The Kata and Bunkai of Goju-Ryu Karate by Giles Hopkins

Author:Giles Hopkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781623172008
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2017-12-10T05:00:00+00:00

Figures 6.23–24. Pulling the attacker’s head down from the rear

Figure 6-25. Grabbing the head for the final throw

However, the final technique, shown only on the second side, the latter part of the sequence repeated to the west, is also a head twist and throw. In this last technique, the defender steps around the attacker to face the original front of the kata, grabbing the opponent’s head in both hands, one hand on the top of the head and one on the chin (fig. 6.25). This is the peculiar cross-footed stance we see at the end of the kata, with one hand over the other, palms facing, at the level of the solar plexus. Then, stepping back into cat stance and striking with the knee, both arms circle to twist the opponent’s head and finish with a hammer-fist strike.

Much of this sequence is markedly different from what has traditionally been taught, if it has been taught at all, as the standard bunkai. Of course, most interpretations of these techniques do not usually consider all of these techniques to be part of the same sequence. And that is generally the problem—that individual techniques are not seen as part of a whole. It has even been suggested by some teachers that each technique should be able to end an encounter. That in itself presupposes that all the techniques are in essence the same—that one doesn’t necessarily need to distinguish between entry techniques, bridging techniques, and finishing techniques. But this also ignores any consideration of kata structure. And while there are general similarities among the various classical subjects, each kata may also exhibit unique structural differences.

In Seipai kata, one of these differences is seen in the last sequence. The middle section of this sequence is repeated on both the right and left sides of the kata. The final techniques are attached only to the second repetition, typical of many Goju-ryu sequences. However, the opening or initial techniques are only shown on the first side of the kata. This is not so typical in the classical subjects. The implication then may be that the techniques on the repeated or second side could be done without the initial receiving technique shown on the first side—that the first technique on the second side could also function as an entry technique given a different scenario.

One of the other places we see this kind of structure is the third sequence of Saifa kata. Whether we interpret the two circular arm techniques followed by kicks as initial entry techniques or as a continuation of the previous sequence, the sequence that follows them, the structure suggests, could function either as finishing techniques or as a complete sequence of its own. And while this may seem an unnecessarily arcane discussion, it is unquestionably important to understand kata structure, at least in a general sense.

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Before I ever got on a plane and took that twenty-hour-plus flight to Okinawa, I had heard stories about Matayoshi Shinpo sensei. My teacher, Kimo Wall sensei, had been a young Marine in the early 1960s stationed on Okinawa.

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