Gankaku

gangaku

 

Gankakau has 42 movements

Kiai is at movement 28 and movement 42

  • GANKAKU “Crane on a Rock”
    The kata Gankaku is said to be derived from the Chinese kata Yabu Chinto and Gankaku appears in Isshin-ryu, Shorin-ryu, and Shotokan karate.Yabu Chinto is said to have originated on the island of Okinawa in the early 19th century and to be named for a Chinese sailor who became shipwrecked on the island during a typhoon. Due to the number of hip rotations, and the balance and skill required to kick with a yoko-geri-keage(side snapping kick) from a one legged crane stance, Gankaku is definitely one of the hardest Shotokan katas to master. This kata introduces several new techniques such as a jodan-sokumen-awase-uke (upper level side combination block).
    There are two kiai points in this kata, the first one occurs on the first chudan-oi-zuki (middle level lunge punch), and the second one
    occurs on the very last movement of the kata also a chudan-oi-zuki (middle level lunge punch). This kata contains 42 movements and should take the student approximately 60 seconds to complete. To finish the kata from the last movement, leave your right foot in place and pivoting on your right foot withdraw your left foot to your right foot and at the same time turn 180 degrees counter clockwise and finish in the yoi (ready) position identical to the start of the kata, bring your hands to your sides, rei (bow)

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