Different types of bunkai?

[JR 137]

Whenever a bunkai thread or even question comes up, I hear about different types of bunkai, such as oyo bunkai and several others that I can’t recall at the moment. I also hear that people quite often misuse the term bunkai as there are many forms of it.

So...

What is the definition of bunkai as a whole?

What are the various forms of it and what do they consist of?

- Videos go a long way to get everyone to understand

I’ll start with something more specific:

My former sensei has heavily gotten into Taira Masaji’s Goju Ryu, and has officially joined Masaji’s Goju Ryu Kenkyukai (what does kenkyukai mean?). I mention Masaji because I keep seeing “Renzoku Bunkai” and I have no idea what the inherent difference is between Renzoku Bunkai and any other bunkai. Here’s a Masaji video of Gekisai Dai Renzoku Bunkai:

[P.A.L]

Whenever a bunkai thread or even question comes up, I hear about different types of bunkai, such as oyo bunkai and several others that I can’t recall at the moment. I also hear that people quite often misuse the term bunkai as there are many forms of it.

So...

What is the definition of bunkai as a whole?

What are the various forms of it and what do they consist of?

- Videos go a long way to get everyone to understand

I’ll start with something more specific:

My former sensei has heavily gotten into Taira Masaji’s Goju Ryu, and has officially joined Masaji’s Goju Ryu Kenkyukai (what does kenkyukai mean?). I mention Masaji because I keep seeing “Renzoku Bunkai” and I have no idea what the inherent difference is between Renzoku Bunkai and any other bunkai. Here’s a Masaji video of Gekisai Dai Renzoku Bunkai:

1- in the context of karate forms , Bunkai means analyzing the techniques within a kata. I believe kata is abstract so it is open to interpretation. old masters created kata based on the techniques they knew and been teaching. like the techniques in the Bubishi.

2- I heard Oyo Bunkai when i was practicing with Darrel Craig , in his class Oyo bunkai was a free interpretation of a move in a kata while Bunkai for that move was the official interpretation. the bunkai fits the block/punch karate like what you see in kata tournaments, a team kata always has a bunkai section at the end.

3- Masaji is more about Oyo bunkai. some of his bunkai are intersting.the Renzoku Bunkai is a continous bunkai. Higaonna has one too. it is a good way of putting techniques together nothing special about it. if you have Renzoku bunkai you probably don't need Yakusoku kumite.

Charlie Beckwith the first delta force boss says that if you wanna be a good special force soldier , first you need to be a good regular army soldier. you need to know the rules before breaking them. So first We learn the block/punch Bunkai later we can create our own Oyo Bunkai

[Spartacus Maximus]

Oyo bunkai is defined by Okinawa teachers as the most simple and obvious explanation of how each technique in a kata is used. It is the demonstration of the principles and body mechanics. Students are asked to learn and master that before moving on to different variations. Once the basic principles and most obvious application are learned, the rest comes naturally. This is why learning the oyo bunkai is so important.

[sensei8]

The answer to your questions will be as varied as there are cars' make and model, but they all do one thing...they eventually get you from point 'A' to point 'B'.

For us in Shindokan Saitou-ryu, Bunkai is the nomenclature of our syllabus, at its most general terminology/ideology. The Bunkai tears down said technique/movement, and then rebuilds it, and all the while, effective discoveries are revealed, while discarding that which isn't effective. Within the process of Bunkai, applications are analyzed for its most rudimental effective fighting method.

For us, Oyo Bunkai is the self-expression of anything, and everything, that's found in the said Kata. From its stances, to its postures, to its timing, to its breathing, and so on and so forth. Our students are taught a set of Bunkai's for the said Kata, which is normally 3 prescribed different Bunkai's for each step. Then, we are strongly encouraged to discover our own Oyo for each step, making sure, through resistive training, that which is effective and those which aren't effective.

Oyo for me is everything; the puzzle piece that I've been searching for quite some time, and I've desperately sought after it diligently, and then by accident one day, I finally find that darn missing puzzle piece under the darn couch, even though I've looked under that very same couch before over and over. Those AHA moments are both refreshing and joyful, but at the very same time, an alarming frustration.

What I learned, and I'm very stubborn, is that I MUST allow my Oyo to just happen naturally, and not forcefully. When it's forced, like in anything, it's the furthest thing from it being close to effective.

Then, there's the Shu Ha Ri types of Bunkai: Omote, Ura & Honto!!

Omote is "Surface"; that which one sees on the surface of what any part of the Kata is from a mere observed glance.

Ura is "Hidden"; just what's below the surface.

Honto is "Truth; this is where the effectiveness lies, and casts away that which is ineffective.

[Wastelander]

Whenever a bunkai thread or even question comes up, I hear about different types of bunkai, such as oyo bunkai and several others that I can’t recall at the moment. I also hear that people quite often misuse the term bunkai as there are many forms of it.

So...

What is the definition of bunkai as a whole?

What are the various forms of it and what do they consist of?

- Videos go a long way to get everyone to understand

I’ll start with something more specific:

My former sensei has heavily gotten into Taira Masaji’s Goju Ryu, and has officially joined Masaji’s Goju Ryu Kenkyukai (what does kenkyukai mean?). I mention Masaji because I keep seeing “Renzoku Bunkai” and I have no idea what the inherent difference is between Renzoku Bunkai and any other bunkai. Here’s a Masaji video of Gekisai Dai Renzoku Bunkai:

Well, for starters, we have issues with terminology because Westerners didn't understand Japanese or Uchinaaguchi, and Japanese and Okinawan instructors didn't understand English, so there was miscommunication and misinterpretation that got spread around and popularized. The word "bunkai" in the context of karate is almost universally translated to mean "application," but that is not accurate. The word "bunkai" means "to take apart/analyze," and is a process, not a result, while "applications" are the result of the process that is "bunkai." We could get into all the other terms, like tichiki, or oyo, or henka, etc., but they all have similar problems to what we see with "bunkai," so there are a lot of different interpretations of them out there. Your "renzoku bunkai" example would translate as "continuous taking apart/analysis" of kata, which is typically how you would refer to some sort of drill that explores the kata in its entirety in one long, continuous exercise. This is what Taira Sensei's drills are. Most people, though, would translate it as "continuous application," because it is a drill comprised of applications for the entire kata strung together in a continuous pattern.

Bunkai, as a whole, is a process by which you take something apart and analyze its components to determine how they work, how best to use them, or how to fix something that is broken or not functioning optimally. This means that it encompasses a wide array of goals. Someone who is breaking down their kata movements and trying to determine exactly which muscles engage, how much, and when, is doing bunkai. Someone who is breaking down their kata movements and trying to figure out how to most efficiently get from one position to the next, with a minimum of effort or movement, is doing bunkai. Someone who is breaking down their kata movements to figure out how to use them--whether it is the impractical, literal applications that have been popular since the modernization of karate in the early 1900s, or practical, effective fighting methods. Someone who is breaking down their kata into pieces to drill specific movements or known applications is doing bunkai. All of it is "bunkai."

Now, how you go about bunkai, as a process, depends on your goals. If you're wanting to study biomechanics, you are going to have a different approach than if you are wanting to study combative applications.

[MatsuShinshii]

Wastelander,

You beat me to the punch. Having said that you said it better than I could have.

Solid post!

[JR 137]

Thank you, gentlemen. My definition of bunkai as a term on its own fits what all of you have said. It was the rest of the terms that get confusing to me, as I’ve heard them used in different ways here and elsewhere. I guess the only universally agreeable term here, if there is one, is bunkai. The rest are used differently by each teacher/school/system.

Please correct me if I’m wrong...

Spartacus Maximus calls oyo bunkai the most obvious and simple interpretation/bunkai, whereas Sensei8 calls this omote.

Most call oyo the personal interpretation, meaning of sorts that you’ve been shown the obvious, surface, teacher’s, etc. interpretation, and oyo is what you’ve come up with on your own.

Renzoku bunkai is when the entire kata (or at least most of it) is used in a continuous and non-stop flowing way. Rather than taking an individual part or a few parts of a kata and coming up with a “fighting move” or two strung together, the entire kata is basically one continuous “fighting move.” I really like P.A.I.’s yakusoku kumite reference.

The Wastelander throws a few terms I haven’t heard yet. Tichiki and henka. What’s a quick or simplified definition of those?

Thanks sensei8 for the types you’ve listed. I knew one or two but haven’t heard the rest.

Don’t get me wrong, I get at the end of the day it’s really all just semantics and what’s important is what you’re doing and not what you’re calling it. But I like to know what I’m reading and it helps me better understand bunkai and helps me look at bunkai from different angles if I’m aware of the different types/approaches to bunkai.

I doubt I’m not the only one who’s been confused by the different terms. Keep them coming if you’ve got more, please.

[sensei8]

Please correct me if I’m wrong...

Spartacus Maximus calls oyo bunkai the most obvious and simple interpretation/bunkai, whereas Sensei8 calls this omote.

Oyo is Oyo; another type of Bunkai, as is Omote, being too, another type of Bunkai; not one in the same. Omote is what's noticed at first impressive glance, whereas Oyo, is going way deep and then some for effective discoveries.

[Wastelander]

Thank you, gentlemen. My definition of bunkai as a term on its own fits what all of you have said. It was the rest of the terms that get confusing to me, as I’ve heard them used in different ways here and elsewhere. I guess the only universally agreeable term here, if there is one, is bunkai. The rest are used differently by each teacher/school/system.

Please correct me if I’m wrong...

Spartacus Maximus calls oyo bunkai the most obvious and simple interpretation/bunkai, whereas Sensei8 calls this omote.

Most call oyo the personal interpretation, meaning of sorts that you’ve been shown the obvious, surface, teacher’s, etc. interpretation, and oyo is what you’ve come up with on your own.

Renzoku bunkai is when the entire kata (or at least most of it) is used in a continuous and non-stop flowing way. Rather than taking an individual part or a few parts of a kata and coming up with a “fighting move” or two strung together, the entire kata is basically one continuous “fighting move.” I really like P.A.I.’s yakusoku kumite reference.

The Wastelander throws a few terms I haven’t heard yet. Tichiki and henka. What’s a quick or simplified definition of those?

Thanks sensei8 for the types you’ve listed. I knew one or two but haven’t heard the rest.

Don’t get me wrong, I get at the end of the day it’s really all just semantics and what’s important is what you’re doing and not what you’re calling it. But I like to know what I’m reading and it helps me better understand bunkai and helps me look at bunkai from different angles if I’m aware of the different types/approaches to bunkai.

I doubt I’m not the only one who’s been confused by the different terms. Keep them coming if you’ve got more, please.

"Oyo" literally means "application," or "to put to use," so that is VERY open to interpretation

"Tichiki" is an Uchinaaguchi word meaning "what the hand is doing," and the hand could be doing a lot of things

"Henka" is "change" or "variation" so, again, very open to interpretation

This is why there is no universal terminology for what type of applications are what--there simply aren't words that are specific enough, that I'm aware of.

[JR 137]

Uchinaaguchi Is the native Okinawan language, correct?