Hi all,

I am doing a bit of a project at home, where I am creating a document of all the styles of Karate and their Kata, along with their English Counterpart (ie Seisan = 13 Hands)

And part of it is listing the styles “parent” Styles. For instance - GKR’s Parent Styles are Goju-Kai and Shotokan.

Edited May 1, 20233 yr by Nidan Melbourne

I love this project!

I emailed you some links to my Sensei’s website. One has a history section on Matsubayashi Ryu, the other has a list of all the kata in the curriculum. I hope it can contribute in some way!

I study Uechi-Ryu, which originated from Pangai-Noon Kung Fu.

Our eight kata are:

Sanchin (三戦): Three conflicts, Three battles. Usually interpreted as bringing harmony to the body, mind, and spirit

Seisan (十三): Literally, 13. This can be interpreted as "13 hands, 13 ways of attack or defense".

Sanseiryu (三十六) Literally 36. Generally interpreted as "36 modes of attack and defense" This is also a reference to Kanbun Uechi's teacher Shu Shiwa, who was known as the 36th room priest.

Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryu were the original 3 kata taught to Kanbun Uechi. The following kata were added later as "bridging kata" to help students transition between the main 3 kata. These were created by Kanei Uechi and his senior students in the 1950's and 1960's.

Kanshiwa (完子和) is a conbination of the kanji for KANbun (Uechi) and shu SHIWA. This was oriignally known as Kanshabu

Kanshu (完周) likewise is a combination of the kanji from KANbun and SHU shiwa. This was originally known as Daini Seisan (第二十三), or "half seisan" or "secondary seisan". Daini Seisan isn't taught much these days, but there are a few instructors who still teach it.

Seichin (十戦) "10 conflicts" or "10 battles". This is a portmanteau of Seisan and Sanchin

Seiryu (十六) literally, "16".

Kanchin (完戦), a combination of KANei (uechi) and sanCHIN.

I have sent you an email!

Sounds like a really interesting project - is it something you would feel comfortable giving us a view of once done? If not totally understand as i am sure it will be a lot of work!

Sounds like a really interesting project - is it something you would feel comfortable giving us a view of once done? If not totally understand as i am sure it will be a lot of work!

For those interested, i'd be happy to share with.

I'm definitely interested!

For those interested, i'd be happy to share with.

I'd love to see the results as well!

For the purposes of this project, I'm going to include kata that I no longer practice. I'm going to include, in parentheses, who the kata were either known to have been created by, or as suspected to have been created by, as best I can recall off the top of my head (all my books are currently in storage, or I would reference them). Some of the translations may be iffy, as we don't have kanji for all of the kata names, because they were written in katakana for Uchinaaguchi, and the translations are no longer certain.

Nakazato-Lineage Shorin-Ryu (Kobayashi-Ryu):

Kihon Ippon/Nihon/Sanbon - Basic #1/2/3 (Chibana Chosin)

Fukyu no Kata - Form of Fundamentals (Nakazato Shugoro)

Naihanchi Shodan - Close Inside Fighting Level One ("Tode" Sakugawa)

Naihanchi Nidan - Close Inside Fighting Level Two ("Bushi" Matsumura)

Naihanchi Sandan - Close Inside Fighting Level Three ("Anko" Itosu)

Pinan Shodan/Nidan/Sandan/Yondan/Godan - Peaceful Mind/Safe From Harm Level 1/2/3/4/5 ("Anko" Itosu)

Passai Sho (Itosu Passai) - Lesser Fortress Storming ("Anko" Itosu)

Passai Dai (Tawada/Matsumura Passai) - Greater Fortress Storming (Tawada Shinkazu or "Bushi" Matsumura)

Kusanku Sho (Itosu Kusanku) - Lesser Public Official ("Anko" Itosu)

Kusanku Dai - Greater Public Official (Chatan Yara or "Tode" Sakugawa)

Chinto - Eastern Town ("Bushi" Matsumura)

Gojushiho (Useishi) - 54 Steps (China via "Bushi" Matsumura)

Gorin - 5 Rings (Nakazato Shugoro)

Higa-Lineage Kishimoto-Ha Shuri-Te (KishimotoDi):

Tachimura no Naihanchi - Tachimura's Close Inside Fighting ("Tode" Sakugawa)

Nidanbu - Second Level Martial Skill (Kishimoto Soko)

Tachimura no Passai - Tachimura's Fortress Storming ("Tode" Sakugawa)

Tachimura no Kusanku - Tachimura's Public Official ("Tode" Sakugawa)

Walker-Lineage Shuri-Ryu:

Taikyoku Ichi/Ni/San - Taiji 1/2/3 ("Gigo" Funakoshi)

Wansu - Prince/Dragon Boy Dumping (Wang Ji or Go Kenki)

Anaku - Light from the South (Kyan Chotoku)

Naihanchi Sho - First Close Inside Fighting/Missing Enemy ("Tode" Sakugawa)

Empi Sho - First Flying Swallow (Wang Ji or Go Kenki)

Seiyunchin - Pulling Battle (Higashionna Kanryo)

There are more kata in Shuri-Ryu than I learned, so I'm not going to delve into those, but I hope this helps!

I don't know these kata, but I find the list interesting none the less. Thanks for sharing it.