A source to the knowledge of traditional martial arts, ancient feng-shui, taiji and qigong health-preservation practices.
An old video. The applications of Xin Yi Ba and Xiao Hong Quan demonstrated by Shi DeJian. In martial arts we know that the strongest, most brutal force is deflected by the softest, formless block.
Final
Welcome to the final part of this series of articles on the Pinan / Heian katas as a fighting system. So far in this series we looked at the background of the Pinan katas and discussed that they are said to represent a complete fighting system that contains techniques for use at all stages and all ranges of a fight. We also discussed that whilst the modern order in which the Pinan series are taught is based upon the relative technical difficulty of the solo performance of the forms, the original order is based upon the progression of a live fight.
Part 4
Welcome to part four of this series of articles on the Pinan and Heian katas as a fighting system. In the first of this series of articles, we looked at the background of the Pinan / Heian katas and discussed how they are said to represent a complete fighting system that contains techniques for use at all stages and all ranges of a fight. We also discussed that whilst the modern order in which the forms are taught is based upon the relative technical difficulty of the solo performance of the forms, the original order is based upon the progression of a live fight.
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Part 3
Welcome to part three of this series of articles. In the first part of this series we looked at the background of the Pinan / Heian katas and discussed how they are said to represent a coherent fighting system that contains techniques for use at all stages and all ranges of a fight. We also discussed that the modern order in which the forms are taught is based upon the technical difficulty of the solo performance of the forms; whereas the original order (Pinan Shodan / Heian Nidan first) is based upon stages of a live fight. If allowed to progress, a physical altercation will generally go through a series of stages: Pre-fight (verbal exchanges, aggressive body language), limbs coming into range (strikes, attempted grabs etc), grips being established, and finally grappling.
Part 2
In the first part of this series we examined how the Pinan / Heian katas represents a complete fighting system that contains techniques for use at all stages and all ranges of a fight. We also discussed that whilst the order in which the forms are taught today is based upon the relative technical difficulty of the solo performance of the katas (Pinan Nidan first), the original order is mainly based upon the progression of a live fight (Pinan Shodan first). If allowed to progress, a physical altercation will generally go through a series of stages: Pre-fight (verbal exchanges, aggressive body language), limbs coming into range (strikes, attempted grabs etc), grips being established, and finally grappling.
Pinan Shodan (Heian Nidan in Shotokan) predominately deals with the initial exchange of limbs. In part one, we saw a couple of applications from Pinan Shodan that illustrated this idea. We will now move on to discuss a couple of the applications of Pinan Nidan (Heian Shodan) kata. This kata progresses from the initial exchange of limbs and mainly deals with techniques that can be used when a grip has first become established. This can either mean you securing a grip on the opponent, or the opponent securing a grip on you. (more…)
The Pinan / Heian series are often the first katas taught in the majority of modern dojos. This can lead to the Pinan / Heian katas being thought of as nothing more than introductory forms that are really only suitable for children and junior grades. However, it is my belief that the Pinan / Heian katas are grossly undervalued and do in fact represent a coherent fighting system in their own right. It is this viewpoint that we will be exploring in this series of articles.
It was Anko Itosu who developed the Pinan / Heian katas. Itosu was born in the Shuri Region of Okinawa in the 1830s. In Gichin Funakoshi’s book, ‘ Karate-do Nyumon ‘, Anko Itosu is described as being of average height with a huge chest that gave him ‘the silhouette of a barrel.’ Funakoshi goes on to say that despite Itosu’s long flowing beard he had the face of an innocent child. It is also said that Itosu possessed great physical strength – in particular his grip strength was said to be exceptional – and that he was a very able martial artist.
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