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
2 comments:
Thank you for those insights Mr Culpan, always nice to think outside the box. As far as im aware, Bassai is always taken too literally. It basically doesn't meant to storm an actual fortress, more as to break down the defences. Basically the kata starts with very little hope of success and with the karateka outnumbered. As you display your strength and power and skill and take down the various opponents, then the others stand back, wary of you. Hence you have broken their spirit and their will. (broken down their defences) That is why the last few moves, are quite intimidating towards the few remaining attackers, who eventually surrender.
Another explanation of Jitte is that Jitte is usually referred to as displaying the strength of ten hands, hence the strength of five men, (we've all heard the phrase billy ten men...lol) and is displayed in some styles as being very focused and brewed and displaying dynamic tension.
Another explanation of Seishan is the relation to the stance which is one of the three kata to adopt the half moon seishan stance, which is used almost entirely throughout the whole kata.
Again none of these are set in stone and will always be the subject of much debate and always will be, much like the never ending debate of bunkai. And so they should be. Just part of the fun of being a Karateka =)
Some good points there Mr Bedford. In relation to Bassai, the very first move is that of breaking down the defences, also some think that Bassai Sho can be taken to Penetrate the fortrss and rescue the prisoners as it has more slower flowing moves.
Seishan was renamed to Hangetsu by Funakoshi at some point and in Shotokan means half moon, which can also relate the number 13 by the 13 days being half the cycle of the moon.
Maybe this was topic of discussion for the forum.
Thanks again Mr Bedford for your insights.
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