| Kata Unsu, from Shotokan, Isshin Ryu, and other | | | | accentuate the flashy and demoralize the |
| schools, is one of the most advanced karate | | | | functional. This is actually one of my sore points, |
| katas you will ever learn. Unfortunately, there is | | | | and not with just shotokan karate. I believe it |
| good side and a bad side with this pattern. There | | | | was Gichin Funakoshi, you may have heard of |
| are things you would never do in the moves, and | | | | him, who mentioned that martial arts shouldn't be |
| there are things that are so incredible it is | | | | done for glory. |
| amazing. | | | | Master Funakoshi's words in mind, one can see |
| Unsu literally translates as Cloud Hands, and it was | | | | that virtually all arts have fallen to this problem. |
| supposedly introduced to Shotokan Karate by | | | | Kata bunkai are often slaughtered just to titillate a |
| Kenwa Mabuni. He taught the form to either | | | | few screaming fans. This is a shame, as it tends |
| Funakoshi's son, or Nakayama. Originally, the form | | | | to destroy the art. |
| is supposed to be an old kung fu form from the | | | | Having brought this to your attention, there are |
| dragon style. | | | | some solutions to the problems I have pointed |
| First thing to be noted, there are moves that | | | | out. One solution is to rework Unsu, and find the |
| would never be used in combat. Still, the moves | | | | moves at the core of it. Do this, and you may |
| give a sheer athleticism (should one survive | | | | end up with a form as short and sweet, yet as |
| learning them), and can't be totally rejected. | | | | deep, as Sanchin. |
| Remember this when you begin practicing the | | | | The other method would be to spend a lifetime |
| flying 360 double with a foot sweep on the end. | | | | pursuing perfection through the unsu bunkai, a |
| Second things second, and on the good side, | | | | daunting task, yet...there is appeal here. Still, to |
| there are some fierce changes of direction that it | | | | perfect jump spinning double kick kata, which will |
| would be well to practice. These moves are very | | | | be less than useful in specific terrain, once one |
| combat oriented, easy to do, and you just need | | | | gets a bit older, and so on, might be a fool's path. |
| to keep them doing and let your speed evolve. | | | | Of course one could do both: follow the difficult |
| Take a look at videos unsu is presented on when | | | | path as long as one is young, then shift to the |
| you peruse youtube, the right ones will dazzle you. | | | | shorter, more functional path--and, in the end, |
| Third, and back to the bad side, many people do | | | | perhaps that is the solution to kata unsu. |
| Unsu Kata for competition, and this tends to | | | | |