Pinan Shodan / Pyung Ahn Chodan

Here we can see the double knife hand block used as a defense against against a sucker punch. Keep it simple.

Pinan Shodan / Pyung Ahn Chodan

Here is a very simple variation of the rising knife hand moving into the high block /strike.

Pinan Shodan / PyungAhn Chodan

This image shows one interpretation of the hammerfist movement series. One thing is not shown. After stepping forward with the punch with the left hand Oldman can grab the opponents left shoulder. From there he can continue with the next step of the form, that being the downblock. In this example the downblock becomes a throw. If you step deeper you can place your left foot behind the attackers right foot. This keeps the attacker from stepping backwards to regain balance and aids with the throw.

Pinan Shodan / Pyung Ahn Chodan

In most instances the first move of Pyung Ahn Chodan is referred to as a down block. In this example you can see the movement used against a grab to the wrist or arm. Funikoshi said that it is of the utmost importance to keep the enemy in mind all the time you are doing kata. With that in mind how you envision the attack will determine how you interpret the movement. If you imagine the person attacking with a middle punch 90 degrees to your left a down block makes perfect sense. Take time as you practice to consider other attacks from different angles. It can invigorate your practice and provide you with options for effective self defense.

If you click on the image you can see a larger version.

Iain Abernethy and Jissen

Some of you are already familiar with the work of Iain Abernethy. For those of you who are not familiar with him or his work, here is a short bio from his website.

Iain Abernethy is one of the UK's leading exponents of applied karate and kata application (bunkai). His martial arts DVDs and books have sold worldwide and have been translated into other languages. Iain holds a 5th Dan with both the British Combat Association (awarded by Peter Consterdine 8th Dan and Geoff Thompson 6th Dan) and the EKGB (awarded by Doug James 7th Dan).

Iain is in great demand on the seminar circuit and teaches many seminars on his approach to practical karate both here in the UK and overseas. The bunkai that Iain teaches are not prearranged karateka vs. karateka applications. Nor are they static, complex, elaborate or reliant upon finite movement. Iain's approach to karate makes kata application practical, simple, direct and accessible to all.

In that spirit of accessibility Iain has created an online magazine titled "Jissen". He is preparing to release his 3rd issue. The magazine is released free of charge in a pdf. format. I could not be more excited about it. First, I'm excited because the previous two issues have been outstanding. The second reason I'm excited is that I was invited to contribute an article to the publication. Quite an honor wouldn't you say? In all honesty, one of Iains stated goals is to publish work contributed by martial artists of any rank or level. Everyone is invited.

The article I contributed has one unique feature, it is in cartoon format. The images are from "Oldman's Boobishi" a digital collection of drawings that are a humorous record of what I have found as I have explored Kata / Forms over the years I have been training. I hope people will enjoy my contribution.

The first two issues of "Jissen" are available in Iain's website. If you are interested in receiving Issue #3 it is now available at...

www.iainabernethy.com/Jissen_Magazine.asp

I'm already working on a contribution for issue 4.