Kodoryu Karate and Kobudo
The Kodoryu Karatedo Renmei (Classical Karate Association) is dedicated to researching, preserving and promoting classical Karate and Kobudo
Thursday 30 May 2024
Tuesday 21 May 2024
Podcast Episode 2 - Function Dictates Form
Here is the newest episode of the Kodoryu podcast, "Function Dictates Form". Enjoy and let us know what you think!
Saturday 4 May 2024
First Podcast Episode!
This episode is on Creative interpretation of Kata -
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1PhwXGnfHkJ5ysPJtViXKX?si=ZwucBQ7ZSn6CnGl5kxUhGg
Thursday 12 August 2021
Itosu's Kata 'Modifications'
Anko Itosu |
This article (Dai and Shō in Kata) recently shared on the Motobu-Ryu Facebook page and website briefly discusses Itosu's modifications to several antique forms, namely Kusanku and Passai. The Kodoryu group researches and preserves the original functions of the antique kata (forms inherited in Okinawa from China). Keeping this approach to kata in mind the article raises several questions.
Why did Itosu modify the kata? Kusanku and Passai had an original function and purpose, by changing the kata or 'modifying' them what is encoded in the movements becomes obscured or worse completely lost. There is no explanation or information from Itosu himself discussing the original functions of the forms and what benefit changing them has brought to the kata. Did Itosu know what was originally intended for the katas Kusanku and Passai? or did he inherit only the sequences? without the kata functions Itosu was free to alter the forms as he pleased.
Itosu's modifications to kata can in some ways be seen as the starting point (or deviation?) for the modern approach to kata, defined as 'creative interpretation'. Once the form has been altered and the function lost the disconnected sequence can be interpreted however anyone chooses as we see today with instructors creating endless applications for all the 'versions' of kata across the different styles of Karate. Creatively interpreted Karate and kata has separated itself from the original functions of the antique forms and become something quite different. What if Itosu had known the original functions of Kusanku and Passai, would there have been a need for Dai and Sho 'versions' or the restructuring of kata?
Saturday 27 June 2020
The Six Ji Hands of the Bubishi
The Six Ji Hands |
One Blade of Grass Hand? |
Blood pool Hand? |
Claw Hand? |
Thursday 2 November 2017
Assume Nothing!
Monday 25 September 2017
Lost And Found
Research into European Martial arts has a huge amount of support from within its community and rightly so, the work being done and the fascinating results are being fed back into modern practises which in turn are revitalising arts that for a long time have been preserved only in books. Some treatises are quite obscure in their descriptions and demand real work is put in to decode the meaning and extract the techniques. This is not an easy process and requires time, effort and patience.
Karate researchers have an advantage in that the source materials for Karate are not recorded in books they are recorded in movement, the kata! The various martial arts forms collected and preserved in Okinawan Karate also demand the same time, effort and patience to unlock the original function as the European martial arts manuals do.
The prevailing attitude amongst many kata 'specialists' is that it is not possible to know the original functions of the kata. Does this belief extend to those trying to understand antique martial arts from books and treatises? Clearly not as many embrace the Bubishi as containing knowledge and skills that can be extracted and applied. So Martial arts can be worked out from books but not from movements?
The belief that the original functions are lost is false and just as many great European martial arts are coming back to life thanks to the serious research and effort being made, so too are the martial arts preserved in the antique kata. With a huge body of work and research from various groups like the Kodoryu group whose sole purpose for over 30 years has been to unlock the original functions of the forms inherited from China. The evidence is overwhelming and just waiting to be tried, tested and critiqued!