Matsumura no Seisan

Quick Facts

About the kata

Matsumura no Seisan is a version of the kata Seisan that the English Wikipedia traces back to Matsumura Sokon, a master of Shuri-te: from him it passed to Kyan Chotoku, and from Kyan to Shimabuku Tatsuo, the founder of Isshin-ryu. It carries Matsumura's name because the version taught in Shorin-ryu Seibukan can, according to the same encyclopedia, be traced back to him as well. Ohgami, however, lists Kyan among the students of Itosu Anko in the EKW guide, so the kata's path from Matsumura to Kyan remains disputed. According to the AOKK dojo, Seisan is a black-belt kata in most systems, yet this version stands at the very start of training. Isshin-ryu traditionally teaches it as the first kata of the curriculum, and Okinawa Seidokan, founded in 1984 by Toma Shian, likewise teaches it first. In Seibukan it comes after the two Fukyugata kata and remains the first major kata of the Sukunaihayashi line. The official WUKF kata list of 7 April 2024 places Seisan among the compulsory shitei kata for Isshin-ryu and among the optional tokui kata for Shorin-ryu. According to Milos Stanic, Seibukan's founder Shimabukuro Zenryo liked to demonstrate it at exhibitions and, even at an advanced age, used it to prove his fitness.

The kata in different styles

Creator and history

The Okinawan expert Kinjo Hiroshi, according to fightingarts.com, found no evidence that Seisan was passed down in the Shuri lines, that is among Matsumura and Itosu, and proposes calling the Seisan of the Kyan lines, as well as the Shotokan Hangetsu, Tomari Seisan. Ikigaiway.com states more cautiously that Kyan learned his Seisan from Matsumura, or from one of his students. Milos Stanic, from the Seibukan tradition, assumes it was the first kata Matsumura taught Kyan, at a young age; the English Wikipedia adds that Kyan studied under Matsumura for two years from the age of sixteen. Ohgami, in the EKW guide, apparently places in the same type also Oshiro no Seishan from the book Kenpo Gaisetsu, and names Aragaki Seisan as a close relative.

Differences between styles

Ohgami (EKW guide) describes a type he names Matsumura after its best-known kata: on the right-fist strike the left hand pulls to the hip while the right returns at once to the soto uke guard; in two-handed movements the front hand is up and the rear one down, and the kata ends with a downward shotei palm strike. According to the English Wikipedia, Seibukan emphasizes the long rensoku tsuki geri techniques typical of Shuri-te and fast shiko-dachi-to-zenkutsu-dachi transitions as a source of power. Ikigaiway.com adds that Isshin-ryu inserts a vertical fist strike, that Kyan's Seisan has a sequence near the end resembling Ananku, and that Shorin-ryu versions use higher stances and less hard breathing than Goju-ryu and Shotokan. According to fightingarts.com, the Kyan and Shimabuku versions resemble Matsumura no Seisan as practiced by some branches of Shito-ryu.

Bunkai – applications

The AOKK dojo describes in Isshin-ryu Seisan a grab-and-pull technique pair: the right hand blocks mid-level with the back-of-hand edge outward, while the left blocks low with the hand's edge. The right hand then turns into a tiger-mouth grip and pulls the opponent's arm back until the elbow touches the side.

Competition status

• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Isshin-ryu Karate — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shorin-ryu — Tokui (free choice) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗

Related katas

• Variant of: Seishan