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Wastelander
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Hidden Techniques in Kata

I've seen some talk across the internet, lately, about kakushi-waza/kakushi-te (hidden techniques) in kata, and decided to collect my thoughts on the subject into an article. Hopefully somebody finds it beneficial!

http://www.karateobsession.com/2015/05/hidden-techniques-in-kata.html

Marc
Marc's picture

Nice article with good examples. Thanks for sharing.  

Kevin73
Kevin73's picture

I have often heard it said that there are no hidden techniques, only applications that you haven't seen yet.

I think part of problem is reading that Itosu made changes and Funakoshi made changes to "make it safe for school children".  I have seen various theories on what those changes were.  People assume that these changes were still in the katas, and the changes weren't to "how" the katas were trained.

I have also spoken with a student of Toyama Sensei, who was a direct student of Kanbun Uechi.  He talked about how certain techniques were taken out of the katas by Kanei Uechi and others overly simplified for students.  Again, we know the changes were made, but we don't know why the changes were mady many times.  Was it to "make it safe" or to "simplify it for students", OR did they think the changes they made were for the better to make the art better?

Wastelander
Wastelander's picture

Thanks!

Yes, you're certainly correct that we know changes were made, but not what was changed or why, and that can pose a problem. For that reason, I definitely find comparison of kata between styles to be very helpful, although certainly not foolproof. I hadn't heard about Uechi simplifying his kata, so thanks for that bit of information, Kevin! It's hardly surprising. My KishimotoDi instructor told me about a man he has trained with on Okinawa who trained in old-style karate, with practical fighting applications for the kata. In the 1960's, that man changed what he taught to be more like the mainstream/modern karate that Western GI's wanted to learn, so he could make a living by teaching them. Unfortunately, he admitted that he kept that going for so long that he forgot almost all of the old-style karate he once knew. At the point my KishimotoDi instructor met him, he said he could remember a few bits and pieces, but the majority of his kata applications were lost.

Kevin73
Kevin73's picture

I know that one of the changes that was made to many of the Shorin-Ryu katas was replacing the "toe kicks" (Uechi-Ryu still has them) with the "ball kick" that we have now.  I have read some information that said that all of the front kicks in the Shorin-Ryu katas were originally toe kicks and did not extend past the end of your punch.  I have also read some information that said some of the kicks were toe kicks and some using the ball of the foot, but regardless they have been taken out of kata that we have now.

We know that in Goju-Ryu, Sanchin kata, the breathing method and hands were changed to the slow dynamic breathing for health purposes that we have now, and that the open hands were changed to closed hands.

An example in Uechi-Ryu was originally, there were only 3 kata (Sanchin, Seisan, Sanseiryu).  Kanei Uechi and other senior students helped to create the other "linking katas" to help students understand.  Uechi-Ryu did NOT have the horizontal punch that is the bread and butter of other okinawan systems.  It was added for beginners in the early katas, such as, Kanshiwa.  Some instructors have changed it back to the ippon-ken when training the katas.  Just to clarify, Kanbun Uechi taught his version of "Pangai Noon" as he learned it in China and did not make changes.  It was his son, Kanei Uechi that made the changes to teach the Japanese and Americans.

In these examples, we see "dangerous techniques" that were replaced by other versions.  These techniques cause more damage due to more PSI, BUT the trade off is that they are also conditioning intensive techniques that require the person to spend lots of time conditioning the weapon (ippon-ken, toe kick, spearhand) to be used safely by the karateka.  It could be that as the art of karate spread and became more "commercial" and taught for other reasons that they decided that they didn't want to spend that time for the general public (ie: school children).

Kevin73
Kevin73's picture

Sorry, had another thought pop into my head as far as hidden techniques.

Sometimes the applications aren't things we really deal with anymore.  For example, Charles Goodin wrote a 3 part article on a student that had trained with Chotoku Kyan.  A couple applications stick in my mind.  In Chinto kata, where the hands kind of "twist" back and forth in the beginning. Kyan taught this as an application if your hands became bound, due to the fact that okinawan rope was fibrous and this move would stretch the rope allowing to make room to escape.  In Kusanku kata, there is a move where your hand is kind of upturned behind your head.  Many styles have the hand moved so it is to the side of the head now in kind of a protecting position.  I have seen one person who saw the same move in an old Chin Na manual and concluded that this move was to counter a hair grab like the chinese version.  Both Shinyu Gushi and Kyan taught applications based on this move, and it was actually a move to remove the hair pin and stab the attacker in the neck, which is why the next move appears to be a shuto to the neck.  Again, nowadays, we don't wear hair pins in our hair or long enough hair usually for this to be a workable application.

Just some more food for thought on why/how some things became hidden.