Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

Video

Some Karate Gripping

In this video we look at some karate gripping, including bunkai from Gojushiho, Chinte and Gankaku / Chinto. Although the grappling side of karate is not as widely practised as it once was, it is once considered to be a fundamental part of the art. Indeed it is impossible to understand the nature of kata without understanding the grappling methods contained within them.

Continue Reading

Comparing karate throwing with judo throwing (video)

In this video I compare karate throwing with judo throwing. This is not so much a technical comparison as a tactical comparison. The core techniques have common ground; although the focus on throwing in judo invariably means judoka do those throws to a much higher level. Where we find greater differences is the way those throws will be applied due to the differing goals of judo (sport judo) and karate (traditional self-protection focus). We see differences in objective, nature of enemy / opponent, entry to the throw, method of execution, and following on from the throw.

Continue Reading

Two-person drill for the second half of Seipai (video)

This video shows a two-person drill for the second half of Seipai kata. As the video shows, all of the techniques can be used individually and in many alternative arrangements; and this must be practised too. This drill should not be thought of as an “as is” re-enactment of an actual fight. This two-person drill simply represents a time efficient way to practise the bunkai of Seipai in the same order as the techniques appear in the solo-kata. This short video cannot capture the wider training methodology of which this drill is but one part.

Continue Reading

Holistic Fighting Pad-Drill (video)

This video shows a practical karate “holistic fighting pad drill”. I would define it as “holistic” because it includes straight strikes, arcing strikes, clearing limbs, a takedown, ground fighting, striking from above, controlling limbs on the floor, a ground fighting lock (attempted), and striking from underneath. It is definitely a “fighting drill”, as opposed to a “self-protection drill”, due to the fact that a floor fight is both sought and maintained.

Continue Reading

Gichin Funakoshis Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Returns) Throw

In this short video we look at a version of Gichin Funakoshi’s Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Returns) Throw. The throw is one of the nine karate throws shown in Funakoshi’s book, “Karate-Do Kyohan”. While I believe the throw has historical importance, and is fun to practice, I have reservations about its practicality. The main issue being the vulnerability of turning of the back while dropping to one knee.

Continue Reading

Basic drill for the application of blocks (video)

In this video we summarise a basic drill for the bunkai of what are commonly, and inaccurately, referred to as “blocks”. The drill also looks at the use of hiki-te (pulling hand), muchimi (sticking to and redirecting the enemy’s limbs), and the use of stance and angles.

Continue Reading

Seipai Bunkai Drill: from the start to the slam (video)

This video shows a bunkai drill for the first part of Seipai kata (up to the downward “double punches”). It was filmed at a seminar in November 2015 in Swindon. We worked on Seipai bunkai for three hours and this drill was a very quick summation of some of the topics covered. It is not a “combination” to be used as is, but instead it is a simple two-person drill to mirror the solo drill of the kata itself.

Continue Reading

Kanku-Sho / Kosokun-Sho Bunkai (video)

This video shows bunkai and a two-person bunkai drill for the first third of Kanku-Sho / Kosokun-Sho kata. The video is a short summation of the bunkai covered in one part of a seminar in Nuremburg in October 2015. It is not an instructional video and a full weekend of training can’t be captured a five minute video such as this.

Continue Reading

Blue dragon strikes, Nodo-Osae and Ebi-Gatame combination (video)

In this video we look at a three move traditional karate combination. All three techniques can be found referenced in the karate texts of the past: “Blue dragon strikes without warning” (Bubishi), Nodo-Osae (Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu), and Ebi-Gatame (Karate-Do: My Way of Life).

Continue Reading

Transition Pad Drill with Throw Finish (video)

In this video we look at a transition pad-work drill that concludes with one of the “nine karate throws” of Gichin Funakoshi (Byobudaoshi). The main purpose the drill though is the sequence before the throw.

When you watch the drill you’ll see that all three hand strikes are done with the same hand, but we have three different way of advancing and getting bodyweight behind the punch:

Hitting with the hand as we step forward (Junzuki / Oizuki).

Stepping so we deliver the punch with what is now the back hand (Gyakuzuki).

Continue Reading

Pages