Bunkai: Three Shuto Chudan
In Pinan Shodan and Wankan there is a sequence of three shuto chudan techniques, stepping forward in a straight line. There is a similar technique in Gojushiho which can work the same way.
The first two moves of this three-step sequence can be used in the same way as the application shown in the Two Shuto Chudan video. The third shuto chudan is used as a rear arm lock.
This interpretation sets up the kiai nukite in Pinan shodan.
It can be interpreted the same way in Gojushiho.
In Wankan it sets up the gedan uke, giving you a potential defense in case you have not completely locked the opponent.
In looking at the finished position of the high and low hand positions we do not see the same full extension of the range of motion as we do when we practice this technique in kata or kihon.
The finished extension shows where we are sending our intention, as we move the body. Just as a punch encounters its target before we reach full extension of the technique, the uke technique, as a re-routing, lock, grapple, seizing or other application, will meet the incoming technique before it reaches the full extension position.
The fast reversal comes into play to make this class of techniques work. Read this short article about this essential principle of Shorin Ryu – “Too Fast To See.”
This interpretation is not the only way to understand these moves. But it is interesting, it works, and it can account for the sequence in the kata in a way other than mere repetition of a technique for practice, or as dealing with an attacker who is stepping backward while punching three times.
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Post Copyright © 2023 by Jeffrey Brooks, Mountain Karate, Yamabayashi Ryu, Saluda, NC USA
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