Sochin Notes: Movements 19 – 27…

I would like to reiterate, these are just my thoughts. I am no expert, but I have been through this kata quite a bit this year.

The six movements following the side snap kick/backfist/elbow strike combinations are knifehand blocks. Early on, I realized that pivoting with a feeling of tension in my rear leg helped brace my body when spinning and gave a great, strong feeling coming into the first knifehand block of the run.

After watching Sensei Osaka’s video again, the most striking element for me is the distinct and sharp nature of the first four knifehands. They are completely seperate attacks, each distinct with very little (if any) flow between them. Care should be taken to make full range of motion when transitioning between these techniques, a lack of this will really affect how strong this portion of the kata looks.

The only knifehands that have any direct connection to one another are movements 23 and 24 (the knifehands that go back “up the middle”). They flow together like many of the other pairs of knifehand blocks do in the Heian kata, and are punctuated by the sliding forward rising spearhand thrust to the throat. That movement is somewhat seperate and distinct itself, however there is less pause here than between the knifehand blocks.

Sensei Enoeda’s book “Shotokan Advanced Kata Vol. 2” does an excellent job of describing the next two combinations: “Without moving the hand position, perform a left front kick… Perform a right front kick whilst doing a simultaneous block and attack with the arms – a right inner arm twisting block and left close punch, forward, both to head level. [A]s the foot snaps back, step forward… and downward, still keeping hand positions. As the foot snaps back… step forward into [sochin-dachi] and perform a simultaneous left inner arm twisting block and right close punch – by reversing the arms.”

I originally misinterpreted the twisting block as being cranked against my own shoulder and this is not the case. It is a very similar arm motion as an outward block, but the hand comes back slightly past a 90 degree angle. The feeling of the block is in fact twisting outward, not cranked back as I had originally assumed. The attacking hand is punching, very similar to the punch in Tekki Shodan.

That’s all for installment four… a quick note on technique numbering. I am largely doing necessary movements, counting combinations as one “movement”. My numbering will vary from other published works, but its all in there.