Kihon Kumite
Yakusoku Kumite or Kihon Kumite (prearranged basic sparring)
Kihon Kumite are a series of techniques which were originated by the founder of Wado Ryu Hirinori Ohsuka who taught the traditional ideas of Budo. The idea of Budo is not to encounter force with force, but to render the attack ineffective by an opposite force or block.
In Kihon Kumite you are using the following principles:-
TAISABAKi (Body Control) using techniques with body movement.
KAWASHI (Avoiding) avoids your opponent's power.
NOGARE (Escaping) to avoid the opponent's attack by escaping outside the opponent's range, but be prepared to counter attack.
NAGASHI (Sweeping Away) using all the blocks in NAGASHI form using the opponent's power against the attacker.
IRIMI (Entering) so that your counter attack will reach your opponent you have to gain distance as your opponent attacks you.
'Fundamental sparring'. The prearranged fighting sequences within Japanese and Okinawan Karate that reflect the fundamental concepts of the individual style.
(A = Attack, D = Defence - R = Right stance, L = Left stance). Prior to the attack/defence, the tactic of nijiri-ashi (creeping-foot) is performed by both the attacker and defender. The attacker 'creeps' forward (mae-nijiri-ashi/ma-o-nusumu) to take advantage, and the defender 'creeps' back (ushiro-suri-ashi) to retain the ma-ai.
When initially moving forward in Kihon Kumite the posture is tate seishan. It is common to kiai at this point but one must be careful that the kiai does not lead to a tightening of the body. Once the body is tight all further movement is frozen. If you are frozen then you are immobile. Being immobile means being unable to defend or attack; it means to create an opening (suki) for the opponent. It is important never to ‘lock’ the body. The body should always be immediately relaxed after any application of kime to prevent the creation of suki. Most people assume that as you land you apply kime to the technique by instantaneously tightening and locking the muscles. This only leads to suki and itsuki.
Being locked into the stance after stepping forward creates a condition called 'itsuki'. Itsuki means to be in a position where the kinetic energy (energy inherent to movement) is frozen and no further movement is possible. It is being 'flat footed'. Refrain from being rigid. Try to feel instead as if ‘flowing’ into the stance.
Another point to be mindful of when stepping forward is to remain cognizant of the seichusen (line of attack/center line/ line of defense). When stepping forward one should be guarding the seichusen. The hands are brought forward so that one hand guards the jodan area and the the other guards the chudan area. This happens during the transition and not after the front foot has been planted. There’s allways the possibility of being attacked during transition. This applies not only to kihon kumite but also to kata. During any transition there must allways be awareness of seichusen. That goes for the attacker as well as the defender.
Once the position is taken, one must find the proper ma (distance) relative to the opponent. The way to adjust the maai (distance between the two partners) in kihon kumite is through 'nijiri ashi'. To press forward the front toe is wiggled and one creeps forwards while twisting the back ankle to maintain the posture.
Nijiri ashi is a movement seen frequently in kenjutsu. The reason for this footwork is to minimize suki. In kenjutsu any opening can lead to swift death. Any time the feet are lifted, a potential opening is created. By moving in nijiri ashi one attempts to minimize any potential opening. Also, traditionally njiri ashi would have been done under cover of the Hakama so even this slight movement of the feet would have been partially hidden.
it is important to allow the kinetic energy to continue so that the first and second attacks from ukemi are always practiced as one complete movement. Many people learn kihon kumite in two parts because of the two attacks from ukemi are often taught with a slight hiatus in delivery and somehow this is then practiced until embedded into their kihon kumite. The point about the 'tightening of the body' is usually the cause of this, and prevents the natural flow into the san mi ittai counter attack.
Essentially 'san mi ittai' involves these three concepts performed in one timing. Ten-i (change of direction), ten-tai (change of body) and ten-gi (change of technique) are these three elements of sabaki and are accomplished in unison.
Posture and stance are not the same thing. Quite often there’s a problem in a person's interpretation of the stance and trying to perform smooth movement when being focussed on the 'end product' of, for instance, tate seishan.
Tightening of the body is often mistakenly understood as power and kime. But basicly it is the movement, not the stance that matters. Stance is merely a manner of standing, usually according to a set of instructions. A stance is often seen as an end in itself and and can thus be responsible for a lot of stilted movements. Stance is standing is static.
Posture, on the other hand, goes further than this in that it includes the 'mind body & spirit' as a whole, placed in a particular manner for a purpose and 'continues' throughout the movement. Wado is not about standing in a stance but about elegant movement and retaining one's posture while moving.
Kihon kumite is essentially the fundamentals of fighting. This includes the posture, technique, mindfulness, and the stratagems of fighting. for instance the first defensive posture in kihon kumite ipponme using jodan harai uke by torimi is a stratagem whereby he is actively offering a second target to Ukemi so that he can 'set up' the counter attack. Torimi holds sente all the time throughout the practice. Torimi's initial posture with one hand guarding jodan and one guarding chudan exemplifies this.
Kihon-gumite:
Ipponme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-jodan, gyakuzuki-chudan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, left foot slides forward and outward and twisting into migi-tate-seishan-dachi, whilst turning the body to avoid punch, right nagashi-gedan-barai (noru) with left nakadaka-ippon-ken-chudan.
Nihonme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-jodan, surikomi-sokuto-chudan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, hidari-gyaku-neko-ashi-dachi with right gedan-barai, right foot slides in behind A's right leg, twist 180 into gyakuzuki-tsukkomi-dachi while striking with right soto-haito-uchi (upper right ribs, between spine & left shoulder blade) and left shotei-uchi (right kidney) chudan.
Sanbonme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-jodan, right foot draws back for ma-ai to deliver left maegeri-chudan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, slide forward into right tate-seishan-dachi with right tate-chudan-tsuki/nakadaka-ippon-ken (solar-plexus), while using left fist to 'protect' the body from A's kicking leg.
Yonhonme; A - L: Tobikomizuki-jodan, gyakuzuki-jodan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, draw back into mashomen-no-neko-ashi-dachi while blocking with left te-nagashi-uke-jodan, slide towards the opponent into migi-tate-seishan-dachi with left palm osae-uke on A's right punching arm, while striking nakadaka-ippon-ken-chudan to the middle/upper ribs under A's arm.
Gohonme; A - L: Tobikomizuki-jodan, gyakuzuki-chudan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, draw back into mashomen-no-neko-ashi-dachi while blocking with atoshi-uraken-uke, left hand grabs A's right fist while sliding into migi-tate-seishan-dachi striking right ippon-ken-chin-chu (under the nose), slide into right shiko-ashi-dachi while delivering right chudan-empi-uchi (sternum), right hand assists left with fist grab applying grab/lock, using circular motion on takedown technique while moving into right mashomen-no-neko-ashi-dachi, right kosa-dachi, right mashomen-no-neko-ashi-dachi, as A falls ensure right foot is placed under A's right shoulder-blade, apply arm-locking technique (while A is on the ground control must be kept with both hands), place right knee above A's elbow joint, release your right hand to reinforce control on the forearm (thumb turned in), take arm to the ground pressing both knee and hand against A's arm while moving and resting into left kata-hiza-dachi, right shuto-uchi-jodan (to the side of the head/temple), place hand back on A's arm with thumb pointing outwards this time, release knee pressure while still controlling A with the hands, left kata-hiza-dachi, release.
Ropponme; A - L: Tobikomizuki-jodan, surikomi-sokuto-chudan, gyakuzuki-jodan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, twist to the left with hidari-gyaku-neko-ashi-dachi and using right gedan-barai, twist back 180° to the right in migi-tate-seishan-dachi while using right haishu-uke-jodan and left nakadaka-ippon-ken-chudan.
Nanahonme; A - L: Tobikomizuki-jodan, left foot draws back for ma-ai to deliver right maegeri-chudan. D - R: Nagashi-soto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, slide into migi-nagashi-tsuki-dachi while delivering right tate-shuto-uchi to the neck, under A's jaw.
Napponme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-chudan, gyakuzuki-jodan. D - R: Chudan-uchi-uke in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, while twisting the body further back (while still retaining migi-tate-seishan-dachi) block age-empi-uke, slide forward into shiko-ashi-dachi while striking right hitosashi-ippon-ken to A's groin, slide in reinforcing right yoko-empi-uchi in shiko-ashi-dachi, twist body to face A, press A's wrist and forearm with both hands (left tate-shuto position on arm while right haishu 'rests and presses' against the back of A's wrist) while right knee presses against the inside of A's leading leg, release when A becomes unbalanced.
Kyuhonme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-chudan, gyakuzuki-chudan. D - R: Chudan-uchi-uke in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, left foot slides forward and outward into migi-tate-seishan-dachi while delivering left nakadaka-ippon-ken to A's throat/neck whilst deflecting with right haishu-uke.
Jupponme; A - R: Tobikomizuki-jodan, gyakuzuki-jodan. D - R: Uchi-shuto-uke-jodan in migi-tate-seishan-dachi, right soto-haishu-uke while striking the vulnerable point just above the left chest (and below the collar bone) with migi-tate-empi-uchi in migi-tate-seishan-dachi - the left hand presses with osae-uke to A's right wrist at the same time, draw left arm back while grabbing A's sleeve, at the shoulder/arm area, with right hand - between shoulder and elbow, strike left haito-uchi to A's groin in gyakuzuki-dachi, step under your own right arm with left leg moving into gyaku-neko-ashi-dachi while grabbing A's left leg, throw A over right shoulder while using a lifting manoeuvre with the left hip - dropping down and releasing grasp on A's leg as his weight shifts forwards, pull down with right hand to create throw whilst drawing back and down into left kata-hiza-dachi.
