Thank you for the question. Firstly, I am not a historian, so my knowledge in that regard is limited, but I'll try to answer as best I can. The kata, Sunsu, does not refer to a specific karate master. It was, as mentioned in the video, a creation of Tatsuo Shimabuku. In the late 1970's, (before the internet, when there were few resources, and before popular travel to Okinawa) my sensei, William H. Duessel, told me that the name referenced a large rock standing just offshore in the ocean. This rock stood up to many large waves, including tsunamis, over the course of time and was named sunsu -' strong man'. After performing a karate demonstration, someone described Tatsuo Shimabuku as being like 'sunsu', which implied the enduring power of that rock.There has been research that suggests more detailed, and perhaps different origins. Check out Master Arcenio Advincula or Master John Bartusevics, or maybe Andy Sloan. As for your second question, I have no idea why Tatsuo Shimabuku selected the particular techniques in the kata, and I don't think anyone does.
Can you tell us about Sunsu the man? Why did he select this particular set of techniques from the katas?
Thank you for the question. Firstly, I am not a historian, so my knowledge in that regard is limited, but I'll try to answer as best I can. The kata, Sunsu, does not refer to a specific karate master. It was, as mentioned in the video, a creation of Tatsuo Shimabuku. In the late 1970's, (before the internet, when there were few resources, and before popular travel to Okinawa) my sensei, William H. Duessel, told me that the name referenced a large rock standing just offshore in the ocean. This rock stood up to many large waves, including tsunamis, over the course of time and was named sunsu -' strong man'. After performing a karate demonstration, someone described Tatsuo Shimabuku as being like 'sunsu', which implied the enduring power of that rock.There has been research that suggests more detailed, and perhaps different origins. Check out Master Arcenio Advincula or Master John Bartusevics, or maybe Andy Sloan. As for your second question, I have no idea why Tatsuo Shimabuku selected the particular techniques in the kata, and I don't think anyone does.