Toe kicks

[bushido_man96]

Is the use of the toe as the attacking tool limiting the type of kick done to an upward style front kick? Or do you have some other options?

[wildbourgman]

From what I know it's mostly front kicks and roundhouse kicks to specific body points.

[Spartacus Maximus]

In all styles that I know to train toe kicks, the kicks are limited to front kicks and roundhouse( mawashigeri) kicks. Both target soft areas from the solar plexus to the legs from a standing position. Higher targets may be kicked if a previous technique sets them up. The kicks trained and impact areas in my dojo are like this:

Front kick: big toe

Roundhouse: big toe

Sidekick: heel

Back kick: heel

Stomp/knee kick: heel

[bushido_man96]

I hadn't pictured the round kick in my head, but it makes sense, too. Thank you guys.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Also forgot to mention there is also jumping variations of the roundhouse, sidekick and front kick. All these are done the same manner as the non-jumping ones, only targets a different. The front jump-toe kick is aimed at the throat and Adam's apple.

The main idea with toe kicks is to kick straight into the target or upwards at an angle and in. Exactly like stabbing with a knife or spear. For example a front kick would go straight into the liver or it could go up into the arm pit or behind the groin.

[CredoTe]

Matsubayashi-Ryu uses toe-kicks. Osensei Nagamine's three primary instructors were Ankichi Arakaki, Chotoku Kyan, and Choki Motobu. All three used toe-kicks, with Arakaki considered a specialist in them. Arakaki was a direct student of Chosin Chibana; Chotoku Kyan was a direct student of Sokon Matsumura (of Shuri); Choki Motobu was a direct student of Kosaku Matsumura (of Tomari). Both Matsumuras used toe-kicks, as well as Chibana.

The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do[/i], Shoshin Nagamine, p. 96"]2. Fukubu-geri (Abdomen kick)

Tips of toes, tsumasaki, are used to kick the lower region of the body. This was Arakaki's specialty. Fukyugata II, Pinan I, IV, Ananku, Gojushiho, and Chinto...

We do train it; our Matsubayashi-Ryu director (my CI's instructor) is very good with it. We train against softer targets at first to build up strength, then heavier bags, then makiwara.

Osensei calls it out under an abdomen kick, but he taught it as a strike against any soft, vulnerable target, especially those in the lower areas of the body. Our director teaches us to use it against the lower abs where the bowels would be, groin, and inside thighs.

[devil dog]

We utilize the toe kick (Tsumasaki) in our art (Matsumura Shorin Ryu but we do not teach it until Nikyu. In our art it is an advanced kick.

I have also heard that this was the old style of kicking and that all okinawan arts utilized it.

I know that Matsubayashi Ryu utilizes it as well.

What style of Shorin Ryu do you study? Shorin Ryu is pretty broad like saying you study Karate.

[devil dog]

We utilize the toe kick (Tsumasaki) in our art (Matsumura Shorin Ryu but we do not teach it until Nikyu. In our art it is an advanced kick.

I have also heard that this was the old style of kicking and that all okinawan arts utilized it.

I know that Matsubayashi Ryu utilizes it as well.

What style of Shorin Ryu do you study? Shorin Ryu is pretty broad like saying you study Karate.

I called our Soshi and was corrected. The Tsumasaki Geri was the only kick taught and it was taught from the start. It was changed 20 years ago by his Sensei and the ball of the foot was incorporated for lower ranks.

[Spartacus Maximus]

I'm starting to think there may be a pattern here at least concerning the shorin ryu schools tracing their lineage back to Matsumura Sokon or more recently to Chibana Chosin.

My teacher was a student of Matsubayashi-ryu and then later trained under Chibana's senior student, Miyahira of Kobayashi-ryu. If both Chibana and Nagamine taught the toe kick, then it should have been passed on to their direct students.

Using my teacher's age as the benchmark, I can accurately guess that this method was taught from the beginning at least until the end of the 1960s when Chibana sensei passed away. At least for the schools going back to him(Kobayashi-ryu) the change must have originated with third generation students at the earliest. That would put it somewhere in the 80s. That is a lot earlier than I thought. 20 years ago sound like a good guess.

Who is your your Soshi's teacher Devil Dog? I'm interested because my sensei learned from Nagamine when he first started in the late 50s and early 60's.

[CredoTe]

...I'm interested because my sensei learned from Nagamine when he first started in the late 50s and early 60's.

Sweet. I wish I would have been able to train just one class directly under Osensei.