Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

I was wondering if anybody could tell me about the history of the Hanasu No Kata. When and where did it originate? Has it changed over the years?

The answers you seek lie in the sacred film!



At 1:39 seconds he demonstrates what seems to be a variation of the hanasu no kata ideas. From what I can tell this film seems to be made in the late 1950s. - maybe.

Of course doing techniques from a grabbed wrist dates back to daito ryu and beyond.

I am glad this topic is coming up. In my own practice I am beginning to challenge some of the ways we practice this kata (surprise surprise coming from me!)

I think you're right ... that film shows the same combinatorial concerns as the hanasu no kata (mirror-hand/cross-hand, push/pull, radial/tangential), and they do each technique on both sides. They end with two double-hand grabs, but other techniques that would make it seem more like koryu dai yon than like hanasu no kata are absent. I need to unearth my DVD copy and watch it in very slow motion.

Very interesting. This is one sacred film I have yet to see. Some interesting views of early san kata as well. Cool.

i put the message in the wrong thread - moved

Ha, you moved it out from under my answer! Now I will have to figure out to where...

Meanwhile, I hope anybody else acquainted with the history of this kata will continue to chime in here...

First -- the name-- as a name "Hanasu no kata" probably goes back to someone stateside (Merritt?? Geis??-- i dont know specifically) -- I am told that Ms. Miyake didnt name it Hanasu no Kata nor did she consider it a " formal kata" as such and was surprised to see it referred to in that way -- a little research reveals that we can find similar/ and near identical forms which are named (i think arguably more accurately) "shichihon no kuzushi" (seven forms of balance break--comprising the first seven of yon kata but without throws) and "musubi renshu" (connection practice-- emphasizing kuzushi and control mechanics) -- i like these other names because the term hanasu -- "to break free or to release" is a pretty limited context for all what goes on in these exercises -- also to delineate it as a kata rather than an informal practice form or exercise was probably a misstep somewhere along the way that took on a life of its own as such things sometimes do.

As a form of practice i think historically what we see in the eight releases is pretty close to the first section of koryu dai yon and also to the "dynamic 11," a warm up exercise that Tomiki used at Waseda in the 50's and 60's that is like the "8 releases" with a few waza added but all of them terminating with falls -- i suspect that the "dynamic 11" was Tomiki's invention and it probably gave rise to both the early part of yon kata and the eight releases -- the codification of 8 waza or practice forms that came to be called Hanasu no Kata may be an adaptation of those exercises originating from either Mr. Kogure or Ms. Miyake most likely

interesting

Thanks, Nick!

The name "musubi renshu" is great -- I will try to remember to use that sometimes.

I finally watched your lessons on the dynamic 11. Those are very fun, though I can see why we don't use those higher falls as a warmup these days, at least in clubs where there's no judo. As always, superb ukemi in the demonstrations!

the description musubi renshu comes from Jiyushinkai i think

Yoji Kondo sensei recently told me that the exercises that later came to be calledthe releases were indeed part of the old waseda cirriculum and that Miyake was the one who taught them in Houston...

nick lowry wrote:...i like these other names because the term hanasu -- "to break free or to release" is a pretty limited context for all what goes on in these exercises...

I like the term hanasu for the same reason you dislike it. it is sort of a puzzle or koan - why do we call this thing, "releases" when we're not making them let go? It gives me a prompt to teach that we are releasing the bind between uke and tori - not that we are releasing ourselves from uke's grasp. the name of the thing is sorta like that proberbial finger pointing at that proverbial moon.

Chuck Clark discussed the hanasu term at recent seminar and said that classically it was used to denote the fairly static exercises for breaking grips (there is a basic double handed hanasu included in the judo "go no kata" that has recently emerged) -- ie working aginst the weakness of a gripping condition