Hand positions in kata

Many of the techniques and positions in traditional kata are not understood. One example many of you may relate to is found in many kata. I remember asking my sensei (around 1970) what a particular hand position meant. At the time I was doing Heian Yondan. There is a place in the kata where the heels of both feet are touching with the feet pointing slightly outward. The hands are placed together at the right hip. Both hands are closed into fist with the right fist knuckles facing up. The left hand is on top of the right fist with its knuckles facing down. Right after assuming this position the left hand executes what looks like a down block to the left and at the same time a left side kick is executed. When I asked my sensei why the hands were placed at the right hip (what we called a cup and saucer position), he said that it was only a chamber point or cocking point before the block and kick that followed. This bothered me for many years. As anyone that has tried to use the moves found in the kata as they appear to be used, knows that the moves don't seem to work. It also did not seem likely that the creators of the kata would waste time practicing positions and moves that were not effective for combat. Many years later I began to understood how the creators of the old kata hid moves in plain sight. This so called cup and saucer hand position can be used effectively in many different ways. The easiest and quickest to learn is based on a cross hand wrist grab. In this application an attacker grabs your right wrist with his right hand. In response, you rotate your right hand clockwise while pulling it to your right hip. As soon as you begin to rotate your right hand you place your left palm on top of the attackers fingers preventing him from letting go. As you pull your hands and the attackers to your left hip, you step out with your right foot into a horse stance. By the time you reach your stance you have the attackers hand trapped at your right hip and he is off balance. To complete the move you will lower your left elbow so as to apply an elbow lock while keeping your grip on the attackers right hand. This is only one of many ways that the cup and saucer hand position can be used effectively for realistic self defense.