Practical Kata Bunkai: Passai / Bassai-Dai Knife Hand Drill

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This video looks at a yielding drill for the Knife-Hands found within Passai / Bassai-Dai. It was filmed at a seminar in Swindon in September 2014. The section shown is part of the longer drill, and alternatives for the section shown were also covered. We’ve edited it together to “stand alone” but it must be remembered that you really needed to be there to fully understand the nature of the drill and to get instruction on what is referred to, but not shown, in the clip. The clip is therefore presented “as is” and is not intended to be instructional.

One of the core principles illustrated by the kata / this drill is the idea of not contesting force. Notice how the path of least resistance is taken when the enemy tires to regain the initiative.

You’ll also note how the principle of continuous advantage is also manifest in this drill. Whatever the enemy tires to do to gain initiative is quickly flowed past i.e. stopping the forearm strike to the neck, trying to re-establish their attack line, etc. As is always the case, the core purpose of the kata and bunkai is to make those principles intuitive and habitual such that they can be freely applied regardless of circumstance.
Thanks for watching!

All the best,

Iain