Mystery Bechurin

Back in 2011 I visited Kita Kyushu to see Yoshino sensei. The last time I had saw him, he had dropped a bombshell of a statement during lunch that he knew an alternate form of the Tou’on ryu Bechurin. My interest peaked and he said he would teach it to me the next time I was in Japan. Well, six months later here I was.

However, my first stop was to meet up with Lyn – a student of Yoshino sensei and all around good human being. We met at a local soba shop run by his friend Nago san. It was a good idea as I needed something to eat after the train ride and before heading off to practice. The food was excellent. Even had a good cup of coffee before jumping on the bus to Moji where Yoshino sensei’s dojo was located. Quint was also coming but was going to meet us there. He had two little visitors with him – his sons.

Lyn and I arrived Just after 6:00 pm and Yoshino sensei was already there teaching the kids. After a catching up a bit I changed into a my dogi and started to warm up. I didn’t really need to warm-up thanks to the humidity and heat and every time I put on my dogi it looked like I just go out of the shower.

Yoshino sensei looked at me and said, “Lyn says that you haven’t stopped talking about wanting to learn this version of Bechurin since I told you about it, so let’s start.” Quint arrived shortly afterwards and soon all of us were practicing this version of Bechurin.

You might be curious about how similar it was to the one I learned from Kanzaki sensei. The short answer is that the first half was virtually identical but the 2nd half had several techniques that are absent in the version I learned – with a few of them reminiscent of Suparempei (but not exactly). It makes me think that this kata is probably valid (even Yoshino sensei wasnt 100% sure of its providence) . This is somewhat supported by the fact that some dojo still differentiate between Suparempei Jo chu and ge, while older books often list dai and sho versions of Pechurin. Regardless it was an interesting kata to see and although not one that I can see myself passing on, it is certainly important for kata research.

At the end of the night after a lot of sweat and running through this version of Bechurin, Yoshino sensei let me film one of his students do it as a reference. It was very kind and generous of him.

Class ended around 8:00 pm, but of course we stuck around for another 45 minutes or so talking and exchanging techniques. Quint showed us an interesting parallel between the kata seipai and the 18 primary techniques of Daito ryu which he also studies. Very interesting stuff.

Afterwards I said goodbye to Yoshino sensei and his students but naturally I’d see him again on the weekend at Kanzaki sensei’s celebration in Beppu. Quint, Lyn and I headed out for some after training supper – I was starving – and was happy when we stumbled across one of my favorite restaurant chains in Kyushu – “Bikkuri Donkey!” A great end to a wonderful day.

Yoshino sensei passed a way several years ago and I miss him.

If you would like to read more on the providence of Kyoda´s Bechurin kata, read this post.