Choun no Kon

Quick Facts

About the kata

Choun no Kon is a kata with the long bo staff from Okinawan kobudo. According to the Japanese column WEB Daisan Bunmei, it is one of five staff kata of the Matayoshi lineage. The kobudo kata list of the World Union of Karate-do Federations (WUKF) places it among the staff forms; the 2025 edition adds Choun no Kon Dai and Choun no Kon Sho. Schools of the Taira lineage also have a kata that sounds the same but write it with different characters. The Okinawan association ODKS lists both spellings as separate entries with the same reading among staff forms. We could not decide from the sources whether this is two versions of one kata or two different forms. On its origin there are only claims with no source given. The East Wind Budo dojo writes the kata was created about 250 years ago by a warrior from Tomari named Choun. Instructor Pavel Antonsson states Soeishi Yoshiyuki is named as creator, but that the kata was most likely brought by Choun Uekata of Tomari. We found no independent confirmation. Antonsson also writes the kata reckons with imaginary opponents from three sides and that candidates for 3rd dan practise it in his school, Koyama Ryu Kobudo.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

The Matayoshi lineage writes the name 朝雲の棍. Pavel Antonsson interprets 朝雲 (read Choun) as morning mist and kon as the Okinawan word for staff; the researcher Motobu Naoki titled his article on the kata 'Morning Cloud's Staff'. The Taira lineage writes 趙雲の棍: according to Antonsson, 趙雲 is the Okinawan reading of the name Zhao Yun, a legendary Chinese general from the late Han period famed as a master of the spear. East Wind Budo interprets the name loosely as roughly the end of the morning mist.

Differences between styles

The Japanese column WEB Daisan Bunmei states that the Matayoshi lineage passes down five staff kata, while the Ryukyu Kobudo of the Taira lineage passes down eighteen; kata of the same name have a similar structure in both systems but differ in detail. In general, according to it, Matayoshi Kobudo relies on powerful movements, Ryukyu Kobudo on refinement of technique, for instance footwork changes and grip switches. The spelling 趙雲の棍 heads the kata list of the Ryukyu Kobudo Shinkokai association, which split from Taira's Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinkokai in 1995. East Wind Budo writes that the kata is also practised by Yamanni-ryu and by some schools of the Taira lineage.

Competition status

• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Okinawan Kobudo — Official kata list ↗