Bassai Sho
27 Movements
Kai is at movement 17 and Movement 22
BASSAI SHO – “To Penetrate the Fortress”
- The second of the two katas in the Bassai series Bassai Sho follows a similar embusen (line of attack) as Bassai Dai but it is shorter in length. This kata introduces several new techniques such as a ni-jodan-shita-zuki (double inverted upper level punch), a chudan-tsukami-uke (middle level grasping block), and a gedan-tsukami-uke (lower level grasping block). Once a student has familiarized themselves thoroughly with Bassai Dai they can begin to learnBassai Sho which they will find portrays a more outward feeling calmness, while still maintaining great inner strength, which is in fact quite the opposite from Bassai Dai which is noted for is visible display of outward power. Within this kata the student will discover a whole new set of challenges, while at the same time still performing some of the more familiar techniques found in Bassai Dai. The term “Sho” means “lesser” and in this instance refers to the length and strength of this kata.