Royce did with his father and BJJ. I don't know about that. Dan Severn was an elite wrestling talent. Art "One Glove" Jimmerson was a professional Boxer at the time, and a former Golden Gloves Champion. I think there was plenty of talent in the early UFCs. The sport just hadn't evolved yet. My bad. I was referring specifically to karate. Even more so, there was a dearth of traditionally trained Japanese karate-ka. I only remember one Japanese guy that was like a nidan that let himself be taken down way too easily by Royce. You do realize that the 'Royce promotional campaign ' was rigged ( special opponents selected and 'rules' dictated by Gracies to restrict their oppositions talent ) ?

Yep. 1944-45 saw the passing of masters like Motobu, Funakoshi (Gigo), Hanashiro, Tokuda, and Kyan. A couple of them never got to really formalize their knowledge into a “style”, yet their students did. The 'founder of Shotokan' never developed a style ?

Its fairly easy to observe if you look at your own fist ; make a right fist (as in 1. above ) and look at it from the side , palm down, from the thumb side . One can see ( if you hand is constructed like mine ) the angle around the knuckles between the back of the hand and the finger is mostly 90 degrees , except for the index finger that can not move that far back ( when folded in ) as it comes up against the thumb joint . If you push it in , it will align with the other fingers , but as said above , a hard 'push in' might sprain it . Now try fist 2. above ( ' Okinawan fist ' ) and look at the alignment , if anything, now the ring finger is slightly in front ( again becasue the side of it is up against the thumb joint ) . Personally , I have not found it matters much as most punching done like that ( in my style ) is against relatively softer targets , harder targets, I use different parts of hands, knuckles or a different fist position . But if you re going to punch a makiwara or do Tameshiwari , then I highly recommend adjusting your hand accordingly . Of course conditioning is also important , not just developing callouses ( which I have none of ! ) but the whole hand , bones, tendons, structure ( and f course that should apply to the whole body ) ; I remember once during a break at work, me and boss are leaning against a sandstone block wall . he had done some Shotokan previously and we where always mucking around at work ; throwing surprise techniques at each other . All of a sudden I looked at him, threw a backfist at his head and 'smack! ' against the wall next to his temple . He looks at me and " Didnt that hurt ? " " Nope . " But before I could say anything else HE gives it a go ' SPLAT ! ' 'Owwww ... ouch ... you bastard ! " " Hey ! That wasn't my fault ! " One has to 'build up to it ' - heck, I have had the habit of 'slapping walls' with a back fist when I walk down the street ..... Ooooo , maybe over 30 years . All types , including rough stone . No damage , no calluses . Its about knowing exactly how much force you can stand to hit a specific target with .

Out of interest… what is a reverse front back stance?… I wanna see if it’s the same as my reverse front back stance It looks like an elongated front stance (say, on the right side ) ; right front foot forward, right arm in the position of an 'upper block ' , left arm back behind left leg in a sort of 'lower block position ' . And you are looking over your left shoulder . Thats a back front stance , or a front back stance , if you like . What makes it a 'reverse ' is after you do that stance, in 'Nabudi na Gata ' form and you pivot on balls of feet to face the other way , swapping the arm positions so now you are in a mirror image (reverse) of the previous 'back to front stance '