Renshukai Update

The latest Japan Karate Federation Newsletter features Renshukai leader and organizer Hato-san on the front page; Hato-san placed well in the national championships last year. 




And there is no evening training this week for "Renshukai" as the Shinjuku Sports Center facility is closed for renovations. The next session will be on January 30.

Shisochin

Shisōchin is written with the kanji characters 四向戦 which literally translates as "four directions fight". The kata integrates powerful linear attacks (shotei zuki) and circular movements and blocks, while also being highly symmetrical. The opening features nukite, or knife hand thrusts, rather than the sanchin-style closed fist found in Sanseru, Seisan and Suparinpei. It is the first kata to contain nukite, and the first not to feature shikodachi. The reference to Shisochin in Wikipedia is uncertain at best, but another blog speculates that "there is a written record of Seisho Aragaki performing a kata named "chisaukin" at a demonstration in 1867. Seisho Aragaki was, of course, Kanryo Higaonna’s first teacher."

Renshukai Update

Members of Gojuryu Karatedo Yoyogi Ryushinkan continue to train together on Mondays and Fridays, the timing depending on everyone's schedules. 

As can be seen in the photo, there is also an opportunity to observe many other styles and disciplines of martial art in the Budojo at Shinjuku Sports Center in Tokyo.

As well as the evening sessions, some members also attend periodical seminars organized by the All Japan Karatedo Goju-Kai Association to deepen their knowledge and understanding of kata.

Seiyunchin Bunkai

Here is a full and detailed bunkai (or breakdown of applications) of Seiyunchin. The individual applications are here used and developed as Yakusoku Ippon Kumite for deeper understanding.

The Green Book on Seiyunchin

According to the 2015 edition "Gojuryu Karatedo" published by Sanshodo and authorized by the Japan Karatedo Federation Goju-kai, while "Seiyunchin" in the past was written with the kanji characters 征遠戦 and 制引戦, today it is written as 制引鎮. The book goes on to note that it is the only kata in Gojuryu that does not contain any kicks. As it features the key stances of shikodachi, nekoashidachi and sanchindachi, it carries great significance for basic training. Moreover, the kuriuke block at the close of the kata is unique to Gojuryu: its circular countering exemplifying the "soft" aspect of the style, while the "gouging" impact of the elbow strike demonstrates the "hard" side. The book concludes that "Seiyunchin is an exquisite Kata that combines techniques that are at times powerful...and at other times tenacious, soft and flowing."