Thank you so much for your kind words, @joelopez2305! We appreciate the time you took to watch and comment :) We hope you'll stick around for our next video!
Glad it was helpful! We have only done two videos on this super long and vital kata, so hopefully this will hold for now while we work on the next one 🙏🏻
Awesome explanation as always Che Sensei. I particularly like the variations and detail that you show in all your videos. Additionally, much respect to you for mentioning Enfield Sensei who has so much talent not only in Karate but also teaching, just as your good self. Arigato gozaimashita.
Hi It’s a pleasure I believe in giving credit where it is due, I’m nothing without the many Sensei’s who have taught or shared info with me or who have openly shared via the internet. The Enfields are fantastic in sharing there insight, as well as being our seniors in Karate. We ( Zoe and I) have taken many insights from them. I’m most grateful for what they have shared. Please take some time to check out the comments , dialogue or debate that other commentators have left. It’s what I have hoped for. Have a great week Che
Thank you so much for the kind words - its lovely to see your handle pop up again in our comments feed. It would be amazing to one day train with the Enfields - they are trailblazers in karate and on youtube, and we so admire their authentic and approachable karate. Maybe one day!
Thank you so much for the helpful links you have sent via email, Sensei! I might not always respond timeously (we've had a sick toddler since Saturday, so it has been a time crunch) but I always read what you send. Your emails continue to rapidly expand my own, rather small, karate knowledge. - Zoe
WOW! 'Concise', yes; but 'little' bit of info? Surely, sir, you jest! Well worth the wait, and now keenly anticipating in-depth follow-ups. First time i've heard that O-Sensei Miyagi learned Suparinpei immediately after Sanchin. I jettisoned the idea of more and less 'advanced' kaishu kata long years ago, but until now i had no authority on which to base such musings. That piece of the puzzle alone is gold! And the depth of Ché's insights to the variations is both humbling and inspiring. Hohan Soken Sensei taught that kata are 'road map' mnemonic devices recording kyusho-jutsu hand formations and 'vital point' targets, of which there are (apparently)108 used in martial application: 72 'generic' and 36 'lethal' (the 36 listed in Bubishi). Unfortunately, some 'high profile' Sensei have taken the kyusho-jutsu aspect to an implausible extreme, but the meridian charts (and the '6 ji hands') are in the Bubishi for a reason. In Soken Sensei's hypothesis, the knowledge of embedded kyusho jutsu was the okuden of kata transmission. So no inherently advanced kata, just more or less informed understandings/interpretations. I am blessed to have spent 4 years 'at the feet' of Hanshi McCarthy at the KoryuUchinadi hombu. (I have a couple signed copies of Bubishi!). He would occassionally drop little gems of insight in class...Something i like to ponder is the relationship between the meridian charts/6 ji hands and the bunkai illustrations in the Bubishi. It can prove rewarding to have a second copy open at the meridian charts while exploring the bunkai section... use of ipponken in Suparinpei might just (possibly?)be a nod to kyusho attacks being an element in this kata. Alternatively, in Buddhist numerology 108 is the number for completion/perfection, equivalent to 7 in Biblical theology. Perhaps 108 signifies that Suparinpei is a complete explication of core principles? Or maybe the ancestors just had wicked senses of humour and gleefully anticipated the intellectual contortions future students would perform in trying to solve the enigma of kata names? As always, a big arigato Zoé Sensei for all the behind the scenes 'hard yards'...
First secret of karate... there are no secrets, just questions yet unasked. Kyudo Mugen. Second secret... hard work is the ONLY secret. (refer to Tenth secret). Damatte Keiko. Third secret... NEVER take yourself too seriously. Kyudo Mugen. Fourth secret... (refer to second secret) Fifth secret... train until there's no 'self' to defend. Mushin. Sixth secret... (refer to Fourth secret) Seventh secret... training begins OUTSIDE your comfort zone. Mo ichido. Eighth secret... (refer to Sixth secret) Ninth secret... the process IS the purpose. Kyudo Mugen) Tenth secret... (refer to Eighth secret) Eleventh secret... a 'master' is master of the basics. Damatte keiko. Mo ichido.
To have spent so much time learning from Hanshi McCarthy! He's one of the few that genuinely deserves the title (many pretenders, few real teachers), and the knowledge you learned from him shines through in the generous comments you leave under all our videos! Such jealousy, but of the good type. A part of me thinks the old masters must be laughing to see us all argue on youtube, but perhaps they are also glad that we are picking up the trail of what they left for us to find, and for us to find what is useful to each of us. It makes more sense to think of all the katas after Saifa as being similar, rather than ranked. If the mythlogy is true that Sensei Miyagi would assign a kata to someone based on their body and personality, rather than the amount of time they had trained, perhaps we should see the katas on more equal footing than in levels of seniority. I feel like Sanseru is less complex than Seiyunchin, and yet comes after it. I know there is the urge to have some kind of organised chart and a 'final boss' kata to defeat, but as Hopkins wrote in his book on the kata, it doesn't have that many particularly difficult moves compared to the kata before it. As always, thank you for the detailed and wise comment, Sensei! Always appreciated :) - Zoe
Another lovely Kata presentation from Sensei Che. It's down to earth, no fancy flashy moves, and very solid indeed. First 4 double-Mawashi Uke: Circa 9:20 the circular motion of the two arms is done smoothly, sometimes quickly, but the arms are chambered with some force (into a position like you are at the lowest point of a push-up) - shoulders should be down, shoulder-blades deliberately pushed closer together, rib-cage expanded to the maximum, but the moment one reaches this point one pushes both arms outwards immediately WITHOUT PAUSING (see how Sensei Che does this smoothly without a long pause), at the same time contracting one's chest and exhaling....one's trying make use of the extra spring-like effect of stretching the rib-cage's structure, capitalising on the rebounding momentum to add force to kick-start the double palm push...it's like doing bench-press quickly, one can "cheat" and press more weight when one makes use of the rebound effect. I've seen so many kids and sports karate people do the circular movement so rapidly to create the spring-momentum in their ribcages, then pause for a split second (some even holding their breath) for effect, their chest totally exposed (which is in itself irrational) and the springy-momentum is lost due to the pause ...then they would push out using the muscles of their arms. A bit of opportunity for Chinkuchi would be lost there then, I'd think. So I agree with Sensei Che about kids (and some sports karate people) trying to do these advanced Kata - they can emulate but not understand any of it, and one can tell if one knows what to look for. After the initial 4 mawashi-uke hikiuke-nukite combos, one sinks back into neko-ashi dachi and executes another mawashi uke- 11:58 IOGKF emphasizes shifting the centre of gravity first, to "fall" into the next 2 turns+mawashi uke - this little section of 3 mawashi-uke in neko-ashi dachi- is therefore very different from the previous ones, in terms of body mechanics, and therefore a different Bunkai probably emphasising on pulling and throwing interpretations of the mawashi-uke. Anyway , it's displaying the application of a different type of foot work, light, fast, using CG manipulation to speed up movement. 12:28 After that one executes a quick block, double punch then steps forward. Again the Chambering of the arms create stored energy for the double punch. After that, before stepping forward, Higaonna Sensei would tighten his abdomen muscles (straighten the spine and tighten the buttocks) and then he'd step forward in that stiffened upper body state, before doing the next move (cross the arms etc).....This is one instance of Suparimpei's display of Chinkuchi - the body is stiffened, while one steps forward with the fists extended, meaning one is trying to strike using one's body mass and the forward stepping momentum only (not relying on arm extension to generate force as the arms have punched and are already extended). Sensei Che alludes to this by saying one does it like doing a stiff-armed shoving. After that section it's 4 directions in Shikodachi, 14:52 pulling back means stretching one's ribcage while blocking, 15:12 before stabbing (punching) into the V of the blocking hand, again using the body mechanics to generate close quarter power (Chest goes from open to compressed, look at Sensei Che's posture) then as one steps forward in Shikodachi, it's the reverse effect, a compressed ribcage springs apart to create a short explosive force during the double block (a breaking free/shaking free, jolting the opponent type of Bunkai perhaps?) In any case it's a complex Kata which on the surface looks like a long string of rather unremarkable moves, until one looks beyond the arm movements and look at the body-mechanics combined with the breathing to create stuff like chinkuchi within the most mundane looking moves.
Wow! Thanks for the depth of this explication. I've been intrigued by Seisan, Sepai and (especially!) Suparinpei for decades, and they've been the focus of my training. In terms of the principles and tactics that define Goju, Suparinpei is the most comprehensive of the kaishu kata... thanks for sharing your insights.
You know, Ché was so hesitant to do this video, because he felt like his kata wasn't up to standard, or that he wouldn't do it justice. Feedback like this goes to show that sometimes we all get in our own way. I often tell him that there are people with a 10th of his ability putting their stuff out there with no shame, but then again, it's a nice example of how RUclips is the perfect place to see the Dunning-Kruger principle in action. Following the rest of this thread - I am wholly unqualified to discuss any of it, but it is all of massive interest to me, and a wonderful learning opportunity. Thank you again for your kind words and the huge wealth of knowledge you share with us! - Zoe
I really like you footstep and ankle work. I've discovered recently that it's pronounced "iparinpei" in mandarin chinese, whereas it's pronounced "supparinpei" in fujianese. Same goes for Seishan, Sanchin, Shisochin, all these names come from Fujian ! And they have the same kata names (taolu names) in Wu Zu Quan. Everything is connected, i was really astonished.
The beauty is also in how it is all connected, but also how it has all survived, across countries, decades and languages - kata are truly wonderful, fault-tolerant methods of teaching and transmitting information across the ages.
As always, you upload amazing content, with possible inclusion to as many variations of your familiarity with sufficient explanations. The additional writing were very informative, I had to pause the video to read and then continue so that I wouldn't miss neither your explanation nor the writing😂😂😂. I can assure you that you put more content out here than you possibly realize. Once more thank you, Che Sensei.
Ah, thank you so much for the kind words, Francis! I know Ché was hesitant to put out this video, but the feedback we have received has reassured us that we have not mis-stepped in this contribution to global karate. Wishing you a lovely and happy weekend from a rainy Jozi ⭐
Suparimpei or otherwise known as "are we done yet?". :) Funny though that 108 is roughly a distance to the sun in sun's diameters and the same goes for the moon. Even this is a crane kung-fu, but Arhats are OK, too, even there are 18 only and initially 16 before that bearded doll Daruma came to troll Zen monks in the Young Forest on the Hill in China (which changes the name accordingly to Bodhidharma and Shaolin instead of Shorin-ryu). But yes, initially it was 108 actions in a kata and its name, hence "hands", i.e. movements combined in a smallest technical pieces that are not sole yet but still make some impact on the opponent, e.g. three wrist blocks as actual one release from the wrist grab and so on (you can bunkai a kata making an oyo from these pieces which some of them combined could make renzoku - yeah, I made myself clear here as mud). What do I know? I've just tried to count 6 hands in tensho (as it was rokkishu) and 36 in sanseru (these thug cousins from Uechi-ryu have it more clear in their sanseiryu than us, brutally peaceful people of Goju-ryu!). And never done it 108 as it is quite a long kata with all menkyo kaiden level syllabus of the school (that's why one can see all other kata in this one). :)
On Sanseiru... does anyone have contact info for Mario McKenna of Kiyoda Juhatsu Sensei's To'on Ryu? Apparently To'on Ryu has the original version of Sanseiru as taught by Higaonna O-Sensei... Uechi ryu's Sanseiru is suuficiently different to Miyagi Sensei's as to suggest the original might be substantially different to the current Goju version.
Ah, always a delight to hear from our great historian and karate comedian - none of the numbers ever make sense to me, but that's because I think I have number blindness, the same way other people have face blindness! - Zoe
@@koshinryukempo3570 It's just very similar to some branches of Gojuryu that broke off from mainstream quite early on in Goju history - the two flying knee strikes and other bits I've come across in a remote Goju dojo in Okinawa, and other places here and there long before "Toon-Ryu" showed it on RUclips (then took it off quietly).
Ah, you are so welcome! It is a wonderful kata, but one that takes much time to learn properly. We're glad our video was helpful to you - this is the main goal of our channel, after all!
Thank you for this information. this is one of my favorite KATA to perform. however the length of the KATA can sometimes bore the judges LOL. You must perform in front of judges that enjoy ALL KATA. again thank you
It is such a wonderful kata! But yeah, our friends with short atttention spans like Shisochin more (which is also a great kata to perform). Thank you for the kind words, and for taking the time to watch and comment!
The 108 thing: This is just some of the research I came across while working on this video. It didn't fit nicely in the video, so I'm going to share it here for further discussion. Theory 1: It is a transliteration of the original Chinese name into Japanese kanji (Suparinpei is the Chinese pronunciation of the number 108) Theory 2: 108 pressure points in Ayurveda (not a good theory, but nice trivia)
Theory 3: The 108 has its roots in Buddhism: 108 temptations/afflictions/defilements to overcome in order to achieve enlightenment. Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to bring in the new year. Japa mala (a mantra bracelet) has 108 beads. Many Buddhist temples have 108 steps. Theory 4: it is a reference to the 108 Luohan System of martial training taught in Taoist monastries (luohan, also called arhats, are a kind of semi-saint in Buddhist lore), but this is early 20th century, much later than the kata was invented. Theory 4: It ties in with Seisan and Sanseru (18 and 36 hands) which are numbers that are factors of 108 (and regulars of the channel know how I feel about math) Theory 6: 108 feelings - Buddhist believe there are 108 feelings calculated as follows: 6 Senses (Smell, Touch, Taste, Sight, Hearing and Consciousness) x 3 Pleasant, Painful or Neutral feelings x 2 Internally or externally generated feelings x 3 Past, Present or Future feelings Therefore, 36 past, 36 present and 36 future feelings = 108 My personal theory: the Buddhist importance of the number only matters in the context of the kata's creation, to give us some clues given we have very little information on the kata's origins and creator. It doesn't imbue the kata with spiritual significance (unless the practitioner seeks that) but it does make for some nice mysticism for those who want it. Would love to hear the thoughts of others! - Zoe
No shit I know because I wasn't asking Miyagi-sensei about this but just think of sepai (18) as Ju and of the other side of sanseru (36) which is Go. Then 36/2=18 which is like dai and sho versions in Shorin-ryu katas (or saifa being a "travel-size" of kururumfa). Seisan (you confused it with sepai in Theory 4) is an old promotional or open to demonstrate kata for a lot of Okinawan karate schools (when one is ready to represent a school, then he can do seisan in public for the school). My pure speculation, but 13 in the name is kaishu and heishu kata combined in one: i.e. 3 of sanchin (as heishu-gata which trains structure or gamaku, muchimi and all other buzz words) and 10 other "fighting" methods (10 being the last one-figure number as it's just a + and we also tend to thing in decimal systems, Brexiters and Muricans not counting). And I've wrote about 108 above (or below, whatever is sorting here). :)
@@Burvedys Interesting that Seisan is the 'promotional' kata, though I guess it is more flashy than say, Kururunfa? Somewhere in my reading, Suparinpei became the "I am the grandmaster and therefore I will demonstrate this at any exhibition" (this came up in Gile Hopkin's book on Suparinpei.)
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Nah, seisan was created long before even Higashionna Kanryo brought it from China (and not sure if he hasn't learnt it from Arakagi Seisho even before traveling to China). :) And kururumfa was created by Miyagi Chojun during interwar period to make his own Goju-ryu more complete (although all credit for the kata was given to a stronger "brand name", his teacher who was a true legend in Naha, a port town full of thugs before a "gorilla" Motobu Choku came to gain his fame). And seisan is not only in all crane-derivatives around Naha, but in also in Shorin-ryu schools (Matsumura Sokon had his own seishan and Shotokan has it named hangetsu, and so on). Not sure if there is any Okinawan karate style that hasn't got seisan in one form or another (sorry for the pun on kata as a form). There was a need to compete in kata even before it became Olympic... :)))
Thanks, Zoë Sensei, for going to SO much effort to research this stuff. How blessed is the GRKC community to have you'n'Ché Sensei! Karate really IS a COMMONwealth of knowledge...
@@Burvedys 1) I am always skeptical of claims like Chojun Miyagi created Kururunfa, or Kanryo Higaonna didn't bring Seisan from China, he actually learnt it from Aragaki. I mean the karate masters of old must be real muddle-heads or dishonest people if they keep giving the wrong sources for the origins of their Kata. My assumption is : If Chojun Miyagi said he learnt his Kata from Kanryo Higaonna, then it's true, and if Kanryo Higaonna said he learnt his Kata from China, then he wasn't lying either- I'd ignore the ignorant Western/Japanese/non-Okinawan karate "scholars" who aren't trained historians and do not know the language and culture of the time.
@@Burvedys Hahaha, not this time. Only trimmed a minute off -- this was one smooth take. However, the next Suparinpei video will likely be a weighty one (but likely not soon).
Hi We are based in South Africa, and are part of OGKK in South Africa under the Kattan Sensei’s Please look up OGKK India or contact OGKK in Okinawa regarding membership. All the best Che Ps please enjoy our channel and the insights offered by our supporter in the comments.
I'm not sure if they do, but if you want you can go to RTKA in mumbai, that is where I go and they follow Keibukan Goju ryu, currently we are under Higuana Sensei and majority of these kata actions match with ours
Question, Che, my school teaches Ichikawa's style. Our katas have slight differences to the ones you discuss. For instance, our mawashi uke is called 'toragouchi' Tiger mouth and executed a little differently. Our sanchin has a double thumb throat attack after the punches. I don't know much about Ichikawa's 'style', have you guys? I'd be interested in anything you might know about it. Thanks!
So if my research is accurate your lineage is from Seiko Higa, Kanki Izumigawa, and then Sosui Ichikawa sensei It’s a very old school, it looks like it was based on mainland Japan hence the use of Toraguchi for Mawashi use. The differences and subtle differences in focal points are very acceptable. They help show the vast beauty of GojuRyu
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre I knew you would know about it! Yes, that's right Ichikawa's dojo was on the Japanese mainland. He went to Okinawa and trained with Okinawans in Japan.
Hello, Romlyn! There's no OGKK branch dojo we can recommend, but look up Sensei Mauro (karate-do.co.za/westville-durban/) and Sensei Buddy Govender (karate-doh-goju-ryu-jundokan-sherwood-dojo.business.site/) - both have Jundokan lineage and are excellent instructors. All the best! Let us know how it goes :)
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Hi thanks for this reply I only saw it today and thanks for the recommendations I will let you know if I do find a place to start my karate journey.Thanks.
I appreciate your presentations of Goju Ryu Katas. I especially like your pointing to the variations practiced in different schools. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words, @joelopez2305! We appreciate the time you took to watch and comment :) We hope you'll stick around for our next video!
Thank you. Particularly for explaining the variations. ATVB
Glad it was helpful! We have only done two videos on this super long and vital kata, so hopefully this will hold for now while we work on the next one 🙏🏻
Awesome explanation as always Che Sensei. I particularly like the variations and detail that you show in all your videos. Additionally, much respect to you for mentioning Enfield Sensei who has so much talent not only in Karate but also teaching, just as your good self. Arigato gozaimashita.
Hi
It’s a pleasure
I believe in giving credit where it is due, I’m nothing without the many Sensei’s who have taught or shared info with me or who have openly shared via the internet.
The Enfields are fantastic in sharing there insight, as well as being our seniors in Karate. We ( Zoe and I) have taken many insights from them. I’m most grateful for what they have shared.
Please take some time to check out the comments , dialogue or debate that other commentators have left. It’s what I have hoped for.
Have a great week
Che
Thank you so much for the kind words - its lovely to see your handle pop up again in our comments feed. It would be amazing to one day train with the Enfields - they are trailblazers in karate and on youtube, and we so admire their authentic and approachable karate. Maybe one day!
Great lecture/seminar of Suparinpei. Thank you Sensei Jagger for a very thorough history of the kata as well.
Glad you enjoyed it! We recently touched on the bunkai for this kata - we hope you found it as useful 🙏
Excellent! Well researched. Taught me several things! Arigatogozaimasu! Terry.
Terry Sensei thanks for your insights, please look at some of the comments and insights. I’ve learnt more for our contributors
Have a super day
Che
Thank you so much for the helpful links you have sent via email, Sensei! I might not always respond timeously (we've had a sick toddler since Saturday, so it has been a time crunch) but I always read what you send. Your emails continue to rapidly expand my own, rather small, karate knowledge.
- Zoe
WOW! 'Concise', yes; but 'little' bit of info? Surely, sir, you jest! Well worth the wait, and now keenly anticipating in-depth follow-ups. First time i've heard that O-Sensei Miyagi learned Suparinpei immediately after Sanchin. I jettisoned the idea of more and less 'advanced' kaishu kata long years ago, but until now i had no authority on which to base such musings. That piece of the puzzle alone is gold! And the depth of Ché's insights to the variations is both humbling and inspiring. Hohan Soken Sensei taught that kata are 'road map' mnemonic devices recording kyusho-jutsu hand formations and 'vital point' targets, of which there are (apparently)108 used in martial application: 72 'generic' and 36 'lethal' (the 36 listed in Bubishi). Unfortunately, some 'high profile' Sensei have taken the kyusho-jutsu aspect to an implausible extreme, but the meridian charts (and the '6 ji hands') are in the Bubishi for a reason. In Soken Sensei's hypothesis, the knowledge of embedded kyusho jutsu was the okuden of kata transmission. So no inherently advanced kata, just more or less informed understandings/interpretations. I am blessed to have spent 4 years 'at the feet' of Hanshi McCarthy at the KoryuUchinadi hombu. (I have a couple signed copies of Bubishi!). He would occassionally drop little gems of insight in class...Something i like to ponder is the relationship between the meridian charts/6 ji hands and the bunkai illustrations in the Bubishi. It can prove rewarding to have a second copy open at the meridian charts while exploring the bunkai section... use of ipponken in Suparinpei might just (possibly?)be a nod to kyusho attacks being an element in this kata. Alternatively, in Buddhist numerology 108 is the number for completion/perfection, equivalent to 7 in Biblical theology. Perhaps 108 signifies that Suparinpei is a complete explication of core principles? Or maybe the ancestors just had wicked senses of humour and gleefully anticipated the intellectual contortions future students would perform in trying to solve the enigma of kata names? As always, a big arigato Zoé Sensei for all the behind the scenes 'hard yards'...
First secret of karate... there are no secrets, just questions yet unasked. Kyudo Mugen.
Second secret... hard work is the ONLY secret. (refer to Tenth secret). Damatte Keiko.
Third secret... NEVER take yourself too seriously. Kyudo Mugen.
Fourth secret... (refer to second secret)
Fifth secret... train until there's no 'self' to defend. Mushin.
Sixth secret... (refer to Fourth secret)
Seventh secret... training begins OUTSIDE your comfort zone. Mo ichido.
Eighth secret... (refer to Sixth secret)
Ninth secret... the process IS the purpose. Kyudo Mugen)
Tenth secret... (refer to Eighth secret)
Eleventh secret... a 'master' is master of the basics. Damatte keiko. Mo ichido.
To have spent so much time learning from Hanshi McCarthy! He's one of the few that genuinely deserves the title (many pretenders, few real teachers), and the knowledge you learned from him shines through in the generous comments you leave under all our videos! Such jealousy, but of the good type.
A part of me thinks the old masters must be laughing to see us all argue on youtube, but perhaps they are also glad that we are picking up the trail of what they left for us to find, and for us to find what is useful to each of us.
It makes more sense to think of all the katas after Saifa as being similar, rather than ranked. If the mythlogy is true that Sensei Miyagi would assign a kata to someone based on their body and personality, rather than the amount of time they had trained, perhaps we should see the katas on more equal footing than in levels of seniority. I feel like Sanseru is less complex than Seiyunchin, and yet comes after it. I know there is the urge to have some kind of organised chart and a 'final boss' kata to defeat, but as Hopkins wrote in his book on the kata, it doesn't have that many particularly difficult moves compared to the kata before it.
As always, thank you for the detailed and wise comment, Sensei! Always appreciated :)
- Zoe
Another lovely Kata presentation from Sensei Che. It's down to earth, no fancy flashy moves, and very solid indeed.
First 4 double-Mawashi Uke: Circa 9:20 the circular motion of the two arms is done smoothly, sometimes quickly, but the arms are chambered with some force (into a position like you are at the lowest point of a push-up) - shoulders should be down, shoulder-blades deliberately pushed closer together, rib-cage expanded to the maximum, but the moment one reaches this point one pushes both arms outwards immediately WITHOUT PAUSING (see how Sensei Che does this smoothly without a long pause), at the same time contracting one's chest and exhaling....one's trying make use of the extra spring-like effect of stretching the rib-cage's structure, capitalising on the rebounding momentum to add force to kick-start the double palm push...it's like doing bench-press quickly, one can "cheat" and press more weight when one makes use of the rebound effect. I've seen so many kids and sports karate people do the circular movement so rapidly to create the spring-momentum in their ribcages, then pause for a split second (some even holding their breath) for effect, their chest totally exposed (which is in itself irrational) and the springy-momentum is lost due to the pause ...then they would push out using the muscles of their arms. A bit of opportunity for Chinkuchi would be lost there then, I'd think. So I agree with Sensei Che about kids (and some sports karate people) trying to do these advanced Kata - they can emulate but not understand any of it, and one can tell if one knows what to look for.
After the initial 4 mawashi-uke hikiuke-nukite combos, one sinks back into neko-ashi dachi and executes another mawashi uke- 11:58 IOGKF emphasizes shifting the centre of gravity first, to "fall" into the next 2 turns+mawashi uke - this little section of 3 mawashi-uke in neko-ashi dachi- is therefore very different from the previous ones, in terms of body mechanics, and therefore a different Bunkai probably emphasising on pulling and throwing interpretations of the mawashi-uke. Anyway , it's displaying the application of a different type of foot work, light, fast, using CG manipulation to speed up movement.
12:28 After that one executes a quick block, double punch then steps forward. Again the Chambering of the arms create stored energy for the double punch. After that, before stepping forward, Higaonna Sensei would tighten his abdomen muscles (straighten the spine and tighten the buttocks) and then he'd step forward in that stiffened upper body state, before doing the next move (cross the arms etc).....This is one instance of Suparimpei's display of Chinkuchi - the body is stiffened, while one steps forward with the fists extended, meaning one is trying to strike using one's body mass and the forward stepping momentum only (not relying on arm extension to generate force as the arms have punched and are already extended). Sensei Che alludes to this by saying one does it like doing a stiff-armed shoving.
After that section it's 4 directions in Shikodachi, 14:52 pulling back means stretching one's ribcage while blocking, 15:12 before stabbing (punching) into the V of the blocking hand, again using the body mechanics to generate close quarter power (Chest goes from open to compressed, look at Sensei Che's posture) then as one steps forward in Shikodachi, it's the reverse effect, a compressed ribcage springs apart to create a short explosive force during the double block (a breaking free/shaking free, jolting the opponent type of Bunkai perhaps?)
In any case it's a complex Kata which on the surface looks like a long string of rather unremarkable moves, until one looks beyond the arm movements and look at the body-mechanics combined with the breathing to create stuff like chinkuchi within the most mundane looking moves.
Wow! Thanks for the depth of this explication. I've been intrigued by Seisan, Sepai and (especially!) Suparinpei for decades, and they've been the focus of my training. In terms of the principles and tactics that define Goju, Suparinpei is the most comprehensive of the kaishu kata... thanks for sharing your insights.
Matthew Sensei
I’m blown away by the all our insights, thank you for sharing.
Have a fantastic week
Che
You know, Ché was so hesitant to do this video, because he felt like his kata wasn't up to standard, or that he wouldn't do it justice. Feedback like this goes to show that sometimes we all get in our own way.
I often tell him that there are people with a 10th of his ability putting their stuff out there with no shame, but then again, it's a nice example of how RUclips is the perfect place to see the Dunning-Kruger principle in action.
Following the rest of this thread - I am wholly unqualified to discuss any of it, but it is all of massive interest to me, and a wonderful learning opportunity.
Thank you again for your kind words and the huge wealth of knowledge you share with us!
- Zoe
Alongside you, Sensei Jed, Sensei Matthew is one of the finest minds our channel has attracted!
Muito obrigado Sensei. Vou estudar seu vídeo. Oss.
Obrigado por sempre assistir, comentar e apoiar nosso conteúdo, Fernando! Estamos muito gratos 🙇
Thank You
Che
I really like you footstep and ankle work.
I've discovered recently that it's pronounced "iparinpei" in mandarin chinese, whereas it's pronounced "supparinpei" in fujianese. Same goes for Seishan, Sanchin, Shisochin, all these names come from Fujian ! And they have the same kata names (taolu names) in Wu Zu Quan. Everything is connected, i was really astonished.
The beauty is also in how it is all connected, but also how it has all survived, across countries, decades and languages - kata are truly wonderful, fault-tolerant methods of teaching and transmitting information across the ages.
As always, you upload amazing content, with possible inclusion to as many variations of your familiarity with sufficient explanations.
The additional writing were very informative, I had to pause the video to read and then continue so that I wouldn't miss neither your explanation nor the writing😂😂😂.
I can assure you that you put more content out here than you possibly realize.
Once more thank you, Che Sensei.
Ah, thank you so much for the kind words, Francis! I know Ché was hesitant to put out this video, but the feedback we have received has reassured us that we have not mis-stepped in this contribution to global karate. Wishing you a lovely and happy weekend from a rainy Jozi ⭐
Great work Sensei!!
Thank you so much! We hope to do a little more on this kata later this year :)
Great instruction. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Nicely done!
Thank you, Sensei! So nice to see your name in our comment section 🥋
Suparimpei or otherwise known as "are we done yet?". :)
Funny though that 108 is roughly a distance to the sun in sun's diameters and the same goes for the moon. Even this is a crane kung-fu, but Arhats are OK, too, even there are 18 only and initially 16 before that bearded doll Daruma came to troll Zen monks in the Young Forest on the Hill in China (which changes the name accordingly to Bodhidharma and Shaolin instead of Shorin-ryu).
But yes, initially it was 108 actions in a kata and its name, hence "hands", i.e. movements combined in a smallest technical pieces that are not sole yet but still make some impact on the opponent, e.g. three wrist blocks as actual one release from the wrist grab and so on (you can bunkai a kata making an oyo from these pieces which some of them combined could make renzoku - yeah, I made myself clear here as mud).
What do I know? I've just tried to count 6 hands in tensho (as it was rokkishu) and 36 in sanseru (these thug cousins from Uechi-ryu have it more clear in their sanseiryu than us, brutally peaceful people of Goju-ryu!). And never done it 108 as it is quite a long kata with all menkyo kaiden level syllabus of the school (that's why one can see all other kata in this one). :)
On Sanseiru... does anyone have contact info for Mario McKenna of Kiyoda Juhatsu Sensei's To'on Ryu? Apparently To'on Ryu has the original version of Sanseiru as taught by Higaonna O-Sensei... Uechi ryu's Sanseiru is suuficiently different to Miyagi Sensei's as to suggest the original might be substantially different to the current Goju version.
Egidijus Sensei
Thanks for all the insights, made my Sunday Morning
I hope your recovery is going well,
Have a great week
Che
@@chejagger1 : thank you! And osu! :)
Ah, always a delight to hear from our great historian and karate comedian - none of the numbers ever make sense to me, but that's because I think I have number blindness, the same way other people have face blindness!
- Zoe
@@koshinryukempo3570 It's just very similar to some branches of Gojuryu that broke off from mainstream quite early on in Goju history - the two flying knee strikes and other bits I've come across in a remote Goju dojo in Okinawa, and other places here and there long before "Toon-Ryu" showed it on RUclips (then took it off quietly).
Your videos are amazing as always.
Ah, thank you so much! We are trying our best to put out good content.
Para mim esse Kata é um dos mais lindo!😊😊😊😊😊😊gratidão... por ter execultado devagar.😊😊😊😊😊😊
Ah, you are so welcome! It is a wonderful kata, but one that takes much time to learn properly. We're glad our video was helpful to you - this is the main goal of our channel, after all!
very very interesting explanación ❤ Thx very much 😊😊
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment - we appreciate it!
Thank you for this information. this is one of my favorite KATA to perform. however the length of the KATA can sometimes bore the judges LOL. You must perform in front of judges that enjoy ALL KATA. again thank you
It is such a wonderful kata! But yeah, our friends with short atttention spans like Shisochin more (which is also a great kata to perform). Thank you for the kind words, and for taking the time to watch and comment!
Thank you. Wonderful.
Ah, thank you so much for the kind words!
The 108 thing:
This is just some of the research I came across while working on this video. It didn't fit nicely in the video, so I'm going to share it here for further discussion.
Theory 1: It is a transliteration of the original Chinese name into Japanese kanji (Suparinpei is the Chinese pronunciation of the number 108)
Theory 2: 108 pressure points in Ayurveda (not a good theory, but nice trivia)
Theory 3: The 108 has its roots in Buddhism: 108 temptations/afflictions/defilements to overcome in order to achieve enlightenment. Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to bring in the new year. Japa mala (a mantra bracelet) has 108 beads. Many Buddhist temples have 108 steps.
Theory 4: it is a reference to the 108 Luohan System of martial training taught in Taoist monastries (luohan, also called arhats, are a kind of semi-saint in Buddhist lore), but this is early 20th century, much later than the kata was invented.
Theory 4: It ties in with Seisan and Sanseru (18 and 36 hands) which are numbers that are factors of 108 (and regulars of the channel know how I feel about math)
Theory 6:
108 feelings - Buddhist believe there are 108 feelings calculated as follows:
6 Senses (Smell, Touch, Taste, Sight, Hearing and Consciousness)
x 3 Pleasant, Painful or Neutral feelings
x 2 Internally or externally generated feelings
x 3 Past, Present or Future feelings
Therefore, 36 past, 36 present and 36 future feelings = 108
My personal theory: the Buddhist importance of the number only matters in the context of the kata's creation, to give us some clues given we have very little information on the kata's origins and creator. It doesn't imbue the kata with spiritual significance (unless the practitioner seeks that) but it does make for some nice mysticism for those who want it.
Would love to hear the thoughts of others!
- Zoe
No shit I know because I wasn't asking Miyagi-sensei about this but just think of sepai (18) as Ju and of the other side of sanseru (36) which is Go. Then 36/2=18 which is like dai and sho versions in Shorin-ryu katas (or saifa being a "travel-size" of kururumfa).
Seisan (you confused it with sepai in Theory 4) is an old promotional or open to demonstrate kata for a lot of Okinawan karate schools (when one is ready to represent a school, then he can do seisan in public for the school). My pure speculation, but 13 in the name is kaishu and heishu kata combined in one: i.e. 3 of sanchin (as heishu-gata which trains structure or gamaku, muchimi and all other buzz words) and 10 other "fighting" methods (10 being the last one-figure number as it's just a + and we also tend to thing in decimal systems, Brexiters and Muricans not counting).
And I've wrote about 108 above (or below, whatever is sorting here). :)
@@Burvedys Interesting that Seisan is the 'promotional' kata, though I guess it is more flashy than say, Kururunfa? Somewhere in my reading, Suparinpei became the "I am the grandmaster and therefore I will demonstrate this at any exhibition" (this came up in Gile Hopkin's book on Suparinpei.)
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Nah, seisan was created long before even Higashionna Kanryo brought it from China (and not sure if he hasn't learnt it from Arakagi Seisho even before traveling to China). :)
And kururumfa was created by Miyagi Chojun during interwar period to make his own Goju-ryu more complete (although all credit for the kata was given to a stronger "brand name", his teacher who was a true legend in Naha, a port town full of thugs before a "gorilla" Motobu Choku came to gain his fame).
And seisan is not only in all crane-derivatives around Naha, but in also in Shorin-ryu schools (Matsumura Sokon had his own seishan and Shotokan has it named hangetsu, and so on). Not sure if there is any Okinawan karate style that hasn't got seisan in one form or another (sorry for the pun on kata as a form). There was a need to compete in kata even before it became Olympic... :)))
Thanks, Zoë Sensei, for going to SO much effort to research this stuff. How blessed is the GRKC community to have you'n'Ché Sensei! Karate really IS a COMMONwealth of knowledge...
@@Burvedys 1) I am always skeptical of claims like Chojun Miyagi created Kururunfa, or Kanryo Higaonna didn't bring Seisan from China, he actually learnt it from Aragaki. I mean the karate masters of old must be real muddle-heads or dishonest people if they keep giving the wrong sources for the origins of their Kata. My assumption is : If Chojun Miyagi said he learnt his Kata from Kanryo Higaonna, then it's true, and if Kanryo Higaonna said he learnt his Kata from China, then he wasn't lying either- I'd ignore the ignorant Western/Japanese/non-Okinawan karate "scholars" who aren't trained historians and do not know the language and culture of the time.
Super
Thank you so much!
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre thanks sir
Thanks to Zoe Sensei
An intro only
Just a little into ~
Thug wife cut it short? :)
@@Burvedys Hahaha, not this time. Only trimmed a minute off -- this was one smooth take. However, the next Suparinpei video will likely be a weighty one (but likely not soon).
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre still 2 steps extra in 5 steps combination. :)))
Can't wait for your bunkai video on suparinpei... certain it is destined to become a 'classic' in the field!
Very helfull video
Ok this is gonna take awhile to learn!
It's a wonderful, but super long Kata! It'll take me a life time, I know 🥋
Great
Thank you!
This is my favourite.
No reason you can't start teaching yourself now!
Sensei good afternoon. But i did not find the superimpei bunkai kata.
Hello!
Suparinpei bunkai is on the way! Not this week, but sooooon. Thank you for your patience, and for watching our videos 🙏🏻
In which countries do you have branches.🙂. Do you have one in India ?
Hi
We are based in South Africa, and are part of OGKK in South Africa under the Kattan Sensei’s
Please look up OGKK India or contact OGKK in Okinawa regarding membership.
All the best
Che
Ps please enjoy our channel and the insights offered by our supporter in the comments.
I'm not sure if they do, but if you want you can go to RTKA in mumbai, that is where I go and they follow Keibukan Goju ryu, currently we are under Higuana Sensei and majority of these kata actions match with ours
Question, Che, my school teaches Ichikawa's style. Our katas have slight differences to the ones you discuss. For instance, our mawashi uke is called 'toragouchi' Tiger mouth and executed a little differently. Our sanchin has a double thumb throat attack after the punches. I don't know much about Ichikawa's 'style', have you guys? I'd be interested in anything you might know about it.
Thanks!
Matt I’ll look it up, I suspect I have come across it, care of my seniors who are in Chi I do an offshoot of the Toguchi line
So if my research is accurate your lineage is from Seiko Higa, Kanki Izumigawa, and then Sosui Ichikawa sensei
It’s a very old school, it looks like it was based on mainland Japan hence the use of Toraguchi for Mawashi use. The differences and subtle differences in focal points are very acceptable. They help show the vast beauty of GojuRyu
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre I knew you would know about it! Yes, that's right Ichikawa's dojo was on the Japanese mainland. He went to Okinawa and trained with Okinawans in Japan.
Can u guys recommend a dojo in Durban to study karate?
Hello, Romlyn!
There's no OGKK branch dojo we can recommend, but look up Sensei Mauro (karate-do.co.za/westville-durban/) and Sensei Buddy Govender (karate-doh-goju-ryu-jundokan-sherwood-dojo.business.site/) - both have Jundokan lineage and are excellent instructors.
All the best! Let us know how it goes :)
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Hi thanks for this reply I only saw it today and thanks for the recommendations I will let you know if I do find a place to start my karate journey.Thanks.