I was going to post this in the Bad videos thread but had a thought instead. We discuss how many people change the kata or do henka for different reasons, but these "new and improved" versions generally have one thing in common, a lack of understanding the purpose of the kata and why things were passed down the way they were.
Here is a video from Akban, a group that has put a lot of material out but usually with some strange twist on it. At first glance, they look good, you see a more aggressive almost MMA style along with the traditional arts being demonstrated. However, just like many other groups who post videos out there, you see the same mistakes in kamae, posture, angling, and lack of realism.
I got through the first 25 minutes of this video and was hit with a bombshell. The head instructor got up to explain after a teacher said he didn't know why the choreography had been changed and showed his understanding of the traditional kata. The explanation was that the head of the organization did not know why the original kata had you coming into a kick(after stating that you could move in or gain distance, ignoring the option of sinking or moving outside it we should note), and that he thought it was dangerous to move in closer while leaving your head exposed. This kind of movement he goes on, is very common and basic to Kukishinden ryu. He was uncomfortable with leaving himself open(rightfully so) and decided to depart from tradition and make up his own modern interpretation. Here is the video:
The biggest problem up to the 27 or so minute mark in the video is that nobody demonstrates an understanding or ability to demonstrate Kukishin principles, in particular Kuki Sabaki. Of all the ryu in the Takamatsuden, this one is the most advanced in form of breadth and conceptualization, strategy, and principles of combat. The most important aspect of this school is to appear far when near and near when far and to concurrently move in a way that makes the next attack hard to do. What do we mean by this?
By changing the height of your stance, you change your distance to the enemy though the apparent distance might not change. This is Kukishin 101 and is found in all of its techniques. As you sink, you can move your feet closer to or further from your opponent, but his perception will be tricked by your height, angle, and position.
If you watch their exchanges, you will see every group moving back more or less in a straight line. This is fine for a beginner, but as you begin to learn the real aspects of this ryu, you will know that you must move at particular angles. If you evade like they demonstrate, the opponent will be able to maintain his attacking rhythm(something they go a great deal into in the video) and make it harder to defend. You would eventually be run over/down by the aggression and force of his attack, even if you were able to somewhat deflect or counterstrike his limbs. Watching their striking as well, it is coming in a way that is easily seen and avoided by the attacker, instead of from a hard to see angle and is a further example where they differ from Kukishin methodology.
Basically, they are showing running away while trying to forestall the aggressor but Kukishin ryu is the 9 DEMON school, and demons don't run away like frightened schoolgirls. They move out of the way, luring the opponent in as they pick apart their attackers weapons(the defanging of the snake found in other martial arts). The attacker should not be able to just steamroll ahead, but should have to be constantly shifting around chasing the proponent who moves in a way that makes him feel like he's on a merry go round. So by the finally part of the kata where the tori goes on the offensive, there should be a circular or hooking path that you could draw from the beginning position to the end. It should not be a linear line in one basic direction, but look like a bloodhound trail chasing an escaped convict through the woods.
The reason for the drawn out choreography found in the kata is to make sure the practitioner gets a lot of practice using the correct sabaki(footwork) and builds strong legs that can take the height changing by doing it over and over in practice. They also get to work on aiming the counterstrikes to the correct pressure points(kyusho) and as an uke, get used to being counterstruck when they try to attack. This conditioning is all lost when you practice incorrectly.
But we digress. Going back to why I started this thread, he stated that being close to the attacker with your hands down and your faced exposed makes no sense, and he's right. However, this is not what Kukishin ryu teaches. Even when you are closer to the attacker and doing the daken strikes to the opponent's limbs(be they arms or legs), you are guarded with your other hand and your position is such that your face appears close enough to attack but in reality is just out of reach due to your sinking and angling.
Were you to do the same choreography minus the correct angling and sinking, it would be dangerous and inadvisable from a martial standpoint. So, unless you practice and train correctly, you create issues that shouldn't be there in the first place. By being at the correct distance, height, angle, and being assisted by the way you counterstrike(the angle of strike, fist used, and way it penetrates slightly off balances the attacker and helps create a pause before the next attack), you create the time lag between their strikes that messes with their rhythm. They should always be a half beat behind or trying to rush to catch up. Without these aspects in your practice, you are not protecting the ryu and you are not learning something that is useful and pragmatic, but you are doing yourself or your students a disservice by creating your own version of things based on your misunderstanding.
Watching videos like this are informative and more the reason why you should learn DEEPLY and CORRECTLY, no matter who your teacher is. Learning from a master who knows the system is just a start, just getting your foot in the door. How far you go in your training is dependent on you understanding the reason things are done the way they are before you move on or away from your teacher, and making sure you get questions cleared up correctly before you begin to create something new based on your own shortcomings.
Here is a video from Akban, a group that has put a lot of material out but usually with some strange twist on it. At first glance, they look good, you see a more aggressive almost MMA style along with the traditional arts being demonstrated. However, just like many other groups who post videos out there, you see the same mistakes in kamae, posture, angling, and lack of realism.
I got through the first 25 minutes of this video and was hit with a bombshell. The head instructor got up to explain after a teacher said he didn't know why the choreography had been changed and showed his understanding of the traditional kata. The explanation was that the head of the organization did not know why the original kata had you coming into a kick(after stating that you could move in or gain distance, ignoring the option of sinking or moving outside it we should note), and that he thought it was dangerous to move in closer while leaving your head exposed. This kind of movement he goes on, is very common and basic to Kukishinden ryu. He was uncomfortable with leaving himself open(rightfully so) and decided to depart from tradition and make up his own modern interpretation. Here is the video:
The biggest problem up to the 27 or so minute mark in the video is that nobody demonstrates an understanding or ability to demonstrate Kukishin principles, in particular Kuki Sabaki. Of all the ryu in the Takamatsuden, this one is the most advanced in form of breadth and conceptualization, strategy, and principles of combat. The most important aspect of this school is to appear far when near and near when far and to concurrently move in a way that makes the next attack hard to do. What do we mean by this?
By changing the height of your stance, you change your distance to the enemy though the apparent distance might not change. This is Kukishin 101 and is found in all of its techniques. As you sink, you can move your feet closer to or further from your opponent, but his perception will be tricked by your height, angle, and position.
If you watch their exchanges, you will see every group moving back more or less in a straight line. This is fine for a beginner, but as you begin to learn the real aspects of this ryu, you will know that you must move at particular angles. If you evade like they demonstrate, the opponent will be able to maintain his attacking rhythm(something they go a great deal into in the video) and make it harder to defend. You would eventually be run over/down by the aggression and force of his attack, even if you were able to somewhat deflect or counterstrike his limbs. Watching their striking as well, it is coming in a way that is easily seen and avoided by the attacker, instead of from a hard to see angle and is a further example where they differ from Kukishin methodology.
Basically, they are showing running away while trying to forestall the aggressor but Kukishin ryu is the 9 DEMON school, and demons don't run away like frightened schoolgirls. They move out of the way, luring the opponent in as they pick apart their attackers weapons(the defanging of the snake found in other martial arts). The attacker should not be able to just steamroll ahead, but should have to be constantly shifting around chasing the proponent who moves in a way that makes him feel like he's on a merry go round. So by the finally part of the kata where the tori goes on the offensive, there should be a circular or hooking path that you could draw from the beginning position to the end. It should not be a linear line in one basic direction, but look like a bloodhound trail chasing an escaped convict through the woods.
The reason for the drawn out choreography found in the kata is to make sure the practitioner gets a lot of practice using the correct sabaki(footwork) and builds strong legs that can take the height changing by doing it over and over in practice. They also get to work on aiming the counterstrikes to the correct pressure points(kyusho) and as an uke, get used to being counterstruck when they try to attack. This conditioning is all lost when you practice incorrectly.
But we digress. Going back to why I started this thread, he stated that being close to the attacker with your hands down and your faced exposed makes no sense, and he's right. However, this is not what Kukishin ryu teaches. Even when you are closer to the attacker and doing the daken strikes to the opponent's limbs(be they arms or legs), you are guarded with your other hand and your position is such that your face appears close enough to attack but in reality is just out of reach due to your sinking and angling.
Were you to do the same choreography minus the correct angling and sinking, it would be dangerous and inadvisable from a martial standpoint. So, unless you practice and train correctly, you create issues that shouldn't be there in the first place. By being at the correct distance, height, angle, and being assisted by the way you counterstrike(the angle of strike, fist used, and way it penetrates slightly off balances the attacker and helps create a pause before the next attack), you create the time lag between their strikes that messes with their rhythm. They should always be a half beat behind or trying to rush to catch up. Without these aspects in your practice, you are not protecting the ryu and you are not learning something that is useful and pragmatic, but you are doing yourself or your students a disservice by creating your own version of things based on your misunderstanding.
Watching videos like this are informative and more the reason why you should learn DEEPLY and CORRECTLY, no matter who your teacher is. Learning from a master who knows the system is just a start, just getting your foot in the door. How far you go in your training is dependent on you understanding the reason things are done the way they are before you move on or away from your teacher, and making sure you get questions cleared up correctly before you begin to create something new based on your own shortcomings.
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