Author Archives: Andreas Quast

Sanchin, and the “Framework of 14 Kata”

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Andreas Quast

I met Tōme San in 2012 at a larger martial arts demonstration meet held at the Prefectural Budōkan in Naha. I had met him before at the dōjō of Senaga Yoshitsune Sensei of Uechi-ryū. At the time of the martial … Continue reading →

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At Attention! – The short story of ki o tsuke.

Posted on April 14, 2024 by Andreas Quast

Edo era gunner (artillerist) Takashima Shūhan (1798–1866) learned the Dutch language and Western-style gunnery through the Dutch stationed at Dejima, Nagasaki. Abe Masahiro, chief senior councilor during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate, praised Takashima as the “Founder of … Continue reading →

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A characteristic combination in old-style Sakugawa no Kon

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Andreas Quast

In the late 1920s, Miki Jisaburō of the Karate Club of Tokyo Imperial University travelled to Okinawa to meet the then-current masters and to research and record the techniques of original karate and kobudō. He published his findings in an … Continue reading →

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Sakugawa no Kon old-style

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Andreas Quast

This is my recinstruction of “Sakugawa no Kon” old-style as described by Miki Jisaburo in 1930, after learning the kata from Oshiro Chojo a year or so earlier.  If you follow closely, it is the same kata and Enbusen as … Continue reading →

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Ryūbi no Kon of Yamanni-ryū

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Andreas Quast

The origin of Ryūbi no Kon is Shiromatsu no Kon, an older kata handed down in the Matsubayashi-ryū since the 1950s. Its origin further back is unknown, but it is possible that it included older concepts and techniques. It was … Continue reading →

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Chōun no Kon (Ni) by Tamaki Tsuyoshi

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Andreas Quast

As in the previous installments, I am looking at versions of the Choun no Kon of Yamanni-ryu. This time it is the version by Tamaki Tsuyoshi, a direct student of Kishaba Chogi (1st generation of Kishaba-ha Yamanni-ryu). Watch his Chōun … Continue reading →

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Chōun no Kon (Ichi) by Tamaki Tsuyoshi

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Andreas Quast

As in the previous installments, I am looking at versions of the Choun no Kon of Yamanni-ryu. This time it is the version by Tamaki Tsuyoshi, a direct student of Kishaba Chogi (1st generation of Kishaba-ha Yamanni-ryu). Watch his Chōun … Continue reading →

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Chōun no Kon (Shō)

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Andreas Quast

Previously, I wrote about Choun no Kon Dai, the general introduction of which applies here as well. This however is the Sho version as performed in the following video by Heiwa Karate Hawaii. As previously, I have studied the kata … Continue reading →

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Chōun no Kon (Dai)

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Andreas Quast

Introduction Arguably, Yamanni-ryu might be the most widely practiced style around the world. There are many different versions of it, each with specific habits. For instance, today I took a version from a YouTube video by a Hawaiian group who … Continue reading →

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Shirotaru no Kon – Izumikawa Kantoku lineage – Last technique

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Andreas Quast

Looking at the last technique of Shirotaru no Kon, there are various ways it is done, depending on the lineage. In the lineage of Izumikawa Kantoku to Kyan Shin’ei as well as to Iha Kotaro, the last technique is an … Continue reading →

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