Hey everybody, I am currently in testing for my black belt in shorin ryu shidokan karate, and the most advanced kata required is passai sho. It's my personal favorite kata and thought I'd start a thread for people to discuss the history behind the kata, the techniques within it, and the overall esthetics. Although much of the bunkai is still hidden to me, one of my favorites would be the takedown close to the end, when you shift your weight diagonally and curl your arm at hip level (I may be describing it poorly, if so let me know and il provide a video). The bunkai for this is fairly simple, somebody front kicks you (it also works for the roundhouse kick and if your quick i suppose the side kick) and you pendulem block, curl your arm under the opponents knee, and turn them towards the ground, works fantastically. This is one of the more practical takedowns I've learned, as It doesn't require you to grab anybody. Or get entangled at all. Any thoughts on other bunkai within the kata? I'd love some other points of view!
I know that 'leg catch' used to be a commonly taught bunkai for that movement, but I've yet to be convinced that it would work against anything but a slow kicker who is not prepared to hit with their hands by someone who is expecting the kick.
One of the more important aspects of the kata from my point of is the mindset of overwhelming your opponent. For me personally the bunkai is of course of importance but the specific techniques are secondary to the mental aspects of the kata. regards, Colin
I've found for roundhouse kicks it works well at fairly high speed, il try it full speed soon and report the results
I agree, for me every kata has a distinct "flavor". My two favorite katas in that regard are probably Pinan shodan (heinan nidan for you shotokan guys out there) and pinin yondon. But I'm starting on nahachi sandan now and so far I like that one a lot too.
but does it work against full POWER kicks? seriously, that leg catch, although common in karate schools, is one of the worst applications ever . better to just use the turn as a forearm smash to the neck before a normal takedown.
that said, i like visualizing the morote tettsui as a pair of overhooks, which let you headbutt before punching the guy in the face with the tsuki.
You may be thinking of a different technique then me, il post a video. And il let you know, but my impression is that il have no problem using it on a full power kick.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=g7fHS9gd0tU&desktop_uri=/watch?v=g7fHS9gd0tU The technique I'm talking about starts at 1:09.
Yes, that's the one we're thinking of. You're not going to do that against someone who's really trying full speed to hurt you. You've got a slight chance against a poor kicker who telegraphs their intent and doesn't try to destroy you with their kick.
ok, rule number 1 for effective combat practices: you do NOT try to defend against an attack by using a movement that not only takes more time to perform than said attack, but also relies on reaction and thus starts approximately halfway through it. any defense against a mostly linear attack (front kick, straight-ish punch), that involves two sideways motions in opposite directions with the same limb deserves to fail in a spectacular fashion. as for using it against a roundhouse, it provides you no way to actually stop the roundhouse from hitting you, and is just asking for a broken arm.
How about this as an alternative... Lets say you throw the opponent with the previous technique, so that you're holding their right wrist with your left hand as they land face up (or rather, on their left shoulder ideally). You then pull your left hand back to your hip (hikite) and sweep your right forearm (radial/thumb side, ie. the low outward block) into their tricep tendon to bar the arm. You can use this to start turning them over on to their front. This is the nice way to do it. The less nice way is to try to be hitting their tricep tendon AS they're left shoulder is hitting the ground, giving them much less opportunity to resist the armbar. Mike
That's a very interesting bunkai for the technique that I hadn't thought of, il have to give it a try
Have you never used pendulum blocks? All it is is a quick curl of the arm after that block. And I can say pendulum blocks are in fact effective at full power.
I'll try, it may be fairly unique to shorin ryú, the lead arm is kept relatively straight, and you either step forward or backward into a totally sideways stance (if not already in one) and push with the middle of the arm, sort of like a reversed low block. It's mostly used as a deflection for techniques such as front kicks, but it also works for roundhouse kicks if you use the lower forearm of the other arm across the opposite side of your torso to give the block some more muscle. Hope that helps, I probably shouldn't have assumed everyone knee what s pendulum block is, after all, you know what they say assuming does
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKlvq6eYYa4"]Essential Shotokan Karate: Gedan Nagashi Uke (Lower Flowing Block) Edmond Otis Preview - YouTube[/ame] Similar to this?
Yes, thanks for that for all intents and purposes that's what I'm talking about, we do it differently in shorin ryu shidokan, but it's the same basic thing, we just do it more vertically.
oh yeah, i've used those. that's not what i was talking about, i was talking about reversing the motion after you hook the leg, which is more likely to get you punched in the face than anything else. some people also try to do that sort of 2-stage block against punches, which is moronic (particularly when they demo it only making contact with the second motion, which is even worse)
