Category: Tegatana dosa tandoku undo

Can we change the technical heritage of Kenji Tomiki? This question was addressed in another blog-post and there is of course no definite answer. If you are a true “purist”, changing is not a possibility.

On the other hand, Kenji Tomiki made many versions of his technical repertoire and gave the advice to research and improve.

Tandoku-undo or Tomiki’s solo-exercises has many versions and are practised as a multipurpose exercise.

The main ways of moving the body and hands were picked from Aiki skills, then simplified and abstracted and  organized as exercise forms.

Teruo Fujiwara – student of Kenji Tomiki

An early version by Kenji Tomiki

A starting point – Tegatana no dosa

When Senta Yamada introduced “Judo or Yawara Taiso” in the late-fifties/early-sixties to the Western practitioners, he used 8 different forms. Those 8 forms are considered “multipurpose” exercises.

When practising these exercises, a full mental focus has to be put on the movements. It has almost no improvement on our movements if we just do those exercises as a robot. Don’t be afraid to include ideas and concepts from another source. Remember, when you practise randori, the real skill is the changes you can make as an answer to the movemebts of the opponent. When the time is there , you can test your movements in a “randori” game.

Lets start with compact “tandoku-undo’

Compact tandoku undo is a combination of 2 or more tegatana exercises (based upon tegatana go-dosa)

First you start with some warming-up exercises. In fact this is not really necessary because tandoku-undo can be used as warming-up. Although this is based upon the previous 8-tandoku-undo, there are certainly big differences.

If you don’t have a lot of space to practise, you can use a non-displacement version of tegatana dosa. Here an example – tandoku undo 1 – 3

If you have more space, about 4x3m, tandoku undo can be practised in 90°-180°-360° directions. Koshi-mawari is of course needed to create an efficient turning movement. Turning of the koshi is based upon the change between shumoku-ashi and chidori-ashi. Understanding the concept of ‘tenshi” to create “tenshikei” can help you to improve your movements.

Tegatana soho 1 : Kihon no kamae

In this tegatana exercise different kamae or body postures are used to practise forward movement as an attacking movement (shomen-uchi and shomen-utsu). The use of a 180° or 90° body turn is an extra supplement and can be seen in the old movies of Kenji Tomiki and Senta Yamada. In the more “sport” oriented method, the straight line method is mostly practised.

Koshi-mawari is integrated in this tegatana exercise. The turning of the koshi is always the first action before you do the striking movement. The turning koshi (tenshi) generate power to perform an efficient foot movement. A foot movement before the koshi turning and strike with tegatana is a mistake and makes you vulnerable to a counter-attack of the opponent. Stepping actions without a blow can be used to bring yourself in the distance of “rikakutaisei” or safe distance with the possibility to strike efficiently.

Tegatana soho 2 : Uchi mawashi & Tegatana soho 3 : Soto mawashi

Inside sweep and outside sweep are 2 movements with the arm and can be used to deflect an incoming blow from opponent. Because this is a multifunction exercise, uchi mawashi and soto mawashi can be used as a defensive action against grasping attacks. In this exercise the “fibonaci” concept comes to the foreground. Changing the direction (180° or 90° ) is done randomly, there is no fixed direction pattern. By using creativity, but keeping the concepts of uchi mawashi and soto mawashi, there are many possibilities to perform this exercise. The videoclip below is just an example and is not a fixed format.

Turning the koshi is always initiating uchi mawashi and soto mawashi. These sweeping actions are done without tensed muscles, the idea of an empty body (mugamae) is included.

Tegatana soho 4 : Uchi gaeshi – soto gaeshi

Although we often see sweeping actions with this tegatana exercise, the main action is about turning the arm inside and outside. The action resemblances the turning over of a book page.

Koshi and arm turning in any direction of a circle makes this exercise not an easy one. Combining the stepping, koshi turning and armturning demands a lot of synchronisation. Mental focus is needed in order to perform those movements.

Stepping and turning

There are a variety of angles within a 360 ° circle. If you describe a perfect spherical rotation (encompassing all 360 ° angles) with koshi in every situation, then all movements are always round, from whatever angle you start them.

Next tegatana soho (5-6-7-8) includes stepping actions with a multifunctional use. In “koryu no kata“, many examples of this simplified kind of movement and stepping are used in the various waza (codified techniques which can be used in different circumstances).

Tegatana soho 5 : Uchi mawashi tentai – demawari

A forward turning step with an uchi-mawashi arm movement. This movement is well-known from koryu-no-kata dai-yon. The final movement, the arm-sweep to the back is a movement performed during hiki-otoshi from basic-17 katachi/kata.

Tegatana soho 6 : Soto mawashi tentai -hikimawari

The first time when you try to perform this exercise you can have an unlogical feeling. You have to start with the front foot, putting backwards and turn koshi while you perfom a big soto-mawashi (outward sweep).

Tegatana soho 7 : Ko mawashi

A ver compact tandoku-undo exercise using uchi mawashi and soto-mawashi. You also can include a kind of uchi gaeshi and soto gaeshi.

Tegatana soho 8 : O mawashi

Big sweeping circle is the characteristic of this exercise. Many ushiro-waza use this movement. An example you will find in koryu-no-kata dai-yon.