Chi Sau in Karate????

[johndoch]

Well I went to try a local Karate club the other night and found myself doing chi sau drills (although nobody called it this).

Advanced students were doing breakfalls and I was told that clinchwork and grappling takes place on one of the other nights of training. Supposedly there's a few Judoka at the club.

I was also shown the first Kata and worked some one step sparring (never seen any continious fighting).

Is this common to Karate or do you think this sounds like a progressive system???

Anyways I will go for a few weeks before commiting myself.

[Mike Flanagan]

Hi John

Chi Sao? Clinch work? Breakfalls?

I'd say you've been lucky enough to find an extremely progressive karate club.

Mike

P.S. Of course I would say that - these are exactly the sort of exercises we were working on in our club last night.

[johndoch]

Thanks Mike

Its seems like a good club.

Very friendly with a good mix of students.

Its looking promising I intend to go to thursdays class and see how it goes.

The styles called Shoto Budo and seems to be part of a pretty small organisation.

[Matt_Bernius]

As far as Chi Sau in Karate, I had the benefit of getting to participate in a Goju Ryu Karate workshop with Sensi Chuck Merriman (I don't believe he uses the title Master). One of the first drills we worked on was, for lack of a better description, a Chi Sau type exercise (though different from traditional Wing Chun Chi Sau).

Personally I think if you look to the earlier forms of Karate, like Goju Ruy you'll see a lot of "Chinese" aspects like that in them. In factit's one of the reasons that I love participating in Karate Seminars like the one I mentioned. I often get a better understand of the Kung Fu that I do looking at the more streamlined versions of the moves I see in Karate.

- Matt

[Kosokun]

Originally posted by Matt_Bernius
[B]As far as Chi Sau in Karate, I had the benefit of getting to participate in a Goju Ryu Karate workshop with Sensi Chuck Merriman (I don't believe he uses the title Master). One of the first drills we worked on was, for lack of a better description, a Chi Sau type exercise (though different from traditional Wing Chun Chi Sau).

Goju uses an exercise called Kakie (ka key eh)
that is sort of like a chi sao type of drill.

rob

[Matt_Bernius]

I have a feeling that might have been it. It was funny, it befuddled most of the Japanese praticitioners at the workshop. The Chinese folks took to it like fish to water. :-)

- Matt

[kempocos]

"I have a feeling that might have been it. It was funny, it befuddled most of the Japanese praticitioners at the workshop. The Chinese folks took to it like fish to water. :-)"

I am not surprised, When KARATE was brought to Japan from Okinawa much of the Chinese influence was removed. That is when the it was made to be all hard kick / punch. Much of the flow, grappling , ground work which is the heart of much of the KATA BUNKAI was changed. EX. In a KATA what many JAPANESE see as a down block of a kick/low punch , Okinawain stylist will see as a regrab of the arm , a take down, repostion of the arm as a setup of the next technique. A sayaing I like,

A BLOCK , IS A STRIKE , IS A LOCK , IS A THROW

[Killerbee]

Actually, what is called Chi Sao in chinese systems is also a fundamental part of okinawan karate, which is named Kakie.