KATA

Kata is the heart and soul of karate-do. Kata may have been created after the invasion of Okinawa by the Satsuma Samurai. These samurai restricted the practice of any kind of martial art on Okinawa by peasants. As a result, the martial art had to be disguised in a series of "shadow boxing" techniques, or forms, and were designed to look similar to traditional dances. Many traditional dances also incorporated karate techniques to further disguise the art from the watchful eyes of the Samurai. One unique characteristic of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo is that equal emphasis is placed on kata as well as the self-defense applications (bunkai) in the kata. Soke Hausel (as many martial artists before him) has found that kata provide a wonderful mechanism for training the individual in all aspects of martial arts. Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu practices the following kata:

KARATE KATA

Kihon (Basic) Kata

We have 4 basic Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Taikyoku kata. Taikyoku Shodan and Nidan are fairly universal with many Shorin-Ryu systems. However, Taikyoku Sandan and Yodan were created by Soke Hausel to help the student achieve mastery in many basic techniques that are often overlooked in many other systems. These two kata emphasize development of ‘gyaku tsuki’ (opposite hand punch), focus, basic kicks, basic blocks and punches.

  1. Taikyoku Shodan
  2. Taikyoku Nidan
  3. Taikyoku Sandan
  4. Taikyoku Yodan

Pinan (Heian) Kata

Pinan, also referred to as the Ping-an and Heian kata, translates as ‘peaceful mind’. According to Emil Fakas and John Corcoran (1983 ‘The Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary’, The overlook Press, publisher, New York), the Pinan kata were developed by Yasutsune Itosu in 1903 to 1906 and incorporated into the public school system in Okinawa Perfecture. These were originally derived and simplified from the Chiang Nan Chinese kata by Itosu and renamed Pinan (Mark Bishop, 1989, Okinawan Karate, A & C Black, publisher, London). Still referred to as Heian kata in mainland Japan, particularly in the Shotokan system of karate.

We have also preserved the basic five Pinan kata, but with modifications unique to Seiyo Shorin-Ryu. Each kata has been modified to incorporate realistic bunkai (applications). In addition to learning the basic Pinan kata, the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu student must also learn a set of numbered bunkai with each technique in the kata. The applications include a variety of defenses against unarmed and armed assailants and a variety of street fighters and incorporate strikes, kicks, pressure points, throws and restraints. In addition, the kata become teaching tools to help the student visualize the bunkai to make them more applicable in pragmatic day-to-day self-defense.

  1. Pinan Shodan
  2. Pinan Nidan
  3. Pinan Sandan
  4. Pinan Yodan
  5. Pinan Godan

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ADVANCED EMPTY HAND KATA

Group 1 - Naihanchi kata

These are a series of kata, sometimes referred to as the ‘horse riding’ kata as they are performed with a linear pattern from kiba dachi (horse-riding stance) and have been referred to as the Tekki kata by some Japanese groups. The philosophy of these kata is that the karate-ka is defending against attackers with his/her back against a wall, or from a horse, or standing on a dike in a rice paddy.

  1. Naihanchi Shodan
  2. Naihanchi Nidan
  3. Naihanchi Sandan

Group 2 - Passai (Bassai) kata

Also referred to as the Bassai kata. These translate as ‘to penetrate a fortress’ and include many powerful blocks and strikes.

  1. Passai Dai
  2. Passai Sho

Group 3 - Shorei-Ryu Kata


  1. Jutte
    2. Sometimes referred to as the ‘ten hands’kata. A kata formulated in the Shorei-Ryu Okinawa style
  2. Jion
    3. ‘This form is believed to have been named after the famous Jion-ji Buddhist temple’. A kata formulated in the Shorei-Ryu Okinawa style.
  3. Giin

Group 4 - Kusanku Kata

Two kata named after a famous Chinese martial artist and practiced in the Shorin-Ryu and Shotokan systems.

  1. Kanku Dai - ‘Looking at the sky’
  2. Kanku Sho

Group 5 Kata


  1. Nijushiho ’24-step form’
  2. Unsu ‘cloud hands form’
  3. Chinte ‘Chinese hand form’
  4. Meikyo

Group 6 Kata


  1. Gankaku ‘crane on a rock form’. This kata was originally known as Chinto kata and was introduced in Japan by Funakoshi, Sensei as Gankaku. Also referred to as Rohai kata
  2. Empi ‘flying swallow form’, originally named Wansu or Wanshu after the kata’s founder.
  3. Sochin ‘form based on a powerful rooted stance’
  4. Hangetsu ‘half moon’. An abundance of hangetsu dachi stances in this kata provide it with the feeling of moving in an arc, or half-moon. The hangetsu dachi stance in Seiyo Shorin-Ryu requires the student to stand pigeon-toed with the knees bent inward to protect the groin area from kicks. The form is originally from the Shorei-Ryu school and later adapted to the Shotokan system. Also referred to as the Seisan kata, the name of the originator of the kata.

Group 7 Kata


  1. Wankan Dai ‘a form from the tomari-te school of karate’.
  2. Wankan Sho
  3. Gojushiho Dai ’54 steps form’. Kata from the Shuri-te school. Some moves in the kata mimic the motions of a phoenix.
  4. Gojushiho Sho

Group 8 Kata


  1. Ananku. A kata using many basic techniques taught primarily in the Matsubayashi-Ryu style of Shorin-Ryu and in Seiyo Shorin-Ryu.
  2. Rohai ‘crane on a rock form’ referred to as Gankaku kata in some systems.
  3. Hakutsuru Sho ‘white crane forms’
  4. Hakutsuru Dai
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KOBUDO KATA

Kobudo, the art of ancient weapons is a very important part of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu karate and includes a wide variety of tools, both ancient as well as modern.

Bo Kata (6’ staff)


The Seiyo Shorin-Ryu staff kata are derived from the Yamani-Ryu, Ryukyu-Ryu and others. Our kata include the following:

  1. Kihan Bo Kata
  2. Sho no Kun
  3. Sho Ken no Kun
  4. Suuji No Kun
  5. Choun no Kun
  6. Dai Choun no Kun Sho
  7. Bojutsu Shodan
  8. Bojutsu Nidan
  9. Bojutsu Sandan
  10. Bojutsu-katana

Nunchuku Kata

We celebrate this weapon with practice in 5 kata. Nunchuku Yodan, in particular, is indigenous to the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu system and was created by Soke Hausel to cover a number of basic and advanced techniques not covered in our other 4 kata.

  1. Nunchaku Shodan
  2. Nunchaku Nidan
  3. Nunchaku Sandan
  4. Nunchaku Yodan
  5. Nunchuku Godan

Sai Kata


  1. Sai Shodan
  2. Sai Nidan
  3. Sai Sandan
  4. Sai Yodan
  5. Sai Godan
  6. Sai Rokudan
  7. Sai Nanadan

Tonfa Kata


  1. Tonfa Shodan
  2. Tonfa Nidan
  3. Tonfa Sandan

Kama Kata


  1. Gama Shodan
  2. Gama Nidan
  3. Gama Sandan
  4. Gama Sandan is another indigenous kata only to Seiyo Shorin-Ryu developed by Soke Hausel that includes several advanced release strikes.
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SAMURAI ARTS (KOBUJUTSU)

Seiyo Shorin-Ryu incorporates some of the traditional Samurai arts for advanced studies. These include Naginatajutsu, Yarijutsu, Bojutsu, Hanbojutsu, Tsunejutsu, Manrikigusarijutsu, Iado, Jujutsu and others.

One of the many important philosophies Soke Hausel learned from his Sensei over the past two decades was to train in a variety of martial arts. In keeping with this spirit, Soke Hausel incorporated many techniques and martial arts from Dai-Soke R. Sacharnoski including naginata, yari, katana and more. According to Soke Hausel, Dai-Soke R. Sacharnoski is a living legend whose abilities transcends many martial arts and who has mastered many.

In this spirit, several other weapons have been incorporated into Seiyo Shorin-Ryu including marikigusari (chain or rope), tsune (cane), hanbo, tanbo, kioga, kusari (chain-kama), eku (oar), teko (knuckle duster), surushin (weighted chain) and others.

Naginata Kata


  1. Naginata Sho
  2. Naginata Dai
  3. Naginata-Katana

Kuwa Kata


  1. Kuwa Dai

Yari Kata


  1. Yari
  2. Yari-Katana
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MODERN KOBUDO

Soke Hausel enjoys visiting tool shops and gardening centers in search for modern kobudo weaponry. Rakes, expandable rakes, shovels, dandelion diggers and more have been incorporated into the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu style.

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