Video
Fri, 2012-09-14 13:53
This video shows a drill that I taught at Chuck Norris’s UFAF ITC in 2012. The drill was designed to be an “aide memoire” for a number of the individual techniques we had explored from the Pinan / Heian / Pyong-An series. By putting some of those techniques end to end like this in a single drill I hoped that it would make the techniques easier to recall and it would hopefully
...more
Fri, 2012-07-06 11:09
In this video I show a few takedowns from kicks. This quick clip is taken from a full day of training on karate throws and takedowns; which included many throws from kata and older karate texts (i.e. “Funakoshi’s nine throws”, etc). This clip records some of the throws from kicks we covered on the day, but it needs to be appreciated that this is the “edited highlights
...more
Tue, 2012-07-03 07:07
This clip was filmed at a seminar in Montrose, Scotland in June 2012. It quickly shows a piece of throwing bunkai from Pinan Sandan. The clip also shows a variation on the throw which can be used as a bridge to ground fighting. Deliberately seeking the ground is never wise in self-protection due to the inherent vulnerability from attacks by third parties, a hard floor, etc. However, such
...more
Thu, 2012-06-28 09:07
This video was filmed in Stuttgart, Germany in June 2012. It covers some general bunkai concepts and primarily looks at an arm-lock and associated escapes found within Heian Shodan (Pinan Nidan). The second part of the video also shows how a flow drill can be created by getting your partner to counter the counter, which is in turn countered using a motion found in Heian Yodan (Pinan Yodan).
...more
Fri, 2012-05-04 15:46
Knees are found in the Pinan / Heian series, Naihanchi / Tekki, Gankaku / Chinto and many other kata. Sadly the methods recorded in the kata are often not extracted from the kata to be drilled effectively. Kata practise alone is not enough; we need to take the information recorded in kata and make practical use of it in training. To fulfil the purpose of kata, we need to take those knees and
...more
Fri, 2012-04-27 10:03
This video shows bunkai for age-uke (“rising block”) and gyaku-zuki (reverse punch) against a clothing grab. It was filmed at the dojo during normal training. One thing to note is how the hiki-te (hand on the hip) is put to active use in controlling my partner’s arm and helping to open up targets. When looking at any movement in kata it is important that all parts of the
...more
Tue, 2012-04-24 07:25
This quick video shows one on the many pad-drills I taught in Nuremburg, Germany in April 2012. The purpose of this drill is to make it difficult to generate power by having the striker hit from positions that limit the use and movement of the legs and hips. The holder is also required to present the pads at “non-standard angles” i.e. not perfectly straight, horizontal or vertical
...more
Tue, 2012-04-17 06:53
This video was filmed at a seminar in Belgium where we explored karate locking, escapes from locks and counter-locking. It should be remembered that locking was once considered a fundamental part of karate.
Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan) wrote, “In karate, hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the only methods, throwing techniques and joints locks are included … all
...more
Sun, 2012-04-15 20:50
This video was filmed at a seminar in Lund, Sweden and it looks at the “double block” / “reinforced block” found towards the end of Pinan Shodan / Heian Nidan. Personally I see the main application of this motion being a response to a throat grab which may happen following the application of the shuto-ukes found earlier in the kata. At the seminar we explained the full
...more
Fri, 2012-04-13 09:33
This video shows a combination drill that draws from Pinan / Heian Shodan, Yodan & Godan. It was filmed at a seminar in Pinneberg, Germany in January 2012. Once the individual bunkai sequences have been learnt and practised to a sufficient degree, it is important to practise combining the motions together and putting them into a combative context. In this drill we use a motion from Godan to
...more
News, Articles and Updates