Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Karate Do

[Lucy Rhombus]

Hello! Arnisador suggested I head over here and describe the style of karate I'm studying. I'll do my best.

It's called ryukyu hon kenpo karate do or ryukyu hon kenpo kobujutsu. Ryuku means "Okinawan," and hon means "original." I believe it's related to Okinawan kenpo, and it's taught at only 14 dojos worldwide.

In our school there are two levels each of yellow and orange, one of blue, then two of green, three of brown, and 10 of black (I'm a first level orange belt).

I've been reading the threads about the different kata, and don't recognize many of them. Some of the ones I remember seeing in our dojo are naihanchi shodan, naihanchi nidan, naihanchi sandan, pinan nidan, pinan sandan, pinan godan, pinan yondan, passai, seisan, wansu.

I went to one of the kata sites mentioned in another thread (a Danish site) and watched Quicktime versions of naihanchi shodan, nidan, and sandan. Though many of the moves are the same, in our style there is more economy of movement. In the video clips, the kata had a lot of wide, sweeping movements and windups that we don't do.

We also work with weapons. So far I'm learning one bo kata (shihonuke) and one hanbo kata (hanbo). At more advanced levels, we start using tonfa, nunchaku, kama, sai, and other weapons. The sensei offers a weapons class once a week, and I'm on the waiting list.

I've done my best to describe the style of karate I'm studying. Anyone interested in learning more can visit my dojo's Web site:Branchaud Dojo. There's a lot of information there, including a full list of kata.

 

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by Lucy Rhombus

Hello! Arnisador suggested I head over here and describe the style of karate I'm studying. I'll do my best.

It's called ryukyu hon kenpo karate do or ryukyu hon kobujutsu. Ryuku means "Okinawan," and hon means "original." I believe it's related to Okinawan kenpo, and it's taught at only 14 dojos worldwide.

In our school there are two levels each of yellow and orange, one of blue, then two of green, three of brown, and 10 of black (I'm a first level orange belt).

I've been reading the threads about the different kata, and don't recognize many of them. Some of the ones I remember seeing in our dojo are naihanchi shodan, naihanchi nidan, naihanchi sandan, pinan nidan, pinan sandan, pinan godan, pinan yandan, passai, wan su.

I went to one of the kata sites mentioned in another thread (a Danish site) and watched Quicktime versions of naihanchi shodan, nidan, and sandan. Though many of the moves are the same, in our style there is more economy of movement. In the video clips, the kata had a lot of wide, sweeping movements and windups that we don't do.

We also work with weapons. So far I'm learning one bo kata (shihonuke) and one hanbo kata (hanbo). At more advanced levels, we start using tonfa, nunchaku, kama, and sai. The sensei offers a weapons class once a week, and I'm on the waiting list.

I've done my best to describe the style of karate I'm studying. Anyone interested in learning more can visit my dojo's Web site:Branchaud Dojo. There's a lot of information there, including a full list of kata.

Very interesting! Just to nitpick, Ryukyu refers to the chain of islands between Taiwan and southern Japan, of which, Okinawa is the largest island. Being part Okinawan, I gotta set that straight

For the kata, you can look at Heian and Tekki kata from Shotokan as well. The Heian are the renamed Pinan kata and the Tekki are the renamed Naihanchi kata. Like you've already noticed, you'll see similar movements with variation in technique. A good place to get a peek at the Shotokan kata is:

http://ctr.usf.edu/shotokan/kata.html

It'd help to have a broadband connection, I think, but still worth a try if you're on dialup. The long windups and chambers can be separate moves in and of themselves, depending on the bunkai.

Thanks again for the info!

Cthulhu

 

[Lucy Rhombus]

Hi, Cthulhu,

Thanks for the link. That is some amazing stuff (and lucky for me we have a cable connection so we could enjoy it at its best)! I can see that the moves are mostly the same as in the style I'm learning, but the technique is completely different. Interesting and beautiful kata.

I also found a link to the Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu Federation

 

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Lucy Rhombus


I went to one of the kata sites mentioned in another thread (a Danish site) and watched Quicktime versions of naihanchi shodan, nidan, and sandan. Though many of the moves are the same, in our style there is more economy of movement. In the video clips, the kata had a lot of wide, sweeping movements and windups that we don't do.

Could you please post the link to the Danish site? Being from Denmark myself I would like to see it
Regarding the difference in the way of doing the naihanchi kata I would put that down to where it came from - Okinawa , Japan, or Korean? - since almost all karate styles has some form of Nahanchi but do them "Their own way"
Take care
Zeke

 

[Lucy Rhombus]

Hi, Zeke,

Here's the URL:

http://www.shorinryu.dk/html/indexe.htm

 

[Zeke]

Thanks for the link Turns out that I know this guy. This is just another website that I didn't know about
Take care
Zeke

 

[arnisador]

Thanks for sharing some info. about this system. Only 14 schools nationwide! That certainly sets you apart!