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Background

I have practiced Wado Ryu about 5 years in Sweden.
finished with orange belt working for green. But for problems with stress and my left knee, I had to stop sometimes after 2003.
Now in autumn 2019, I have started from the beginning  with Shotokan Karate  in the Karate academy on Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy.
I will build site  this site in a similar way as the html site I created years ago about Wadoryu karate. Click here to open it.

     

About Kata

Kata (Japanese?, or more traditionally, ?; lit. “form”) is a Japanese word describing detailed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. (Source: Wiki) Kata were probably developed as solo forms in China and later on Okinawa, to learn and remember the many useful attack and defence drills.

Chinese kata
years indicate when these came to Okinawa

    • Peichin Takahara (1683-1760),
    • Matsumura S?kon (1809-1899),
    • Sakugawa Kanga (1733-1815),
    • Seisho Aragaki (1840-1918),
    • Kanryo Higaonna (1853-1915),
    • Kanbun Uechi (1877-1948),
    • Ch?jun Miyagi (1888-1953)

( Source: www.thekaratelifestyle.com )

Development of kata on Okinawa

Chinese martial artists teached hundred of years ago the Ryukyu Kingdom (today called Okinawa) native aristocrats, the so called Yukatchu. 

Two events that triggered the development of Karate

    1. When 1477 the king Sho Shin  prohibited the carrying of swords in public and ordered the storage of weapons for the royal court in warehouses
    2. The Japanese Satsuma clan invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom

These two events made the Yukatchu deepen their Karate technique with visits in China and letting the Ryukyu natives train karate in secret with farming tools as weapons ( Read more in www.thekaratelifestyle.com )

There are many Katas

.A nice table with all the Katas in available here.

About mastery and kata

‘Some falsely believe that mastery and progress comes
by knowing as many kata as possible…
One must remember that it is quality over quantity
when practicing any kata.’

Otsuka Sensei

   

Why Kata?

Martin Jutras explains it well on his site
www.thekaratelifestyle.com

A Sensei explains it well this youtube

Six principles for Kata

  • The cata must be alive with emotion and determination
  • Act with empathy
  • Apply varied strength, sometimes strong, sometimes soft.
  • Perform at different speeds, sometimes fast, sometimes slow
  • The breathing must be rhythmic
  • Balance must be maintained throughout Katan

Click here for the list of katas I am working with
(I keep this page private for sake of privacy and copyright)