# 1 Kata to Rule Them All



## dancingalone (Aug 24, 2010)

Suppose you had a nontraditional dojo environment where it is not practical to teach the entire full set of kata.  Nonetheless you want to base all the lessons from kata, taking individual technique drills as well as 2 man drills from them.

Which kata would you choose and why?  I'm especially interested in responses from the Shuri-based styles.  And for the record, I like Pinan Yodan or Passai/Bassai.


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## Bill Mattocks (Aug 24, 2010)

Naihanchi, aka Tekki.  It was thought of as so important by Isou Sensei that he made Funakoshi Sensei practice it exclusively for almost a decade (or so I have read).  It has also been said that it was the only kata that Choki Motobu knew; he was clearly an effective fighter.


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## Brandon Fisher (Aug 24, 2010)

You could make a curriculum out of any of these kata in my opinion:
Naihanchi, Passai, or Kusanku


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## dancingalone (Aug 24, 2010)

Brandon Fisher said:


> You could make a curriculum out of any of these kata in my opinion:
> Naihanchi, Passai, or Kusanku



Thanks, Brandon.  I don't like the dive to the floor in Kusanku, but that's merely a personal preference.


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## K-man (Aug 24, 2010)

I'm keen on Naihanchi too. In the concept of one kata fits all, it may be a little limited.
From Goju, Seiyunchin has lots to offer as well. It's advantage is that there are more moves and many applications that would allow you to teach it for years without running it dry.


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## searcher (Aug 24, 2010)

WOW, that is a crazy good question.    I am not sure I could pick just one, but I will give a few: Kusanku, Seisan(maybe my 1st choice), Sunsu, or Niseishi.


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## Manny (Aug 25, 2010)

Dancingalone, I can't vote here cause I'm a tkd man but want to tell you I like the karate kata more then the korean poomsae (taeguk), I just simple love the way the karateka do their katas, maybe the low stances, maybe the quickness of their hands, so this leave me with the followin question: How dificult will be for me to learn and perform to certain degree of sucess one or two karate katas, the more representatives.

Some days ago I sent an email to my Karateka friend (shyto ruy) Daniel asking him to teach me one or two katas because believe me I really like those katas, however don't know if only practicing them will be enough or should I get more deep inside karate to made the katas well.

Manny


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## dancingalone (Aug 25, 2010)

Manny said:


> Dancingalone, I can't vote here cause I'm a tkd man but want to tell you I like the karate kata more then the korean poomsae (taeguk), I just simple love the way the karateka do their katas, maybe the low stances, maybe the quickness of their hands, so this leave me with the followin question: How dificult will be for me to learn and perform to certain degree of sucess one or two karate katas, the more representatives.



I think you could pick up 1 or 2 fairly easily, at least in terms of choreography.  Afterwards, it takes years to bring a kata to a decent level of performance and that's without thinking about adding in the two man drills to help you understand what each movement can mean.

I would suggest you learn Naihanchi Shodan called Chul Gi Chodan in Korean Karate groups.  It's a fine pattern that teaches you how to generate short distance power and it has good grappling applications if your teacher can show them to you.  It would be a good connection for you as well through your Ji Do Kwan link.



Manny said:


> Some days ago I sent an email to my Karateka friend (shyto ruy) Daniel asking him to teach me one or two katas because believe me I really like those katas, however don't know if only practicing them will be enough or should I get more deep inside karate to made the katas well.



This might be a good idea.  Learn kata like Naihanchi from him which really don't vary too much across systems.  I would stay away from the forms which he would undoubtedly teach with a heavy Shito-ryu flavor like the most of the Pinan introductory forms (unfortunately) or any of the specific kata that Mabuni Kenwa created himself.


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## Nomad (Aug 25, 2010)

Sanchin has a lot to offer, but I don't think I'd like to base the training solely on it.  Maybe a combination of Sanchin and Kusanku... these would cover a heck of a lot of techniques and concepts between them.


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## seasoned (Aug 25, 2010)

Nomad said:


> Sanchin has a lot to offer, but I don't think I'd like to base the training solely on it. Maybe a combination of Sanchin and Kusanku... these would cover a heck of a lot of techniques and concepts between them.


You are very correct about Sanchin having a lot to offer. Chojun-Miyagi felt it was so important that he taught it to all new students for their first "3" years. I also like Kururunfa kata.


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## rlp271 (Aug 26, 2010)

I'm a big fan of Naifanchi as well.  Looks like most on here are.  I like Wansu a lot.  There's a lot of stuff in there, and if you want to take the basic techniques only, they aren't so bad.  A few angular movements followed by punches, knees, elbows, basic front and side kicks.


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## Cirdan (Aug 27, 2010)

I`d go with Kushanku, it contains a lot of material and is often considered the central kata of Wado.

Other choises would be Chinto (my teacher keep saying my agressive style fits Kushanku better, guess I am not gracious enough to look good as a crane :wah, Pinan Sandan and Pinan Yondan.

I recently recently had my first lesson in Rohai and love it. Not sure if I`d pick it for this purpose, perhaps when I know it better.


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## DragonMaster Jay (Aug 27, 2010)

What about Ananku?


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## searcher (Aug 27, 2010)

I think I also want to throw out Sochin.    It has some very good stuff in there and is a beautiful kata.


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## Mark Jordan (Aug 27, 2010)

First thing that came to me was Naihanchin but then thought it might be too advanced for beginners so I switched to Pinan series because these are often the first katas taught in most modern dojos and it is coherent.


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## Brandon Fisher (Aug 27, 2010)

searcher said:


> I think I also want to throw out Sochin. It has some very good stuff in there and is a beautiful kata.


 
Which version of Sochin? The one done by the Kyudokan in Okinawa is so different from the Shotokan version.


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## searcher (Aug 28, 2010)

Brandon Fisher said:


> Which version of Sochin? The one done by the Kyudokan in Okinawa is so different from the Shotokan version.


 

Funny you should ask and stupid of me to not list it.      I have done the Chito-ryu version(I was told it is the original Arakaki version) and the Shotokan version and I much prefer the Shotokan version.    

I feel more rooted in the Shotokan version and it have a better feel for me.


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## J Ellis (Aug 28, 2010)

This thread has been very interesting and helpful to me. Thanks for sharing it.


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## Brandon Fisher (Aug 28, 2010)

searcher said:


> Funny you should ask and stupid of me to not list it. I have done the Chito-ryu version(I was told it is the original Arakaki version) and the Shotokan version and I much prefer the Shotokan version.
> 
> I feel more rooted in the Shotokan version and it have a better feel for me.


I have done and know a version of the shotokan version not quite the same but have only seen the aragaki sochin.  I like how the aragaki sochin moves but not sure about its feel.


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## scottie (Aug 30, 2010)

rlp271 said:


> I'm a big fan of Naifanchi as well.  Looks like most on here are.  I like Wansu a lot.  There's a lot of stuff in there, and if you want to take the basic techniques only, they aren't so bad.  A few angular movements followed by punches, knees, elbows, basic front and side kicks.



I agree with this. Wansu has a lot to offer Knee strikes, side kicks, front kicks (cat stance), Throws, and......  I think the great thing about this kata is that, it is simple to begin learning. It was the only kata that was taught in my first school. That is another story altogether.


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## dancingalone (Aug 30, 2010)

Is this the Aragaki Sochin you guys are talking about?

[yt]ZbhD-GiYJvs[/yt]

Interesting display of shaking jing...


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## Brandon Fisher (Aug 30, 2010)

Yes it is the one I was thinking of


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## Grenadier (Aug 30, 2010)

If you're going to place a premium on one particular kata for the bulk of your students, it should be one that everyone is capable of doing.  Not everyone is going to have the dexterity to pull off a dynamic kata the likes of Empi, Unsu, etc, and not everyone is going to have a set of knees that can tolerate the extended use of fudo-dachi in Sochin, or ankles and calves that can stand the extended use of neko dachi in Gojushiho Dai.  

Thus, something the likes of Kanku Dai / Kusanku, Jion, etc., can be quite practical in this regards.  If anything, it allows everyone to standardize their techniques (or at least as reasonably best as possible), without creating doubts about their ability to perform them.  

This is why I actually like the use of Shitei kata in competition, since almost all of those 8 kata (maybe Chinto being the exception) are something that anyone can do.


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## angrywhitepajamas (Sep 15, 2010)

The Uechiryu Sanchin kata, 
 it covers defense first, then offense, correct body alignment, breathing, gaze control.
it is also easier to teach to someone who is not in peak physical shape.


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