For a clarification of my earlier statement today, this is an explanation of how I have changed my mind about my understanding of Hicho no Kamae (Kihon Happo Koshi Sanpo)..... I attended a two-day seminar with Duncan Stewart in Sacramento, CA over the weekend. During the seminar Duncan explained in detail many Kihon waza from the Ten Ryaku No Maki (voluntarily and at our request). On Sunday afternoon at the end of the lunch break, I asked Duncan to teach Hicho No Kamae (Kihon Happo Kosshi Sanpo). I wanted to see his take on how to kick to the opponent’s suigetsu (since this has been a point of confusion for some of us). Duncan agreed and this is what he taught… Duncan stated that the KIHON (fundamental; foundation form) of the kata is to start IN Hicho No Kamae. Duncan explained that the purpose of starting in Hicho is to teach you how to stand on one leg without losing your balance (so even though I acknowledged this point in my initial writing, I did not give this point, it‘s deserved attention or focus). Duncan stated that yes, he had heard the arguments against staring in Hicho no Kamae (your not going to stand on one leg in a fight, etc., etc….the same fecal matter that I spewed out in my first essay on the topic). Duncan was quick to point out that possibly you might be injured and you were forced to stand on one leg. For example, your opponent sweeps your leg hard and injures you, making it impossible to stand on that leg…yes, it’s straight out of the ending of the original “Karate Kid” and Duncan did use that example (The Karate Kid), but it still fit very well in the context of the conversation, and I simply could not argue with his point…it made total sense and I felt pretty stupid for being “one of those guys” (but no longer!). Duncan stated, there are THREE DIFFERENT types of UKE used in the Koshi Sanpo (each of the three kata contains one of them). Hicho no Kamae contains “Gedan Uke Nagashi”. Uke Nagashi (receiving flow) is a soft, absorbing movement...not a slamming or bashing movement. The hand is swept down, contacting with the back of the forearm (the muscle, not the bone) and continued up (as if you’re pouring water out of a pitcher); this continued motion is what effects the opponent‘s spine and causes the opponent turn his torso forward…exposing suigetsu and…BAM!; you deliver the kick to this kyusho. Duncan stated that, if you are not able to effect the opponent this way, then kick to Butsumetsu (but this is not technically the KIHON and would be considered HENKA). Incidentally, I went back and looked at the Gyokko-Ryu Kosshijutsu Quest Video Densho DVD to review Hicho No Kamae. Soke Hatsumi demonstrated this kata and in fact, STARTED IN Hicho No Kamae and actually did use Gedan Uke Nagashi in the very manner described above to turn his opponent forward (Seno Sensei) and kicked him in Suigetsu…check it out for yourself. Duncan demonstrated (very effectively I might add) how to properly kick from Hicho No Kamae. Duncan stated that you should be slamming your knee into your chest and thrusting straight out with the heel…hard! Duncan emphasized to pull the leg BACK TO HICHO NO KAMAE after kicking…DO NOT kick and lurch forward. Kicking and retracting the kick enables you to move in any direction you need to, based on the direction your opponent moves AFTER you have kicked him. Maybe you kicked him in the left shoulder and turned him that direction, or vise versa or straight back. You have to wait to see where to move next, as opposed to just going into auto-pilot, moving straight ahead. This is something I have done for a long time (retracting the leg back to Hicho after kicking), however, admittedly, I have been kicking with a sort of a snapping kick (or Sokugyaku-Ken), which Duncan stated to all of us was NOT the KIHON version of the Kata (which should be Sokuyaku-Ken). Duncan demonstrated that the Ura Shuto is delivered like Kesa-Kiri to uko (Kyuho Kiri with a Daito). So, in closing, this is what I came away with… * The KIHON starts in Hicho No Kamae (balance, etc.) * Gedan Uke Nagashi is used to turn the opponent’s spine to expose suigetsu (so my theory that Ichimonji and Hicho are basically identical except for the kick is not “correct”, when concerning the KIHON application of the Kata…in my view, my previous theory can be considered a HENKA. I still believe my previous version is a viable use of Hicho No Kamae, again as a HENKA after PEFECTING THE KIHON. It’s not “bad”, its just not the Kihon and does not teach the fundamental, key points in the Kata. * The kick is retracted after impacting the target (to see where to move next, or to deliver a second kick). Duncan stressed the important of standing in Hicho and just kicking over and over and over again…this is IMPORTANT TRAINING. Duncan also showed practicing kicking from a deep stance (50, 50 weight distribution) with the feet facing out at 45-degrees (very similar to Kiba Dachi in Karate)…over and over and over again.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 05:02:35 +0000
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