Tou’on
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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… 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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Let’s Talk About Karate Styles
Japan has culturally and historically been an ordered and hierarchical society. Therefore it comes as no surprise that its martial traditions (武道-budo) mirror this same structure. Until the conclusion of WWII, Japanese martial traditions were designated as different styles (流-ryu) or off-shoots (派-ha) and were centrally administered by the Great Japan Martial Virtues Association (大日本武徳会-Dai… Continue reading
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Old School Karate: Kebanashi
If you look at some versions of Karate kata you can see remnants of the older techniques used before the emergence of Karate into the public school system in the early 20th century. Bo-geri (棒蹴り) is one such technique that has been mentioned by Motobu Naoki in his blog, but another example of an older… 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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Who Does the Heavy Lifting for You?
Strength and conditioning have always been a part of Okinawa Karate-do, especially those styles classified as “Nahate” such as Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu, and Tou’on-ryu. I’m sure you have seen many old photos of younger Karateka doing their “strongman” pose showing off their level of muscular development and low body fat. Many of these early Karateka had… 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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The Passing of Kyoda Juhatsu
August 31 marked the 55th anniversary of the passing of Kyoda Juhatsu sensei founder of Tou’on-ryu. That day I kept Kyoda sensei in my thoughts as I practice the kata he passed on through Kanzaki sensei and now Ikeda sensei. I will leave you with a short exert from Iraha Choko published a few months… Continue reading
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Touon-ryu Enbu…Sort of… Part 1
Onishi Eizo was a student of Toyama Kanken as well as studying Kung fu in Taiwan. In the 1950s he made a several trips to Beppu to study Touon-ryu from Kyoda Juhatsu. Onishi was able to learn Sanchin, Sesan and Sanseru. I remember Kanzaki sensei telling me about his visits and his disciplined work ethic.… Continue reading
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