Sensei Kuramoto's Punch

Sensei Kuramoto Nariharu is one of the top students of Sensei Nakamura Hideo. He's a literal human weapon, with thoroughly conditioned hands, feet, etc, even his head. He has broken clay sewer pipes with his headbutt. His karate is not about fancy techniques, but a solid foundation on the kihon, basics. I really like the sand makiwara he is using in this video. Very solid, but offers enough resilience to use safely. I couldn't understand most of what he was teaching in this video, but he seems to be stressing the importance of hitting with the strong portion of the fist.

Re-Posting Osaka Demo 1987

For some reason, the earlier posting of Osaka Demo 1987 didn't work. Here's another posting.

Apology for a number of unavailable videos and a very nice video

I've learned that a number of videos on my blog are no longer available. Some of them were linked to my facebook page but for some reason are not opening up. Also, one of the Youtube contributor to the video has deleted the content. But I did find one very nice video that includes very interesting footages of Nakamura Sensei and Kendokai Karate. Enjoy!

The opening caption reads, "Different styles of karate are not important. Karate is karate." This quote of Nakamura Sensei sums up his philosophy.

"Transfer-Training", "Movement Training", "Ido-Gekko"

It goes without saying that kihon practice is vital to improving one's karate. Without kihon, you have no karate. Kihon can be practiced while standing on the same spot, or by moving up and down the dojo floor. Sensei Lee Young of Kasugai dojo has been posting a lot of videos of Kendokai karate training routine, and recently he posted many "ido-gekko" or "transfer-training." These are great for learning to move one's core and executing techniques with the proper timing.

Nakamura Sensei's Osaka Demo

Unfortunately, the video of Nakamura Sensei's Osaka demo that I posted earlier seems to not work. It was linked to my facebook video but it does not open.

Fortunately, someone was so kind to post an identical video on Youtube.

His techniques are beyond fast; they are invisible due to the speed. It was reported that the photographers could not capture the moment of the impact, saying that his hand disappeared.

Kendokai Karate 1987 Osaka Demonstration

This has to the best thing that happened to this blog yet. Someone was kind enough to upload the first official demo of Kendokai karate that took place in Osaka back in 1987. The video includes speech by Nakamura sensei, some intense training footage (kihon, kata, kumite both jiyu/yakushoku kumite), and of course the demo itself. Amazing demonstration by the famous Kuramoto sensei is at around 18:44 mark. His segment was widely seen on Youtube previously. Kata demonstration by Ishiyama sensei who is the current president is seen at around 23:47 mark. Of course, the highlight is the great Nakamura sensei's demo at around 26:03 mark. Sincere thanks to the person who uploaded this video!

2013 All Japan Korean School Karate Tournament

Below is a video highlight from 2013 All Japan Korean School Karate Tournament. As I've written earlier, Nakamura Hideo sensei was born in Pyong Yang had deep ties with North Korea. So it's little surprise that the ethnic Korean schools in Japan (Chong Ryon specifically, with ties with Pyong Yang. They use the traditional name for Korea, Choson) follow the Kendokai dojo curriculum.

Just from casually observing, I could tell these kids have put in long hours of hard work. They are at or near their physical peak. I though the group kata performance was quite impressive, moving in unison with precision and speed. Kumite featured full-protection helmet with mask, which allows face punch but of course they are not beating each other into submission; it's still point-based kumite. I don't see any problem with it since kendo does the same thing; full protection gear and points awarded for decisive attacks. All in all, I thought the performance was not too different from most traditional karate, such as shotokan and shito ryu.

"Dragon" Kata of Kendokai

Here's "Dragon" Kata of Kendokai Karate. Opening sequence looks a lot like Kanku Sho kata of Shotokan, with the inside-out block (uchi uke) to left, right, front, followed by lunge punch (oizuki) followed by retraction. And then a series of knifehand strikes, multiple punches from back stance, a little similar to Heian Godan kata. Nice thing about punching from back stance is that it seems to utilize squeezing of the pelvis rather than hip rotation, which is good for close-range fighting. The kata also offers double punch (punching with both hands simultaneously), which may not work so well in sparring but a good tool for close-range self defense nonetheless.

It took me a little under 2 minutes to perform this kata. It's physically challenging, but definitely beneficial for karate training for anyone.

Kendokai Osaka Dojo Children's Practice

I love to watch children practice karate. In this day and age of smartphones and computer games, it's so gratifying to watch the children discipline their body and mind through karate.

Kendokai dojo is the official (or most popular, I'm not sure) karate of the Chongryon, the ethnic Koreans living in Japan with ties to North Korea. Founder Nakamura Hideo was originally from Pyong Yang and he was in a leadership position within the Chongryon organization.

Below is a video from Osaka dojo, led by Sensei Tokchu Kim. Osaka has the largest Korean community in Japan, regardless of their SK or NK affiliation. The children are practicing one of the basic kata which looks similar to heian level kata of shotokan or other shorin-ryu based karate system. One difference I noticed was that their front stance looks a little narrow, which puts mobility and reach over stability, from my view.

Notice the Korean sign on the background. Translated: "We will shine our place of learning with our very own hands." The set-up looks a little similar to North Korean schools replete with mottoes and yes, propaganda.

Nakamura Sensei's 1990 Demo

A Kendokai karate sensei in Ehime was so kind to send me a DVD of Nakamura sensei. Below clip is from the DVD, of Nakamura Sensei's breaking demo filmed in 1990. He would have been 77 years old then. Notice just how quick and crisp his techniques are. It looks like one of the technique he used was "Tora-Guchi", or the "tiger's mouth". The striking area is the space between your thumb and the index finger. The amount of conditioning necessary to pull this off would be astounding. The last punch he executes looks like a short-range punch thrown in kokutsu dachi (back stance), similar to the punch in Heian Godan kata.

Nakamura Sensei's 1990 Demo

Apology for 3 videos that failed to play

It came to my attention that 3 of the videos I had posted somehow failed to play. I've fixed the problem on those posts AND I'm listing all 3 of those videos on this post for your convenient viewing. An apology for the confusion I may have caused.

Osaka Demo Nakamura Sensei


Nagoya Demo Nakamura Sensei


Kuramoto Sensei Demo

Kendokai's "Cross-Technique" , or "Juzi-Waza"

Here's another interesting waza (technique sequence, shorter than kata) from Kendokai Karate. I've seen this performed in a few other Kendokai demo (a lot of the demos featured children, quite skilled and obviously loving their karate practice) videos:

Full title looks like "Juzi-waza"(Kanji for number 10 looks like the cross), off "gedan barai" (downward block), "chudan zuki"(mid-level punch).

First sequence starts off with a powerful gedan barai using the full rotation of the hips, and Lee sensei punches in all directions, front, back, right, left, with his left foot planted. The latter sequence covers the other side (left punch), with the right foot planted. Multi-direction punching is seen in advanced karate kata such as Unshu but I think this waza would be helpful for beginner and intermediate level practitioners as well, as long as the basic techniques are solid.

One other source states that Nakamura Sensei had dispatched a group of knife-wielding assailants (by some account, 18!), and this waza came from that experience.

Kendokai Karate Kata "Keum Gang" and "Paektu"

Nakamura Hideo Sensei's karate school, Kendokai (Fist-Way Association. However, it's worth noting that Nakamura Sensei opposed factionalism in karate, saying "karate IS karate."), puts a lot of emphasis on kata, kihon, and body conditioning (esp. striking and kicking sandbags). Below are two of the katas performed by Lee Young Sensei of the Kasugai Dojo. Notice the portrait of Nakamura Sensei on the wall.

Keum Gang Kata:

Paektu Kata:

Both katas are named after the famous mountains in North Korea. Keum Gang is a mountain famous for its beauty and popular among South Korean tourists, and Paektu has near mythical significance to the Korean people. This shows that Nakamura Sensei had a strong desire to honor his heritage (I guess it's safe to say so).

Keum Gang kata has a lot of oizuki (lunge punch) and quick up-down parry that comes off the gedan barai (low block). It also includes "ibuki", or the slow abdominal breathing, in the kata. Its about the same level with the famous Heian katas, but may be with a little bit more movements.

Paektu kata is definitely challenging because of many maegeri (front kick) and rapid punch combination. It also includes ibuki breathing. The final movement has a curious "stomp punch", backfist, and ridge hand strike combination.

I'm really not qualified to analyze another school's kata so I'll leave it here, but it's very clear that the katas of the Kendokai are based on solid karate techniques and would complement any karateka's current training, which is what I'm doing.

An Article on Nakamura Hideo Sensei

At the passing of Nakamura Hideo Sensei on 1/8/13, Choson Sinbo, which is the largest Chongryon newspaper, wrote a brief bio (eulogy of a sort). Here's my very brief translation:

"Our comrade Kang Chang Soo (his Korean name) has devoted his life to honoring the great leader Kim Il Sung and the dear leader Kim Jong Il (grandfather and father of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un) and guarding the Chongryon organization. He's a patriot and an outstanding martial artist." 

"He was born in Pyong Yang in 1913 June 16th but his place of origin (?) is South Cholla province. In 1927, he immigrated to Japan at the age of 14."

"Suffered terribly under the ethnic discrimination of the right-wing Japanese students, and organized a foreign student rescue organization to protect the Korean students." - I'm guessing that he had no lack of street fighting opportunities. 

"He longed to return to his homeland to fight alongside our Great Leader but was arrested by the Japanese police." 

"In 1948, he joined the Yamanashi Prefecture Chongryon to fight for the rights of his people to earn living" - It's known fact that many Pachinko (slot-machine like gambling) parlors are owned and operated by the Chongryon (ethnic Koreans in Japan who supported NK).

"In 1986, he visited his homeland to meet with the Great Leader." - He was awarded a number of medals and awards by Kim Il Sung.

In summary, Nakamura Hideo sensei was intimately linked with North Korea and worked hard to strengthen the Chongryon organization of Japan. Regardless of his political belief, it's obvious that he lived an extremely full life of a strong leader.

Nakamura Sensei's Osaka Demo

I believe this is the first "official demo" of Kendokai Karate and Nakamura Sensei. It took place in Osaka 1982.

Osaka Demo Video Link

His techniques are incredibly fast and sharp. Unlike wooden boards, the rafters (or thick wooden stakes) are built to last. The fact that he could break them so easily, and against the natural wood grain, is a testament to his incredible skill. Notice how on the last break, he uses his shuto strike to literally slice a rafter held with one hand. That is on a different level from breaking an object propped on a solid structure (usually cinder blocks).