There are frequent posts here about who martial arts weren't meant to be completely static and done the same way by each generation, but there's also a heck of a lot of inertia going into how things are taught and tested that isn't going to change.
The prearranged forms we learn can also be a little stifling because we only do one, or no, applications for a given move and never come up with our own.
There's nothing stopping us from making up our own katas, however, to help us with whatever it is we're thinking about. If we think there isn't enough X in Uechi, well we can have a kata with X. Putting one together can teach us about flow, make us think about emphasis and the different levels in techniques (how explicit or general?), make us think more about application, and teach us a lot of what we already know but don't know it.
For example, say we wish there was some techinque in uechi that there isn't, and as we go sticking it in the kata, and making it into the kind of thing one finds in a kata, we see it starts to look like something from Uechi afterall and that technique was there all along. So following around on the side helps deepend our understanding of what's in the core stuff as well.
So does anyone have a personal kata or one under construction? What did you learn from making it? How'd it change?
Personal Katas
Moderator: Available
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maxwell ainley
- Posts: 1690
- Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2001 6:01 am
- Location: england
Personal Katas
Hi, Ian I understand your point of veiw , and I do create personal kata etc, but thats just what they are personal ,to me
A goju friend wanted me to show just how I had created ,from my study of the three kata , when I refused he ended up falling out with me for a short while IAN there is no short cut through the SHU HA RI principle,and we do hear from the seniors there HA expressions this can confuse the up and coming new comer ,just with what they are being taught
IAN imagine for a moment we have just sanchin and nothing else , now start creating .
max.
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max ainley
A goju friend wanted me to show just how I had created ,from my study of the three kata , when I refused he ended up falling out with me for a short while IAN there is no short cut through the SHU HA RI principle,and we do hear from the seniors there HA expressions this can confuse the up and coming new comer ,just with what they are being taught
IAN imagine for a moment we have just sanchin and nothing else , now start creating .
max.
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max ainley
Personal Katas
I don't have fixed personal kata, if that's what you mean. What I've started doing on my own is to play around with the techniques in the existing kata, i.e. throw in different techniques instead of the ones that are standard to the kata. In the standard kata maybe there is a seiken in a specific place, I might use a shote or some form of elbow strike instead. Maybe there is a front kick, I might do a roundhouse instead. In the spots where there is an elbow strike from a horse stance I might perform it from a more upright stance. I might perform the whole kata from a horse stance or Shotokan stance or a very loose upright stance instead of always using the Sanchin stance, to get different leg training and different feelings of mechanics.
The other variation I do is to perform what I call a free-form kata. I just visualize various scenario in succession and react to them. Sometimes I try to be as fluid and kata-like as possible, other times I try to make it as choppy and inconsistant as possible. No two free-form kata resemble each other and I never try to remember the whole pattern when I'm done, although I might then work more on specific combinations and transitions that seemed to work out well. I try to adhere to the basics when doing free-form kata though, and not get too reckless or flashy with the techniques.
I think these two variations on the standard kata are beginning to help me to understand the flow and mechanics of the kata better, as well as give me a feel for other stances and techniques and to explore what I think may be missing from Uechi kata. They also help me visualize better.
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Glenn
The other variation I do is to perform what I call a free-form kata. I just visualize various scenario in succession and react to them. Sometimes I try to be as fluid and kata-like as possible, other times I try to make it as choppy and inconsistant as possible. No two free-form kata resemble each other and I never try to remember the whole pattern when I'm done, although I might then work more on specific combinations and transitions that seemed to work out well. I try to adhere to the basics when doing free-form kata though, and not get too reckless or flashy with the techniques.
I think these two variations on the standard kata are beginning to help me to understand the flow and mechanics of the kata better, as well as give me a feel for other stances and techniques and to explore what I think may be missing from Uechi kata. They also help me visualize better.
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Glenn
Personal Katas
In theory, this fluid kata thing sounds perfect, and apparently that's how they're supposed to be. But can you imagine anyone under 2nd degree or without a practical sense trying to do this?
"Blue Belt Bob thinks to himself 'there are too many grabs and standing grappling in Uechi... hitting is more effective because one shot will take him out. Uechi is also noticebly lacking in backflips...'"
Maybe 'personal' katas with guidance after 1st degree?
Do you guys even have blue belts?
"Blue Belt Bob thinks to himself 'there are too many grabs and standing grappling in Uechi... hitting is more effective because one shot will take him out. Uechi is also noticebly lacking in backflips...'"
Maybe 'personal' katas with guidance after 1st degree?
Do you guys even have blue belts?
Personal Katas
Re Blue belts: No, at least not where I trained for Uechi. W-G-Br-Bl like you started off clean and got thrown on the ground a lot.
Part of the point is that the people trying this exercise wouldn't be ready to start making great kata from the get go. They'd start doing their stuff, and some would be silly, and they'd learn from that.
At least that is how my experiment is turning out, and I *am* a 2nd degree, for whatever that's worth.
Too many people in the martial arts only know what their instructor told them to know. At the UVa dojo, instructors had to deal with a steady rotation of people into and out of the teaching ranks as their education moved from place to place, requiring them to have a greater independence and ability to synthesize and understand on their own, and I don't think I'd be comfortable in any "yes, master" setting as a result of that.
Part of the point is that the people trying this exercise wouldn't be ready to start making great kata from the get go. They'd start doing their stuff, and some would be silly, and they'd learn from that.
At least that is how my experiment is turning out, and I *am* a 2nd degree, for whatever that's worth.
Too many people in the martial arts only know what their instructor told them to know. At the UVa dojo, instructors had to deal with a steady rotation of people into and out of the teaching ranks as their education moved from place to place, requiring them to have a greater independence and ability to synthesize and understand on their own, and I don't think I'd be comfortable in any "yes, master" setting as a result of that.
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Personal Katas
Ian
Each experience has its ups and downs. Many who have great instructors in their presence never appreciate or fully take advantage of whom they have in front of them. And folks who have been spoonfed all their lives never really learn how to learn or create. So for all that is lacking in terms of exposure to the isolated dan, there is so much opportunity for the bright and creative individual. You can tell the difference too, just in how a student will engage you in a conversation. There are those who can only talk about how master so-and-so does a certain move, and what HE says about it. And then there are others that can extemporaneously tell you what THEY think and WHY. Only when a person can do that have they truly internalized a system - even if what they have is less than a perfect product.
Fortunately the folks around a good university tend to be smarter than your average karateka, and so there are always one or two up to the challenge of independent study.
Actually I have one form that I created out of necessity, Ian. We always had lots of TKD in our area, and I wanted the Uechi folks to be exposed to the kicks so they could learn their defenses. That and a simple exercise was the foundation of Thirty-Eight Special. There was a need, and it served a purpose. Oddly enough, it ended up producing a few good kickers in our class - in some ways better than your average TKD student. I got a little bit of training inspiration from a Shotokan parctitioner (Ray Berry) that could side thrust kick like a mule.
I've been toying with the idea of an ukemi kata for quite a while. I've wanted something quick to do in class that would ultimately give students the courage and ability to roll and fall on a wooden floor (yes, it is possible). I've got pieces and parts of it, but have never gotten off my duff and put the thing together. One day soon...
The other thing I'm on the verge of doing is putting together a good yakusoku kumite. I already choreographed a sanseiryu bunkai years ago back when I had Bruce Hirabayashi around to play with. Too bad I didn't get that on tape, but I could throw one back together if necessary. This is a bunkai format quite different from what one normally sees in Uechi Ryu, but quite common in the Shorei Kai Goju school.
I think that's how a lot of classic forms start, Ian. There is a way of fighting and a need to codify it so that others (even future generations) can learn. So the choreography captures that method in some way.
- Bill
Each experience has its ups and downs. Many who have great instructors in their presence never appreciate or fully take advantage of whom they have in front of them. And folks who have been spoonfed all their lives never really learn how to learn or create. So for all that is lacking in terms of exposure to the isolated dan, there is so much opportunity for the bright and creative individual. You can tell the difference too, just in how a student will engage you in a conversation. There are those who can only talk about how master so-and-so does a certain move, and what HE says about it. And then there are others that can extemporaneously tell you what THEY think and WHY. Only when a person can do that have they truly internalized a system - even if what they have is less than a perfect product.
Fortunately the folks around a good university tend to be smarter than your average karateka, and so there are always one or two up to the challenge of independent study.
Actually I have one form that I created out of necessity, Ian. We always had lots of TKD in our area, and I wanted the Uechi folks to be exposed to the kicks so they could learn their defenses. That and a simple exercise was the foundation of Thirty-Eight Special. There was a need, and it served a purpose. Oddly enough, it ended up producing a few good kickers in our class - in some ways better than your average TKD student. I got a little bit of training inspiration from a Shotokan parctitioner (Ray Berry) that could side thrust kick like a mule.
I've been toying with the idea of an ukemi kata for quite a while. I've wanted something quick to do in class that would ultimately give students the courage and ability to roll and fall on a wooden floor (yes, it is possible). I've got pieces and parts of it, but have never gotten off my duff and put the thing together. One day soon...
The other thing I'm on the verge of doing is putting together a good yakusoku kumite. I already choreographed a sanseiryu bunkai years ago back when I had Bruce Hirabayashi around to play with. Too bad I didn't get that on tape, but I could throw one back together if necessary. This is a bunkai format quite different from what one normally sees in Uechi Ryu, but quite common in the Shorei Kai Goju school.
I think that's how a lot of classic forms start, Ian. There is a way of fighting and a need to codify it so that others (even future generations) can learn. So the choreography captures that method in some way.
- Bill
Personal Katas
I have created my own form, it was required to reach 1st dan. The idea was behind the Buddha creating 18 forms but creating our own took this idea one step further.
Creating a form came from all the combonations and forms taught at the point of testing. At every dan testing we have to show our progression of that form, this teaches the person simplicity of their imagination is best.
I still believe Bill's forum is open to all?
Creating a form came from all the combonations and forms taught at the point of testing. At every dan testing we have to show our progression of that form, this teaches the person simplicity of their imagination is best.
I still believe Bill's forum is open to all?
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Personal Katas
Gosh, crazycat, I can't really tell you what YOU believe. 
Sorry, couldn't resist a jab at the unintended phrasing there.
The official Dojo Roundtable policy is that we are open to all open-minded people (even moms of karate students
) with a basic understanding of courtesy and a thirst for knowledge. Truth be told though, we let just about anyone in... 
- Bill
Sorry, couldn't resist a jab at the unintended phrasing there.The official Dojo Roundtable policy is that we are open to all open-minded people (even moms of karate students
) with a basic understanding of courtesy and a thirst for knowledge. Truth be told though, we let just about anyone in... - Bill
Personal Katas
I think it's important to have an expert instructor, but one that teches instead of dictates. Occasionally, but not that often, I run into a doctor who thinks I should handle every single instance of X exactly the same way because he or she did it once in 1979 and it worked.
One also runs into karate people who expect one size to fit all. This was the case with a 5'2" student of mine who said that Uechi-Ryu was stupid because she couldn't reach my head (I'm 6'4") with an elbow strike. I asked her to give Kanbun a break and tell me if she really thought a single style could be done exactly the same way by every person with every body type and personality against every other body type and style in every situation. Then I suggested that if she needed to elbow me in the head she ought to kick one of my knees out first to make me shorter.
Learning to learn is supposedly (used to be) the focus of an education at UVa, where we have Jeffersonian quotes along the lines of "all a student really needs is a list of books to read and the order in which they are to be read" stenciled over the library entrances. At my second UVa graduation the speaker quoted someone (whose name I now forget): "Education is not the filling of a vessel, it's the lighting of a fire."
While you frequently hear that colleges these days are just centers for the indoctrination of students with wacko socialist ideas, from our first semester students would get marked down for regurgitating the instructor's concepts on tests. My senior project for one of my bioethics classes had the thesis that my instructor's central concept of nondirective consultation was basically a dodge that technologies from the human genome project would make obsolete in a few years.
And so a good karate instructor will give students a good grounding in principles and the ability to adapt the basics to their needs and to new situations.
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On another front here's the URL for Bill's purpose made kicking kata:
http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~uechi/38special.html
My second semester of Uechi was taught by a Dave ____ (P something I think, Powell?) who was fanatic about the 38 special kata and wore a helmet for sparring that had a smiley face and said "Have a nice day." He demonstrated a side kick on a bad held by a Michael Johnson and the top and bottom of the bag slapped on his lower legwhen he flattened it. MJ was lifted off the ground an inch or so and took a little break on the side before he could speak again. He was the first person I sparred and kept asking me to charge into one of his sidekicks, the fear of which is why I never learned how to charge properly.
We also used to do those "Ray Berry" exercises until people started to fall over and the ROTC faction of the class started to groan, "thank you sir, may I have another?"
Bill, re: the Sanseiryu bunkai, start sending concepts, I could be working on that instead of farting around on Ian Ryu.
One also runs into karate people who expect one size to fit all. This was the case with a 5'2" student of mine who said that Uechi-Ryu was stupid because she couldn't reach my head (I'm 6'4") with an elbow strike. I asked her to give Kanbun a break and tell me if she really thought a single style could be done exactly the same way by every person with every body type and personality against every other body type and style in every situation. Then I suggested that if she needed to elbow me in the head she ought to kick one of my knees out first to make me shorter.
Learning to learn is supposedly (used to be) the focus of an education at UVa, where we have Jeffersonian quotes along the lines of "all a student really needs is a list of books to read and the order in which they are to be read" stenciled over the library entrances. At my second UVa graduation the speaker quoted someone (whose name I now forget): "Education is not the filling of a vessel, it's the lighting of a fire."
While you frequently hear that colleges these days are just centers for the indoctrination of students with wacko socialist ideas, from our first semester students would get marked down for regurgitating the instructor's concepts on tests. My senior project for one of my bioethics classes had the thesis that my instructor's central concept of nondirective consultation was basically a dodge that technologies from the human genome project would make obsolete in a few years.
And so a good karate instructor will give students a good grounding in principles and the ability to adapt the basics to their needs and to new situations.
----------
On another front here's the URL for Bill's purpose made kicking kata:
http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~uechi/38special.html
My second semester of Uechi was taught by a Dave ____ (P something I think, Powell?) who was fanatic about the 38 special kata and wore a helmet for sparring that had a smiley face and said "Have a nice day." He demonstrated a side kick on a bad held by a Michael Johnson and the top and bottom of the bag slapped on his lower legwhen he flattened it. MJ was lifted off the ground an inch or so and took a little break on the side before he could speak again. He was the first person I sparred and kept asking me to charge into one of his sidekicks, the fear of which is why I never learned how to charge properly.
We also used to do those "Ray Berry" exercises until people started to fall over and the ROTC faction of the class started to groan, "thank you sir, may I have another?"
Bill, re: the Sanseiryu bunkai, start sending concepts, I could be working on that instead of farting around on Ian Ryu.
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Ted Dinwiddie
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Charlottesville,VA,USA
Personal Katas
Ah, Ray Berry... My first sensei... I still hear his voice when I practice alone.
I remember a member of the football team at Randolph-Macon College, where Ray still teaches art and karate, who found out that I practiced under Ray. He said "I thought that karate stuff was BS until I saw Mr. Berry move the long blocking sled with a kick." All I could do was smile.
The ONLY value of my college education was gained in Ray Berry's Karate class.
Sorry about the unrelated post, I couldn't help it.
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ted
"I learn by going where I have to go." - Theodore Roethke
I remember a member of the football team at Randolph-Macon College, where Ray still teaches art and karate, who found out that I practiced under Ray. He said "I thought that karate stuff was BS until I saw Mr. Berry move the long blocking sled with a kick." All I could do was smile.
The ONLY value of my college education was gained in Ray Berry's Karate class.
Sorry about the unrelated post, I couldn't help it.
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ted
"I learn by going where I have to go." - Theodore Roethke
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Personal Katas
Ted
Two favorites of mine from Milton Berle. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Ray was very kind to me as I developed in my karate, and freely allowed me to copy some of his training methods. These days I give testament to that experience by naming exercises after him.
If you see Ray, give him my best. Better yet, pass me his phone number and/or e-mail address at my posted e-mail address. I don't live that far from him these days, and I know a visit would warm both our souls.
Ian
Perhaps we should communicate by video. Give me your latest e-mail address and we can go from there.
- Bill
Two favorites of mine from Milton Berle. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
and... <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quoteI know a good joke when I steal it.
I first met Ray in 1974. For those that don't know him, he's a Shotokan practitioner under the Master Oshima (I believe) lineage. The most remarkable thing about him is that he spends an inordinate amount of time on two techniques: the front lunge punch and the side thrust kick. Ray also exhales in a peculiar fashion when he thrusts - through his nose like a bull. The combination of that bull snort and the inhuman thwacking of his gi gives an impression that one must experience first hand to believe. The end result is a testament to a philosophy of learning how to do a few things very well. Ray is also a remarkable individual in many ways.The other day I was watching a comedian, and I laughed so hard that I dropped my pencil.
Ray was very kind to me as I developed in my karate, and freely allowed me to copy some of his training methods. These days I give testament to that experience by naming exercises after him.
If you see Ray, give him my best. Better yet, pass me his phone number and/or e-mail address at my posted e-mail address. I don't live that far from him these days, and I know a visit would warm both our souls.
Ian
Perhaps we should communicate by video. Give me your latest e-mail address and we can go from there.
- Bill
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Personal Katas
Ray
This forum is open to all, and definitely open to an individual as yourself with so much experience to draw from. And I know a few people on this Website that would love to hear about your power concepts.
Oh, and by the way, I don't buy any of the humility junk. Sorry...I've seen you live, have seen you capable of evolving with age, and know that you are probably in a "comfortable" place in your art these days (with or without the rank recognition, which we both know is a load of junk anyhow).
Catching up on history... Yes, you first came to UVa in 1971. You had some fun stories about those early years, like the guy with the "hatchette kata" that ALLEGEDLY kicked you out of his dojo. Remember Tim Hainey and how he filled you in on that? Oh the memories... And back then there was only Myo Sim karate at The University.
I didn't transfer to UVa until September of 1973. We first crossed paths in spring of 1974 when you visited Rad Smith's Uechi Ryu class. (Rad Smith, by the way, died prematurely - as a nonsmoker - from lung cancer). I know you had various things bringing you from NCS to UVa, and one of them was visiting your frighteninly capable student Bob Berryman. We crossed paths several times in the 1970s, and even the early 1980s and I would pick up a little of this and a little of that.
The one thing I picked up and ran with (made several exercises from) was that downward side thrusting exercise you did. I took that concept and developed several exercises that worked on the thrusting principle that it taught. I developed several for the front kick in fact that have dramatically improved the ability of my students to understand and actually USE the kick in fighting. (Pretty amazing when you think about the fact that the front kick is the most common kick taught in matial arts, and one rarely used by most karateka in sparring).
Later when you touched based with me, you communicated a good deal about using the body in techniques. (Something Master Ohshima apparently was working with). It was a simple enough concept, but again the execution is where it counts.
BTW, I live in Glen Allen now - probably a whole 40 minutes away from where you reside. I'd love to have you visit some time (or vice versa), and I'd also like to see your artwork (something we never got around to sharing).
Thanks for dropping by. I know there will be others (like Van) that'll love meeting you in person and/or online.
- Bill
This forum is open to all, and definitely open to an individual as yourself with so much experience to draw from. And I know a few people on this Website that would love to hear about your power concepts.
Oh, and by the way, I don't buy any of the humility junk.
Sorry...I've seen you live, have seen you capable of evolving with age, and know that you are probably in a "comfortable" place in your art these days (with or without the rank recognition, which we both know is a load of junk anyhow).Catching up on history... Yes, you first came to UVa in 1971. You had some fun stories about those early years, like the guy with the "hatchette kata" that ALLEGEDLY kicked you out of his dojo.
Remember Tim Hainey and how he filled you in on that? Oh the memories... And back then there was only Myo Sim karate at The University.I didn't transfer to UVa until September of 1973. We first crossed paths in spring of 1974 when you visited Rad Smith's Uechi Ryu class. (Rad Smith, by the way, died prematurely - as a nonsmoker - from lung cancer). I know you had various things bringing you from NCS to UVa, and one of them was visiting your frighteninly capable student Bob Berryman. We crossed paths several times in the 1970s, and even the early 1980s and I would pick up a little of this and a little of that.
The one thing I picked up and ran with (made several exercises from) was that downward side thrusting exercise you did. I took that concept and developed several exercises that worked on the thrusting principle that it taught. I developed several for the front kick in fact that have dramatically improved the ability of my students to understand and actually USE the kick in fighting. (Pretty amazing when you think about the fact that the front kick is the most common kick taught in matial arts, and one rarely used by most karateka in sparring).
Later when you touched based with me, you communicated a good deal about using the body in techniques. (Something Master Ohshima apparently was working with). It was a simple enough concept, but again the execution is where it counts.
BTW, I live in Glen Allen now - probably a whole 40 minutes away from where you reside. I'd love to have you visit some time (or vice versa), and I'd also like to see your artwork (something we never got around to sharing).
Thanks for dropping by. I know there will be others (like Van) that'll love meeting you in person and/or online.
- Bill
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Ted Dinwiddie
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Charlottesville,VA,USA
Personal Katas
This is really cool.
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ted
"I learn by going where I have to go." - Theodore Roethke
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ted
"I learn by going where I have to go." - Theodore Roethke
Personal Katas
It's ijenkins@caregroup.harvard.edu, but, FINALLY going a vacation, and headed to Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion Nat'l park (woohoo!) after two more night shifts, so will be gone two weeks.
The Ray Berry exercises, or what they mutated into by the time I learned them, worked like this: you got into a "ready kick" position with one knee pulled high (optional: hold knee to your chest) and you fire (usually ten) front thrust kicks rotating the supporting heel to the target and leaving the foot on the target a second before returning to the ready kick position. Then without putting a foot down you hopped into the opposite ready kick position and repeated them. After another hop and you did ten on each side of kicks thrusting down at your side (Dave referred to these as "killing the baby seal" and as I now remember I think they were first, actually). Then a pair of sets of waist high side kicks. When my students wanted to be worked roundhouse kicks and hook kicks and sokuto geris were thrown in the middle, and the last two side kicks (always last for whatever reason) were done in super slow motion, as increasing fractions of the class stumbled around or just obeyed commands from jellied legs to take a break.
The Ray Berry exercises, or what they mutated into by the time I learned them, worked like this: you got into a "ready kick" position with one knee pulled high (optional: hold knee to your chest) and you fire (usually ten) front thrust kicks rotating the supporting heel to the target and leaving the foot on the target a second before returning to the ready kick position. Then without putting a foot down you hopped into the opposite ready kick position and repeated them. After another hop and you did ten on each side of kicks thrusting down at your side (Dave referred to these as "killing the baby seal" and as I now remember I think they were first, actually). Then a pair of sets of waist high side kicks. When my students wanted to be worked roundhouse kicks and hook kicks and sokuto geris were thrown in the middle, and the last two side kicks (always last for whatever reason) were done in super slow motion, as increasing fractions of the class stumbled around or just obeyed commands from jellied legs to take a break.
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Personal Katas
Ian
"Kicking the baby seal" was the closest thing to what Ray did on a regular basis that I copied. Subsequent exercises were based on that. The name of that particular one was not my idea; I called it "Ray Berry number 1" in honor of the fellow that taught it to me. And Ray learned it from his Master Ohshima.
The later, irreverent name comes from Bruce Hirabayashi's warped sense of humor. Apparently this name appears to have gained favor in my absense...
Oh and by the way, the fellow you were refering to that taught you was David Powell. Like you he was a capable martial artist. Both he and Bruce could do full lateral splits, and they both seized on the side thrust kick like a bee to honey. David accidentally put a major hurt on someone one day when I asked him to "take care of" an unruly person in class in a sparring session. I had no idea he'd hit the guy so hard that he'd be peeing blood the next day.
I learned to be much more careful in the future after that... And yes, they both became quite dangerous in the class with those techniques. It's the sort of thing that would have made Ray proud, and exactly the kind of challenging environment I wanted my Uechika to survive.
David, like you, is now a practicing physician. We've produced more than a couple of MD/blackbelts at UVa.
- Bill
"Kicking the baby seal" was the closest thing to what Ray did on a regular basis that I copied. Subsequent exercises were based on that. The name of that particular one was not my idea; I called it "Ray Berry number 1" in honor of the fellow that taught it to me. And Ray learned it from his Master Ohshima.
The later, irreverent name comes from Bruce Hirabayashi's warped sense of humor. Apparently this name appears to have gained favor in my absense...
Oh and by the way, the fellow you were refering to that taught you was David Powell. Like you he was a capable martial artist. Both he and Bruce could do full lateral splits, and they both seized on the side thrust kick like a bee to honey. David accidentally put a major hurt on someone one day when I asked him to "take care of" an unruly person in class in a sparring session. I had no idea he'd hit the guy so hard that he'd be peeing blood the next day.
I learned to be much more careful in the future after that... And yes, they both became quite dangerous in the class with those techniques. It's the sort of thing that would have made Ray proud, and exactly the kind of challenging environment I wanted my Uechika to survive.David, like you, is now a practicing physician. We've produced more than a couple of MD/blackbelts at UVa.
- Bill
