Shotokan's Secret, Expanded Edition, by Kyoshi Bruce Clayton

by **HanshiClayton** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:19 pm

Heian Yondan is the kata that has changed the most since Itosu released it. This kata has been tugged in every possible direction by people striving to make it understandable.

Step 1-4: Opening "double-block" postures plus the following juji-uke (X-block) and morote-uke (reinforced block). There is variation in the koshi kamae performance, when the two hands come down to the hip before the second double block. Some Shotokan groups make a snappy, focused motion to bring the hands to the hip; palms facing down:

Other groups breeze through the shuto koshi kamae as if it weren't really important. There is no particular speed or focus evident.

According to Sugiyama's book, this koshi kamae is performed with the shuto hands crossed, one lying in the palm of the other, palms up in front of the hip.

Sugiyama's group (Shotokan)

No koshi kamae at all. The arms move into the second double-block directly from the first one. Note that all the non-Shotokan lineages do it this way.

Since the up-down-up gesture is unique to Shotokan, while the non-Shotokan styles do up-across, it is likely that up-across was the original technique. This certainly matches standard jujutsu and aikido techniques.

Seito Shorin Ryu offers some other variables: On the opening move, the right-hand block is held horizontally above the head, palm down. The left-hand block is also held horizontally, but palm up. There is no juji-uke. Instead, step 3 is a morote uke, and step 4 looks a lot like the supported uraken uchi from Tekki Shodan.

Gillespie's Seito Shorin Ryu.

Step 5-8: Side-snap kick followed by elbow strike. Among Shotokan groups, there is variation in the footwork. Some groups make half a step to the east with the left foot after the first kick when stacking up for the second one (transition from step 6 to 7). Other groups plant the left foot where it lands in step 6 and stack up there.

Half step east:

No step. Just plant the foot under the elbow strike and stack up there:

These non-Shotokan styles all do a front-snap kick instead of a side-snap kick. They do a hammerfist strike instead of a uraken uchi. In the case of Wado Ryu, the hammerfist looks like a downblock.

Oddly, one version of Shito-ryu does side-snap kicks like we do in Shotokan.

Tomiyama's Tani-ha Shito-Ryu

Even more oddly, Gennosuke Higaki, author of Hidden Karate, shows a side-thrust kick here. That is unique in shotokan.

Seito Shorin Ryu does the front-snap kick and uraken uchi, but snaps the hand open at full extension, so it looks like a haiwan (back of open hand) strike:

Gillespie's Seito Shorin Ryu.

Step 9: Open-hand blocks and strike. In the first half of step 9, left shuto gedan barai and right shuto age uke. In the second half, a left shuto age uke and a right shuto uchi at neck level. (Standard Shotokan.) Shotokan groups differ on the footwork during the shuto strike to the neck. Some groups pivot the left foot; others step forward with the left foot.

Pivot during shuto strike. In the case of Wado Ryu, the shuto strike occurs at hip level, not neck level.

Step forward into front stance by moving the left foot as you strike:

These styles skip the first half of step 9 entirely. From the second elbow-strike, they step directly to the shuto strike to the neck in front stance. Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu leaps in to a kosa dachi simultaneous with the neck strike. Shotokai skips the first half of step 9, and then explodes into a simultaneous shuto strike and kick balanced on the left foot, without stepping forward.

Step 10-11: Front snap kick, left hand reaches out to grasp something and returns to the hip. Right hand describes a vertical circle ending in uraken uchi (standard Shotokan). There is some variation in the kosa dachi at the end of this move.

At the end of step 11, torso faces directly north (assuming that all katas begin by facing north):

At the end of step 11, torso faces west:

At the end of step 11, torso faces northwest:

Step 12 and step 16 are the "wedge blocks" in back stance, kakewake uke. Most branches of Shotokan perform this move using a fleeting "X" stackup in front of the face, followed by a slow, strong separation of the hands into the wedge block:

Except for the Shotokai branch, who reach open-handed for the opponent's head and seem to pull it back into the wedge-block position:

Egami's group (Shotokai)

Other styles do an Inside block instead of a wedge block. Seito Shorin Ryu does an inside block with the palm of the fist rotated down, like half of a wedge block.

Step 13-15, 17-19: While holding the wedge block, front-snap kick, step forward into front stance, oi-zuki, gyaku zuki (standard Shotokan).

After the front-snap kick, step backward into the original stance before punching.

Step 20-22: Reinforced blocks in back stance (standard Shotokan).

Cat stances instead of back stances.

Front stances instead of back stances:

Nagamine's Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu

High inside blocks instead of reinforced blocks:

Wado Ryu

Skips step 20-22 completely. Goes directly from the "wedge-block" cluster to the "knee-lift" cluster. No sequence of reinforced blocks in between.

Gillespie's Seito Shorin Ryu.

Step 23-24: Reach up as if to grab the opponent's head or ears. Pull fists down as you do a knee kick (hiza geri). Kiai. Fists end up on either side of the knee, close in. (Standard Shotokan.) Among Shotokan groups, there is some variation in foot position during the hiza geri, although frankly it is often difficult to see the foot position in the videos.

Ankle extended fully, foot vertical, "stretching the ankle" so that the toes point straight down during the hiza geri:

Ankle flexed, foot horizontal, toes pointing forward during hiza geri:

There is a sharp difference of opinion about the moment when we reach for the opponent's head. Some groups shift into front stance and pause for a moment with the hands extended. Other groups hold the back stance while reaching for the head, and admonish students not to use the front stance at this point. Groups that use the front stance:

Groups that grab the head directly from back stance:

Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu does the whole reinforced-block sequence in front stance, so the question doesn't come up:

Nagamine's Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu

During the hiza-geri, swing the arms down and to the side, like a double down-block:

Seito Shorin Ryu performs this cluster in a left front stance, beginning with a left downblock, then a right elbow strike into the palm of the left hand, followed by a two-handed shoulder-grab and a front-snap kick (not hiza geri).

Gillespie's Seito Shorin Ryu.

Step 25-26 are the two knife-hand blocks in back stance at the end of the kata. In Shotokan we turn north after the knee-lift and kiai, and do a left knife-hand block. Then we step forward and do a right knife-hand block. Then we withdraw into ready stance to end the kata at the point of origin (standard Shotokan).

In Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, Tani-ha Shito-ryu, and in Wado Ryu, step 25 is performed to the northwest, on a diagonal, and step 26 is performed to the northeast. Wado Ryu does a very stylized knife-hand technique at this point, reaching high over the head and then lowering the hands into shuto uchi posture. Tani-ha Shito-ryu does a stylized step from the first technique to the second one, reaching out with the right foot, planting the heel with the toes up, and then rolling forward so that the foot rotates into cat stance with the ball of the foot on the ground instead of the heel.

In Seito Shorin Ryu, one steps backward from the first knife-hand to the second one, and then backward again to the point of origin. This compensates for the fact that they dropped the three reinforced blocks from the sequence.

Gillespie's Seito Shorin Ryu.

Shotokan's Secret, Expanded Edition, by Kyoshi Bruce Clayton

We don't want to be taught by "experts" who can't recognize common fighting techniques.

Perspective on H. Yondan

Perspective on H. Yondan

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