Kodokan Goshin Jutsu - Sato demo

I enjoyed this demonstration of Kodokan Goshin Jutsu (the demo at the beginning of the film  a lot.  Things that I found especially noteworthy -

• the large amplitude of the kotegaeshi throws
• in the separated empty-hand section, uke's attacks are great!  not the overly simplistic or telegraphed feeds that we usually see.
• in the knife section, uke's mind apparently slips and he changes the attack but tori seamlessly slips into an appropriate response.

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Kataude dori - release#1 ushirowaza

Here is another example (time 1:25-1:35) of release#1 being used from an ushiro position - this time, uke has tori in kataude dori - a locked-arm come-along.  Tori gets in synch with uke's stepping and steps away, drawing uke offbalance.  To further disrupt uke's motion, tori "kicks" uke's leg.  I use the quotes here because you don't really have to kick, just touch his leg to stop it and stick it to the ground.  From there tori does a large release#1 motion and finishes with wakigatame.

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We played with this interesting little tidbit during this past weekend's ABG.

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The long lost Goshin Jutsu kata post

Several months ago I had a great, extended blog discussion with some of my blogospheric Tomiki Aikido buddies about the nature of the Judo exercise titled Kodokan Goshin Jutsu.  This discussion went on for week after week and spilled over at least three blogs that I can think of right off the bat.  If you have good endurance, you can click on the Goshin Jutsu tag below and read through them, but if you just want a summary, the discussion basically went something like...

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"It's not a kata... Yes it is... No it's not... Yes it is, here's how you do it... No you do it this way..."

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Basically I took the position that Goshin Jutsu is not really a kata, rather more of an exercise or drill with a greater extent of variation within it than one would expect from a kata.  Some of my buddies insisted that it should be done in a high-precision, kata-like way.

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Anyway, in my last post in that series I promised a final post on why my buddy's high-precision approach is really a pretty good way to approach it... But I never delivered that promised post, so here is it... The LONG, LOST GOSHINJUTSU POST! (fanfare)

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This exercise, whether you call it a kata or not, should (usually) be done with as great a degree of precision as you can possibly muster.  Even if you try to do it exactly the same way every time, some variability will creep in.

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Both the precision and the variability are good things.

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You still need kata-like precision in your repetitions because this provides a baseline against which variation stands out more clearly.  If you deliberately do the exercise differently every time, you introduce a lot of deliberate variability but you can never detect (and figure out what to do about) more random variation.  Slight changes in timing and pressure and cadence and angle remain hidden and you can never learn from them.

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But on the other hand, if you do the exercise (dare I day, "kata") the same way every time, then when there is some random variation, you immediately sense it and you say to yourself, "Hmmm... That was unusual."  (which is the real beginning of the learning process).

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It is the striving to attain precision that is valuable to you - not the attainment of absolute precision.

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In the striving, you set the stage for variation (which is what you actually learn from) to happen and become noticable.

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Did I say this was the long lost Goshin Jutsu post?  I meant that this is the long lost kata post.  That concept of precision and variability is applicable to any kata in any art.  It is even applicable to stuff you would never call a kata (like newaza drills for instance).

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Owaza Jupon, Kondo style

The second set of Owaza Jupon contains three techniques that the student has already learned in Junanahon Kata - shihonage, ushiroate, and kotegaeshi. This repetition is typically justified by saying that these throws are done differently in Owaza - more dynamically and in a separating fashion. Well, Dr. Kondo told us a few weeks ago that this is his students' normal operating mode for Junanahon kata, so he felt the repetition in the second half of Owaza Jupon was un-necessary.

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So, what would you do about the repetitiveness of this kata?

• Would you maintain the repetitive techniques in Owaza?
• Would you drop these three techniques, reducing the ten-point kata to seven points?
• Or would you substitute new techniques into the kata?

Dr. Kondo's take on this was to substitute three new techniques into the second half of the kata in place of shihonage, ushiroate, and kotegaeshi:

• seoinage - much like the seoinage from nagenokata
• osotogari - much like the nanameuchi osotogari from Kodokan Goshin Jutsu
• ushirodori makikomi - similar to the third technique of junokata, but executed with uke doing a rear bearhug.

This made for some really interesting practice, Things I noticed...

• Unless we study nagenokata a good bit, we probably don't spend enough time throwing seoinage, etc... from fast-moving separated attacks (hamarejudo) like in Owaza Jupon.  Even having done nagenokata a good bit, this technique was awkward for me in this particular context.
• Seoinage, if done with a guruma-like emphasis (as would be suggested by throwing this technique into Owaza Jupon) is virtually the same as udeguruma from the first set. This makes for even more repetitiveness in the kata. Speaking of which, I thought it was interesting that the three repeated techniques in the second half of the kata agitated Dr. Kondo but the first three gurumas in the first half (identical except for gripping action) didn't.
• Osotogari was difficult for me to do from this attack with a guruma action. Perhaps osotoguruma would be a better throw in this kata.
• The ushirodori makikomi is really cool - obviously guruma - so it fits well in this context. It also adds another class of attack to the kata (ushirodori) but still illustrates the principles of the exercise (guruma and separation).

 What do you think of the repetitiveness of Owaza Jupon?  What do you think of this particular solution?

 

 

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Most common habitual acts of violence

Sets of goshin jutsu (self defense techniques) like the Kodokan Goshin Jutsu are very common among martial arts.  Most of these goshin jutsu sets have several features in common:

• They are basically a nod toward situational, reality-based self-defense (RBSD)
• They are designed to defend against common, realistic attacks "on the street"
• They are often fairly limited in scope, making no attempt to be encyclopedic or comprehensive.
• They are suggestive or illustrative of concepts or principles that can be effectively applied against classes of attacks

Here's an interesting thing to think about.  Following is a list of the most commonly experienced violent attacks.  This is derived from a UK study a few years ago, but you can find similar lists on the net - particularly if you search for something like, "most common violent attacks."  These lists are organized from most common to less common...

Male vs. male:

• Push to chest followed by a punch (usually an overhand right or haymaker)
• Punch (usually an overhand right or haymaker) thrown without preceding physical technique
• Chest/lapel grab followed by punch
• Two-handed chest/lapel grab followed by headbutt
• Two-handed chest/lapel grab followed by knee to groin
• Bottle, glass, or ashtray to head (overhand right or haymaker with object in hand)
• Lashing kick to lower legs
• Stabbing at the face with broken bottle/glass
• Side head lock
• Front head lock

Male (assailant) vs. female:

• Single hand grab of victim's raised wrist, gesticulating with other hand
• Grab of one wrist and the opposite upper arm, victim's arms pointing down
• Victim raises both arms, attacker grabs one wrist in each hand
• Victim's arms are down, attacker grabs both upper arms
• Two hands grab one arm, at wrist and upper arm simultaneously

So, my questions for you, dear reader...

• How does this list jive with your experience of things that are likely to happen "on the street?"
• Do you know of any other studies besides the UK HAOV study that resulted in data like this?  perhaps more recent or specific to the US?
• To what degree does your self-defense practice reference the most common attacks that you might expect to experience?

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Precision is a fool's errand anyway

When you define kata exactly down to the smallest technical detail, like "step back with tsugiashi to the left 45 degrees, turning your centerline slightly leftward..." not only is that not working on principle (it's working on technical details), but it makes precision impossible to achieve.  There will always be variance from any precise technical standard you set up.  Not only can you not reach any precise technical hurdle you set up, but your performance and precision will get even worse under stress, causing you to miss the mark even farther.

 

But if you define the central forms of a kata like Goshin Jutsu using principles, like "evade, kuzushi, atemi, wakigatame" then there is sufficient room to act within those principles and achieve the aim of the kata.  In this case, precision is posible in the sense that a good tori can hit all of those principles in that order, even if it's not possible for him to duplicate the look and feel of the central form of the kata.

So, is this a success (tori was able to demonstrate the use of certain principles to diffuse the attack) or is it a failure (tori doesn't look like sensei)?

 

Engineers call this, "tolerance," and in this context, tolerance is a virtue.

 

More to come on why we really DO want to strive for precision in kata... stay tuned...

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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Of course Goshin Jutsu is a kata!

I've been doing blog-randori with LF for several days regarding whether or not Goshin Jutsu is a kata and how it should be practiced.  It's kinda like doing randori with him on the mat because he's so experienced and knowledgeable, I take a lot of falls.

Is GJ a kata?  Of COURSE it's a kata!  It has defined roles for uke and tori.  It is prearranged in that both partners know what's going to happen before they start.  Uke attacks a specific way and tori does a specific thing to diffuse the attack. That's kata.

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But what kind of kata is it?  By that I mean, what is it that is pre-arranged between the partners?  what sort of program is tori running in his body-mind to "do the technique?"  Let me use my favorite example of late - the first technique of Goshin Jutsu.  If you say GJ tells a story, is this technique this sort of story:

"Uke steps in (tsugiashi) from ma-ai with his right foot forward and grasps both of tori's wrists at the same time.  As uke attacks, tori slides (tsugiashi) backward 45 degrees to his left, pulling uke into offbalance in a line parallel to uke's feet and frees his right hand by pulling against uke's thumb.  Tori then executes a back-knuckle strike to uke's temple, grabs uke's right wrist with right hand on top and left hand below, turns his body 90 degrees to the right, and steps away from uke, applying wakigatame."

Or is it this kind of story:

"Uke steps in from ma-ai and grasps both of tori's wrists.  As uke attacks, tori evades offline, draws uke into offbalance, and frees his right hand.  Tori applies an atemi to distract uke and keep him at a distance, then applies wakigatame."

I say it is the second kind of story - a short story rather than a novella.  What is prearranged between the partners is not the exact, precise specifics (uke right foot forward, 45 degrees, tsugiashi, how to free the arm, which variant of wakigatame to do) but rather, the partners prearrange which principles are in play (evade, kuzushi, release, atemi, wakigatame).

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There is a standard, central form - the "kata form" - that illustrates a good way for those principles to be applied to solve the problem in question. But you do not have to apply the principles-in-play in the manner or order shown in the central form.  You might evade, atemi, atemi, evade, wakigatame and get a solution to the problem under study.  Or you might evade straight into wakigatame.  Or you might evade and end the encounter with atemi.  Even your evasion alone might create sufficient kuzushi to end the encounter.

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My point is, there is a cloud of potential techniques (instantiations of principles) surrounding each of the central forms in Goshin Jutsu.  I maintain that you have to get some sufficient number of repetitions of the central form, but that it is more profitable to explore the cloud surrounding that central form than it is to precisely re-create that central form over and over for the rest of your life.

 

...more to come regarding using kata for quality control.  Stay tuned...

 

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Someone is wrong on the Internet

Someone sent me this a while back - this current conversation about Goshin Jutsu reminded me of this cartoon...

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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Miyake the videorecorder

More on LF's response to my Goshin Jutsu article...

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Regarding Miyake teaching Goshin Jutsu the same way the three times that you worked with her on it,  I was only able to get to one of those seminars and I know you and your wife were more intimately involved with her teachings, but I've talked to several people who were at the last two Miyake Goshin Jutsu (1997 and sometime around 2008) seminars and they all confirmed independently that she taught the thing  vastly differently those two times.

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I didn't press them for details of the differences, but I imagine I can see what they're talking about.  It's inconceivable that she would practice the exact same thing the same way, like a human videorecorder for the ten years between those 2 seminars.  Hopefully she had more, better, and different insights at the second one than at the first one.  Had I gone to the second seminar and found that it was an exact reproduction of the first, that would have been sorta disappointing (though you could make a case for my perspective changing during those 10 years, making it not a waste of time.)

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Even within the one Miyake seminar I went to (ca1997), there was variation. Sure, she was working on the central form of each technique - the jumping off point as I called it - and wasn't delving into variation.  But there was still plenty of variation between repetition of techniques.  She was constantly saying (or implying in broken English) things like "here's how you do this and here's a bunch of different ways to make it better," or "Here's how the Kodokan people are doing this but here's how I like to do it because I'm a small woman."

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So, you say you saw the same thing every time (and who could argue with that?) but I saw variability within the one seminar I went to and I heard reports of more variability between the seminars.  Probably talking about the same thing in different accents - toMAtoe - TaMAHtoe - sort of thing.

More to come on what makes the thing the same or different (I say it has to do with staying within the general parameters and principles under study, while allowing exploration and variation around that theme)...

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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Not Goshin Jutsu no kata

Hang onto your chairs, guys, I'm about to speak heresy again. ;-) 

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Last week I wrote a post in which I mentioned that in my understanding, Kodokan Goshin Jutsu is not really a kata, and doesn't have to be practiced like a kata.  Instead it can be practiced like a set of pointers or suggestions - starting points from which to diverge into self-defense practice.

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Well, it seems my article scandalized LF in Houston.  He responded pretty vigorously on his blog.  I respect LF's knowledge, and his experience - both of which are much more vast than mine.  But I hold to my assertion and I thank LF for his counterpoint - you've given me enough material to write about on my blog for a week!

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From day-one of my experience with Goshin Jutsu, my instructor emphasized to us that Kodokan Goshin Jutsu is not really a kata but a set of things to explore.  He made note of an interesting point that I'd like to bring up here.  If you look in the Kodokan Judo book, all the things that were conceived as formal kata bear the name, "________ no kata."  That is, you have nagenokata (forms of throwing), katamenokata (forms of holding), kimenokata (form of decision), etc...

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Then you have "Kodokan Goshin Jutsu" - not "Goshin Jutsu no kata..."  There are other exercises in judo that are sorta like kata but don't reach the level of formal kata - exercises like Kimishiki and Seiryoku Zenyo Kokumin Taiku.

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It seems like just the past few years that the judo powers-that-be have started standardizing the practice of Goshin Jutsu and promoting it as a kata.

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I'm not trying to put this forward the name of the thing as proof-positive of my point.  The naming of kata is not definitive, but it is suggestive of my point.  Names of things have power, otherwise there would have never been any feud over Tomiki using the name aikido for what he was teaching.  Names have meaning, otherwise Tomiki might just as well have stuck with the Aikikai naming scheme and we would be practicing ikkyo now instead of oshitaoshi.

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It also doesn't offend me if you want to treat this thing as a kata and practice it that way.  I prefer to use it as a jumping-off point.  I hope that doesn't provoke you to send a bunch of aiki-ninja from Houston to kill me in my sleep ;-)

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I figure to address (not disprove or discount) some more of LF's points over the course of several posts.  Stay tuned...

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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Judo's non-kata self-defense kata

So, Judo has this thing they call Goshin Jutsu, which has been called the "New Self Defense Kata" (as opposed to the more ancient kimenokata), but it's not really a kata.

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Goshin Jutsu is a set of pre-arranged partner exercises that demonstrate ideas about self-defense from various situational attacks. Sounds like a kata, huh? Well, within the last few years, the IJF has even standardized the formality and execution of the thing so that it can be done as a kata for competition purposes. But it's still not a kata so much as it is a template. Let me use the first "technique" in Goshin Jutsu as an example of what I'm talking about.

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Per the official, standardized, "kata," uke approaches and grasps both of tori's wrists and tries to knee him in the groin. Tori slides diagonally backward to the left, breaks his right hand free by pulling against the thumb, hits uke in the face with a back-knuckle, and then does wakigatame on uke's right arm.

Per the "Pat Parker" understanding, this move is a laboratory exercise within certain constraints:

• uke approaches and grabs both wrists and tries the knee strike. Uke may vary the timing and intensity of the attack within this basic form.
• tori utilizes taisabaki to get off the line (try different directions) of attack and offbalance uke (look what happens to uke's attack when you do different kuzushi).
• tori applies (various) atemi to distract, offbalance, facilitate the lock, maintain space, or destroy uke.
• tori applies wakigatame (or some variant thereof)

This thing is, in no sense, the same every time. Precision is (mostly) thrown out the window in favor of experimentation and experience with variation. If anything, this is a form of limited randori, similar to katamenokata, where tori cinches a hold and uke tries any three moves to break it. In fact, Goshin Jutsu can be turned up a notch for experienced players by telling uke to attack properly, then allowing him to use whatever power and foreknowledge he has to stop tori's atemi and wakigatame.

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Goshin Jutsu as a kata, done precisely against the same attack the same way every time, is of very limited value. You can learn all the lessons that kata move has to teach in a few minutes. Goshin Jutsu as a laboratory experiment in variation is, however, extremely valuable. This sort of Goshin Jutsu practice is rich enough to provide a lifetime of lessons.

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Judo and aikido complete each other

A few weeks ago I wrote about crossover points in karate kata.  These are places where you have the tendency to fall out of the domain of one kata into the domain of another kata.  Today I wanted to mention a similar phenomenon that I've noticed among Tomiki aikido and Kodokan judo kata.  In these two katasets you will find many, many examples of crossover points.

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You will find instances where an idea or principle is presented or suggested in one kata and that principle or a complementary one is completed by a different kata - often one in the other system.  For example:

• Owaza Jupon and Nagenokata complement each other.  Throws that are seen as gurumas in Owaza are seen in nearly identical otoshi forms in Nage.
• Goshin Jutsu and Koryu Dai San have multiple instances of two different, but complementary ideas about solving a particular self-defense issue.
• Same thing with Goshin Jutsu and the older Kimenokata - multiple lenses on the same issues.
• Junokata and Koryu Dai Roku have much the same feel, though junokata seems more mechanical and Rokukata more dynamic.

Anybody notice other crossovers between the aikido and judo katasets?

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Kyuzo Mifune Goshin Jutsu

Interesting alternate form of Goshin Jutsu from Kyuzo Mifune.

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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Goshin Jitsu

Every so often in Japanese martial arts one hears the term, goshinjitsu.  So, what is goshinjitsu?  the Japanese words simply mean, self-defense, and in the context of a martial arts class it often refers to a set of techniques that are practiced as simple, pragmatic self-defense to some specific situational attacks.  Goshin jitsu sets are generally very small and easy to learn.

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Typically a set of goshin jitsu techniques is intended to make up for some of that style's potential weaknesses.  For example, judo, being specialized in throwing and grappling, has a set of goshin jitsu (see the film above) that deals primarily with various punches, kicks, and weapons.  In my karate class in college, the goshin jitsu were intended to give the karateka a chance against various forms of grappling attacks like chokes, bearhugs, and wrist grabs.  Our goshin jitsu was similar to the film below, though much smaller.

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One of the coolest things to me about goshin jitsu sets is that they tend to be characteristic of the school where they are taught or the sensei who teaches them.  You might go to one Shotokan school and see one defense for a certain attack, and then go to another Shotokan school and see a very different response promoted as the goshin jitsu for that particular attack.  And often both techniques are drawn from the corps of knowledge that is Shotokan and both follow good karate principles equally well.  Thus the self-defense sets become individual artistic expressions.

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Goshin Jitsu in aikido and judo

Someone asked me a while back to discuss the differences between how we practice the Kodokan Goshin Jitsu kata in our aikido classes as opposed to in our judo classes. Some of this we've already discussed in a previous post about the pros and cons of aikido and judo. My official position, from what I understand about the arts, is that judo and aikido are two lenses on the same art. Somewhat similar to the idea of climbing a mountain by different paths but ending up close to the same point. Sometimes folks like to call aikido “separated judo,” suggesting that they work at different ranges, but this is only true to a degree. Some folks also like to separate them based on their aggressiveness, calling aikido reactive or defensive and judo an art of aggressive attack. Again, I think this is only true to a point. So, back to the question – how do the two arts differ in their understanding of Goshin Jitsu. Short answer – they don’t.

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But there are minor differences in how the exercise is typically practiced in the two arts. For instance, take the first technique. Uke steps in, grasps both of tori’s wrists and tries to either pull him into or hold him still for a frontal knee strike to the groin. Tori responds by slipping back and to the side, breaking the grasp on the far arm and using it to deliver a strike to uke’s face, then grasping uke’s near wrist with both hands and applying wakigatame. In judo we typically see a direct pulling against the fingers grip release followed by a closed-fisted back-knuckle strike. In aikido we tend to avoid having tori do closed fisted striking atemi because it disrupts his ability to move properly. So the grip break is a winding thing and the atemi is an open-handed palm to the face – really more of a separator and distractor than a strike. This type of slight modification is typical throughout the kata.

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If you watch two well-trained aikidoka do Goshin Jitsu and watch another pair of well-trained judoka do the kata, it will be easily recognizable as the same thing. They will be more similar than different. It is not like we want to train the student to do it one way in one class and another way in another class.

8, 9, 10, and some Goshin Jitsu

8, 9, 10, and Goshin Jitsu

Today we had a fun aiki class. We were incredibly sore from Thursday (at least I know I was and I think Andy was in much the same shape). We warmed up and then worked on nijusan #8, 9, and 10 (hikitaoshi, udehineri, and wakigatame). This was mostly review for Andy and Patrick M., but we refined these techniques and toward the end they were looking much more precise. At the end of class we worked on the first set of Kodokan Goshin Jitsu. Goshin Jitsu is interesting because it is very much the gray area where aikido and judo become the same thing. Invented by Tomiki and his cronies at the Kodokan in the 1950's, much of it either bears a great resemblance to Tomiki's Koryu Daisan or it compliments Daisan well. I recorded some video and should have it uploaded soon.

Tsunako Miyake

I've mentioned before a couple of times that Tsunako Miyake, one of Tomiki's earliest students, made a tour of the U.S. in 1997 to teach Goshin Jitsu. She was in her early 70's at that time, and was an amazing, vigorous teacher. I actually saw her do handstands and falling leaves ukemi during those 1997 seminars.

Well, now she's in her 80's and she's back! Starting this weekend, she'll be in Houston for a couple of weeks worth of invitational seminars, again on Goshin Jitsu. I sure wish I could be there, but I'm broker than the 10 commandments right now, so no Houston trip for me this summer. I'm jealous of all you guys that get to see her this time.

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I have my own lovely picture of Ms. Miyake that my student, Jamie, snapped when she was here last time, but I don't have it scanned into a format that I could use here, so I lifted this pic from the Windsong Dojo site. Hope y'all don't mind.