Also "Shihonage," Sam Combes, Aiki-do, Volume 1, Black Belt Video, 1999.
Also "Ude Guruma Ushiro," techniques 1-11 and 3-2, "Ude Guruma Koshi Nage," technique 4-16, "Ude Guruma Hanbo," technique 7-Hanbo-7, "Hidari Makikomi Gun Disarm," technique 7-1, and "Te Nage Gun Disarm," technique 7-5, George Kirby, Black Belt Budoshin Jujitsu, Panther Productions, 1992.
Also, "Knife Disarming," pages 115-118 of U.S. Army Hand-To-Hand Combat: FM 21-150, June 1954.
Also, "Seio Nage," p. 150-156 of Tadao Otaki and Donn Draeger, Judo Formal Techniques: A Complete Guide to Kodokan Randori no Kata, Tuttle, 1983.
Also, "Tachi Dori Kote Gaeshi," page 192-193 of Shiro Omiya, The Hidden Roots of Aikido: Aiki Jujutsu Daitoryu, Kodansha, 1998.
Also, "Ude Guruma Yubi Waza," on George Kirby's website, http://www.budoshin.com/tech1.htm.
Also, "Choke from the Front with a Push," pages 66-67 of Darren Levine, et al., Complete Krav Maga: The Ultimate Guide to Over 230 Self-Defense and Combative Techniques, Ulysses, 2007.
Steps 1-3 of H. Nidan are the classic "double block" followed by a couple of motions that are hard for people to describe. All Heian/Pinan performers do this cluster essentially the same way, but there is no standardization in their description of the act. For instance, Sugiyama identifies the moves this way:
- Step 1: Right haiwan-uke (back forearm block) and left yoko-gamae (side guard position).
Step 2: Left soto-ude-uke (outside forearm block) and right ken-tsui (hammer strike).
Step 3: Left tsuki-uke (punching block) to the midsection.
A deep analysis of this cluster produces results down three independent paths:
- The simplest interpretation comes from jujutsu, explained rather well in the Complete Krav Maga textbook.
The attacker is choking you from the front. You throw an arm up and turn to the side, dislodging the choke (step 1). You hug his arms, pinning them against your chest (step 2). Then use the arm that is closer to him to plant a hammerfist on his face or neck (step 3). This is a near-perfect approximation of the kata moves. - In this one, the "double blocks" introduce a system of shoulder throws and submissions that relies equally on shihonage (the "four direction throw"), and on figure-4 shoulder locks collectively called ude guruma by George Kirby (see references above). Iain Abernethy shows one of these locks as an application for this cluster on page 74 of Karate's Grappling Methods. They are also featured in the US Army manual on hand-to-hand combat, FM 21-150 (1954 edition).
- In an entirely different direction, the "double blocks" resemble a system of tachi dori (disarming techniques) practiced in aikido and jujutsu, originally used for taking away a sword or knife, but also useful against a gun. This system relies on the hidari makikomi throw, sometimes combined with a sudden reversal into a te nage throw (which is also called kanoha gaeshi or kote gaeshi). These moves are also featured in FM 21-150 (1954).
Shoulder Lock System
In this interpretation the "double block" of step 1 is, in fact, exactly what it looks like. You would use the two blocks to throw up a quick defense against a sucker punch coming in from the side. Your arms may intercept the incoming punch in various ways depending on chance. That doesn't matter. This system of take-downs has an answer to every possibility, including the possibility that you were too late to catch the first punch and had to catch the next one instead.
There are four ways to enter the system from Step 1, depending on how you find yourself after the first, explosive double-block. He may have attacked with either his right hand or his left... and even if he starts with his right, the second punch will be on the left. We're expecting flurry-punching here, not karate punching. You, in turn, may have your left forearm either to the outside of his arm or to the inside. We assume in all cases that your right arm has succeeded in the upblock, so you can easily grasp his wrist with your right hand.
- Ude Guruma Ushiro. Step 1: The opponent attacks with his right hand. Your left forearm blocks the outside of the opponent's right elbow (like an outside forearm block). Your right forearm has blocked his arm upward (like an up block).
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Step 2: Use your right arm to push his arm up and back. At the same time use your left forearm to strike into the fold of his elbow to bend his arm. Grab your right wrist with your left hand to create a figure-4 shoulder lock.
Step 3: One applies pressure to the locked shoulder to spill the opponent on his back. Kirby shows different versions of this. In one (technique 3-2), you ride the opponent down to the floor and twist his captured arm anti-clockwise to force a submission. It doesn't look like Step 3 of the kata, but that comes later. - Ude Guruma Yubi Waza. Step 1: The opponent attacks with his right hand. Your left forearm blocks the inside of the opponent's right elbow (like an inside forearm block). Your right forearm has blocked his arm upward (like an up block). I find this to be the most awkward of the four combinations, but there's an easy solution.
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Step 2: Use your raised right hand to grasp the back of the attacker's right hand. Use your left arm to lift his elbow slightly as you pull the hand down, bending his arm at the elbow. (This, after a fashion, mimics step 2 of the kata.) Shift in with your left foot as you take his arm down past his right hip and up behind his back in a hammerlock position.
Step 3: As his arm comes up behind his back, catch his elbow in the depression between your right upper arm and your chest. Your grip on his right hand naturally evolves into a wristlock as his arm locks into place behind his back. Apply pain by pulling his hand toward you. (Kirby takes this one step farther by reversing the wristlock into a bent-back finger lock, but the general technique is the same.) - Ude Guruma Ushiro. Step 1: The opponent attacks with his left hand. Your left forearm blocks the inside of the opponent's left elbow (like an outside forearm block). Your right forearm has blocked his arm upward (like an up block).
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Step 2: Use your right arm to push his arm up and back. At the same time use your left forearm to strike into the fold of his elbow to bend his arm. Grab your right wrist with your left hand to create a figure-4 shoulder lock.
Step 3: Apply pressure to the locked shoulder to spill the opponent on his back. - Shihonage. Step 1: The opponent attacks with his left hand. Your left forearm blocks the outside of the opponent's left elbow (like an inside forearm block). Your right forearm has blocked his arm upward (like an up block).
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- Note that this is the setup for the classic seionage shoulder throw. You would make half a turn to your right and throw the opponent over your hip. It is well-worth teaching but does not resemble the kata after this pose.
Step 2: Use your right arm to push his arm up and back. Use the thumb-side of your left hand to strike into the fold of his elbow, bending his arm. When the arm is bent, use your left hand to reach up and secure the classic shihonage grip on his wrist.
Step 3: Take him down on his back with shihonage. Note that you can imitate the kata in this step. Once you have the shihonage throw set up, you can topple him on his back by simply straightening your arm like we do in step 3 of the kata.
Note that these four applications cover all the possibilities, provided that you can catch his wrist with your upblock. If you missed it, you can catch the next punch. The system doesn't care whether he's punching with his right hand or his left.
I think these are great self-defense techniques and are well-worth teaching to serious students. However, I am not convinced that these locks and takedowns were appropriate to the Shuri bodyguards. They don't satisfy the Waldow Principle. The following set of applications, though, seem very appropriate.
Tachi Dori Kote Gaeshi
The second interpretation of this cluster explores the potential for tachi dori, or "sword disarming." The weapon can be a sword, knife, club or gun. The principles shown here work against all four, which makes them very appropriate for students interested in self-defense.
For the sake of discussion, we'll assume that a samurai has decided to split your head with his katana. He's making an overhead attack. He holds the katana in the classic two-hand grip, with the right hand high on the grip next to the guard (tsuba), and the left hand barely grasping the pommel. On a typical katana, this leaves a four or five-inch gap between the hands.
- Most commercial bokken (wooden practice swords) don't have a full-sized handle, so you'll have to push the plastic tsuba up the "blade" until the handle is at least a foot long. Secure the tsuba with gamu tepu (duct tape).
The general technique proceeds in three parts presuming that the weapon is in his right hand (or grasped by both hands).
- First you have to sidestep his attack and catch his hand(s), or the weapon, or both, by stepping (tai sabaki) to the outside of his right arm. For the katana strike, use your left forearm to deflect his hands away from you. At the same time, use your bent right arm to scoop under his arms and capture them. This technique resembles the motions of Step 1 of H. Nidan. You end up hugging his forearms tightly to your chest with your arms crossed, which is similar to Step 2 of H. Nidan. Usually your left hand can pin his right hand to the handle of the katana up against the tsuba. This places a kote gaeshi (te nage, kanoha gaeshi) grip on his right hand.
- The second step is to apply hidari makikomi, which is a classic winding throw. His right elbow is locked across your chest, so you rotate your hips suddenly to the right to make him choose between a dislocated elbow and throwing himself face-down on the ground.
- If he sprawls on the ground, you can plant your knees on his outstretched right arm and pry the katana out of his hands. This step is not shown in the kata, because it is more usual to suddenly swing back in the opposite direction at this point.
- If he resists the winding throw, the pain in his sprung elbow may weaken his grip enough for you to snatch the katana away in your left hand. If so, finish him off as in Step 3 of the kata. The katana flashes back to the left at neck level, which cuts his throat. This seems to be the scenario depicted in the kata. We could just end the lesson here.
That would not be a complete depiction of tachi dori kote gaeshi, however, so we need to carry on a little farther. If the enemy is strong enough to retain his grip on the weapon, the typical response is to shift to a hand throw. Place the te nage grip in his right hand and then rotate your hips suddenly back to the left. The weapon will be forced back toward his face for a moment as you take him down with the hand throw. (He may be cut in the process.) Once you have him on the ground you can use a wrist press to break his grip on the weapon. Dropping your right knee into his bicep, possibly breaking the humerus, is the back-up plan to break his grip.
In Step 1 of H. Nidan, our vertical left forearm is deflecting the katana strike. The bent right arm scoops under the attacker's arms and catches them.
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In Step 2 of H. Nidan, we cross our arms to clamp his forearms to our chest. Our left hand takes a grip on the handle of the sword near the guard. A hip rotation here springs his arm and the katana comes free in our left hand.
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In Step 3 of H. Nidan, we slash the katana back to the left with our left hand, cutting his throat.
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The kata shows only one path through the possible techniques, but it is an exact path and it satisfies the Waldow Principle. There is no doubt in my mind that the first cluster of H. Nidan (and therefore the first technique taught to Matsumura's and Itosu's beginners) was a katana defense. That makes perfect sense, given the presence of hostile samurai who threatened them every day of their lives. If the bodyguards couldn't cope with the shomen uchi attack, what point was there in learning anything else?
