Mawashi Uke: Karate's Buzz-Saw.

I have also been looking at another recurring theme in Kata, namely Mawashi Uke, not as a specific technique, but as something more of a hub, like Sanchin Kata in a way and something akin to what many refer to as 'The Fence.'
There is also more than a little bit of Animal MacYoung's 'Wedge' concept in there as well.

I have been playing around with this in various ways for quite some time, recently in some freeform with my students John and Jeremy as we did some conceptual exploration of varying degrees one night.
Mabuni Kenwa and Choki Motobu, two well known figures in the history of Okinawan Karate, were fond of saying that there are no fixed positions in a fight, basically, you stop and you die.
So the concept of 'Ready Positions' seems to have been thrown out the window a long time ago in favor of something quite the opposite, the 'anti-sitting-duck-method' or if you want to get 'Zen' on the whole thing, 'The position of no position.'

Jodan Uke, Chudan, Gedan Barai, even punches that move straight out, they work on circles (face sideways on someone doing some punching, if they utilize chamber as grabbing it does form a circle with each side, though the technique is straight... Not sure if that makes sense).
It is more readily seen in the 'Uke' techniques, that they work along the same principles as what we have come to accept as the incarnation of 'Mawashi Uke,' namely both hands are in play (as always, both hands are in play in everything).

In my view Mawashi Uke is not a specific technique, not a position at the end of almost all Kata (and a major player in Kururunfa and Suparempei), but is central and key to all movements.
So in actuality there are many 'incarnations' of a single moving principle. When I applied Mawashi Uke in this way, as a continuous moving concept, in a free-form sparring session it was much easier to apply Kata principles.
Not to mention the continuous circular attacks (ridge hands, back hands, slaps, shuto, ect) that the continuous movement utilizes, some might say like a crane's wings, but I like to think of it more as a buzz-saw that can get bigger or smaller.

I don't know if any of this made any particular sense, it is much easier to do it and show it than write about it, hopefully the illustration and point are not missed.
It worked wonders for me and my own students once they got the hang of it, which only took a minute or two. Now if only I can get them to remember to keep their posture, work better footwork, ect. ;)