12 Kata Unsu Shorin Ryu Kyudokan Sensei Gerardo Balves

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Category:

Sports

Tags:

• 12
• Kata
• Unsu

[Ronin6575]

Very impressive both from the kata standpoint and his execution of it!

[bradly63]

@babydru Hmmm... it looks to me to be shuri-te, I agree with Koryuhoka. The moves, techniques and the use of the tsumasaki geri, which is the kick that Ankichi Arakaki is believed to have created all suggest to me it has evovled from the shuri-te side. Maybe I'll dig a little deeper too.

Love the video - beautifully done!

[babydru]

@Koryuhoka (continued) My original Goju instructor (who is a student of Hanshi Richard Kim) taught this kata as a 'foreign kata' but provided no history for it. I, too, have heard that this kata has its roots based from Naha-Te. I can see where that comes from seeing that there are several 'softer' moves in this kata, stylistically similar to several Goju kata.

[babydru]

@Koryuhoka Thanks for the reply. A SEVERELY modified version of this kata is being performed in Open Sport Karate circuits around the States and Canada so I was digging deep to see if it was a kata with legitimate foundation. Hanshi Pat McCarthy also has this version in his Koryu Uchinadi kata syllabus and that's where I found very basic info on its history.

[Koryuhoka]

@babydru - Great question! I am soooo trying to figure this out myself! I've read that he trained under Jiro Shiroma and Seiei Miyara as well. I have never seen this Unsu in any other lineage from Shuri Te. Chibana Sensei taught Ankichi Arakaki. You seem to be familiar with this Unsu... where have you seen it before? I have read that Aragaki Seisho taught Unsu. Someone said here once that this was not a Shuri kata, but a Naha kata. It is not a Naha Te form IMO. What do you think?

[babydru]

@Koryuhoka Quick history question. Where did Higa Sensei acquire this kata? I heard through Seisho Aragaki then other sources say Ankichi Aragaki. Which one was it? Reason why I ask is that for a a long time, I was looking up Aragaki Unsu but came up with no answers and then I stumbled on this video (and at the same time, more videos of this kata started to surface). Any info would be great.

[NMCK69]

Solid Kata: I like the way you slowed it down to demonstration speed. It makes it possible to catch the details of the movements. Thank you for sharing you art.

[Koryuhoka]

@babydru - The Seisan they do is also different from the Chibana Seisan. It begins similar to the Goju Ryu Seisan. Higa Sensei studied with Jin'an Shinzato. I love the way Kyudokan does their kata.

[babydru]

Thanks for posting this. I have been looking for this for quite some time now. I wasn't aware that Yuchoku Higa had this version of Unsu in his syllabus. It caught me by surprise seeing that his lineage is Chibana based and to my knowledge, no other Chibana-ha systems practice this kata.