Ready Position Interpretation

Posted by: Ads

Ready Position Interpretation - 01/08/07 03:48 PM

Any thoughts on the ready position taken before starting a pattern. Studying TKD the first pattern we learn is Chon-Ji, which starts with arms out-stretched at waist level. This is easily interpretated is a double punch to the stomach area from a double lapel grab, or maybe JUST a ready position! Any ideas from your patterns?
Posted by: BrianS

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/08/07 08:21 PM

If you want to make some interpretations and put them into practice the move can become practical OR it can just mean ready,either way wouldn't be wrong.

My own interpretations would be defense against wrist grabs or a push.
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/09/07 01:17 PM

I was hoping for interpretations from all patterns and styles. I have found all sorts of uses for the various ready positions and some are useful, some are not so. Studying TKD I only know of these patterns but all MA patterns must start from some stance, so what do these mean? Maybe a description of a patterns start with an interpretation.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/09/07 02:28 PM

the ready position for kata or forms will varry from style to style, also different kata in any style could have different ready positions.

the most widely used in karate and tkd forms is the standard feet shoulder with apart with the hands either down by the sides in fists or slightly out infront of the body.

as i was tought one interpretation is that a self defence encounter may begin with your hands in a non combative position, there for its usefull to train how to "enter" with a technique from and reletivly unagressive position.

that being said, many dan rank kata in my style of karate have different starting positions, like bassai dai, jion, and empi. there uses more or less could be aimed at begining a fight by breaking an opponenetsgrip on you and applying a kind of wrist or arm lock. thats just one way. for example the one application to the oppening of bassai dai could be that your opponent has grabed your wrists and is temporarly holding your right hand infront of your body. hence the closed hand position, from there your left hand could be sed to hold his hand on your arm as you apply a wrist lock, or used as extra leverage to pry it out of his grip.

for the standard begining with feet shoulder witdth apart andhands either in front of you or at yor sides, well the application of the position will varry depending on what the next move is. for example in heian shodan, from the begining position the first downward block could be a takedown,armlock or kidney strike. in heian nidan, it could be a defence against a bear hug. the static position by its self dosen't offer much potential on its own, but followed up or preceded by other movements the application become endless.

yours in life
Posted by: Ronin1966

Ready Position Interpretation - 01/09/07 04:16 PM

Hello Ads:

A double stomach punch, FROM a lapel grab??? Pretty please explain this more.... my lapels are being grabbed and I am somehow hitting you in the stomach from that ~victim~ position??? Look forward to hearing this more, cannot fathom how that works...

Okinawan kata often (IMHE) have a fist covered position (sternum height) which rolls downward (ie remaining covered the entire distance) and then opens and the hands proceed to both sides of the body.

That rolling motion demonstrates a simple wrist lock,

Jeff
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/10/07 02:10 PM

Ok, I did a quick search to find a picture (rather than taking one of myself). I have tried it many times and a downward double fist strike into this area is enough to make the opponent let go, or at least distract them for the next technique. Another alternatative to this basic movement is for someone coming in for a rugby type tackle and striking down into their head. Or, as I found out while experimenting this move with my girlfriend (whos nearly 1 foot shorter) its the perfect position for a strike to the meat and veg. Perhaps!

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl...%3Doff%26sa%3DN

Thanks for the other comments, thats the sort of info im looking for.
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/11/07 09:12 AM

Hello Ads:

Hummmmngh, thank you for the picture! Much clearer now...What direction are these punches again? Looks like intimate point blank range, and a very straight line at that, if I understood your starting position correctly??? (Did I?) How do you get body weight into the technique given the minimal/negative range? (ie hands starting below the waist ending up essentially plainer <sp.?> 4-6 inches off your torso)

Does this work if/when lifted-raised off ones feet?

<<rugby type tackle and striking down into their head.

Yikes... awfully hard boney surface to be punching . I might possibly see the two hands thrust FORWARD sufficently, preventing the completion of a tackle, but your foot positioning is completely unsustainable for that maneuver to be effective.

<<Or, as I found out while experimenting this move with my girlfriend

A wise man....

<<Thanks for the other comments, thats the sort of info im looking for.

Happy to help. Since we are on the topic... do your feet move OR have a particular position as your hands do ???

Jeff
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/11/07 02:21 PM

Move 2 in this pattern (or technically move 2) in turning left 90degrees into a down block which I'd use as a throw following the first strike. In regards to power generation; starting with arms by side and snapping them out creates enough power when practiced hundreds of times. Buy hey, this is just 1 interpretation of the opening move which the beginner learns.
The point I was trying to make starting this thread was that the opening stances gets overlooked as anything effective, when they shouldnt.
Posted by: Ronin1966

Ready Position Interpretation - 01/11/07 05:34 PM

Hello Ads:

<<Move 2

The kata (Okinawan lineage) I possess all contain the 100% identical opening. Functional by itself with no adjunct movements attached/required. All patterns contain the same initial hand gesture/position, regardless of their respective movement #2 afterwards...

Are your patterns different in this regard, one piece attached to a larger sequence??? The Okinawan and chinese derived arts seem self-contained for lack of a better terminology?

<<arms by side and snapping them out creates enough power when practiced hundreds of times.

Cannot see it myself but... wouldn't be the last time I missed something. So I did not misunderstand anything, The hands go from hanging by ones side (alebt stffly so) to being in front of ourselves as if pushing a shopping cart with fists...

<<the opening stances gets overlooked

Or as being solely symbolic summarily without function It is insanity to seek no function...

Jeff
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 01:29 AM

Is there always some secretive interpretation? Cant ready position just mean "ready"? Why does it have to be more than that? There are so many other things of greater value to explore.
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 07:39 AM

exactly. salutation or formalization prior and after demonstrating forms is just that.

the more elaborate ones get more points for showing 'more respect' to judges, no doubt. I like the ones that are so elaborate, it looks like they have started the form already.

flippant answer aside the simple bow and starting position is traditional at least since the time karate was so named...older Chinese forms seem less formal in this regard, so the Okinawan forms probably formalized with Japan influence in the 20th c. but I'm guessing.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 10:40 AM

well, to be a nit picky jerk, no one was talking about the bow as an application.

the point i was making is that the move from the initial begining position to the next technique could be studied for posible applications.

chen is always right in one sense, no matter how arrogant he seems when making his point. there are other things to study that may warrent more attention to some. but the question was asked and answered, and besides i thought you had left the disgracefull kata for dead after the 21 page roast??

the ready position does mean "ready". and maybe that is the best answer to give to a student who is learning, but don't dismiss it as simply this or that, bruce lee would be shamed to think that you boxed your self into a limiting frame of mind.

yours in life
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 01:48 PM

Quote:

Is there always some secretive interpretation? Cant ready position just mean "ready"? Why does it have to be more than that? There are so many other things of greater value to explore.




What are you getting ready for??? If ever you get into a fight are you going to say "hang on, let me get into my ready stance". I dont mean to sound flipant, but it seems that we only see them as mear ready stances because of how we are taught. If a pattern was to be performed with hands starting relaxed by our sides and then going into the first stance (which would actually be the ready stance) perhaps we could clearly see more application and use for the technique.

And surely every technique has to be useful, otherwise why are we are we learning it?

Its not that they're forgotten secrets, more like knowledge that has remained untaught until it finally becomes unknown. Perhaps.
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 01:51 PM

I may be going to the extreme a little, but, surely the bow has an application??? Perhaps from a front choke; a double wrist grab going into headbutt. Just a thought.
Posted by: JoelM

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 02:05 PM

Quote:

What are you getting ready for???




Performing your kata.

Quote:

If ever you get into a fight are you going to say "hang on, let me get into my ready stance".



Does the military stand at attention and salute the enemy before going into battle? No.

It's just a formalized version of "hands starting relaxed by our sides".
Posted by: JoelM

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 03:12 PM

Ads, have you been taught any applications for these opening moves?
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 03:20 PM

[sacasm]
or a bow could be a headbutt! of course...how could I have missed it! lol

now I have to go work on applications for my handshake kata....probably some finger locks in there.
[/sarcasm]

My interpretation of ready position is....ready position.
Posted by: JoelM

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 03:30 PM

I know that in Japan a bow is a sign of respect/a greeting. I believe that it is the same way in China. I can only assume that it is the same on Okinawa (where many of the forms started) and in Korea.

Am I correct in this assumption? If so would it not be the same as (or at least very similar to) the salute of one soldier to another?
Posted by: CVV

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 05:44 PM

When I want to execute a kata to the best of my abilities for that moment, the entire 'get ready' formals get a very deep 'spiritual' meaning. In a sense of me and my surrounding and firing up all my senses. You feel the adrenaline, you are in touch with your breathing and feel every muscle. You are aware of your surrounding and are focused. The only thing missing is fear.
This is in my opinion the function of the 'get ready' formalities. Once you are focused and ready to fight, you are a formidable adversary because you intent not to lose. This mental state is far more important than knowing wrist locks, finger locks or head butts from the ready position.
In training over and over the kata, the ready formalities tend to be neglected as you want to focus on technique, or speed or stance but if you want to execute a kata where body / mind and spirit work in unity in absence of concious thaught coordinated with the breathing, the ready position is intigral part of executing the kata.
Sanchin kata teaches this.
But i must confess, I am not always ready when training kata.
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 05:50 PM

Hello Chen Zen:

<<Is there always some secretive interpretation?

When I invent the thing being examined I shall let you know!
The kata I was given are entirely functional movements with excellent reasons for precision whatever the particular positions/sequences might be...



<<Cant ready position just mean "ready"?

They could but that would be awfully boring... yet some would contend they are pure & exclusively symbolism. If I were able to show you a usage for a particular "ready" position would you consider/explore it???

<<There are so many other things of greater value to explore.

What did you have in mind sire???????

I enjoy taking apart the small pieces, examining them and reexamining them see what ~shakes loose~ in that process. It may take months, sometimes years remembering hey we never finished that piece well... looks similar to what were just doing... wonder if we use this idea on that piece if it would work, answer the problem we had back then...

The joy is in the exploration...

Jeff
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/12/07 05:59 PM

Hello Ads:


<<I dont mean to sound flipant

Taught differently, given a different basic experience dissecting them, other possibilities exist

<<Its not that they're forgotten secrets, more like knowledge that has remained untaught until it finally becomes unknown

There are endless avenues you can explore, given a basic context.. whether that be the structure, the mechanics, the mental compotent, the breathing aspects, any one of which you can spend an insane amount of time exploring, studying. We share a basic method, if you get all of them simultainously on day one, overwhelmed-unskilled & insanity follows.

I like your got lost hypothesis... makes wonderful sense to me. Disagree with eliminating the ready position, it too specifically has a functional self defense technique within it...

Jeff
Posted by: Ads

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/13/07 08:20 AM

I wasnt suggesting that the ready position is eliminated. I was simply trying to show that if the hands were to start relaxed by your sides, the ready position would more commonly be seen as a technique. Of course, it also helps to mentally prepare you for the pattern which is going to be performed.
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/13/07 12:56 PM

Pushed a few buttons heh? First, Student, Im not always right man. And that thread is AMAZINGLY still going.

I like to explore things as well. All aspects of my training really. However, this formality doesnt exist in my training anymore. Since that is the case I dont find myself in the sort of formal positions you might see a kung Fu artist use, or a karateka or Aikidoka. With the exception of hands by my side, because hey, I do walk. If I was able to see a viable application from that situation perhaps I would explore it further, though Ive never had an altercation start in that fashion.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 10:06 AM

lol, from time to time you say the right things chen, not the end of the world tho.

and i hope you dont go looking for altercations for test runs,lol.
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 05:29 PM

I dont look for them, but I dont run either. Im always ready for my next test.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 10:25 PM

cheers to that.

well so long as you havent given up test's along with every thing else,lol. can't stop the typing hand some times, lol.

so if i got this right here chen, you train largely on your own and therefore have droped everything you feel is useless in favor of training you have coustimized to your own goals?
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 10:29 PM

I wouldnt say largely on my own, but largely under my own direction. I do train with other Martial Artists of various backgrounds. I learn things then apply that which I feel is suitable for me. So to answer your question, yes.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 10:51 PM

sounds good,

i mean, in a way thats how any martial art started. peeple got together and used their own expirences and ideas to form some group decision and poof, style. then politics.
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 10:53 PM

Yeah, Im trying to avoid the "Poof". There isnt really one way or style of how I do things, how I might do things and Im definately not into politics. My moderator status here is about as political as I get.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/20/07 11:52 PM

i can definatly sympathsize with wanting to stay away from the politics. its like a damn infection under the fake face of people who will stab your ass in the back for not inviting them to your dojo for a seminar.

more power to you, i wish i had the resources to break away from orginaziations, it seems like there are a few people killing the art i love and changing into somehting that turns my stomach.

yours in life
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 12:33 AM

Real Martial Arts are dying. The truth is there is probably only a small percentage of the world who really know what martial arts are about. It will probably always be so.
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 01:00 AM

i guess its a good thing i don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks then.
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 01:33 AM

Hello Ads:

<<I was simply trying to show that if the hands were to start relaxed by your sides, the ready position would more commonly be seen as a technique.

Shame on me, (need to spend more time carefully watching the links)! Ours do...

Jeff
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 01:36 AM

Hello student of life:

<<and i hope you [sic. any of us] dont go looking for altercations for test runs,lol.

Can a get a group AMEN to this one!

Jeff
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 10:54 AM

amen brother!!
Posted by: Chen Zen

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/07 11:18 PM

Quote:

i guess its a good thing i don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks then.




What do you mean by that?
Posted by: student_of_life

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/22/07 07:33 AM

i mean, just because others are abandoning "Traditional" arts dosn't mean i will. i'll just keep praticing kata.
Posted by: shoshinkan

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/22/07 10:19 AM

Quote:

exactly. salutation or formalization prior and after demonstrating forms is just that.

the more elaborate ones get more points for showing 'more respect' to judges, no doubt. I like the ones that are so elaborate, it looks like they have started the form already.

flippant answer aside the simple bow and starting position is traditional at least since the time karate was so named...older Chinese forms seem less formal in this regard, so the Okinawan forms probably formalized with Japan influence in the 20th c. but I'm guessing.




im with Ed on this, sure interesting applications can be made from the ready hand positions, personally i think they are centred around symbolism.

An example is that the southern temple, in china presents the sun/moon hand position before its forms,
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/04/08 08:26 AM

Hello:

In the new year I wanted to re-examine some of the things that I had found curious (sic. added to my favorite folder)

What do your "ready" positions/rituals look like? Is there a function to it/them beyond pretty symmetry and pure symbolism

Jeff
Posted by: Victor Smith

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/04/08 12:04 PM

Hi Jeff, Happy new whatever it its.

My ready position interpretation depends on which form and system of study I'm doing at the time.

In my Isshinryu I see all movement as having application potential, likewise I see all non-movement in similar light. Of course where the same (or similar) openings are used from kata to kata, their potential use remains constant. Whether I would choose those answers depends on the attack I'm countering.

For some of the Chinse kuen (forms) I study the Ready Position is really another form, sort of a pre-form, and at times as complex or more complex than the form itself. Thus filled with application potential. I suspect most of those openings were originally created for public demonstration.

For my Tai Chi studies there is not a ready position. You are not in the flow, you enter the flow and eventually you leave the flow. The flow is the application potential.
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/04/08 01:02 PM

anyone care to 'interpret' this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CaRgTHbXf8
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/07/08 12:14 PM

Hello Ed:

He's laying an egg? THis is going to take a while... some bizarre flourishes going on there. I'd love to hear their explaination. I can think of a couple off the top but in total, in combination...going to take a bit of exploring...

Jeff
Posted by: Gesar

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/07/08 02:53 PM

Hello,
I dont think he meant this to be taken at all seriously. The performer is one Matt Henderson of Goju Ryu and one time Hakko Ryu, he does some other stuff as well. He posted it himself, he uses the handle Glimmerman, he also labelled it under comedy if you look at the tags.

Regards

Chris Norman
Posted by: Ronin1966

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/08/08 10:41 AM

Hello Gesar:

I know its Matt now. Haven't spoken with him in far too long, but eventually realized... bet Ed knew it was comedy though (he doesn't miss that kind of thing). Thanks for pointing it out though...

It was melodrama (Goju flavor) for sure with a little Mantik Chia ~hip action~ added, some silly "vein popping" and a smattering of circus .

J
Posted by: hedkikr

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/13/08 03:41 AM

When Freud was explaining the sexual symbolism of dreams, an irritated woman challenged him about his emphasis on phallic symbols. She pointed out that since he was a cigar smoker, what does that say about him?

Despite her smug innuendo, Freud calmly replied, "Madam, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

Because most westerners don't have a clue to the cultures that spawned the MA of that country, they try to interpret every little motion as containing some significant & secret technique. Yes, those techniques are there but the truth is that some movements are just what they appear to be...a bow is a bow (not a head-butt).

You can accept this or believe that I'm part of the vast Asian conspiracy to withhold information from the "Round-eyes".
Posted by: ButterflyPalm

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/15/08 01:58 AM

Quote:

Because most westerners don't have a clue to the cultures that spawned the MA of that country, they try to interpret every little motion as containing some significant & secret technique. Yes, those techniques are there but the truth is that some movements are just what they appear to be...a bow is a bow (not a head-butt).





Yes, it is dangerous to generalise either way as depending on where, by whom and, sometimes, when that particular kata/form was done by and originated, it may or may not contain any combat techniques or it may be pure salutation either to a knowledgeable audience or paying homage to an important ancestor or may even be a secret message to co-conspirators or to categorise a few kata/forms that are put together as a set and so all start off with the same openings or it was meant to train in a particular way of generating striking power 'unique' to that system, e.g.:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUgXMtq8FMw

The movements from 00.00 to 00.13 is common to many forms in this system and is meant to train the 'explosive/ whipping' power found therein.

Another way to 'guess' whether it is pure salutation in some southern chinese systems is to notice that after a few short movements the performer takes a couple of steps back, puts his feet together and appears to start again, e.g.:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pajaAI43W7A

Or, salutation and application together, e.g.:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItmXHc-qwI
Posted by: shoshinkan

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/08 07:30 AM

Butterfly,

can you tell me what system is represented here please?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItmXHc-qwI

many thanks
Posted by: shoshinkan

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 01/21/08 07:33 AM

sorry sorted its Hong Cha Kung Fu , very interesting system by the looks of it.
Posted by: 108Roses

Re: Ready Position Interpretation - 07/11/09 12:14 AM

Shoshinkan,

Could you please repost the "Hong Cha" clip? I just bought a book called "Way of the Warrior" by Sifu Chris Crudelli. The book is HUGE! He mentions Hong Cha in the book, but I have not heard of it till now. I ask beacuse I studied Hung Ga for 7 years in upstate NY. Thank you..

Best Wishes,
Patrick Gollin