Enpi Kata

[Allan Shepherd]

Hello to all

I and a group of Karateka from different organisational backgrounds meet today in a local village hall (wooden sprung floor superb) and one of the kata we practiced was Enpi. Whilst most of the kata was standard the two main differences that I observed during our performances was (1) from the yoi position some moved the left leg to the right leg before the hand(s) position on the left hip and some moved the right leg to the left leg before the hand(s) position on the left hip and (2) from the left leg forward Zenkutsu Dachi/right arm Teisho Uke to right leg forward Zenkutsu Dachi/Teisho Kosa Dachi some moved the right foot over to the left foot pivoting on the left to face shomen with feet together and some moved their left foot over to centre (feet not together) before stepping out into Zenkutsu Dachi.

When I got home I checked both Sensei Kanazawa and Sensei Asai's rendition on the internet of Enpi Kata and found them to be mostly standard with these two exceptions also!!?? Sensei Kanazawa performs Enpi Kata with the first of the two options at (1) and (2)and Sensei Asai performs Enpi with the second of the two options at (1) and (2). I was taught the first option at (1) and the first option at (2) as per Sensei Kanazawa but not directly by him although I was a member of the KUGB from 1966 not learning Enpi Kata until the early/mid seventies. I much later trained with the JKS (Sensei Asai) and in all honesty did not pick up on the difference!!

Has anyone come across these "anomalies" when training Enpi Kata with these Sensei's or any other "anomolies" in any other Kata when training with other Sensei's and their reditions?

Best Regards
Allan

[nathanso]

I have seen many minor differences over the years. In fact, when I first starting training in the 60's, I remember that the opening moves of H2 were taught differently by different instructors in my dojo. Some taught the second and fifth moves as a trap/break, and others as a block and a punch. (I can't remember which of the three instructors, Okazaki, Enoeda, and Kisaka, did which however.) I think that was a good early demonstration that minor differences in kata are irrelevant, a point that was driven home as I started seeing subsequent diktats about changes in kata performance.

[Allan Shepherd]

Hello Neil

I understand that the application is and can be interpretated differently by individual instructors but I am specifically talking about the "core" elements of the kata, that being what we have been lead to believe was the "standard" set by the JKA in those very early day's of when in particular Vernon Bell started to train in 1956, then later via Henri Plee in France and then later again directly from the JKA. I have seen many changes to kata over the years that involve hand/arm movements but foot/feet movements affect the embusen line and the all important mai.

Best Regards
Allan

[Allan Shepherd]

Hello Neil

Looked at a few more DVD/Video's on line and things get even more confusing!! God help us all at multi Organisational Kata Competitions when being judged!!

Although the quality is poor and the opening move from yoi at (1)is not shown on the 1924 video of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi shows him on the second point (2) as moving his right leg from left foot forward Zenkutsu Dachi into left leg before the step out into Zenkutsu Dachi/Teisho Kosa Dachi.

Sensei Kawasoe moves both feet from yoi to centre of the embusen line at (1) and moves left to right stepping out with right into Zenkutsu Dachi/Teisho Kosa Dachi at (2) whilst both Sensei Tanaka and Sensei Yahara stand in Musubi Dachi across the centre of the embusen line at (1) followed by feet together/hand movements to left hip and left to right as per Sensei Kawasoe at (2).

Best Regards
Allan