Budo no Kukyo – 武道の空虚: Kata Focus

Thursday, 4 May 2017

Kata Focus - Seisan

Seisan is the oldest and most widespread Karate Kata. It predates Karate and there is even a theory that it possibly predates eastern martial arts itself.

Seisan is the only Kata that is prevalent in Shuri-te, Tomari-te and Naha-te.
It can be found in styles including: Shōrin-ryū, Gōjū-ryū, Isshin-ryū, Chitō-ryū, Wadō-ryū, Shitō-ryū, Uechi-ryū, Shotokan, Tang Soo Do, Meibukan, Moo Duk Kwan, Ryū-te, Ryūei-ryū, Seito, Matsumura-ryu, Seibukan, Shōrinji-ryū, Shinki-ryu, Ishimine-Ryu, Koshinkai and Yoshukai Karate.
Almost all versions of this Kata that are now practiced in modern Karate can be traced back to Bushi Matsumura in some way or another.

Being that the Kata is so old, there are many theories regarding Kata’s name and origin. Many people say that the name translates as "13 Hands", "13 Fists", "13 Techniques", "13 Steps" or "13 positions". These are just not true. Seisan is the Okinawan pronunciation of the Chinese word “Shisan” which simply means "13".

The number 13 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. The reason being that digit 1 when positioned in tens sounds like the word 'definite' (shi) in Mandarin and dialects such as Cantonese; while the digit 3 sounds like life, living or birth.
As a result, the number 13, which is pronounced as shisan in Mandarin, can mean 'definitely vibrant' or 'assured growth'.
Within the Kata there are 13 unique techniques and the most common bunkai is defending against 13 different attackers.

Gichin Funakoshi changed the name of most of the kata that he taught. He gave Seisan the name ‘Hangetsu’.
There is a theory about this Kata that it possibly outdates martial arts practice itself. It's thought to have it's origins in having been a sort of a tribal dance relating to the lunar cycles, the tides and months.
This theory might explain the reason for the meaning of the name ‘Hangetsu’ which is ‘Half Moon’. An interesting "coincidence" is that there was apparently a 13 day Luna cycle in their culture at the time. It's possible that this is the origins of the kata, but it's equally as possible that it simply had it origins like any other kata.

Gichin Funakoshi is well known for making changes to Kata techniques and even simplifying them. It's known that he didn’t like this Kata as much as others and so didn't make so many changes. It's possible that it could mean that the Shotokan version of Hangetsu has remained relatively unchanged since the days of Isosu and possibly Matsumura. If this is true, it means the Shotokan version would be one of the oldest versions of Seisan that is practiced today.