Friday, February 22, 2008
ASK SENSEI
Click on "Comments" at the bottom of this post to ask Sensei any questions about karate or kobudo kata, ju jitsu curriculum, or anything at all about your training or your child's training, rank requirements, etc. This blog post will act as an informal forum in which all of your martial arts-related questions will be answered. Please also feel free to share any comments or feedback about anything relating to the dojo; classes, special events, etc. If you have a question, it's likely others are looking for an answer as well, so don't be shy!
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26 comments:
Hey Sensei Noah, what is the difference between Pinan and Heian Kata? Look forward to your response. Thanks, Sempai Mike
Pinan and Heian are the exact same thing. Itosu-sensei created the Pinan forms as simplified reworkings of the Chiang Nan kata (a complex Chinese series of forms that is commonly practiced today in various Chinese arts such as kenpo) - Itosu-sensei called these kata "Pinan," which is loosely translated as "peaceful mind." When karate was taken to Japan, the Japanese pronounced this word "Heian," although the kata are the same. They aren't different kata, just different ways to pronounce the same word - the Okinawan "Pinan" vs. the Japanese "Heian." Currently, most Okinawan & Japanese styles include some variation of the Pinan kata in their curriculum (Goju-ryu being a notable exception). In general, styles with an Okinawan lineage (such as ours) use the "Pinan" pronunciation, whereas systems with Japanese lineage tend to use the "Heian" pronunciation.
I think I searched the whole web site and I could not find the samurai meditation. Could it be posted on here?
If you do not get to add it in the next day or so, hopefully I will remember (when I am home again) to add it in from the terminology sheet.
Sorry, I am just trying to put this in as many places as possible, so that I can study it anywhere.
Thanks,
Sempai Chris
Hey Sensei Noah, I liked that post on the web site. Very cool. Another question for you. When a Kata is called for example Pinan Sandan, the Karate-ka responds by repeating the Kata name. Question is with Tensho, Saifa and Shinto. Why do we sometimes say Tensho No Kata or Shinto No Kata or Saifa No Kata?
Thanks, Sempai Mike
Semapi Chris,
Hmmmm. . .the meditation should be up on the site under TERMINOLOGY. I'll look into it. Meanwhile, here it is (written in Romaji phoenetics):
Ken to wa kokoro nari
Kokoro tadashi kariba sono ken tadashi
Kokoro tadashi karazariba
Sono ken mata tadashi karazu
Ken o monoban tu suru monowa subekaraku
Sono kokoro o manabe
The sword (fist) and the mind are one.
When the mind is right, the sword (fist) is right.
When the mind is not right, the sword (fist) is also not right.
To study the art of kendo, one must first study his mind.
Sempai Mike,
Great question!
The Japanese "no" is how the possessive is denoted; it's the equivalent of " 's " in English. [for example, "Kanojo-no namae wa Sue desu" - "Her name is Sue". . .in this instance, the "no" changes the meaning of kanojo from "she" to "her"] Generally, the possessive is used when a kata is named after a person, a family, a place, religion, or ideology. For example: Tensho-no Kata (The kata of Tensho - or "Tensho's Kata"), Shiu Shi-no Kon (The staff of Shiu Shi - or "Shiu Shi's staff")
Verbal naming of kata can be varied: you may say "Kata Tensho," "Tensho-no Kata," or the Anglicized "Tensho Kata." You may hear the Pinan kata, as a whole, referred to as "Pinan-no Kata;" however, the possessive "no" is generally not used when naming specific kata in the series (e.g. "Pinan Shodan").
Note as well the Anglicization of titles, such as Sensei, Sempai, Renshi, Kyoshi, etc. English-speaking budoka have grown accustomed to the Anglicized "Sensei Bob" or "Sempai Betty;" the correct (Japanese) nomenclature is "Smith-sensei," "Jones-sempai," etc.
To sum up, it is not incorrect to omit the "no" when naming a kata; "Kata Tensho," "Tensho-no Kata," and "Tensho Kata" are all acceptable names for this kata. It all depends on how formal you want to be.
Hey Sensei Noah, How do you say spinning back fist in Japanese? Thanks, Sempai Mike
Sempai Mike,
Spinning backfist is "ushiro uraken" (literally "backfist to the rear" - as you must have your back to your opponent to perform this strike).
The Japanese word for "spinning" is jiten; however, it is not used to describe this particular motion.
Domo arigato Sensei! ...for putting up the Kendo meditation on the website - I just printed out a few copies for my office.
Thanks, Sempai Chris
The kendo meditation is now up on MountainStreamBudo.com under "Terminology."
Hi Sensei Noah!
So, we now have a shodan-ho in our dojo. I was just wondering if there is a title we would use to address him.
Thanks, Lori!
The rank of Shodan-ho is not accompanied by a title. Shodan-ho, or "probationary black belt," is used as a youth rank in our dojo, and is approximately the equivalent of an adult sankyu. The title of "Sempai," which is given to those holding the [adult] ranks of Shodan or Nidan, is not used in this case.
Great question!
Hi Sensei Noah, Thanks to you and the other Senseis for an amazing Shiai. I am so proud to train at MSB - our spirit and sense of unity and camaraderie is really strong, and I think that shone through at Shiai. The competition was fair and intense and really, really exciting. Kata competition was awesome. Thanks again!!! -Ellen
Ellen-san,
Thanks for your sweet & thougtful words! Your post really means a lot to me, but the true thanks go to you guys; without students such as you, we wouldn't have had such a successful shiai, let alone such a great dojo. Sensei Carol & I are truly lucky to have so many great students who want to train with us! So thanks again, and congratulations on earning your yonkyu in karate and for training so diligently over the past few years! Domo arigato gozai masu!
Hi Sensei, Congratulations on another great Shiai! Its so energizing and motivating to participate in these events. Yea MSB!!!
Sensei: I'm trying to conceptualize Basai-Dai - as the kata practitioner, am I defending the fortress or am I attacking the fortress?
Ellen-san,
Thanks for the compliment! Honestly, we wouldn't be able to have shiai at all without students such as you, so all of the congratulations should be directed at you guys!!
_______
As to your Bassai dai question, the kanji for "Bassai" (Passai) have alternately been translated as "to penetrate a fortress" and "to remove from a fortress." I think your question is a bit esoteric; I don't think the kata was named after a literal fortress (the history of this kata is obscure, and many theories abound). I personally feel that the name of the kata has more to do with the complexity of the embusen and possible bunkai applications; I've never thought of it as a literal penetration of [or extraction from] an actual fortress! However, if your literal interpretation of the kata name leads you to a fuller or better understanding of the kata itself, then by all means go with it, and make the kata yours!
As a student of Sensei Louis Stanishia during the Triangle School days, I am confused as to the reference to his system and style.
Sensei was a teacher of the Shorin-Ryu Okinawan style, which was a balanced system of body and weapons.
I haven't seen the proper name "Shorin-Ryu" mentioned on the site.
Hi, RevKev,
A great question! Thanks for posting.
Yes, you are correct in that we were taught as students that the system we were learning was Shorin-ryu. This was, in fact, incorrect.
15 of the 21 kata in our system are Shotokan kata; 4 of them are Goju-ryu, and 2 of them have obscure origins.
I have trained with several instructors of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu since we left Sensei Stanishia, and our system bears very little resemblance to either this or any other strain of Shorin-ryu, other than that fact that Shotokan is an offshoot, in part, of Shorin-ryu.
Having researched the origins of our kata and our system as thoroughly as possible, I've come to the conclusion that we are a hybrid of Shotokan (80%) and Goju-ryu (20%), although our movements appear Chinese in nature and not Okinawan, and thus, out of context of kata, resemble neither Shotokan nor Goju-ryu.
As to your reference to "body and weapons," karate by nature does not deal with weapons at all. Many karate styles have incorporated elements of kobudo into their systems; however, karate by its definition does not incorporate weapons at all. At Mountain Stream Budo we offer a kobudo program as a fully-formed and separate art.
As to why Sensei Stanishia taught us that our style was "Shorin-ryu," I spoke to a student who was training under Sensei in the very late 60s up until 1971. This person told me that during that time, Sensei was looking for a patch that referenced Okinawan karate. This was long before the days of Century Martial Arts supply shops were around, and apparently the only Okinawan karate patch he was able to find was one that said Shorin-ryu, which I guess was close enough for him at the time.
Whether this story holds any truth, I can't say, and why he called his style Shorin-ryu and not Shotokan (if simplification was necessary) remains a mystery. What I can tell you is that our style contains none of the distictly Shorin-ryu kata (such as Fukyugata, Kusanku, Ananku, etc.). We only practice those Shorin-ryu kata which also appear in Shotokan (the Tekki [Naihanchi]and Pinan [Heian] series, and Bassai Dai, which is actually Bassai Sho in Shorin-ryu). However, these kata appear in many Okinawan karate styles and are not unique to Shorin-ryu. There are also many Shotokan kata that do not appear at all in our style.
So, in summary, although our system contains kata from Shotokan (and thus Shorin-ryu) and Goju-ryu, we are a hybrid style, and do not fit into any of these styles specifically, either in curriculum or in appearance.
All karate styles are hybrids of earlier styles, and every karate style is Okinawan in ancestry (and even so, all Okinawan karate has Chinese roots).
Many people find it important to classify martial arts and to pigeonhole a system as being one style or another. I don't agree with this, especially since we don't belong to a large organization. To me, all martial arts are cousins, and all go back to the same point of origin.
If someone were to casually ask what style of karate we represent, I might say "Shotokan," for simplicity's sake, since this is the style we most closely resemble, but in truth we're a mixed breed that is certainly neither Shorin-ryu nor any other traditionally established style.
what an interesting question and an even more interesting answer
Sensei,
You mentioned before that there are 15 kata of Shotokan origin and 4 from Goju-ryu. Which four are from Goju-ryu?
Our four Goju kata are Tensho, Saifa, Saiunchin, and Sanchin.
Sensei....I was just practicing kata...and I'll be darned if I couldn't get through Pinan Godan!!!!! ARG!!!! I kept messing up at the bottom after the kansetsu waza...tetsui...oi tsuki...then is it morote uke?? I kept wanting to turn the other way and do a shuto...Ahhhh!!!! So frustrating! Help!!!!
Lori-san,
After the oi tsuki in Pinan Godan, you turn 180-degrees counter-clockwise (moving the left foot so that it is in line with the right, into kokutsu dachi) and perform a left uchi uke.
Pinan Godan & Bassai Sho have more than a few similarities, and it's very common for brown belt students to become confused here, so don't be frustrated!!!
Hey Sensei Noah.
I need a little clarification on Tai-Sabaki (kicks and tetsui)...
Movements 1 & 2 - we're going to step back and kick with the rear leg, correct? So, on movement 1 I'm going to step back with my right and kick with my right...movement 2 I'll step back with my left and kick with my left. Is that correct?
On movements 7 & 8 we step back as usual but kick with the front leg (from a cat stance)?
The hand that's not being used to block should be up protecting the face...not chambered, correct?
When we do Tai-Sabaki (tetsui) the hand that's not being used to block should be where...chambered or up protecting the face?
Thanks so much.
Chris
In the tai sabaki kicks set, on #1, you take a suri-ashi step back 45 degrees with your LEFT, leaving the right foot forward, and kick with the RIGHT foot. On #2, you shuffle back with the RIGHT foot, leaving the LEFT forward, and kick with the LEFT. Both kicks are thrown with the FORWARD leg.
#7 and #8 are the same as #1 and #2, although #7 = #2 and #8 = #1.
Correct, the non-blocking hand is in kamae position, not chamber.
The uraken set has been replaced with the tetsui set for 3rd kyu. On that set as well, the non-blocking hand is in kamae (guard) position, and not chambered.
Thanks!!
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