Sparring in Ti and old style Karate
Modern Karate styles have evolved and differ significantly from how they were practiced in the past. Sparring is one of these things, many modern styles prefer a point style method (mainly Shotokan, Shito ryu, Goju ryu, Wado ryu, Shorin ryu). Sparring brings many benefits such as; pressure testing your techniques, practicing proper form, experimentation with combos, thrill of combat, etc. The Karate-ka of the past never did any point fighting, so that begs the question. How did the karate-ka of the past spar and pressure test their techniques?
Older styles of Karate mainly sparred with three methods. Prearranged sparring, free sparring and Kakkidi / Kakete (lit hooked hands). These methods will look different in different styles. Primarily because Naha te and Shuri te prioritize different principles and techniques (the principles and techniques of those styles may be the subject of a future article).
Kakkidi / Kakete is a type of sticking hands practiced in a variety of older styles such as; Hanashiro-ha, Touon ryu, Motobu ryu, Kojo ryu, etc.
On January 23rd, I spoke with Sumitani, a practitioner of Kojo ryu from the Rinzankai organization and asked him about Kakete. He told me that, “This (kakete) is basic practice for throwing and submission techniques in close combat”. Sumitani sensei also mentioned that, “We (Kojo ryu) focus mainly on close combat and weapon techniques (stick fighting)”. Kojo ryu alongside it’s main syllabus also practices stick fighting (Jo). In the video below, the Kojo ryu practitioners are practicing a technique with Kakete. The way Kojo ryu does their Kakete is not the way the other styles practice it. This is because different styles focus on different aspects of training and different mechanics.
On September 9th, 2024, I spoke to Ikeda Sensei (4th Soke of Touon ryu) about Kakete and he told me that “Kakete is a good way to practice your techniques". Touon ryu, much like Kojo ryu, uses Kakete as a method to pressure test their techniques / applications. Unfortunately Touon ryu has a strict anti-video policy, however some videos and articles of applications of the four Naha te kata as well as footage of Nepai kata can be found online.
Kakkidi / Kakete is also practiced in Hanashiro-ha Shuri te, however I have been requested not to share info on it, so I won’t include much on Hanashiro-ha or Tachimura-ha in this article.
Kakkidi is also demonstrated by Motobu Choki in his book, Okinawan Kenpo Karate Jutsu Kumite and by some of Motoku Yabiku’s students. Yabiku was a student of Yabu Kenstu who was one of Matsumura’s notable students. So it’ssafe to say that Shuri te made use of Kakkidi / Kakete, however different styles have a different aspect that they focus on. This is reflected in their techniques, drills, kumite and kata. I encourage the reader to think on that.
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Next we will take a look at prearranged sparring. Prearranged kumite is practiced in Kojo ryu and Motobu Kempo. The Kojo ryu sets include various off balancing, striking and kicking techniques. To the right is a video of a Kojo ryu finger / thumb strike yakosoku kumite drill. Sumitani sensei told me that he doesn’t know when these yakusoku kumite sets were created, however I feel that yakosoku kumite in general is a modern invention (modern in comparison to kata) created to teach students how to use their body and techniques effectively, Uechi ryu does similar.
On January 30th, I spoke to my friend and Sensei Rich, a practitioner of Touon ryu. He told me that Touon ryu doesn’t do any prearranged / yakusoku kumite, which makes sense considering a lot of older styles don’t practice them.
Motobu Kenpo, founded by Motobu Choki does prearranged kumite in the form of 12 drills. These drills were made by Motobu himself and possibly inspired by kata. Below is a drill that resembles Chinto. Motobu Choki’s yakusoku kumite is considered to be the oldest documented yakusoku kumite.
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Finally we will take a look at free sparring. Free sparring is practiced in a variety of styles like Kojo ryu, Ti, Hanashiro-ha, Tachimura-ha, Motobu ryu,etc. However we’ll focus on Kojo ryu and Ti in this article. First we’ll take a look at Shuri te then Kojo ryu.
Below is a video of Uehara Seikichi practicing free sparring. There is more to Uehara’s methods than people think. Uehara’s methods (and similar)have many intricate details that I have not seen in any other style (that I have also been requested not to share) and there is a lot to practice in free sparring kumite. It’s certainly an effective method for testing your techniques and reacting quickly.
Kojo ryu also practices free sparring but the way they do it is different. I do not know much on Kojo ryu’s way of free sparring, but it looks very different to Uehara’s methods because these styles have different focuses. Shuri te methods are different to that of Kojo ryu’s and Naha te.
Kakete / Kakkidi can be considered free sparring however for the clarity of this article, I put them into separate categories.
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