Niseishi (nijushiho), a beautiful karate kata

Niseishi (nijushiho) 二十四歩 Kata. Examination of one of the Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu karate kata, known in Okinawan dialect, as niseishi (“knee-say-she”) shows interesting characteristics. This kata, like most Shorin-Ryu kata, is a favorite of many students. Niseishi, translates as the "24", possibly referring to 24 techniques (waza). Others suggest it refers to '24 steps'.

Kyoju Hausel, Soke, demonstrates Okinawa white crane martial arts at Chinese New Year 

Celebration at the University of Wyoming. Photo courtesy of Sandra Sinicki, Geneva, France.

This kata was introduced to Okinawa karate by Seisho Arakaki (1840-1918), who was a member of the Okinawan royal court and held the recognized title of Chikudon Pechin. The title indicates Arakaki was part of a special class of Okinawa elite, equivalent to the Japanese samurai. The modifier - Chikudon, relates to a level of pechin that translates as ‘district’. It is apparent Arakaki’s martial arts skills went beyond karate and into the realm of kenjutsu. 

Arakaki’s karate education was directed by a Chinese boxing instructor Wai Shinzan. While in China, Arakaki studied southern Shaolin gung-fu as a student of Wai Shinzan, and was educated in the art of white crane (hakutsuru) martial arts. White Crane is a beautiful, but deadly art, taught in some traditional Shorin-Ryu styles as well as to some members of Juko Kai International. The kata and bunkai of white crane Shorin-Ryu, include aesthetic movements providing the observer with visions of white cranes posing along the edge of a pond. White crane techniques resemble wings of a crane, crane postures, and even beak thrusts at eyes; while other movements display wing strikes to neck, and wing blocks. However, these are mostly absent from niseishi with the exception of wing strikes that occur near the mid point of the kata. 

It is reported Arakaki learned the Chinese versions of niseishi, seisan and sanseiru from his Chinese instructor, and later adapted ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ techniques to these kata to make them more pliable to self-defense.

Today, niseishi remains a beautiful, yet brutal kata demonstrating the beauty of intermixed, fast and slow movement, along with strikes that include teeth-crushing elbow strikes (hiji uchi), hammer-fist strikes (kentsui uchi), ridge hand strikes (haito-uchi), and the simultaneous over-under double punches of yama uchi to the body core. Today, this kata is practiced in many styles including Shorin-Ryu, Shuri-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Shotokan, Wado-Ryu and even Korean Tang Soo Do.

Most martial artists have heard of Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate master Gichin Funakoshi in that he is considered by most, as the father of modern karate. Funakoshi moved from Okinawa to mainland Japan in 1922, and taught Japanese students the way of karate, known as karate-do. When Funakoshi introduced niseishi to mainland Japan, he renamed it nijushiho to make it acceptable to the Japanese culture by using Japanese, rather than Okinawan, dialect. Breaking down ni-ju-shi-ho, the individual words mean: ni=2, ju=10, shi=4; and ho=techniques: 24 techniques.

Seiyo Shorin-Ryu members training in waves of the south China sea along the coast of Vietnam.

Sudden contrasts between slow, and explosive accelerated movement in niseishi, provides a distinct rhythm in the kata likened to tides of ocean waves crashing on a beach. The kata focuses dynamic use of hips with smooth movement like waves crashing on a beach. Because the kata was taught by Wai Shinzan, it is thought to originally be a form from the Fujian Province of China, and part of the southern Shaolin curriculum.

Meikyo and Rohai Kata of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu

For our style of Shorin-Ryu karate, Soke Hausel included two versions of Rohai kata from Okinawa. Rohai is a powerful kata with finesse adapted from the Tomari-Ryu karate system of Okinawa (for those of you who have read about karate’s origins, three styles were developed near one another in Naha City, Shuri City and in the Tomari district).



Rohai is believed to have been authored by Kosaku Matsumora and originally referred to as Matsumora Rohai Kata. Itosu (Ankoh) Yasutsune (1830-1915), one of the legendary Okinawan Shorin-Ryu masters, later created three versions of Rohai from the original kata to make it easier for students to learn. He named these simply Rohai Shodan, Rohai Nidan and Rohai Sandan.

Itosu was known for simplifying complex kata and did the same to the long and complex Kusanku Kata (also known as Kanku). We teach a Kusanku Dai and Kusanku Sho kata. Kusanku-Dai kata has more than 100 steps. To simplify Kusanku, Itosu broke it down into five katas that became known as the Pinan katas. Instead of retaining all three Rohai, it was decided by Soke Hausel to include two Rohai kata. Thus one day, most of us will learn Rohai as well as another kata known as Meikyo.
Some of you are aware that Itosu and Gichin Funakoshi were two Okinawan masters who introduced karate to the world during the early part of the 20^th century. While Itosu remained in Okinawa to teach the art, Funakoshi moved to mainland Japan. Funakoshi had a difficult time introducing karate to the Japanese people simply because he was Okinawan. Okinawans were basically considered Hillbillies to the Japanese – they spoke a different language and did things differently.

Meikyo kata

To win over the Japanese, Funakoshi had to be diplomatic and employ Japanese culture to promote karate. This was also true of the rohai kata. Rohai translates as white heron and Funakoshi decided to modify one of the three kata and name it Meikyo to honor the Japanese. Meikyo translates as shimmering mirror or polishing a mirror. Both of these kata, Rohai and Meikyo use ippon ashi dachi (one-legged stance). Another very interesting technique was introduced in meikyo known as gedan shotei ate or downward palm heel strikes that occur at the beginning of the kata while using one's hands in a movement that might suggest to an outsider that the karate-ka is polishing a mirror.

Jumping elbow strike - a characteristic waza in
meikyo kata

This was a very important diplomatic move by Funakoshi. In Japanese mythology there are three sacred Shinto treasures that are controlled by the Japanese emperor. These are a sword (representing valor), a jewel (representing benevolence) and a mirror (representing wisdom).  In Japanese, these are kusanagi, yasakani no magatama, and yata no kagami. The mirror was very important. Legend states  that the Sun goddess Amaterasu hid in a cave from the Storm god and as a result, the brightness of the clear day was lost since it was hidden in the cave with the goddess. To lure her out of her cave, a mirror was brought to the mouth of a cave as an inducement to her, and once she stepped out of the cave to admire herself, her cave was sealed behind her bringing daylight to Japan. Today, mirrors are found at the center of Shinto shrines and also figure prominently in Buddhism. The great all encompassing mirror is a common reference to the enlighten mind of Buddha.

Since Buddhism and Shinto are important in the Japanese culture, Funakoshi used such references to help promote karate – and with the help of Jigoro Kano, it worked. Most people outside of Okinawa believe karate was of Japanese origin, but it was introduced to the Japanese people just as it was introduced to America at a later date.

Double back fist strike from Meikyo kata.