Taikenryu Karate

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Taikenryu Karate

The content and design of these web pages are the property of John Beckman and may not be copied, printed, or posted in any form or media, in whole or in part without expressed written permission.

Shawnee County Shotokan Karate Club | John Beckman's Personal Page

Taikenryu is karate, quick and dirty. It is designed for optimization of training. To help the student learn quickly and effectively. It is based on Shotokan. The key is focused multitasking. It is hoped that Taikenryu will prove itself as an effective style by producing many skilled and proficient karateka.

The Complete Taikenryu Training System - Only the Heian are used to train up to blackbelt. Specific kihon from the kata are emphasized and special sparring forms, the tenkyoku, are used to develop body memory and body feel. The theory is that if you perform a series of movements repeatedly they become reflex. The tenkyoku have been designed to train the linkage between every technique in repetition. Continuously training every movement after and before every other movement. A set of two such series, omote and ura, are set up so that practice can be done solo or with partner. The series are done from static kiba-dachi, the sho version, both omote and ura, and from advancing/retreating kamae, the dai version, both omote and ura. The tachi-kata is taught on the fly since the idea is to practice both the sho and dai versions using correct body dynamics, the stances, it is felt, will be fundamentally instinctual. Guidelines, that aren't necessarily a requirement for karate in general, are required to be able to claim a knowledge of Taikenryu. Also, special training techniques are taken from each kata to illustrate a principle or skill set that will improve your karate skill. These aren't inclusive. Karate training is never complete. While it takes a relatively short time to learn the complete Taikenryu system, and you can feasibly learn the complete Shotokan style, there is always something more one can learn about karate.

Notes on Taikenryu Karate:

If the stance in the kata is a kokutsu-dachi, it is meant to indicate a foot sweep is possible at this point. This stance is not to be used in a fight any other way. Similiarly, if the stance is a nekoashi-dachi, it is indicating a defense against a foot sweep or a groin kick.
Both hands are doing something all the time. A technique is never solo. The most instructive karate technique is the shuto-uke, both the japanese and korean forms. Practice both!
It is a principle of Taikenryu that your instructor teaches you kata and the kata teaches you karate. If you take the time to learn the kata you will never be without karate instruction.
Real "combat" fighting is accomplished when you can merge the play fighting of the tenkyoku and the mechanics learned in the kata into one entity. This is done on both an intuitive and an instinctual level. When we flinch we don't say to ourselves "now we must flinch." We just do it. In taikenryu karate we are basically just training the "flinch." Don't over-think it and don't sweat it. It is a ZEN thing, regardless of what some may think. So just go through the motions and the reality, and the nature of the thing, will ultimately reveal itself. The three levels of the flinch: 1) flinching in anticipation, 2) triggered flinching, 3) flinching in pain.
Tachikata is probably the most important aspect of Taikenryu. The tenkyoku are very flexible in the "DAI" forms because it is desired to develop an intuitive feel for it. When the kata are taught the attention to movement dymanics in tachikata needs to be very strict. It is a principle of Taikenryu that the quality of the tachikata is what actually will determine the outcome of a "combat" situation. The founder of Taikenryu has actually defeated several opponents at once using only tachikata.
When all five levels have been completed the person becomes a shodan-ho or a recommended black belt. At that time arrangements are made to hold a comprehensive test for shodan. Along with knowledge of the curriculum a special topic of the students choosing needs to be research and presented.
Along with the five kata a special kata can be chosen from shotokan, shorin-ryu, goju-ryu or tae-kwon-do to train for black belt kata competitions. This kata will be chosen by the student and his instructor after his first promotion.
The tenkyoku are designed to be cross-style and even cross-art.

The content and design of these web pages are the property of John Beckman and may not be copied, printed, or posted in any form or media, in whole or in part without expressed written permission.