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Chatan1979
Chatan1979's picture
Heian Nidan flow drill

Hi guys,

Been a while since I've posted here. 

Here's a short clip of a drill I worked with one of my students from the opening sequence of Heian Nidan.

Thanks!

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

I like the flow of that. Very nice!

Clever use of the extended arm accompanying the side kick as a lock too. I like it. It does not fit the Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu Matsubayashi-Ryu, etc. versions because the arm is bent with the front kick, instead of straight with the side kick. Perfect for the Shotokan version of the form though!

I like how the arm above the head on the first move of the kata is interpreted as a “snap shot” of the flowing pass too.

Thanks for sharing!

All the best,

Iain  

Chatan1979
Chatan1979's picture

Thanks for the feedback Iain!

Wastelander
Wastelander's picture

As Iain mentioned, it doesn't fit the version of the kata that I practice, but we also don't always strictly adhere to a single kata, so we actually do things quite similar to this via mixing-and-matching movements from various kata. In this case, it would be Pinan Shodan and Passai Sho, although we would front kick the leg instead of side kicking it. Thanks for sharing!

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Chatan1979 wrote:
Thanks for the feedback Iain!

My pleasure! Thanks for sharing!

Wastelander wrote:
As Iain mentioned, it doesn't fit the version of the kata that I practice, but we also don't always strictly adhere to a single kata, so we actually do things quite similar to this via mixing-and-matching movements from various kata. In this case, it would be Pinan Shodan and Passai Sho, although we would front kick the leg instead of side kicking it. Thanks for sharing!

I can see that! Very good. The mixing and matching of kata is definitely something people should do more of. My personal preference is to first thoroughly explore the kata in isolation so we are aware the fighting system the kata inherently represents, and how the components of that kata integrate with one another. Once we have a solid understating of the kata and the system it records, then it’s important to see how that system / kata integrates with others in a kind of “internal cross training”. The end result is the karate of the individual. Sadly, some see mixing kata like that to be akin to the Ghostbusters’ “crossing the streams” i.e. you just don’t do it and it only awful things can result :-)

All the best,

Iain

Marc
Marc's picture

Thanks for sharing your drill, Chatan. I like how you use the right arm of the opening move to take control over the attcker's arm after you've blocked it with the left.

Iain Abernethy wrote:

My personal preference is to first thoroughly explore the kata in isolation so we are aware the fighting system the kata inherently represents, and how the components of that kata integrate with one another. Once we have a solid understating of the kata and the system it records, then it’s important to see how that system / kata integrates with others in a kind of “internal cross training”.

"Internal cross training" - that's nice. :)

In our dojo we often have the luxury of having two instructors, so we can split the group into lower ranks and higher ranks. The two groups then work on different katas, say Heian Sandan for the lower ranks and Bassai Dai for the higher ranks.

From time to time only one instructor can show up and he or she has to teach the entire group. When it's my turn, I try to figure out techniques or principles that are common to both katas and work on them in partner training. Sometimes two katas share specific techniques (e.g. Heian Yondan and Kanku Dai), sometimes some techniques are very similar (e.g. Heian Shodan and Jion), and sometimes they encode some shared principles as apparently very different techniques (e.g. Heian Nidan and Tekki Shodan).

I then like to set up partner work with a typical attack (e.g. grabbing the lapel) and introduce the answer to that from the lower ranks' kata. After the entire group has practiced that method for a while, I explain the principle used and show a variant of that same principle from the higher ranks' kata. Then we go and practice that - still the lower ranks are free to only practice "their" version if they choose.

I love this kind of analysis (bunkai) of common principles. It forces me to dig deeply into the katas when preparing class.

For kihon training I also try to find common or similar technical aspects in the two katas. Often they coincide with the methods used in the partner drills.

Take care everybody,

Marc