Hello,

I have been demoed a few of the real applications for the pinan katas by an 7th dan Shihan.

Its really nothing like what we are used to being taught and is VERY effective.

I havent managed to find any info on this even after many hours of reading and searching on the web. It seems like a very well kept secret.

Does anyone know of a good book explaining those techniques ?

I have already read the bubishi and okinawa tuite from Javier Martinez but covers only advanced katas that I will probably not learn in class.

I also read Karatedo kyohan which is basically a waste of time.


Thanks !

this is an interesting topic b/c of the nature of the heain/pinan kata.

it is accepted itosu anko created these 5 kata. they are simpler and more basic and were intended for beginners and children and for introduction into the educational system. as such, alot of the sequences don't make perfect sense or seem dissconnected. its also said alot of the techniques were made less dangerous.

to understand the pinan/heains you have to understand were thay came from. were they totally original creations by itosu? probably not. some jka types feel they are related to kanku dai/kushanku. another theory is they were created out of an older, more sophisticated kata that has since been "forgotten." this would be the channan dai/sho kata.

i recently acquired an analysis/application book of these kata and it is very enlightening, particularly with regard to heain/pinan application. it is "channan: heart of the heains" by elmar schmeisser. i highly recommend it. the channan kata themselves are fascinating. see my post in this forum about it.