Hips rotation "koshi-no-kaiten" and

Masao Kagawa Sensei explaining...

Well, I am still on the same subject. ...almost.  I have created two videos to ask the following question. 

Like many other karateka I was taught to use the hips rotation (here performing "gyaku-tsuki" as an exercise). And as the one of the important points the spine should be always in vertical position becoming a natural axis for the rotation. 

On the other hand some of my karate colleagues and some web-sources mention the traditional way of tobukuho ("falling tree") when the rotation is still the same but the body actually leans in the direction of the attack. I saw higher rank karateka using this way whilst working on makiwara as well.

I am trying both. The both ways go pretty natural. Any ideas? Correction? Explanations? Any comments on the video would be very welcome. Just please try to explain your point of view as clear as possible (in any language - http://translate.google.com/# will help me). I am trying to learn. Ossu!

Interesting reading

MUTIMI (?) or KOSI-NO-KAITEN

All traditional karateka know that creating a wave by one's hips rotation is one of the most basic and important points in karate. Karateka should produce a motion similar to a whip by sending his hips (later we will speak about the limbs too) as fast and as far as possible around the imaginary axis (spine). The farther and the faster hips rotate the faster they will come back to the initial position creating the wave towards the point of impact. This motion is called "mutimi" (Okinawan) or "kosi-no-kaiten". It is a power source for any karate technique (I guess).

"The goal of mutimi is to generate a wave of impulse from hips to the attacking limb" (K.Terekhin "The Karate We've Lost").

I am trying to demonstrate my kosi-no-kaiten and looking for its correction. Please share your points. Thank you. Ossu!

Introduction. And so we begin or Why this blog

There are many pages on the Web dedicated to the Japanese art of karate-do (as many as of any other subject I guess). Here and there they provide useful information on the subject. Some of them contain interesting video footage, some written advices, many of them criticize the rest, forums, blogs, discussions, etc. I have been one of those addicted to the art for long time now and thus very interested in developing my karate, reading advices from the advanced karateka and trying to see different points of view. My karate is getting better. Slowly but surely. I have all my life (the rest of it) in front of me to continue this progress yet. No hurry though. I take my time.

Suddenly I realized that probably the best way to get my karate-do better is just to let all karateka Worldwide  to criticize my technics and to answer my questions (I have a lot). This blog will be following this bright idea!! ;-) I will be posting something of my karate (not necessarily something very advanced) and you, my brothers-in-art, are very welcome to crash my Ego with your notes, criticism, sarcasm and hopefully useful advices.

Please do not hesitate! I do not promise that I will take on board all of those ideas but I should and I do promise to read all and not to argue over any of them. My goal is to learn. So, "the cup is empty".

Thank you in advance. Ossu!

The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate: The Spiritual Legacy of the Master