SEMINARS IN SOUTH AFRICA (PART 4): Beach Training

Revision of Seiryu kata

Gary Grapentin Sensei (chief instructor of East Cape Shotokan-ryu and seminar organiser) arranged a training on Kariega Beach, which I thoroughly enjoyed instructing... As I went overtime with my lesson, I checked if the participants were keen to continue in the darkness, they answered with a determined "osu": so we continued. 

 

The session was for advanced karateka so we used the time to practice kihon, kumite and Seiryu kata: primarily revising what I taught during the weekend seminars. 

 

In particular, emphasis was placed on the difference between bunkai (merely to learn the kata sequence properly - literally `analysis'), which we utilised in this class; and oyo (application: the actual combative applications/self-defence principles of the kata); moreover, the use of junansei (softness) to maximise impact power. All of the participants did very well, and gained a better understanding of Seiryu kata and Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu karate in general.

 

Here is a link to the correct performace of the kata, as taught to me by Shuseki-Shihan Tetsuhiko Asai (10th Dan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNcOeu5Fv20

NB - Whilst one cannot learn kata with any depth merely from videos, as you (those who attended my South Africa Seminars) have been taught the kata and fully understand it through first-hand instruction, the video will now be useful for your study. Please apply the principles of Seiryu kata to the standard Shotokan kata, and also kihon, kumite and self-defence. I wish you all the very best in your karate-geiko.

 

Osu, Andre 

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2013).