Category Archives: Bunkai

Funakoshi Sensei with Uchi Uke

Bunkai Bassai-Dai

Bunkai,
The renowned Sensei Gimberline demonstrates his bunkai interpretation of the kata Bassai-Dai with practical exercises.

Bassai translates as “destroy the wall” or “storm the fortress”. Accordingly, the kata should also be performed powerfully. It is said to have been created by Matsumura Sōkon and can be traced back to the Okinawan Tōde-Katas. It is believed that it was taught in its original form by Chinese masters as early as the late 13th century and came to Okinawa as a result of trade relations. Today it is no longer possible to determine how far today’s Bassai Dai still corresponds to its ancient origin.

Bassai Dai belongs to the group of Shorin kata, whose training focus, in addition to the techniques to be executed, is to train the karateka’s speed. The main characteristic of the kata is that the individual techniques are performed very quickly and powerfully. It contains many defensive block and leverage techniques and comparatively few leg techniques. With about 40 individual techniques, Bassai Dai is one of the longer katas. Therefore, it is one of the katas that are very often performed both in Dōjō and in kata competitions.

“In karate, hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the only methods, throwing techniques and pressure against joints are included … all these techniques should be studied referring to basic kata”

gichin Funakoshi

Find more content about Bassai Dai here.

The Bubishi is the Bible of Karate

Karate Moves Explained by MMA Fighter Erik Paulson

Bunkai, Demonstration, Special Reports, ,

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.

Naka Sensei - Heian Bunkai Demonstration

Heian Bunkai with Naka Sensei

Bunkai,

The Heian (peaceful mind) kata are derived from the older Okinawan Pinan kata (which also means peaceful or calm mind). Sensei Gichin Funakoshi changed the name of these and many other Shotokan kata when he took karate to Japan in the early 1920s in a bid to make them more accessible to a Japanese consumer base. An interesting karate history fact is that the kata we know today as Heian Nidan was originally the first of the Heian kata until in the 1930s, Funakoshi switched Nidan with Shodan. Some styles still practice it the original way around though what Shotokan karate calls Heian Shodan is arguably a lot easier than Nidan, which is probably why they were switched in the first place.

Tatsuya Naka demonstrates the shotokan heian (pinan) katas with his personal bunkai explanations.

They are practiced and seemingly designed so that students can learn increasingly difficult techniques as they progress in the art of karate and they were developed by Okinawan Master Anko Itosu at the turn of the twentieth century. However, the Heian kata probably have their origins in much older forms from China known as Channan or Kushanku (Kanku Sho and Dai may also originate from these kata). Legend has it that Master Itosu (or perhaps an older teacher, Tode Sakugawa) learned a kata called ‘Chiang Nan’(pronounced Channan in Japanese) from a Chinese diplomat and Kung Fu expert who lived in Okinawa called Kung Hsiang Chun. Though the original kata is lost, it is believed that it was very long so Itosu divided it into five as they would be easier to learn.

Another theory is that Itosu, who took the previously secretive martial art into the schools in Okinawa, found that children had difficulty learning kata so he devised the Pinan kata group to aid this. It is believed by some that he took moves from the Bassai and the Kanku sets in particular and arranged them so they gradually got more difficult through the various Pinan kata.

Sesam with Karate-Ka and black belts

Karate Concepts by Sensei Guy Brodeur 7th Dan

Bunkai, Demonstration

Sensei Guy Brodeur, a highly accomplished martial artist with a 7th Dan ranking in Traditional Shotokan Karate. He boasts an impressive background, having been a four-time National Champion in various traditional styles and winning the SKI’s World Championship in Team Kata in 1985.

Despite his success in competition and his strong foundation in Traditional Shotokan Karate, Guy felt a need for further development in his martial arts journey. In 1998, he encountered Sensei Steve Ubl, which significantly altered his perspective and approach to karate. This encounter redirected his path while maintaining his dedication to Traditional Shotokan Karate.

The narrative highlights the transformative power of training with a different sensei and how a single experience can revolutionize one’s martial arts journey. It also emphasizes the importance of solo training. We are happy to give you a brief insight into his skills and ideas here.

Demonstration: Concepts within Kata Bunkai

Demonstartion: Delivering body mass through technique

Demonstration: Controlling the middle line

View more videos related to KIHON.

Sunset with a Kata

Kanku Dai Bunkai

Bunkai,

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.

Continue reading Kanku Dai Bunkai →
Funakoshi Sensei with Uchi Uke

Jion Kata Bunkai

Bunkai

This is a summary of some of the practical and effective applications within the kata Jion. Kata is alway more interesting to practice when you actually know some realistic applications behind the techniques. In the last few decades, many dedicated karateka have begun to search deeper to understand these techniques and reintroduce them to the teaching curriculum. Sensei David Gimberline is presenting his bunkai knowledge about the kata Jion.

Jion – love and grace, temple sound

The Jion is a typical Shotokan kata and is unknown in most other ryu. The name Jion is identical with “Shaolin”. The second standby position Jiai no gamae is identical with the greeting that the Shaolin monks used among themselves. Since the kata has the same name, it is believed that it represents the fighting style of the monks and thus goes back to the origin of martial arts.

Jion in another translation means “love and grace”.

The kata is said to have a deep psychological meaning, and its proper execution is said to resemble the perfected maturity of a Buddha. Its practice conveys perfect harmony in movement, balance of mind, and leads to a direct, effective fighting style.

Through the syllable “Ji”, the Jion has a kinship with the kata Jitte and Ji’in, which today classifies it with the two in a kata group.

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Sochin Bunkai

Bunkai,

This is a summary of some of the practical and effective applications within the kata Sochin. 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.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

When karate was introduced from Okinawa to mainland Japan, its curriculum was modified to be more suitable for teaching in large group settings. In the case of kata, explanation of the brutal self-defense applications behind the movements were mostly removed from the teaching. These applications have remained largely a secret to most karateka for nearly a century. To this day, most karateka have little or poor knowledge of the application of the kata they practice every week. In the last few decades, many dedicated karateka have begun to search deeper to understand these techniques and bring them back to the teaching curriculum. We owe these diligent individuals our gratitude for their hard work and perseverance in making this exciting and valuable knowledge available to the public.