Post by malk103 on Jun 18, 2012 12:39:58 GMT
Course review – Tegumi by Patrick McCarthy Hanshi 13th June 2012, Devon UK
I found out about an evening course at the last minute which was given by Hanshi Patrick McCarthy, after a few emails I had secured a place. The venue was in Newton Abbot, Devon, UK and was hosted at the Karate Academy by Sensei John Burke.
I will refer to them as JB and PM for ease of typing but all due respect to their rank, status etc.
I have followed some of JB’s work with Kata Bunkai and recently purchased one of his books, his views on Kata implications/applications are very good but still realistic, some Bunkai can either stretch the Kata forms or don’t seem to be very realistic. (my views)
Patrick McCarthy has spent years studying Karate and has researched history to provide a link between HAPV and Kata. The methods used by attackers haven’t changed as they are human nature, the methods of responding to those attacks which have been used by many MA’s over the years are traced back to set routines, SD techniques or 2 man drills. These are documented in the Bubishi. A method of remembering these drills was to put them into routines which became Kata. (this is my take on PM’s study so may not be worded very well but hopefully you get the angle)
The course started at 6pm with lots of strangers in Gi’s looking apprehensive and making small talk, JB had gone to collect PM and when they entered the Dojo the majority of the Karateka present turned and bowed automatically as a sign of respect to a 9th Dan, the rest followed suit. I found this very respectful and PM returned the bow but soon put everyone at ease to set a more informal and relaxed atmosphere.
After a quick bow we partnered up and got into the first drills, a set of 3 attacks and their response, PM and JB demonstrated adding pointers then we set about practicing with our partners. Immediately the first response was recognised as the first block/counter from Heian Nidan. This process of adding more moves to the routine carried on until we had a long routine, we then broke for a talking session from PM who explained that we had covered the majority of angles used in HAPV, from above, 10 o clock, 2 o clock etc. There was also counter attacks added to the attacks, it is obvious after performing these moves that the distance is a lot closer than standard Kumite and the counters include a lot more gouging, squeezing, biting, and pressure point attacks than can be practiced during normal Western style 3K’s.
My partner was a seasoned TKD instructor who also practiced Shotokan, it was interesting for both of us to recognise the routines/moves from our training and Kata, he also added another angle for me by adding the odd follow on move as he had trained with PM before. He also got carried away and nearly twisted my arm off but that’s another story.
The second part of the course included many head/arm twisting attacks/responses where we gradually built up another long routine a few moves at a time. It was funny to see JB and PM get into a position which directly mirrored a few moves from Kata and they jokingly said “nah, that can’t be linked to that funny Kata stuff….” and “Surely a coincidence….” except that it kept occurring. Throughout all of the demonstrations there were pennies dropping around the Dojo as people nodded to each other stating they recognised a small routine from Kata, most of these you wouldn’t have arrived at through normal thinking unless you were grappling/twisting/turning.
The routines changed from being “controlled” to providing a counter where you would in turn take control of your partner, the Kata kept coming up. I think the best one was from the hops in Chinte where you have someone in an arm lock bent double in front of you and they go for your groin which causes you to instinctively jump backwards, damaging their arm.
The course finished with an informal chat from PM and a few questions, the main things I take away from this course is an insight into how the Kata were probably formed and from what reasons, also that they are designed to be a lot closer that the standard basic applications. One main point is that you don’t have to follow everything that senior Japanese Sensei tell you as gospel – question everything! Normally the most obvious answer is the most likely to be true. I will certainly investigate PM’s work more, and JB’s.
If you get a chance to train with either JB or PM then I would grab the opportunity, if you would like to ask me questions on the course then please feel free to do so.
I found out about an evening course at the last minute which was given by Hanshi Patrick McCarthy, after a few emails I had secured a place. The venue was in Newton Abbot, Devon, UK and was hosted at the Karate Academy by Sensei John Burke.
I will refer to them as JB and PM for ease of typing but all due respect to their rank, status etc.
I have followed some of JB’s work with Kata Bunkai and recently purchased one of his books, his views on Kata implications/applications are very good but still realistic, some Bunkai can either stretch the Kata forms or don’t seem to be very realistic. (my views)
Patrick McCarthy has spent years studying Karate and has researched history to provide a link between HAPV and Kata. The methods used by attackers haven’t changed as they are human nature, the methods of responding to those attacks which have been used by many MA’s over the years are traced back to set routines, SD techniques or 2 man drills. These are documented in the Bubishi. A method of remembering these drills was to put them into routines which became Kata. (this is my take on PM’s study so may not be worded very well but hopefully you get the angle)
The course started at 6pm with lots of strangers in Gi’s looking apprehensive and making small talk, JB had gone to collect PM and when they entered the Dojo the majority of the Karateka present turned and bowed automatically as a sign of respect to a 9th Dan, the rest followed suit. I found this very respectful and PM returned the bow but soon put everyone at ease to set a more informal and relaxed atmosphere.
After a quick bow we partnered up and got into the first drills, a set of 3 attacks and their response, PM and JB demonstrated adding pointers then we set about practicing with our partners. Immediately the first response was recognised as the first block/counter from Heian Nidan. This process of adding more moves to the routine carried on until we had a long routine, we then broke for a talking session from PM who explained that we had covered the majority of angles used in HAPV, from above, 10 o clock, 2 o clock etc. There was also counter attacks added to the attacks, it is obvious after performing these moves that the distance is a lot closer than standard Kumite and the counters include a lot more gouging, squeezing, biting, and pressure point attacks than can be practiced during normal Western style 3K’s.
My partner was a seasoned TKD instructor who also practiced Shotokan, it was interesting for both of us to recognise the routines/moves from our training and Kata, he also added another angle for me by adding the odd follow on move as he had trained with PM before. He also got carried away and nearly twisted my arm off but that’s another story.
The second part of the course included many head/arm twisting attacks/responses where we gradually built up another long routine a few moves at a time. It was funny to see JB and PM get into a position which directly mirrored a few moves from Kata and they jokingly said “nah, that can’t be linked to that funny Kata stuff….” and “Surely a coincidence….” except that it kept occurring. Throughout all of the demonstrations there were pennies dropping around the Dojo as people nodded to each other stating they recognised a small routine from Kata, most of these you wouldn’t have arrived at through normal thinking unless you were grappling/twisting/turning.
The routines changed from being “controlled” to providing a counter where you would in turn take control of your partner, the Kata kept coming up. I think the best one was from the hops in Chinte where you have someone in an arm lock bent double in front of you and they go for your groin which causes you to instinctively jump backwards, damaging their arm.
The course finished with an informal chat from PM and a few questions, the main things I take away from this course is an insight into how the Kata were probably formed and from what reasons, also that they are designed to be a lot closer that the standard basic applications. One main point is that you don’t have to follow everything that senior Japanese Sensei tell you as gospel – question everything! Normally the most obvious answer is the most likely to be true. I will certainly investigate PM’s work more, and JB’s.
If you get a chance to train with either JB or PM then I would grab the opportunity, if you would like to ask me questions on the course then please feel free to do so.