Classic Katas...okinawan and japanese.

[P.A.L]

shorin ryuu, in Naihanchi , how wide was his leg?

 

did you see any inward angle or it was parallel?

 

shotokankid , your bassai dai kata is almost same as our(shorin ryu kobayashi) passai sho (Itosu no passai), we just use cat stance and some cross stance where you use front stance.

[Shorin Ryuu]

His legs were about as wide as the way Nakazato does them on his videos (I think). To be honest, the segment with him doing naihanchi didn't let me see his feet though. I want to say perhaps shoulder-width and a half length, but don't quote me on this.

 

As far as an inward angle, it wasn't really obvious either way.

 

In my opinion, however, the feet shouldn't be really torqued inwards, they should just "feel" like they are inwards.

[Shorinman]

Shorin ryu, I can't wait till you watch the katas and explain them here, I have heard that our katas are very close to ones chibana used to do, is there any way you can put them on a web site?

 

Well, I don't own the videos, so that would be kind of difficult. My instructor has them, and he promised his instructor (whose still alive) not to release them. His instructor (Clarence Lee, former 8th dan under Shuguro Nakazato...wasn't kicked out of the system or anything, he just sort of drifted away) doesn't mind letting a few people see them, but doesn't want it to be all out there.

 

All the same, I'm going to try and see them Thursday, as I've no school (thanks to Veteran's Day...bless all those who have served and who are serving now). I have to coordinate it because he does live 2 hours away from me...

 

I'll tell you my impressions though (I will bring my notebook, at least, and jot some stuff down).

 

Here's some info on Clarence Lee, if you're interested in how he got the tapes:

 

http://www.martialartmasters.org/Official%20Website%20(Hall%20of%20Fame)_files/page0008.htm

 

Hello Shorin Ryuu,

 

Does Clarence Lee still do seminars? Also, can you PM me contact info for him?...Mailing address, e-mail, and Tel#.

 

My instructor trains under Nakazato and was there in the mid 1960's.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Keumgang]

and still goes on today...these classic katas have been altered and changed to not exactly mirrior the origional japanese and okinawan katas! even today if you belong to one school or federation they teach these katas one way, but so and so"s federation changes a few movements and does it differently. my opinion is it does an unjustice to the kata ...removes and leaves out important aspects of the kata. most replies stated that even the okinawan systems and shoto kan schools dont do them the way funakoshi taught them? they change them and alter them...i say BULL!!!!!i had a copy of funakoshis karate do khyon and just dont see anyone altering these katas who train in a japanese or okinawan system. so ive come here for an answere my friends. do you do your kata the way it was taught and introduced say 40 years ago unchanged? or does all systems of martial arts alter katas? just if i perform kata i want to do it correctly no matter what the koreans say!

 

A couple of posters said that altering the forms is injustice to the forms. I have to disagree.

 

Look at the alterations in Martial Arts in general. If I thought like the threadstarter, I can say that Kung Fu was altered by Karate and Taekwondo! Over time, circular movements changed to linear movements. Would it be fair to say that Taekwondo and Karate are cheap knockoffs of Kung Fu? I think not.

 

So, since you take Tang Soo Do, do you feel that it is an alteration of Shaolin Kung Fu? See what I'm getting at?

 

Look at the differences between the Japanese and Korean language. The same Chinese characters that translate to the Japanese "Karate Do" translates to "Tang Soo Do" in Korean, referring to the Tang dynasty in China.

 

Over time, things change and it doesn't make it better or worse. It's a fact of life.

 

Edited December 6, 2004 by Keumgang

[Shorinman]

Over time, things change and it doesn't make it better or worse. It's a fact of life.

 

 

This is very true.