Did some more padwork at Ashton Shukokai last night. I can’t believe just how poor my punching technique and power generation are at present.
How can I improve? I need to practice the hip twitch for punching and get on with some pad work. Keep the structure straight for impact, legs, back, shoulders and arm.
6 Jun 2008
1 Jun 2008
Functional Kempo
Stumbled across another good Youtube site “Functional Kenpo”. This was exciting to see because the teacher in the clips is obviously very skilled, he’s great at explaining, very keen to show a lot of info in each clip, and it’s definitely a no-bullshit approach.
Kenpo itself isn’t a term I’ve ever thought to search for on the web. I stumbled across the Functional Kenpo clips through various links. Seeing the clips made me realized that the emphasis of some of my previous instruction was kenpo based – in particular the “Delayed Sword” technique shown in the Functional Kenpo is exactly as I was taught for Nekoashi dachi chudan shuto, mae geri chudan, but the application was never illustrated in this way. Now this probably shouldn’t surprise me.
The problem of how to interpret the system’s kata in a way that is compatible with the style, still remains. For example, one of the golden rules in most kata bunkai philosophies is a “hikite hand always has something in it”. This would suggest to me that the philosophy adopted by these kata bunkai exponents is more influenced by ju-jitsu and other grappling arts, than from kenpo-karate. Lots of techniques in each kata have a hikite hand and a striking hand. Now you watch this chap practising his kenpo and you’ll see that most of the work is percussive strikes chained together and that all-important pulling hand may never actually grab anything – it’s either chambered ready for the next strike or press-blocking an opponent’s limb. One of his favourite techniques is an arm-bar and this obviously involves catch and hold, but what about the chains of percussive strikes? How do we find those within the kata and still stick to the hikite hand “golden rule”.
Now thinking back on a number of lessons, I vividly remember seeing some applications from my previous instruction that were DEFINITELY of a kenpo nature. There were koken uchi strikes to the ribs, eye rakes, glancing elbows etc. and all with a fluidity and speed that were pretty impressive to see. These were classed as “high level” applications, but they were obviously very practical whilst still being definitive of the style.
So… how do I use the knowledge I’ve gained to progress?
Kenpo itself isn’t a term I’ve ever thought to search for on the web. I stumbled across the Functional Kenpo clips through various links. Seeing the clips made me realized that the emphasis of some of my previous instruction was kenpo based – in particular the “Delayed Sword” technique shown in the Functional Kenpo is exactly as I was taught for Nekoashi dachi chudan shuto, mae geri chudan, but the application was never illustrated in this way. Now this probably shouldn’t surprise me.
The problem of how to interpret the system’s kata in a way that is compatible with the style, still remains. For example, one of the golden rules in most kata bunkai philosophies is a “hikite hand always has something in it”. This would suggest to me that the philosophy adopted by these kata bunkai exponents is more influenced by ju-jitsu and other grappling arts, than from kenpo-karate. Lots of techniques in each kata have a hikite hand and a striking hand. Now you watch this chap practising his kenpo and you’ll see that most of the work is percussive strikes chained together and that all-important pulling hand may never actually grab anything – it’s either chambered ready for the next strike or press-blocking an opponent’s limb. One of his favourite techniques is an arm-bar and this obviously involves catch and hold, but what about the chains of percussive strikes? How do we find those within the kata and still stick to the hikite hand “golden rule”.
Now thinking back on a number of lessons, I vividly remember seeing some applications from my previous instruction that were DEFINITELY of a kenpo nature. There were koken uchi strikes to the ribs, eye rakes, glancing elbows etc. and all with a fluidity and speed that were pretty impressive to see. These were classed as “high level” applications, but they were obviously very practical whilst still being definitive of the style.
So… how do I use the knowledge I’ve gained to progress?
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