Technical Notes on the Unsoku Steps

Below are tech­ni­cal notes for the var­i­ous types of step­ping in Taido’s unsoku.

The Eight Steps

Let’s go over some points for exe­cut­ing the eight steps of unsoku happo.

SO

So-soku is an advanc­ing step for nar­row­ing the dis­tance to the tar­get. Since it moves closer to dan­ger, its very impor­tant to begin with a solid face cover. Likewise, the punch should be strong and direct to pre­vent the oppo­nent from attempt­ing to con­trol your step. Notice that so-soku ter­mi­nates in neko ashi dachi, with one leg sup­port­ing most of the weight. This allows the unweighted foot to move quickly for chang­ing direc­tions or ini­ti­at­ing an attack.

IN

In-soku is the reverse of so-soku. It is used to gain dis­tance quickly. Here again, a cat stance is employed to main­tain mobil­ity after the motion. Also be aware that the out­stretched soete helps to keep the advanc­ing oppo­nent at bay. In-soku is prob­a­bly the least-practiced and most under­es­ti­mated of all the unsoku move­ments, but when under­stood cor­rectly, it can be employed to good effect in jissen.

KA

Ka-soku is an advanc­ing step which is prac­ticed in two forms. The irreg­u­lar hen­soku ver­sion will be dis­cussed below. Ka-soku begins sim­i­larly to so-soku, but con­tin­ues beyond the strike. There is no break in the motion at this point — only a change of direc­tion. The ini­tial strike can be used to illicit a defen­sive response from the oppo­nent. Then there is a side­step to cir­cum­vent the defense and move towards an open­ing. The angle of the final step can be adjusted toward the tar­get. This enter­ing step is not the end of the move­ment, but should be used to ini­ti­ate the appro­pri­ate sotai. Therefore, the direc­tion and speed of the final step are vital to the exe­cu­tion of the technique.

GEN

Gen-soku is inverse to ka-soku and is used for retreat­ing from attack. Like ka-soku, gen-soku has an alter­nate ver­sion. The key point is the small step which is used to ini­ti­ate move­ment and get away from harm as quickly as pos­si­ble. This is a retreat into a cat stance from which the unweighted leg can move to whichever direc­tion is most advan­ta­geous. Gen-soku’s effec­tive­ness in jis­sen is due to the fact that it is not a back­wards escape which invites fur­ther aggres­sion, but a strate­gic escape which retreats to a more-defensible posi­tion. As with ka-soku, the final step should lead directly into sotai.

KA

Ko-soku is the most basic, and most used of Taido’s unsoku. The pur­pose of ko-soku is to main­tain con­trol of your angle and posi­tion rel­a­tive to the oppo­nent. In ko-soku the angle is altered with respect to your back foot.

TEN

Ten-soku is sim­i­lar to ko-soku, though not as easy to under­stand or employ. Where ko-soku adjusts the angle at a safe-feeling dis­tance by turn­ing about the back foot, ten-soku adjusts the angle by turn­ing about the front leg, often within inches of the oppo­nent. Though it appears to have lim­ited appli­ca­tion, ten-soku is use­ful for enter­ing an oppo­nents attack and chang­ing the angle to favor your own attack from within. Like in-soku, ten-soku should be stud­ied and its appli­ca­tions explored to find new ways of con­trol­ling the opponent.

TSUI

Tsui-soku is a very fast lunge and strike, often con­fused with untai no tsuki. Tsui-soku does not move up and down, so it is not an untai tech­nique. It lacks the power of untai, but can be nearly twice as fast and is use­ful for tak­ing advan­tage of a fleet­ing oppor­tu­nity. While tsui-soku is not a viable option for seri­ously attack­ing, it can be used to break a com­bi­na­tion or thwart and oncom­ing attack.

TAI

Tai-soku is a used for return­ing to gen­ten after an attack. Don’t neglect to prac­tice return­ing from tech­niques. Tai-soku pri­mar­ily removes you from engage­ment dis­tance after an attack. This reduces the oppor­tu­nity of counter attack by the oppo­nent and allows you to apprise the sit­u­a­tion from a rel­a­tively safe distance.

Hensoku

As men­tioned above, there are alter­nate ver­sions of both ka-soku and gen-soku. In America, these are referred to as hen­soku, or irreg­u­lar foot­work, because they don’t return to gen­ten. In Japan, I usu­ally here them referred to as “oyo no kasoku” and “oyo no gensoku.”

In either step, the object is the same as the orig­i­nal ver­sion, but the move­ment is altered to cover the great­est pos­si­ble dis­tance and be adjustable to the sit­u­a­tion. In both hen­soku moves, it is impor­tant to remem­ber that the final kamae is not the end of the motion — it should lead into the body move­ment of a technique.

Here they are:

Hensoku KA

In the major dif­fer­ence between hen­soku ka and ka-soku is that the hen­soku ver­sion doesn’t step back after strik­ing. Instead, the motion con­tin­ues for­ward at an angle. This is for chas­ing a retreat­ing opponent.

Be sure not to stop in the punch­ing posi­tion. Shift your momen­tum to retain the for­ward pres­sure advan­tage. Likewise, don’t step for­ward with a weak punch and expect an oppo­nent to react defen­sively. It’s your job to make him move by step­ping force­fully with a strong punch.

Hensoku GEN

Here again, the step is altered to move fur­ther. Where gen-soku steps back to nekoashidachi before mov­ing side­ways, hen­soku gen takes a full step back­ward before angling back. The final step includes an over­step and cor­rec­tion that stretches away from the oncom­ing attack and adjusts to the appro­pri­ate angle into the final kamae. As a counter to hen­soku ka, hen­soku gen is for retreat­ing quickly from an aggres­sive opponent.