Many UechiRyu
practitioners are taught that
the added five forms were
created for various reasons,
and that the progression of
kata from Sanchin and Kanshiwa
to Sanseiryu is mostly a matter
of increasing complexity of
technique. I have no intention
to contradict the teachings
of others, so please consider
this to be a strictly “Zankai-style”
way of looking at kata. To
prevent misunderstandings
I won’t detail specific
concepts – only the
Zankai emphasizes them to
such a degree anyway.
To go on –
I want to understand and teach
more fully the training and
personal developmental concepts
embedded within each kata,
and how they lead into the
concepts found in the next
kata, and beyond kata.
Quite early
in his training, Uechi Kanei
Sensei knew that most modern
students would have difficulty
understanding his father’s
Chinese style of training
and explanation. According
to the 1977 UechiRyu Kyohon,
he worked from 1931 onward
to develop additional training
sequences that later became
the five forms added to the
training syllabus after the
late 1950’s. He embedded
Kanbun Sensei’s difficult
but essential concepts within
each new kata in order of
their natural occurrence in
training. Each successive
kata holds a vital concept
that is necessary to the full
understanding of that kata,
preparing one for the next
concept (or blend of previously-learned
concepts). Delete a kata from
the system or displace it
within the syllabus, and the
training structure for these
concepts collapses.
These concepts
are not hidden, though we
need to learn how to discern
them. Like 3-D graphic art
images that suddenly stand
out if you let your eyes relax
and focus beyond the surface
of the piece, one suddenly
realizes that the full depth
of those images has always
been there. However, some
will see only repeated sequences
of similar images, changes
of color, or even the increasing
complexity of the work. For
them the image they were intended
to see is not evident, nor
do they quite understand how
to view it.
While it seems
that each of the five kata
presents both repeated and
increasingly complex techniques,
in fact they express natural
concepts. These training concepts
are framed within techniques
that appear mechanically complex
but are actually quite simple
to perform. Understanding
the concepts found in one
kata has a profound effect
on the development of the
next kata, and the refinement
of the previous kata. Upon
returning to a previous kata,
one finds within its structure
an entirely new approach and
meaning for that kata. The
changes are profound to the
performer, and the kata can
never be the same again.
One would
build a house from the foundations
upward. One wouldn’t
omit building the walls, or
attempt to nail the shingles
to thin air, planning to build
a roof under them later. All
elements of a house must be
built before the roof can
effectively protect the family
under it!
In much the
same way, advanced kata unite
or blend performance or training
concepts, but only after those
concepts are realized. As
stated in the UechiRyu Kyohon,
Seisan unites and blends for
the first time the concepts
taught within the structures
of the previous kata, but
only after the student is
aware of those concepts, understands
them, and trains to apply
them. Omit or move one kata
or concept from the intended
progression, and Seisan is
performed ... quite differently!
Seiryu and
Kanchin present entirely different
and very difficult advanced
ideas and concepts beyond
mechanical motion. At this
stage it becomes rather easy
to see the difference between
the Dan ranks. A Nidan is
expected to show the depth
of understanding and balance
commensurate with his level;
a Sandan is expected to demonstrate
a deeper understanding of
the stability and blend of
technique that differentiate
speed from timing. In his
qualifying performance of
Sandairyu, a Yondan must show
command of all previously-trained
concepts and techniques at
the basic level. Above Yondan,
training requires the further
refinement of “instinct”
into demonstrable skills and
technique. In older days,
the demonstration of that
refinement and the ability
to teach the developmental
progression to that level
is what made the difference
between student and Shihan.
Certain controls must be learned
in proper succession, and
the learning attitude and
ego are severely challenged
throughout the training.
This
is what I want from kata,
for myself and my students.
This is what we strive to
learn more of each day.
References
1. Uechi, K. (1977). UechiRyu
Kyohon.
© September
2007, G. Seizan Breyette
UechiRyu Zankai
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