March 22, 2007

I’m being too nice

Since Monday I’ve been working on my first kata, Nai Hanchi Shodan, every chance I get. I figured that if I’m going to go kata by kata and start fixing things, I might as well incorporate bunkai (application) into my practice as well.

Mr. BBM has been a great help to me with this and has been a fabulous uke. He has continued to stay a good sport, even when I demand that he come over and punch towards my face within minutes of him walking in the door from work, so that I can block and throw him around a bit. He didn’t even mind that much when I was experimenting with joint locks and completely wrenched his arm unintentionally while I was deep in thought.

The problem in working with him though is that when you’re first trying to work out the application, it goes very slowly. Slow kata means that you forget where you are in the kata as you go. So, I keep having to start from scratch, figure out where I’m at and then continue on. If he knew the kata he would be of greater assistance to me-yet another reason he needs to get his butt back to the dojo.

I’d been thinking about the bunkai for this kata all day today and when he walked in the door tonight from work I had to try it out. Instead of using a double block and back fist as simply a block against a punch, block against another punch, followed by a back fist to the head, I wanted to change it up a bit. I blocked his first punch, and then pulled the other arm up underneath and around his arm I just blocked, and then back across centerline so as to twist his arm up behind his back. Basic bunkai is cool enough, but finding a move in there that you didn’t know was there is even more exciting.

When I got to class tonight, I asked my instructor how one would do the back fist after that arm lock without it being awkward. So, we started off class with a basic bunkai demonstration for the first kata, followed by a not-so-basic demonstration that was really cool.

The other cool thing is that right as class was beginning, a black belt walked in, which meant he got to play the role of uke (i.e. person who gets thrown around), not me. Bonus.

When all was said and done and both demonstrations/explanations were finished I came to the conclusion that I am being entirely too nice to Mr. BBM. Kosa steps are not simply steps; they can be kicking the leg out from underneath someone. Bringing one’s hands back to an on guard position on the belt isn’t preparing for the next attacker; it can be breaking an attacker’s neck. I was shocked at how many kills there were in that kata and am now seeing it in a whole new light.

I think Mr. BBM will be seeing me in a whole new light after I try some of those moves on him too, like possibly the light that he’ll be staring up into when he’s found himself flat on his back with no warning(rubs hands together and evil laugh ensues).