"Karate by Jesse" - Heian/Pinan

[muttley]

Interesting article on Jesse Enteknap's website today about the meaning of Heian/Pinan

http://www.karatebyjesse.com/heian-pinan-kata-secret-meaning/

I have heard this theory before (courtesy of a podcast by Iain Abernethy). I remember when I was a novice in Shotokan, my Sensei used to tell us all that the Heian kata's were "Tranquil Mind 1,2,3,4,5"...we all thought "wow, this is teaching me to be mentally well" like there was a spiritual ebb to the kata.

Having heard/read this translation of the actual kanji, I can see that it does make more sense that the Heian/Pinan Kata were named such by the man who invented them to wish us all a safe progression in Karate and life itself.

Any one else have thoughts on the meaning of the various kata out there?

[Wastelander]

Yes, I also heard it in Iain's podcast, and I had read it on a forum somewhere before that--it's not a huge secret, although it isn't exactly common knowledge among karateka. Still, Jesse always does a good job of spicing things up for wider consumption.

Personally, I don't get too wrapped up in the names of kata. It's important to remember that Uchinaguchi (the native Okinawan language) is written with kana, and not kanji. That is to say that it is written phonetically, rather than with symbols that carry specific meanings. The Pinan kata are an exception, because Itosu wanted to get the Japanese on board with his plans. Naha-te systems that got their kata directly from China are also exceptions, because those names were generally written in hanzi (the Chinese equivalent of kanji). Of course, most people still translate those symbols the way the Japanese would, which isn't necessarily how the Chinese would use them, as we have seen with the Pinan example.

Outside of those kata, though, the names of most Shuri-te/Tomari-te kata are written phonetically, so we have no way of knowing their originally intended meanings. People like to say that Naihanchi means "inner conflict," or that Passai means "breaching the enemy fortress," but these are meanings that were tacked on in the 20th century. The names are so old that, unless someone discovers some old written documentation, we will probably never know what the names originally meant.