The Ubiquitous Wauke

NEB · Post by **NEB** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:48 pm

OK, its everywhere.

Before just about every offensive technique or series of techniques we execute the wauke. Was this intended to actually be a block each and every time?

I wonder if the waukes were meant as a possible clearing move, or to show some type of offensive blocking or preemptive move used to create the opening.

This may seem a remedial subject, but I find it pretty curious.

IJ · Post by IJ » Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:43 am

Even when it's a block its not a block... its a controlling and redirection thing. Before a sokuto geri in kanshiwa it can expose the back of the knee. Before the last nukite in seisan it turn the foe around for a shot to the kidney that plays nicely into a takedown with the long stance. With a hammerhand it straightens an arm to be hypextended. On an unbalanced haymaker it can set up a nice aikido style throw.

But when its not a block it serves as a variety of joint locks, controlling techniques for the strikes that follow, strikes such as to the back of the head (after a waist bending groinstrike in seisan), or extending into the neck (much like the high rising hirakens in seiryu).

The only limits are the ones you apply. Or your teacher if you let him or her.

benzocaine · Post by **benzocaine** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:02 am

It's Definitely used to clear up an opening for an atack. Look at Kanshiwa and how it is used to open up for the final blow.

Like Ian says, it can be used to disrupt a person's balance for an aikido like throw.

I mainly see it as a way to tie up your oponent to control them and open up there kidneys, side of the head, neck, floating ribs, knee ..ect.

As far as it being a block goes I don't think it is all that great standing alone. Now do a parry/redirecting energy block and then use the wauke to finish redirecting their energy, or tying up there arm so they can't block your counter strike, and then you've got something.

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:53 pm

It's just a bloody circle. You can do all kinds of offensive and defensive things with circles.

Recently Dana showed me a move that they yanked out of the original Seichin kata - choreographed BTW by Itokazu. It's a circular motion that is a very, very nasty offensive move. And I learned it just before I took a class with Rory on joint locks. Boy did the combination of Rory's principles and the concept of a circle open my eyes!

When you see what you can do with that sucker on various body joints, I kind of understand why the Okinawans kept this one in the back pocket. Can't teach the gaijins the good stuff, you know...

- Bill

IJ · Post by IJ » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:16 pm

So we don't get to hear? I am afterall 1/4 okinawan.

jorvik · Post by **jorvik** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:26 pm

I see the Wauke as 90% aggressive....you are stealing as you step in. You can rake the eyes and then the hands cover and re-deploy to lock

.........that is of course if they see the "Rake"...if not it's lead the blind guy home

MikeK · Post by **MikeK** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:20 am

Bill, I thought they removed it from Seichin because the students were breaking each others arms with it?

Ian, it's a simple move, but very nice.

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:35 am

Yea that's what Dana said, Mike. We must remember however that Dana is reporting what was told to her, and not necessarily God's truth. Thing is, the application allegedly originally intended by that circular move was far, far more nasty than the one that allegedly was popping peoples' arms out of their shoulder sockets.

After taking Rory's class on joint locks (everything you always wanted to know about...), I got to thinking about the move more. And as I see it, both those applications make sense.

Ian

This "dropped" move comes after the two angled waukes (front arm) and kosoku geris in the beginning of the form. After doing wauke and geri, you do another circular movement that continues past the traditional end point, and comes back up in a supinated sanchin arm. You do this while doing a 90-degree turn. The application showed to me really is a bit of a jumble of what was in the form and what you'd really do. To make a long story short, the circle and shomen geri is about doubling the person over. Then another circle performs a head lock. By doing this while turning 90 degrees, you essentially have the power to destroy someone's cervical spine. Doing it right means employing a principle that Rory calls "stacking." That is, you tweak a joint in two different degrees of freedom of motion. You may doubt this could be done until you see how I can do the move essentially with 90% of the power coming from my legs. Nasty...

If you were a traditional jiujitsu practitioner, you'd probably totally get what I just said. If not, you'll just have to wait until we meet.

Bill

MikeK · Post by **MikeK** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:51 am

Funny replacing a deadly move with a maiming move and then finally dropping it all together.

That part of the kata always felt incomplete to me and the arm break made sense, but given the kick off of the back leg the neck wrench makes even more sense.

kelly · Post by **kelly** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 2:13 am

In my other style I've only seen the wauke used once, and it was used as a wrist break though we start people out thinking of it as a wrist grab.