May 2012 Vol.15 No.4 Inside this issue: One Man s Journey Finding Kissaki-Kai of Shotokan. You had to go with what worked, and Shotokan simply didn t. with him and knee him in the balls. It s very primitive, fundamental stuff. One Man s Journey Shaun Turton One Man s Journey Bad Bunkai - sensei Vince Morris Why Kissaki-kai? Kissaki-Kai teaches effective defensive karate Kissaki-Kai promotes reality in training Sport & Fun are not forgotten! Family atmosphere No Politics Not Style dependent. Recognized world-wide International Dojo 01 02 Bad Bunkai 03 Bad Bunkai 04 It makes you think! Summer Camp Details Technical Tip DVDs & Books Website Shop. 05 06 Kissaki Kai for me completes the Karate I have learned. It is my opinion that Kissaki Kai turns Shotokan, or any other form of traditional Karate for that matter into something potent. Without it I consider Karate to be wonderful as spiritual development tool, and completely useless as a self defence tool. And like everyone else that s what I came looking for when I trained karate. What I got instead was completely unrealistic dojo training that simply didn t transfer to the real world. So why does my opinion count? Well first off let me say now you are quite free to dismiss my opinion. I m not a high ranking karateka. I haven t got a 6 th Dan. In fact the highest grade I reached at Shotokan was 1 st Dan. However, what I do have is ten years experience as a bouncer. And more often than not the places I worked were some fairly seedy dives. So you either learnt effective means of dealing with some very explosive situations or you got hurt. And let me tell you this. If I lost, there was a good chance I was going to get kicked to within an inch of my life. It was in this environment that I virtually discarded all So what made Shotokan ineffective? Well firstly of course the blocks. I m not the first to say that what is taught as blocks simply don t work. But let me go one step further and say you just don t use blocks in a real fight. A pub brawl is an entirely different entity from a sports fight. There are many difference but the fundamental one is there is no defence. There is only all-out attack. One person quickly gets the edge and the other is demolished. Pub brawls are very asymmetric in that way. Secondly, the attacks you face. I think most people realize that someone standing 3 feet away and delivering an oizuki isn t going to happen. Well actually they might lunge in, but that s usually when you re not looking. So the guy in front of you punching you is only a foot away. Finally the effects of adrenaline dump are massive. Usually what you end up doing is hammer and anvil stuff. Just grabbing the guy by the lapels and punching with your right hand over and over until he falls over, hockey fight style. Usually he s trying to do the same to you. And if he gets the upper hand doing that you clinch Afterwards you go to yourself, Why didn t I do this and why didn t I do that? Why? Well I didn t realize it at the time but the reason why is your mid brain engages during times of extreme danger. I ve heard it called your monkey brain. Adrenaline means you can t perform anything requiring a high degree of motor skills and your monkey brain rejects any move it perceives as dangerous to you. So you aren t going to be doing any spinning back heel kicks. Adrenaline dump kicks in so much because this isn t the ring. There are no corner men to throw in the towel. There is no referee. You can die if you re not careful. So in this context I found Karate as taught in most Dojos just didn t work. I had to discard it as a necessity. I needed practical stuff. I trod a path that many others in my position have done. I tried other martial arts. I got quite proficient in Wing Chun. I tried boxing, which I found very effective. But I always held a soft spot for Karate. I had a sneaking suspicion that there had to be more to it than what had been taught to me. And I still trained it every day, because of a feeling that there was something deep
Volume 15 issue 4 page 5 Page 2 there that was at the periphery of my understanding. Then along came the internet and after a relentless search I found that so many people around the world were asking the same questions as me. And some people were much more schooled in Karate and they had some of the answers I sought. Yes it made sense! Of course the original masters would disguise how to use techniques. How cunning of them. For some time I have researched Karate and the practical bunkai proposed these days. I won t name names here about other instructor s work I have studied. Some of the stuff is quite good, but even some of the most knowledgeable exponents get bogged down a little bit in complexity, and complexity is death. For one thing you can t do it. And another, your brain freezes up. Which technique do I use? Is a deadly question in a pub brawl, and it s a question I confess has gone through my brain at the worst time possible. It causes a thing known as paralysis by analysis. You just stand there thinking about what to do and meanwhile the other just up and hits you in the head. Then finally I arrived at the destination of a lifelong journey. I looked at this stuff and I said, Yeah, this stuff is the real deal. In a word, simplicity. Blocking that really works because it doesn t depend on knowing what he is going to throw at you (and you don t have make a choice, just use pretty much the same block every time). Body positioning that gets you on the outside of his attack. One or two simple attacks. One or two kicks. Not filling up your head with so many different techniques that you freeze up under adrenaline stress. And of course the ever faithful head control takedown is there. It may sound strange but when I got the first of sensei Morris s DVDs I got a feeling of great calm. It was almost spiritual it was that intense. Finally, a riddle that had been without an answer for so long had an answer. Shaun Turton Bad Bunkai! Here I go again, I m bound to upset some people with this short but important piece! Most of you are aware that the genesis of Kissaki-Kai lies in my research begun some 25 or more years ago, into the real defensive applications to be found in the Kata. For many coming to karate today, there is no disjunction between kumite and Kata, but - way back then - Japanese karate was taught in a distinctly tri-partite fashion, split essentially into basics, Kumite and Kata. One could trace a connection between the first two areas, but there was no apparent connection between kumite and Kata, the latter being taught ostensibly to promote balance, movement and stamina. I am quietly proud that very much of the way that this has now changed to the realization that Kata in fact are the toolboxes of extremely effective self-defense techniques is down to the work that I had a large part in initiating. Now, even some dyed-in-thewool traditional (need I say it..they aren t?) karate bodies are at last requiring that their Dan rank candidates demonstrate some of the bunkai form the Kata appropriate to the rank. So, Shouldn t I be really happy that after all these years the logic of what I have been banging on about for so very long has now been recognized as correct? If only! There is one thing worse than teaching a form of karate that doesn t include correct bunkai, and that is teaching a form which promotes BAD bunkai! To be fair, I don t believe people start out to devise bad bunkai, but they are eager to appear to have a deep knowledge of Kata and to present a strong image as a master of their art that they simply don t pressure test their reverse engineering of various Kata sequences. In not so doing, they fall into the same trap as that pointed out by Master Choki Motobu. Commenting on the weakened sport form of karate being taught in Japan by Master Funakoshi he said: Funakoshi is a jamisen (samisen) player, a beautiful sound, but hollow on the inside! "My teachers Yazutsune Yasuzato and Yasutsune Itosu have opened up a new and unique path in 'Tote'. What that guy does is to imitate the elegant portion of my teachers and that only a skeleton of them. He demonstrates wrong Tote that only looks like
s Page 3 truth. He is a good-for-nothing fellow useless to the world. What is more surprising is his tricky behavior to deceive people with his eloquent explanation. He deceives the world. The general public believes what he demonstrates as the 'Tote'. Nothing is more harmful to the world than the martial arts which do not helpful actual fighting. (Yasuhiro Konishi "Karate-and-his-life") OK. Let s have a look at what I mean, and how to avoid making the same mistakes. First, understand the context of the attack and that of the history of the martial art itself. Combat in the formative period of the arts was somewhat different from the usual type of attack we experience today, if only in that the weapons available to the attacker are different. So, to give one example, there are many examples of defences against a wrist grab, which originally will have had the objective of preventing the defender from drawing his long or short sword. Nowadays, wrist grabs can be a stage in an assault, but can also be brought about by the defender s tactics (fingers to the eyes, for example). There are also very many examples on the web and You Tube which purport to show workable bunkai which show Uke attacking Tori by stepping forwards and punching chudan zuki. To show you what I mean, I am selecting one of the better examples, which, conversely is also one of the worst! By this I mean that on the surface it looks fine; and it is demonstrated by a sensei with a large following and a lot of Dojo time under his belt. BUT what he shows falls exactly into the same category that Master Motobu cast Mr. Funakoshi - it only looks like the real thing, and to attempt it would get you hurt! This bunkai is of a double uchi-uke, gedan-uke movement found in many Kata. (Fig.A) Briefly: Uke steps forward into front stance, pulls his left fist to his hip and punches Tori in the stomach. Fig.1) First problem is right here - it will never happen that way! (Not unless, of course, you are attacked by a brain-washed karateka!) However, glossing over that, Tori in a reasonable sanchindachi stance, blocks the incoming arm with a left forearm block. (Fig.2) That, too, is reasonable. Now the problem starts! Tori executes inside arm block/ strike to punching arm, in an attempt to bend it. (Figs 3,4). The sequence ends with Uke captured in a hammerlock with his arm behind his back. So, what s wrong with that? You ask. Well, grasshopper, let s see..first, Tori has the traditional Yoi or Ready stance - hands by his sides (Fig.B) in which he will never, ever block a punch to Fig. A Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Detail his head! It is already depending on Dojo compliance, not reality. Then, without first stunning the attacker, Tori uses both arms to attempt to place Uke in a figure four arm-lock. This seems reasonable until you begin to train with the degree of force which will be used in an actual fight. It will then become apparent that Uke s attacking arm is simply too strong to wrestle into a lock, and he will be in a great position to strike Tori with his other fist or Fig. 4 Fig. B lock-up both of Tori s arms. This is obviously not good, it is BAD Bunkai!
s Page 4 Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3 Simultaneously moving to the outside and striking L.5 on attacker s arm (Fig.1) drops his head down for Tori s strike to GB.20 and makes his follow-up punch impossible (Figs2 & 3.) Fig.4 Fig.5 Fig.6 Fig.7 The attempt to apply an arm lock on a strong attacker (Fig.4) ignores the rule of combat: Don t grapple before stunning the attacker. and will allow both of the defender s arms to be grabbed and controlled! (Fig.5). In a very fast movement deflect the punch and strike hard into L.5 (Fig.6) immediately striking the face (Fig.7) without interrupting the flow of the movement. Fig.8 Fig.9 Fig.10 Immediately strike or push down the neck/head, simultaneously levering up the other hand (Fig.8). Finish with a knee strike to the head and a throw. (Figs. 9 and 10.)
Volume 15 issue 4 page 5 It makes you think! A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, fool by his own. ~ Latin Proverb We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. ~ Aristotle They can because they think they can. ~ Virgil "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte "In the beginner s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few." ~ Suzuki Never pick a fight with an ugly person, they've got nothing to lose. ~ Robin Williams In karate, hitting, thrusting and kicking are not the only methods. Throwing techniques and pressure against joints are included. ~ Gichin Funakoshi. The all-day Saturday training will take place at a sports hall nearby, the Blue Barn. Directions will be emailed to all attendees, and there will be a full schedule of training. Those of you wishing to stay overnight in the Dojo, please let us know in advance so we can arrange bedding if required. This will be a great weekend, come for a day or come for all sessions - you will be guaranteed to learn a lot and lose a lot of sweat! Technical Tips: Tai-sabaki & Ashi-sabaki training This training is the next step in the four-direction punching, kicking, blocking exercises to promote fast regaining of balance after a sudden attack which knocks the defender offbalance. Tori has to spin, bend knees & drop into a balanced, aggressive position. Fig.1 Uke pushes Tori from the side. Fig.2 Tori is completely unbalanced. Fig.3 This time Tori spins and drops bodyweight. Fig.4..into a balanced, attacking stance. ~ Repeat on the other side, then from the rear. Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3 Fig.4
Page 6 January 2012 Item Books, DVDs,& Pads - order from www.kissakikarate.com Description No of items $ Total TEARTIME Novel 350 pages of adventure and excitement (Not for children) 6.99 8.99 7.99 NEW -Essential Kissakikai 2DVDs Double DVD Set - Essenttial Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do - a MUST HAVE! 28.99 45.00 35.00 Gojushiho-Dai The major bunkai revealed NEW DVD! The Defensive Principles in action! 29.00 45.00 35.00 The Secret Art of Pressure Point Fighting - BOOK ONLY LETS Defensive Tactics Manual An overview of vulnerable points, how to use them in real defense combat How Kyusho works, debunking the mythology, Tactics and Strategy Course book for trainers and students in all aspects of control and defense 118 pages, coil bound. 8.50 12.95 13.50 23.00 35.00 25.00 Secret Art PP Fighting Book and DVD Set. NEW The PP fighting book and accompanying DVD as a set. BOOK and DVD. 22.00 28.00 26.00 Kyusho Secrets II Book Now 240 pages, extra chapters, Principles of Combat, point charts, kata bunkai.. 24.00 37.00 28.00 Secret Art of PP Fighting - DVD only The companion DVD to the book Secret Art of Pressure Point Fighting 16.00 20.00 18.00 Rules of Combat Book The development of warrior tactics! For all those who need to really understand the basis of survival in combat! 17.50 27.00 20.00 The Heian Kata DBL DVD set All the practical and effective defensive waza from the bunkai of these Kata 37.50 55.00 42.50 Karate s Secret Throws DVD Understand the role of Nage-Waza in defensive combat 28.99 45.00 35.00 Kanku-Dai Revisited! - 2DVDS Latest DVD - Two Volume DVD set of the important Kata Kanku-Dai. 37.50 55.00 42.50 Tekki Shodan DVD Filmed at seminars in the UK, Canada, and USA this video/dvd offers an insight into the powerful defensive kata Tekki Shodan. 28.99 45.00 35.00 Bassai Dai DVD Showing major bunkai & principles of the kata. 28.99 45.00 35.00 Nijushiho DVD Showing major bunkai & principles of the kata. 28.99 45.00 35.00 Empi DVD Showing major bunkai & principles of the kata. 28.99 45.00 35.00 Rules of Combat DVD How adding the rules makes techniques far more effective. 29.00 45.00 35.00 Aragaki Seisan DVD The full Kata, major bunkai & principles. 26.00 45.00 35.00 Manstoppers DVD A collection of guaranteed effective techniques plus gun & knife defense. 26.00 45.00 35.00 Cop Combat DVD Police Academy - real combat training. Arrest and Control - Defensive Tactics.. 26.00 45.00 35.00 Hostage Defense DVD Covers firearm and knife defenses from hostage situation. Police training. 28.99 45.00 35.00 Martial Mind DVD Deals with fear, increasing speed & power, the martial way, meditation. 26.00 45.00 35.00 Bunkai Sampler 1&2 double DVD Bunkai Sampler 4&5 double DVD No1: The truth about blocks, covers many of the Heian Kata. No2: More background with examples from Unsu, Gankaku etc. No4:The Ura (secret) bunkai to Tekki (Naihanshi), Meikyo and others. No5: Covers Flinch reflex, bunkai from Heians, Empi etc. 38.00 58.00 44.50 38.00 58.00 44.50 Thigh Pad x1 Thigh pads are essential for realistic training! 12.50 21.00 16.00 Thigh Pads (pair) Buying a set will save you and your partner precious time. 19.00 37.00 28.00 Please add postage cost for postal/cheque orders only 2.50 $3 4 Total Payment: by credit card or PayPal account on our secure online shop at www.kissakikarate.com/shop.htm When you re ready for the real thing! USA SHOP ADDRESS: Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do, 819 Marlowe Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003. email: info@kissaki-kai.com Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do Honbu Dojo 55 East Route 70 Marlton NJ 08053 USA Phone: 856-985-1311