Pinan / Heian kata; what's so special about them?

Hi Ken,

all Kata are important as we know, for the Pinan / Heian Kata's being important is that they are pretty basic and form a good concrete foundation for ones Karate. However, a single Kata can do this and take a lifetime of study, also as we know a single Kata is a complete fighting system in its self.

There really is no need to learn Kushanku if one knows the Pinan / Heian Kata and the other way round, its purely an individuals choice or if they have to do it as part of their syllabus etc.

Are the Pinan / Heian Katas the core of Karate, they are if you make them, or as you stated above with the few Kata that you study, these are the core to your Karate. With Kata its vital you make it your own and as long as it works for you and one is confident that they can defend themselves with the Bunkai that is contained then job done.

I feel to many people sometimes get to concerned or worry what other Karate-Ka are doing and feel they have to know lots of Kata, and as we know is pointless if one does not understand the Kata's etc, always trust in the quality of your Karate / Kata, not quantity.

Hope this is of some help : )

Kind regards,

Jason

Hi,

how important are the Pinan/Heian-Gata? As Jason wrote, they are as important as you make them to your Karate.

I think the widely use of the Pinan/Heian-Gata is due to the fact, that they were introduced by Itosu in 1904 and in 1905 Karate became mandatory in the schools of Okinawa. Practically every child learned them in school. Some of them even became instructors themselves. Before them Itosu used the Naihanchi series and his Rohai series of Kata. They also learned other Shorin Ryu Kata. 

Funakoshi like his teachers Asato and Itosu thought there were two kinds of Karate. The Shorei Ryu suited for huge people with strong rooted stands and powerfull punches (but lacking speed and evasional movements) and Shorin Ryu for small or skinny people with all the fast swift movements emphasising on the method (but lacking in power and the ability to take a few shots). Funakoshi saw the Shorei Ryu approach in Itosu represented by the Naihanchi series and the Shorin Ryu approach in Asato represented by the Pinan series.

He thought is was essential to know the strenghts and weaknesses of both styles thats why he chose both the Naihanchi and the Pinan as basics for those two technical approaches.

So the Pinan/Heian series is as special as any other Kata. It teaches a certain technical approach. Other Kata do teach other things. Compare the embusen of Naihanchi and the Pinan and you'll notice a major difference.

Thats how I see it.

Regards Holger

Hi

I know Iain has written about this at length and there was a long discussion on this very topic on the old forum that had lots of interesting posts.  I wrote a short article on the subject about seven years ago for Combat Magazine which is hosted on my information hub.  Posted below:

BEGINNERS WORK? WHY WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME ON THE HEIAN FORMS

Approximately three years ago I was chatting with a well known senior martial artist and I mentioned that I had put together a flow system for the Heian Kata, teaching students how to flow from one move to another within the techniques of the five steps in response to habitual acts of violence. “Now do the same for Bassai or Kanku Dai,” my friend replied. I mention this because it would seem to me that there is an unspoken implication in that reply, that the Heian are ‘okay’, but they are beginners forms – you should be working on the real deal. It is an assumption that I disagree with and the purpose of this article is to explain why.

My previous article on the Heian forms looked at what we know of their history. In their present five stage form they are at least one hundred and five years old. The kata upon which they are based, Chiang Nan, and/or Kushanku and Bassai/Passai is at least two hundred and fifty years old, The survival of the moves from these forms suggest to me that it must have held great value for generations of martial artists.

In their present form the Heian are taught as beginners Kata. We are aware that some techniques have been simplified or altered for teaching purposes by Anko Itosu. But what is a beginners form? A few simple techniques to keep them busy until they are good enough to learn the real stuff? On the contrary, I would argue that it is the beginners forms that are the real stuff, the core of Karate. The later forms that are studied in lesser or greater numbers are merely additions, variables, to this core.

So what do the Heian forms teach us? 

On the defensive front we can see footwork that teaches us how to move inside, round or through an attack as well as shifting offline. There are flinch reactions to deal with high level and middle level attacks, not only punches but also low and high level wrist grabs, pushes, lapel grabs and head butts. In addition to this there are moves that can defend against less common attacks such as headlocks, attempted full nelson holds and even drunken tackles.

On the offensive front that these Kata take on a frightening aspect. Using the fists, blade of the hand, forearm and the elbows there are potential strikes to the arms, chest, neck, jawline, inner thigh and back. There are throws that take the balance from below the centre and throws that take the balance from above. There is stepwork that trains practitioners to unsettle their assailant’s balance by bumping into the inside of the thigh with the knee at Sp10 and on the outside of the thigh at GB32, usually combined with high and mid level attacks. There are kicks – some of which seem to be aimed at the groin or lower abdomen, others which seem to attack the weakest points of the leg (again in conjunction with upper level attacks) and knee strikes. There are strikes that can be followed through with holds, strangles and head locks. There are straight arm bars and s bend locks. Many of the offensive techniques use proprioceptive striking and the sequence of many moves suggest alternative techniques as redundancies in the event that the initial attack has not had the desired result. 

It is true that the techniques of the Heian seem to be blunter and lack the finesse of ‘more advanced’ Kata. This is a positive rather than a negative factor. Under pressure our awareness is reduced and our ability to use complex motor skills are diminished. As a fighting core we need to be able to use techniques involving natural defence reflexes that use the blunt tools of the forearm and elbow. Can you see the pattern here? Gedan Barai, Age Uke, Shuto Uke, Uchi Uke… The pattern I see is called the HeIan.

Anko Itosu changed the name of the form from Chiang Nan to Pinan, Peaceful Mind. Mastery of the Heian Kata should bring a peaceful mind since they are truly a beginner’s kata. The first thing I want my beginners to be able to do is to deflect attacks and counterattack. The Pinan/Heian Kata teach students how to do this. But they go further, they teach even more important basic principles: free flowing movement, multi-level striking, unbalancing, combining percussive and grappling techniques, vital point striking, technique redundancy… 

Beginners need the same things that advanced martial artists need – a training regime that teaches them how to fight effectively. The Heian/Pinan Kata, practiced with intent (and if possible with a partner), provide that routine. They are not merely a stepping stone to more advanced Kata, they are at once both the advanced and the basic kata – the core system that most karate styles are based on. 

The conversion of Karate from a fighting system to a martial way or sporting activity has resulted in many of the lessons of the Pinan/Heian set going unregarded and untaught. It is small wonder that many Karate styles sought out extra Kata – they were seeking a stimulation, fighting ability and technical knowledge that a deeper study of their core Kata would have provided – had they been taught it as anything more than a form of physical exercise.

I’ll be training later today. The Kata I’ll be picking to reinforce my ability is the Heian. 

john titchen

ky0han wrote:

... Funakoshi saw the Shorei Ryu approach in Itosu represented by the Naihanchi series and the Shorin Ryu approach in Asato represented by the Pinan series.

Hi Holger

just a brief question of clarity...I though Itosu developed the Pinan series?

Cheers

Tom

Hi Tom,

that is correct. Itosu formulated the Pinan series.

It might be a bit confusing, but when you look at Funakoshis classification of Kata he puts the Pinan into the Shorin column. The Shorin approach closer resembles  the technical approach of Asato. If I remember right Asato mocked on Itosu that Itosus fists are strong but that he will never be able to hit him. That said does'nt mean that Itosu never used or taught evasive movements.

Regards Holger

Excellent responses so far, thanks.

So with regards to schools like Goju Ryu and Ashihara, Enshin Karate and Daiko Juku etc, where they don't include the kata does this mean they are lacking something because they're not practiced?

On the one hand, a great deal of the techniques found in the Pinan series can be found in Passai, Kusanku and Chinto, so you could get more "bang for your buck" by learning those three kata than the five Pinan kata. On the other hand, however, the way that Itosu put the Pinan series together gives them additional (and useful) applications that are not found in Passai, Kusanku or Chinto. I think that, in the end, it really comes down to where you see the most value.

I go back-and-forth on this subject, personally, because I have found a lot of great applications in the Pinan kata--more than in Passai, Kusanku or Chinto, to be honest--but I also know that there is so much more for me to learn about all of my kata that I'm not really educated enough to make the decision on which kata are best for me. If I were to pick one set of kata right now, I would probably chose Naihanchi Shodan, Passai Dai and Seiunchin, but that could change on any given day :P.

Hello

Short question: have you ever tried to teach CHILDREN directly a kata like Kanku or Bassai or ... after let say.. 1-2 weeks of practice? Even with applications? I have tried (experimented more like .. :) ) and it was a disaster (but much fun also). To do so i had to turn to the aikijutsu/jujutsu/judo side of fight and they were not prepared for the karate jutsu mixup. Maybe it was my lack of experience at fault.  

Maybe the Pinan/Heian kata (if you use the on/kun reading) means also "safe from harm"? If so, maybe they are very good combative manuals, especialy if you use karate strikes with jujutsu grappling/imobilisations (Shotokan Secret - Expandet edition- Bruce Clayton)?

Also we cannot teach the children directly the combat meaning of martial arts, we need to "watter down" the lessons.

For my personaly is better to try to decypher the meanings of "advanced kata and bunkai" but for children I don't think it is the case.

About the okinawan karate - i haven't seen many textbooks with 'real karate', the karate used before 1900 and with details of the meaning of tehnics, combat, strategies, so i must use what i have. No offense, but if someone tells me his master's master was NOT Itosu, Higashionna or one of their students and want to share his knowledge with us, i am very skeptic. "It was a family secret" means most of the time "i have invented it".

Can someone point out a good karate book/video featuring an okinawan/japanese senseithat can enlighten me/us?

I have seen "Classical Shuri-Te Karate Kata " and ...surprise: the attacker is comming from 1.x meter from zenkutsu dachi with jodan oizuki. So ... i don't know. Someone can help me please to understand the "real karate"?

Black Tiger wrote:

So with regards to schools like Goju Ryu and Ashihara, Enshin Karate and Daiko Juku etc, where they don't include the kata does this mean they are lacking something because they're not practiced?

I don’t think any style that does not have those kata is missing anything. When the whole training approach is looked at is the result holistic, well structured and pragmatic? That's all that really matters. To me, the Pinan series and the associatied two-person drills we use are a key part of what we do. If I was to stop doing them then there would be a big gap in our training that would need to be filled in some other ways. And those other ways could be every bit as valid.

I like the Pinan series and feel they make a vitally important contribution to the overall approach. However, another group would not feel the same way seeing as their approach was different. To quote Kris Wilder from a personal conversation with me, “You don’t put Ford parts on a Peugeot car”.  Different approaches require different things in order to function most effectively. There is no need to force the Pinans in where they are not needed.

All the best,

Iain

ky0han wrote:

Hi Tom,

that is correct. Itosu formulated the Pinan series.

It might be a bit confusing, but when you look at Funakoshis classification of Kata he puts the Pinan into the Shorin column. The Shorin approach closer resembles  the technical approach of Asato. If I remember right Asato mocked on Itosu that Itosus fists are strong but that he will never be able to hit him. That said does'nt mean that Itosu never used or taught evasive movements.

Regards Holger

Thanks for that Holger..

your comments are interesting.. not sure i agree with Funakoshi though ...

I know that Iain has mentioned a number of times that there is a description of Itosu's fighting style where his opponents end up face down on the ground.... suggesting that his approach is to control and manipulate his opponents such that their heads are dropped and he is able to punch to the back of the neck/jaw -  resulting in the opponent being knocked face down.

This kind of fits with the a number of obvious application principles in the Pinan's - there are a significant number of applications that require slipping to your opponents outside, applying an arm lock to cause the opponents to drop their head and then a follow up with a finishing strike.

It would seem odd to classify the Pinans as Asato's style when they were designed by Itosu's to (I assume ) pass on his own core fighting principles...? 

Hi Tom,

Funakoshis classification of Kata is the oldest form of classification I know. It was not made up by him. He took that from both of his teachers. By technical approach I don't mean the methods shown in the Kata. Those methods are Itosus in terms of how to manipulate an opponent to land clear shots.

You can exercise a Kata of the Shorin category in a Shorei manner and vice versa. So you can use the technical approach of Itosu to train the Pinan-Gata or the approach of Asato. By technical approach I refer to things like power generation etc. Every teacher has his own technical approach towards those things. When you are an adept of Shotokan it is for example a huge difference between teachers like Asai Tetsuhiko and Nishiyama Hidetaka. By the way Asai compiled a lot of Kata that fitted his approach and methods (style if you will) more than the "traditional" Kata of the Shotokan curriculum.

I hope that it is a bit clearer now.

Regards Holger

Hi Holger

Yes thanks, that makes much more sense... I did not pickup on the sublety of your distinction between the Shorin and Shorei kata.

Was the catagorisiation of the particular shotokan kata into either  the shorin and shorei schools a  direct result of the duel influence on Funakoshi of Asato and Itosu?  Maybe to the extent that those were the particular kata's they taught to Funakoshi?...or is that just a correlation?

...either because both the sensei lived in the particular areas where those styles of China-hand were prevalent? or they were of the particular size and shape that suited or it was post-fact, ie. some of the kata are classified Shorin because they look "light and agile" vs other that look "rooted"?

Sorry to bombard you with questions.. I think this is facinating. 

Cheers

Tom

Hi Tom,

Th0mas wrote:

Was the catagorisiation of the particular shotokan kata into either  the shorin and shorei schools a  direct result of the duel influence on Funakoshi of Asato and Itosu?  Maybe to the extent that those were the particular kata's they taught to Funakoshi?

as I said. Both Asato and Itosu distinguished two kinds of Karate. Itosu in his 1908 letter and Asato in an interview with Funakoshi in 1902 that was published in 1914 as a three parted article in the Ryukyu Shinpo. In that article Asato also said that it happens to be that the Shorei type is more often practised in the Naha region and the Shorin more often in the Shuri region. Maybe thats the reason for the huge misconception of Naha Te being Shorei Ryu and Shuri Te being Shorin Ryu. He also states that Shorei is better suited for strong, heavy people like Ason and that Shorin Ryu is a better fit for skinny people. That was clearly passed on to Funakoshi. Unfortunatly Itosu never explained the difference, he just mentioned both kinds of Karate.

Funakoshi learned Pinan from Itosu which he puts in the Shorin column. He learned Seisan (Hangetsu) from Asato which he puts in the Shorei column. The exact classification is Funakoshis own in my eyes. What's interesting about it is that this seemed to change back and forth over the years which is fuel for his critics. But back then it might easily can be a printing error due to the fact that printing books in japanese in the 1920s was a real pain in the a*$ and the books from back then are full of such errors.

Empi    Shorei (1922)    Shorei (1925)    Shorin (1935)
Gankaku    Shorei (1922)    Shorin (1925)    Shorin (1935)
Jitte    Shorei (1922)    Shorin (1925)    Shorei (1935)

Th0mas wrote:

...either because both the sensei lived in the particular areas where those styles of China-hand were prevalent? or they were of the particular size and shape that suited or it was post-fact, ie. some of the kata are classified Shorin because they look "light and agile" vs other that look "rooted"?

Itosu was described to have a chest like a barrel so he had the strengt and physical attributes that Asato saw fit for the Shorei type. As far as I know both lived in the Shuri region. I don't know on what facts Funakoshi finally came to his conclusion and if the above mentioned changes came through changes of heart or printing errors so I can't tell.

Regards Holger

Hi Holger

Once again, thank you for putting in the time to answer my question.

Having read your response about the switching of kata between the Shorei and Shorin catagories, I was wondering if that had anything to do with the changes in how Kata were beginning to be perceived as a more visual solo form rather than the more traditional functional application perspective, as Karate became "Japanasized"... 

...although having said that I would ague that Empi and Gankaku would, from a purely form-based perspective, fit in the Shorei catagory rather than the Shorin they ended up in 1935.

Quote "Gankaku is a girls kata" 

Good posts from everyone

But Holgar & Thomas, we know where the kata comes from, appreciate you clarification, but what are YOUR thoughts on the original question?

If i remember my history correctly before the late 1800's there were few basic kata, kata was more geared as an individual style. So the styles was incorporated into the kata. The pinan / heian kata was created to make it simpler for the introduction to the schools system. and is a simpler representation of more advance kata, besides the more lethal techniques supposedly removed. Itosu broke apart a few advance kata, and simplified them. rohai series, naihanchin/tekki series.

Bunkai/oyo wise understanding the pinan / heian, helps to understand more advance kata. As well as gives you an understanding of them better.

Many styles incorporate the pinan / heian kata. Do you absolutely need them? In my opinions no. but for children and beginners it does make it easier.

The old masters would consider each kata a style in themselves so how many kata do you really need.

Hi,

my thoughts to the original questions are:

You don't really need the Pinan-Gata and you don't miss out when not using them.

But as Kokoro wrote, they make a good introduction to higher Kata. The Gekisai Dai Gata were also formulated to serve as a kind of introduction to the higher Kata. There are also a lot of Taikyoku versions in Goju Ryu and Shotokan with the same purpose.

Regards Holger

Hi  Black-tiger

Sorry did not mean to hyjack your thread.

Personally, I practice the heian kata more often than any others.. that is purely a legacy thing.  From a fighting strategy point of view, we are (well most of us) made up of two arms, two legs a head and a body, and there can be only a finite number of "general" tactics and techniques... I absolutely think that what is provided in the heians/pinans is repeated elsewhere.

Cheers

Tom