Kyan No Sai

[The BB of C]

I got my first degree in Isshinryu back last September and set my goal on the remaining katas of the style. I thought I had all of them down until a member of this forum unwittingly let me know of a third sai kata - Kyan No Sai. Both the forum member and my instructor, and my cousin (holds a third degree) told me that it wasn't important but I found a few other schools that do the kata as well as a very old video of Shimabuku. So I felt compelled to learn it anyway.

I just finished learning it today through the magic of YouTube. It's a rather short kata. Only seven combinations. I thought that maybe there were moves missing from the kata because it's a rare kata in Isshinryu. According to Wikipedia and my instructor - the kata was dropped from the original curriculum in favor of Kusanku Sai. But I looked up the Shimabuku video again and the group that I was watching was doing the whole kata.

But now I want to know what everyone else thinks of the importance of this kata. Do you practice it at your school? Are there other styles with a similar version of the kata?

[isshinryu5toforever]

A lot of other styles have similar versions of the kata. It all depends on who is teaching and who taught them. A lot of Isshinryu schools have it, a lot don't. I learned it, and this is kind of ironic, I ended up teaching it to my instructor who barely knew it existed.

It's a great learning sai kata. That said, the reason most deem it unimportant is because it's tacked on almost technique for technique to the end of Kusanku sai.

[ps1]

If it's important to you...then it's important.

My view of kata is that they are all just a dance if all you do is the moves. I never taught kata as just a sequence of moves. I would teach self defense moves for a month and then say, "here's a way to remember them." Then I teach the kata. Now, it has purpose.

[The BB of C]

You both have good points.

Where I'll admit that the ending sequence to Kusanku Sai has similar techniques to Kyan No Sai, I don't think they're entirely similar. There's a lot of difference in footwork.

For Ps1, that's how the school I go to practices katas. We can't get our next belt until we understand the application to the katas we learned previously.

[isshinryu5toforever]

That's why I said almost. They also throw an entire portion of the kata out in Kusanku sai. Like I said, it's a great sai kata to start with. It's quick and easy. In that way, I would say it's important.

[bushido_man96]

If it's important to you...then it's important.

My view of kata is that they are all just a dance if all you do is the moves. I never taught kata as just a sequence of moves. I would teach self defense moves for a month and then say, "here's a way to remember them." Then I teach the kata. Now, it has purpose.

This is a great view of kata practice. I would love to be able to do that in class time.

[tayl0124]

New to the forum, so I am searching out all isshinryu based threads. At our school, this is the only Sai kata we learn before Shodan.