| Title: |
Goju Technical Volume 4 |
| Publisher's site: |
Dragon Tsunami |
| Buy from: |
Martial Art Superstore |
| Price: |
£20 |
| Date: |
1997 |
| Running time: |
56 minutes |
| Available formats: |
DVD & Video |
| Featuring |
Morio Higaonna |
Goju Technical Volume 4
GKR Karate has taken kata from two distinctly opposing schools of karate: Shotokan, and Goju. Morio Higoanna was a 9th dan master instructor in the latter, and in this DVD, he examines five kata.
Two of the kata, Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni, are the Goju equivalent of first and second kata, although unlike our own Taigyoku Shodan and Taigyoku Nidan, they are not practiced for their exercise benefits; rather they jump straight in with slightly more advanced striking and blocking principles. Anyway, they are not practiced by GKR students, so are of little interest unless you want to understand the principles they teach for their own sake.
What is of great interest are the katas Seiyunchin (sic), Karurunfa, and Shisochin, all of which are part of the GKR syllabus, albeit far apart in terms of grades. Seiyunchin is required for your 2nd kyu brown belt, Karurunfa is required for your 2nd dan black belt, and Shisochin is required for your 3rd dan – so that places a training gap of about 8 years between them!
I bought this in the hope of discovering some more plausible explanations for the moves in Seiunchin (the GKR spelling of Seiyunchin). I was pleased to see that the Goju version of the kata is virtually identical to ours, so any explanations would work for both. However, I was disgusted and greatly disappointed to see that this was the only kata for which NO bunkai explanations are offered at all.
Of course, it’s interesting to watch how Sensei Higaonna performs the kata, because his no-nonsense, functional rendition is far more suggestive of the bunkai than the modified and overly artistic GKR version, which has modified some moves in the interests of appearances, rather than effectiveness.
There was a detailed explanation for every single move in kata Karurunfa, which I found fascinating, but I didn’t have to look far before I found controversial explanations, that I know are at odds with the teachings of many UK Goju practitioners. Frankly, the modern bunkai fits the movements better. As usual, Sensei Higoanna oversimplifies every explanation, reducing so many imagined attacks to simple punching combinations. Whilst these may well represent the most common habitual acts of physical violence, to use Sensei Patrick McCarthy’s expression, some of the later kata are surely meant to explore answers to less straight-forward attacks?
In the absence of more credible explanations, Sensei Higoanna’s bunkai work… kind of, but there ARE better explanations, so you’d get more from buying Goju bunkai books.
As for Shisochin, I freely admit that I don’t know the kata, I cannot comment upon its similarity to the GKR version, nor the plausibility of the bunkai. Some looked as though they moved beyond the superficial, but others again appeared to ignore large parts of the movements that are demonstrated in the kata.
The DVD supposedly opens with a “lecture” on kata, but quite frankly, the few minutes of translated talking in no way constitutes a lecture, and is the kind of thing that would be best targeted at a green or blue belt karateka, rather than a dedicated higher grade. As usual, Sensei Higoanna doesn’t say so much that he could, opting instead for a reduced version that plays more like a low-level kata pep talk, than a serious examination of its origins, performance, or value. He does briefly talk about the differences between kata, oyo bunkai, and real combat. His comments have a ring of truth about them, but to a certain extent, they also sound like a justification for the simplicity of his bunkai. He also tantalisingly mentions that all kata have secret applications, but totally fails in any way to expand upon the theme, nor to demonstrate such concepts. I presume that he refers to the vital point strikes, grapples and other advanced techniques that an experienced martial artist may incorporate into kata. Sadly, this side of kata is not generally taught in the karate world in general, and especially not within GKR. This DVD does absolutely nothing to restore this deeper knowledge.
As with the entire series, it’s a pleasure to watch the way that someone with a lifetime of practice performs these kata, and the DVD is worthwhile if only for that reason. However, as a resource for expanding your own knowledge, you’d get more from 10 minutes in the company of an experienced Goju sensei.
| Narration quality |
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| Production quality |
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c |
| Plausibility |
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c |
| Usefulness |
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| Entertainment |
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| Overall score |
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c |
