This is a documentation of our kumite training session with Sensei Gyula Büki in Berlin, Germany. Sensei Büki (7th Dan Black Belt) teaches traditional Shotokan Karate. His journey in the martial arts began in 1977, spanning nearly five decades of dedicated study and teaching.
This is a kumite training session with Sensei Gyula Büki, 7th Dan Shotokan Karate, focussing on deai techniques / direct counter attacks. Visit kampfkunst.jens-lorenzen.com for more content on Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Kenjutsu and other martial arts.
Morio Higaonna (born 1938) is a leading Okinawan Goju-ryu karate master and founder of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF). Trained from youth under Taketo Nakamura and later Eiichi Miyazato, Higaonna is known for intense kihon, powerful kata, practical bunkai, and rigorous conditioning. He popularized Goju-ryu worldwide through seminars, books, and instructional videos, emphasizing traditional Okinawan principles, discipline, and the unity of hard and soft techniques. Respected for his technical mastery and teaching, he influenced generations of practitioners and helped preserve classical Goju-ryu.
Mixed martial arts champion Erik Paulson from @CSWAssociation tests ancient Karate techniques from Okinawa. These bunkai (kata applications) are found in Bubishi – the Bible of Karate.
What is MMA?
MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts and is a full-contact combat sport that combines techniques from various martial arts and combat sports. MMA allows a variety of techniques from boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo and karate to be effective both in standing combat and on the ground.
Prohibited techniques in MMA include attacks to the back of the head, spine, eyes and genitals, kicks or punches to the head of an opponent lying on the ground, headbutts, biting, hair pulling and unsportsmanlike behaviour such as holding on to the cage.
Further applications and examples of self-defence can be found here under the heading Bunkai Videos.
The bunkai of Sochin reveals a range of techniques, including:
Defending against multiple opponents: Sochin contains several movements that demonstrate how to defend against multiple attackers, including techniques for controlling and neutralizing opponents.
Close-range combat: The kata includes several close-range techniques, such as knee strikes, elbow strikes, and joint locks, which can be used to quickly neutralize an opponent.
Redirecting and controlling: Sochin demonstrates how to redirect an opponent’s energy and control their movements, using techniques such as circular movements and body shifting.
Vince Morris is a seasoned karate sensei and founder of Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do, known for blending traditional Okinawan techniques with practical self‑defense and law‑enforcement tactics. Sensei Morris has revised classic kumite methods and developed training programs for civilians and police, earning respect for his clear, realistic approach to modern martial arts.
Kissaki-Kai Karate-Do
Practicality: techniques must work realistically under stress, not just look correct in the dojo.
This is a summary of some of the practical and effective applications within the kata Kanku Dai (Kushanku). Kata is alway more interesting to practice when you actually know some realistic applications behind the techniques. We hope you can use these ideas in your own training and teaching and please subscribe to this channel for more exciting karate educational videos in the future.
Motobu Chōki (1870 – 1944) was an Okinawan karate master and founder of Motobu-Ryu. He was born into a branch of the Ryukyuan royal family, and at the age of 12, he and his older brother Motobu Chōyū invited Ankō Itosu to learn karate. Chōyū was also a noted martial artist.
Motobu also studied karate under Sakuma, Matsumura Sōkon, and Kōsaku Matsumora. He excelled especially in kumite and was already known throughout Okinawa in his twenties. As he grew up, he came to be regarded as the best in Okinawa in terms of practical karate techniques. He is reported to have been very agile, which gained him the nickname Motobu no Saru (“Motobu the Monkey”). He distanced himself from the modernization trend in karate, focusing only on kata Naihanchi and concentrating on kumite practice.
Find more information about the basic kata Naihanchi-Tekki of Motobu-Ryu.
Kamae is in the heart, not a physical manifestation.
Everything is natural, and changing.
One does not have to take care to block every single attack by an oppenent with weak stricking power.
One must develop the ability to deflect an attack even from behind.
In a real confrontation, more than anything else one should strike to the face first, as this is the most effective.
Karate is Sente (Here, sente means the initiative, or the first move; Karate ni Sente Nashi – there is no first move in karate).
The position of the legs and hips in Naifuanchin no Kata (Naihanchi/Tekki) is the basics of karate.
Twisting to the left or right from the Naifuanchin stance will give you the stance used in a real confrontation. Twisting ones way of thinking about Naifuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each movement of the kata will also becom clear.
One must always try and block the attack at its soure (i.e. block not the attacking hand, but deeper on the arm).
The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Blocking with one hand then countering with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion.
One cannot use continuous attacks against true karate. That is because the blocks of true karate make it impossible for the oppenent to launch a second attack.
I still do not yet know the best way to punch the makiwara (note: this statement was made when Choki was over 60!).
It’s interestin, but when I just think about performing a kata, when I’m seated, I break a sweat.
When punching to the face, one must thrust as if punching through to the back of the head.
When fighting a boxer, it is better to go with his flow, and take up a rhythm with both of your hands.
It is necessary to drink alcohol and pursue other fun human activities. The art (i.e. karate) of someone who is too serious has no “flavor”.
It is OK to take two steps forward or back in the same kamae, but over three steps, one must change the position (facing) of their guard.
When I fought the foreign boxer in Kyoto, he was taller then me so I jumped up and punched him in the face. This is effective against people wo are taller than you.
I started having real fights at TsuJi when I was young, and fought over 100 of them, but I was never hit in the face.
Katsuyuki Shimabukuro 島袋勝之 was a student of Chibana Chosin, later Higa Yuchoku, now Tokashiki Iken.
In Okinawa, Naihanchi is performed with both open and closed hands. The bunkai are not exactly the same, but they are related. It’s like variations on a theme..
The kata has profound importance in traditional karate. In fact, Kentsu Yabu, a student of master Anko Itosu, famously stated that “Karate begins and ends with Naihanchi”. This highlights the kata’s fundamental nature in martial arts training. Naihanchi (also known as Naifanchi or Tekki) is a critically important kata in Okinawan karate with deep historical roots.
Update with Bunkai-Drills
This video demonstrates the kata Naihanchi (also called Naifuanchin or Tekki), warm-up drills for the kata, associated application practices developed by Motobu Choki (1871-1944), and of course the best part of learning — mistakes.
Shorinji Kempo Ryu is a purely Japanese martial art that combines Chinese Shaolin martial arts with Japanese budō principles.
Shorinji Kempo Ryu of the International Shorinji Kempo Association is based on the techniques and philosophy of Shorinji Kempo, which originated in the northern Shaolin Monastery (Shàolín-sì 少林寺) in China, where Buddhist monks trained their bodies and minds to master not only self-defense but also inner peace.
The practical background was also to defend the monastery from roaming gangs. Doshin So (born in 1911 as Nakano Michiomi), the founder of Shorinji Kempo, traveled to China in the 1930s and studied these ancient martial arts and the associated philosophy.
In 1947, in the city of Tadotsu on Shikoku, he founded Shorinji Kempo, an art based on the principles of Zen Buddhism and the Chinese Shaolin arts.
The 6 pillars:
ken zen ichinyo – Body and mind are one
riki ai funi – Strength and love go hand in hand. Strength without love is nothing more than violence, and love without strength is powerless.
shushu kōjū – Defend first, then attack
fusatsu katsujin – Do not kill, but give life. The saying “one blow, certain death” is not found in Shorinji Kempo Ryu. The goal should be to stop evil and convince the opponent to desist.
gōjū ittai – Hard and soft are united. Shorinji Kempo Ryu as self-defense serves the purpose of protecting oneself from attacks. See below for the principles of Juho and Goho.
kumite shutai – Joint training comes first. So Doshin repeatedly and clearly condemned thinking in terms of victory and defeat and striving to defeat others.
Bassai Dai (Passai): a powerful, combat‑oriented kata meaning roughly “storming the fortress.” It teaches how to break through an opponent’s defense using strong hip rotation, precise kime, and solid stances.
The sequence mixes heavy blocks, straight punches, elbow and shoulder strikes, and frequent turns and direction changes. Shifts between low and mid stances build stability and flexibility; explosive breath (kiai) and hip-driven power produce penetrating force. Bunkai illustrates applications for multiple attackers, close-range fighting, joint locks and control techniques. Versions vary by style (Shotokan, Shito‑ryu, Goju‑ryu, Okinawa); Bassai Dai is central in Shotokan, while Passai forms are older and more diverse.
Presented by One Minute Bunkai from zentokukai.com
Shotoryu Goshinjutsu is a system of self defense based on the kata of Shotokan. Basic Premises:
Traditional Karate is an art of self defense
Historically karate was taught primarily through kata
Therefore kata should teach self defense
To be of practical value, the primary defenses should be against the most likely attacks. Evaluating Applications
Traditional Training Tips
Here are a few changes we should make to traditional training in the Shotokan style. Honoring and respecting tradition does not mean to follow it blindly.
Here are some impressive kumite fights from the renowned Sensei Frank Brennan of the UK. He was a complete fighter, dangerous with both hands and legs in any situation. As you can see, these were incredibly hard-fought bouts for both sides.
