Kyan's Passai
By
Dan
Smith, Kyoshi, Shorin Ryu Seibukan
(Proprietary
information for use by IOSSKA members only)
The
Passai kata is one of the most widely known kata of Okinawan
karate. There are many variations of this kata. The true
identity of the originator of Passai is unknown. The original
movements of the Passai kata cannot be verified but the
pattern or embusen of the kata is generally the same in
the more than dozen versions that are currently practiced
on Okinawa.
Researchers
of Okinawan karate have not been able to determine if there
was even an original Passai kata or if the name Passai has
a meaning that at one time designated a particular fighting
system or style. The Okinawan's do not have a meaning for
the word Passai. The Japanese took the sound of the word
and translated it into kanji that means "breaking through
a fortress". The meaning that the Japanese assigned to Passai
does not appear to have a relative meaning to any of the
movements of the kata. Some Passai practitioners assert
that the first move of the kata is breaking down a defense
but this seems to be antagonistic to the strategy of never
making the first offensive movement.
The
majority of the Passai kata can be traced to Matsumura Sokon.
The Kyan Passai is from the lineage of Oyadomori Kokan.
Kyan studied from Matsumura Sokon but for reasons that are
not known the Passai kata that he passed on came from Oyadomori
Kokan. Why Kyan chose this particular Passai will remain
a mystery but the followers of Kyan have some hypotheses
as to why Kyan chose and perpetuated Passai from the Tomari
village.
Why
Kyan Chose the Oyadomori Passai
The
stances of the Oyadomori Passai are quite different from
the Matsumura versions.
The
crossed legged stance or kosa dachi in the opening move
of Kyan's Passai has both feet firmly planted without the
heel being raised as in most Passai versions. The reason
behind this is that Kyan always stressed jumping in and
out from an opponent. You cannot jump away with one heel
raised. Also, by having booth feet planted firmly it allows
you to position your body against the body of your opponent
and this is keeping with Kyan's fighting strategy.
The naifanchi stance
is used in the first series of open hand blocks. Due to
Kyan's physical size the use of the naifanchi stance makes
more sense than the neiko stance that is employed in the
other Passai versions. The naifanchi stance allowed Kyan
to move into the opponent and stay sideways from the attack.
Also, Kyan was a strong proponent of the use of twisting
to the side without changing stances. This twisting motion
develops the koshi more than the neiko stance.
