Last night at the dojo was a bit of an eye-opener for me. I'm still a white belt at isshinryu, and I'm still struggling to master some of the ultra-basics, like foot position. However, all of us, from white to black belt, do bunkai on our kata and our basic exercises.
Last night was chudan uke, the middle body block, followed by a seikan geaku tsuki, the lunge punch.
Our partner began with the punch, and we stepped back as he stepped forward, blocking with the middle body block, and throwing the opposite hand in a lunge punch, which our partner also blocked using the same technique. In this manner, we advanced back and forth across the dojo floor. We've been doing this for awhile, so it has begun to feel natural.
However, last night, Sensei Boman decided to toss some more information at my noggin. He has been a student of Sensei Holloway's for twenty-some odd years, but before Master Harrill passed away, he used to attend his seminars and get as much personal instruction as he could. He showed me what Master Harrill had taught him, which is that all of the blocks, punches, and kicks have multiple uses 'hidden' in them.
Sensei Boman tossed about 8 or 9 techniques at me, having me perform the exact same chudan uke each time, but used to counter whatever he was throwing. In some cases, the block was a block, in other cases it was a block/punch, and in some cases, it was a grappling entanglement move. I have to say, it blew me away! Sensei said "Now think about that - for every move we teach you, there are many possible applications - not just what you learn in the dojo as a white belt. I didnt' even learn some of these applications until I had been a black belt for awhile."
Sensei went on to explain that in many dojos, these 'hidden' applications are never taught in bunkai, as it has been assumed that as students progress, they will naturally 'figure it out' on their own. However, Sensei Boman said he was told by Master Harrill that such things should be taught as part of bunkai, and he agrees, so he showed me just a taste of things to come. He said "That's why people often think that karate has 'secret teachings'. It's not a secret, it is just generally assumed that advanced students will figure it out on their own after years of practice.
Have to say, I left the dojo last night with my head spinning, and not just from the elbow I got on the side of my neck that made me drop like a sack of potatoes (it was a riot, I took the hit, continued sparring, and dropped two seconds later - never had that happen before). I can't even remember this morning most of the applications Sensei showed me, but just that I know they're in there is amazing to me. Now when I practice basic exercises and kata, I'll be thinking about all the ways in which the blocks, punches, and kicks can be applied. Wow.
Anyway, pardon my gushing - I'm sure most of you are yawning and thinking "Yeah, so what else is new?" But for a newb like me, it was most enlightening, and I wanted to share my excitement.
:asian:
Last night was chudan uke, the middle body block, followed by a seikan geaku tsuki, the lunge punch.
Our partner began with the punch, and we stepped back as he stepped forward, blocking with the middle body block, and throwing the opposite hand in a lunge punch, which our partner also blocked using the same technique. In this manner, we advanced back and forth across the dojo floor. We've been doing this for awhile, so it has begun to feel natural.
However, last night, Sensei Boman decided to toss some more information at my noggin. He has been a student of Sensei Holloway's for twenty-some odd years, but before Master Harrill passed away, he used to attend his seminars and get as much personal instruction as he could. He showed me what Master Harrill had taught him, which is that all of the blocks, punches, and kicks have multiple uses 'hidden' in them.
Sensei Boman tossed about 8 or 9 techniques at me, having me perform the exact same chudan uke each time, but used to counter whatever he was throwing. In some cases, the block was a block, in other cases it was a block/punch, and in some cases, it was a grappling entanglement move. I have to say, it blew me away! Sensei said "Now think about that - for every move we teach you, there are many possible applications - not just what you learn in the dojo as a white belt. I didnt' even learn some of these applications until I had been a black belt for awhile."
Sensei went on to explain that in many dojos, these 'hidden' applications are never taught in bunkai, as it has been assumed that as students progress, they will naturally 'figure it out' on their own. However, Sensei Boman said he was told by Master Harrill that such things should be taught as part of bunkai, and he agrees, so he showed me just a taste of things to come. He said "That's why people often think that karate has 'secret teachings'. It's not a secret, it is just generally assumed that advanced students will figure it out on their own after years of practice.
Have to say, I left the dojo last night with my head spinning, and not just from the elbow I got on the side of my neck that made me drop like a sack of potatoes (it was a riot, I took the hit, continued sparring, and dropped two seconds later - never had that happen before). I can't even remember this morning most of the applications Sensei showed me, but just that I know they're in there is amazing to me. Now when I practice basic exercises and kata, I'll be thinking about all the ways in which the blocks, punches, and kicks can be applied. Wow.
Anyway, pardon my gushing - I'm sure most of you are yawning and thinking "Yeah, so what else is new?" But for a newb like me, it was most enlightening, and I wanted to share my excitement.
:asian: