Also, "Projection #14," (same as Ushiro Zeme Otoshi), page 292-293 of A. Westbrook and O. Ratti, Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction, Tuttle, 1970.
Also, "Ashe Waza" technique 2-3 of George Kirby, Black Belt Budoshin Jujitsu, Volume 2, Panther Productions, 1992.
Also, "Ashe Garami," leg entanglement, p. 21 of Serge Mol, Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu, Kodansha, 1970.
Also, pages 14 and 72-77 of Mashiro's Black Medicine III: Low Blows, Paladin Press, 1981.
Field Manual 21-150 (1954)
Also page 128 of U.S. Army, Hand-To-Hand Combat: FM 21-150, June 1954.
Also, pages 130-140 of War Department, Basic Field Manual - Unarmed Defense for American Soldier (FM 21-150) June 30, 1942
Also section 5.2 of US Army, Combatives Hand to Hand Combat, September 1992.
Also "Chi Gerk," pages 27-36 of Joseph Wayne Smith, Wing Chun Kung-fu Volume 2: Fighting & Grappling, Tuttle, 1992.
Also, "Chi Gerk," page 211-213 of Jonathan Mayberry, Ultimate Sparring: Principles & Practices, Strider Nolan Publishing, 2003.]
Also, "Hangetsu Dachi," personal communication with Shihan Gary Simpson of Perth, Australia.
Also, "Taking Away His Support," chapter 8 of MacYoung, Marc, A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly: How Bouncers, Bodyguards, and Other Security Professionals Handle Ugly Situations, Paladin Press, 1993.
Step 11 of H. Sandan is the upright position with fists on hips. Step 12-17 are the series of three side-stances. During the side stances you keep your fists on your hips and your elbows stuck out sideways, and there is a vertical uraken uchi after each step. We see the following variations among branches of Shotokan, and among styles that do Pinan Sandan:
- Shotokan lifts the stepping knee high and then stomps down. Other styles often just shuffle from one stance to the next.
- Some branches of Shotokan (and some other styles) swing the elbow well past the center line; others do not. Those that swing sometimes lean forward at the waist to exaggerate the swing.
- Some Shotokan groups add a small foot motion as they raise the foot. The motion looks like a token sweep. Other Shotokan groups exaggerate this into a crescent kick. Still others don't seem to be making any foot motion at all.
- In some styles it is a horizontal tettsui uchi at waist level.
It is important to note that Itosu put this same sequence in multiple katas, varying only the accompanying hand technique:
- In H. Sandan we have uraken uchi or tettsui uchi, depending on the style you are viewing.
- In Jitte amd Jion, we have teisho uchi (heel of hand strike).
- In Jion, we also have gaiwan otoshi uchi ude (forearm dropping striking block).
- In Jiin, we find shuto uchi (knife-hand strike) and tettsui uchi (hammerfist strike).
Ushiro Zeme Otoshi
This sequence gives us a splendid opportunity to teach our students ushiro zeme otoshi from Hakkoryu Jujutsu. Tori stands upright in a position not unlike step 11 of the kata. Uke hugs him from behind, pinning his arms. Tori uses his ki to force his arms out from his sides, so his arms point downward at a 45 degree angle. Putting your fists on your hips, like the kata, is an easier way to do this.
Then tori steps forward with his right foot into side stance. As he plants his foot, he turns his hips strongly to the left, exactly like the kata. Uke is thrown rather dramatically in the direction of travel. Uke doesn't just tip over, he flies. His body becomes a projectile for bowling down other enemies. Everyone should know this throw.
While ushiro zeme otoshi is an excellent technique, it doesn't explain the backfist attacks that follow each step.
Chi Gerk and Ashe Garami
"Chi gerk" is the Chinese system of "sticky leg" techniques, which Joseph Wayne Smith calls "the jewel of the Wing Chun system." "Ashe garami" is the corresponding Japanese term for "leg entanglement." "Ashe waza" is George Kirby's name for an entanglement technique where you use your knee to break the opponent's stance and drop him on the ground. Gary Simpson demonstrates a favorite technique in which he uses hangetsu dachi to lock up an opponent's leg and spill him. These labels refer to a family of techniques in which you step in and use your foot/shin/knee to destabilize the opponent's stance and often to lock his knee. The opponent either sprawls on his side, or is forced to drop down on one knee, or his knee joint simply breaks. The kneeling position puts the enemy's head at exactly the right height to strike with the hand techniques that Itosu added to this sequence in various katas.
I illustrated three of these techniques in Shotokan's Secret on page 211-213. Kirby's "ashe waza" makes a fourth in the series. The little foot "flip" that many Shotokan students do as they begin each step in this series could be construed as a fifth technique, shown on page 206 of Shotokan's Secret, and on page 14 of Mashiro's Black Medicine III. There are several knee-displacing kicks shown in section 5.2 of FM 21-150 (1992). The Chi Gerk techniques illustrated by Smith include foot stomps, knee displacements, and various hooks and sweeps. Simpson's hangetsu attack is another in the series.
Additional ashe garami techniques, not shown in this kata, can be applied when you are lying on the ground and the opponent is standing. You use your feet to catch his knee and ankle, to throw him on his face or on his back. These techniques are illustrated on pages 72-77 of Black Medicine III. In FM 21-150 that's pages 130-140 (1942), and page 128 (1954). Mayberry illustrates Chi Gerk drills for no-hands sparring when standing, when one opponent is standing but the other is on the ground, and when both opponents are on the ground.
Collectively, the ashe garami and Chi Gerk techniques, combined with ushiro zeme otoshi, give us a toolkit for forcing our way through a crowd. If a person tries to grab us from the rear, we can throw him off. Meantime, we can keep stepping forward, using the foot throws to break our way through the mob. If a person is still in the way, kneeling in front of us, we can knock him out of the fight with a hand technique.
Kata Garuma
But why aren’t we using our hands? It’s fine to say that we can shrug off attackers who try to pin our arms, and that we can fight effectively with our feet alone, but why are our fists on our hips like that?
One possible answer is that we have picked someone up and are carrying him out of the bar. This could be either an arrest or a rescue. The Shuri bodyguards would have practiced both.
The fists-on-hips posture is very similar to the position we assume when carrying someone on our back, in “piggyback” style. Less obvious, but equally valid, is the similarity to the posture of the “fireman’s carry,” where we drape the person across our shoulders, holding one of his arms on one side and one of his legs on the other side. This position, with a person across your shoulders, is the middle phase of kata garuma (the shoulder wheel throw). The slow, powerful turn in step 11 has much the same feeling as rotating the person up on your shoulders in kata garuma. From that point the powerful stepping turns (steps 12, 14, and 16) sling the person’s legs like clubs into the faces of the other opponents.
Kata garuma gives you the freedom to let go momentarily, on one side at a time, to lash out with backfist attacks. If hard-pressed, you can always drop the criminal on his head, completing the throw.
This could be either a rescue of a helpless ally or an abduction (an arrest) of a stunned criminal. Your hands are occupied with carrying the person, so you fight with your feet using chi gerk. Notice that you’re carrying him out of the bar, not into it. You went in to get him, and now you’re taking him back to the magistrate for trial.
Historical Perspective
All of this reminds us of Kanryo Higaonna (or Higashionna), who with Itosu is one of the patron saints of Shito Ryu. Higaonna spent fifteen years studying martial arts in China. He was famous for unexpected attacks to the legs and knees, and had the odd reputation of being a skillful fighter even when too drunk to stand up. That's the signature of a person trained in Chi Gerk. Itosu befriended Higaonna and probably learned Chi Gerk from him.
It also brings to mind Chotoku Kyan's legendary fight with the crowd outside the cockfight. According to witnesses, he plowed his way through the mob of angry patrons without using his hands. He was carrying his fighting cock, and so used his feet exclusively. Kyan was a student of Itosu, so there is the next link.
