Chinto Kata - Practicing
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'Quell the east', 'fighting to the east', 'winning sword'. A Kata named after the shipwrecked
Chinese martial-artist who was responsible for bringing the form to Okinawa. Further
developed by Itosu-Yasutsune in the Shorin-ryu School of Okinawa. Renamed Gankaku by
Funikoshi-Gichin in 1922. The Kata is characterised by one leg stances included with one leg
kicking techniques.
Chin - to calm or quell
To - East
Traditionally, ‘Chinto’ translates as ‘fighting to the east’, which could be interpreted from these
characters, i.e. quelling a disturbance to the east. Chinto is a Shuri-te and Tomari-te lineage
Kata and found in many current styles, including Shotokan (they call it ‘Gankaku’, or ‘crane on
a rock’), as well as many Shorin Ryu schools. According to Karate historians, the oldest forms
of Chinto were performed to the right and left, unlike the current version performed forward
and back. Chinto Kata, being performed in Shuri-te time, had the techniques performed
forward and back (as in Gankaku). The first stance in Chinto, where the feet are positioned inline
to one another, is of the tate-seishan variety. However, as it is only present in Chinto this
stance has been identified as separate from tate-seishan and named ‘Chinto-Dachi’ to reflect
this individuality and uniqueness.
For further information please view the Chinto Instructional Video page.