Seisan
Meaning: "Thirteen", "Thirteen Hands", "Thirty Hands", "Half Moon", or possible the name of a Chinese martial artist around the 17th century
History: This kata can be traced all the way back to a well-known martial artist, Takahara Peichin (Lord Takahara) There are two major versions of this kata, the Shuri-te version and the Naha-te version. Under Sensei Johnson we practice the Shuri-te version. The Shuri-te version of this kata is said to be very crane oriented and is said to be much older then the Naha-te version. This crane orientation would lead one to believe that this kata came from Chinese origin. Most people believe that Bushi Matsumura created this kata after his travels to China. It is also said that Matsumura’s wife Yaonamine Chiru had a great deal of influence on the development of this kata. When working this kata a student is taught how to fight with a baby on their backs. This is very evident towards the beginning of the kata, when there is a series of three movements forward where there is an open hand block followed by a finger strike to the eyes. The back hand appears to just go to the side in an idle position. It is said that this move was done to readjust the baby on ones back.
What to Get Out of This Kata: This kata teaches how to get inside of an adversary’s attack to destroy his stability. This kata will teach a student how to develop a strong foundation. Seisan teaches students a great blocking and countering technique against a kick to the groin towards the end of the kata. Towards the beginning of Seisan a practitioner will learn a hidden take down. Student learn to strike and then immediately block a counter strike with the same hand. The student learns to attack and defend on angles. This kata is taught at the Green Belt (5th Kyu) in our system. It is the third longest kata that our students will learn.
*I would like to note the the Naha-te systems of Okinawan Karate (Goju-ryu) run a kata named Seisan that is very different the the form that we run. All the items I have discussed above apply to our (the Shuri-te) version of the form.