Many years ago I was being instructed by sensei Kato and he asked to attack him oizuki. I hit him and he was surprised and impressed . He was a marvellous instructor and I regardless him as a friend . I miss him as do many . His karate was beautiful . I only hit him , because he taught me so well and I always practiced fundamentals kihon for A to B speed . When I trained with Kagawas university students , I felt at home because that same A to B movement was what they practiced constantly . I still hit 90 % of them . I know at 25-35 I was very good . Old age and injuries have taken that speed away . Happy times . 🙏🥋🇬🇧
Master Asai was very dangerous and capable of defending himself against unforeseen attacks, he was also an expert with various weapons. Even as an older master, his skills were remarkable.
I've had a few seminars from Asai sensei. My first seminar was in 1996. I was 5th kyu then. It's only for the last years I sincerely realise how greatfull I am he gave us seminars with parts I still use in basic training. Osu
I would like to see more videos of Kato sensei in his prime when he had great fights with other instructors. If someone has those videos please share:) Osu
I've only been an ukes twice for his demonstrations and kato's countless times. Sometimes they want you to attack faster and harder, sometimes it's to show the precise timing of redirecting/blocking/timing, to show options /variations, and repeating it is also so you pick it up because his English or our Japanese isn't great 😉
A very astute observation! But he is still very fast with excellent timing and sharp aggressive attacking capability in a way that is most unorthodox for traditional Shotokan. Yet a real fight would, indeed, happen differently. Nevertheless, his skills are apparent & suggest he would acquit himself quite handily in any such encounter. I sure wouldn't have bet against him, even at that age.
I originally started in Shotokan and had never seen this style done like this before watching Andre Bertel and then Asai. I left Shotokan because it didn't seem right for my body type & ended up, after a stint in Tae kwon do (which had its genesis in Shotokan) with a Korean teacher who felt Shotokan & it's derivatives too stiff and hard to be effective. He taught a more fluid, continuous style so I find myself in strong sympathy w/this. But I don't like this one-step method myself
Thanks Stuart. But how much POWER does he have? I doubt he had much as of the time this video was taken since he seems to have abandoned much of the principles of basic kihon. My two cents, I'm not saying I'm a karate great or anything.
Do you think the repetition is for his benefit or for the benefit of those who are attacking him. I think he is trying not to hurt the attackers , it would look bad if he hurt someone badly on video & in front of all those karate students...
Традиционное каратэ: бой на расстоянии 1.5 м, длиннющие атаки, заведомо известный удар и партнёр - маленького роста... Повторит ли мастер то же самое в бою, хотя бы против одного сильного, или слабого, если двое? Зрелище не очень эстетиное...
This is dumb He makes the ukes do the techniques many times to get the rythm and timing of the cosecutive attacks. He counters unpredictably attacks that are predictable and done repeatedly and mindlessly. What if the uke stops being a robot and attacks freely? Could he still do those things? I feel Asai's karate really deterioratied as he got older and started with his non orthodox munchiken
"many times to get the rythm and timing of the cosecutive attacks. " If you really think that someone who practice Karate for 40-50 years needs that you are a stupid moron!
