Beginner again questions.

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Kframe

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I got my start in Shuri-Ryu, and I have to give it credit for that. I still have a number of friends who train in it, and they are dedicated, hard-training martial artists. As for the style, itself, and Trias, there is certainly a lot of controversy, and to be perfectly honest, there should be--there is a lot of misinformation being taught as truth in that style. I will say that I think Trias meant well--he was trying to put together a sort of "universal" karate style, that blended all of the good parts (as he saw/understood them) of various styles. For that reason, you will find the curriculum made up of kata from a bunch of different karate styles, and they have all been modified (some quite heavily) to fit Trias's idea of what karate was for and how it worked. You will also find some boxing and Judo methods included, because he cross-trained in those arts. The Japanese terminology is often incorrect, or at least mispronounced, as Trias didn't speak Japanese, and had an accent which made likely made understanding his attempts at Japanese a bit rough. The focus of training tends to be on perfecting the minute details of every technique to fit the ideals Trias set for them.

The practice of kata and bunkai is very big in Shuri-Ryu, but the vast majority of Shuri-Ryu schools only teach the kata applications which Trias included in his book The Pinnacle of Karate, which was meant to be a guide from white belt to 1st Degree Black Belt, but has become the Bible of Shuri-Ryu. Those applications are, to be blunt, absolutely terrible, from a practical karate perspective--they are the same kind of thing you see in those JKA bunkai videos. You will be required to memorize the standard applications, and be able to demonstrate them in multiple ways including "point method" (non-verbally commanding a partner how to attack you during the kata) and "verbal interpretation" (explaining each movement, angle, direction, and position as you go through the kata, along with explaining each attack for your partner). They develop a very good understanding of exactly how to do every move in every kata, and they do have an explanation as to why, I just don't find those explanations to be very useful, since the applications aren't practical. There are a few Shuri-Ryu dojo out there who have been branching out into better kata application, lately, but that doesn't seem to be the norm.

Shuri-Ryu teaches you a wide variety of fist methods from several different styles, and the "Shuri fist" is just one of them, but I assume that's the one you're referring to. Funakoshi called it the "farmer's fist," IIRC, and it is included in his book. Nothing terribly difficult, but it takes time to get used to it--you just lay your index finger flat against the meat of your thumb, while the rest of your fingers curl into a fist. I find it helps with wrist alignment and stability, and helps get your second knuckles out of the way when you punch.

In general, the way Shuri-Ryu people move and apply their techniques is pretty much the way you will see Shotokan people do it, with a few slight tweaks here and there. Trias did require his instructors to teach a certain number of "self defense techniques," which were not set, so individuals could come up with their own. I find that these are usually pretty functional and effective techniques, but they make no effort to connect them to the kata. Shuri-Ryu also has three sets of (basically) ippon/sanbon/gohon kumite drills, which they call by Japanese names which don't make sense; Ippons, Taezus, and Kihons. These are all very short sequences of techniques, generally made up of the same type of techniques you learn from their kata application, which you will be required to not only learn, but learn how to step so that you can eventually do them while transitioning between up to 8 attackers coming at you from the compass points. The Ippons are supposed to be done for developing power, the Taezus are supposed to be done for developing speed, and the Kihons are supposed to be done for combining the two.


Wow, Thank you for the information. So their bunkai is no better then the others, that is something to think about. But step sparring against that many attackers? Now that is a first.

I can't comment on the rest of it as I have not tried them yet. So, I will refer back to this. Thank you for the information sir.
 

Gerry Seymour

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I never thought about that at the time. Also I didn't think anyone actually allowed that.
I've only known a few instructors who might object to someone coming to the more advanced classes to watch. Most would understand someone with experience wanting to see what the more advanced students do and look like.
 

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