Jordan sensei, Nice to see you here.
How are you?
If you don't remembeer me I'm the tall skinny hispanic guy that taught at Gene's camp in Georgia
Jordan sensei, Nice to see you here.
How are you?
If you don't remembeer me I'm the tall skinny hispanic guy that taught at Gene's camp in Georgia
Tony Urena
For sure I remember you and nice to hear from you.
Yeah, Gene and I were mis-quoted to speak of and I had to tell what really was said. I like a good bit of what I read, but no sure about some others.
There are or seems to be many kyu gai here and I hope they listen but have the filters on so to speak............. and find the true Do for themselves.
Get up with me whenever. . . . . . . . . .
Lenny Jordan
I have a copy of a copy etc.of a video of Soke Kuniba Shogo performing the kata Empi but he calls the kata something that sounds like "fettish",and he performs the the kata with front kicks rather than knee kicks.Has anyone noticed the similarity of Empi to Shorin or Isshinryus Wansu(at least the first few sequences)?I would say it would have to be from Okinawan roots. Tom Hodges
Tom,
I have the kata that Kuniba, Shogo did and there is Empi on the film. I do not know why the name is not understandable, but he did this kata. As for the kick, he learned many kata from Mabuni, Sensei and others but like to examine and develop his own understanding of each kata.
I never asked why things were done different, I also studied another style and saw differences. I just learned what he taught.
To many people today need to know why and where. The old sensei taught do what I tell you and maybe there is merit there. I know that for me, I had to learn first then examine later.
I hope this helps and I would learn from what the video has to offer and not that it differs from another.
Lenny Jordan
Hello Lenny I agree completly that the different variations of kata are probably just seperate timelines of an instructors own learning process.I was trying to expand on Mr. Williams post of the Okinawan kata,there is not that many kata(possibly around 40)and that empi is just a variation of Kyans wansu.And that Kunibas version with the fully extended front kick is another variation of wansu.It is my understanding that Shogo Kuniba was born in Okinawa but raised in Japan,would it not be almost expected for him to teach kata closer to the way his japanese peers did.Keep in mind the attitude the japanese have/had with the okinawans being a lower class of people.I would think he might have wanted his students to be comparable to the students of his peer group.I have not studied with Kuniba or any directly connected group,I trained at a very small offshoot unaffiliated dojo that claimed connection to Kunibas japanese student named Toshio Kaneta.I had a few very short training sessions with him myself learning the kihon kata empi loppo roku and tagatna loppo roku his method of teaching is nothing even similar to the okinawan styles I study now.Would not a different way of teaching inspire changes in the kata?As would a different way of perceiving applications.I think Funikoshi showed respect to his teachers by changing the names of the kata for the japanese students so that the kata would be seen as different kata and not the same kata done incorrectly.Do you guys think I may be close to the right track or have I been led astray? Tom Hodges
If you want to discuss this with Mr. Williams it will have to be by personal correspondence or you may communicate with him at the web forum listed in my signature.
Take care have a nice week.
Ed Boyd
Hello Ron - If you click on the below links I am walking through several of Kuniba Soke's kata as taught today. These are the same when he passed in 1992. You can also see others on my facebook page at http://facebook.com/shitoh.ryu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHOR8kMpgfU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZCvqlKqmA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60OPUc4SQw4
Steven E. Johnson, Nanadan
Motobu-Ha Shito-ryu Karate-Do
Kaicho, National Karate Jujitsu Union
nkju.kaicho@gmail.com
http://facebook.com/nkju2016