Kami Waza/ Special Moves

Hi, everyone.

Study any Asian martial art for long enough and you may find...

...that you still can't do any of the cool techniques that you may have seen in movies or online videos! 

We know it is true.

Many black belt students also know this to be true.

There are a lot of martial arts clubs/ schools that do not even bother teaching these really spectacular and advanced techniques.

You know the techniques I am talking about, right? Those crab scissor throws, back spinning sweeps and let's not forget- aerial techniques!

The reasons teachers give for not teaching such techniques are usually one or more of the following:

1. They don't work on the street



or they are useless.

2. They are not in the syllabus;

3. The instructor does not know them.


About reasons no. 2 and 3 I am not going to write a lot. I am sure that by now we know that a lot of martial arts we see being taught today are watered down for a number of reasons. You  are welcome to comment about this, but for now it is good enough to accept that these reasons exist.

About reason no. 1 however I want to clear up some misunderstandings.

Before writing this post I have googled a term that I have read in a library book long ago. The term was "Kami Waza". Search results that I got, however, ranged from articles about some video game, a brand of some kind of business solution and a whole lot of other junk that I was not looking for.

In Karate- this term was used to refer to techniques reserved for advanced students. No- these techniques were not something like jodan mawashi geri. They were something much cooler.

One of these techniques, for instance, was called sankaku tobi. It did not refer to the jump used in Shotokan's Meikyo kata, though. In Okinawan Karate this referred to a jump used when you are surrounded by three assailants and where you kicked all three of them before your feet were beck on the ground. This is very much like what we see in Taekwondo demonstrations today.

Various other jumping techniques also exist that can be classified under this category. Shotokan's Kanazawa Sensei was known to demonstrate what was called "Whirlwind Defence" that was performed by jumping towards an opponent while spinning to let direct attacks slip of you while that same rotation powers your counterattack. In the photo I have seen that counterattack was an aerial gyaku zuki. 

Search around for some really good Karate demonstrations and you also find mounting techniques- techniques that involve one climbing or jumping onto the opponent- that resemble the mounting techniques in Monkey Style Kungfu.

We have dropping/ ducking techniques as well. Moves like the dragon tail sweep in Kungfu (as shown by Jade Xu in one of the photos above) have one dropping to the ground.

Now true- these techniques don't come natural to most of us. They require a measure of agility and in some cases flexibility that a lot of us don't have. So- why would anyone bother to use them in a fight?

Part of the answer may be found in one of Nakayama Sensei's "Best Karate" books. I was lucky enough to borrow one for a short while some years ago. The book that I remember had a chapter on what was called "Desperation Techniques".

  

Now- to understand what exactly is meant by this term I want to use an example of some movie that I have already forgotten. In the movie an adult said to a child that the problem with a swearword is that if you use it too much it loses its meaning.

Now- as desperation techniques go- it won't do you any good to fly into a fight with a move like the Crab Scissors as your opening gambit. These techniques work at their best in a fight where the chips are down and your opponent is confident that he knows every move that you have and anticipates the normal forms of attack and defense to which he has become used.

Looking at a move like the Dragon Tail Sweep- you have to admit that even a seasoned fighter who can block punches and kicks from any angle does not see it coming when someone suddenly changes the script and drops down to deliver one of these...

But- before you can surprise your opponent with something unusual- he must first have a usual to get used to.

So- you reserve these techniques for special occasions.

Shaolin Kungfu has a number of moves that do not follow the customary patterns of attack that one usually expects and the success of these moves lie in just that.

Specifically dropping techniques like the Dragon Tail sweep are effective because in a moment a high attacking pattern is broken by you dropping out of the opponent's line of sight. In the time it takes him to adjust you have him landing on his butt with his feet kicked out from under him.


Now- How can you learn special techniques like these.

Well... Some of these techniques can be learnt from a good school if you are lucky enough to find one, but don't be surprised if you have to train for many years before you can even begin to learn them. All of the special Karate techniques that I have seen were performed by Senseis who were 6th Dan or higher.

You can of course find external sources like videos or books.

Whichever way you find to learn these techniques, however, you have to accept that your teacher is not going to change his class' curriculum for you. You have to learn and practice these techniques in your own time. If your competition rules allow them you can test them when you feel ready to do so. If they are not allowed in your competitions practice them anyway and keep them in your arsenal.

I have always liked the idea of martial arts taking you as you are and then producing a brand new improved version of you after a couple of years. The ability to even just perform (let alone use) such a technique is in my book a sign of such transformation.

That's it for today's post.

Next weekend- because I have seen a need for me to do so- I will post a detailed explanation on why we should not disrespect other styles than our own.

Until then- be good and train hard! :)