Nerding Out on Kata Bunkai


How many karate applications have I seen where the instructor holds his pose to demonstrate that the application being demonstrated is indeed part of the kata? Why are there so many instructors who feel pressured to make something look EXACTLY like that kata? Does this strike you as strange?

Ever been to a bowling alley? Ever seen veteran bowlers do a bizzare little wiggle after they let go of the ball to try and 'remote control' it into a strike? LOL. Holding the pose to show kata bunkai is a bit like that, don't you think?

Kata and patterns are a legacy gift, no argument. However, there was a time when I thought they were a complete waste of time. I learned sparring by sparring. I learned throwing by throwing. I hit harder by ... well at the time I thought it was about resistance training, and hitting the bag like a boxer. 

Spending time on kata and patterns? Why would you do that? 

Eventually, Karate bunkai and Taekwondo applications became a huge paradigm shift in my own combative skill acquisition, and worldview. From my current vantage point, our fundamentals were not wrong. We did not start out practising incorrrectly. We just hadn't filled-in-the-blanks sufficiently; that's why it was far easier for me looking at kickboxing, boxing, and other sport-based analogies to progress my early skills.   

As an aside, we have had a lull in our training through COVID and we haven't uploaded many videos. This latest video pertains to Kata Jion, one of the three Temple Kata. In our lineage, we have acquired Sip Soo (or Jitte) as a legacy from our Chung Do Kwan roots. JDK sees this as a starting point to explore the rest of the Temple series, and we are looking forward to bringing you more from our time in R&D. 

More information on this kata and its application in the YouTube caption. 

Just to reiterate, this application is not me teaching the form Jion. Of course, I'm interested in what the form represents. I dedicate a huge amount of time to dissecting it. But this video is not the time for me to nerd out about it. 

See the video on YouTube: Jion Bunkai: Kata Opening CQC Takedown

Links

 --

[ Traditional Taekwondo Perth | Testimonials | YouTube | Subscribe | Sitemap ]
Find us on FaceBook and MeWe

      For seminar requests: Travel itinerary for our black belts in 2023/4 include but not limited to:
      USA, Singapore, Japan, and Australia. 
      For book orders see Moosul Publishing

      To avoid embarrassment, please do not inquire about certification through JDK.
      Please do not offer certification as a token of appreciation to any JDK member.

Comments

hidden sword said…
Colin , I enjoyed the video very much. I liked the take downs to the floor. When I do them I tend to have more space between myself and my partner and don't control all the way to the ground like you showed. I just dump them. Now I have something else to work on.

I also liked your explanation on the distance vs doing it traditionally one step style. Makes sense, I tend to start from there and deal with things in close, instead of the close in starting point that you do. Again something else to work on.
Colin Wee said…
So nice to hear from you, Mr Lynn.

I typically have more space between myself and the partner too. But this particular application was begging us to look at getting that opponent to the floor real quick, then choosing to either use him as a door stop or take him to the ground. :-)

The way we worked it had a similar feel for both left and right sides, which is such a bonus when you're trying to keep the application and variations similar.

Glad you liked it.

Cheers,

Colin

Popular Posts