MIke wrote:does each bridge kata have a theme to it, a specific point it's trying to focus the student on?
That's a good question. Certainly each one of the bridge kata has a unique feel to it. Another thing to consider is that each bridge kata has a unique author or set of authors.
I don't think the authors thought much about themes per se. Rather I think what they wanted to do is introduce some of the techniques of the 2 more complex kata (Seisan and Sanseiryu) without getting too far into the complexity of movement in these forms.
If you listen to Tomoyose Sensei, he has a more cynical view of it all. After WWII, the Okinawans were short on cash and jobs. Karate was something that could be marketed. But Uechi's martial art only had three forms. In a Western marketing world, fewer forms possibly implied an inferior product. More forms meant more tuition over the long haul, and a greater attraction for a Western student who equated bigger and more with better. Ask Tomoyose Sensei what he thinks of all this other material, and he'll tell you that everything is in Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryu.
It's worth mentioning though that there is some value to these bridge forms. Kanshiwa teaches you how to punch - if you must. It also has the sokuto geri, which mysteriously also is found in my Fuzhou Suparinpei. Kanshu is a simpler version of Seisan. It was once called Daini Seisan (little Seisan). Seichin is a different animal. It is some of the techniques of sanseiryu in the structure of seisan. It also has wrist movements that again can be found in my Fuzhou Suparinpei. Seiryu is Seisan all over again, with a different spin on the neat opening of Kanshu and one very nice technique in Sanseiryu. Kanchin is Sanseiryu plus more tastes of Fuzhou Suparinpei.
BTW, I am not concluding that there was an effort to employ techniques from this kata Kanbun saw in China but never learned. But it's an intriguing thought. The Suparinpei I know is too much for most people, and the one Kanbun saw also seemed too much for him to want to take on. Taking a few of the techiques from it possibly was one way to take a little of what he saw and run with it.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the bridge kata serve to show you more examples of the "grammar" of Uechi Ryu. When you see that techniques can be strung together in different sequences that still seem to make sense, then you start to make the leap that you can do so as well. There is nothing sacred about the beginning-to-end sequence in what amounts to three walking reference books.
- Bill
I have a very nice, plausible explanation of them in the context of the kick, knee thrust, and three shokens just before them. But it's easier shown that spoken. Hint - think barroom brawl.
