Rohai

Quick Facts

About the kata

Rohai is not a single kata but an entire family of forms which, according to the English Wikipedia, arose from the Okinawan school Tomari-te. The oldest form is named Matsumora Rohai, from which the three shorter kata Rohai Shodan, Nidan and Sandan later developed. Wado-ryu practices only one of them, under the simple name Rohai, as do a number of Shorin-ryu schools. In Shorin-ryu and Matsubayashi-ryu, according to Wikipedia, the practitioner first encounters it with a downward palm strike, gedan shotei ate, and a one-legged stance, ippon ashi dachi. It also contains a series of circular strikes, tomoe zuki, identical to a passage from the kata Bassai, except that here it leads into a kick or block, hangetsu geri. The Dojo Ota Sensei, which teaches Matsubayashi-ryu, describes it as a short and very elegant kata of 27 steps, in which the practitioner stands on one leg and draws the other back for a fast snapping kick. On the official WKF kata list, Rohai is a separate entry alongside Itosu Rohai Shodan, Nidan and Sandan, and Matsumura Rohai. The WUKF list from April 2024 places it among the sentei kata in Shorin-ryu and the tokui kata in Wado-ryu.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

The name is written 鷺牌, which the English Wikipedia translates as 'image of a heron' or 'sign of a heron'. Sources disagree on the bird: historyoffighting.com writes of a 'vision of a crane', while the International Karate and Kobudo Union (IKKU) speaks of a 'vision of a white heron', linking the kata to alertness, grace and a precise strike at the right moment. Karatephilosophy.com gives a different spelling for Wado-ryu, 老梅, comparing the flowing arm movements to a heron's wings.

Creator and history

According to Olaf Steinbrecher (thekaratepage.com), the earliest written support comes from Nagamine Shoshin, founder of Matsubayashi-ryu: in one of his books he writes that he inherited Rohai from Iha Kotatsu, who passed on the art of Matsumora Kosaku of Tomari. Steinbrecher also cites Motobu Choki, according to whom Rohai was practiced only in Tomari before the abolition of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and spread to Shuri and Naha only after Okinawa Prefecture was established in 1879. That Itosu Anko created three shorter kata from the original form is stated by both the English Wikipedia and historyoffighting.com. Steinbrecher objects that written evidence is lacking: in 1937 Mabuni Kenwa listed Rohai Shodan, Nidan and Sandan among the Itosu-lineage kata, but without Itosu's name, and would not be surprised if Mabuni had created them.

Differences between styles

According to the English Wikipedia, Shito-ryu teaches all three Rohai associated with Itosu as well as Matsumora Rohai, while Gensei-ryu and Shindo Jinen-ryu teach only Matsumora Rohai. Wado-ryu has a single kata called Rohai; according to Steinbrecher it is identical to Rohai Shodan from Shito-ryu, and Otsuka Hironori most likely learned it from Mabuni. Steinbrecher adds that only Rohai Shodan resembles the original Matsumora form, Nidan resembles Wansu, and Sandan resembles the kata Jiin, Chinte and Kusanku Sho; Matsumora Rohai reached Shito-ryu through Teruo Hayashi, who took it over from Nagamine. According to Wikipedia, the Shotokan Meikyo differs clearly from all these forms. The Korean Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do are based on Matsumora's version and added board or brick breaking to it.

Competition status

• Sport karate (WKF) — Official kata list · valid from 1/1/2026 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shorin-ryu — Sentei (selected) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Wado-ryu — Tokui (free choice) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗

Related katas

• Gave rise to: Meikyo