Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
“If you liken the technique to a length of chain, you are gradually removing links, breaking it down so it can be studied piece by piece.” - Dave Lowry, Learn by not Doing
What this practice method attempts to do is isolate the many components in a technique.
- Perform the technique as designed and taught.
- Perform the technique stopping at the last part such as a kick, stop without tension and just let the foot flop. In short regarding kicks, “Complete all the actions of the kick except for the last one.”
- Perform the same kick, but leave off both the last movement and the penultimate movement—the extension of the lower half of the leg.
- The next link to go is the kicking leg itself. Drive your hip from the 45-degree angle of the front stance to a fully front-facing direction. But keep your kicking foot on the floor.
What Lowry Sensei is trying to convey, to my mind, is one breaks down the technique into its distinct and separate components. In short again, “The focus is placed on mastering individual elements, broken down in such a scientific manner, that make up the whole technique.”
Lowry Sensei explains, “It’s a sure way to learn the fine points that will make your technique stronger. It’s also a way to isolate or accentuate any problems you might be having.”
So, as I see it when one takes their fundamental, basics, training to this stated of break down it speaks to another aspect of what we call, bunkai, but different since is is not breaking down the kata into techniques but breaking down the technique itself. I believe that many of the terms that describe what we do to teach, learn and apply our karate and martial arts are unlimited in how they are defined because as you can see by this article, and the one written by Lowry Sensei that can be found by searching the Internet, bunkai is not just breaking down kata to find effective techniques to apply in self-defense but it also includes breaking down and defining, discovering and synthesizing other aspects of the disciplines into explainable facets of a very broad, deep and interesting way of the empty hand.
For instance, as I define bunkai, previously to this new thought, I stated:
Bunkai [分解]
The characters/ideograms mean "disassembly; dismantling; disaggregating; analysis; disintegrating; decomposing; degrading." The first character means, "part; minute of time; segment; share; degree; one's lot; duty; understand; know; rate; chances," the second character means, "unravel; notes; key; explanation; understanding; untie; undo; solve; answer; cancel; absolve; explain; minute."
Bunkai means to analyze or disassemble, a term used to describe a process of breaking apart a form to explain the application toward fighting or in more modern times self-defense. It describes the meaning of a movement within the kata and basic techniques, i.e. fundamental technique derived exercises as an introduction toward kata practice and training.
What I would do today is change it to reflect the additional concept of what I see as karate bunkai:
Bunkai means to analyze or disassemble, a term used to describe a process of breaking apart karate and martial arts, from techniques to kata to all particulars of the system and art to help explain it, validate it and apply it in practice and training, to explain the particulars of karate and martial arts toward fighting or in more modern times self-defense. It describes the meaning of principle base multiple methodologies, the basic techniques, the kata and other aspects of the discipline. (Yes, this need further editing but it will do for this article)
This exercise is about seeing beyond the obvious, seeing beyond perceptions, and seeing beyond the initial limited teachings such as how bunkai is often taught and understood. When you learn a new term to explain how the teachings of karate are taught from a traditional or classical perspective where such terms are used you have to define that term and then remove verbiage that directs the mind to a singular specific so that the definition remains generic and unrestricted. Then you take that term and definition and see how it may, could or does apply to other aspect of the discipline. Example is bunkai where the definition is:
The characters/ideograms mean "disassembly; dismantling; disaggregating; analysis; disintegrating; decomposing; degrading." The first character means, "Part; minute of time; segment; share; degree; one's lot; duty; understand; know; rate; chances," the second character means, "unravel; notes; key; explanation; understanding; untie; undo; solve; answer; cancel; absolve; explain; minute."
Note that in defining the term there is nothing there that binds that term to any one meaning. Those meanings tend to be tied to such terms because of how they are introduced, often in teaching a kata one is told that the bunkai is, “Sensei then explains the particular technique such as a side block to a straight punch to the solar plexus.” Once that type of explanation is provided, without explaining that bunkai also does what I suggest, the student will, as humans do naturally and instinctively, assign it to that narrow definition instead of coming to the understanding that bunkai goes beyond just explaining, finding and developing techniques from kata moves.
In short, when using the term bunkai, use it to mean that you are analyzing every part, every segment, every understanding, every question, every answer by explaining it and how it could work, how it may work and why it will work whatever many different ways beyond one set way. For instance, when your drill partner, uke vs. tori, throws a straight punch to the solar plexus in lieu of blocking it explain how you can move out of its path while deflecting it with one hand and applying an appropriate action with the other, etc. - bunkai!
p.s. here is another point of view, perception or distinction; don’t refer to other bunkai as advanced or secret techniques but call them what they truly are, bunkai!
Bibliography (Click the link)
Derived, extracted from his Black Belt ‘the karate way’ column, “Learn by not Doing of April 1996.”
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