Shitō-Ryū Kata:  Jūni no Kata (十二の型)

 

Jūni no Kata (十二の型) is not a kata (型) in the strictest sense, but aset of twelve katachi (形)—patterns of movements that are memorised and performed for the training value of the performance itself, rather than the practicality or applicability of those movements for realistic self-defence.  Tradition holds that they were created by Shitō-Ryū founder, Mabuni Kenwa, and are therefore considered Mabuni-kei.  More background information is provided below under the heading, Additional Information.  The purpose of the Juni no Kata was to provide beginning students with a simplified practice pattern on which to begin their training, and from which they could learn some of the fundamental aspects of kata.  However, the Jūni no Kata are no longer practiced in Shimabukuro-Ha Shitō-Ryū, so they are described here for informational purposes only.  As a result, no videos are available for these katachi.

 

Jūni no Kata Description

After bowing and announcing the name of the kata ("Jūni no Kata Sono [number]") ...

Yōi (cross open hands at groin level in musubi dachi) and kiyomeri kokyū (purification breaths)
Kamaete (shift right foot into nami heikō dachi while closing hands into fists at knee width)

  1 Turn 90 degrees left into hidari [blocking stance shown in table below] and [blocking technique shown in table below]
  2 Step forward into migi [striking stance shown in table below] and [striking technique shown in table below]
  3 Turn 180 degrees right into [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  4 Step forward into hidari [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  5 Turn 90 degrees left into hidari [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  6 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  7 Step forward into hidari [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  8 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique] with kiai
9 Turn 270 degrees left into hidari [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  10 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  11 Turn 180 degrees right into migi [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
12 Step forward into hidari [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  13 Turn 90 degrees left into hidari [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  14 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  15 Step forward into hidari [striking stance] and [striking technique]
16 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique] with kiai
  17 Turn 270 degrees left into hidari [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  18 Step forward into migi [striking stance] and [striking technique]
  19 Turn 180 degrees right into migi [blocking stance] and [blocking technique]
  20 Step forward into hidari [striking stance] and [striking technique]

Zanshin yame (withdrawing left foot, turn 90 degrees left and return to kamaete)
Naotte (perform tekagami movement while sliding right foot into musubi dachi)
Rei (bow)

Key Training Aspects of Jūni no Kata

 
 

Since the Jūni no Kata all follow the same basic pattern, the table below can be used to determine the stances and blocking and striking techniques to fill in the blanks in the above description.  In movements #1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 17, and 19 simply match the blocking stance with its corresponding blocking technique (e.g., migi or hidari ashi-mae heikō dachi with migi or hidari yoko uke in Jūni no Kata Sono Ichi), and in movements #2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 20 match the striking technique with its corresponding striking technique (e.g., migi or hidari ashi-mae heikō dachi with migi or hidari oizuki chudan in Jūni no Kata Sono Ichi).

Katachi NUMBER Blocking Stance Blocking Technique Striking Stance Striking Technique(s)
Sono Ichi Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Yoko Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Ni Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Yoko Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Choku Geri plus Oizuki Chūdan
Sono San Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Gedan Barai Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Yon Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Age Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Go Neko-ashi Dachi Yoko Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Roku Neko-ashi Dachi Yoko Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Choku Geri plus Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Nana Neko-ashi Dachi Gedan Barai Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Hachi Neko-ashi Dachi Age Uke Ashi-mae Heikō Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Ku Zenkutsu Dachi Yoko Uke Zenkutsu Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Jū Zenkutsu Dachi Yoko Uke Zenkutsu Dachi Choku Geri plus Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Jūichi Zenkutsu Dachi Gedan Barai Zenkutsu Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
Sono Jūni Zenkutsu Dachi Age Uke Zenkutsu Dachi Oizuki Chūdan
 

Ashi-mae heikō dachi (meaning "foot-forward parallel stance") is the most fundamental stance used in Shitō-Ryū karate-dō.   It is often referred to as "walking stance" in English because the separation between the front and rear foot is roughly the distance of a normal walking step.  As such the feet are closer together than in han-zenkutsu dachi, with the distance between the big toe of the rear foot and the heel of the front foot being roughly the length of one foot.  Key factors in ashi-mae heikō dachi include:  (1) feet at shoulder-width, (2) distance between the toes of the trailing foot and the heel of the leading foot is the length (or slightly less) of the student's foot, (3) the front knee is only slightly bent and the kneecap only slightly forward of vertical (not directly above the big toe, as in most other stances), (4) rear leg is "locked" straight, (5) both feet are flat on the floor (neither heel raised), (6) weight is distributed evenly (50%/50%) between the front and rear feet, (7) back is straight and posture erect, (8) and the shoulders are aligned with and directly above the hips.

Neko-ashi dachi (meaning "cat-foot stance") is one of the most common stances used in Shitō-Ryū karate-dō.   Key factors in neko-ashi dachi include:  (1) feet aligned with the opponent's seichusen (centre line) or the direction of movement, (2) front heel is raised so that only the ball of the foot and toes contact the floor, (3) distance between the heel of the trailing foot and the ball of the leading foot is the length of two-and-a-half of the student's feet, (4) front knee is bent so that the kneecap is directly above the big toe, (5) rear leg is also bent as if sitting on a stool, with the foot flat on the floor, (6) front foot points straight ahead; rear foot points 30 to 45 degrees outward, (7) weight is distributed with about 70% to 80% on the rear leg and 20% to 30% on the front foot, (8) back is straight and posture erect, (8) shoulder and hip alignment depend upon the technique being employed:  hanmi (45%) with jun zuki, shuto uke, yoko kentsui uchi, etc., nearly perpendicular to foot alignment with yoko uke, and fully perpendicular with gyakuzuki.

Zenkutsu dachi (meaning "front [leg] bent stance") is one of the foundational stances of Shitō-Ryū karate-dō.   Key factors in zenkutsu dachi include:  (1) feet at shoulder-width, (2) distance between the toes of the trailing foot and the heel of the leading foot is the length of the student's shin plus the length of one foot, (3) front knee is bent so that the kneecap is directly above the big toe, (4) rear leg is "locked" straight, (5) both feet are flat on the floor (neither heel raised), (6) weight is distributed evenly (50%/50%) between the front and rear feet, (7) back is straight and posture erect, (8) shoulders are aligned with and directly above the hips, and (9) slight forward pressure is exerted against the front foot and equal backward pressure against the rear foot.

Additional Information

MakimonoThe exact origins of Kihon Katachi Ichi are a bit murky.  It is attributed to Mabuni Kenwa, but it is possible that he either borrowed it from, or developed it in collaboration with, Funakoshi Yoshitaka, the son of Shōtōkan founder, Funakoshi Gichin.  Despite Funakoshi Gichin being more than 20 years senior to Mabuni, in the 1930s the Funakoshis were frequent visitors to Mabuni's home and dōjō in Ōsaka, because Mabuni was the acknowledged expert on kata.  Funakoshi Yoshitaka is credited with creating the kata, Taikyoku Shodan, which is identical to Kihon Katachi Ichi, in the late 1930s or early 1940s.  Originally, however, Mabuni's version was called Jūni no Kata (十二の型) or "12 kata".  It is not known if this was because there are twelve kata in the series, or because there are twelve strikes in each kata, since both of these are the case.

Hayashi Teruō restructured the Jūni no Kata when he established Hayashi-Ha Shitō-Ryū in 1970 and reduced the number of  katachi in the series to five.  In the process he renamed and resequenced them as Kihon Kata Ichi, Ni, San, Yon, and Go.   The first three were all taken directly from the set performed in zenkutsu dachi, but his Kihon Kata Yon and Kihon Kata Go were modifications of the original Mabuni kata.  Kihon Kata Yon is performed with two successive blocks—gedan barai and yoko uke—performed with the same hand, followed by oizuki chūdan, and Kihon Kata Go uses shutō uke, followed by a choku geri— oizuki combination.

Shimabukuro Hanshi believed that five was too many kihon kata, so when he opened his own dōjō he stopped teaching Hayashi's Kihon Kata San and Kihon Kata Yon, and renumbered Kihon Kata Go as Kihon Kata San.  Later, when he affiliated with Mabuni Kenzō and the Nippon Karate-do Kai, he also stopped teaching Kihon Kata San, since it had not been part of the original Jūni no Kata series.  As a result of all of these changes, the Kihon Katachi Ichi and Kihon Katachi Ni we now teach at the Seishin-Kan correspond to Jūni no Kata Sono Jūichi and Jūni no Kata Jūni, respectively, of the original twelve Jūni no Kata set, as shown in the table above.