Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

just got this nice question from England--

"I have a technical question, on the step. In Yon kata, your stepping with uke so that your timing is together and in the releases your timing is slighty slower, so you step just after.
Discuss no more that 10,000 words :0)
Any thoughts appreciated."


i wrote back--

in both releases and dai yon our stepping is really shooting for just after-- but to get "just after" really tight so as not to be way late you have to do alot with timing the footstrike "together" --so together is the method to build "just after"
--we are looking for a window in timing that builds both synchrony of rise and fall so as to rob uke of tactile signal and also allow for our weight to be delivered to uke just after his weight is committed to a step-- this is a narrow gap in time --perhaps the only real difference in dai yon and releases is the degree of refinement of that gap

Yes to what Nick says.

I have always seen the stepping as arrhythmical. If your are moving slightly after your partner you are loading weight and a moving center on his structure. This forces his next move, or step, in a predictable way.

Unrelated question: I've heard of the releases being called Hanasu-no-kata. Sound correct?

Personally, I find the releases work mentally for me when I think the word "Lead," as in leading a horse to water, but not being really able to make him do anything.

I contrast that with my mental word of "Ride" when I'm performing yon kata.

The mind-key works for me. I'm working the releases for the practicing of the traditional kazushi(s) -- and sometimes some non-traditional ones, but in yon kata I'm really after the blending with uke to find out where he wants to go.... and then just that little bit more at the "execution of technique" point if one shows up.

But, when doing the kata, it usually does, unlike randori, where I'm almost always surprised at where the guy falls down, or when I do...

Hi john-- heres a little i wrote a while back on the name etc....

" 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 didn't 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"



can you say more about "lead" and "ride" ? -- your key word stuff is interesting