shorinji kempo's excellent throwing techniques

**bacurrie45** · 06-30-2009, 12:03

having watched many shorinji kempo clips i must say i am very impressed with the art's philosophy and self defence aspects. One of the things i am most impressed by is the throwing techniques as they seem to reli on breaking the balance first and then throwing although some of them do come from joint locks. i have never seen any other martial arts with the same throws as in shorinji kempo except maybe aikido's kote gaeshi which looks quite similar to kote nage of gyaku gote. i also came across a sensei called morei sensei low and was astounded by his throwing abiliities

**TonyU** · 06-30-2009, 13:07

Originally Posted by bacurrie45

One of the things i am most impressed by is the throwing techniques as they seem to reli on breaking the balance first and then throwing...

Imagine that. Judo/jujutsu does the same thing.

**Webmaster** · 06-30-2009, 14:02

Originally Posted by TonyU

Imagine that. Judo/jujutsu does the same thing.

As does the OP's native art...Hapkido.

**Rob Gassin** · 06-30-2009, 17:23

Originally Posted by bacurrie45

having watched many shorinji kempo clips i must say i am very impressed with the art's philosophy and self defence aspects. One of the things i am most impressed by is the throwing techniques as they seem to reli on breaking the balance first and then throwing although some of them do come from joint locks. i have never seen any other martial arts with the same throws as in shorinji kempo except maybe aikido's kote gaeshi which looks quite similar to kote nage of gyaku gote. i also came across a sensei called morei sensei low and was astounded by his throwing abiliities

Brian,

Mori Sensei was a complete freak (in the best sense of the word) some would call him a genius. He had an uncanny ability to read his partner's balance and his timing was impeccable. Talking to people who have trained with him, I am told that in real life, his techniques were as subtle and effortless as in the clips on Youtube.

I agree with the other posters thatbreaking balance is an integral part of many martial arts. The entry point of the technique is often differemt. In Hapkido for example, they use the concept of 'Harmony' which basically involves coming close to the partner, shoulder to shoulder before achieving control. This is some times used in SK but often the partner is extended off balance whilst the one performing the technique keeps the grabbing hand close to his body. The extending of the partner is done differently to aikido.

With experience, a lot of SK techniques can be distilled down to 1 or 2 principle and eventually, gyaku gote, kote nage, oshi gote, kote maki gaeshi, maki gote, sode maki gote, uwa uke nage, oshi uke nage etc, can look very much the same althouth the initial attack is different.

Cheers,

**David Dunn** · 07-01-2009, 02:44

Hi Rob,
Mori sensei was indeed a genius, but I'm not sure about freak. I was lucky enough to train a bit with him in 1995 when he came on a prolonged visit to England, and then some again in 1997 in Kyoto. He noticably influenced Mizuno sensei, who took his methodology to heart. The BSKF currently has two of his ex-kenshi.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that his methodology is actually the "correct" way to do the juho techniques, in the sense that any ordinary person should be able to apply it. My friend, Rob Villiers, asked Mori sensei how he got to his level of understanding. He said "I asked every single person who I ever trained with if I could try the techniques on them".

One thing that about Mori sensei's method is that it depends on a particular body condition - bujutsutekishintai - which is something like "martial arts body". To make kagite shuho work as prescribed you have to be relaxed and in tension in the right way, and it is more to do with your state of mind. Mori sensei said he could only to the techniques with a smile on his face. This is ken zen ichinyo - to acheive that technical ability requires you to change your personality in some way. That sounds daft, but I can't find a way to put it into words.

Anyway, check this out:
http://www.hiryukai.jp/index.htm

(Google translation will give you the idea). Ito Noburu was a shorinji kenshi, who Mori sensei's kenshi seem to know well. This hiryukai is a set of principles/exercises to find the core muscles. I suppose something like Pilates, although I know almost nothing about Pilates. These are the muscles to use for waza. I think it seems very effective, although like anthing you need someone who understands the exercises to explain them. A couple of kenshi have been exploring this, along with aiki/daito ideas for juho. This is why I think that it isn't "freakish". We just need to know how to invest our time in training most effectively