I came across a recent post by Andre Bertel (Read here) which I thought really nailed the essence of good bunkai. He emphasises the need for simplicity while avoiding over theorising the techniques. There is a definite truth to this point. Bearing this in mind here is my brief take on a few of the more able guru’s.
Patrick McCarthy
I’ve had the opportunity to train with him on a couple of occasions now. He is extremely knowledgeable and an excellent instructor. His research into the “Bubishi” – aka ” The Bible of Karate” is incredibly helpful. Every karateka should have a copy of this text. He is also the originator of the HAPV theory.
He teaches a range of applications from beginner focused right through to the more challenging techniques. Another strength of his instruction is to provide the karateka with an understanding of the relationship between weapons and the empty hand.
Angel Lemus
Angel is the author the “One-Minute Bunkai” channel on Youtube. Sensei Angel takes a different approach or flavour to application. Although at once very traditional, he also presents very simple, yet direct bunkai. There is no distracting discussion or over-theorising; he simply gets on with it.
Vince Morris
Vince was once a student of Sensei Asano, Vince has certainly got “old school” budo credentials. I remember coming across a book on application that he co-authored with Aidan Trimble. It was my first glimpse into an alternative way of looking at bunkai. Although I have never trained with Sensei Vince, he is on my list. His applications are clean and on the most part very useful. Sensei’s Patrick and Vince have a similar style of bunkai. My only gripe is that they tend to focus on applications that are better suited to karateka of a bigger build. (Although to be fair, when I have approached Sensei Patrick about this in a seminar, he has able to provide me with an excellent alternative right on the spot!)
There are some differences between these instructors, some teach specific drills to develop the bunkai. I think this is fine as long as they don’t water the simplicity of the application down. Others are more simplified in their approach.
You might notice that there aren’t any other names on this list. In fact you might even notice I’ve missed a couple of well known names. This is on purpose. I’ve only covered ones I’ve thought worth covering. The bulk of instructors that popped up on my Youtube search were pretty poor. They generally make the following mistakes:
• Base their applications on over complicated theories
• The kata “tells” them things
• The mechanics of the kata don’t support the technique
• Flashy over engineered techniques that are anything but practical
The bottom line is: Let the buyer beware! There many fakes out there, don’t get caught out by the clever theory or the over complicated techniques. These are just short cuts and frankly a way to avoid real training. To quote Andre Bertel:
“Sweat, blisters, calluses and bruising are prerequisites.”
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