Wankan, or Kings Crown, gets its name from the katas first four moves, which are supposed to form the shape of a crown. When viewing this crown shape, one must appreciate that Wankan is the only Shotokan kata that begins diagonally. Some historians claim Wankan was handed down by the Okinawan royal family, thereby getting its name. As with other kata, Gichin Funakoshi tried to change its Okinawan name to a Japanese one. The names Shofu (Pine Wind) and Hito (Flying Waves) were attempted but failed. Wankan is one of the more recent additions to the Shotokan repertoire, possibly being imported and modified from another style (as with most of the advanced kata) by Yoshitaka Funakoshi. Wankan is a very short kata having only 24 counts and only 1 kiai, leading some karate enthusiasts to the conclusion that the katas transition to Shotokan was never fully completed due to Yoshitaka Funakoshis untimely death. Generally, the movements of Wankan do not pose too much difficulty for the practitioner. Moves four and five, although unusual, are not very taxing; in fact, they are even liberating because they are not confined by any stance. The only potentially troublesome technique occurs during #13, when turning from zenkutsu-dachi into neko-ashi-dachi. Although, on the surface, it is a simple mawate (turn), it is quite difficult to perform koko-sukui/koko-tsukidashi quickly, with balance and power. Overall, Wankan is a very fluid and low impact kata in which the transition between techniques should be the focal point rather than the actual techniques themselves. Wankan (along with Jiin) is probably one of the least practiced kata in Shotokan dojo. Why? Probably of greatest significance, Wankan (along with Jiin) was never documented in Masatoshi Nakayamas Best Karate series, a karatekas number one resource for Shotokan kata. If this exclusion didnt lend itself to the allusion of Wankans lack of significance, at the very least, it certainly reinforced neglect of the kata. As a late addition to the compendium of JKA kata, Wankan simply hasnt received as much attention as its predecessors. It is an unrefined kata, not really suitable for tournament, and having some very puzzling bunkai. As such, some instructors may feel that Wankan isnt worth spending too much time on, with other kata offering more payback. To analogize, Wankan is really a dessert kata, eaten after one has already been well-fed, and far more fun than nutritious.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:15:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015