Wansu
Meaning: The Name of a Chinese Sailor (Sappushi Wansu) believed to have taught on Okinawa around 1683. It has also be given the meaning “arm excellence” or "Flying Swallow" also called 'the dumping form".
Background: Wansu comes to us from Tomari, Okinawa. This kata was not taught outside of the Tomari village until some time after 1870. Some masters of Shorin-Ryu have claimed that this is one of original kata of the ancient style. There are two main versions of the kata, one coming to us via Bushi Matsumura and the other from Yasutsune (Anko) Itosu. This kata is the first kata taught to new karate-ka of our style. That should not be taken as a sign that it is a simple kata. In fact there are some styles that teach Wansu as a black belt kata. The bunkai of this kata is very valuable to the progression of students. This kata is also taught in the Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu, Shorinji-Ryu, Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu, Chubu Shorin-Ryu, Ryukyu Shorin-Ryu, and Shaolin Shorin-Ryu styles. The Japanese name of this kata is “Empi”.
What to Get Out of this Kata: This kata teaches true arm technique, with having only one kick throughout the whole kata. It will teach the practitioner how to block and strike effectively, as well as how to block and immediately counter strike. This kata teaches a very nice lifting and throwing technique to the students. Due to this throw Wansu has been called the “dumping form”, by many of its practitioners. When studied in more depth one can learn a lot about the shifting of weight and the use of hips in the striking of an opponent. Wansu shows students the proper way to transfer from one stance to another (mainly from corner stance to front stance).