Unsu- Just Why?

We used to have a guest visitor from France. He was an older gentleman in his mid to late sixties, sixty-six to be exact, and he spoke a little English, albeit with a heavy French accent, so I’d end up being the intermediary between sensei and this gentleman, on account of my crude familiarity with the French language. The reality was that sensei would rope me into these engagements when he had little patience for them, and I too would reluctantly oblige, as the dutiful senior student. The stories about their clash of personalities, stemming from centuries of Franco/Anglican pride and resentment, epic as they were, is for another humorous blog, unto its own. For now, I’d like to discuss the illogical approach and expectations in karate organizations, as it pertains to a particular conversation between these two elder karateka.

Sensei had a particular disdain for the French karate association (FFKMA), stemming from an incident that occurred in the early 1970’s when France was hosting the WUKO world championships. I can’t recall the details, but it had to do with poor judging, and the English contingent walking out of the tournament. Of course, sensei had to bring this up to our guest, as if he was the poor soul responsible for all of France’s maladies. Anyways, this set the tone for much of the evening, an evening that including jabs at the French wine industry, British culinary ineptitude, the British navy, French bathing habits, and the general plebian nature of their counterpart’s respective countries. As the middle man, you can imagine how I was the recipient of all the verbal kicks and punches, but somehow in the lull of barrages, a consensus was arrived at…sort of. Whatever it was, it changed the trajectory of my vision of karate-do, and the need to be objective and practical.

Our friend from France was discussing testing procedures and requirements for his latest fourth dan examination. The federation had selected the kata Unsu for him, and to make a long story short, they failed him because at age 66 he was not able to perform the jump in the kata. Without conceding too much of their pride and egos, both sensei and our guest agreed that this was the wrong call. Sensei, for his part, thought that that kata should not have been chosen for a person of his age. I, on the other hand, after years of reflecting, and pondering on what was said that night, and tinkering with the kata over the years, have come to the conclusion that picking the kata was fine, but not having a more reasonable alternative for the jump, was the mistake.

The jump in Unsu has always been the topic of disagreements. Even in it’s modern incarnation, their are significant differences in execution (Nishiyma Sensei does the jump along with the tatto shuto/haishu and mikazuki geri to the rear, while the current JKA and SKIF does the tatto shuto and/or haishu and mikasuki geri to the front). Demonstrating a basic, realistic understanding of what is actually being done is also a thing of the past (No one today even attemps to connect the mikazuki geri to the haishu, they simply lift the leg for takeoff). Today’s Unsu jump is simply an exercise in athleticism. It has become a circus act, akin to monkeys jumping through hoops, with whichever monkey that jumps the highest, gets the most bananas! What’s the use of jumping when the practitioner has no visible understanding of martial application? What kind of stupid karate is this? I would much rather have someone physically demonstrate their understanding of karate technique with some adjustments, rather than have an acrobatics show with no martial value.

At 55, it has been probably five years, if not more, that I cannot execute the jump in Unsu. That doesn’t mean I have to throw Unsu out with the bath water. I execute the the movements as Nishiyama sensei did, without the jump and a slight adjustment. I use tatto shuto to the north, followed by hidden knee/kosa dachi, with haishu to the south, then I execute mikazuki geri, actually connecting the foot to the haishu. Some days, seemingly fewer and fewer in between, I can get a little lift off the ground, and sometimes I don’t…but I know exactly what I’m doing, and I have tested it’s practical application. The adjustments I’ve made, allow me to continue enjoying Unsu while being sincere to its intent. I’ll get my bananas elsewhere, thank you very much.