Kyoda Juhatsu
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What constitutes a black belt
What constitutes a yudansha or blackbelt? My observation of most Japanese karate is that it is heavily criterion based with respect to gradings and promotion. That is, there is usually a group of examiners with a predetermined set of techniques, kata, kumite, ect. that a student must perform successfully for each respective rank.Those kind of… Continue reading
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Happy Birthday Kanzaki Sensei!
Tomorrow, April 22, 2024 would have marked Kanzaki sensei’s 96th birthday. Naturally when his birthday roles around I think about him, and a flood of good memories come to mind. Initially, I was going to keep this post private, but on reflection I thought it would be better to share a few of my thoughts of… Continue reading
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Kakiya
It is uncommon for Karate students nowadays to use a makiwara (striking board), but it is even rarer for Karate students to train using a Kakiya (カキヤー). The kakiya was in common practice in 19th century Okinawa, but it seems that it has fallen into disuse. There are still a few old school Karate teachers who still… Continue reading
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Kake-te
Tou’on-ryu has fewer classical kata compared to it’s sister art of Goju-ryu, but shares four in common. They are: Sanchin (三戦), Sesan (十三), Sanseru (三十六), and Bechurin (百歩連) (2). Despite sharing the same names and following approximately the same enbusen, the technical content of these kata between the two arts differs in some interesting and… Continue reading
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Differences in Nahate Kata
The Tou’on-ryu kata Sanchin, Sesan, Sanseru and Bechurin all chamber their punches either at the waist or in front of the solar plexus depending on the stance used. Compared to Goju kata, Tou’on-ryu are much simpler and much more direct. In the Tou’on-ryu kata Sesan, Sanseru and Bechurin, the opening three steps are performed as… Continue reading
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Jissen, Kakedamashi & Kuden
The Red Light District of old Okinawa was called “Tsuji” (although there were two others as well: Tochi and Nakashio) and was often the place for both Jissen and Kakedamashi. Jissen (実戦) or “Real Conflict” was just that, a confrontation against another person with no rules, i.e. a street fight. Kakedamashi (掛け試) on the other… Continue reading
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Remembering My Teachers
January 12th and January 13th marked the anniversaries of the passing of Minowa Katsuhiko and Kanzaki Shigekazu. Although their passings were years apart, it is a bit ironic that they passed within a day of each other. Their deaths left me in a bad place, and I was filled with sadness and so much regret.… Continue reading
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Kyoda Juhatsu’s Grand Daughter
I don’t usually make my posts about Tou’on-ryu public, but I thought it was important to share the touching words of Kyoda Juhatsu grand daughter Akiko. I hope you will find it as moving as I did. Nice to meet you. My name is Akiko, my grandson, and I live in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture.… Continue reading
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Bechurin
In the frontis of ‘An Overview of Karatedo‘ (Nakasone, 1938) there is a photo of Kyoda Juhatsu leading a group of middle school students in Karate practice where he is on a platform positioned in shiko-dachi, with his right fist by his midsection and his left fist extended to the front. This photo has always… Continue reading
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Which should come first?
In the past decade there has been a trend that kata is not the beginning of knowledge, but the culmination of acquired skill. This would assume that solo kata practice in and of itself does not impart martial skill. Instead, skills are developed via partner work and other supplementary exercises.However this approach is diametrically opposed… Continue reading
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