anyone familiar with this Shorin Ryu home study program?

[tatsujin]

A little late to the game, but can add a little bit to this for anyone that might be interested.

Mr. Vellucci's instructor (or at least one of them) was Chuck Chandler. I actually knew Mr. Chandler before he passed due to a similar interest in Hakutsuru or white crane. Chandler was a student of Yabiku and his credentials (Yabiku's) are legit from Okinawa. Additionally, a friend of mine who is very highly ranked and regarded in the Goju-ryu community was learning from both Chandler and Yabiku. He had nothing but good things to say about them at the time. I have not spoken to him in some time, so that may have changed over time. Note that I am not mentioning my friend's name...the reason is that I don't have permission to and he is a highly positioned member and representative of a Goju group in Okinawa and...well...let's just say that the Japanese/Okinawans can sometimes be a little "funny" about those sorts of things.

Lastly, I have seen video of Vellucci doing a number of hakutsuru katas as well as bunkai and oyo from them. I don't necessarily agree with some of the bunkai and oyo, but I saw nothing wrong with his performance of the katas (probably 6 or so). Everything fairly well lined up to the hakutsuru training and information that I had via a number of different lineages.

Hopefully that is of some small help.

[Dboxobi]

Thanks for the insight

I can only comment on the Shorin Ryu as White Crane is a whole other course on its own. Either way, I agree with you on the lineage and I would say the same for his (Velluci sensei) Kobayashi roots, as it traces to Nakazato via Nobeyuki Oshiro (RIP). There was a YT video that was posted on here from another thread that showed a training session between Chandler sensei (RIP) and Yabiku sensei, it was enjoyable but has since been taken down I believe. Some of the movements in the YT training session reminded me of Kung Fu

I would lastly say, that I just really appreciate the Shorin Ryu program, as you cant really find any other Okinawan Karate styles to learn actively in a virtual way, you will mostly find Shotokan

[Miick 11]

Some of the stuff we do probably looks like fung fu - if you are used to watching another style of karate , especially something like traditional Japanese Shotokan .

Let's call them, for convenience , a 'set of kung fu moves' . These moves / techniques often help obscure kata moves resolve via bunkai . I used to wonder and ask in class , why does not karate have this move, or this particular move or other . It turns out it does (after looking at the 'old system' - before changes came in ) .

I have found the 'denominator ' is white crane moves ; either 'wings' close / cross (arms deflect) and open ( trap and or strike ) l feet and claws kick ( parts of feet including big toe ) legs deflect and strike ( shin kicks or lower legs and feet deflecting kicks ) 'neck rises' ( a type of rising 'block' / deflection with the lower arm raising up vertically - or it can 'spaer' down - especially when turning or spinning, this is a classic 'kung fu move' ) and beak strikes ( eg as gojoshiho , first up { into the base of the tounge behind the chin, to drive the chin up so as to expose the throat } then down, into the top of the trachea below the 'Adam's apple' . { above that little U indentation where your collarbone meets - try jabbing your finger - softly ! - in there and see what that feels like } ) . - actually our gojushiho seems to have all those 'crane body parts' used in it , particularly the 'crane neck'

- you can see it here , for a split second right on 1:17 where his first two fingers and thumb are joined together in a point and raised upwards - although you cant see the downward part of the (this is the closest version of the kata I could find to ours , its very similar but has some differences - the rising vertical 'crane neck rises' 'block' / deflection can be seen following each turn he does to move up and down the central line of the kata's embusen - eg. just after that 'beak strike ' he turns and @ 1:21 and at the penultimate move .

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