Seisan Kata - Ryukoh Tomoyosse (Hansi 10Dan) Okikukai

[juanmanuelcoria79]

I have seen a uechi ryu page and says that there are 3 levels in kata. Only the first (simplified) is preticed today and have no real bunkai. the other levels are lost (or only known for one or two great great masters, wich is the same situation because they don´t teach much people, and I dont think thah I gonna be chosen) The question is, why pratice?

[smkalberta]

When I do seisan, I myself don't do jump back mostly due to the stress on my injured knee. I can however perform the jump back if need be, I do focus on leg,foot position for the "step-back"

[atzounis]

@smkalberta Don't be messed up by great senseis' personal style in performing katas. Moreover, don't forget that Tomoyosse Sensei is over 80 years old and jumping is not so easy at this age. There are videos with Tomoyose Sensei shot 30-40 years ago in which he performs Seisan with the jump. My opinion is to keep oneself close to the basic training and not look for special versions of Katas (e.x.Toyama Senseis personal way of Sanseiryu).

[atzounis]

What, most of us, can take from this video is the flow and the sense of beauty that this great master has in his way of executing this kata. As he sais, there is a difference between knowing a kata and mastering a kata.

[AndyRaslan]

That first bit looked like the San Zhan form from Fujian White Crane.

[HangetsuHozuki]

@AndyRaslan San Zhan = Seisan?

I'm just saying. It seems like many forms in Chinese martial arts have similar sounding names in Japanese martial arts. ie: Naifanchin = Naihanchi.

[redmistpete]

@HangetsuHozuki Of course - Okinawan karate is developed with an influence from Chinese martial arts.

[TheSkatenoobs]

0:45 - 0:46 lol XD

[tatetsuki]

SIMPLY OUTSTANDING. I practice a different style, Shidokan Shorinryu, but IMHO Tomoyose Sensei's performance strikes me as truly a work of ART, his moves are so smooth, subtle, powerful and precise. There is no need for flashy showmanship, because the KARATE-DO is there for those who are able to perceive it.

THANKS FOR POSTING!

[happihowie]

Oh my God, Tomoyose Sensei is soo cool.

[ezraa123]

I've seen a lot of kata over the years and, though it's not fast (as it's not supposed to be anyway), it's clean with precise movements. Even if he were 30 years younger it would still look nice.

[richart58]

Man this master is great. those that say he is sloppy have not idea what they are talking about. think about how many thousands of times he has proformed this kata. talk about muscle memory !

[flomacdeluxe]

I had the chance to travel to Okinawa last year and train with a. Takamyagi Sensei - I even got his business card :-D - b. Tomoyose Sensei, but sadly only once and in my humble opinion the "best" of all - Takara Sensei and his son. I'd bet, everyone who blames those >80yrs old masters slow or even sloppy would get their asses kicked by them. I did Kumite vs. Takara Kazuya, Takara Senseis son, and man, he kicked my ass xD

NEVER underestimate men who practiced Karate-Do for more than 70 years...

[josecarlos1955]

a true master, god bless him!

[menachembenyakov]

His hands move at lightening speed. So fast that even when you know what move is is being used, you can't see it. His transitions are seamless, blocking and striking with the same movement. As intense and real as it gets. Impeccable form from a true master.

[sirebonite]

Beautiful!!!!

[RBlack999]

This man will kick most people's ass even at his age. What a beauty to see a person fighting nature of aging with inner strength and discipline.

[jcz1996]

What precision of moves... Great thing to watch master.

[toyele]

nice kata

[billysharp15]

woop wopp!

[uechisandan]

In this video it shows that at his age he no longer does the jump-back that is part of seisan kata, but in his younger days h e surely would have done.

Make no mistake, despite appearances,this man could take pretty much anyone, any age, not trained well, 'out' with very little efforts.

The amazing thing is that he is also incredibly humble. I'm grateful for having had the opportunity to have met him.

[varanid9]

@uechisandan I don't know why he doesn't do the jump, but it seems to me that if one is in as good condition as this master, then the relatively simple jump would be easily done. Not only have I never seen even accomplished practitioners maintain good balance after the jump, but have found that it takes one too far from the fight, where if one does it as shown here, it removes the leg from fire while keeping the practitioner within counterstriking distance. I believe he simply improved it.

[menachembenyakov]

As you get older you must adjust the kata in small ways depending on your personal circumstance. When he was a young man he could jump like a grasshopper. So could we all.

[varanid9]

@menachembenyakov True, and those who know this man better than I may have the answer. I'm simply pointing out that I have found, through actually trying to apply this move, that the way it is shown here is more effective than the way it is traditionally explained. Also, I have personally known 2 men in their '80s who could put many men in their '20s to shame with their leaping abilities (yes, I understand this is rare, and neither of these men were karatekas, just very active).

[menachembenyakov]

@varanid9

That is the sign of an authentic martial art. That it is adaptive to different individuals at different life stages. All along the practice results not just in deeper understanding but a healthy body as well. And, as always, each individual will find his or her own application for every movement in kata. After 42 years of Uechi practice I can honestly say I am still learning and growing.

[uechisandan]

Tomoyose-san is an incredible role model for all of us. He is considered a national treasure in Japan not only because he is one of the highest ranking Uechi/Shoehei karateka, but he is also a famous Calligraphy artist.

[paulachoc]

PERFEITO!

[takeshimiyagi]

whoever are calling these 80 year old masters sloppy are really such an idiot!!!!!!!!try doing this kata when you are 80 you idiot? I doubt it you ever make that old beacuse you are in terrible health so don't make such stupid comments!

[OkinawaShorinryu]

great, thanks

[slumberslope]

i do not want to get hit by that old man..

His fingers looks as if it can go penetrate through the skin!

[atzounis]

I tottaly agree with you!

[MrTomikiaikido]

I received my Yon dan before the split, to me it will always be Uechi-Ryu, my first sensei studied under Kanei Uechi... respect to all the masters what ever the politics.

[atzounis]

association - Shohei-ryu for instance. I don't know... for me kata is a matter of character, feeling and other reasons. It is never exactly the same and senseis as highly ranked as 8, 9 or even 10 Dan perform katas in their own personal way. This happens with Tomoyosse sensei and seisan, unforgettable Toyama sensey and "his" sanseryu, Takamiyaghi sensei and his peaceful moves, Takayassu sensei with his short, fast hits, and so on...

[atzounis]

Having watched almost all official video footage from Shohei-ryu (official dvd), Uechi-ryu (Takayashu sensei dvds and more) and Pangai-noon (Shinyu Gushi sensei's 5dvd series) what i can say is this, there are many great karate senseis with various approaches to Kanbun Uechi's karate style. In all the videos i have seen there is a different "flavor" in the techniques i see but not different techniques to establish different styles. I see the same differences in senseis that belong to the same

[LittleTed92]

and technically, its Shohei ryu, not uechi ryu... the two split in the 1990's

[atzounis]

Somewhere in youtube you may find a very old video of dan tests under Uechi sensei where Tomoyosse sensei (much younger) performs Seisan Kata in his unique way and finishes with this jumps you refer to. We are taught seisan this way in Shohei-ryu. At the age of 82 jumping is not that easy... :) so kata is performed in a simpler way i guess (closer to basic techniques) - i don't know if i describe my thoght very well - hope you understand what i mean.

[LittleTed92]

To be honest, i find i a bit sloppy. It happens with all of the films they send us to study, but because it is humid there, they dont do the move as sharply. For instance the last move should be two jumps, jump back, block, then jump forwards with the elbow strike.

[anhkhoinguyen]

sloppy? and you can do better? lol Lets see you perform a whole form when your 80...lol funny how everyone on youtube is a big critic. until you post a video doing it better your nothing but talk. youtube is just full of losers and geeks trying make them selves feel like "somebody" by correcting the experts lmao

bet it makes you all feel so smart...just to act like you know better....losers lol

[yieldingbamboo]

Man! Am I seeing hung gar tiger/crane in here? Uechi-ryu gets cooler every time I look it up.

Respects to Tomoyosse Sensei

[GojuBob]

Very impressive! Why are there so many different versions of Seisan kata?

[atzounis]

Well, that's a good question...the only sure thing about systems that have sanchin and seisan kata is that have their origins back in China. There are korean styles - like Tang soo do that also have seisan kata. I guess the difference depends on the teacher that taught every one of the establishers of later karate systems.

[Alamo25]

He he,...this fella was present at my Black Belt Test,.... surely he was just to polite to tell me that i suck hard :).....

But Seisan the way he does it is something special imo.

[Awesomerobot]

Those are some fast hands.

[zachambley]

wow that is heaps different to the seisan of Goju Kai, looks good.

[atzounis]

Goju and Uechi- ryu (Pangai-noon) have common roots in China. Both systems are half hard / half soft (Go-ju: half hard/half soft in Japaneese - Pangai-noon same meaning in Chinese). I always enjoy watching goju-ryu katas trying to find similarities with uechi-ryu katas.

[Johnny812666]

I think he could kill me with one hand... but, i still want 2 fight with him xD

[binmanman]

very fast

[atzounis]

This seisan kata inspires and surprises me every time i watch it! And believe me i have watched it lots of times :)