Enshin

[GJEChamberlain]

OSU!

Greetings all!

I'm happy to discuss all aspects of Knockdown karate in general, and Enshin karate in particular. I look forward to meeting those from the board attending our UK Seminar with Kancho Ninomiya.

I get lots of emails and questions about the Enshin style, so it makes sense to put a thread here so others can ask and also give their opinions or comments - if the moderators are OK with it.

All the 'knockdown' styles vary by degrees, but the unifying factor is we all train seriously. Contact soon exposes those who are less then dedicated with their practise.

Ask away. If I can't give an honest and complete answer immediately, I'll find out the relevant information and post it here.

Gary Chamberlain
UK Branch Chief

"Don't just train hard! Everyone does that. Train smart!" Kancho Joko Ninomiya

[Nix]

Osu sensei,

Thank you for making yourself available. I find Enshin really interesting, possibly because it is based on the same principles I know from Ashihara.

My first question is: Do Enshin use kata, or is that sliced away? I thought you used practical kata like Ashihara (as opposed to traditional Kyokushin-kata), but now I can't find any. If you have a online video, I'd be grateful.

[kyofighter]

Enshin uses practical kata just like ashihara.
In fact I don't even know what is the diference betwen enshin and ashihara.
Maybe Gary can tell us.
Osu.

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Nix,

Enshin uses modern kata, one for each belt. They start off fairly easy, and get more complex and technical as the grades progress. They can easily be practised either solo or with partners, and of course focus on sabaki movement. I don't know at this moment of any online video, but I'll check youTube and post a link if I find one. DVD's are available though from Honbu.

White and Green belt kata are illustrated in 'Sabaki Method' - Kancho's book and introduction to the style.

Gary

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Kyofighter,

Enshin is Kancho Ninomiya's style, which inevitably includes elements of all his past experience, i.e. Judo, Kyokushin and Ashihara.

I don't know enough about Ashihara karate personally to give a detailed analysis of exact differences, as my route was from Kyokushin to Enshin. Clearly, the kata are different. In his book, 'My Journey in Karate' Kancho Ninomiya talks of wanting to teach his own ideas as being part of his reasons for leaving Ashihara.

I reproduce below part of a post on a different forum which talks about the development:

"Kancho Ashihara was one of Sosai Oyama's top students and his ability was by all accounts awesome. Due to some jealousy from other instructors his position within the Organisation became untenable. He left to form Ashihara karate and reputedly immediately set about training fighters that could enter Kyokushin tournaments and win convincingly. His fighters were very relaxed and fluid, with superb footwork. One of my Instructors in Japan, Sensei Nakamura, remarked that, "Ashihara(s) fighters always got really good impact, even though they always looked relaxed. The key was moving away from the rigid techniques and working with the body, not against it" He also concentrated on Sabaki, i.e. the system of movement that allows you to gain a position of advantage against the opponent by moving to their blind spot. For a full explanation I suggest buying 'The Sabaki Method' - Kancho Ninomiya's book and a great addition to any fighters library. He also developed new kata, as he felt the traditional ones were no longer applicable to the current fighting style. (Kyokushin tournaments certainly showed the myth of 'one strike' finishes in 99% of the fights - so fast flowing smooth combinations became the weapon of choice and included in the kata)

On now to Enshin. Kancho Ninomiya was Kancho Ashihara's top student, and despite being comparatively small as against some of the top fighters of the time, did extremely well in the Kyokushin Tournaments, coming third in the first World Tournament in 1975, and winning the All-Japan in 1978. (Remember this is before the style fragmented on the death of Mas. Oyama and started having several 'World' and 'All-Japan' Tournaments) As a young man, he had been given the opportunity to train / teach in the USA, where every session included sparring against huge Americans when as he put it, he was "not allowed to lose" This naturally helped him formulate his own ideas of how to handle large and aggressive opponents as after all, neccessity is the greatest teacher.

When Kancho Ashihara left Kyokushin, Kancho Ninomiya showed his loyalty and left with him. For a time he was the US chief instructor for Ashihara karate. He moved to Denver, and literally started from scratch, in time building his own world-wide following. On leaving Ashihara later for personal reasons, he then included his own refinements to change and develop into his own style, Enshin. As to differences, Kancho Ninomiya's judo experience helped formulate a revision of the rule system whereby take downs and throws became an integral part of the fighting. Some Ashihara stylists of course claim Kancho Ninomiya merely took Ashihara and re-branded it. I disagree for two main reasons. First, the judo techniques mentioned above, but secondly I feel that Kancho Ninomiya also deserves some credit for the original ideas included in the Ashihara style. He was already Kancho Ashihara's most successful competitor, so it was perhaps natural that Ashihara karate incorporated some of the techniques that Kancho Ninomiya was already using effectively against larger opponents.

The historians on the site will know that traditional (whatever that is) karate incorporated throws, so in reality the wheel has turned a full circle rather than being re-invented. Enshin has gone back to a more inclusive system, not the 'touch' and 'no throwing' fighting found in many styles. The kata also developed, with flowing combinations and takedowns being the main theme. These can be trained alone or in pairs. There are no hidden mysteries, just focused repetition until things start to flow smoothly and instinctively.

The irony of course is obvious. Many styles claim to be 'traditional', but in reality they are now so stylised they no longer represent the inclusive system intended by their founders. In this sense, although only twenty years old, Enshin is far more traditional than styles claiming direct lineage to some gentleman in a fishing village 150 years ago ..."

Hope that answers the question,

Gary

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Nix,

Not found any quality video of Enshin kata on youTube. Sorry!

Gary

[jcc]

Interesting post. Thanks for the explanation and history.

[Nix]

Thank you for your answer. I take it the kata are similar to those of Ashihara. Almost all of our kata feature throws. I was not able to find a decent video of one of our nage kata, which is of course focused on throws and takedowns.

The next question is about Enshin kumite rules: How much grabbing and holding is allowed? Does the fight continue on the ground? I've heard that in Enshin you get points for throwing. To relate to Ashihara, grabbing is allowed for a few seconds, and you don't get points unless you follow up with a finishing technique (which will be rewarded by a sanbon - 3 points).

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Nix,

Grabbing is allowed for three seconds, and only from one side of the body. For example, if the attacker executes right mae geri, the defender can grab the gi on the attacking leg and also their right shoulder to enable them to sweep / throw. Encircling the body is not permitted.

Any throw, sweep or takedown without a controlled follow-up scores one point, and with a controlled follow up scores three. Matches are decided by up to six points, with the fighter ahead on points at the finish being the winner. If scores are tied, the fighter with fewer penalties is declared the winner. Enshin is a 'stand-up' system, and fighting stops if an opponent goes to the ground.

A full rules explanation is available on the enshin.com site, clicking on the sabaki challenge link.

Gary

[kyofighter]

Thanks Gary.

I'm not strange to enshin , I live in Denver and I trained 8 months at hombu dojo with Kancho Ninomiya.
I have ashihara black belt friends also enshin black belt friends and after sparring with them I couldn't see any difference on how they move and what they do.
Thanks for the clarification.
Osu.

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Kyofighter,

In that case I doubt I clarified much at all. It wasn't clear from your previous posts that you knew Kancho & Enshin so well. If his door is no longer open to you, that's between you and him and absolutely none of my business.

As to differences, well, I suppose it's fair to say talented fighters in either system may look similar so in effect Tournament rules and kata are the key thing.

Gary

[kyofighter]

Osu
His door is open to me and anyone who wan't to train there. When I moved to Denver I was allready a kyokushin nidan and enshin was the only knock-down karate dojo in Colorado.
I only went there for a while until I opened my kyokushin dojo here in Denver.
No bad blood or something between me and Kancho, just a diferent option.
Osu.

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Kyofighter,

Glad to hear it! As I said earlier, I've always found Kancho to be very helpful.

Gary

[shurenkan]

Hello everyone,

Sensei Gary, this is Miguel Rios from NJ. I hope all is well with you and your dojo.

If I may, I would also like to join in on this thread. I think one on the other differences between Enshinkaikan and Ashiharakaikan is that Kancho Ninomiya has over the years incorporated more of his judo into Enshin. As a result, there are more judo-like throws in the Enshin syllabus. Both utilize "ura nage" which is more like judo's osoto gari and not to be confused with judo's ura nage. They also use a forward rolling throw known as makikomi nage (again not to be confused for judo's makikomi.) But Kancho has also added tsurikomi nage, soto gake, jiku ashi gake, tai otoshi, and others. Each is tailored for karate and while they share similarities to judo's throws they are indeed designed for a stand up fighter.

I think one of the things that I have always admired about Kancho Ninomiya, is that his karate is always evolving. He trains harder and more often than any other instructor of his kind. He is constantly trying to improve upon his technique and develop new ways of doing things. His karate is not only beautiful, but strong and practical as well.

Osu,
Miguel

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Miguel,

Good to hear from you! Hope you're keeping well. I fully endorse what you said above. I've seen an awful lot of instructors who get high Dan grades and then dine out for ever on stories of the bad old days.

Kancho trains hard and sweats every session. Lesson for us all there.

Gary

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu!

I've had an email along the lines of "Who the devil are you?" so thought I'd include a CV.

It makes me feel old reading it, but I hope it shows how I feel qualified to join in non-Enshin discussion.

Gary

FIRST THE DESCRIPTION BIT:

Occupation:

Firefighter. Retired 2006 after 31 years service

Training History:

Started training in 1971 at Leicester Kyokushinkai
Trained Kyokushin in several countries, most memorably in:
Sweden (1978, 1981, 1987) under Shihan Brian Fitkin
Japan (1989, 1991) under Sosai Masutatsu Oyama and Sensei Tatsuo Nakamura
Since joining Enshin; training at Honbu in Denver every year with Kancho Joko Ninomiya and training with other top Instructors in the UK and Europe
Other instruction - Excellent unarmed combat training (and life instruction) from ex-RM and ex-SOE instructors. RBSD training with Geoff Thompson & John Skillen.

Grade History:

1st Dan (BKK) 1975
2nd Dan (BKK) 1978
3rd Dan (BKK) 1986
4th Dan (BKK) 1992
(Resigned from Kyokushin 1998, Joined Enshin 2000)
2nd Dan Enshin 2001
3rd Dan Enshin 2004
4th Dan Enshin 2008

Tournament and Fighting History:

1981 British and International Open Light Heavyweight Knockdown Champion
30 Kumite 1978
1979 – Great Britain Knockdown Team
1978 & 1980 – England Knockdown Team
Outside Karate, periodic sessions 'on the door'

Coaching History:

Assistant Instructor: Leicester Kyokushinkai 1975 – 1980
Chief Instructor: Charnwood Kyokushinkai 1980 – 1998
Branch Chief : Loughborough Enshin Kai from 2000
Coached many regional and national champions in non-contact, Kata and Knockdown during time in Kyokushin.
3 European Sabaki Challenge champions and a World Sabaki Challenge Spirit Prize winner since joining Enshin

Outside Karate, self-protection courses to local schools & businesses

Influences:

Kyokushin: Shihan Brian Fitkin – who taught me we’re all capable of much more than we think, once we believe in ourselves!
Enshin: Kancho Ninomiya – the complete fighter and a real inspiration to me and all of his students

NOW THE FUTURE BIT

Current objectives:

Taking my training seriously, but never taking myself too seriously! Keeping sharp and above all, keeping learning!

[Dent]

Osu!, Gary,

Sounds like a very healthy CV. Good past, good present, and potential for a great future!

Osu!

[Bloke]

Osu Gary

I recall reading an Interview with you in the BKK magazine some years back - I must try and dig it out again.

[GJEChamberlain]

LOL - it'll be in a very old and dusty box somewhere .....

Gary