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Keith Frederick
25th December 2001, 02:54
Hello,

I've done some net surfing about Shorinji Kempo and noticed that I could not find a list of katas that make up the system. Is there a list [preferably with some minor explanations] of Shorinji Kempo kata posted online somewhere?

Thanks and MERRY CHRISTMAS !

- Keith

Steve Williams
25th December 2001, 21:30
Hi Keith and welcome.

And Merry Christmas.


To answer your question, yes Shorinji Kempo does have Kata's but there are not many and they are of a relatively short duration (compared to most karate kata's).


A great deal of Shorinji Kempo training is taken up by technique training, similar in essence to one step or two step sparring used in karate.

Keith Frederick
26th December 2001, 03:33
Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply -- it puts things in a better perspective.

- Keith

Kimpatsu
26th December 2001, 05:32
Just because it's reached that point in Christmas when I've nothing better to do, I thought I'd point out that the plural of kata is still kata, like the plural of sheep is sheep. But then, as I've said before, I'm anal retentive about grammar... :D
Either way, SK has kata, shorter in duration than karate kata, as Steve said, but with several other features as well: SK kata can be performed from both left and right side, as mirror images of each other. This helps to build coordination. SK kata can also be performed in pair form, so they are a form of training over and above the repetitive memorization of techniques. HTH.
Now I'm off to yet another Xmas party... Cheers.
:toast:

Anders Pettersson
26th December 2001, 13:09
Hi Keith.

To get to your original question about net resources:

I've done some net surfing about Shorinji Kempo and noticed that I could not find a list of katas that make up the system. Is there a list [preferably with some minor explanations] of Shorinji Kempo kata posted online somewhere?

I will try and give you a more detailed answer than my friends Steve and Tony. :wave:

In Shorinji Kempo we actually don't use the term Kata for our forms that much (although some uses it anyway since most people then will understand).
We call it Hokei ?i–@Œ`?j, the second kanji in houkei can also be read as kata, but many other budo uses another kanji for kata; Œ^.
The exception from this is ryu no kata (—´‚ÌŒ`) and manji no kata (™Â‚ÌŒ`), which are usually called ko manji ken (?g™ÂŒ?), in these cases we use the same kanji for kata as in hokei.


These two kanji for kata are quite similar in their meaning, but I am not the man to go deeper in explaining the differences, my Japanese is far from good enough for that.

As Steve wrote we have forms in Shorinji Kempo but the main emphasis is paired practice. Actually all these pair forms are called hokei, but many people, even within Shorinji Kempo, usually think of tanen (single form) hokei such as the Tenchiken, Giwaken etc., when one speak about hokei.

On the Swedish federation home page: http://www.shorinji-kempo.org (go to English / Technique / Hokei or try this direct link: http://www.shorinji-kempo.org/tech/tech_hokei_e.html) you will find a explanation about our hokei.
So we have quite a few hokei, mostly pair forms, but some single forms as well, and as Tony mentioned we can practice them (both single and pair forms) on both right and left side. Some of the single forms also have a pair form, and some hokei that basically are done in pairs can be done alone.

Another site for giving you more explanations on our hokei is the Kenseikan home page made by Keijiro Hayashi. http://homepage1.nifty.com/shorinji/engindex.htm

Here you can find gif-animations of different hokei along with some good explanations. This is a direct link to that page: http://homepage1.nifty.com/shorinji/gihou/engwaza.htm

Here are some examples of his gif animations:
Chidori gaeshi:
http://homepage1.nifty.com/shorinji/gihou/chidoriga/chidorigaesi.gif

Sode maki gaeshi:
http://homepage1.nifty.com/shorinji/gihou/sodema/sodemakg.gif

Steve Williams
26th December 2001, 23:15
Originally posted by Kimpatsu
I'm anal retentive.......

Heh heh.... we knew that already Tony..... ;)




Thanks for the (much more detailed) info Anders........ glad you put that link back as I was looking for it to post myself...... beaten to the draw again...... :shot:


Happy holidays....... :santa:

hsuntzu
27th December 2001, 01:00
Here's a bit of insight into the two different kanji for "kata".

a. Œ` Kata as in how something appears. The left side of this kanji represents fur/hair in neat order on a decorative item. The right side means being next to each other and similar. Thus the entire kanji means "shape" in the sense of similar patterns and concept.

b. Œ^ Kata as in a reference shape/form of certain size & type. The top part of this kanji means to use a knife/tool to create a shape consistent with an outline or a reference object. The bottom part represents earth/dirt. Together, the entire kanji means to create a mould/cast from dirt. Thus the kanji means a "shape" in the sense of a carbon-copy, imitated, replicated.

The set forms of Shorinji Kempo are called "Hokei", using the (a) kanji for kata (Œ`) to imply that the important thing is the concepts within the forms, not just the mere physical shape & motion. Same idea for "Ryu no Kata" and "Manji no Kata".

(b) kanji for kata, as you probably see above, has a connotation for heavy emphasis on the physical shape and form.

Best Regards

Kimpatsu
27th December 2001, 02:37
Well said, Yoshi.
I apologise for the pun in the title, but at this stage of the festive season, I've imbibed too much alcohol to do any better.
The SK fukudokuhon (English version) devotes a section to the explanation of the different meanings of kata according to their kanji. I must check the tsukaiwake jiten (dictionary of correct usage) for confirmation of the "official" grammatical take on kata.
Now it's back to the drinking... :beer: