Your Kata, its inspiration and/or foundations

[Hawkmoon]

I was asked as part of my grading to research and submit a paper on three Katas offering a few facts on the kata and its meaning and something about its past its history.

As a Kyokushin student I new I would find reference some more clear than others to other fighting systems, Shotokan I had expected to feature heavily more than most.

I discovered I was not entirely correct on that point, other systems feature in Kyokushin more than I released.

Gojo Ryu appeared more than I expected!

We have a kata we call Yantsu. (Yan-su)

It was a kata that was taught to Sosai when he trained with So Nei Chu.

A kata from southern Japan, a Gojo kata called Ansan which means 'defense three ways', Sosai liked it so much he adopted it and modified it to suit his karate, and called it 'Yantsu'.

(No idea where the 't' comes form, still working ion that, I'm starting to suspect a typo that was never corrected!)

So the idea is, pick a kata, any kata you are taught or teach today and have a look into its past, find its origins or some facts that maybe interest you.

Add a post here, a few lines or a paragraph with what it is called now and what it was called and where is come from that sort of thing.

have fun with the task, its not a exam or full on history test paper submission just a few facts about a kata.

[Zaine]

Great topic!

I have always had a special place in my heart for the Pinans. Pinan Shodan was the first kata I ever learned and later on the Pinans became an introduction to crane. Pinan means peaceful mind because the idea (or so it is said) is that after the kata you were to have expended so much energy that you were at a state of having a peaceful mind (euphoria or enlightenment would fit here). There are two origins for this that seem to be prevalent. Both agree that it was introduced in the early 1900s.

The first is that it was created by Anko Itosu. Many practitioners at the time assumed that it was a watered down advance kata meant to introduce children into karate. However, it was adopted by many systems in spite of the view and grew to what we know today.

The second (and the one that I find more likely) is that it was introduced originally as a kata know as Chiang Nan by a nameless Chinese man. The kata became Channan, which then Itosu separated into 5 different kata.

I like the second one better because it makes more sense (because of the crane techniques) and it seems to tell the full story.

It's short, but it shows the diverse history that a single set of katas can have.

Sources:

http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/article/brief-history-pinan-heian-katas

http://web.archive.org/web/20090805102716/http://geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/9536/pyong_ahn.html

Channan: Heart of the Heians

[Wastelander]

This is certainly an interesting topic! The trouble is that most kata were created so long ago that it's impossible to really know their history. As you found out, even when a kata was created more recently, there is sometimes information about it that is missing.

My favorite kata is Naihanchi, which is so old that we aren't completely sure who created it. It goes at least as far back as Sakugawa Kanga, who was my teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher. Although it is a very short and (seemingly) simple kata, it contains pretty much everything you need for self defense.

[Hawkmoon]

One of my favorite katas is Tsuki no.

(Tsuki no Kata)

A kata from ‘southern Japan’ and it comes from Gojo karate, in Gojo-Ryu the kata is known as ‘Kihon Tsuki nokata’.

The name, ‘Tsuki no’ translates to ‘fortune and good luck’, in certain circles/groups the kata is known as 'the punching kata'.

The moves are powerful, and represent in a symbolic way the battle a person has to overcome personal limitations or barriers, each punch represents the destruction of that barrier.

From that understanding the kata is also said to mean ‘to storm a castle’ the castle being symbolic of such a person’s inner self, there mind.

[Kusotare]

On the surface, Wado-ryu kata look like Shotokan/Shito-ryu forms.

In truth though, Otsuka modified them to transmit much older principles that come from Shindo Yoshin-ryu.

K.

[Kanku65]

Wow, this topic just made my day I must say.

So, thank you.

I've chosen Kanku (Kanku-Dai/Kanku-sho) of the shotokan katas.

Originally named Kusanku by Chinese diplomat of the same name. (1761)

Kusanku from Fukien traveled to Okinawa to teach his system of self defense.

In the 1930s, Gichin Funakoshi renamed the Kata as Kanku, meaning to gaze heavenward or view/contemplate the sky, regarding the opening and closing movements of the kata.

The animal of this kata is said to be the eagle.

I gained all this information from wiki, but definitely plan on looking deeper into the history of this one, as well as other katas applied to shotokan.

Thank you again.

[millhilldojo]

I love all the kata that I have learnt so far. Think my all time favorites would be the simple and sometimes overlooked Taikyoku series of Kata whos true meaning has been lost somewhat over the years.

In fact I have just finished filming the first five of the Taikyoku kata's for my youtube channel today if anybody wants to check them out. It is my first day back in karate training after having a kidney transplant last month and it felt really good to be back in the dojo. I am also totally blind and a diabetic.

This is my first post in this forum so hello to everybody! Here is my Taikyoku Kata Video Series if anybody wants to watch a blind man do kata lol

[sensei8]

I love all the kata that I have learnt so far. Think my all time favorites would be the simple and sometimes overlooked Taikyoku series of Kata whos true meaning has been lost somewhat over the years.

In fact I have just finished filming the first five of the Taikyoku kata's for my youtube channel today if anybody wants to check them out. It is my first day back in karate training after having a kidney transplant last month and it felt really good to be back in the dojo. I am also totally blind and a diabetic.

This is my first post in this forum so hello to everybody! Here is my Taikyoku Kata Video Series if anybody wants to watch a blind man do kata lol

First of all, Welcome to KF; glad you're here!!

Your Taikyoku Series was excellent!! Solid!! You're an inspiration on the floor for all; an example of true karate-do!!

[millhilldojo]

Thanks for the welcome Sensei8 and also thanks for the thumbs up on my videos that means a lot. Really enjoyed what I have read so far here on KF, very impressed with the set up here, so much to try and read and get through. Thanks again,, Osu

[CredoTe]

...

My favorite kata is Naihanchi, which is so old that we aren't completely sure who created it. It goes at least as far back as Sakugawa Kanga, who was my teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher.

...

Are you sure you don't need a few more "teacher's teacher's" in there?

...Although it is a very short and (seemingly) simple kata, it contains pretty much everything you need for self defense.

Thank you Choki Motobu...