Kata History - Part 3

Naihanchi

Naihanchi (or Naifanchi, Naifanchi, Tekki, Tekki) is a Kata, performed in straddle stance (naihanchi-dachi / kiba-dachi ). It can be translated to 'sideways fighting', or in the kase of Tekki it means ‘Iron Horse’, because of the stance. The form makes use of in-fighting techniques (i.e. tai sabaki (body evasion)) and grappling. There are three modern kata derived from this (Shodan, Nidan and Sandan(Master Ohtsuka dropped Nidan and Sandan from Wado Ryu, possibly because he thought the had little function)). Some researchers believe Nidan and Sandan were created by Anko Itosu, but others believe that it was originally one kata broken into three separate parts (probably due to constraints of space). The fact that only Naihanchi/Tekki Shodan has a formal opening suggests the kata was split.
It has been suggested the kata was originally developed when fighting against a wall / ledge / narrow confined space which is unlikely; however, it could be used for this purpose. Whilst the kata is linear, moving side to side, the techniques can be applied against attackers at any angle. The side to side movements in a low stance build up the necessary balance and strength for fast footwork and body shifting. The kata are intricate strategies of attacking and defensive movement, done in the kiba dachi, for the purpose of conditioning the legs to develop explosive power.

Itosu is reported to have learned the kata from Sokon Matsumura, who learned it from a Chinese man living in Tomari. Itosu is thought to have changed the original kata. The form is so important to old style karate that Kentsu Yabu (a student of Itosu) often told his students ‘Karate begins and ends with Naihanchi’ and admonished his students must practice the kata 10,000 times to make it their own. Before Itosu created the Pinan kata, Naihanchi would traditionally be taught first in Tomari-te and Shuri-te schools, which indicates its importance.

In the earlier days of karate training, it was common practice for a student to spend 2-3 years doing nothing but Naihanchi/Tekki, under the strict observation of their teacher. Motobu Choki (Pictured to the left), famous for his youthful brawling, credited the kata with containing all that one needs to know to become a proficient fighter.

Kata Names - Part 2

All

Having received some nice feedback from some in regard to my last article on kata, in particular from some of our newer members, I have decided to expand on my article Kata Names - What do they mean and write another article for them based on the kata they have / will be learning over the coming year or two. In this article I will concentrate on the Pinan series of kata. Thanks again for the good feedback, I hope you find this as interesting and useful as the last.

OSU

Pinan

The Pinan kata are a series of five kata taught in many karate styles. The Pinan kata originated in Okinawa and were the brain child of Anko Itosu (see photo), who was one of Gichin Funakoshi's teachers. It started when Itosu learnt a kata called ‘Chaing – Nan’ from a Chinese martial artist living in the Tomari area of Okinawa, and this kata is said to be the basis for the Pinan katas. Itosu simplified ‘Chaing – Nan’ into the five Pinan kata we know today. It can also be noted that the Pinan series contain many moves and sequences from the longer kata “Kushanku”.

The Pinan kata were introduced into the school systems on Okinawa in the early 1900's, and were subsequently adopted by many teachers and schools. Thus, they are present today in the curriculum of WADO RYU, Shito Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, Shorei-ryu, Shotokan, Matsubayashi-ryu and Shukokai.

Pinan can be translated to mean "peaceful way" which it has been universally known as for many many years, but some historians believe now it can be translated into “safe from harm”. In his book “Karate - Do Kyohan” Gichin Funakoshi said that the name “Pinan” was chosen because once these kata’s had been mastered, the karateka can be confident in their ability to defend themselves in most situations, hence, be safe from harm. This translation comes about by translating the name in Okinawan into Chinese (rather than Japanese) and then to English. When translated to Japanese first we get 'Peaceful Mind', and when translated into Chinese we get 'Safe from Harm'. Again this is just thoughts and no one now will ever know the true meaning as meant by Itosu.

The Pinans are taught to various beginner ranks according to their difficulty, but the more advanced karateka can take things to the next level and apply the moves learnt in the katas into a more advanced fighting system. The kata are all based at least loosely on an I-shaped embusen or shape.

We actually learn / practice Nidan first as this is the easier form to learn and perform. When Funakoshi changed the name from Pinan to Heian he made Pinan Nidan become Heian Shodan and vice versa.

I hope this little post has been useful, next time Kushanku and Naihanchi.

Graduations

Last weekend CMABBA held its Kickboxing graduations as well as its Karate Dan graduations. Well as ever the standard of these graduations was of an extremely high level. You just have to read the guest book on the main site to confirm this.

As ever the organisation by Mr and Mrs Hauer, Miss Rock and the CIT team was first rate, again true sentiments on this came from everyone who has mentioned this on the guest book.

There are too many names to mention everyone’s name (sorry, as you all deserve a mention) but a few names stick out in particular, these being:

Sophie Thompson and Cameron Finlay and Miss Katie Walker on getting their kick boxing black belts, they were very hard graduation and you all passed with flying colours. Which is testament to the hard work you have put in readiness for this event, well done one and all.

Well done also to: Ellie Jeffries, Frank Spacey, Callum Broughton, India Pierre, George Beaumont, Jack Wilson, Aaron Gelder, Wendy Leeming and James Cook on passing their 1st Dan black belts in karate- again the standard was terrific.

And finally a word on Miss Sophie Deal who passed her 2nd Dan Black Belt in Karate, a superb achievement in what is not an easy graduation. The following comment on the guest book just about sums it up.

“MISS DEAL YOU WERE SUPERB! As it turned out you were worried about nothing you wowed everybody who saw you and let no-one down”.

Each set of students seem to up the bar of performance when graduations come around, which just goes to show the level of dedication you have to the martial arts and the level of instruction you are receiving at CMABBA.

PICTURES WILL FOLLOW

Keep checking for updates on this weekends graduations, all the best to the franchise academies (Netherton and Sandal) and the Chuldow kyu grade graduations

Kata Names - What Do They Mean?

On a recent short break to Northumberland I got to wondering further about kata names. Am I a sad individual for this, well yes probably I am, but it was a visit to Bamburgh Castle which is right on the coast and seems very hard to attack from the sea (as you can see). I then got to thinking about Bassai, which can translate to mean 'to Penetrate a Fortress'. I was even going to take a cheesey photo of me doing a yama zuki against the wall (An idea totally plagerised from another blog, and by no means my idea at all, more of that at the end). I thought then that I would research this meaning of the kata and try to find out where its meaning came from and why. The following is a little description of what I have dug up, and is by no means gospel, but just a collection of thoughts and reasonings by various people. I have also done the same for Jitte and Seishan. This might come in useful for the new Dan grades who might be learning these kata over the next year or so.

Bassai

Passai (披塞) is the name of a group of kata practiced in different styles of martial arts, including karate and various Korean martial arts. There are several variations of these kata, including Passai sho (minor) and Passai dai (major) . In karate, the kata are known as Passai, in Okinawan styles, and Bassai in Japanese styles

The origins of this kata are quite unknown, however there are several theories as to its history. Some researchers believe that Passai is related to Chinese Leopard and Lion boxing forms, with some sequences bearing a resemblance to Leopard boxing (the opening blocking / striking movement in kosa dachi ) whereas others are more representative of Lion boxing (open handed techniques and stomping actions).

The name may also be a reference to a fortress. In Japanese, Bassai (披塞小 or 抜砦大) means "To Extract From A Castle" or "To Remove an Obstruction." The name is often mistranslated to mean "to penetrate (storm) a fortress," because, 披 (batsu) means to extract or remove, not to penetrate, but the kata has many strong powerful moves with good solid stances which enhances the translation of storming a castle.


So as you can see the translation of the name is up for debate, but this little insight might shed some light on things.

Jitte

Jitte translated means 'Ten Hands' and should in theory enable one to face ten adversaries. Its origin is from the Tomari-te school. Some claim that the name, Jitte, is derived from the position of the raised fists, resembling a type of sai known as a jitte, which occurs a number of times in the kata. This rather short kata of only 24 movements contains a number of defenses against the bo. Also known in some styles as Sip Soo.

Up until seeing how a bo can be used properly I fully believed that this kata was a defence against the bo, but having seen the likes of Miss Varley and Miss Rock perfoming bo kata, the only good defenc against the bo is to leg it out of the way. However the defences might have worked a hunred years ago, but this we will never know

Seishan

There are numerous theories as to the naming of the kata which relates to the number 13. These include the number of steps originally in the kata, the number of different types of 'power' or 'energy' in the kata, the number of applications, or that the kata represents defence against 13 specific types of attack. The most likely explanation is the number of non-repeating techniques contained within the kata.

The most important thing though in all this is to make sure the kata is performed to the best of our ability, it is just nice to have this knowledge of the history of the kata.

Unique kata Blog

As previously mentioned I have come across a blog that solely has pictures of moves unique to one kata, i.e. this is the only time that move appears in their particular style. There is one beautiful picture of someone doing the suri ashi dachi form Gankaku (chinto) with a breath taking view behind. It is just a bit of fun. If anyone wants to view it just follow the link below.

http://uniquekata.blogspot.com/

I hope this post has been informative and interesting to some. Please let me know if there is anything you want to see posted here

OSU

Mr Culpan

Weapons Course

Chuldow has once again held a very successful weapons seminar this past weekend. Once again the standard was very high as was the effort shown by ALL involved.
As usual Kama, Nunchaku, Bo/Jo, Sai and the Sword were taught and the photo's are in the gallery on the main site

www.chuldow.com

A special congratulations to Miss Walker who graded to black belt 1st dan in Bo/Jo and Mr Reid who graded to black belt 1st dan in Iaido. Both have worked long and hard in the run up to their gradings so please when you see them give them a pat on the back.

Once again Mr and Mrs Hauer, Miss Rock and the rest of the CIT team on the day put togehther an excellent course that could not have run any better.

See you all at the next course