Bassai Dai is a Karate Kata (form) that literally means “to extract and block off” but this is taken to mean “to storm (penatrate) a fortress”s. Bassai dai is one of the variations of the Passai Kata that is practiced in many Karate styles including Shito Ryu, Shotokan and... more »
Bassai sho is a kata studied in many Karate styles and it belongs to the Bassai/Passai famly with Bassai Dai. There are many differing versions of Bassai in the various ryu, but we are fairly confident in ascribing Bassai-Sho to Master Itosu. The feel of this Kata is less obviously powerful than Bassai-Dai, being... more »
Chatanyara no Kushanku originates from Okinawa, but now from the area of Shuri. The name of this kata comes from the Chinese military man Kung Hsiang Chung, who has taught Sagukawa his art of fighting. Many of these “Chinese Masters” traveled through Japan to propagate their arts. Via Okinawa this kata arrived at the continent.... more »
Chintō (in Shotokan, “Gankaku“) is an advanced kata practiced in many styles of Karate. According to legend, it is named after a Chinese sailor, sometimes referred to as Annan, whose ship crashed on the Okinawan coast. To survive, Chintō stole from the crops of the local people. Matsumura Sōkon, a Karate master and chief... more »
Gojushiho is an old kata that is mentioned in the Bubishi (Old Chinese martial arts text). The name means “Fifty four steps” and is referred to in the Bubishi as “Fifty-four Steps of the Black Tiger”. The kata really shows the Chinese influences with it’s many circular hand movements, finger striking techniques and fluid... more »
Originally Learned by Master Mabuni Kenwa from Chinese Master Go Kenki. Master Go kenki made this kata thinking about the moves of a White Crane. The style of this kata is knwon as “Hakkutsuru Style” and it’s considered by many experts as the forgotten style of... more »
Jiin, Jion, and Jitte form a group of kata used in Shito Ryu and other karate styles, beginning with the same characteristic kamae of the left hand covering the right, which apparently has roots in ancient Chinese boxing. Their origin is thought to be from the Tomari-te school. Ji’in (translated: “Temple grounds”) is important for the... more »
Jion (translated: “Temple” or “Temple of love and goodness”) is a representative kata in the Shito Ryu system because of the importance of the perfection of the basic stances it contains, notably zenkutsu dachi (front stance) and kiba dachi (horse stance). [Source:... more »
The history of Jitte (ten hands) is very clouded, but most agree that the kata developed in Tomari, but probably originated in China. The kata has very moves, associated with defence against a staff. Jitte is a very smooth and flowing kata, with slow moves, suddenly exploding into fast, jitte also has two haito-uchi (ridge hand) attacks and an unusual... more »
Juni No Kata is a variation of the Taikyoku katas developed by Gichin Funakoshi sensei, they were developed as basic kata to prepare karate ka for the Pinan katas, there are three versions of the kata in Shito-Ryu Juni no Ichi, Juni no Ni and Juni no San all follow the same embusen with... more »
Juni No Kata is a variation of the Taikyoku katas developed by Gichin Funakoshi sensei, they were developed as basic kata to prepare karate ka for the Pinan katas, there are three versions of the kata in Shito-Ryu Juni no Ichi, Juni no Ni and Juni no San all follow the same embusen with the differences being in... more »
Juni No Kata is a variation of the Taikyoku katas developed by Gichin Funakoshi sensei, they were developed as basic kata to prepare karate ka for the Pinan katas, there are three versions of the kata in Shito-Ryu Juni no Ichi, Juni no Ni and Juni no San all follow the same embusen with the differences being in... more »
The word Juroku literally means ’16’ or ’16 hands’ and refers to the 16 different steps in the kata. There is no other meaning to this kata. It is a relatively modern kata developed by Kenwa Mabuni (1889 – 1952) with some help from his good friend Myiagi Sensei (1888-1953) founder of Goju Ryu... more »
Kenwa Mabuni (1889 – 1952) was one of the first karateka to teach karate on mainland Japan and is creditied as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū. Mabuni was born on november 14, 1889 at Okinawa, Shuri in Japan. Kenwa mabuni was descendant of the famous Onikusukuni samurai family. To improve his week body,... more »
Koshokun Dai is the Shito Ryu version of Kanku-Dai a popular kata in many schools of Karate descended from the Shorin style of karate practiced on Okinawa. The name, “Kosokun/Kusanku”, refers to the name of the Chinese diplomat from Fukien who is believed to have traveled to Okinawa and taught his system of fighting... more »
Kosokun Sho is the Shito Ryu version of Kanku Sho, which translates to mean ‘To view the sky minor’. This kata was created by Master Itosu, and was developed using Koshokun dai as the basis. There are fundamental similarities in the kata, one being the physical looking to the sky. In Dai, in the... more »
The name of this quick and fast kata literally means “to detain for a long time and suddenly rip apart”, however a more accurate/contextual translation would be “to restrain and destroy”. Kururunfa contains a wide variety of open-hand/hip coordination techniques that, depending on the circumstances, can either be interpreted joint locks, blocks or strikes or... more »