Sakugawa no kon ?

[informer]

Let me get this straight. You know Okinawa Kobudo (Ryu Kyu Kobudo) but you have to learn kata from the internet? I'm confused about that.

 

For me though I can tell you that the Okinawa Kobudo I know is from my teacher who is from Okinawa and 8th Dan.

[Sauzin]

You see, now you're confusing me, informer. Some of you're statements appear rather pretentious. You first open by saying that a bo kata named Sakagawa no kun performed by a style named Sakugawa Koshiki Shorinji Ryu that can trace their lineage directly to Sakagawa is not in fact Sakagawa no kun. I don't care who your sensei is, you have no basis by which to say that a kata that another style practices is not what they choose call it. Especially when they can trace their lineage as they can. Now I practice a very different kata that happens to have the same name. I too can trace my lineage back to Sakugawa. Still, I'm not about to tell them that the kata they are practicing isn't what they are calling it. That's just not my place. Now unless you practice the style in question and know of a mistake with their web link to where it is pointing to the wrong video stream I don't think it is your place either. Forgive me if this is the case, but you comments don't seem to infer that. Please provide more information.

 

As far as him learning the kata from a video, I too think that this is not the best thing to do. But I also understand circumstance, and there are many which would justify what he is doing. Say he started in kobudo but then moved and wished to continue his training over a distance. Say he lost contact with his original teacher. Say he always liked the kata but cannot find anyone who knows it or can teach it to him. Why not give it a try? He's bound to learn something from it either way.

[informer]

That why karate and kobudo in Canada is so weak. Too many video masters. Anyway bud you can believe what ever you want it's a free world. But you can NOT learn WAZA from a video. Notice Taira Shinken never put out a video series for sale in the Century Martial Arts catalog?

[Sauzin]

On that point I completely agree with you. You should not be teaching a kata you learned from a video. Practicing, well, that's up to you. Really a guy's got to work with what he's got. But to teach it, you should have to learn the soul of it from a real person. Otherwise you miss the oral, and application traditions around the kata. This goes to create what I call soulless kata, and they should not be taught. "Masters" who's compliment consists of kata such as these disturb me as well. We agree on that point.