Park LaSalle School
190 Houde Drive

Monica's Danz Gym
Unit #4-25 Scurfield Blvd

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. 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.

Shotokan has 26 kata ( 5 Heian, 3 Tekki, 4 Sentei, and 14 advanced) There are 2 types of kata in Shotokan: Shorin and Shorei. Shorin teaches speed and agility where as Shorei focuses on power. The important elements in Kata are speed, timing, coordination, muscle expansion and contraction and the correct application of power and technique. At the end of this section you can watch the first seven kata (patterns) required of each student on their way to the black belt level in Shotokan Karate. Here is a basic historical background of the kata you will be watching.

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. Itosu was one of Funakoshi's instructors and ultimately influenced him a great deal. Because Itosu considered most kata too difficult for the public school curriculum, he developed five new forms he called Pinan, and introduced them to students at the rate of one per year. Itosu developed the Pinan series from a pair of uniquely different kata called Kusanku and Channan. While Kusanku is still practiced today in one form or another, the channan form is lost to history.

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 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 Bassaisho (Bassai minor). Bassai-dai was originally known 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 through the enemy's defenses by shifting and finding the weak points." Although this is not a literal translation, it is ultimately the true meaning of the kata.

ISKF Manitoba Events 2010

• February 11th – 13th

Y.Yaguchi Sensei's Seminars

• March 13th ( Saturday )

Stonewall Tournament

• May 5th – 7th

Y.Yaguchi Sensei's Seminars

• May 8th ( Saturday )

Manitoba Provincial Tournament

• May 21st – 24th

Canadian Western Tournament and Camp - Saskatoon

• June 11th – 18th

I.S.K.F. Master Camp - Green Lake, PA

• July 10th

Grand Beach Training (Picnic)

• July 29th – August 1st

Denver Camp at Greeley, Colorado

• Aug 12th – 15th

Pan American Tournament - Guyana

• August 19th – 21st

Y.Yaguchi Sensei's Visit

• September 11th ( Saturday )

I.S.K.F. Annual Pig Roast - Stonewall, Manitoba

• October 8th – 11th

I.S.K.F. Canadian National Tournament - Winnipeg, Manitoba

• November 11th – 13th

Y.Yaguchi Sensei's Visit