Shoshinsha no Kata

Quick Facts

About the kata

Shoshinsha no Kata is a set of three short forms with which an Ashihara Karate student begins. Ashihara Karate International (AKI) ranks it as the first of five kinds of kata, alongside Kihon, Kumite, Nage and Jissen no Kata, and according to AKI this set is mainly about stepping back, judging distance, and the deflecting blocks nagashi uke. According to AKI's kata guide, the first form, Sono Ichi, has ten numbered steps. It begins in the combat stance kumite no kamae, and each step responds to a specific attack: a straight punch to the body or head, the front kick mae geri, and the roundhouse kick mawashi geri. The defender either draws back the front leg and deflects the attack, or shifts into the second position, as numbered by the guide, and counters at once. Steps 8 and 9, against a kick to the body, combine a double block with elbow and knee, the knee kick hiza geri and the throw maki komi nage; the form ends with a downward strike and a jump back to kumite no kamae. This same set is not exhausted at white belt. AKI's grading syllabus requires Sono Ichi at 8th kyu, Sono Ni at 5th kyu, and Sono San only at second dan. AKI does not describe Sono Ni and Sono San in its public guide, so we have not been able to document their sequence.

Meaning of the name

AKI translates the name as "form for beginners". The Japanese organisation NIKO (芦原会館) writes the set as 初心の型, read Shoshin no kata; a 2012 blog post by its Kansai headquarters explains the name as a form that a beginner learns easily and first of all.

Creator and history

According to a 2012 blog post by NIKO's Kansai headquarters, the Ashihara katas were devised by the school's previous kancho, and five kinds are published: Shoshin, Kihon, Kumite, Nage and Jissen no kata. We assume this refers to the founder Hideyuki Ashihara, because after his death in 1995 NIKO has been led by his son Hidenori (English Wikipedia). AKI describes the Ashihara katas as forms of controlled technique meant to explain sabaki, i.e. the combination of defence and attack, as Ashihara named it. We have not been able to document exactly when he put together the set of beginner forms.

Differences between styles

The organisations that emerged from Ashihara Karate already differ in name: AKI uses Shoshinsha no Kata, and, in its syllabus, also the shortened Shoshin Kata; the Japanese NIKO and the Danish club AKF use Shoshin no kata. In NIKO, according to its Okayama branch, Sono Ichi is the first kata after joining the club, and an instructor on the blog everkarate lists it as required for the first white-belt grading; he sees its main value in footwork, i.e. stepping in and back, judging distance, and timing an attack. AKF stresses that all Ashihara katas are practised from the combat stance.

Techniques in the kata