MSISSHINRYU.COM is proud to remain a pop-up
free site and will always continue to do so. However, if anyone who
finds the info contained useful, please feel free to securely contribute
a donation through Paypal to help defray server costs.
"All things begin with
one"
The above statement
was Shimabuku Tatsuo's reply when Kaneshi Eiko, one
of Tatsuo's senior students, asked him why he was naming
his new style of karate Isshin-ryu
ANECDOTES OF TATSUO
Anecdotes of Tatsuo on teaching and advancing in
skills.
On one occasion before leaving Okinawa Shimabuku
Tatsuo sensei stated he had something important
to tell me.
Sensei said there were four stages to teach and
practice in karate.
1. Learn the basic techniques (kihon).
2. Breathing techniques (nogare and imbuki)
are found in kata.
3. Chinkuchi or power is found in Sanchin
kata.
4. Technique or skill (waza) is found in
all aspects and phases of karate.
The Japanese and Okinawans often use the following
terms for teaching and learning. They liken karate
and kobudo training to wood working.
1. Arakezuri rough grinding and shaping still
in the process of being formed.
2. Nakakezuri middle planing. 3. Hosokezuri fine planing and sanding. 4. Shiage being finished.
Kihon. The first stage Arakezuri (rough
grinding and shaping) is learning and practicing
the kihon. At first we are unrefined learning
to perform and understand kihon. As we learn
we begin to refine and remove the large jerky movements,
shorten our unnecessary moves and windups, build
up and refine our techniques in kihon.
Kihon is the essential base and foundation
of karate. Correct stance, posture, then technique.
The stance and footwork must be firm or light along
with the balanced posture and movement which makes
whatever technique you perform sound. The molding
of the fist is important and the use of kime
for power. As we begin to understand how to apply
each technique, we learn the bunkai (application)
and its variations. If we do not understand what
we are doing or the bunkai, how can we properly
perform a given technique.
Kata. The second stage nakakezuri
(middle planing or removing) start’s about three
months after beginning karate, and involves breathing
techniques learning how and when to inhale and exhale.
In karate, breathing is very important and certain
kata emphasize it. Seisan, seiunchin and sanchin
kata in Isshin-ryu karate. It is again essential
to understand the applications of hard imbuki
breathing and soft natural nogare breathing
and its relation to different applications. We learn
to breath and inhale deeply taking oxygen deeply
into our lungs and expelling carbon dioxide
or bad air to increase our stamina, endurance and
to project power into a target. Kiai is a
part of exhaling and is used to startle an opponent
or to drive ones attacking technique into or through
the target.
The third stage hosokezuri (fine planing),
starts after six months learning and developing
chinkuchi. Chinkuchi is a Okinawan
dialect word and is made up from ‘chin’ or
‘muscle, sinew, ‘ku’ which means ‘bone’,
and ‘chi’ which means controlled energy.
The technique of controlling (chi) soft (muscle,
sinew) and hard (bone) and body management. Sanchin
kata is where chinkuchi is really emphasized
in Isshin-ryu.
The fourth step shiageke (end or finish)
will take about three years for it will take that
length of time to perfect our skill and techniques.
Most important is constant practice through numerous
sets of repetitions until mind, skill and body become
one or whole (shingitai). While we say three
years to develop and hone kihon, kotekitai,
kata or kumite, this process may vary
depending on the abilities of each individual. After
learning and understanding kihon, kata
and how to incorporate it with kumite, it
is essential to continue the never ending cycle
of constant training by polishing your techniques.
