SHIRAI Sensei: This is karate

[Darragh62]

6 dislikes? people av no idea lol

[BelloBudo007]

This clip of Shirai is great viewing. For over 40 years, in my quest of 'natural movement' I have been trying to commence the uke technique with the hip. More often than not I struggle and delay with a midway preparation. Shirai though seems to have mastered it without looking in the least bit sloppy. Hats off to him.

[jacopo0o0]

i m not talking just about kiling, i m talking about to be in the situation in which someone want to kill you, or, anyway, like it happens in a full contact match,someone that want hit you for ko.

I think that only in that situation you can find your mushin. did you talk about ian aberteney? it s good, but too complex..he focus too much on a single opponent. didier is more essential i think, ad it s more near to my vision because i m practicing shotokan too.

[jacopo0o0]

*i don t know if i was able to explain.

Maybe instead he could teach the function of charging and teach the real meaning of this techniques..

but nobody asked for that and they just said "os sensei!"

I understand why nowdays a lot of people aere more oriented to muay thai or krav maga....

[MrWintersho]

@jacopo0o0 Dear Sir, may I ask you a question? What are those people searching for: inner strength or combat abilities? As you may know, getting mushin is hard work, and in my opinion it is important to repeat techniques for thousands of times. Btw: who are you, knowing that karateka do not use punching bags or makiwara? Or that this part of lesson is wasted time? A black belt just means.start to learn more, try to get a deep understanding of kata. With respect, Oss

[jacopo0o0]

@MrWintersho

mushin it s a empty world.. if you search it just repeating punch in the air in a gym.

Maybe you can find mushin in an israeli soldier or in a security agent that applies his tecnique in the truth, not just using a pijama in a gym and saying oss..(i m a karateka too, i m joking a little but it s for explain better my point of view)

[jacopo0o0]

@MrWintersho

And about heavy bags and makiwara.. in italy ,where shirai teached a lot, and i think not just there, they are few used. And makiwara in particular i think-and not just i- it s very dangerous for the spine. Not all that cames from tradition is absolutley good . The evolution works in training also..you spoken about didier lupo, i like him, why shirai; the biiig master from japan.... can t do a work like this with some black belts and not just the same things?

[MrWintersho]

@jacopo0o0 Ask him, not me, my friend. I didn`t want to upset you, but infact, "mushin" is not only got by repeating techniques (no matter aimed on air, makiwara, punching bag or pancakes(yes, a joke), Maybe sometimes"mushin" is seen like "coldblooded", but it is not the same for me.To kill people on duty is not a question of "mushin" but education and motivation. You are sure, those people are in balance with their fate? If you like the work of Didier, please try Abernethy. Oss

[MrWintersho]

@jacopo0o0 Ask him, not me, my friend. I didn`t want to upset you, but infact, "mushin" is not only got by repeating techniques (no matter aimed on air, makiwara, punching bag or pancakes(yes, a joke), Maybe sometimes"mushin" is seen like "coldblooded", but it is not the same for me.To kill people on duty is not a question of "mushin" but education and motivation. You are sure, those people are in balance with their fate? If you like the work of Didier, please try Abernethy. Oss

[jacopo0o0]

@MrWintersho

Maybe because they don t want to teach something really useful.. but just a "depurated" version of real karate.

They know tha we are more affascinated by a lot of oss, and a fake martial atmosphere than by a real small tecnique...

[jacopo0o0]

I can see that in the video the students are all black belts.. i don t understand the sense of teaching this kind of things again and again and not something more effective and realistic. punching the air is not a good way to learn how to punch in reality...

Why thousands of pro boxers use things like heavy bags?

In this way the body learn to block the hit at final and d never learn to "launch" the hit.. i don t if i eas able to explain..

For black belts i think that is a complete waste of time

[MrByaeger]

not my chosen art, but that is some extremely impressive technique in my humble opinion. you can see the whip snap from the ground up as clear as day. any martial artist could learn from watching this gentleman move, that is as good of a base as you could ask for. much, much respect.

[Leonidaslost]

I am age 58 and still do my Kata at home though after 25 years practice I don't go to a club now. The technique here is perfect but we shotokan people must remember we are following a "do" = a way. It looks very martial but has nothing to do with fighting much as we like to kid ourselves. Yet Shotokan prepares the body perfectly for fighting eg the way we learn kicks and I wish the curriculum allowed for some trnslation into street/armed forces techniques to improve Shotokan's credibility.

[MrWintersho]

@Leonidaslost Dear Sir, I am 53 trying to follow the DO, and, with respect, I cannot share your opinion of credibility of shotokan. In my opinion it is up to you, coming to a deep understanding studying the Kata (e.g. the work of Iain abernathy and Didier Lupo). I agree, that most Dojo are not presenting this kind of applied bunkai, but it is up to everybody to find out. A sensei could help. With deep respect, Oss Frank

[Leonidaslost]

@MrWintersho After 25 years I hope I have some understanding of Shotokan Bunkai. However, real fighting takes place 6 to 12 inches closer than most Shotokan techniques allow. A good example of realistic distance is wing chun "Sticking hands". I think now our style is "too big" (practitioners will know what I mean). Our kata and techniques train the body well but a beautiful gykuzuki as demonstrated here has no application in itself for the street. Remember please I still do my kata.Oss Peter

[MrWintersho]

@Leonidaslost Honourable Peter, no doubt, that you are an experienced Karateka both Kata and bunkai. I agree, that so called "long techniques" (geri-waza except hiza, sometimes Kizami-Geri and fumikomi) maybe not useful, but you know, that it is the principle that counts. As you know, there are lots of Tuide or "WT" techniques in the Kata and close throwing techniques I agree, that shotokan learned as it is used in competition is not best choice, so I try to go deeper. Oss Frank

[jacopo0o0]

@MrWintersho

About wing chun , i don t know, i see that soldiers use a systems based on different stances and different ideas.. in krav maga i don t see chisao and inside the MMA neither. i think that we haveto look in that direction to see what kind of tecnique works. because they try.Ithink that the error it s use gyaku and the oder tecnique in the classical form, they are just an ideas of the "perfect" hit, but ot functional for the real fight,they are usefull to learn some concept, like hip

[KataForYou]

Like most things in Karate, zenkutsu dachi is taught to be over exaggerated when it is first being learned. Although the stance is changed slightly to fit the person who is in it, the back leg becomes loose when the practitioner becomes more experienced.

[TheDiamond123123]

SHARYYOOUUUUUUKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!1



[sadam355]

w Polsce :D

[smartkidblue99]

great tehnique and kime. This is Senkutzu dachi (front stance) with back leg bent when hips are not facing front. Great master oss!

[multiplecocco]

he was slow on his legs

[alxide]

great master but this is not karate, this is shotokan.

[francotiodio]

@alxide perchè lo shotokan non è una forma di karate?

[ekkenaab]

@alxide ?

[ekkenaab]

@alxide your sentense is like "its not an Apple, its MacBook Pro!"

[landoftheninja]

I dont speak a word of Japanese (yet) but I love what a presence this guy has.

[Ps1locyb1n]

this is.. beautiful!

[karatefella]

There isn't a huge "rotation" of the hips from Hanme to Shomen like Sensei Yahara does, is there ?

[redtommy83]

@karatefella at high level there's not rotation, but only "vibrations" of the hips

[BunnyBUNGALO]

Hmm his back leg is bent. very different from how i was taught under the boyers. but then again they teach koryakan a fusion of kyokushin and shotokan.

[soparamens]

@BunnyBUNGALO it's because its not senkutzu dachi, but fudo dachi!

[BunnyBUNGALO]

@soparamens its shotokon, no?

[soparamens]

@BunnyBUNGALO Yes, the style is Shotokan, the stance is fudo dachi. He uses fudo dachi (sligthly bent knee) because Shirai Sensei studied with Kase Sensei, whom studied under Gigo Funakoshi (who was Gichin Funakoshi's son and is credited with this particular, advanced stance) Fudo dachi is said to be way more strong and adaptable stance than the more basic, training related senkutzu dachi (straight knee) :)

[BunnyBUNGALO]

@soparamens ohhh.

[smooth108]

@soparamens its not fudo dachi, fudo requires front leg to be turned in, this is front stance with a slight bend to the back knee, allowing you to straighten your knee when applying rotational power when punching. at 1:50 you can see when he uses rotation if you watch his back leg you see him using his legs to start the rotation not just hips adding power through the punch.......

[seldarine76]

@soparamens You are wrong, the stance is zenkutzu. If you do zenkutzu dachi with your rear leg locked strait, even in shomen position, then you are doing it wrong. Fudo dachi stance has the front foot angled more inwards and the rear leg bent at an angle, as if a hybrid between zenkutsu and kibo dachi.

[franklin3321]

THIS IS THE WAY KARATE USED TO BE TAUGHT. BALANCED, FLUID, POWER, FOCUSED! ONEIGASHIMASU

[emily13224]

he is very strong!

[Jumoklord]

great explosions and body structure!!!

[FisicaHari]

Shirai e meu idolo

[wyldeme]

Always found Shotokan very rigid and set.Studied shukokai which teaches the back leg bent thing and the moves tended to flow better and with a snap at the end.wado ryu is the same thing with more open handed techniques.always got entered with them wado at wolverhampton nationals.

[IEKUKATAKA]

Typical of Shotokan. It is more rigid than relaxed or natural. It takes this approach from other Japanese budo. The JKA did not keep the Karate of Funakoshi nor do they realize the value in the old Okinawan ways. Shotokan karate, as taught by the JKA, can not be carried into older life. It is to contrived, unnatural and hard. However, it serves as a very good base for studying an Okinawan style that is natural and primal. Stop around shodan, find an original style. A JKA life member.

[kungfushus]

I love how heavy he moves and snaps each technique. It feels like he has weights on the ends of his limbs!

[mallardgreen]

Yes, that is probably because he is creating floor pressure through his stance, using the floor as a kind of reaction plate, something to push against to generate power - "for each and every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". It also allows his body to properly react to the impact generated upon striking an opponent, so his body does not give way and reabsorb energy he would rather transfer to his target. The final snap is focus, kime, total body power at the end of technique.

[blagamoush10]

@mallardgreen exactly. Great description. Amazing how many MMA fanboys can't understand this.

[sroedner]

Thank you zbirut. I didn't know the exact time of the clip and thereforeI didn't publish it!

[zbirut]

This clip was made on stage in Poland - Człuchów in 1993. Sensei Shirai was 56 years old but he show really extremly traditional shotokan karate technics. On this stage I founded my karate way and I'm still going follow my Master.

[DamMich]

This video was certainly recorded in poland around 1990-1992

[cmdctrl]

nice.

note how he uses his back leg. No dragging of foot, no locking of knee. proper stance.

[jalwardo]

I was surprised to see his back leg remaining bent. I was taught to lock it out. He seems to do just fine without it though!

Something to experiment with.

[unag]

curious when was this movie taken & how old was sensei then?

[R0CKY44]

Impressive that he could concentrate with all those cameras pointing at him :o)

Good movie though.