what kata has your attention at the moment?

[Oshishinobu]

Right now shisochin.

If my Saifa was better it may be a favorite. Between the unorthodox movement and the ever deepening complexity of its technique and purpose... I'm not sure it will ever gain my favor.

I like seiyunchin very much but I feel its very physically demanding.

Gotta love Okinawan Goju. There's way more then could be captured in a video or learned from a book.

The kata I've had the shortest is shisochin.

My Saifa is my weakest.

is there one one you just love to train?

awesome !!! I leaned seiyunchin a while ago need a refresher lol. love that kata.

[JR 137]

I used to really focus on Seiunchin and Shushi No Kon (version taught by Nishiuchi) before I took my 15 year hiatus.

I haven't done either in several years, mainly because of gaps in memory of subtle stuff in them.

I've always been a huge Saiha fan. Every time an instructor says perform your favorite kata, I chose Saiha.

My focus has changed to Pinan 4 recently. I signed up for a tournament in June, and I'll do Pinan 4. I can't perform Saiha because I'm not allowed to do a kata outside of my current rank. It's a good reason to do a kata that I haven't done in competition and get better at it. My primary focus on performance is the side kick/backfist sin the middle, as that's my main weakness. I haven't spent as much time breaking down that kata as I have with others, so even better reason to do it.

Saiha never gets old for me. Short, to the point, and brutal elbows, hammer fists and joint locks. That ones got a bit of everything, and they're for me they're not too hard to see. A lot of bunkai out there is a bit too complex IMO, but I've pulled some pretty simple and brutally effective bunkai out of it beyond block/punch/kick. And I can make it more complex if I want to. The same can be said for any kata, but Saiha just makes so much more sense to me than any other kata. I'm a big fan of 2-3 movement at most bunkai. No need to "re-stomp the groin" with Saiha.

Personally I'm not a fan of Saifa/Saiha, maybe because I've done it god knows how many times and also the sheer number of variations that I've been shown makes it kinda boring tbh!

But there are many techniques in it that I see as being useful in a Self-Defence Situation.

What Club/Association are you with? I ask because I personally find it interesting that an association will not allow you to perform any kata outside of your current rank. It might just be me where I am so used to the WKF Format where you can (Now they have removed the Shitei Kata) perform any kata you wish

I'm in Seido Juku. The tournament I'm going to compete in is a Seido tournament. The rules of the tournament state "the kata performed must be commensurate with the student's rank." Kata also has to be from the syllabus, and be performed according to it. They're good rules IMO, as they keep people on an equal level within their division. If it was an open tournament, I'd disagree.

The only reason why I'm competing is it's Seido's 40th anniversary, and there will be people from dojos all over the world. The tournament is at the end of a week-long event. A lot of the money goes to charity. My 5 year old talked me into it, and I'm near 40, so I guess it'll be a last hurrah. I highly doubt I'm going to have any desire to compete at the next big tournament in 10 years.

[Sentoka]

It changes from day to day!

As Wastelander said, everything is Naihanchi, so that's usually it. Honestly, i feel if i practice nothing but Naihanchi and its bunkai during a session, it isn't a session wasted.

[sensei8]

Yes, the Naihanchi series is a constant with me. The others, well, they're ok.

[Oshishinobu]

I do at least a tekki a day absolutely one of the best kata!

[Shizentai]

I am working on gankaku lately... trying to make it a favorite kata. Right now it's right down at the bottom for me.

[jaypo]

Working a lot on Naihanchi right now. My knees have been giving me trouble, so I am focusing on less kicking and more inside striking and grappling from that kata. I've also been practicing a Muay Thai based kata that we do. I've been watching the Ong Bak series, and Tony Jaa amazes me. I've been incorporating a lot of knees and elbows in my training.

[Oshishinobu]

I am working on gankaku lately... trying to make it a favorite kata. Right now it's right down at the bottom for me.

Gankaku can be a bit of a beast at times, the last full turn just before the last punch always gives me issues.

jaypo, in terms of knee and elbows heck yeah brother i hear ya. would love to see this muay thai kata sound awesome!.

[JR 137]

I am working on gankaku lately... trying to make it a favorite kata. Right now it's right down at the bottom for me.

I've heard of Gankaku a few times, but never saw it. Just watched it performed by Kanazawa on YouTube. Very cool kata IMO*.Not knowing anything about its history, I'm guessing Kanku/Kusanku has very similar roots, as it looks like Itosu and Funakoshi could have developed Pinan kata from it. Pinan is from Kanku, but looking at Gankaku, if I didn't know better I'd say Pinan came from Gankaku.

*Kanazawa will make any kata look great.

[Wastelander]

I am working on gankaku lately... trying to make it a favorite kata. Right now it's right down at the bottom for me.

I've heard of Gankaku a few times, but never saw it. Just watched it performed by Kanazawa on YouTube. Very cool kata IMO*.Not knowing anything about its history, I'm guessing Kanku/Kusanku has very similar roots, as it looks like Itosu and Funakoshi could have developed Pinan kata from it. Pinan is from Kanku, but looking at Gankaku, if I didn't know better I'd say Pinan came from Gankaku.

*Kanazawa will make any kata look great.

Gankaku is Funakoshi's name for the kata, Chinto. Legend has it that "Bushi" Matsumura Sokon confronted a shipwrecked Chinese man who had been stealing from locals, and we unable to apprehend him, in the end exchanging martial arts training for resources. Chinto is supposedly either the kata Matsumura learned from the man, or the kata that Matsumura made to record what the man taught him. Chinto may have also been the name of the shipwrecked man. All this is legend, of course, and pretty close to impossible to confirm, but it's a neat story. If you search for Chinto, you'll see a wider array of versions than you will get from searching for Gankaku