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 We presented all the influences to which Professor Nick Cerio was exposed during his long career in martial arts.
What are the consequences for the style taught at Studios Unis?
First of all, katas occupy a very significant place in karate. This is especially true for karate teachers who want to follow tradition.
It was the case of Professor Cerio.
He once mentioned that if he had to start again from scratch, he would turn to Shotokan katas, the first style of the modern and "public" history of Karate. Professor Cerio thought that Kenpo missed rigour and depth. This is why he borrowed several katas from Kyokushinkai.
It is also from Kyokushinkai, which has roots going up to the Goju Ryu of Yamaguchi and Miyagi, that Professor Cerio drew the inspiration to create several of his own katas. Very often, a kata is based on a Kyokushinkai form with an inverted sequence of movements and in which strikes or direct and powerful blocks of the Korean Mas Oyama style are replaced by the circular motions of the Kenpo and famous " Kenpo hands".
Professor Cerio also created his own katas based on Kajukenbo katas. This style, developed in Hawaii, was primarily directed towards being effective in street fighting! In katas such as the Circle of the Tiger, Circle of the Leopard, Circle of the Panther, he teaches us a street survival art. The more technical and mechanical movements of the "pinans" leave place to the more fluid and circular movements of Kenpo. Linear translations in the four cardinal points are replaced by translations in different angles. Kicks to the articulations start to appear as well as projections and restraints. Professor Cerio brings pressure points into play, but there is more than one movement that is not immediately visible, especially to a newcomer.
Lastly, Professor Cerio added traditional Shotokan katas to supplement the training of the higher belts. The purpose of this return to traditional katas of Okinawa's Kempo is to reinforce technical bases of karate that Professor wanted to impress on his students and especially on the instructors.
The same applies to the Sil Lum Kung Fu kata, "Lin Wan Kune". This kata was handed down to Professor Cerio by Chinese Master Gan Fong Chin. This very technical kata develops powerful and low translations. The focus is mainly on the center of energies in the lower abdomen and develops the "ki" or "chi".
Regis Poirier
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