"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.