Recently one of the guys from BTT competed in a MMA tournament up in QLD. Unfortunately South Australia has restrictive laws and we cant have this much fun down here.
Kane did a great job, although he lost on points.
Watch what I believe is Round 1 here
Osu!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Current Training
I haven't been posting much because I have been doing alot of training at the moment. Also, I have had lots of work and family commitments. I was going to post the videos that I took at the Kendo Nationals, but haven't had time to edit them yet. Also someone from the Dojo is going to more professionally edit the videos that they took with any other they can get (including mine) for a DVD for everyone to reflect upon.
Therefore I will most probably just edit video of my matches so people can see me get defeated - this keeps my humility and is in line with the narcissistic nature of blogging. I shall also try to post some comments about what happened, and especially the semiar with the 2 Hachidan's, which was one of the most significant martial arts experiences I have had, ever!
In the meantime I suggest you have a look at Vivian Yung's write up of her experiences of the Kendo nationals. I have been reading her blog for a while and we discussed blogging at the nationals. We naturally discussed Kendo too!
http://nintai.blogspot.com/2009/04/34akc-shomen-ni-rei.html
At the moment my training regime has been approximately this:
Monday: Kendo. (I missed the last 2 weeks due to work/injuries and did a 9 km run instead)
Tuesday: Weight training.
Wednesday: 9 km run (though this week Kendo because I missed Monday's training)
Thursday: No Gi BJJ; Gi BJJ - 3 hours total!
Friday: 9 km run or kata and kihon. Try for Kendo kihon inside
Saturday: 3-4 hours bunkai research at night
Sunday: 2 hours normal Karate class + 1 hour informal kata training with seniors (Sanseiru at the moment) + 1 hour of bunkai and conditioning with students or 1 hour bag work at home
Therefore I will most probably just edit video of my matches so people can see me get defeated - this keeps my humility and is in line with the narcissistic nature of blogging. I shall also try to post some comments about what happened, and especially the semiar with the 2 Hachidan's, which was one of the most significant martial arts experiences I have had, ever!
In the meantime I suggest you have a look at Vivian Yung's write up of her experiences of the Kendo nationals. I have been reading her blog for a while and we discussed blogging at the nationals. We naturally discussed Kendo too!
http://nintai.blogspot.com/2009/04/34akc-shomen-ni-rei.html
At the moment my training regime has been approximately this:
Monday: Kendo. (I missed the last 2 weeks due to work/injuries and did a 9 km run instead)
Tuesday: Weight training.
Wednesday: 9 km run (though this week Kendo because I missed Monday's training)
Thursday: No Gi BJJ; Gi BJJ - 3 hours total!
Friday: 9 km run or kata and kihon. Try for Kendo kihon inside
Saturday: 3-4 hours bunkai research at night
Sunday: 2 hours normal Karate class + 1 hour informal kata training with seniors (Sanseiru at the moment) + 1 hour of bunkai and conditioning with students or 1 hour bag work at home
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sanseiru/Sesan combination in Goju Ryu
One of the key techniques in Sanseiru is the Uchi Uke/Mae Geri/Empi/Gyaku Zuki (outer block/front kick/up elbow/reverse punch) combination that is repeated 4 times. I started looking at bunkai for it but haven't found too much material on the internet (my primary research source) beyond the Higaonna bunkai and the Goju Kai bunkai for this combination and I so broadened my search from Goju bunkai on Sanseiru to other styles. Here is the Goju Ryu version for reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdosSNtzZ0
Uechi Ryu has a kata of the same name, but which visually looks quite different. However it does have a similar technique combination in it: Kake Uke/step forward/Empi/knuckle strike/ippon ken sen (grabbing block/step forward/elbow/knuckle strike (or backfist)/ single knuckle strike). The technique is not however repeated 4 times like in the Goju version. See Kanei Uechi do the technique at 38 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey_dIRzffNc
The next thing that I did was look at the video of Uechi Ryu Seisan because it looked interesting to see this old footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd5YdEkmQxo
I was surprised to see that at 50 seconds the same combination appears!
Going back over Goju Ryu Seisan at a similar part of the kata, albeit facing the opposite way, the combination step forward/ura zuki/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki appears (step forward/uppercut/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). There is even the left hand in a blocking/deflecting/checking position before the combination is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxnKhAJby8
What that lead me to think is that perhaps the 'Goju Sesan' combination and the 'Goju Sanseiru' combinations are actually from the same source and were once performed more similarly. Looking at the combinations they are quite similar in their nature:
First: a block or check with the left hand in a manner that would usually block from inside to outside and which could also be a grab (ie Kake uke).
Second: mae geri or stepping forward with the right leg.
Third: upward strike
Fourth and Fifth: Sesan only
Sixth: Gyaku zuki
While the fourth and fifth techniques of urken (backfist) and gedan barai (lower block) only appear in Sesan, the combination also appears in other kata.
Looking at Superinpei a similar combination appears at 1.38 and 1.57: Kake uke/mae geri/empi/uraken (grabing block/front kick/up elbow/backfist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_pfELVkhA
The Goju Superinpei combination appears much closer to the 'Uechi combination', being different only in the omission of the ippon ken sen (single knuckle strike) at the end (done with the right hand). Supposedly there was a fourth Uechi kata named Superinpei, although Kanbon Iechi did not have time to learn it. For those who are not familiar with the theory that Kanryu Higaonna only tought Miyagi Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei, published in an article a in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (16:4, 2007) entitled “A Preliminary Analysis of Goju-Ryu Kata Structures” by Fernando Camara and Mario McKenna have a look at the following summaryavailable online.
http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/05/origins-of-goju-kata.html
That the three Kaishugata (kata with open hands: combat application reference kata) from the same system had a similar combination that appears in each would not be surprising - there are several other similarities between the three kata such as the opening using the 3 'Sanchin' punches, asymmetry, finishing with either mawashi uke or morote ko uke (double wrist block) etc. If the Goju Sesan, Sanseiru and Superinpei 'combinations' are actually derived from the same combination, I would think that the version that has survived in Superinpei would be more original for the simple reason that less people learn the higher level kata and so there are less people for it to evolve through. Perhaps also with higher level kata peope learn them much later into their practice and are less likely to change the kata at this stage (though this is just a quick postulation/musing).
If you look at a more 'modern' kata in the manner of Gekisai, you can see the following combination: uchi or kake uke/mae geri/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki (outer or grabbing block/front kick/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). Because this kata was created by Miyagi it exposes his thinking on how the style of Goju Ryu fits together. He could have easily not have included a Gedan Barai and Uraken and made the 'Gekisai combination' simpler and more like Goju Sanseiru. Alternatively he could have switched the empi (elbow) for a ura zuki (uppercut) and made the combination more like Goju Sesan. I think that the choice of techniques in Gekisai shows the crossover in the combinations: that they are essentially the same thing.
One thought though is that in Gekisai Dai Ni, where the Uchi Uke (outer block) are exchanged with Kake Uke (grabbing block) and the Yama Zuki (double punch/mountain punch) is exchanged with a Mawashi Uke (circular block) to make the Kata more 'Okinawan' perhaps that 'Gekisai combination' could have been changed as well? It could have been made into the 'Superinpei combination' or the 'Uechi combination' perhaps. Say with the empi done into the left hand, or the gedan barai exchanged for an ippon ken sen.
In other Goju kata the 'Goju Sesan combination' appears in Seienchin and the 'Goju Sanseiru combination' appears in Shisochin and Kururunfa, although there is no Gyaku Zuki (reverse punch) at the end in any of these three kata. However the other hand is cocked and rotated ready to do a punch. A gyaku zuki (reverse punch) can very easily be implied into bunkai at the end of these combinations.
Interestingly Saifa and Sepai are the only 2 Goju Ryu Kaishugata (note Sanchin and Tensho are Haishugata: kata with closed hands - training kata) which do not have this combination. I think that the absence of the combination in these two kata is an additional factor of support for theory (see McKenna article, above) that Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei are 'H1' kata, ie passed down from Kanryu Higaonna to Miyagi, and that Saifa-Seienchin-Shisochin-Sepai-Kururunfa are 'M1' kata, ie kata that Miyagi derived from another source.
However on the basis of the inclusion of the combination one might further differentiate the M1 kata. Perhaps the exclusion of the combination signifies that Miyagi learnt Sepai and Saifa from a totally different source as all the other Kaishugata, say on his travels to China. Following through that line of thought one can see that the combination appears in some other Okinawan kata, such as Niseishi. There is a discussion that Nisheishi is a forerunner of Goju Sanseiru here:
http://cyberdojo.ning.com/group/gojuryu/forum/topics/how-much-of-aragaki-seishos?page=3&commentId=2954669%3AComment%3A4882&x=1#2954669Comment4882
Personally I agree, and by looking at Niseishi it seems to me to be a bridge between the otherwise very different Goju and Uechi versions of the kata. At 35 seconds and 41 seconds the 'Gekisai combination' appears in Niseishi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjsJJ4xqxKY
There is written record of Seisho Aragaki performing a kata named "chisaukin" at a demonstration in 1867 and this could quite likely be the kata Shisochin. In his book “Okinawa kempo” Choki Motobu mentions the kata seisan, seiunchin and naihanchi as kata that were in existence in Okinawa long before Kanryo Higaonna’s trip to China.
“Among those styles or katas which have been used in Ryu Kyu from ancient days are:
Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan, Seiunchin, Ippakku-Re-Hachi, Naihanchi (Ichidan, Nidan, Sandan), Passai, Chinto, Chinte, (bamboo-yari spear style), Wanshu, Rohai and Kusanku.
And especially the three styles Nai-Hanchi, Passai (great and small), and Kusanku which are very widely known to many islanders." http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/08/origins-of-goju-ryu-kata-part-2.html
Therefore one can deduce that the kata Shisochin and Seienchin have Okinawan histories, even if they were not passed on by Kanryu Higaonna. They can be contrasted with the Saifa and Sepai which have different sources. It is difficult to say where Kurununfa fits in: that is a discussion for another post (when I know more about it!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdosSNtzZ0
Uechi Ryu has a kata of the same name, but which visually looks quite different. However it does have a similar technique combination in it: Kake Uke/step forward/Empi/knuckle strike/ippon ken sen (grabbing block/step forward/elbow/knuckle strike (or backfist)/ single knuckle strike). The technique is not however repeated 4 times like in the Goju version. See Kanei Uechi do the technique at 38 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey_dIRzffNc
The next thing that I did was look at the video of Uechi Ryu Seisan because it looked interesting to see this old footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd5YdEkmQxo
I was surprised to see that at 50 seconds the same combination appears!
Going back over Goju Ryu Seisan at a similar part of the kata, albeit facing the opposite way, the combination step forward/ura zuki/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki appears (step forward/uppercut/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). There is even the left hand in a blocking/deflecting/checking position before the combination is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxnKhAJby8
What that lead me to think is that perhaps the 'Goju Sesan' combination and the 'Goju Sanseiru' combinations are actually from the same source and were once performed more similarly. Looking at the combinations they are quite similar in their nature:
First: a block or check with the left hand in a manner that would usually block from inside to outside and which could also be a grab (ie Kake uke).
Second: mae geri or stepping forward with the right leg.
Third: upward strike
Fourth and Fifth: Sesan only
Sixth: Gyaku zuki
While the fourth and fifth techniques of urken (backfist) and gedan barai (lower block) only appear in Sesan, the combination also appears in other kata.
Looking at Superinpei a similar combination appears at 1.38 and 1.57: Kake uke/mae geri/empi/uraken (grabing block/front kick/up elbow/backfist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_pfELVkhA
The Goju Superinpei combination appears much closer to the 'Uechi combination', being different only in the omission of the ippon ken sen (single knuckle strike) at the end (done with the right hand). Supposedly there was a fourth Uechi kata named Superinpei, although Kanbon Iechi did not have time to learn it. For those who are not familiar with the theory that Kanryu Higaonna only tought Miyagi Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei, published in an article a in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (16:4, 2007) entitled “A Preliminary Analysis of Goju-Ryu Kata Structures” by Fernando Camara and Mario McKenna have a look at the following summaryavailable online.
http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/05/origins-of-goju-kata.html
That the three Kaishugata (kata with open hands: combat application reference kata) from the same system had a similar combination that appears in each would not be surprising - there are several other similarities between the three kata such as the opening using the 3 'Sanchin' punches, asymmetry, finishing with either mawashi uke or morote ko uke (double wrist block) etc. If the Goju Sesan, Sanseiru and Superinpei 'combinations' are actually derived from the same combination, I would think that the version that has survived in Superinpei would be more original for the simple reason that less people learn the higher level kata and so there are less people for it to evolve through. Perhaps also with higher level kata peope learn them much later into their practice and are less likely to change the kata at this stage (though this is just a quick postulation/musing).
If you look at a more 'modern' kata in the manner of Gekisai, you can see the following combination: uchi or kake uke/mae geri/uraken/gedan barai/gyaku zuki (outer or grabbing block/front kick/backfist/lower block/reverse punch). Because this kata was created by Miyagi it exposes his thinking on how the style of Goju Ryu fits together. He could have easily not have included a Gedan Barai and Uraken and made the 'Gekisai combination' simpler and more like Goju Sanseiru. Alternatively he could have switched the empi (elbow) for a ura zuki (uppercut) and made the combination more like Goju Sesan. I think that the choice of techniques in Gekisai shows the crossover in the combinations: that they are essentially the same thing.
One thought though is that in Gekisai Dai Ni, where the Uchi Uke (outer block) are exchanged with Kake Uke (grabbing block) and the Yama Zuki (double punch/mountain punch) is exchanged with a Mawashi Uke (circular block) to make the Kata more 'Okinawan' perhaps that 'Gekisai combination' could have been changed as well? It could have been made into the 'Superinpei combination' or the 'Uechi combination' perhaps. Say with the empi done into the left hand, or the gedan barai exchanged for an ippon ken sen.
In other Goju kata the 'Goju Sesan combination' appears in Seienchin and the 'Goju Sanseiru combination' appears in Shisochin and Kururunfa, although there is no Gyaku Zuki (reverse punch) at the end in any of these three kata. However the other hand is cocked and rotated ready to do a punch. A gyaku zuki (reverse punch) can very easily be implied into bunkai at the end of these combinations.
Interestingly Saifa and Sepai are the only 2 Goju Ryu Kaishugata (note Sanchin and Tensho are Haishugata: kata with closed hands - training kata) which do not have this combination. I think that the absence of the combination in these two kata is an additional factor of support for theory (see McKenna article, above) that Sanchin-Sanseiru-Sesan-Superinpei are 'H1' kata, ie passed down from Kanryu Higaonna to Miyagi, and that Saifa-Seienchin-Shisochin-Sepai-Kururunfa are 'M1' kata, ie kata that Miyagi derived from another source.
However on the basis of the inclusion of the combination one might further differentiate the M1 kata. Perhaps the exclusion of the combination signifies that Miyagi learnt Sepai and Saifa from a totally different source as all the other Kaishugata, say on his travels to China. Following through that line of thought one can see that the combination appears in some other Okinawan kata, such as Niseishi. There is a discussion that Nisheishi is a forerunner of Goju Sanseiru here:
http://cyberdojo.ning.com/group/gojuryu/forum/topics/how-much-of-aragaki-seishos?page=3&commentId=2954669%3AComment%3A4882&x=1#2954669Comment4882
Personally I agree, and by looking at Niseishi it seems to me to be a bridge between the otherwise very different Goju and Uechi versions of the kata. At 35 seconds and 41 seconds the 'Gekisai combination' appears in Niseishi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjsJJ4xqxKY
There is written record of Seisho Aragaki performing a kata named "chisaukin" at a demonstration in 1867 and this could quite likely be the kata Shisochin. In his book “Okinawa kempo” Choki Motobu mentions the kata seisan, seiunchin and naihanchi as kata that were in existence in Okinawa long before Kanryo Higaonna’s trip to China.
“Among those styles or katas which have been used in Ryu Kyu from ancient days are:
Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan, Seiunchin, Ippakku-Re-Hachi, Naihanchi (Ichidan, Nidan, Sandan), Passai, Chinto, Chinte, (bamboo-yari spear style), Wanshu, Rohai and Kusanku.
And especially the three styles Nai-Hanchi, Passai (great and small), and Kusanku which are very widely known to many islanders." http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/08/origins-of-goju-ryu-kata-part-2.html
Therefore one can deduce that the kata Shisochin and Seienchin have Okinawan histories, even if they were not passed on by Kanryu Higaonna. They can be contrasted with the Saifa and Sepai which have different sources. It is difficult to say where Kurununfa fits in: that is a discussion for another post (when I know more about it!)
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