Many people ask me, as Asai Tetsuhiko Sensei's IJKA uchideshi, "Why practice his special waza of ducking underneath keriwaza (kicking techniques)?" Well, Asai Sensei told me that ducking under a kick, especially a mae-geri (front kick), is the most difficult; therefore, if we can do this, we can duck anything.
Of course, as his personal student, I teach this in various ways on all of my seminars (because it ranges from the BEST KARATE kihon demonstrated by Sensei in the 1970s, right through to a much more intricate level that he was teaching up until he passed away). This technique Asai Sensei labelled 'The Submarine".., and in actuality, besides the physical action, it has much technical depth, and application, than one might think on a `surface level'. To study Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu we must practice this waza, amongst others seeking its perfection. Osu, Andre
© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2012).
