Akachan Kata:
Published 5/11/2012
By Spencer Sensei
Akachan means baby in Japanese. Now I suppose you’re wondering what this has to do with karate. Well… I’ll tell you. Two very famous Okinawan instructors Funakoshi sensei and Itosu sensei created a series of “H” pattern katas to be taught to school children within the Okinawan and Japanese school systems. Some modern karateka refer to these forms as akachan or baby/beginner’s kata. This series of forms was designed to teach young students karate kata as a component of their physical exercise class or PE class as we refer to it in the United States. Still there were difficulties in bringing karate into the public-school systems. Traditional katas are long and technical so, Itosu and Funakoshi sensei created pared down versions of these forms thus making learning a complete set of moves easier. The Pinans or Heians although shorter than traditional Okinawan katas still maintained solid karate principles while not leaving the young students feeling overwhelmed by their complexity. Some modern martial artists believe the akachan kata were pieces of the form Kusanku coupled with some of Itosu sensei’s modifications, but the exact origin is unclear. An akachan kata’s purpose, then as it is today, is to teach the student to step, block, turn, kick, and strike in a fluid motion. The emphasis here is on footwork. A moving target is hard to hit. Bunkai or self-defense within the kata was not stressed. Teaching children deadly technique is obviously problematic, so low levels of self-defense were given to explain the various movements. Despite these and other problems karate was successfully introduced as a form of exercise into the public-school systems prior to World War II. It also found favor in many major Japanese universities, as-well-as being popular in the private sector too. Itosu and Funakoshi sensei may have given birth to these “H” pattern katas, but they also made learning karate easier for all students. Adults and children today learn these kata and it makes their transition to the more complex and demanding forms much smoother.
The debate rages as to the value of kata in karate training, but to the traditionalist there is no debate it is simply the core of karate. Kata is the component that separates this martial art from simple street-fighting. A kata can be graceful, poetic, beautiful, and deadly in the same moment. We must also remember that akachan kata is not a substandard version of Okinawan kata. It is simply a shorter more teachable version, yet it is filled with the same truths found in its older brothers and should be practiced with the same diligence and focus. Kata is the encyclopedia of self-defense. To eliminate kata from karate training would be akin to burning the ancient books upon which the martial arts were founded.
If you can remember back to when you fist began training, you’ll remember how awkward it all felt. Through kata and floor exercise your body adapted and began to perform in ways you never imagined it could. Repetition is the mortar between the bricks that form the foundation of your karate. Repetition of basic blocks, kicks, and punches can become boring to even the most ardent of students. Kata training reduces the tedium while reinforcing basic karate principles. No one can fully master a kata. There is always something that can be improved. In the process of mastering kata, one will perform basic karate technique without feeling they’re spinning their wheels. Kata teaches sound fighting tactics mixed with combat principles thus enabling the karate student to seek perfection through repetition inside and outside the dojo. Forms remove the drudgery of constant straight-line practice of basic technique. Students find learning akachan kata entertaining, so quoting that great European sensei Mary Poppins, “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” If repetition of basic technique is the medicine, then kata is the sugar.
Okinawan akachan katas are called Pinans. They are written Pinan or Pinon depending upon the phonetic spelling being used. The technical names for these kata are: Pinan-Shodan, Pinan-Nidan, Pinan-Sandan, Pinan-Yodan, and Pinan-Godan. Ironically no two Okinawan instructors teach these kata exactly the same, yet all claim theirs is the correct version. The various versions are however very similar, but each has a slight difference. Many traditional instructors believe that the Pinan katas have always been part of their system. This is not true. These katas are newcomers to the marital arts. Regardless, past Okinawan instructors noted the advantage that these katas gave the beginning student and they morphed them into their styles.
The Japanese akachan kata are called Heians. Hiean means peacefull way. These kata can be found in Funakoshi’s book the Kyohan. All the Shotokan kata can be found in that text along with Itosu’s akachan kata. Oddly enough Funakoshi sensei changed the order of the akachan kata. He made Pinan Shodan the second kata taught and renamed it Hiean Nidan and vise-versa he taught the second Pinan first and renamed it too. He believed that the second Pinan was easier for the beginning student to learn than was the original first Pinan. After studying these two kata, I believe he was correct. He also changed the Hiean technique slightly, but not enough that one familiar with the Pinan katas would not recognize its corresponding Heian cousin. Japanese advanced katas begin with Basssi kata or pronounced Passai. Bassai is the first old traditional complex kata taught to Japanese stylists as they are being prepared for black-belt. The purpose of the akachan kata is to prepare the student for Bassai. Funakoshi sensei’s contribution to the akachan kata and the advancement of karate teaching methods cannot be overstated. Heians or Pinans it does not matter what you call them they’re the building blocks to prepare the serious student for a lifetime of training.
Bunkai (situational self-defense) or the interpretation of the movements was not part of the Itosu’s curriculum, yet if a student exhibited exemplary character, when they were of age, they were introduced to true meaning of the form’s life preservation self-defense. You do not hand a child a loaded gun, nor do you do not give a child karate’s life preservation skills. All school age children were taught the same karate kata, and their instructors did not posses the ability to see future, so they could not teach one set of students differently from another. The same movements were taught to the child that would one day become a criminal, were also taught to the child that would one day become a policeman. Itosu sensei had a social responsibility to not teach the true meaning of the kata to just anyone. Children also like to try out what they’ve learned, yet they do not possess good judgment skills. Teaching children bunkai could have had lethal consequences on the playground. Not teaching the bunkai protected the innocent. For these reasons I believe Itosu and Funakoshi limited their student’s understanding of the situational self-defense contained within their kata. Sadly, today we have no definitive explanation for the movements. Over the years I have collected two volumes of bunkai with differing interpretations for the same movements in the same katas, and rarely do I have a reoccurring theme even within the same system. Still, without some version of a kata’s bunkai or some meaning to the situational self-defense the form is dead. Repetition may be the mortar that holds together the bricks of the martial artist’s foundation, but repetition without purpose is like Don Quixote tilting at windmills. It is simply a deluded, absurd, and purposeless dance. I understand not teaching children bunkai, but that unwritten rule should not have applied to adult students. Sadly because of all the secrecy, the rich bunkai of Itosu’s akachan kata was lost.
Many systems contain akachan kata, but three prominent styles do not. Isshin-ryu, Uechi-ryu, and Goju-ryu do not utilize Itosu’s kata. Isshin-ryu, for example, was not designed to teach children. It was designed for the hard-core training of young adults, so the Marines, on Okinawa, were naturally drawn to it. I have taught Isshin-ryu karate for several decades, and recently I’ve introduced three akachan katas into my curriculum. Once the students have successfully navigated these three kata, they are ready to begin their formal Isshin-ryu training. In the past I have tried to teach portions of Seisan kata or started the student’s training with Nihanchin or Sanchin kata which are our shorter forms, but I did not get the results I desired. Sanchin is a very demanding form when performed properly, and black belt students struggle with its’ nuances. What I got from teaching Sanchin kata early was poorly executed Sanchin kata, and bad habits that followed the student through out their training. Starting my very young students with baby katas, allows them to feel the success experienced by older students after learning their first complete form. These katas teach the student to turn and execute technique with proper hip rotation, proper blocking technique, and proper weight transfer. Once the student has mastered these rudimentary movements, they are ready for the long, technical, and difficult Isshin-ryu kata. Hard core Okinawan traditionalists will be appalled by my slight changes to the akachan kata’s blocking and punching techniques while many Isshin-ryu traditionalists will believe that by adding these new kata I have come close to committing Isshin-ryu heresy. The truth is that I have not changed Isshin-ryu karate, nor have I diminished Itosu’s forms in any way. I’ve only given my students a better education by making their transition to more difficult forms easier.
You may ask, if it made teaching beginners an easier task, why then akachan katas were not added to every system. Neither Uechi sensei, Miyagi sensei nor Shimabuku sensei, that I’m aware of, taught karate in the public-school systems, so their student’s attention span was not limited. Their training format was most likely that of their instructors. Itosu’s katas stepped outside that tradition. Still… Okinawa is a small island, so it is unlikely that these karate masters were unaware of the akachan kata. Tatsuo Shimabuku sensei created his master kata “Suansu” from an amalgam of the Okinawan kata technique found within his system, but oddly enough inside Suansu kata there are several movements that cannot be accounted for within any of the kata that make-up his system. It is ironic that one of the systems that did not use akachan kata in its’ curriculum, would have technique from the akachan kata showing up inside its’ master’s kata. It would appear Master Shimabuku was well versed in these akachan forms, yet he chose not to add them to his system. We must also remember that Shimabuku sensei was trained by master Kyan a contemporary of master Itosu, so he may have simply followed the training philosophy he gained while under Kyan’s tutelage. Goju-ryu schools follow Master Miyagi’s training regiment even today. It is quite possible both Miyagi sensei and Shimabuku sensei wanted to preserve a piece of the past and chose to only teach the old traditional kata. Master Kanbun Uechi only taught three kata after returning from China. He believed that a karateka’s foundation could be developed from the practice of Sanchin, and his students would spend years working on this one kata. He did not see the need for baby kata. His son Master Kanei Uechi would later add five bridge kata to the system, but Itosu’ akachan kata would not be included. Each of the old masters had a reason for selecting the katas that made-up their system. I believe they passed on forms due more to tradition than for a desire to make a beginning karate student’s experience more palatable.
The Koreans also have two versions of akachan kata. They can be found in their text called the Poomse. The forms or hyangs, as the Koreans refer to kata, are named Palgwe ill thru Palwge chill. The World Tae-Kwon-Do Federation (WTF) begins teaching Koryo to students that are being prepared for black-belt. After the Plawge or Taegeuk forms the kata (hyangs) become more complex. Looking at the Tang-Soo-Do Korean katas, one will notice they look very similar to Funakoshi’s Heians. In Japan prior to World War Two there was a school in Japan called the Kanbukan (Korean Martial Arts Hall) where a number of Koreans trained in karate. Many Koreans had transplanted to Japan to attend a trade school. While they were in Japan, they were introduced to Shotokan karate. It is for this reason that early Korean karate resembles its Japanese and Okinawan cousins. Do your research and look at Tang-Soo-Do’s Pyong-Ahn Chodan, and you’ll see the clear resemblance to Shotokan’s Hiean Shodan. After World War Two the Koreans understandably wanted to separate Korean karate from its’ Japanese counter part, so it developed its’ own kata, organizations, and emphasized kicking technique. Soon along with a bit of revisionist history became Korean karate became uniquely Korean.
Love kata or hate kata it is the core of karate. Akachan kata makes teaching young students possible and training older students easier. Before you turn your nose up in an elitist manner, you need to examine these kata and savor their richness. These kata are foundational in Shorin-ryu karate. Look closer at these forms and you just may added them to your curriculum too.