Note: The description for each Part is reproduced from Jan de Jong: the man, his school and his ju jitsu system (Jan de Jong Self Defence School, 1997).
Part 4: Suwari waza no kata and ken tai ichi no kata
Suwari waza no kata
‘Demonstration from seiza postion.’
Suwari waza no kata is a kneeling kata consisting of five specified attack-defence combinations.
Every year in the instructors class, JDJ would go over this kata and the final defence would be debated. The attack is a ‘bear hug’ from behind and the defence is a shoulder throw. The debate centred around which leg to throw back when performing the defence. This debate was never definitively resolved.
The answer to that question was contained in a book for sale in the Jan de Jong Martial Arts Supplies store at the front of the building – in Kodokan Judo, authored by Jigoro Kano, founder of Kodokan Judo, and published in 1986 (first published in 1955).
JDJ’s suwari waza no kata is Kodokan Judo’s kime no kata, or part thereof, without JDJ acknowledging the source of his suwari waza no kata. That is a theme that was a feature of JDJ’s teachings. The following is the description of kime no kata from Kodokan Judo:
Kime no Kata is also known as Shinken Shobu no Kata (Combat Forms) and is designed to teach the fundamentals of attack and defence in an actual combat situation, as both names imply. Its twenty techniques, which include strikes at vital spots, are all applicable in real-life situations, but are banned in randori. They are divided into two groups, idori, where the basic position is kneeling, and tachiai, where techniques are executed in a standing position. (Kano, 1986, Kodokan Judo, p. 146)
Note: See this post for a discussion on JDJ's use of the term shinken shobu no kata.
JDJ only included the first five technique from the idori group in his suwari waza no kata. Why only the first five? Why introduce this kata at all? Was it, in whole or in part, to ‘pad out’ or ‘beef up’ his shodan grading given that ikkyu was the previous instructor grading and it was a comprehensive instructor grading in itself?
*THR being the style of jujutsu that JDJ supposedly taught or supposedly was taught, and THR supposedly having contributed to the teachings of Kano in Kodokan judo.
Ken tai ichi no kata
‘Demonstration of katana defences and the unarmed application.’
We saw in the 'ken tai ichi no kata example' post that ken tai ichi no kata is a kata taken straight from Yoseikan Budo without the source being acknowledged (see above). The same questions that are raised in connection with the inclusion of suwari waza no kata from Kodokan Judo (see above), in JDJ’s shodan grading are applicable to the ken tai ichi no kata as well.
Ken tai ichi no kata will be discussed in further detail in the next post dedicated to JDJ’s adoption of the kata, or part thereof, and what can be learned from that adoption.
JDJ’s suwari waza no kata is Kodokan Judo’s kime no kata, or part thereof, without JDJ acknowledging the source of his suwari waza no kata. That is a theme that was a feature of JDJ’s teachings. The following is the description of kime no kata from Kodokan Judo:
Kime no Kata is also known as Shinken Shobu no Kata (Combat Forms) and is designed to teach the fundamentals of attack and defence in an actual combat situation, as both names imply. Its twenty techniques, which include strikes at vital spots, are all applicable in real-life situations, but are banned in randori. They are divided into two groups, idori, where the basic position is kneeling, and tachiai, where techniques are executed in a standing position. (Kano, 1986, Kodokan Judo, p. 146)
Note: See this post for a discussion on JDJ's use of the term shinken shobu no kata.
JDJ only included the first five technique from the idori group in his suwari waza no kata. Why only the first five? Why introduce this kata at all? Was it, in whole or in part, to ‘pad out’ or ‘beef up’ his shodan grading given that ikkyu was the previous instructor grading and it was a comprehensive instructor grading in itself?
Was it to introduce some traditional Japanese teachings, e.g. kata, into his teachings (there were no kata in his kyu grades)?
Why not acknowledge the source of the kata?
Why didn’t any of the instructors know that JDJ’s suwari waza no kata was a part of Kodokan Judo’s kime no kata? It is because in the Jan de Jong Self Defence School (JDJSDS), JDJ was considered to be the ‘fount of all knowledge’ and nobody looked outside of his teachings. To be fair, his knowledge was extensive and mostly accurate, so why would anyone look outside of his teachings. And remember, these were the days before the internet and YouTube.
When I found the source of JDJ’s suwari waza no kata and brought it to the attention of a senior instructor, their explanation was that it was probably an example of what Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu* (THR) had contributed to Kodokan judo. That is an example of what I have come to describe as ‘shoehorning’ – forcing something to fit where it may not naturally fit or belong.
When I found the source of JDJ’s suwari waza no kata and brought it to the attention of a senior instructor, their explanation was that it was probably an example of what Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu* (THR) had contributed to Kodokan judo. That is an example of what I have come to describe as ‘shoehorning’ – forcing something to fit where it may not naturally fit or belong.
*THR being the style of jujutsu that JDJ supposedly taught or supposedly was taught, and THR supposedly having contributed to the teachings of Kano in Kodokan judo.
Ken tai ichi no kata
‘Demonstration of katana defences and the unarmed application.’
We saw in the 'ken tai ichi no kata example' post that ken tai ichi no kata is a kata taken straight from Yoseikan Budo without the source being acknowledged (see above). The same questions that are raised in connection with the inclusion of suwari waza no kata from Kodokan Judo (see above), in JDJ’s shodan grading are applicable to the ken tai ichi no kata as well.
Ken tai ichi no kata will be discussed in further detail in the next post dedicated to JDJ’s adoption of the kata, or part thereof, and what can be learned from that adoption.
Postscript
The abovementioned Kodokan Judo is a book to be studied and not just read, however, it can only be truly appreciated if one has an understanding of (bio)mechanical force.
In my as yet unpublished book on the science behind all fighting techniques, I devote a chapter to the subject of force as it applies to fighting techniques. I explain that forces are what makes all fighting techniques work, or not, and that the concept of mechanical force is easy for the layperson to understand and apply. Kano's Kodokan Judo is a classic example of that in his descriptions of the techniques being taught. Those descriptions are succinct and focus on what makes the techniques work. And this without Kano having an understanding of mechanical force. Instead, he was a qualified teacher who knew how to teach and so he knew what to focus on when teaching techniques.
An understanding of mechanical force should make for better martial arts teachers, particularly those teaching grappling techniques/arts. It should also make for better martial arts students, particularly those studying grappling techniques/arts. The students would know what to look for when a technique is demonstrated/taught, and they would not be so dependent on their teacher's teaching abilities. For many martial arts teachers however, that might/would be seen as a threat by those teachers.
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