Martial arts discussion thread

[GoktimusPrime]

Did you get my PM, KalEl?

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Did some research^Googling into the first GKR kata -- apparently it's called "Taigyoku" - the one I've learnt is "Taigyoku Shodan*". It appears to be derived from the Taikyoku kata used in traditional Karate styles (e.g. Shotokan, Goju etc.) -- I suspect that Taigyoku may be a corruption of "Taikyoku", because "Taikyoku" is written as　太極** and is the same Kanji as "Tai Chi" (sometimes Anglocised as "Taiji" - in Japanese Tai Chi Chuan is called "Taikyokuken" (太極拳; "Great Extreme Fist")) -- although the similarity to Tai Chi appears to be only in name. I find this form to be more similar to Sport Taekwondo's "Taeguk" form (poomsae); also written in the same Kanji. By comparison, Taeguk is a simplified version of Taigyok/Taikyoku (I say this because TKD was derived from Shotokan Karate - so Taikyoku would have come first) - Taeguk lacks any of the turns (so they don't use the the cross-legged/twisted stance, only using the Forward Stance).

I also finally found some info on the lineage of GKR -- apparently Kancho Sullivan^Sullivan-Kancho*** developed GKR as a hybrid of Goju, Keishinkan and Shotokan.

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Semantic Notes:
*Shodan (初段) literally means "First Level", although Sensei translated it as "Level 1" (which would translate as "Ichi-dan" (一段) in Japanese). Japanese speaking Transformer fans often refer to G1 as 初代 (Shodai), meaning "First Generation."
**I suspect that "Taigyoku" is probably a corruption of "Taikyoku," because "Taigyoku" means "Great Jade" (太玉), and I'm not aware of any Karate form or style by that name (although there is a style of Aikido called "Taigyokuryu" ("Great Jade Style")). Taikyoku means "Great Extreme," as opposed to the Smallest Transformers which are called 極小変形 ("Kyokushou Henkei"), meaning "Smallest Transformation".
***My Sensei introduced herself as Sensei-"Jane" (not her real name) and Robert Sullivan as "Kancho Sullivan," e.g. during the beginning and end Keirei Sempai says "Kancho Sullivan rei." I think what's happened here is that they've imposed Germanic word-order onto a Japanese term. Whereas in Germanic (and many other European) languages we put the title before the name (e.g. Dr. Smith, Mademoiselle Dubois, Herr Schmidt etc.) in Japanese the title comes after the name. So it should be Sullivan-Kancho, not Kancho-Sullivan. For example, in the Japanese version of Transformers, Optimus Prime is often called "Convoy-Shireikan" (コンボイ司令官) - "Commander Convoy," but in Japanese word order is literally "Convoy Commander." Also, Japanese people very infrequently use given names - titles are usually attached to family names... which is also the same as European language conventions too. e.g. imagine if there were a school teacher called "John Smith" - for a student to refer to that teacher as "Mister John" would sound strange and arguably lacking in respect. Because "Sensei" is an honorific title, it ought to be preceded by a surname, not a given name. So if my Sensei's name is Jane Doe (not real name), we should be calling her "Doe-Sensei," not "Sensei-Jane." I just call her "Sensei."

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Videos
1. GKR Taigyoku Shodan Kata: sloppy footwork
2. Shotokan Taikyoku Shodan Kata: Nice looking stances/posture, and clean looking C-steps.
3. Taekwondo Taeguk Il Jang: sloppy posture (imagine stepping into a Front Stance like that against a grappler!).