For the record... I never, ever have worried about "hawk chases sparrow" being a leg break. I suppose it's possible, but... I have more applications for that move than any other move in the system (save perhaps the fundamental LCD elements of Sanchin). And not one of them is a leg break.
Each one of the elements can be used for kicking defenses. The two hand movements can be used to catch a kick (separately), and the leg can be used to deflect one in much the same way that one does arm rubbing.
The paired arm movements can be used in any number of throws. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the mechanics of this move in both aikido and jujitsu. It also can be found in weapon kata - particularly with the bo.
If you understand that kata sometimes do movements with intra-body timing that is different from the many applications, then you can go even further. For example...
- Catch a kick with harai sukui uke (upwards scooping block). Do left scoop on right leg, or right scoop on left.
- Exchange the leg from one arm to the next using the finishing part of "hawk chases sparrow." While doing so, step forward. If you move and do the lower sweep just right, you now are on their back.
- Now while you are grabbing the shoulders, use your foot to tap the back crease of one of their knees. That's your leg part. Their center is gone, and you can now do a lateral vascular neck restraint (a.k.a. blood choke) from behind. Out goes the lights!
I personally am not fond of the Uechi kata interpretations that just whack somebody only to piss them off. I look for sequences designed to take them out. This is a classic. It can be done "smooth as glass" if you practice it enough.
And along those lines...
Josann wrote:
Could someone explain which moves are "crane on the rock", "grab and carry" and "hawk chases sparrow"? I've done this kata for 15 years an find it to be one of the most fun and thought provoking in the system. I have always heard terms like knee strike, fishtail block, crane block etc. so I am a little confused as to what you are describing
I intentionally use nonspecific, colorful, visually descriptive names to describe kata techniques. In my view, it is a BIG, BIG mistake calling a kata move a strike or a block or a thrust. Our circles are just circles - period. Sometimes they are blocks. Sometimes they are attacks. Sometimes they are traps. Sometimes they are throws. Etc, etc.
I never tire of finding new ways to use the old basic patterns of human movement. This IMO is the way to approach martial arts. It's a bit like RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Computing. Learn just a few fundamental elements of movement, and learn them well. Then learn to do lots and lots of things with just these few well-learned patterns. That way it will be available to you when you need it most - under pressure when your britches are soiled and you are having a very bad day.
- Bill
So the word is that papa Uechi saw to it that this "Uechi toy" was taken away from the bad boys.
