An Overview of Karate Kata. By, Jaden Taylor 1 st Kyu August 4, 2017

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1 An Overview of Karate Kata By, Jaden Taylor 1 st Kyu August 4, 2017

2 What does it mean to me to be a black belt? I have been training at the United States Academy of Martial Arts for over four years. I started training when I was five because my friends thought it would be fun. Eventually, one at a time they all left the dojo, except for me. To me being a black belt means you are now considered a teacher. It also means people look up to you, and want to follow your lead. Lower belt ranks will look up to me. Having a lot of dedication helps, but the biggest thing is that I can defend myself. Once I become a black belt, I can test any colored belt rank, and I am able to give a stripe to other students when they learn a requirement. You also get to study Bunkai, which is the analysis of karate kata. You are also able to instruct a class. When I become a black belt, Sensei will value my opinion because I have trained and worked very hard for over four years. Some stand out moments have been when I got a bronze metal in my first karate tournament, leading class as I have advanced, and being invited to four Team Ichiban teams. When I was a purple-white belt (10th kyu), I got punched in the stomach and it knocked the wind out of me, and that is something I will never forget. My mom started training in the Longevity Pathway program, and I am now able to sempai her. Another stand out moment is getting this far in my training to write this essay. Also, I will be the youngest black belt of our dojo. You have to work hard to earn a black belt. One out of ten thousand karate students earn a black belt. 90 percent of students quit because of the time and dedication it takes. One of the many requirements is to do 150 push ups and 200 sit ups, with five rounds of 30 seconds. Other requirements needed to earn a black belt are skill, leadership, and character. Learning karate terminology is also very important because Sensei will say some moves in Japanese. There are also 24 character trait definitions that you need to learn and use everywhere. Many people think that once you become a black belt, your journey is over, but not for me. My journey is just beginning.

3 Table of Contents Introduction... 1 Karate Kata Overview... 1 Kushanku - The Father of Karate Kata... 1 Kanga Sakukawa The Pirate Fighter... 2 Anko Itosu Creator of Pinans... 3 Modern Day Kata... 4 Conclusion... 4 References... 5 i

4 Introduction My name is Jaden Taylor, and I am currently nine years old. At the time of this project I will have been training in karate for over four years. The topic of my black belt report is about the history of karate kata. I chose this topic because katas are my favorite thing to do in class. I fell in love with the stories and legends spoke about in class, and wanted to explore these ideas further. In class, we learned about karate pioneers who established training concepts that became the building blocks for the art I study, and I wanted to learn more. I intend to explore important figures of karate whose influences shaped the art in long lasting ways. These individuals are Kushanku, Kanga Sakukawa, and Anko Itosu. Karate Kata Overview Karate is a martial art that focuses on hand to hand combat instead of weapons. Karate in English means empty hand. Karate is identified by its primary techniques, notably: punching, kicking, blocking, chops, as well as other self-defense moves. Katas are a pattern of karate techniques that help you learn the techniques. Katas were created to help karate students practice karate and practice techniques in such a way as to improve the following: Balance Focus Flow Kime (spirit) Snap Kushanku - The Father of Karate Kata Kushanku is considered by many to be the root from which the art of karate grew. Unfortunately, there is not much written information about his life. It is thought that much of the documents about him were destroyed during World War II. Below are some details about Kushanku that are generally considered as fact: Kushanku was born in 1670 in Quing, China. Kushanku died in

5 He lived 92 years. He was a Chinese martial arts expert. He is known for his ability against stronger and larger opponents. Kushanku was known to easily defend himself against bigger and stronger people. If someone was twice as big and twice as strong as him, he could handle them. One common opinion shared by karate experts is that one of Kushanku s notable students, Kanga Sakukawa, developed the Kushanku kata in his honor. Kushanku kata has an important part in a lot of karate styles, notably my style of a modified Shorin ryu. Choshin Chibana, and other karate masters, think that once you have mastered the Kushanku kata, you can defend yourself in any situation because the Kushanku kata includes 80 percent of offense and defense techniques and their applications. Kanga Sakukawa The Pirate Fighter Kanga Sakugawa was born in 1733 in the Ryukyu Kingdom, and died in Kanga Sakugawa was a Ryukyuan martial arts master and a major contributor to modern Karate. Kanga Sakugawa and Kushanku have an interesting history together. As legend states, Kanga Sakugawa saw Kushanku looking out on a bridge. As a prank, Kanga Sakugawa was about to push Kushanku off the bridge. Kushanku stepped to the side and grabbed Kanga Sakugawa. Kushanku got mad at Kanga Sakugawa and scolded him about respecting one s elders. From that point, Kanga Sakukawa spent six years training with Kushanku. After Kushanku died it is thought that Kanga Sakugawa developed the Kushanku kata to honor his teacher. In the 1790 s, Kanga Sakugawa was appointed by the government to protect ships. He was successful in saving the ships he was protecting from pirates. Because of this, Kanga Sakugawa was known as a pirate fighter. 2

6 Anko Itosu Creator of Pinans Anko Itosu was born in 1831 in Gibo Village, Shuri, Ryukyu Kingdom, and he died on March 11, 1916 in Shuri, Okinawa, Japan 1. Matsumara Sokon, one of the original karate masters of the Ryukyu Islands (now Okinawa), was Anko Itosu s teacher and a student of Kanga Sakugawa. Anko Itosu developed the Pinan katas. When he was a part-time teacher at To-te at Okinawa s First Junior Prefectural High School, he taught the students the Pinan katas as a way to teach the Kushanku kata because he found Kushanku kata to be too hard for the school kids to learn. After the kids learned all five of the Pinan katas, they were prepared to learn the Kushanku kata. The Pinan katas in one form or another have become a staple for nearly all karate styles that followed. Below is a list of the five Pinan katas: Pinan Shodan (Peaceful Mind #1) Pinan Nidan (Peaceful Mind #2) Pinan Sandan (Peaceful Mind #3) Pinan Yodan (Peaceful Mind #4) Pinan Godan (Peaceful Mind #5) One of Anko Itosu s notable students, Gichin Funakoshi, switched the original Pinan Nidan and Pinan Shodan because he thought our modern Pinan Nidan was too hard to be the first Pinan kata. Gichin Funokoshi is the Founder of Shotokan Karate-Do, the most widely known style of karate, and is attributed as being the father of modern karate. 1 In 1879, Japan declared its intention to annex the Ryukyu Kingdom. Japan annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom as the Okinawa Prefecture. 3

7 Modern Day Kata Over the years karate styles have grown and developed different versions of the base katas discussed in this project. Some styles have evolved to show their assimilation into the Japanese culture, while others reflect the intentions of their founders. For example, in Pinan Yodan our dojo starts the first sequence slower to emphasize breathing concepts incorporated from various other martial arts styles studied by one of our dojo founders. As traditionally taught, some dojos start Pinan Yodan faster. In Kushanku kata, some dojos start with a different stance. Our dojo starts Kushanku kata in a horse stance when others start in Heiko-dachi (feet apart stance [shoulder width]). Now, katas have even been developed into sporting events called karate tournaments, and karate students can compete in kata events. In 2020 karate will be in the Summer Olympics, and kata will be one of the events. Conclusion From this project I hope you learned more about the history of karate kata. Kushanku, Kanga Sakukawa, and Anko Itosu are important figures in the development of karate kata. Kushanku was a Chinese martial arts expert, and is known for his ability against stronger and larger opponents. Kanga Sakukawa developed the Kushanku kata in his teacher s honor. Anko Itosu developed all five of the Pinan katas. If it wasn t for this project, I would not have learned so much about these karate figures. Finding out that Kushanku could defend himself against bigger and stronger people was interesting. Another thing I found interesting was that Pinan Nidan is the second Pinan kata, when it was originally the first. The last thing I found interesting was that Kanga Sakukawa was a pirate fighter. Karate is a style of martial arts that offers a training method where students can practice their techniques without a partner. Some dojos teach their katas differently because they have different intentions. 4

8 References Cummings, William and Robert Scaglione. Shorin-Ryu. Okinawan Karate Question and Answer Book Field, Cliff. M.D. The Heart of the International Karate League Websites: Chibana, Choshin. January 22, 2017 Funakoshi, Gichin. January 22, History of the Ryukyu Islands. July 17, Itosu, Anko. en.wikiedia.org/wiki/ank%c5%8d_itosu. December 21, Karate in the Ryukyu Kingdom. resources. July 4, Kushanku. December 21, Sakugawa, Kanga. January 22, Yara, Chatan. January 22, Personal Communications: Sensei Daniel Cavaliere 5