Nijin Keiko

One aspect of training that I feel doesn’t get much attention is Nijin Keiko or if you prefer Futari Geiko. Most all Okinawan Gojuryu dojo include some type of two person drills, most include ude taren or kote kitai, kakie and sandan gi, some also utilize some type of yakusoku kumite. However the majority of other ryu-ha do not spend any significant amount of time on these subjects.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the practices found in the Gojuryu Kai-ha;

Seikichi Toguchi Sensei, a student of both Chojun Miyagi Sensei and Seiko Higa Sensei, developed the Kiso Kumite sets for his Shoreikan dojo. While I have trained in these some, I do not particularly like them. What I see is basically a repetitive version of Sandan Gi, with the addition of a finishing technique that changes from one form to the next.  While repetition is good, in my opinion the Kiso Kumite sets are just too repetitious and static. There is no doubt that Toguchi Sensei was an innovator and developed some nice auxiliary kata for his dojo. He also developed some two person kumite sets for the katas. I had the opportunity to train in the Shoreikan method and several of its off-shots (Kodokan, Seibukan, Kenbukan) I think it is interesting that while some of Toguchi sensei students retained his kata and kumite drills, that several of his most senior Okinawan students, have chosen not to include all or part of them.

Meitoku Yagi Sensei, a student of Chojun Miyagi Sensei and the founder of the Meibukan dojo, had several two person drills; I was a member of the IMGKA under his son, Meitatsu Yagi Sensei for a few years. While I was training in the Meibukan method, he training drills consisted of Muchimi, Kake Te and Kote Kitei. The Yakusoku Kumite sets included: Ippon, Nipon, Sanpo, Renzoku and Kakomi Kumite. Several of the Yakusoku Kumite drills, did not look like those typically found in other goju ryu-ha, and to me had almost a Shuri-te feel to them.

Eiichi Miyazato Sensei, a student of Chojun Miyagi Sensei and the founder of the Jundokan dojo mainly taught in his dojo Sandan Gi, Ude Tanren and Kakie. Early in the Jundokan history Miyazato Sensei taught several more two person drills, Larry Pickel Sensei, who trained under Miyazato sensei in the early 1960s, returned to Indiana and brought with him a set of 7 Ippon Kumite and a set of 10 Nihon Kumite, that he said was the first thing he learned before he learned any kata.  Some Jundokan practitioners also do a Gekisai Renzoku Kumite. In recent years Jundokan senior Masaji Taira Sensei, has developed several two person kumite forms based on the 12 kata. There are also several Sandan Gi applications taught. I started my training in the Jundokan method and continue to train in it today.

Kimo Wall Sensei, a student of Seiko Higa Sensei and Seikichi Toguchi Sensei and founder of the Kodokan dojo, uses several of Toguchi Sensei kumite forms for the kata, he also uses a two person flow drill based on Tensho, which he calls Kigi Howa.

An instructor not in Gojuryu that uses several very nice two person drills is Patrick McCarthy Sensei, his Koryu Uchinadi is full of two person drills that have a heavy Naha-te flavor to them.

When I trained at the Komakai dojo, under my father (Curt Jones Sensei) and Glenn Keeney Sensei, I learned the two person drills brought back from Okinawa by Larry Pickel Sensei.

Today in my dojo (Yushikan), I utilize several two person drills. I use several sets of Sandan Uke Harai (3 level block training), I use Sandan Gi, the 7 and 10 form sets from Pickel Sensei, I also use several Sandan Gi variations from Terou Chinen Sensei, Kigi Howa from Kimo Wall Sensei, and I have developed several two person training sets of my own for use in my dojo. I personally feel that Nijin Keiko is an essential part of karate-do, I feel that it helps the student develop technique to be utilized later in actual combat.

Below is the first Sandan Uke Harai exercise that I teach in my dojo, while it is not a perfect execution, I feel it showed the technique enough that the reader could understand the set.