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Zach_MB
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The most essential kata?

Over the past few months I’ve been doing some re-reading of essential karate books and whatnot. I developed a theory that Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is the most essential kata in karate as a whole. I have two main reasons for thinking this. Firstly, the etymology of both karatedo and Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai. And secondly, the clear influence of Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai on the Pinan/Heian series of kata.

Fig 1:

 “Reading Buddhist scriptures, we come across such statements as “Shiki-soku-ze-ku” and “Ku-soku-zeshiki” which literally mean, “matter is void” and “all is vanity.” The character ku, which appears in both admonitions and may also be pronounced kara, is in itself truth.” –Gichin Funakoshi Karate do: My Way of Life, 1959, Pg. 35.

In Fig. 1 we have a quote from Funakoshi describing the use of the character 空 and how it can be pronounced kara or ku. Nobody I know says kutedo but keep in mind that they are evidently the same word, pronounced differently.

Fig 2:

“The new character (空) for kara meant “empty” and can also be pronounced “ku” (void) and “sora” (sky).” –Patrick McCarthy Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat, 2008, Pg. 89.

Now in Fig. 2 we have McCarthy Hanchi backing up the kara/ku association and also throwing in a third reading of 空, sky.

Fig. 3:

唐 Kara/tou (Tang/China/Chinese)

手 Te/Di (hand)

道 Do/Doa (way/path)

空 Kara (empty) / Ku (void) / Sora (sky)

手 Te/Di (hand)

道 Do/Doa(way/path)

The figure above is a summarization of what was explained in fig.1 and fig. 2 along with some simpler, common place understandings of the words.

Fig. 4:

Kusanku Reference

http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/okinawa/digital_archives/pdfs/funakoshi-kyohon1935.pdf

Pg. 67

Fig. 5:

Karatedo Kyohan: Master Text for the Way of the Empty-Hand (Neptune Publishing, 2005 Ed). Gichin Funakoshi, Harumi Suzuki-Johnston. Pg. 52.

Figures 4 and 5 reference two versions of Karate Do Kyhon and its section on Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai. If you don’t have a copy of the Neptune Publishing version of the book, trust me when I say it’s the exact same picture that’s found in the Japanese version in fig.4. The important point here is the use of 空 below the pictures. I don’t have enough, or any, understanding of the layout of Japanese literature to say this without pause, but I do think that the kanji under the photo is referring to the name of the kata. My reason for this is that every picture from a single kata has a same set of symbols and they’re different for each kata.

Additionally, Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is commonly known as “Sky Gazing”

So what does all that mean? I think it’s evidence that if 空 手 道 can be read as Kara/Ku/Sora, Te/Di, Do/Doa and Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is referred to as “Sky-Gazing” that this kata was named as such to indicate its high level of relevance to the core of karatedo and that it contains most essential techniques in system.

Now to my second, and much shorter point. Anybody who knows the Pinans/Heians as well as some version of Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai can tell you that the latter has very heavy influence on the former. Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai makes up at least half of Pinan Shodan/Heian Nidan, a third of Pinan/Heian Yondan, and anywhere from a third to maybe even half of Pinan Godan (don't over think the percentages, I didn't). So, Itosu clearly put heavy influence on Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai when he was creating the Pinan series. That’s not to say that other kata didn’t influence the Pinanas/Heians, they clearly did, but the scales were heavily in favor on the Sky Gazing kata.

Let me know your thoughts on this! If I lectured this in front of our classes they would politely listen, but ultimately tune out 90% of what I said. I It's very possible that this has some major hole in it that I'm missing, but I figured the crew around here may have some input.

DaveB
DaveB's picture

I don't know anything about the linguistic elements, I thought kanku dai's centrality was well known.

The karate style passed down from Matsumura to his family still holds kushanku as the core of the system.

Funakoshi chose his 15 kata syllabus as an overview of karate meant to include the main methods used on Okinawa. If you look at Funakoshi's original syllabus order, kanku dai was the second or third kata.

The syllabus was ordered so that the primary kata of each group was first, so:

1. Pinan sho, primary and core of the Pinan style. 2. Tekki sho primary and core of the tekki style. 3. Kanku dai primary and core of what would be later called Shorin ryu - kanku dai, bassai dai, empi, hangetsu and chinto. (I personally think Jion and Jitte were a supplementary study.)

Maybe I've just had this idea knocking around so long I took it as established fact, but needless to say I agree. I think kanku dai is the foundation which the others are supposed to rest.

More than anything for me, kanku dai is about movement. You constantly use back/cat stance to shift your weight "voiding" your opponents attacks by not being there and using their force to throw them about so they "view sky" from their backs.

Commanding distance and creating openings with evasive footwork gives you the advantage needed to employ almost any strategy including those in the other kata.

Chikara Andrew
Chikara Andrew's picture

Whilst I don’t quite subscribe to the “one kata is a complete system” theory it is clear that karate developed from several sources and therefore several key kata. In some cases more than one kata is attributed to each source, and sometimes the same kata appears in more than one source.

To try and find a kata that encapsulates karate as a whole is, I believe flawed, karate is what it is because of its diversity.

Regarding the linguistic roots of Kushanku and kara/ku of karate one must be very careful, again I don’t profess to any great understanding of the linguistic side. However, the empty “kara” character was not used for karate until the turn of the 20th Century, and not widely accepted until much later. The various spellings, translations and interpretations of Kushanku come mainly from 20th Century sources. I have read some articles that argue if it was the name of a person at all, or rather the rank or position of that individual.

Whichever way we look at it Kushanku existed, as evidenced by the Oshima note and through others his techniques had a considerable influence on karate. Perhaps through the Pinan kata this influence is seen greater than it should be through modern eyes.

However to say that Kushanku was the cornerstone or central kata of karate as a whole is a step too far for me. There are branches of karate that don't use or feature Kushanku or the Pinan kata at all. 

 

Mark Powell
Mark Powell's picture

Essential –

adjective

absolutely necessary; indispensable

Quite obviously not! Ask any of the millions of Goju stylists worldwide for example.

My own lineage for coming from Kenwa Mabuni through Chōjirō Tani does not practice it although in the association I originally learned karate from a variation called Kosokun Shiho (please see here) was an optional kata at second dan.

At the moment I am cutting the number of kata I teach as I would like my students to study “narrow but deep” and not “wide and shallow” (thanks Funakoshi Sensei). When deciding which kata to ditch Kosokun was actually the easiest to pick because as you correctly point out you learn about 80% of the movements and I would argue all its principles by learning the Pinan kata’s.

Best regards,

Mark

ezzi91
ezzi91's picture

Mark Powell wrote:

Quite obviously not! Ask any of the millions of Goju stylists worldwide for example.

But if you think that way, which kata can be essential for both shuri and naha lineage?

Mark Powell
Mark Powell's picture

I honestly think the whole question is flawed: I do not believe any one kata is essential. In the old days apart from a few masters (who were mostly higher class and so had more time to practice karate) most karateka practiced one or two kata at most so how can any kata be essential?

If we ignore the modern kata’s (post 1900 or thereabouts) I believe each of the traditional kata to be a complete standalone recording of a fighting method and it’s a case of finding which methods work best for you as an individual and then practicing deeply.

ezzi91 wrote:
But if you think that way, which kata can be essential for both shuri and naha lineage?

Having said all of the above for the sake of discussion I would suggest the kata Seisan/Hangetsu to be a good candidate on the grounds it is common to virtually all styles and schools both Shuri and Naha. Let’s not forget the traditional kata existed long before the styles.

Regards,

Mark

Marc
Marc's picture

Zach_MB wrote:

Additionally, Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is commonly known as “Sky Gazing”

That's just the meaning of "Kanku" (観空): "Viewing the sky". It's the name that Funakoshi made up for the kata. It supposedly refers to the opening move of the kata which kind of looks like you're shading your eyes with your hands so you can look at something in the sky or in a distance. From the kanji it could also mean "seeing emptiness". But I'm pretty sure Funakoshi chose the name mostly because it was catchy. "Let's do this kata again where you, like, look at the sky at the beginning. Remember?".

Funakoshi was great at coming up with names for the different katas:

"Meikyo" (明鏡) meaning "mirror polishing", referring to the opening move in the kata where you first look at your hands like into a mirror and then flip your hands and do a gesture as if you were polishing something. Original name: "Rohai".

"Tekki" (鉄騎) meaning "iron horseman", referring to the horse-riding-stance used throughout the kata. Original name: "Naihanchi".

"Enpi" (燕飛) meaning "swallow flight", referring to the swift moves and sudden changes in height or direction in the kata, much like the flight of the bird. Original name: "Wanshu".

"Gankaku" (岩鶴) meaning "rock crane", usually translated as crane on a rock, referring to a particular posture within the kata which resembles a crane or storch standing on one leg. Original name: "Chinto".

"Hotaku" (鳳啄) meaning "woodpecker", referring to the one-finger-extended hand thrusts that are the signature move of this kata. Original name is "Gojushijo", which is still in use. "Hotaku" did not catch on.

Zach_MB wrote:
 

So what does all that mean? I think it’s evidence that if 空 手 道 can be read as Kara/Ku/Sora, Te/Di, Do/Doa and Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is referred to as “Sky-Gazing” that this kata was named as such to indicate its high level of relevance to the core of karatedo and that it contains most essential techniques in system.

OK, so the two words Karate (as 空手) and Kanku (観空) share a kanji. One which can have both mundane (empty, sky) and mystical (void) meaning. Still, I actually don't quite get what you're suggesting. Can you elaborate on it a little?  

Zach_MB wrote:

So, Itosu clearly put heavy influence on Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai when he was creating the Pinan series. That’s not to say that other kata didn’t influence the Pinanas/Heians, they clearly did, but the scales were heavily in favor on the Sky Gazing kata.

Surely Kushanku/Kanku-Dai is an important kata. It is practised in many styles. But the same is true for Naihanchi/Tekki-Shodan. It is very widely practised and, as far as I have seen, all the different versions look surprisingly similar.

As to the original question of which kata is essential to karate? I would ask back: Essential to whom?

I think, if you can learn all or most of the principles that work for you from a specific kata then that kata would be essential to your karate. For another person it might be another kata that teaches them the important principles in a way that that person can understand and put to use.

Historically, each kata was an essential kata. A kata is a recording of the essence of the fighting style of a particular karate expert. There were many experts, and each expert had their own fighting style. Therefore there were many katas recording their teachings - each of them essential.

So maybe we could rephrase the question as:

* Which kata is most essential to your individual way of karate?

* Which kata is most widely practiced across all styles?

* Which kata has best retained its original form throughout time and styles?

* Which kata is the most comprehensive one in terms of fighting principles recorded?

 

Mark B
Mark B's picture

Hi all

My thoughts on this subject (s)

Kata are basically a summary of a person or groups experiences.  It is widely accepted that Sanchin and Naihanchi serve as the "core fundamental " forms for Naha Te & Shuri Te respectively.  

However, as has already been stated, individual Kata existed long before the Okinawan "styles" & "systems".

Any given kata, in this case Kusanku, are a physical summary of the key principles . In the case of Kusanku the kata takes its name from the Chinese diplomat whose fighting style influenced Tode Sakugawa to record his ideas into a physical manifestation - Kata Kusanku.  The fanciful and poetic renaming of old Okinawan forms was undertaken by Funakoshi Gichin, partly to better interest the Japanese martial community  and partly due to his own poetic nature.

As for one kata that is most widely practiced across the various style divides I agree with Mark Powell in stating Seisan , as Seisan is a key form in almost all style systems.

I'm a firm believer in the "narrow and deep " principle,  and have been training that way for a good few years now. My practice consists of Naihanchi - which creates solid foundations of principles. We also study the Aragaki version of Seisan (it suits me) and Passai (because it is very different in its approach to Aragaki Seisan ).

Any given kata is a complete fighting system. I think if an individual understands the relatively narrow possibilities of habitual acts of physical violence they will most likely encounter (which the kata were designed for in the first place) then we can see that any of the kata contain more than enough information to competently prepare the individual for dire need and circumstance, the key is to understand what type of person you are, what your strengths and weaknesses are and consider which kata best serves your personal requirements .

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Zach_MB wrote:
So what does all that mean? I think it’s evidence that if 空 手 道 can be read as Kara/Ku/Sora, Te/Di, Do/Doa and Kusanku/Kushanku/Kanku-dai is referred to as “Sky-Gazing” that this kata was named as such to indicate its high level of relevance to the core of karatedo and that it contains most essential techniques in system.

I think you may be over thinking this. We do have a set of characters that were used for writing "Kushanku" (not just katakana as in most cases) and it is clearly an official title; with no rearrange to the sky etc. We need to be mindful of not superimposing fundamental meaning from Funakoshi's new names (as is often done with Passai / Bassai; Funakoshi may have used characters that make that sound (Bassai) which can be read as "storming a fortress" but there is no evidence that has anything to do with the original name or original intent of the kata for which we only have katakana writings). 

Most Japanese characters can be read in many different ways. As an example the "Wa" of Wado-Ryu can be read as both "peaceful" and "in the Japanese way". Therefore Otuska's Wado-Ryu was read as "The Japanese way" (which was the preferred reading before WW2) and "The peeacful way" (the preferred reading after WW2). Many languages are like this and English is a very "wordy" language by comparison. For example, German - which has far fewer words - uses the same word for both "Heaven" and "Sky". I'd therefore not read too much in to the fact the Japanses character for empty can also be read as void or sky.

Personally, I really like Funakoshi's names for techniques and kata because they can be quite poetic. In this case I think "View the sky" simply comes from the fact that Shotokan practitioners look upward when the hands are lifted on the first move. I don't see it has having more meaning than that.

It would be a stretch to say that Kushanku (the martial artist) was a karateka, but his student and creator of the "Kushaku" kata Tode Sakugawa certainly was ("Tode" being a nickname which is an alternative reading of "karate"). Many of the other kata come from Chinese sources which existed prior to the label of karate being applied to them. So you could make a case that Kushanku is the first karate kata (of the "Shuri-te line") but it is still make up of Chinese methods and I'd not see it as superior to any of the others or any kind of "master kata". Although it is certainly a great kata which I find to be very holistic and logically structured.

So a very important kata, and it could be argued it was the first karate kata proper, but I don't see that reflected in the name and I'd personally not put it above any of the others is terms of potency or inherent importance.

All the best,

Iain

Kevin73
Kevin73's picture

I think if you were going to pick an "essential kata", I would suggest Seisan.  It is in all 4 of the recognized okinawan karate styles (Shorin, Uechi, Goju, Isshin).