Hakoishi Suparinpei & other Wado kata

Q · Hakoishi Suparinpei & other Wado kata

Hi - I understand from some other Wado practioners that Hakoishi Suparinpei Kata is practiced as a Wado kata. Extract from an american forum:
"The Wado kata Suparimpei is available in Doctor Hakoishi's book. (Along with Gojushiho, two versions of Rohai, Unsu and others..) Doctor Hakoishi was the gentleman responsible for adding Suparimpei and Unsu to the list of the official Wado kata list for the World Karate Federation of which Dr. Hakoishi was a member of the referee council. Dr. Hakoishi performs Suparimpei very similar to the Shitoryu way which makes perfect sense to me since Otsuka learned it from Mabuni. Our Unsu is a hybrid of Shotokan Unsu and Shitoryu UNSHU. Our Rohai(one of them) is identical to the way Shitoryu does it. Our Gojushiho is very much like the Shitoryu version and not like the Shotokan Gojushiho-sho or dai although there are minor similarities. If you really want to learn these katas you will have a problem because no one in the United States really knows them. Norma Foster of Vancouver, Canada (Wadokai) was the first person on our continent to learn Unsu from Dr Hakoishi. Since then, Ajari's group in Berkeley, CA has been practicing Unsu (George Nakahara, a senior with Ajari, videotaped Hakoishi performing Unsu and brought it back to the US.). I only know what I know because I currently train in Hayashi-Ha Shitoryu and I have a copy of Dr. Hakoishi's book.
For those of you unfamiliar with Dr Hakoishi, he is one of the senior instructors of JKF Wado-Kai(8th dan) and was a direct student of Otsuka, along with Suzuki, Arakawa, Niwa, Mano and others. Dr Hakoishi has also been very active on the international scene as a member of the WKF Referee Council for many years. Bob Nash."
However, I understand that the first Grand Master Hironori Otsuka elected 16 different katas in the Wado-Ryu system, which are KihonGatta, Pinan Nidan, Pinan Shodan, Pinan Sandan, Pinan Yondan, Pinan Godan, Kushanku, Naihanchi, Seishan, Chinto, Bassai, Jion, Nisheishi, Jitte, Rohai and Wanshu. Although he felt the most important katas to practice are only the first 10 katas from KihonGatta to Chinto. He properly taught only the 10 katas to the Wado-Ryu disciples, because the same movements are already included in the other 6 katas. His idea was that, how many katas one memorises if one cannot apply the technique, is a waste of time and stamina. I do not know what is included in KihonGatta as I have never knowingly been taught it - I assume it is a basic one similar to the Taikyoku Shodan taught in Shotokan?
So should the Hakoishi version of Suparinpei be practiced? And if so, how do you find someone who knows the kata?

Adam Onesti

Hi, I was under the impression that by the end Otsuka sensei had limited Wado to the following 9 katas the Pinans, Kushanku, Naihanchi, Seishan, & Chinto and completely dropped the other ones from his syllabus, though obviously being completely new at this I could be wrong! Very Happy

I think by the looks of it Suparinpei was dropped very early on from the Wado syllabus Smile

Q

Hi,
I've just got back today from a kata course in Plymouth, run by Gary Swift (7th Dan) of the British Wadokai. He ran through all of the wado kata in the British Wadokai syllabus finishing with Hakoishi Suparinpei. I can now recall practicing this kata at my old club about 8-10 years ago (only a couple of times with my old sensei) – I only remember a few movements.
Due to the many splits in Wado Ryu style experienced over the last 30 years or so, you will find different organisations and clubs practice different syllabus, not just in kata but all aspects of Wado.
Therefore the kata included in a syllabus can vary depending on what view a particular sensei has, and in particular if they are associated with some of the high ranking japanese sensei they generally follow that sensei's "template" or "model".
Personally I think Hakoishi Suparinpei is a kata for higher Dan grades.
Essentially the Pinans, Kushanku, Chinto, Naihanchi, Seishan, Bassai and Nisheishi appear in most Wado syllabus - so I don't think it needs more investigation until maybe reaching 3rd Dan?
Q.

Q · Suparinpei

Found this on the british wadokai website that can explain the history:
Suparinpei
'One-hundred and eight'. Was introduced to Okinawa from the Fukien Province in China over 100 years ago. Involves fast and slow complex movements with harmonised breathing control. The most advanced of the 13 Goju-ryu Kata developed by Karate master Chojun- Miyagi. Involves movements with armonised breathing control. Contains 108 fighting movements symbolising, it is said, the 108 desires/temptations (violations) of man, as listed in Buddhist doctrines. However, as there are considered 108 major stunning and killing points on the human body, my personal belief is that this Kata has its origins from an acupoint school originally established by Feng-Yiquan. Additionally, Susruta-Samhita was an Indian medical Sastra of the 2nd century AD. Susruta wrote the book to give information highlighting
the 108 'vulnerable points' on the body. This Kata was practised by Ohtsuka-Sensei. However it was believed that, as it did not reflect the correct 'concepts' of Wado-ryu, it was dropped from the school in the very early years of the style's development. However, due to its popularity amongst Wado-ka, it has resurfaced. The Wado version of this Kata is now practised within many JKF-Wadokai Dojo throughout the world.

Excerpts taken from the Wado Comprehensive' and an 'A to Z of Martial-arts', written by GE Swift (7th Dan) Kyoshi.