From https://www.rojodojo.com A preview of my Bujinkan video exploring the Bujinkan kata 伏虎 huko. We warmed up with four 蹴砕 keri kudaki kihon. These are as I studied with Hatsumi Sensei during an extended training he did on 破術九法 Hajutsu Kyūho.
We began class with 伏虎(一)Hu ko (ichi). The name of this kata can be traced back to Chinese martial arts and suggests the crouching tiger form. When you compare kamae, you will definitely see this.
Most people know the form has a strike to 金的 kinteki. But the Japanese text includes a step many students neglect to study. It tells us to 押し倒す oshitaosu, or push down the opponent from behind. The way I was taught this in Japan was bracing against the opponent’s back while giving him a terrible clawing from underneath.
There are two versions of huko in the jin. So next we explore 伏虎(二)huko (ni). This arrives as a flurry of strikes to specific kyusho. My focus tonight was on what Hatsumi Sensei called, 急所丸 kyusho maru. This is the perfect kyusho. But he also suggested to us that this kyusho could be anywhere in the kukan.
Sometimes this point is not easy to find. One way to expose it is to use kyojitsu. I did this by making my blocks empty. I used a knife to cut, but it was also empty. This emptiness causes the weak points to reveal themselves in the kukan.
Next, I showed the same concept with an empty hanbo. We can pivot around it like totoku, or come from 音無しの構 otonashi no kamae which is inherently empty. I also shared four ways for kicking the hanbo into your opponent that I learned in Japan. These definitely create a response in the void!
Of Note: finger sandwiches
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