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Home > Martial arts > Kata
Kevin's Shotokan kata notes: bassai dai
Last modified: Tue Jul 20 20:27:46 2004
Bassai dai is one of the `big four' kata of the
Shotokan style, and required for most black belt grading examinations.
The other important kata at this level are enpi,
kanku dai, and hangetsu. Of the four, bassai
is probably the most accessible for the brown-belt student aspiring
to a black belt. It's long, but not frighteningly long like
kanku, it doesn't require great athleticism like
enpi, and most of its moves are at least recognizable, which is
more than can be said for hangetsu.
Consequently, most Shotokan schools start their students on bassai
dai after 18-24 months of training, allowing a year or so to work
on it for the first degree black belt test.
The meaning of the kanji characters that are pronounced
`bassai' is not entirely clear. The characters are usually translated
into english as `penetrate a fortress', but I understand from native
Japanese speakers that this is not a meaning that the symbols can comfortably
bear. Increasingly the word is translated as `rescue'. `Dai' just
means `big'. There is a bassai sho (`small') as well, but this is
not usual practiced as much as the dai variant. Whatever
the translation of the name, it isn't entirely clear what relationship
the name has to the moves, although there are some highly fanciful
interpretations circulating.
Most of the moves in bassai will be familiar to a person
familiar with the heian kata. There's the low
spear-hand strike and back-first block/crescent kick/elbow strike combinations
from godan, the reverse inside blocks and marching knife-hand
blocks, from nidan,
and the palm-heel strikes that appear first in sandan.
However, there are some moves that will be new to most students --
the unusual `mountain punch', the inside blocks in `almost front stance',
and the sliding knife-hand blocks, for example. There's also some
tricky balancing required in places.
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Performance line for bassai dai; the starting position
is shown as a blue spot
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0. Preparation. From the attention stance, bring your feet
together and grasp your right fist in your left hand. Ideally,
your left thumb should be on top of your right thumb. You hands
are in front of you at waist level.
1. Fall forward into inside block to the north. Allow
your body to fall gradually forward. As you start to move,
rapidly bring both fists to your left hip and raise your
right knee. Step down with your right foot, while doing inside
block with your right arm, supporting the arm with
the fingers of your left hand. Your left foot slides up behind
your right, so that your ankles are crossed. Your left little toe
should be touching the ground behind and just to the left of your
right foot. Balance in this position for a fraction of a
second.
2. Inside block south. Use your left foot to rotate your
whole body on your right heel, so you're facing south in front stance. Step
forward (south) with your left foot into front stance, and inside
block strongly with your left arm. This is the same basic
soto uchi uke that you've been practising since day one.
3. Reverse inside block south. bring your right arm across
to your left hip to cock it for inside block. Block strongly with
your right arm, twisting your hips so your right shoulder is forward.
This is the same reverse inside block that features in
heian nidan.
4. Reverse outside block north. Slide your back (right) foot
across to your left, then rotate on your heels to face north in
front stance. This
is a basic mawatte turn. As you turn, cock your left arm for
outside block by raising your left fist to your left ear. At the end
of the turn, block sharply with the left forearm, pulling your extended
right arm back to your hip. This is a reverse outside block.
5. Inside block north. Do a standard inside block with your
right arm. You're still in front stance at this point.
6. Outside block east. Look east. Bring your right leg back to your left,
while rotating on your left heel to face east. Then step out with the
right leg to the east into front stance; as you land, outside block
with your right forarm. The JKA way of doing this move has two
distinct parts. In the first part, bring your legs together facing
east, while blocking low in front of you by sweeping your right arm
down and right. In the second part, continue the sweeping movement
of the right hand all the way up to head height. Then step forward and
do the block. Some other styles just turn and block.
7. Reverse inside block east. Bring your left fist back to
your right hip, then inside block with your left forearm.
8. Face north. Look north, then pull your left foot about halfway
back to your right foot, and in the same north-south line. Turn on
your heals to face north while pulling both fists to your right hip.
Your feet should be pointing north, about two shoulder-widths
apart. In the jargon, this is hachiji stance -- wider than
attention stance, but not as wide as horse stance.
9. Palm heel strike north. Extend your left hand in a slow
palm heel (`tate shuto') strike to the north. Hold for a fraction
of a second.
10. Punch north. Without stepping, punch at midsection height
to the north with your right fist.
11. Inside block north. Turn on your heels so that both feet,
your shoulders, and your hips are facing north west. Withdraw
your punching right fist to your left hip and immediately use it to
inside block north. Most experts do moves 10 and 11 very quickly, as
if they were one move. You are in a very narrow, short front stance.
Purists insist that the `back' leg (the right leg) be locked
straight during the block, as it would be in a real front stance.
12. Punch north. Turn on your heels so that both feet, your
shoulders, and your hips point north. Use the turning action to
drive a left punch at midsection height to the north.
13. Inside block north. Turn on your heels so that both feet,
your shoulders, and your hips are facing north east. Withdraw
your punching left fist to your right hip and immediately use it to
inside block north. Most experts do moves 12 and 13 very quickly, as
if they were one move.
14-17 Four knife-hand blocks. If you're practising bassai,
you don't need me to tell you how to do a knife-hand block. Step
forward with your right foot into back stance and knife-hand block
to the north with your right hand. Step forward again and block with
your left. Step forward again and block with your right. Step back and
block with your left. Finish this sequence of moves in backstance with
your left foot forward. The tempo of these four moves is usually
slow-slow-fast-fast.
18. Open-hand inside block north. The jargon term for this
rather odd move is tsukami uke. Bring your right hand
out in front of your left shoulder
while turning on your heels into front stance. Make a slow inside
block action with your right arm, with your hand open, knuckles pointing
up. Support this block with the fingertips of your left hand on
the wrist of your right. This is a reverse block -- your blocking
hand is on the same side as your back leg. To get any strength in
it, you need to rotate your right shoulder forward. This whole move
should take as much as four seconds.
19. Side thrust kick to the north at knee height.
This is a tricky move, made trickier by the fact that you
need to balance at the end to move straight into the next move.
Raise your right knee sharply; ideally your knee should
protrute through the gap between your left and right arms --
that is, it should come to chest height. Then rotate on
your left heel so that your left toes point west; at the same
time thrust kick strongly down and forward with your right
leg, pulling both hands to your chest. You are simulating
pulling your opponent towards you while kicking.
Kiai on this move. Balance for a second (or as
long as you can!) before moving straight into the next move.
20. Knife-hand block south. Withdraw your kicking foot
back to your left knee, while turning your shoulders, hips,
and left foot to point south. Step back with your right foot
into back stance, and knife-hand block south.
21. Knife-hand block south. Step forward with your right leg
into a new back stance, and knife-hand block with your right hand.
22. Double-handed rising block south. Step back with your
right leg, so that your feet are together, knees bent. Bring your
fists together at your waist, then slowly raise both fists
above your head as you stand up straight. At the end of
the move, the knuckles of both hands are almost touching.
Although technically
this is a block, it's usually done very slowly, more like a
breathing exercise.
23. Double outside block south. Separate your hands
with a snapping action, and step smartly forward with your
right leg into front stance. Bring your arms down and
around in an arc, as if punching both an opponents hips.
Your knuckles end up facing downwards, your fists extended
in front of you as if you had just done two inside
blocks. In fact, your are doing two outside blocks, but
with your fists stopping short at shoulder width apart.
The jargon term for this move is hasami uchi.
24. Sliding punch south. Slide forward about two feet and
punch with your right fist. Usually moves 23 and 24 are done
as a single move -- as soon as the double block lands, immediately
slide forward into the punch.
25a. Low spear-hand strike north. Slide your left
leg across to your right, while looking north and pulling
your right open hand back to your right ear. Then rotate
sharply on your heels to face north in front stance, using
the turning action to drive the low spear-hand strike.
This is the same move that appears towards the end of
heian godan.
25b. Double block north and south. In the JKA tradition, this move
is done differently in bassai than in godan, even
though it starts and finishes in the same place. Here, draw your left foot back
to your right, with both pointing east, keeping your knees bent. Then
inside block behind your head with your right arm, and downward block
with your left, as your stand up straight. This is usually a slow move
throughout. In godan the blocks are fast, and the straightening
up is slow.
Moves 25a and 25b are generally done so as to form a single continuous
move.
26. Downward block north in horse stance. From the double
block position, rotate on your left heel to face west. As your torso
rotates, quickly turn your head so you continue to look north.
Raise your right knee and cock your right arm for downward block.
As you stamp down, block downward with your right arm, and strike out
behind your with your left elbow.
27. Backfist block south. Look south. Cock your arms for
the backfist block -- right arm extended south, left arm extended
north and underneath your right armpit. Slow block at midsection
height with the back of your left open hand.
28. Crescent kick south, elbow strike west. This move
also should be familiar from godan. Crescent kick your
outstretched left hand with your right leg, look east, stamp down into
horse stance facing east, and strike your left palm with your right
elbow.
29-31. Three downward blocks east in horse stance. Keeping your
legs and torso still, and remaining in a low horse stance,
block downward and in front of you with your right arm, then your
left arm, then your right arm again. Most experts do not cock the
arms for these blocks, only pulling the non-blocking up arm as high
as the armpit of the blocking arm.
32. Look south and prepare to punch. Look sharply south, and
pull both fists sharply back to your left hip as your left leg steps
across to your left. Your heels are now in front stance position, but
your feet are still pointing somewhat to the east, and your shoulders are
still almost square to the east.
33. Mountain punch south. This is a rather odd move, and a
rather odd name, but it is a reasonable translation of the Japanese
iama tsuki. Rotate on your heels to come to a full-on front
stance, using the rotation to drive your left arm to punch above
your head, and your right arm to punch at midsection height.
Although the punch is above your own head, you should lean slightly
forward so that it is at your opponent's head height. In effect, you
are punching head and midsection simultaneously.
34. Prepare to punch. Pull both fists back to your right hip,
and straighten your back. Stand up slowly -- perhaps take 2-3 seconds
for this move.
35. Stamp and mountain punch south. Raise your left leg
high, and mountain punch as you stamp down. In this move, your
right punch is at head height, and your left punch at midsection
(mirror image of move 33).
36. Prepare to punch. Pull both fists back to your left hip,
and straighten your back. Stand up slowly -- perhaps take 2-3 seconds
for this move.
37. Stamp and mountain punch south. Raise your right leg
high, and mountain punch as you stamp down. Your
left punch is at head height, and your right punch at midsection
(same as move 33).
38. Low scooping block south. This is a rather awkward move,
and one that most students won't have encountered before.
Look north over your left shoulder. Rotate on your right heel
by swinging your left foot up to your right foot. For a fraction
of a second you will be square to the north,
knees bent, right arm raised. Now, step out to
the west with your left leg, to form a narrow front stance,
hips square to the west.
Remain looking north throughout. Then bring your right fist down
in a large clockwise circular action, then back up almost to
head height, before blocking directly down with your fist, knuckles
facing down. At the end of this move your forearm should be almost
parallel to the floor. What this move simulates is catching a
kicking leg in the crook of your right arm, then pushing down
on the knee to incapacitate your opponent.
39. Low scooping block south. This is the mirror image
of move 38. Shoot your left fist up above your head, swivel on
your heels so that you're in a narrow front stance facing east,
then do the circular scooping block with your left arm.
40. Knife-hand block north east. At last -- a move you'll
recognize. Step across with your right foot to the north, so that
your feet are on a line pointing north east. Rotate your knees so
that you twist into a back stance, and knife-hand block with
your right hand.
40-41. Knife-hand block north west. This is a familiar
move, but done in an unfamiliar way. The difference is that this move is done
without stepping one leg in front of the other. Instead, the legs
execute a sliding action.
Start by looking sharply north west. Then step south with your
right foot so that your feet are on a line pointing north east.
Move your hands with your torso, so they point south east.
Your left leg remains bent, so you are, in a sense, in a back stance/
knife-hand block posture, but looking in the opposite direction to
usual. Then step smartly up to your left foot with your right foot,
cock your arms for a knife-hand block in the direction of travel, then
step out with the left leg and do an ordinary knife-hand block.
In short, what you're doing in this move is a sliding knife-hand block,
rather than the usual stepping block.
42. Finish. Pull your right left leg back to your right and
stand up slowly. Return your hands to the starting position --
right fist in left hand.
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