Kata history & origins:

Gojushiho, formerly called Useishi in Okinawa (Sells, 1995), is probably most trained, in terms of numbers of karate-ka around the world, in the two styles of Shito-ryu & Shotokan (the kata is also nick named Hotaku - woodpecker). However, Shorin-ryu and Itosu-kai are two other examples of major styles which carry the kata. These styles all possess this kata due to their heritage with Itosu Ankoh (see also the Itosu article). However, it is Matsumara Sokon (1809 [exact date debated] -1889) who was key in the initial spread of this kata in Okinawa (see WIKI lineage chart). In fact, some argue that he may have been the creator of it. However, its moves and and even name, would suggest it may in fact have arisen from Chinese origins. The various bodies of research around its origins leads one to believe that its origin is somewhere in China, but drawing specifics beyond that would seem to be stretch (as discussed below the name itself sheds some light on this).

Image 1: Matsumura is considered the founder of Shuri-Te karate (Sells, 1995), and he was also the author of the "Principles of Karate". He was the only karate-ka in history to receive the honorary title of Bushi from the king of the kingdom of Ryukyu. It is Shuri-te karate which of course lead to Shorin-ryu karate, makes up the backbone of Shotokan and is central to components of Shito-ryu.

Image 2: A bubshi image taken from the Mabuni 1934 text Seipai no Kenkyu KoboJizai Karate Kenpo.

A further possibility for the name stems from the significance of 54 and 108 in Buddhist derived arts. The association is that 108 steps (defined in a few different ways) can be seen as a pathway to enlightenment (see sensei Scovell article on the significance of 54 & 108 in karate and kata names). The link to Gojushiho is based on a notion that mastery of the 54 steps will get you half way there...

The oldest versions began by dropping to one knee with an accompanying block (Sells, 1995). In comparison, the more modern versions (Itosu-Mabuni-Funakoshi lineage) start with a standing backfist strike with an associated check/block. In regards to the modern forms, there are now two main versions of this kata, the Shuri-te version (which is the one that shito-ryu & shotokan perform) and the Tomari-te version. The Tomari-te version has a movement in the middle which resembles the movements of a drunken man, while the equivalent sections of the Shuri-te version has a side-to-side movement, and it is not performed to resemble a drunken man. A very identifiable part of the katainvolves sliding-in (suri ashi) "nukite" strikes. These moves, as mentioned above, have been connected by some to the "Black Tiger" practices within Chinese martial arts. As we discuss bunkai below, and show in the video, the nukite strikes are not necessarily just finger tip strikes, but are often interpreted as striking with all surfaces of the hand, which includes palm strikes, slaps an an action to induce "coupe/contrecoup" effects to the brain or carotid blows with the corresponding effects described in the medical injuries section of

Karate technique selection & Street Fighting Statistics & Medical Outcomes. The nukite(s) may also involve grab releases and body strikes, the bias from my experience on the bunkai for these motions in Japan and Okinawa is style dependent.

Throughout the internet, Gojushiho is quoted as a good example of udundi, which translates to "Palace hands" and refers to aikido like throwing and locking techniques, reputed to be related to martial control by guards inside castles, palaces etc. And as we list below, and in the video, our ryu-ha also views Gojushiho bunkai as containing underlying principles of unbalancing grappling and kansetsu (joint locking). As a quick aside, Motobu-ryu, founded by Choki Motobu in 1922, also goes by the name Motobu udun-di (本部御殿手). The connection to udundi (i.e. law enforcement) has very strong implications in terms of the difference between male-on-male street violence versus law enforcement regarding probable skill-set needs and bunkai interpretation (which we outline a little below & in the textbook

Karate technique selection & Street Fighting Statistics & Medical Outcomes; Pages 29-10 & Sections F2, F3.1, F3.6) .

Shotokan further iterated on this kata, as they did for so many in the 1930-150 era, and came up with Gojushiho-Sho and Gojushiho-Dai. The reversing of the dai (big - 大) and sho (small - 小) names relative to the apparent complexities of each version of the kata has a few rumors surrounding the senior Shotokan sensei of the post-war era. In this article we will not explore that debate, other than to say it exists.

The opinion that this kata, or others, will remain unchanged and that an original exact form must be sought, is most likely a naive view, given that over time things change and that instructors at high Dan levels begin to put their insights/flavor into kata causing continual evolution, even within a sub-style (ryu-ha). In the authors experience, from both living inside Japan and outside Japan, these gradual changes can be attributed to at least the following:

1. Kata insight at high ranks - as a master of the art understands a kata better, or its function (bunkai) the art/kata is tweaked
2. Forgetfulness as a kata was placed in the background for a particular ryu-ha, followed by re-teaching, which introduces a few changes due to recall issues.
3. Tournament & public performance, particularly as "standards" are introduced (such as the WKF introducing "shitei kata" - which has interestingly after a decade or so been changed again as an approach). Not a reason for change that I favor, as I feel sticking to one's ryu-ha traditions and its small evolutions (due to such things as bullets 1 & 2 above) has its value.

The line of thinking that kata change of course is well documented in a number of quotes from style masters of eth 1800-1900s era. For example, the Yasuhiro Konishi quote below taken from the 1934 text Karate Kenpo: The art of self defense mostly authored by Kenwa Mabuni. Furthermore, the masters themselves obviously changed kata and hence we see the style variants between goju, shotokan and shito-ryu.

"In Fact, karate-jutsu kata are not fixed or immovable. Like water, it is ever changing and finds itself in the shape of the vessel containing it." Yasuhiro Konishi, 1934.

A little on kata bunkai and pattern variants:

Given moves in kata have more than one bunkai (stated by a number of masters of karate in the early 1900s; reviewed in "Seienchin" ISBN 978-1-4092-3733-4, pages 11-13), a variety of our Network instructors have been fine tuning kata bunkai selection by pulling from the traditional pool of karate techniques and overlapping that with at least the following:

• street fighting data
• emergency department data from street fights
• a technical audit of 50 UFC fights
• interviews with BJJ/Judo experts

An evidenced based analysis (driven by data) allows one to create at least the following 4 categories of violence which may be relevant to karate-ka. Depending on the need of the practitioner, or emphasis of a given dojo, one may select a bunkai set for Bassai dai, or any kata, that matches the below (rather than simply following classical martial arts or street hearsay):

1. Male-on-male violence

2. Law enforcement (bouncer/police) - which has different psychological considerations and physical relaities

3. Female domestic violence

4. Female violence derived related to a stranger attack

The aim is not to get away from classical karate bunkai, but given data is available now, to find the overlap of techniques of one of the above 4 categories with the broader bunkai set of classical martial arts – as depicted in the below figure and reviewed in the book “Street Fighting Statistics & Medical Outcomes linked to Karate & Bunkai Selection”. That review process most importantly not only states what is the top 7-8 likely street events that lead to a medically relevant injury, but also which techniques do not (and this, surprisingly to many for male-on-male stranger violence, includes a broad range of commonly used kansetsu waza often displayed by karate-ka in bunkai).