One of the signature katas in shotokan karate is Unsu. It is a very athletic and flashy kata with its roundhouse kicks from the ground, a dramatic 360 degree turning jump, and my favorite sequence of circular blocks followed by double palm heal strikes in sanchin-dachi (hour glass) stance. An accomplished karateka can put on quite a show by performing it with technical expertise and personal passion, as in this clip of Mr. Yahara, who is famous for his beautiful, gravity-defying leap near the end.
The clip shows three separate Unsus by Mr. Yahara. The second is probably the best filmed of the bunch. Notice the flawless four-point landing after the leap. Exquisite. Love it. Wanna jump up and do it right this minute!
There is an instructors' training clinic at the central dojo in Phoenix on April 3rd. Mr. Shojiro Koyama will be teaching Jitte and Unsu. My Jitte is fair, but my Unsu needs lots of work. Today is Saturday and so it's off to the dojo I go, with rolled up gi, ready, willing, and, thanks be to God, able to work on improving Unsu. I'm totally Unsu-ed.
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