From: edwick@chaucer.uucp (25818-colbert)
Subject: re: Shotokan misconceptions
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston ,NJ
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 12:36:42 GMT

In <memo.574752@cix.compulink.co.uk>, bburgar@cix.compulink.co.uk (Bill
Burgar) writes:
>The depth of stance that each instructor encourages,
>I suspect, may depend on when the instructor left the
>JKA instructors class to go out and teach. The earlier
>generation (Enoeda, Kanazawa etc) all seem to encourage
>low stances. Whereas the later generation (Osaka,
>Kawasoe, etc) place far less empahsis on low stances -
>the straight back leg being almost totally absent from
>these later instructors teaching.

   Just my two cents on straight/bent leg training and depth of stances.
My first Shotokan instructor (frosh year of college, 1988), trained
under Sensei Stan Schmidt of South Africa and taught long, very low
stances, back leg locked.  Then, one of our members went to Japan to
train there (1990?), and came back with the idea of bent back leg, but
only in hanmi (hips half-facing) position.  Stances were still supposed
to be deep, and the leg was supposed to be straight in shomen (hips
front-facing) position.  This bent back leg caused a pretty big stir in
our club.  Some of us (like me) thought it gave the stance a lot more
power in hanmi, as well as making it a bit easier to keep your front
knee from wobbling to the sides while shifting from hanmi to shomen
position.  Others felt that the back leg was the way we were taught, and
that was that.  The debate silenced after a few months, but one thing
clinched it in my mind:  in a seminar we had with Sensei Okazaki (8th
dan, head of the ISKF), where I watched his stance and saw bent back leg
in hanmi, straight back leg in shomen.

   Now, I know Okazaki Sensei came to the US in the 1950s, so he would
count as the "earlier generation."  My guess is that bent back leg is
a relatively recent innovation that is slowly propagating through the
Shotokan network.  However, I agree that you need to train in low
stance, straight back leg to be really effective with the bent leg.

   Someone gave me an article by Dave Lowry from _Black Belt_ called
"The Great Stance Debate."  I can try and dig it out, if there's
interest.

In <1992Aug14.081519.14294@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, ddewar@cbnewsb.cb.att.com
(derek.a.dewar) writes:
>The Shotokan contingents tend to use katas 'Unsu', and
>'Niju-shiho Dai' (sorry if I got that wrong, but anyway the kata has 
>a huge 360 degrees jump in it.)
   Unsu is the kata with the huge 360 degree jump.  One of the greatest
video clips I've ever seen was Sensei Yahara(who does Unsu in Sensei
Nakayama's _Best Karate_ series), Sensei Osaka (_Best Karate_ Vol. 5 --
the whole thing), and I think Sensei Asai (Empi in _Best Karate_) doing
a team Unsu.  Seeing the three of them jump andland completely in unison
was humbling.

   Shotokan has two breeds of "-ho" katas:  Nijushiho (24 steps) and
Gojushiho (54 steps).  Nijushiho is just about the only kata I've seen
in Shotokan with two full side-thrust kicks (vs. side-snap kicks). 
Gojushiho has -dai and -sho variations.  Neither of them have jumping
moves, although they are WAY cool.

   BTW, Bill, are you currently training with Sensei Enoeda?  ("Must USE
STOMMMAAAAACCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Stomach!! Stomach!!! Must
use stomach!!!!!" :-)

-- Ed
Edward C. Liu			"The reader may see a touch of madness,
edwick@chaucer.cc.bellcore.com		but I have no regrets..."
				  - G. Funakoshi, _Karate-Do: My Way of Life_
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