Feb instructor training

Stratton Lobdell
Kenshusei Research Paper
JKA Shotokan vs. Best Karate Shotokan


Shotokan karate was created through the combination of various styles of Okinawa-te by Gichin Funakoshi. When he brought his newly re-named Karate to Japan he brought 16 kata and the basics that our style is built on. Funakoshi Sensei had many students over the years and most went on to found there own organizations. The first few years after Funakoshi Sensei’s death Nakayama Sensei created and led the Japan Karate Association. The JKA produced many of the great karate men of the last 50 years. The JKA and Nakayama sensei put forth the texts that have become the definitive modern standard for Shotokan karate. First came “Dynamic Karate” and then the “Best Karate” series which encompass the basic kicks, punches, blocks and strikes that make up out art. The also cover the 26 recognized kata and make reference to the 27th.
Yoshiharu Osaka was, in his prime, referred to by some as the prototype of JKA shotokan but each of the JKA shotokan masters has his own style. The standard as set forth by Nakayama sensei was linear and based very much on the idea of ikken hissatsu, the one attack kill. Others, like Asi sensei, took those principals of power generation and added more circular movement, changing vertical distance, throwing and jumping techniques were more heavily emphasized. Yahara sensei emphasizes raw power, kime and intensity. The JKA produced many great karateka but only a few were able to take the base of JKA shotokan and build further upon it. There are four main differences I have identified that set McClary/Robinson Shotokan apart from the JKA mold.
In the last three years of training under Shihans Robinson and McClary the emphasis for beginners was similar to the basic Best Karate JKA system. As we have advanced and our level of understanding and physical skill has improved, Shihan has incorporated more dynamic movement. These differences have begun to be more apparent during the Kenshusei course of study. These differences are not so pronounced as to radically change the form of the movements. The differences lie in the emphasis of the movement.
To be able to execute the dynamic, electric movements that set McClary/Robinson Shotokan apart, there must first exist a solid foundation. Through rigorous kihon training we develop the low stances and smooth hip rotation required to generate power. As with Nakayama/JKA shotokan all beginners spend months and years practicing the three primary stances that all others come from. Kiba-dachi, kokutsu-dachi and zenkutsu-dachi are drilled until the legs are strong and coordinated.
McClary/Robinson Shotokan moves through less static postures. Tai-sabaki, body shifting, plays a large role. Shihan Robinson is constantly in motion, up and down, cutting and changing the angle of attack. While each movement in itself is a complete attack, there is another behind it and another to follow. Often as Uke I find myself overwhelmed by the first two attacks and unable to even react to the third and fourth as each one comes, each from a different direction. Shihan McClary has also go to lengths to make sure we understand that no matter where in the movement you are, you are always prepared to attack and defend simultaneously. There is no transitional movement. All movements are constant offense throughout. This is the first difference; constant movement, there is no show boating, no posing.
The second, and perhaps most pronounced, difference in style is the greater focus on kanku; the loading/contracting to create maximum possible power through expansion/explosion. This is accomplished sometimes in large obvious ways; bending knees and ankles, sinking the body lower, rotating the hips away from the target to allow maximum rotation with the strike. Other times this contraction and expansion are condensed. The result is vibration.
Two specific parts of Bassai Dai illustrate this very effectively. In the early part of the kata after the first series of movements, the karateka is standing in heiko-dachi with left hand extended in kake shuto-uke, from here he delivers the most basic strike in our curriculum, choku-tzuki. This movement performed by a beginner may look simple and have little effect. When delivered with proper kime and hip vibration the strike is dynamic and powerful. The vibration of the hip allows the entire body to participate and generate power with the punch.
After that series of punches there is another example of McClary/Robinson shotokan hip rotation; the move from left hand uchi-uke in han-zenkutsu-dachi to kokutsu-dachi shuto-uke with a ninety degree turn in the middle. As performed by Shihan Robinson this movement contains a full contraction of the body and sweeping shuto strike with the right hand as the left reaches out toward the eventual target for defense. The hips rotate completely around during this movement and add power to the sweeping shuto. The knife hand block is then delivered with vigor. The greatest emphasis is on the rotation and load and virtually creates an additional movement in the kata.
The third difference I have found is the emphasis on “electric movement.” Shihan Robinson often says that anywhere you touch; your opponent should feel pain. As beginners we learn to “deflect and re-direct.” As we have become more advanced karateka that same principal is applied to strikes. Every block becomes a strike. Gedan barai is no longer a downward block to fend off a kick; it has become a hammer fist strike to the inside of the thigh. The rising blocks in Heian Shodan become age empi uchi. We often drill self defense techniques and applied bunkai on Friday nights and at instructor training. Within all the kata there are many hidden applications, strikes, eye gouges, soft tissue strikes, that beginners never see. These applications are not taught under the traditional JKA system. Any time an opponent gets close enough to touch, he must pay for it. As a deterrent we do not simply break the opponents hold on our wrist, we strike the wrist or arm in a way that he cannot grab at us again. Striking with open hands to the face and neck to distract or incapacitate the opponent and make it possible to follow with another attack or to escape. The concept of Tai no sen should not be overlooked.
Tai no sen, to avoid or suppress the attack before it begins, is sometimes expressed as the ultimate aim of all martial arts. This is an aspect of McClary/Robinson Best Karate that is an undercurrent through all our training. We say the Dojo Kun and these are ideas that come from Funakoshi sensei but at Best Karate in Raleigh it is particularly important. Shihan Robinson has shared with us his reasons for training and the great gratitude he has to Shihan McClary and to Karate from helping him practice tai no sen throughout his life. This was one of my own personal goals with karate training and is part of the reason I train McClary/Robinson Best Karate. Through constant practice and training, through the banging and bruising of daily karate practice we have learned to control our tempers. We have learned to curb our aggressive tendencies and channel them into karate. Conflict avoidance and character development was one of the main precepts of Funakoshi sensei’s karate. In looking at other current leaders in the world of karate, some seem to hold up these ideals and others do not. We do.
Karate throughout the word has been infused with the personality of its practitioners. Each person who has trained long enough to begin to understand the true principals of karate adds some of their own flavor. Just as each karateka eventually chooses or is given a special kata to be their own, each person will have special techniques that work and feel the best. Karate becomes an outgrowth of our personality and with proficiency comes the ability to express our personality through our movement. Shihans McClary and Robinson have certainly reached that point and the karate we practice is filled with their personality, their own style.