1 Kata to Rule Them All

[dancingalone]

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.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

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.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

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

 

[dancingalone]

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.

 

[K-man]

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.

 

[searcher]

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.

 

[Manny]

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

 

[dancingalone]

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.

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.

 

[Nomad]

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.

 

[seasoned]

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.

 

[rlp271]

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.

 

[Cirdan]

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.

 

[DragonMaster Jay]

What about Ananku?

 

[searcher]

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

 

[Mark Jordan]

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.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

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.

 

[searcher]

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.

 

[J Ellis]

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

 

[Brandon Fisher]

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.

 

[scottie]

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.