Oct 25 Bunkai and Application with Steve Rowe – Course Summary

I was looking forward to Steve’s course on the 30 October 2011 which he’d given the tagline of “A million and one applications to form and kata”.  In this course he would be teaching how to breakdown and study form/kata as a practical method for studying the martial arts, using the Shi Kon 13 Hands form to explore the concepts and ideas locked away in side them.

We began with exercises from the Yang Family Qigong set that activated the deepest muscles of the core and taught us how to use and connect the spine in all planes of movement.  To help take our minds to the muscles around the spine Steve showed some resistance exercises that engaged these deep muscles in exactly the manner they are used in the Martial Arts.  Steve raised the interesting point that these deep muscles of the core are naturally incredible strong and that most core exercises are unnecessary and actually stiffen them.

After looking at the how the movements of form and Kata are connected and powered by to the deep muscles of the core we then discussed the Japanese concept of Bunkai.  Steve explained how the term Bunkai (literally meaning ‘analysis‘ or ‘disassembly‘) is often mistakenly translated as application.  To study the Bunkai of a form or Kata is the process of extracting the skills and concepts contained in the form that can power an infinite number of applications (Ohyo in Japanese). Steve explained that all forms/kata can be broken down into three layers:

1. Medical – This is the first layer for analysis.  Here we explore aspects such as posture, intent, muscle engagement and development and the ways that the form transmits to develop the body and mind.
2. Skill – The Skill layer teaches how to bring together all of the Medical aspects of the form into continuous and powered movements.  Steve explained that when breaking down the skills of a form things do not always translate literally into combat applications – here you are working on core skills that will allow for powerful effective applications not the applications themselves.
3. Boxing – This is the third and final layer when the Medical and Skill layers are in place that will allow for effective powerful boxing/martial applications.  The applications to form are never fixed and always dictated by the position and intent of the opponent.  Function always dictates form and your form is incorrect if it has to be modified to fit an application.  All of the applications we covered on the course were simple, powerful and direct – anything complicated or too intricate simply wouldn’t work in reality.

By breaking down form into the three layers Steve showed how it should become the dynamic heart of a Martial Arts system.  He deliberately made the Shi Kon forms simple and functional to allow for depth of study.   All too often forms are just something studied to pass a certain grade, but Steve said that in the Shi Kon system there are no beginner forms.  As a students skill increases so should their understanding of all of the forms in the system.  The forms of the Shi Kon system are structured to teach skills in a layered way allowing for knowledge to be applied to every part of the system.  This makes the syllabus the living heart of the system not just something to be memorised to climb the grade ladder.

I had a great days training and found this an interesting course that has given me a much deeper sense of purpose for form and shown how essential it is to access the deeper aspects of the Martial Arts.

Gavin King

Gavin King is a Shiatsu practitioner, writer and Martial Arts instructor from Essex in the United Kingdom. He runs a full time Martial Arts centre in Hockley, Essex teaching Tai Chi and Kung Fu. You can contact him via Facebook or Twitter!

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