The Karatedo of Andre Bertel

Recently I've posted several videos. Here is one with a brief profile, a handful of photos and some video footage.

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Another video from Germany

Here is another video from my IJKA Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu Karate seminars in Ahrensburg, Germany 2010. For the other more recent videos please click on this link: http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2011/06/christchurch-karate-club-homepage.html

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Christchurch Karate Club Homepage

A quick link to the homepage of Sensei Lyall Stone's dojo, the CHRISTCHURCH SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB (IJKA New Zealand Honbu Dojo) based at the CPIT Gymnasium in central Christchurch City. Several video links from this site have been featured: http://christchurchshotokan.blogspot.com/2011/06/style-of-christchurch-shotokan-karate.html

OSU!

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Another Asai Karate video uploaded

Here is another newly uploaded video on youtube. There have been other clips made public over the last couple of days.



Osu, Andre.

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

www.andrebertel.blogspot.com FOURTH ANNIVERSARY

Today is the fourth anniversary of this website (here’s a link to the post I made earlier today about this: http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2011/06/4th-anniversary-of-andre-bertels-karate.html).

I also decided to upload a video for you. If you have enjoyed my blog over the last four years and hopefully learned plenty from it, please do make a comment! To check it out and post some feedback click on this link:

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

The 4th Anniversary of Andre Bertel's Karate-Do

Today marks four years since I created this website and made my very first post: http://andrebertel.blogspot.com/2007/06/back-in-japan.html And if you've been following the site, you will know that the objectives stated in that initial post have remained unchanged.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: Here is a link to my channel which supplements this site: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum Have browse through, and feel free to make some comments!

VISITORS HERE! Looking at my stats it is wonderful for me to see that many karateka from around the world have visited this website over the last four years. Going by most of the emails I've recieved they have come to the site to learn more about about traditional Japanese karate, the IJKA, Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu, and my late teacher, Shuseki-Shihan Tetsuhiko Asai (10th Dan). Based on the most recent stats there have been people logging on to this site in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Kiribati, , Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, Namibia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Taiwan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay. This is a real honour for me, and keeping in mind the mission statement of the site, I hope it has enlightened you all in regards to Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu Karatedo. Once again I offer my deepest thanks to everyone who have visited 'Andre Bertel's Karate-Do' and especially to those who have sent me personal messages. ARIGATO!

OSU!

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

André Bertel’s Karate-Do Video Links

(45) BASIC DUCKING EXERCISES: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/44/KBlctonpgaI

(44) RAKUYO KATA PERFORMED SLOWLY: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/43/M9RkoJmxKtw

(43) ASAI SENSEI'S UCHIDESHI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/42/qimXsw2SkjI

(42) IMPROMPTU DEMO: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/41/kzTufE16cgk

(41) SEMINARS IN PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND (1): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/10/EsrnxLWvBpk

(40) SEMINARS IN PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND (2): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/15/iUNVc_uRubY

(39) SEMINARS IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/12/m34qsesUDEQ

(38) BUNKAI TRAINING FOR MICHAEL BARR SENSEI (IJKA ENGLAND 4th DAN): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/13/gUia8Rf9gPg

(37) SEMINAR IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/39/kckvNnOa8Sk

(36) ASSISTING ASAI SENSEI IN HAWAII, USA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/38/KS9toQBOxDg

(35) LYALL STONE SENSEI (CHRISTCHURCH) TAMESHIWARI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/37/EGyJVYtYTtA

(34) NEW ZEALAND CHIEF INSTRUCTOR IJKA & JKS: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/36/fEPKui7919o

(33) COUNTERING A FLURRY OF ATTACKS: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/35/OvTgMJmhaKA

(32) SHIKAKE: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/34/4XtozWkC7tI

(31) DEFEATING AN AGGRESSIVE OPPONENT: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/33/y29ABfLxpwU

(30) HIDARI KIZAMI MAWASHI-GERI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/32/2xanzl8xnxU

(29) TAI-SABAKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/31/7__BLxwPGZI

(28) GYAKU ZUKI KARA JODAN MAE ASHI MAWASHI–GERI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/30/0LKR53fiI8Q

(27) CHUDAN MAWASHI-GERI KARA JODAN-ZUKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/29/1Qxk9dAyqBA

(26) CHUDAN MAWASHI-GERI KARA JODAN-ZUKI (OPPOSITE SIDE): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/28/rNoFqrT9JPE

(25) TRADITIONAL SHOTOKAN KARATEKA VERSES TAG KARATEKA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/27/6rYelxx0Txw

(24) SEIRYU KATA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/26/uNcOeu5Fv20

(23) SEMINARS IN ITALY (1): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/18/hjWjasrt2qw

(22) SEMINARS IN ITALY (2): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/16/7CBEtiICjBw

(21) SEMINARS IN GERMANY (1): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/25/3LW-UgZECcY

(20) SEMINARS IN GERMANY (2): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/f/17/oBHfwT0n8I8

(19) SEMINARS IN TOKYO: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/24/aCz1f8ruhTM

(18) SHOTEI KATA PERFORMED SLOWLY: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/23/JwT1kLY0UF8

(17) SELF-TRAINING IN JAPAN: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/22/-sCwEte1Zsw

(16) KAMINARI-ARASHI KATA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/21/WrlcggQQSvo

(15) PERSONAL TRAINING FROM ASAI SENSEI (2): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/20/tMCL3elwhmw

(14) SEMINAR IN HAWAII, USA: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/19/5Oijw2xpzTU

(13) ASSISTING ASAI SENSEI IN NEW ZEALAND: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/18/zGX6ty6jp-k

(12) PERSONAL TRAINING FROM ASAI SENSEI (1): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/17/wqTxz0NzbE8

(11) MAWASHI-GERI KARA JODAN ZUKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/16/fD5aVZMJ1LE

(10) TAI SABAKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/15/UlZj0M_fqP0

(9) GYAKU-ZUKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/14/9ml4zX6xBFU

(8) ASHI-BARAI (2): http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/13/4SWhpQVih4Y

(7) CHUDAN MAWASHI-GERI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/12/arsJwnrjvv4

(6) ASHI-BARAI KARA JODAN GYAKU-ZUKI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/11/QM_zckLv158

(5) IPPON: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/10/rcLf7RGQ-MM

(4) ASHI-BARAI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/9/IbtN6_su3Kg

(3) ASSISTING ASAI SENSEI: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/8/2miuk3FjYl8

(2) ASAI SENSEI ON NEW ZEALAND TV: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/7/fpX05max8Wg

(1) ASAI SENSEI & ANDRE BERTEL EMBU: http://www.youtube.com/user/andrebertel?feature=mhum#p/u/6/dYYQauucQA8

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Heian & Junro

We use five Heian and Junro kata side-by-side to acquire and achieve superior foundational techniques, and physical understanding of bujutsu (martial arts) karate. The difference between these two series’ of kata is best illustrated by the most common basic karatedo manoeuvres such as gedan-barai (‘lower level sweep’) which not coincidentally is the first technique of both Heian-shodan and Junro-shodan.

Comparison of 'movement one' in Heian-Shodan & Junro-Shodan: Without excessive detail, in Heian-shodan, the gedan-barai is performed by compressing the legs and simultaneously the arms via the two arm chambering action (with compression of the right hip leftward). It is then completed by the shift into zenkutsu-dachi (front stance) with a precisely coordinated gyaku-kaiten (reverse rotation) into hanmi (the `half-facing position’). The hiki-te or pull-back hand plays an important part in not only self-defence application, but also to scaffold how to master optimal body action to maximise snap. Alternatively in Junro-shodan the movement is more natural as it is a single arm gedan-barai as if reactively defending in kumite. In this case the hiki-te functions as merely a method of application and physical awareness as opposed to being used to ‘help’ with the body action. Power is instead derived from natural energy by (a) dropping the weight naturally down into kiba-dachi; and (b) use of a whipping action, in particular, shoulder and elbow snap.
_____________

Using these ten kata (Heian 1-5 & Junro 1-5) together to develop high-class foundational techniques cannot be achieved if they are all executed in the same manner. Their strength is found in their differences, and these differences are found within their correct dynamics, and application. Now sadly, most people, even those in Tokyo, are simply practicing ten Heian kata and calling five of them `Junro’. I promised to Asai Sensei before he passed away that I would continue practicing and teaching karate his way, and that starts with the IJKA versions of the five Junro kata.

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Asai Sensei & student Andre Bertel: Introductory ducking (Drills 1 & 2)

Everyone knows that one of Tetsuhiko Asai Sensei's trademark skills was his uncanny ability to "go in" ducking under his opponents attacks and deliver an unpredictable retaliation. This video features the first two basic/introductory IJKA Asai-ha Shotokan-ryu ducking drills. These practice: (1) Ducking under jodan gyaku-zuki (upper level reverse punch); and (2) Ducking under jodan huri-uchi (upper level swinging strikes).
________

In this footage I am assisting Asai Sensei at the 2003 Technical Seminars in Christchurch, New Zealand. Rather than harp on and write a technical article describing the main points, I'll let Sensei explain them to you himself, via this video clip. OSU, André.

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

Rakuyo Kata Performed Slowly

In the video featured here Asai Sensei had me perform the IJKA kata RAKUYO (Falling Leaf) slowly.

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Asai Sensei's commentary is worth listening to! Sensei liked my kata, as I did it the way he wanted me to - as pure BUJUTSU (MARTIAL ART). That is probably why he shared so many of his koten-gata with me and always had me demonstrate kata when assisting him at seminars. According to Mrs. Asai (now IJKA PRESIDENT), "watch my husbands body language when he had you demonstrate a kata for him"... This is really shown in this video!

Needless to say, I still perform kata as Sensei taught me focusing on practical application, smoothness, fluidity, natural action and snap. Asai Sensei defined "precise kata" as "karate for actual kumite/self-defence application".
_________

Whilst this is not explosive video footage, I hope you appreciate it for what it is. Rakuyo kata performed slowly in front of my late karate teacher, the legendary Shotokan Master Shuseki-Shihan Tetsuhiko Asai.

© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).