In this video I discuss a problem I see forming on the fringes of the practical karate community. While the community continues to go from strength to strength, with more and more people adopting a practical approach, we have to guard against overlooking the need for high-quality technique. I don’t see this as a huge problem at the moment, but I see enough of it to warrant making this video.

This video looks at the one-legged turning sequence in Unsu kata that starts with a ridge-hand and ends with a reverse-punch. The karate of the past had a significant throwing component. Because many modern karateka don’t appreciate that throwing is a part of their art, many throwing actions in kata are misinterpreted. This sequence is a good example of that. What is clearly a throw, gets misunderstood as turning “block”, delivered on one leg, with the hands on the hip for no apparent reason!

In this video we look at a flow drill for the one-legged sequences in Chinto / Gankaku kata. It’s important to understand that this drill is one of many. The methods in the drill also need practised singularly, in alternate sequences, and in both semi-live and live drills. We covered all of this during the two-day event at which this clip was filmed. It’s obviously not possible to cover all of that in this short video clip and therefore viewers are cautioned against making assumptions based on their own training paradigm.

Here is an older video recapping some of the throws (and variants) found in Morinobu Itoman’s 1934 book, “The Study of Karate Techniques”. Itoman was a police officer and wrote the book with a view to helping follow officers:

“I was a police officer and my life was focused on keeping order in the streets … I made use of my karate when on patrol and realised my follow officers could benefit from it”