Kata Introduction

What is Kata?

Kata (choreographed fighting forms) are an integral part of karate training and have a history as full and as rich as karate itself. There are many different kata, as there are many different styles of karate. Some styles list as many as 60 different kata, some no more than 15.

In the Shotokan karate style, for example, there are well over two dozen kata, yet Shotokan founder Gichin Funakoshi espoused the philosophy that 15 kata are a lifetime's worth of practice.

Most of the kata taught and practiced in modern karate dojo (schools) are considered "traditional," meaning they embody the spirit and teachings of the original karate masters. A number of the kata practiced in today have their origins in China around the 16th century. Others were developed in Okinawa or Japan proper only a few decades ago. The majority of the kata taught today, however, are on average 75-100 years old.

These sample kata originated from two major Okinawan styles-Shorin–ryu and Shorei–ryu–which in turn were developed from a type of empty–hand combat training indigenous to Okinawa. The Shorin–ryu kata were designed to utilize quick, short techniques delivered with rapid, light movements. The kata developed from Shorei–ryu are generally strong forms with very "hard" techniques, performed out of powerful stances.

Taikyoku
Taikyoku, meaning "first cause", is a series of kata developed by Gichin Funakoshi after years of practice and study. He wanted to put together a set of forms that would enable the beginner to learn Shotokan basics–a sort of beginner's "first look" at the style. The Taikyoku kata are actually based on the Heian forms, but possess a few modifications. Although Taikyoku are known as Shotokan kata, they are found in many other styles and are considered simple to learn.

Heian
Known originally by the Okinawan name Pinan, Funakoshi is credited by many with being the first to refer to this kata series by the Japanese word Heian, meaning "peace of mind" or "peace and tranquility." The name change was likely due to the growing national spirit in Japan at that time, causing Funakoshi and others to change Pinan to a Japanese word.

The word Heian was chosen by Funakoshi to demonstrate a philosophy of being confident in one's karate abilities. The thought was that, if you mastered each of the five kata in the series, you could enjoy the peace of mind the kata afforded. Funakoshi also reversed the order of the first two kata in the original series.

The Pinan forms were developed by Okinawan master Yatsutsune Itosu (better known as Anko Itosu) for the Okinawan public school system and introduced them to students at the rate of one per year. Itosu was one of Funakoshi's instructors and ultimately influenced him a great deal.

Tekki
Tekki (iron horse) was originally referred to as the Naifanchi kata. As the name implies, this series of kata is performed exclusively out of a straddle or horse–riding stance (kiba–dachi). Naifanchi were originally the basic kata for the Shuri–te style. The originator of the first Tekki kata is unknown, but it is believed that Anko Itosu developed the second and third forms.

It was because of the perceived difficulty of the Tekki kata that Itosu decided to develop the Pinan (or Heian) series as the initial forms taught to Okinawan public school students.

Bassai–Dai
There are actually two forms of the Bassai Kata: Bassai–dai (bassai major) and Bassi–sho (Bassai minor). Bassai–dai was originally know as Passai–dai, but was more commonly referred to as Matsumura–No_Passai. The original Passai form was developed by Bushi (Sokon) Matsumura, and was one of the first kata taught to Anko Itosu. After years of practicing the kata, Itosu developed the Passai–sho form, which is seldom practiced today.

Even though the most common interpretation of Bassai is “to penetrate a fortress”, another translation gives a more descriptive definition of the intention of the kata. Because of the variety of techniques in the kata, one of the best interpretations of Bassai is “to break though the enemy’s defense by shifting and finding weak points”. Although this is not a literal translation, it is ultimately the true meaning of the kata.

Kanku–Dai
Kanku–dai is one of the oldest forms practiced today. The original name for this kata was Kusanku. Kusanku was a Chinese official and martial artist stationed in Okinawa. It is not know if he was sent to Okinawa by his government to spread martial arts, or was simply on a diplomatic assignment. Nevertheless, he eventually stayed in Okinawa for at least five years and taught karate to many individuals, the greatest of whom may have been Tode Sakugawa.

When Kusanku was transferred back to China, he left behind many students but only one official kata, which eventually was named after him. From this form, Sakugawa developed many others as he disseminated this early style of karate. It was, however, Anko Itosu, and not Sakugawa, who probably discovered the most from his practice of Kusanku. Around 1900, Itosu was asked to teach karate in the Okinawan school system. Because he thought the Kusanku kata was too difficult for elementary school children, he developed from Kusanku the Pinan kata series over a five year span. Kusanku ultimately became known as Kanku–dai when Funakoshi introduced it to his Japanese students. Kanku–dai means “to view the heavens”, which describes the opening move in the kata whereby the practitioner literally views the sky through his hands.