Intro to Suparinpei Kata for Goju Ryu

Our most requested video: finally, we got around to a little (LITTLE) bit of Suparinpei. A basic introduction to this long, venerable kata, with a brief discussion of its meaning, how to train it, and its variations.

00:00 - Introduction
00:48 - Sequence
03:36 - Suparinpei practice and the effects of tournament creep
06:51 - Meaning of the kata name
09:13 - Walkthrough with variations
19:49 - Summary

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Video produced by:
Zoe Jagger-Hinis

[joelopez]

I appreciate your presentations of Goju Ryu Katas. I especially like your pointing to the variations practiced in different schools. Thank you.

[koshinryukempo]

WOW! 'Concise', yes; but 'little' bit of info? Surely, sir, you jest! Well worth the wait, and now keenly anticipating in-depth follow-ups. First time i've heard that O-Sensei Miyagi learned Suparinpei immediately after Sanchin. I jettisoned the idea of more and less 'advanced' kaishu kata long years ago, but until now i had no authority on which to base such musings. That piece of the puzzle alone is gold! And the depth of Ché's insights to the variations is both humbling and inspiring. Hohan Soken Sensei taught that kata are 'road map' mnemonic devices recording kyusho-jutsu hand formations and 'vital point' targets, of which there are (apparently)108 used in martial application: 72 'generic' and 36 'lethal' (the 36 listed in Bubishi). Unfortunately, some 'high profile' Sensei have taken the kyusho-jutsu aspect to an implausible extreme, but the meridian charts (and the '6 ji hands') are in the Bubishi for a reason. In Soken Sensei's hypothesis, the knowledge of embedded kyusho jutsu was the okuden of kata transmission. So no inherently advanced kata, just more or less informed I am blessed to have spent 4 years 'at the feet' of Hanshi McCarthy at the KoryuUchinadi hombu. (I have a couple signed copies of Bubishi!). He would occassionally drop little gems of insight in class...Something i like to ponder is the relationship between the meridian charts/6 ji hands and the bunkai illustrations in the Bubishi. It can prove rewarding to have a second copy open at the meridian charts while exploring the bunkai section... use of ipponken in Suparinpei might just (possibly?)be a nod to kyusho attacks being an element in this kata. Alternatively, in Buddhist numerology 108 is the number for completion/perfection, equivalent to 7 in Biblical theology. Perhaps 108 signifies that Suparinpei is a complete explication of core principles? Or maybe the ancestors just had wicked senses of humour and gleefully anticipated the intellectual contortions future students would perform in trying to solve the enigma of kata names? As always, a big arigato Zoé Sensei for all the behind the scenes 'hard yards'...

[terrysanders]

Excellent! Well researched. Taught me several things! Arigatogozaimasu! Terry.

[ff]

Awesome explanation as always Che Sensei. I particularly like the variations and detail that you show in all your videos. Additionally, much respect to you for mentioning Enfield Sensei who has so much talent not only in Karate but also teaching, just as your good self. Arigato gozaimashita.

[JoseFernandez-mtse]

Great lecture/seminar of Suparinpei. Thank you Sensei Jagger for a very thorough history of the kata as well.

[garymasterson]

Thank you. Particularly for explaining the variations. ATVB

[matthews]

Another lovely Kata presentation from Sensei Che. It's down to earth, no fancy flashy moves, and very solid indeed.

First 4 double-Mawashi Uke: Circa 9:20 the circular motion of the two arms is done smoothly, sometimes quickly, but the arms are chambered with some force (into a position like you are at the lowest point of a push-up) - shoulders should be down, shoulder-blades deliberately pushed closer together, rib-cage expanded to the maximum, but the moment one reaches this point one pushes both arms outwards immediately WITHOUT PAUSING (see how Sensei Che does this smoothly without a long pause), at the same time contracting one's chest and exhaling....one's trying make use of the extra spring-like effect of stretching the rib-cage's structure, capitalising on the rebounding momentum to add force to kick-start the double palm push...it's like doing bench-press quickly, one can "cheat" and press more weight when one makes use of the rebound effect. I've seen so many kids and sports karate people do the circular movement so rapidly to create the spring-momentum in their ribcages, then pause for a split second (some even holding their breath) for effect, their chest totally exposed (which is in itself irrational) and the springy-momentum is lost due to the pause ...then they would push out using the muscles of their arms. A bit of opportunity for Chinkuchi would be lost there then, I'd think. So I agree with Sensei Che about kids (and some sports karate people) trying to do these advanced Kata - they can emulate but not understand any of it, and one can tell if one knows what to look for.

After the initial 4 mawashi-uke hikiuke-nukite combos, one sinks back into neko-ashi dachi and executes another mawashi uke- 11:58 IOGKF emphasizes shifting the centre of gravity first, to "fall" into the next 2 turns+mawashi uke - this little section of 3 mawashi-uke in neko-ashi dachi- is therefore very different from the previous ones, in terms of body mechanics, and therefore a different Bunkai probably emphasising on pulling and throwing interpretations of the mawashi-uke. Anyway, it's displaying the application of a different type of foot work, light, fast, using CG manipulation to speed up movement.

12:28 After that one executes a quick block, double punch then steps forward. Again the Chambering of the arms create stored energy for the double punch. After that, before stepping forward, Higaonna Sensei would tighten his abdomen muscles (straighten the spine and tighten the buttocks) and then he'd step forward in that stiffened upper body state, before doing the next move (cross the arms is one instance of Suparimpei's display of Chinkuchi - the body is stiffened, while one steps forward with the fists extended, meaning one is trying to strike using one's body mass and the forward stepping momentum only (not relying on arm extension to generate force as the arms have punched and are already extended). Sensei Che alludes to this by saying one does it like doing a stiff-armed shoving.

After that section it's 4 directions in Shikodachi, 14:52 pulling back means stretching one's ribcage while blocking, 15:12 before stabbing (punching) into the V of the blocking hand, again using the body mechanics to generate close quarter power (Chest goes from open to compressed, look at Sensei Che's posture) then as one steps forward in Shikodachi, it's the reverse effect, a compressed ribcage springs apart to create a short explosive force during the double block (a breaking free/shaking free, jolting the opponent type of Bunkai perhaps?)

In any case it's a complex Kata which on the surface looks like a long string of rather unremarkable moves, until one looks beyond the arm movements and look at the body-mechanics combined with the breathing to create stuff like chinkuchi within the most mundane looking moves.

[ulimuller]

very very interesting explanación ❤ Thx very much 😊😊

[francismubanga]

As always, you upload amazing content, with possible inclusion to as many variations of your familiarity with sufficient explanations.
The additional writing were very informative, I had to pause the video to read and then continue so that I wouldn't miss neither your explanation nor the writing😂😂😂.
I can assure you that you put more content out here than you possibly realize.
Once more thank you, Che Sensei.

[FernandoSilva-iugx]

Muito obrigado Sensei. Vou estudar seu vídeo. Oss.

[toninhamalta]

Para mim esse Kata é um dos mais lindo!😊😊😊😊😊😊gratidão... por ter execultado devagar.😊😊😊😊😊😊

[GojuRyuKarateCentre]

The 108 thing:

This is just some of the research I came across while working on this video. It didn't fit nicely in the video, so I'm going to share it here for further discussion.

Theory 1: It is a transliteration of the original Chinese name into Japanese kanji (Suparinpei is the Chinese pronunciation of the number 108)

Theory 2: 108 pressure points in Ayurveda (not a good theory, but nice trivia)

Theory 3: The 108 has its roots in Buddhism: 108 to overcome in order to achieve enlightenment. Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to bring in the new year. Japa mala (a mantra bracelet) has 108 beads. Many Buddhist temples have 108 steps.

Theory 4: it is a reference to the 108 Luohan System of martial training taught in Taoist monastries (luohan, also called arhats, are a kind of semi-saint in Buddhist lore), but this is early 20th century, much later than the kata was invented.

Theory 4: It ties in with Seisan and Sanseru (18 and 36 hands) which are numbers that are factors of 108 (and regulars of the channel know how I feel about math)

Theory 6:
108 feelings – Buddhist believe there are 108 feelings calculated as follows:
6 Senses (Smell, Touch, Taste, Sight, Hearing and Consciousness)
x 3 Pleasant, Painful or Neutral feelings
x 2 Internally or externally generated feelings
x 3 Past, Present or Future feelings

Therefore, 36 past, 36 present and 36 future feelings = 108

My personal theory: the Buddhist importance of the number only matters in the context of the kata's creation, to give us some clues given we have very little information on the kata's origins and creator. It doesn't imbue the kata with spiritual significance (unless the practitioner seeks that) but it does make for some nice mysticism for those who want it.


Would love to hear the thoughts of others!
- Zoe

[Yeino]

I really like you footstep and ankle work.
I've discovered recently that it's pronounced "iparinpei" in mandarin chinese, whereas it's pronounced "supparinpei" in fujianese. Same goes for Seishan, Sanchin, Shisochin, all these names come from Fujian ! And they have the same kata names (taolu names) in Wu Zu Quan. Everything is connected, i was really astonished.

[charleslambdin]

Ok this is gonna take awhile to learn!

[kenbright]

Thank you for this information. this is one of my favorite KATA to perform. however the length of the KATA can sometimes bore the judges LOL. You must perform in front of judges that enjoy ALL KATA. again thank you

[Burvedys]

Suparimpei or otherwise known as "are we done yet?". :)

Funny though that 108 is roughly a distance to the sun in sun's diameters and the same goes for the moon. Even this is a crane kung-fu, but Arhats are OK, too, even there are 18 only and initially 16 before that bearded doll Daruma came to troll Zen monks in the Young Forest on the Hill in China (which changes the name accordingly to Bodhidharma and Shaolin instead of Shorin-ryu).

But yes, initially it was 108 actions in a kata and its name, hence "hands", i.e. movements combined in a smallest technical pieces that are not sole yet but still make some impact on the opponent, e.g. three wrist blocks as actual one release from the wrist grab and so on (you can bunkai a kata making an oyo from these pieces which some of them combined could make renzoku - yeah, I made myself clear here as mud).

What do I know? I've just tried to count 6 hands in tensho (as it was rokkishu) and 36 in sanseru (these thug cousins from Uechi-ryu have it more clear in their sanseiryu than us, brutally peaceful people of Goju-ryu!). And never done it 108 as it is quite a long kata with all menkyo kaiden level syllabus of the school (that's why one can see all other kata in this one). :)

[labocinadephilihq]

Sensei good afternoon. But i did not find the superimpei bunkai kata.

[pearl]

Please; The 3 (heavy/relaxed, ) techniques coming forward before the front kick elbow/backfist. What is the chamber hand doing?

[romlyndreth]

Can u guys recommend a dojo in Durban to study karate?

[aryannagavkar]

In which countries do you have branches.🙂. Do you have one in India ?