Naihanchi Karate Kata, also known as Tekki is one of the finest forms in the world of the martial arts. Another name for it is The Iron Horse. As the latter name implies, it is a horse stance form, and one moves from side to side while doing it.
The power generated by this Okinawan Karate form is absolutely awesome. The deep stance works the legs, and the tan tien starts to pump up, and one feels the chi power course through the frame almost from the get go. It is usually taught around black belt level in systems such as Kyokushinkai.
When I first started training in Naihanchi I would practice while facing a partner and we would have 'kata races.' We would mirror each other, and go back and forth,faster and faster while perfecting our moves. Eventually, we would find a speed of movement that one will not see in many martial art patterns.
When I asked my sensei about the origins of the form, he claimed it was made for fighting in rice fields. The footwork enabled one to grip the earth no matter how muddy it got. The sideways movement of the form aligned with the earthwork in the rice paddies.
As the years passed I came across the theory that it was designed for riding a horse. One loses his weapons while on a horse, one has to keep fighting, and one can do so while gripping the horse with the leg strength built up by the form. I found this an admirable theory, but it didn't seem to ring quite true.
Eventually, I came across the book 'Shotokan's Secrets,' by Dr. Bruce Clayton. The good doctor claimed that the kata were actually made for combat in the Imperial throne room of old Okinawa. This theory actually made a tremendous amount of sense.
Imagine that room: foreign soldiers move forward to capture the king of Okinawa, and the front row bodyguards use the movements from the Pinan forms (Heian katas) to sow confusion. Meanwhile, the advanced bodyguards shift sideways along the rear of the room, and the king is moved through a rear door and to safety. This theory not only made sense when analyzing the movements of the training pattern, but in defining the purposes of all the kata.
What the truth is will be argued as long as Karate is learned. Of course, it doesn't matter as long as the kata builds that good, old fashioned 'chi power' by the truckload. Call it Naihanchi, Tekki, or just The Iron Horse, this Karate Kata will last forever.
The power generated by this Okinawan Karate form is absolutely awesome. The deep stance works the legs, and the tan tien starts to pump up, and one feels the chi power course through the frame almost from the get go. It is usually taught around black belt level in systems such as Kyokushinkai.
When I first started training in Naihanchi I would practice while facing a partner and we would have 'kata races.' We would mirror each other, and go back and forth,faster and faster while perfecting our moves. Eventually, we would find a speed of movement that one will not see in many martial art patterns.
When I asked my sensei about the origins of the form, he claimed it was made for fighting in rice fields. The footwork enabled one to grip the earth no matter how muddy it got. The sideways movement of the form aligned with the earthwork in the rice paddies.
As the years passed I came across the theory that it was designed for riding a horse. One loses his weapons while on a horse, one has to keep fighting, and one can do so while gripping the horse with the leg strength built up by the form. I found this an admirable theory, but it didn't seem to ring quite true.
Eventually, I came across the book 'Shotokan's Secrets,' by Dr. Bruce Clayton. The good doctor claimed that the kata were actually made for combat in the Imperial throne room of old Okinawa. This theory actually made a tremendous amount of sense.
Imagine that room: foreign soldiers move forward to capture the king of Okinawa, and the front row bodyguards use the movements from the Pinan forms (Heian katas) to sow confusion. Meanwhile, the advanced bodyguards shift sideways along the rear of the room, and the king is moved through a rear door and to safety. This theory not only made sense when analyzing the movements of the training pattern, but in defining the purposes of all the kata.
What the truth is will be argued as long as Karate is learned. Of course, it doesn't matter as long as the kata builds that good, old fashioned 'chi power' by the truckload. Call it Naihanchi, Tekki, or just The Iron Horse, this Karate Kata will last forever.
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