Beware the Ides of March and April Showers

February for me I thought was a new dawn.  Being doubly at risk to Covid-19, the rapid development of vaccinations and being able to get my first jab was like opening a window to the light at the end of the tunnel.  

Mental health issues were also a concern.  Four people living in the same house 24x7 for 11 months had also taken it's toll: Two had confirmed mental health issues going into the first lockdown, whilst I was starting to have some issues, which only got worse for a while.  The other member of our household also started to suffer, so there was offer of respite there too.

Then there were financial issues that were immediately pressing when the first lock down occurred.  These had got worse and worse during the 11 months, as it turned out through no fault of my own.  I thought I had managed to these resolved too by February.

I was wrong on both  counts 😕  The "so near yet so far syndrome" kicked in, with the frustration of having to wait another 12 weeks before thinking of actually being able to comfortably go out again,  I am not the only member of my family to need a second jab, and in some ways things became even more of a frustration.  Tempers started to get more ragged, and mine was included in that, plus mood swings.

Then there were the finances, what I had thought was resolved turned out not to be.  Lets say it involves pensions, a mistake on behalf of the pension company, and then the tax man losing most of my repayments plus another complication.  I thought I had solved all that, but no I hadn't  and the complication reared it's head again with a bite back.  With the other issues, I was struggling to face that too.

Now comes the hardest part, I have to admit I have a liking for alcohol.  Most of the time it isn't a problem, but at times during the 14 month Covid lockdown (for me) it has been an issue, and these last months it has probably been at it's worst.  All in all you could say that it was a volatile cocktail and I wasn't making things anything easier for myself.

Looking back thing really started to deteriorate just before my 60th birthday.   Things seemed to going reasonably well between most of us, then one what I thought was a small reaction to a situation started to make things unravel.  I will spare you the details, but basically we all limped through a couple of days to mine then my sons birthdays, but then after that things really unravelled.

I just about held myself together when working and tried to stick at karate, but the close proximity of all concerned made that difficult too. Home issues intermingled with the training and as things worsened between me and the rest of the family, obviously my training was affected as well, so I lost for me what was a certain anchor point for a while.

Basically, whatever other peoples actions were, my own responses and mood swings were definitely making thing worse.  For the last part of March and most of April it is fair to say that no-one in the house wanted to talk to me.  In part this was down to the fact that they all have their own issues to deal with, but a a bigger part was my difficulties in dealing with issues I had thought already resolved and mood swings caused my own mental state, fuelled with an increased reliance on alcohol as an escape mechanism.

Most of April was more of the same, with me withdrawing into myself, trying to avoid conflict and family contact time (including training) and resorting to alcohol as one of the escape mechanisms.  Also trying to bury my head in the sand about external issues and ignoring correspondence I knew was related to it "putting it off until tomorrow", but knowing it would come home to roost.  Something had to give and eventually it did.

For a few weeks things limped along as they were, but on 24th April, things came to head. It was a combination of everything that got to me, The feeling of isolation, coupled with the other worries and fuelled by drink led to me holding a knife to myself, contemplating ending it all.  My partner took one knife from me, but I found another. At that point, the lack of response to my sister's calls resulted in the police being called.

The police took the second knife, and long talks with me and my family ensued.  Due to my co-morbidities and the fact I hadn't had the second Covid jab, the first option of being taken to A&E really didn't appeal.  The second option was to try to work it out within the family, and that's the way I've gone.  It certainly hasn't been plain sailing, but we started talking again at that point.

I faced up to the root cause of the financial worries, though there is still a lot of work to do.  The family have helped me get my drinking under control and the sense of isolation has to a large extent faded. However, we are all aware how fragile things are and at times have to strive to keep feelings under control.  Very much work in progress but hopefully at least some things are now going in the right direction.   I am enjoying my karate again too, so little steps.

REY 31/05/2021

February Turmoil, something positive and light at the end of the Tunnel

The joys of being able to work from home are becoming a bit thin now.  Being on the "high risk" list, I realise I am much luckier than many in having a job I can do from home and an employer who allows it, but shielding effectively for almost a year is beginning to take it's toll.

Kata Imperfect -0102

Family issues and increasing work demands have made it harder to train during the winter months, with dark nights, cold weather and having neighbours who have scant regard for the Covid rules make me uncomfortable in training outdoors, even when the light is good. My Sensei have been really helpful in offering Zoom lessons all the way through this pandemic.

Monday wasn't a good day 0202

However, the demands of work have made many of the evening lessons unavailable to me.   What made it worse was that I could hear my son training downstairs and I honestly wanted to join in 😞😞  

Kata after the lesson 0402

The mental tolls of nearly a year continuously at home have also had an effect.  The boundaries have become more blurred, with home intruding on work and vice versa.  At times, karate has been the only anchor point in a sometimes unstable environment.   Lesson this month included variations upon famililar themes, with the quadrant drill featuring again.  Shadow sparring, many variations of teisho strikes, some paired work, striking at different heights, lunging stances to disrupt and take the opponents space all featured alongside kata.

Snow kata 0902

There were three notable things from February which will definitely make it hard to forget though, all on the more positive side of things: 

1. In snowed, so I got to do kata in the Snow for the first time
2. Got my first Covid-19 jab ( 11th Feb) so there is light at the end of the tunnel (and my Sensei allowed me to do Seisan in lesson whilst in self isolation)
3. There was an interesting session with Andreas Quast, re-affirming the earliest known performed kata were Kusanku and Passai (around 1849) and discussing the undocumented Japanese influence on Okinawan culture ands martial arts. 

18 Feb - Rusty run through

When things are a struggle small achievements or good moments take on a bigger significance, and standout moments become milestones.  The opportunity to do kata in the snow I would have taken anytime, but that it happened during lockdown made it feel more special. 

23 Feb Goju kata

Getting vaccinated is a proper landmark, it is the first small opening onto the light at the end of the tunnel.  Training in our bedroom was a challenge (small space), but the opportunity to do a different kata during lesson time made it memorable for a good reason.  Finally, the opportunity to participate in a session of any sort with Andreas Quast is always a pleasure as there is always something new to learn about the history of karate.

4th February Lesson Outtakes

I hope for better things in the future.  If you have got this far thank you for reading.

REY 24/03/2021

04/02/2021
Shadow sparring, using specific combinations, kata combinations.
Moving to the side in sparring.  some pairwork on techniques

06/02/2021
Fundamentals, padwork (striking whist circling, jodan, chudan, gidan), kata

11 Feb - An aide memoire

11/02/2021
Teisho drills, straight reverse teisho, upper cut reverse teisho, hooking teisho, using hips to generate power. First is long range to close the distance, next two are close range.   Straight reverse teisho, crash, upper cut reverse teisho.
Use of lunging stances with front knee strike to disrupt:  Zenkutsu dachi, Shiko dachi (possible drag over step behind leg and punch to finish), Nekko achi dachi (followed by front kick to groin)

13 Feb- an unusual kata for a lesson - Seisan

13/02/2021
Addition to first teisho drill, straight reverse teisho, upper cut reverse teisho (broken energy), hooking teisho, reverse elbow strike (continuous energy).  Kata (including Seisan for me), Short teisho pinan  drill: glanching reverse teisho, front hand grab and step through, rotating forearm strike.

18/02/20201
Fundamentals, padwork, kata

20 Feb- Continuous kata during the lesson

20/02/2021
Quadrant drill, first 6 elements, continuous kata, pad drill from the Pinans

A private talk with Andreas Quast

27th and 28th Feb: Weekend Workouts

27/02/2021

Jamie Clubb lesson - anti abduction, including the bystander effect

A different Naihanchi

My Sensei tell me that it's good to practice Naihanchi in different ways, slow, fast, arms only, footwork only, open handed,etc.  Also that the elements remain the same, but in a real world situation can be applied as different techniques and will rarely be used in the order in which we train them.

With that in mind, I decided to take a look at a different version of Naihanchi from my own, Tachimura no Naihanchi, which looks substantially different to my own.  A version is shown in the link below, by Noah Legel.

Tachimura no Naihanchi (Noah Legel)

I decided the easiest way to do this was first of all to try to break it down by studying the video several times and this is what I came up with (please excuse the fact that I don't know all the technical terms):

Formal opening,
Look to left
right foot (rf) step over, left foot (lf) to Naihanchi dachi
Left hand (lh) open gidan uke, right hand (rh) hikate
Rh punch across, lh hikate
Look to right
Rh open gidan uke
Lh punch across, rh hikate
Lf step over, rf to Naihanchi dachi
Look forward
Lh chudan-tsuki, mark out, rh back fist, left arm comes up to support
(substitute with lh chudan-tsuki, double block, rh back fist)
Look to right, rf wave kick, rh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh pull in to hip, coupled to rh
Look to right, double punch, rh under left, rh shuto uke, lh hikate, lh elbow strike to rh clasp
Look to left, lh open gidan uke, rh hikate
Rh punch across, lh hikate
Rf step across, lf to Naihanchi dachi
Rh chudan-tsuki, mark out, lh back fist, rh comes up to support
(substitute with rh chudan-tsuki, double block, lh back fist)
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to right, rh wave kick, rh pull in to hip, coupled to lh
Look to the left, double punch, lh under right, ln shuto uke, rh elbow strike to lh clasp
Look to right
Rh open gidan uke
Lh punch across, rh hikate
Lf step over, rf to Naihanchi dachi
Look forward
Lh chudan-tsuki, mark out, rh back fist, left arm comes up to support
(substitute with lh chudan-tsuki, double block, rh back fist)
Look to right, rf wave kick, rh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh pull in to hip, coupled to rh
Look to right, double punch
Formal close

I then decided to try to put it back together with the individual elements picked out from the version of the kata I know. There are a couple of substitutions indicated as above, where I wasn't too confident of, and in no way was I going to try to emulate the different stepping of Tachimura no Naihanchi.

This is what I came up with:

Elements of Tachimura no Naihanchi

Which I then compared ro what I do in the version of Naihanchi Shodan that I practice:

Naihanchi Shodan (Shorin Ryu)

In essence the core sequences frim Gedan uke to double punch are much the same, but the variations which make them look so different are the start sequence, direction of travel and number of repetitions of the core sequence.  The Shorin Ryu version goes:

Start to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right

The Tachimura no Naihanchi version goes:

Start to the left, gedan uke (open hand), punch across

Core sequence to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right

Compared to the different versions of some kata, such as Seisan, although they might look different in appearance, there is actually very little difference in content. Appearances can be deceptive, for in fact when the Shorin Ryu kata and Tachimura kata are broken down like this, it can be seen that the Shorin Ryu version element wise is exactly the same from the shuto uke going to the right.

Start to the left, gedan uke (open hand), punch across

Core sequence to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right  

Tachimura no Naihanchi only
Shorin Ryu and Tachimura Naihanchis

I wonder why I didn't see that in the first place, but probably because it is partly masked by the visible differences in the stepping, the dropping stances in the gedan strikes and the variation in the arm techniques.

So just to conclude, thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this, and hope it might have been of some small interest.

January Covid blues

January, if I am being polite was a mixed bag, especially emotionally.  If I am being really honest, it was pretty bad, with a struggle to find any motivation in the midst of it.  At the moment my anchors are work, which is demanding to say the least, and karate.

0201 Drills and Kata

Given the inclement weather for training outside, work rather that karate has been my "turn to" at many points, and especially in January.  This is prbably what resulted in all the neck issues I had in that month.  Karate provides a healthy counterpoint to work, but if the balance switches, I think my body likes to tell me it's being neglected.

0401 Kata Slow

I have been effectively in lockdown for the best part of 10 months now, with minimal physical interaction with anyone outside the immediate family in that time (that means the people in the house).   It took a toll on my mental health from the start, and I sought and found some help for that.  

0901 Combinations, drill and kata

One of the big plusses was the advice that I should lock on to karate and keep on going.  That is what I have tried to do.  

1001 Nunchaku and kata

I think one of the hardest things to admit to many people is the need for a degree of separation.  In pre Covid times, this was easy to achieve as anyone who worked was separated from those at home for the duration of work and travel at least.   Working from home and being at extreme risk has denied me and my family that separation.

1301 Tense Stiff and Aching

I am not one of the gainsayers about Covid-19, it is a confirmed super-killer to anyone with my conditions,so there was no choice in that context to survive.  Some of my friends have given me hope if their recovery, but as the sole earner in my family I can't take many risks.  The thing about January is it has been the worst month so far in the ability to keep home issues so separate from work.

1710 bo nunchaku and kata

The two have started to overlap and that is hard to cope with for me.   So the route for me to cope has been a fair bit of kata and a few too many bottles of wine.The former has to be the preferred route, so enter PJ Broomy, with another demonstration of one of his dojo's kata.

1801 Morning kata

For the record, I have suffered from depression and have struggled at times with my temper, as well as my heart and lung conditions, but my best answer to all of those is to learn something new.  I think I frustrate my Sensei at times in this, as I should really be drilling my fundamental kata.  I totally agree with them as only a blue belt in our discipline, I need to practice, practice, practice.

2201 A short routine

However, the physical needs also have to be tempered with the mental.  Learning the form of a new kata is a mental challenge, which, whilst I feel under mental siege is an important release.   I'm not trying to learn different bunkai in general, because all I really need to know is in Naihanchi at my level. 

2301 Lesson

So Sanseru is the new kata I'm trying to learn, I will take Naihanchi over Sanchin any day for a late starter like me.  It's a codex for most of the brutal strikes you can make, and for self defence that's perfect. 

2401 Shadow sparring based on heavy bag routine

However, I go back to my research and it tells me that all divides between schools historically are artificial.  What you learned depended on the teachers you studied under, not the schools you were with.   These are a later development.

2501 Reminder of today's lesson

 I will never train in Sanchin alone, as at my age I don't think I'm likely to get an iron body.   However, I learned a version of Tensho that included the opening of Sanchin, and with PJ I have learnt the framework of Seisan, and now I'm learning the form of Sanseru.

2901 A bit of morning exercise

The bottom line in my mind is, I have to practice the fundamentals; my core kata and drills, but I also need mental challenges>   This gives my a focus away from home and work and in so doing, helps me create my own mental "separation", in place of the physical one that is impossible to achieve in lockdown.

Hope this all makes sense and thank you for reading.

0401

Fundamentals
Kata 

0901

Kata (Naihanchi Shodan)
Fundamentals
Combinations (Jodan uke, punch) (Mai geri, reverse punch)
Naihanch drill #1 padwork

1601

Fundamentals
Kata (missed out the kicks due to the flare up of an old back complaint)

2301

Naihanchi drill #1
Self protection and defence
Kata

2501

Kicks and transitions using Mawaishi geri and Ushiro geri
Transitioning in Zenkutsu dachi
Transitioning using Nekko ashi dachi
Kihon gata (know 1-5, have notes to 10)
Naihanchi drills 1-5

3001

Jamie Clubb - anti-grappling

Awareness and a framework for self protection - notes from lessons

 

My Sensei emphasise the need for both self protection and self defence in conjunction with the learning of karate skills.  In short, what we learn to do in karate is the toolset that we have to deal with things when all other options have failed.  Whilst in the dojo, there isn't really an opportunity for note taking, and the detailed material was only readily available by attending seminars of reading books.

One of the positives of Covid-19 is that a lot of this has changed.  Seminars have been conducted online, and in the case of our dojo, we have had the opportunity to have lessons given by one of the UK's top specialist instructors: Jamie Clubb.  He made reference on many occasions to the underlying principles also referred to by my Sensei.

Two of the most prominent are those presented by Jeff Cooper (1), which I noted as states of awareness, and Lee Morrison (2), which I noted as a framework for self protection (2). 

(1) Jeff Cooper - States of awareness

White	Unprepared, unready
Yellow	Prepared, relaxed, situational awareness
Orange	Alert and ready to take action
Red	Action mode, focussed
Black	Panic, degraded mental and physical performance

(2) Lee Morrison - framework for self protection

AWARENESS

SITUATIONAL CONTROL

PRE-EMPTION

CONTINUOUS ATTACK

ESCAPE

The first key to self protection and self defence is awareness.  The starting point is "Code White" , "unprepared, unready to take action" - the most obvious cases would be walking outside, looking at your mobile phone. sat in a public place, again looking at your mobile phone, or indoors but having forgotten to lock your door or a window.  Somebody can get close to you, or enter your home without you being aware they are there.  If something happens and you are caught unaware, according to Jeff Cooper's model, you skip straight from "Code White" to "Code Black", into panic mode, where physical and mental performance are impaired.  This is exactly what needs to be avoided in self protection and self defence.

The ideal situation to be in, unless you are safe and secure, is "Code Yellow", which is to say where you are aware of what is going on around you.  You are aware of where other people and things are around you, you are checking and remembering to close and lock doors and windows, etc.  Classified as good situational awareness, even if there is no perceived risk or threat.  This correlates to "Awareness" in Lee Morrison's framework.

The next stage of alertness is classed as "Code Orange", alertness of possible or probable danger and ready to take action.  Possible dangers might be things such as a group of teenagers stood in a group, a single drunk or group of drunks coming towards you, a car slowing down alongside you, a stranger in a crowded space asking you a question.   The kind of things you might try to do are avoid by crossing the road at a distance from a group, Stand tall and walk with confidence, moving away from the kerb, checking behind you to see whether there is someone approaching from behind, or not engaging when a stranger talks to you.

If avoidance isn't possible, you should appear confident and not hesitant.  If you can't go round a group, carry on walking but go round them if possible.  If a drunk or group of drunks approach, do the same.  If someone asks you the time or directions, go round them and then turn to face them, to check to see if there was another person coming up behind, etc.  If a car slows down and somebody lowers the window to ask a question, make sure you are away from the kerb and can see both front and rear doors.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully not a bad starting point.  Any actions taken in "Code Orange" correlate to the  "Situational Control" of Lee Morrison's framework.

If it is possible to avoid this is always best, but if you have to engage with a person or group of people, then this is the borderline between "Code Orange" and "Code Red", but still falls within "Situational Control".  You should always appear confident and try and position yourself as best as you can to see as many potential threats as possible.  Be polite and appear attentive if you have to engage in  conversation, but keep looking around to see what other risks there are. Keep looking for openings to escape to if needed.  If the conversation appears to taking a turn for the worse, be conciliatory but get ready to act if necessary.

The trigger for switching to "Code Red", and entering the "Pre-emption" phase of the self protection framework, is if you believe from the words or actions of the other person and persons, that you are in real danger. If a person starts getting angry and uses threatening language or gestures, if a person or group of people are not showing both hands, or one of them reaches into their clothing, then you need to act before they do. A pre-emptive strike in these circumstances is allowed, and is classed as self defence. 

Once engaged, if the opportunity to escape does not immediately appear, then you need to keep attacking, "Continuous attack", until one does.  Once an opportunity presents itself, then you must attempt to escape.  Carrying on striking once the threat has been diminished, or has been removed, does not constitute self defence and opens up the possibility of prosecution.

Self defence techniques should only ever be used as a last resort, when all other options have failed.   That is if you have been taken unaware and skipped from "CodeWhite" to "Code Black", or all attempts at Situational Control have failed and you have had to shift from "Code Orange" to "Code Red".

 

A Nerd post, SanZhan, Sanchin and Seisan

This isn't a historical post, let's make this clear; rather it's a train of thought based upon observations I have made, in part based on some presented material I have been exposed to.   The link between Seisan and SanZhan I looked at in one of my previous blogs:

Seisan as nerd and for health

However, I wanted to have another look at SanZhan and the route started again with"Karate Nerd in China"  Jesse had somebody named Will helping him on the journey, so I decided to look him up.  This turned out tp be Will Wain-Williams, who has his own YouTube channel, "Monkey Steals Peach", and there, sure enough, was even more material from the Jesse Enkamp trip, including the full form of SanZhan Jesse had referred to.

Also, there was under a Subsection, "Monkey offers Peach". a whole archive of the different forms of SanZhan that Will had come across in his travels:

Monkey gives Peach - SanZhan Archive (no longer available)

The interesting thing was, Will identified the kata associated with it as Sanchin, not Seisan.  In truth, that ties in with the various names I seem to have heard for both Kata, SanZhan and Sanchin both refer to the number three, one of the popular names for the form and kata being the "three battles".  Seisan apparently refers to the number 13.  There is is a large amount of reference material which refers to Sanchin being specifically brought over to Okinawa from China, but not a great deal stated about Seisan.

However, apart from Jesse's video, there are other reference points that cite Seisan being linked to SanZhan, so this set a seed that both Seisan and Sanchin are related and derived from the same Chinese form, SanZhan. Sanchin seems to concentrate on the similar opening elements found in each of the different forms of SanZhan, while the diverse forms of Seisan, reflect the many variations of SanZhan found in China. Sanchin concentrates on very specific core techniques taught in the styles of karate where it is used as the base kata, whilst Seisan incorporates the diverse techniques used in fighting.

I decided to ask Will about this, and whilst he was knowledgeable about the Sanchin relationship to SanZhan, he referred me to an interview he did with Russ Smith (author of  "Principle-Driven Skill Development: for Traditional Martial arts"), for further insight.

Russ Smith - SanZhan, Sanchin and Seisan

Russ Smith in the interview gives his theory, having studied both Five Ancestors Boxing and Goju Ryu, Seisan is a four directional version of SanZhan.  So, SanZhan could be the root form of both Sanchin and Seisan.  Sanchin being the core and Seisan adding in the other elements.

For the sake of completeness, I have added a link to the forms of Seisan I found in my search for the first blog.

YouTube Playlists (Seisan)

I would be interested to hear what other people think.

December Blues and Grading

The month of December was a strange one, work taking up far more time than usual at this time of year.  Something seemed to happen most weekends, and even the time between Christmas and the New Year was busy.  At least I had some days leave left to take, so that broke things up a little.

04 12 Kata Tai Chi style

Karate had to take a back seat in repect of being able to make formal lessons, but still formed a part of unwinding.  Usually in the form of Kata or fundamentals practice, as at the start of the month we were told that we would be grading.  Since at the stt of the Covid-19 outbreak, both my and my son missed out due to him having a cold, and us not being able to attend, this seemed like a really good end to the year 

09 12 Naihanchis

However, my workload lead to me missing a good few lessons, and I began to think that maybe I wouldn't be allowed to grade.  Our Sensei had arranged a session of just me and my son outdoors with themselves, but before we even discussed dates, of course Covid-19 struck again and the infection rates around our area rapidly started to grow, so no grading any way.  😞😞 

12 !2 Short Training

Most of the lessons in December had been geared towards grading, and in my own time that is what I had been practicing, so it felt like a real downer to lose out a second time.   However, a little while later, I got a pleasant surprise.   Over the last two weekends before Christmas, my Sensei told us that they would be holding gradings over Zoom for those that were ready to grade at the beginner and intermediate grades.   Both me and my son were told that we would be grading in the second session, on the Sunday before Christmas 😀😀

19 12 Practice

More practice was in order, and I went through what I knew to be in the grading a good few                    times before the day itself.   It was a good distraction from both home and work (though all have been in the same place for several months now), and there were a few early morning butterflys.  I know my kicks are the weakest part of my repetoire, and tried to work on my Ushiro and Yoku geri kicks.

20 12 Cant sleep

I chatted with my Sensei before the grading and worked on a way to try to improve it, but it still has a long way to go.  The work on the Yoku geri appears to have paid off.  On the day before the grading we had a lesson with Jamie Clubb, about anti grappling techniques; its not often my son likes to work with me in these situations, as there isn't much room for two people to work together inside, but we gave it a go on this occasion.  A few bits and pieces nearly took a hit, but it was fun 😀😀

20 12 Grading - kata

On the 20th.- the day of the grading, as I said, I had a few early morning nerves so I practiced some more.  I needed have worried, I passed with a B grade.  It could have been better, as my Ushiro and Mawashi geri kicks were picked out as needing more work and the kata could definitely have been a bit sharper.  But it wasn't too shabby and now I'm a blue belt. 😁😁

27 12 Time to work off the excess

The was just one more lesson before Christmas, was was in the form of a knowledge test and pad work, then no more lessons until the New Year.  I used a little bit of karate practice to burn off some of the Christmas excesses, and which overall passed quite peacefully for our household.

So hears to wishing all of you who take the time to read a Happy New Year, and hope it's much better than the last.  Thank you for sticking with me 😀😀🙏

0512

Naihanchi
Naihanchi drill 3, solo and on pads with pre empt on start and flank, vital points and incidental strikes eg forearm into brainstem before the neck crank

1012

Grading routine Fundamentals, Kihon, Kata

1712
Grading routine
Fundamentals, Kihon, Kata

1912
Jamie Clubb lesson
Anti grappling techniques, recovery from the floor

2012
Grading, fundamentals, kihon, kata

2112
Last lesson, attended in part
Spotlight on individuals - explaining fundamentals, padwork, teiso, hammer fist, elbow

Seisan, (As a Nerd and for Health)

 

Seisan (As a Nerd and for Health)

I really enjoyed Jesse Enkamp's video series "Karate Nerd in China", and was fascinated by his finding of "Incense Shop Boxing" as the descendant of "Monk Fist Boxing", mentioned in "The Bubishi".  This lead to one Jesse Enkamp's  follow up videos: The Oldest Kata in Karate, featuring Seisan.

When I got the chance to join in with a lesson by PJ Broomy, by video link, I found out that one of the katas taught in his syllabus is Seisan, and it's opening was fairly similar to another kata I had learnt as a way of practicing breathing techniques, Tensho.  An idea was set in my mind to learn the kata with a fourfold purpose:

• To be able to join in any other lesson with PJ by having a common kata
• As a piece of living history
• As mental stimulation
• To add another kata that could be used for practicing breathing techniques

PJ promised to video the kata for me, and duly it arrived a few weeks later via Facebook messenger, and during the video PJ said that he was not certain of the provenance of the version of the kata. During his video, Jesse had mentioned that although there were versions of the kata in virtually all styles of karate with similar starts and end points, there were many different mid sections, due to lots of the middle part of the Chinese form being cut out or greatly altered, so that set me a Nerd challenge:

• To identify which form of the Kata practiced by other styles resembled the one I was learning

Firstly to the kata itself, I have been trying to learn it for about three weeks now, and can mostly remember the framework of the kata. though my knowledge of the precise techniques and phrasing is very much a work in progress and I can only go through it slowly.  However, it is still enough to be able to use it as an extra kata to do deep breathing exercises to, thanks to my earlier learning of Tensho.  

Her is the first videoed run through of the kata:

Seisan 2911 first full run through

Now on to the Nerd part, I decided to search Youtube for the versions of the kata  practiced by the various styles (the full set is in the playlist links at the end of the blog, but three in particular I thought to be reasonable base prospects:

1) Aregaki Seisan

Jesse Enkamp mentioned in "The Oldest Kata in Karate" video that Aregaki Seisho peformed the kata at a demonstration for the Chinese Sapposhi at the Ochayagoten in 1867.  My search unearthed a video of the Bubishi translator himself, Hanshi Patrick McCarthy, performing the kata: 

Youtube video: Aregaki Seisan (Patrick McCarthy)

A very intricate kata, but not the one I was trying to learn 😞.

2) Matsumura Seisan

I seem to recall from a number of sources that Seisan was a kata favoured by Matsumura, but unfortunately I can't remember them.  However I do remember reading an article by Scot Mertz: 

"Bushi Matsumura Sokon" (Oct 2018), in which he mentions that Matsumura made two trips to China as an envoy in 1826 and 1860, though the first is attributed as family legend.  However it is suggested that on the first trip he studied both traditional and military martial arts, and might have been first introduced to the idea of "forms" or "kata". 

One of his students, Kyan Chotoku, certainly taught the kata.  The Shorin Ryu family of styles lay claim to this version of the kata, but there are many versions, some bladed and some more front facing. I chose the below to represent this form, as it explicitly lays claim to follow the Matsumura version:

Youtube video: Matsumura Seisan (Higa Kōyū)

To my untrained eye this appear to be similar to, but slightly less complicated than the Aregaki version, so again not what I was learning 😞.

3. Goju Ryu Seisan

Myagi Chojun the founder of Goju Ryu, went to China himself firstly in 1915-1917, then again in 1936.  Apparently he went for a third time as well, but I can't find the dates for that.  He studied originally with Aragaki Ryu Ko (no relation of Aragaki Seisho)  for two to three years (1899 to 1902) then for 13 years with Higaonna Kanryo (1902 to 1915).  Whilst in China he studied at least Chuguko Kempo and Whooping Crane Gu Fu. <sources http://www.ogkk.eu/historymaster/masters/chojun_miyagi.htm, 

http://www.japan-karate.com/A%20Short%20History%20of%20Goju%20Ryu.pdf>

Where he learnt Seisan is never confirmed, though apparently Higaonna, Kanryo taught a version (possibly that of Aragaki, Seisho), and the form obviously existed at the time in China.  So plenty of potential and varied sources for Myagi, Chojun to have learnt it from, as with Matsumura Sokon.

The video I chose to look at was that of Higaonna Morio (no relation to Higaonna Kanryo):

Youtube video: Goju Ryu Seisan (Higonna Morio)

Bingo. Third time lucky, it seems that this one is the basis of the one I have the pleasure to be learning 😊😊

As a follow up to this, I also found this video of the application of the Goju Ryu version of Seisan by Iain Abernethy (who my Sensei rate highly):

Practical Kata Bunkai: Thoughts on bunkai for Goju-Ryu / Shito-Ryu Seisan

I also recognise that Paul Enfield does a mean line in interpretation of the kata, but way too technical for me at my level. 😕

If anyone knows more about the history of the kata from the Aragaki, Matsumura of Miyagi lineages, would love to find out about it. 😊😊.  I will leave the other versions out at this stage, simply to avoid the possible information overload it might might cause me.  If there is enough there for another blog, would love to share that too.

Youtube Watch list

Never give up, never give in

The month of November, going into December you could say has been a testing one.   Work has been manic, having had to work the last two weekends and again this weekend, I have managed to train at least once a week, but sometimes that has been it in some weeks, apart from short snatches of kata or drills here or there.

Naihanchi Drills 0511

It has been somewhat challenging at home too, with the ups and down of mood and tension that goes with four people being at home all the time.  The separation needed doesn't always materialise and things can be magnified many times over as a result, but we have to keep on going.

Naihanchi after the lesson 0711

That said, I did manage to fit in a lesson with PJ Broomy at the start of November, and led to something a little different later on.  From my own dojo's perspective, we have been concentrating mainly on kata, the Naihanchi pad drills and fundamentals, mostly online due to the lockdown (all online for me of course).

More Naihanchi, drills and kata 1411

One of the signs that I, and fellow students of a similar grade, are making progress is that we have now started to be shown Naihanchi Sandan and perform it in lessons.  At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, my only kata to perform was Naihanchi Shodan, but zoom lessons have by their solo nature for practice have included kata as a strong element of our lessons.

Kata and Naihanch drills 1911

Our Sensei also keep asking us to provide performance videos of our kata, so that they can check on progress individually.  This has resulted in a good amount of feedback, which I like to think has gone a long way towards the progress.  Along with lots of practice of course.

2111 Lesson Part 1

One of the lessons we did, I videoed my part for the whole session, as a sample record of what we are doing and guess what, it was fundamentals plus the Naihanchi drills. The good thing about this is that it allows me compare what I do now against what I was doing when I started ☺☺☺

2111 Lesson Part 2

The good thing about that, is I got to realise the improvements I have made over time.  They are only small ones on a day to day basis, but over two or more years they mount up to quite a lot of progress.  As always though, there is still room for improvement.  That's an attitude I always want to keep, as nothing I do will ever be perfect.

2211 Lesson Part 3

Sometimes, when work is demanding and home life is problematic, an escape is needed.  Karate easily provided that during the summer months, with space in the garden to train and get away from all the other issues for a while, but then comes autumn and winter.  The weather isn't so clement and night draws in.

2111 Part 4

The first victim was kobudo, as space indoors even during the daytime, doesn't allow for the use of bo and nunchaku, the weapons taught primarily in our dojo.  Them the number of lessons I could attend dropped off, due to me having to work my full and sometimes extended hours, to meet project requirements and catch up on basics.  Due to family needs, the space available later in the day is far less than the earlier hours.

2111 Part 5

I found myself drifting back towards online life and gaming, which before karate had always been my release.  But it is nowhere near as mentally challenging or gives the self discipline and physical outlet I need to cope physically with my medical needs or mentally, to combat the current circumstances.  Fortunately a friend had inadvertently offered a lifeline.

2111 Kata after the lesson

When the "Karate Nerd in China" came out in December / January, I was an avid viewer, and the series piqued my interest in the "oldest kata" in karate, Seisan.  My lesson with PJ Broomy at the start of the month had me frustrated, because I couldn't join in directly with the kata part.  They do Tekki Shodan, but not as a part of their core, but they do Seisan.

Seisan, first part

PJ kindly shared a video of him doing the kata, with detail, so I set myself a challenge: To learn it.  I did this with a twofold purpose, it could be used as a breathing kata to add on to Tensho, that I already practice, and to know I kata I could do if I do another online lesson with PJ's dojo.  The history also fascinates me, so I think it will be the source of two further blogs: Nerd meets Practice and then a pure Nerd blog, in truth the first one is part way there.  That's another challenge, the mental stimulus.

2811 Kata cool down

So now I'm back to training more and today is the last weekend scheduled I have to do project work, so there is light at the end of at least two tunnels (the other is more personal, so not for here).  I have even gone back to the tai cho kata form of Naihanchi Shodan, inspired by Robey Jenkins, and added Noah Legel's Tensho to the mix for cardio and relaxation.

2911 kata - Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan, Tensho

So my motto has to be "Never give up, never give in" and I want to say thank you to my son Brendan, and my Sensei Ben and Alison for the source of determination and perseverance, and my online mentors, Robey Jenkins, Noah Legel and PJ Broomy, for the direction in how to adapt what I do ☺☺☺☺  Also, a big thank you to all of my extended dojo family (Hanshi Nohara, Senseis Craig, Darren and Graham, Elsha, Jack, Sam and all) for giving me the reason to continue 🙏🙏🙏.

3011 Rotating the strike

0211

Early morning lesson with PJ Broomy
Following along with a regular dojo class

0511

Kata,
Kihon Gata
Naihainchi pad drills #1-3

0212 Early Morning kata

0711

Kata
Kihon Gata
Naihanchi pad drills #1-2

1211

Fundamentals

Punches, receiving techniques, kicks, shuto, hisa-geri, uke
Kihon gata, combinations
Kata and performance

1411

Kick, punch called combinations, turns and combinations
Naihanchi drills 1 and 2 padwork
Kata

2111

Fundamentals, punches, receiving techniques. kicks, etc.
Naihanchi drill #1, elements and drill
Kata

0312 Kata Tai Chi Style

2811

Jamie Clubb lesson, sprawls, spear take downs, going to ground, knee control, breaking grasps, going to the back, etc.

3011

Kata
Rotation and elbow strikes, round the clock moving the nearest foot and round the clock with back foot as the pivot
Naihanchi drills

0312

Kata
The four basic kicks, turning ushiro geri on an uke, mai gei and mawashi geri in self defence
Naihanchi drill one with variations, including turning to get sight of a second attacker and being taken to ground on the knee strike and recovery.