Naihanchi Shodan Analysis (Bunkai): Basic to Intermediate
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- This video is meant to be an instructional video and all techniques are performed slowly and typically with a distinct staccato rhythm. This is merely a teaching/learning device. It should go without saying that once proficiency has been achieved, these techniques are to be performed very quickly and smoothly.
Part 1 examines how highly functional bunkai can be extracted from Naihanchi Shodan by applying 2 very simple "rules". The first "rule" allows you to determine what each hand is doing in each technique. Rule 2 explains how the directionality in the kata relates to "tenshin" or "body rotation".
Part one also teaches a basic but important "tenshin" drill and illustrates how these basic bunkai "rules" unite the kata, the "tenshin" drill, and the functional bunkai.
Part 2 Begins to examine intermediate level bunkai principles by moving beyond "single waza" bunkai into such important topics as combination bunkai and how the kata systematically teaches how to effectively deal with an opponent's attempts to counter your techniques. The kata is highly proactive in this regard using the natural defensive reaction of the opponent to quickly establish control.
It teaches a version of the earlier tenshin drill done with a partner to help develop trapping skills and instincts.
The bunkai in this video emphasize simple trapping and striking techniques although a few Tuidi (joint locking) techniques are shown during the course of the video
内蹯地, 内歩進, ナイハンチ, ナイファンチ, naifanchi, naihanchi, 分解, bunkai, tichiki,
One of the first bunkai-videos I've seen and still one of the best! Thank you, Sir!
"Daft distancing"... I love it. You are of course quite right, you often see karate people practicing at *ridiculous* distances. I actually have a video on my channel in which I try explain how unrealistic distance completely distorts the art called "Realistic Bunkai and Combative Distance". I love Naihanchi because it is nice close fighting and is very pro-active in dealing with an attacker's own defensive reactions. The masters who invented/developed it were very insightful and realistic.
Very intetesting although I see many inefficiencies in this form it is certainly note worthy
I searched for practical, realistic kata application for my entire youth and couldn't find a single sensei to teach me, so I quit practicing karate. Now I'm happy to see that much people was in the same quest as me by that time and gave Karate real life again. Though I'm older, I'm eager to return practice.
Mr. Parker thank you! This video is a wonderful learning tool. I've been studying Matsubayashi ryu for 7 years. This type of break down on the movements within a Kara go even farther than the bunkai does. The slow motion break downs and different angles make it a wonderful resource.
Illinois Practical Karate brought me here.
Thanks and hugs from Spain
Thanks for posting, filming, thinking, editing, etc... I love to see Okinawan Karate get attention because it really is amazing. More importantly, the spirit of the educational methodology is inspiring. "Here's the puzzle, Go!"
Thankyou for posting, I had the pleasure of training with Taira sensei in Okinawa last August. So fluid and so much to offer.He is amazing. The karate community is slowly gaining a better identity and relationship with it`s art thanks to you guys. Keep up the good work. Thankyou.
This is the first video that introduced me to you and immediately knew you were the real deal. That's why I watch everything I can that you've put up, because there is a wealth of knowledge you have that is seriously worth studying. Thank you for posting.
+Ryan Parker, I found your facebook group and karate piqued my interest like it had never before. Now I've been diligently exploring Naihanchi and it's like I've been introduced to karate for the first time in my life despite being "familiar" with it and several kata for over a decade.
Arigato!
What's the facebook group?
Thanks for posting, filming, thinking, editing, etc... I love to see Okinawan Karate get attention because it really is amazing. More importantly, the spirit of the educational methodology is inspiring.Excellent!
Thank you M Ryan Parker for generously sharing! This is most useful to refer back to!!
Best Naihanci breakdown I've seen !
This is the real deal. Thank you for posting this enlightening instructional video. Karate community needs this approach more than the oxygen we need to breathe.
Glad to see your feeling better, I've recently overcome esophageal cancer and have been told by my doctors that my physical condition (I'm 63) had a lot to do with my recovery. I'm sure the same is true in your case. Seven times down, eight times up! I've enjoyed your videos and have found them very informative, answering many questions about the kata for me. Keep up the good work.
thank you for the great interpretation of these portions of naihanchi shodan.
Spot on sir! Your work here concurrs with my own years of bunkai research. Thank you for this video.
My dad studied under Kuda sensei in the early 70's. He still practices on occasion. My dad said that he was taught that the lateral movements in the Naihanchi was to defend against when your back was against a wall, hence the lateral steps.
so nice to see karate that doesn't rely on daft distancing and a cooperative attacker who holds his punch in front of him and the back fist on the hip while you try to apply some block. :) Thanks. Wish I'd been taught this way 20 years ago. Maybe then I wouldn't have stopped training for 15 years...
Coming from taekwondo, a background not very useful in regards to real life, material like this is a true godsend. Thank you very much, shinshii.
Mr. Parker your analysis and presentation of the bunkai is absolutely amazing and informative. I can't say enough at how blown away I am. Motobu Choki's statement of "the contents of Naifanchi contain everything one needs to be an effective fighter" you sir have clearly demonstrated that in spades! I look forward to diving into more of your videos, Thank you. Bows.
Insightful analysis of an extraordinary Kata that is often misunderstood or ignored. Please keep this level of instruction coming. Thanks very much for sharing it.
Who studied karate so much I saw for the first time. It is a revolution of karate exactly.
Awesome. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It is extremely helpful and thought provoking. Very well done.
THX alot! It is a amazing video and I can't count how often I have watched it since you uploaded it!
I love this kata. It’s one of the best.
Your demo is great!
Thanks Ryan!
This is excellent, i can not wait for the next installment. I would enjoy anything of this nature for future videos, but if i could choose i would probably like to see more advanced application regarding to the naihanchi kata, as there has been a lot of beginner and intermediate bunkai so far. Thanks for the great video Ryan!
We don't have this kata in our branch of okinawan karate(goju ryu). But I find this fascinating, the "Oh I get!"-level on this are amazing. Truly insightful.
I see Okinawa Te as well as China Hand clearly in the application of the kata. Awesome dissection. Arigato
We need more videos like this...thank you
Nicely done. The preservation of the center line along with body angles and near simultaneous block and strike techniques are a good indication we are looking at pre 1879 technique. I believe we need to do much more research into Itosu to learn the bunkai of the kata.
Very informative and straight to point.
I'm definitely planing to do all three Naihanchi kata. I'm currently editing a video analysis of 5 movements from Naihanchi Nidan.
Wow! I only recently have come upon your TH-cam Channel, but it brought up an immediate urge to share what I had seen with my own Sensei and friends. Very informative and impressive videos! Even if my Shuri-ryu Naihanchi Shodan is slightly different, this video has given rise to much contemplation!
This is a great video. Thank you for sharing such valuble imformation for free.
Love those 2 rules... knew it but cant use words to say, NOW i can,make it clear. THX
Ryan; Sorry to hear about your difficulties. You're not alone. I have train around my disabilities myself. I know just how hard it is on ones self concept. I can't do things I used to either. Hang in there, you'll learn how to train around the problems like I did. peace.
Brilliant, now this is fantastic work thankyou.
Yes, please continue.
Thanks for the reply, i now understand where your coming from, i was just thrown off a bit by the title labels (my fault). please keep the great videos coming, especially the videos focusing on the principles behind the kata as these are so often either neglected or not even understood by any means. I recommend checking out Ian Abernethys web site, articles, blogs and you tube for some great realistic kata application and approach to karate in general.
Thanks so much for this video Mr. Parker. I have a 2nd Dan in Tang Soo Do & for a while now I have been very interested in bunkai. Lot's of the lower ranks don't seem to understand the importance of forms or how to add power so I have wanted to see if teaching bunkai would help them understand. I wanted to start by teaching the 1st Dan's bunkai for Naihanchi but I have trouble figuring out bunkai & how to teach it on my own. This helped a lot.
Mr. Parker, thanks a lot. Sometimes I feel that karate is taught like christianism: in parables (=kata), to look without seeing, until someone gives you the clue, lest they learn.
I'll agree the above video is just like religion... If the power of belief can give you good form, or determine where you go when you die.
Thank you sensei for your instruction.
I love how once any art is understood, how it becomes so simular we other arts.
Great video thanks very useful. it has expanded my thoughts on how katas can be utilised in so many different ways..naihanchi is what I am learning and practising at the moment it has certainly helped me with that.
Very good Bunkai job.
Nicely explained ! Very similar and almost identical to Silat moves.... looking back at history, Okinawa has always been in close network with the. Malay nation and Archipelago (ie NUSANTARA as we call it - Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei...) where Silat is the traditional warfare and art of self preservation....
...nice bunkai...it is interesting to notice how similar these movements (techniques) are to both Southern Chinese martial arts systems and South East Asian systems (Silat/Kali/etc.).
I love the way you open our minds for the multiple possibilities of the kata. Thank you for the video!
I've had a surprising amount of requests for a video on footwork/tenshin/tai-sabaki. So I definitely will be doing a video on that topic. Actually I think that footwork is one of the things that differentiates Western bunkai from the bunkai of some Okinawan teachers. Unfortunately my legs/feet have more loss of function from GBS than my upper body so I will have to take some time and do it right...
Best video on Naihanchi on TH-cam... I feel like it will years to get this trapping & Tuite just right!!!
Nice stuff Ryan. Keep 'em coming :)
I love this video. You've got a wonderful teaching style. On a side note... I've read that cannabidiol (CBD), has shown promise as a treatment for Guillain-Barré syndrome. I wish you the best.
sorry to hear that. never heard about this disease behore. I understand it's rare. hope for your full recovery.
there is a group of italian wado ryu practitioners that are coming periodically in my town. first time there was a 7 dan sensei between them, in crutches. he was barely moving. I was surprised to see him leave the crutches during the seminar. he was not moving much and of course he was not doing anything with the legs, but his hands were fast. he had a car accident.
Muy bueno el vídeo y la explicación Ryan parker. Desde un principio hay que analizar los katas al completo sino son ,como dice J.A Blanco, simples ejercicios gimnásticos.
Thanks Ryan.
Great video as usual.
Outstanding bunkai!
Good stuff, Mr. Parker.
Excellent video, nice drill, good pedagogy. Thanx :)
Just adding my support too for kata applications where the attackers doesn't look like a complete knob and it's done at a realistic distance. Great job of making sense of kata and using them as a tool or text book. 'Ask the kata'. Love it.
Fantastic stuff. I feel your last two videos fill the niche of discussing the principle's of a kata instead of the application. Especially this one. You definitely built a bridge for me with this. I'm a "long time" lurker of your blog and your videos. I was wondering if you could do a video on tenshin? I read much about it, from you and elsewhere, but I never get to see much of it in action, at least with regard to instruction.
Excellent
Thank You Master!
I completely concur and appreciate you sharing what you've learned. The Ryukyu kingdom may not have been a powerful empire but it was not an insignificant back-water country either. It was one one the major trade hubs in Asia and Okinawan maritime routes were quite vast with Okinawan sailors frequently setting foot on soil throughout East Asia and South East Asia. Ryukyu martial arts were likely quite cosmopolitan in their influences IMHO, with Chuan Fa being only part of the overall story...
You Sir are a Legend👑for this! ✨👍
This is the simples and best bunkai breakdown of Naihanchi... ever! 💎✨👌
Hope you recover well! Great video.
PS it is great to know that my intention (illustrating principles of bunkai more than the specific bunkai themselves) was at least somewhat successful. When I was putting it together I wasn't really sure if it was going work or if it would be a -total- failure...
Thank you cyber name for your instruction
Awesome! Naihanchi is my favorite kata. Your demonstrations are very clear and straightforward. Thanks for sharing this!
Gracias por compartir este hermoso conocimiento master.
Looking forward to it!
Fantastic. I am impressed.
Wow. Just found this. Excellent.
Excellent video
The Ryukyu kingdom traded with Indonesia, and Okinawan sailors would have traveled there regularly. Indonesian weapons have been found in Okinawan archeological sites which seems to suggest the definite possibility that some Okinawans may have studied Indonesian methods of fighting.
I still love this okinawan traditional style of martial arts..
Brilliant at last real Karate.
Tim
Mr. Parker, you should have a t-shirt with your logo and the phrase "ask the kata"!
Ryan Clark Nice suggestion! facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203585190502307
Ryan Parker
Awesome!!!
Fantastic video sir! You put a lot of effort into opening up a lot of minds. Well done.
Robert
Shorin Ryu / Shorinkan
It was excellent. Just to ask if it is possible to explain the foot work too and how it is linked to the hand techniques.
Thank you
Francisco
"ask the kata" is gold 👊
Even better than that: There is a report for the portuguese king from 1515 by Tomé Pires called "Suma Oriental que trata do Mar Roxo até aos Chins" (Summa of the East, from the Red Sea up to the Chinese). Pires there states that the most important traders in the region come from a kingdom called "Liu Kiu". Their most important merchandise were high qualitiy swords which they sold in Malakka. He also told that they were respected fighters which would collect the debts with the sword in the hand.
Ryan Parker has done his homework. Great job. I wish more people would study
their kata as deep as you have. :-)
Very very intersting... And you are awesome! Osu!!
So, for me advanced is more about an ever deeper and more refined understanding of basically the same type of stuff. Just more thoroughly integrated (combining techniques) and refined (a much more selective targeting). It is also to possible to consider learning how to "pull off" the techniques in kakie, (or other resistant sensitivity drills) to be advanced. This is only "advanced" because it requires one to able shift smoothly from one technique to another as one flows -with- the resistance.
All I can say is that Kuda shinshii used the cross stance (kosa-dachi) as a "body change" (tenshin/tai-sabaki) when I had the opprunity to train with him. To a significant extent his footwork and that of Oyata shinshii (who also used kosa-dachi as tenshin) were really quite similar. I feel fairly confident that the "back to the wall" theory is not something Kuda shinshii ever espoused. But maybe Kuda shinshii's views evolved over the 20 year gap between your father's experience and my own.
Nice bit of history, there.
Excellent. Love it.
Excellent!
I agree. Thats why I´m a bit more strict and say you cannot learn martial arts without doing it. You can´t read your way or watch videos to become a martial artist. But you can certainly try something you have seen, but you will not actually learn untill you try it and train it.
And thats what handicaps me a bit, becaue this is so far from the kind of training I usually do, so I would not get the right training unless I pay other guys a visit, who do this by default.
This is top material. Regarding your Guillain Barre, good news is that most people recover completely from it, so I hope it will be in your case as well. Those nerve related symptoms are scary and irritating as hell. I strongly suggest you to buy Neurobion, it's a synergistic coctail that really helps in nerves recovery.
Thanks for kind words and the well wishes. I am outside the time-window in which further recovery can be expected. I'd guess I have recovered perhaps 85% of the function I lost which is OK. My hands still shake at times and my balance is still somewhat effected. I am hoping to find training methods which might compensate for those deficits.
Ryan Parker
I went through something similar, although I was never formally diagnosed with GB. Apart from loss of motor functions and all kinds of paresthesia, I had autonomic disfunction as well so my blood pressure and heart rate was all over the town. In other words, I was kind of living death:) What did the trick for me was Neurobion in combination with few cycles of T3, as in Wilson's T3 protocol.It was two years ago, now I lift weights heavier than ever without any symptoms left. I couldn't wash my car not so long ago without having shaky hands after that when lifting empty dinner plate. While T3 isn't something to play with, you have absolutely nothing to lose trying Neurobion. It's just a B vitamin complex, but in huge concentration (B12 is in 10.000 times daily recommended amount). It's specifically formulated for nerves regeneration. I guess large dose of pharmaceutical grade (that's important) fish oil also can help provide building material for myelin sheath recovery.
Hey, thanks for the clarification, it is very helpful. I think your dad is right that Naihanchi would work well in that context (and most situations with really close range). Gun-a-te.. that's funny. ;-) Surely will beat karate nearly every time ;-)
You would not be off base at all. I have often noticed how close some of Taira shinshi's material is to the Suidi based material I've learned. This is unsurprising as Okinawa is not exactly a big place. ;-) To be honest Taira shinshi is somebody I have only discovered in the last few years, but I think he is one of the most important of the living Okinawan masters. I hope to study his material more deeply as time goes on.
That was supposed to say: "you first need to be able to put yourself in a position where you can reliably and cleanly strike to the head or neck before you worry about hitting targets ON the head or neck.
Excellent vid,
Yes, to some extent. I no longer focus much on TCM type analysis of techniques but I certainly still pay close attention to the range of possible targets (some seemingly innocuous) and methods for exploiting them.
That's good. It's difficult to understand kata at times or I get lost because we are told to turn our head in the direction of the technique.
Rad stuff Parker Sensei! Nidan and Sandan would be much appreciated. 押忍！
なるほどですね！Motobe Chuki (famous fighter before WW1) had only 1 kata, and that is Naihanchi. It was Sensei Jesse Enkamp or Karate Dojo Waku had bought this up. I mastered one of the kata Yantsu. I wonder how this Yantsu can be analyzed.
Very nice, Mr. Parker. Do you also train/teach kyusho in the bunkai?
Traditional Karate schools are hardcore. Thanks for posting.
As long as you're not referring to this video displaying to any level of proficiency, real traditional Karate. Try typing Goju Ryu, Shito Ryu, or Shotokan.
Just had a thought while thinking about this and some other stuff. Especially with the flow drill that you provide at the end, some of the principles I've seen from the "over-drill" that Taira-sensei teaches seems to apply to this drill. Would that be off base? The thought crossed my mind while watching this again and looking at other things that I particularly enjoy studying.
очень интересная трактовка !!!