Sushiho

Quick Facts

About the kata

Sushiho (五十四歩) is the Kyokushin name of the kata that other styles know as Gojushiho and Okinawa as Useishi. According to Jaap Kooman, Masutatsu Oyama brought it into Kyokushin from his Shotokan training under Funakoshi Gichin and adapted it to the Kyokushin system with a greater emphasis on power. Kyokushin schools place it among the northern kata derived from Shuri-te; uskyokushin.com describes it as an advanced kata of fast, precise movements. In the breakdown that Kooman publishes, the kata has 50 steps and six kiai shouts; why not 54, as the name promises, we have not been able to establish. It begins in fudo dachi; the first two steps are the kick kagato ushiro age geri with a lunge into moro ashi dachi, and the third is the slow seiken morote chudan uchi uke in sanchin dachi. Kooman calls steps 17 and 19 aite no bo tori, taking the opponent's staff, and the kata ends with the technique chudan yonhon nukite and a kiai. The sources disagree on which grade the kata belongs to: karatephilosophy.com lists it for 3rd dan, Kooman's breakdown for 4th dan. The WUKF list from April 2024 places it in Kyokushin among the optional tokui kata as Sushi Ho, and in Nanbudo as Gojuyon among the sentei kata.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

Jaap Kooman explains Sushiho as derived from Useishi, the Okinawan reading of the characters for 54; the last character 歩 means walking or a step. Per him, the number 54 has a close link to Buddhist philosophy, where it is sacred. The English Wikipedia also gives the Chinese name Uesheishi, meaning "54 methods."

Creator and history

The English Wikipedia attributes the kata to Matsumura Sokon. Jaap Kooman and themartialway.com.au both leave open whether Matsumura brought it back from his travels in China or whether it is his last masterwork; Kooman places its roots in Matsumura's time, in the eighteen-thirties. He links the northern Chinese influence to the Black Tiger style from Shandong province: according to him, it is revealed by the varied stances and by claw, palm and nukite strikes combined with sliding steps forward.

Differences between styles

In Shotokan the kata is practiced in two versions, Gojushiho Dai and Gojushiho Sho; per Kooman they were created by Itosu Anko and are likely two variations of the same kata, while themartialway.com.au presents Itosu's authorship only as a claim. Karatevancouver.ca attributes 54 movements to both versions, while themartialway.com.au counts 65 for Sho and 67 for Dai. Per karatevancouver.ca, Funakoshi tried to rename the Sho version Hotaku, woodpecker, for its frequent thrusting strikes. Kyokushin has a single Sushiho, adapted by Oyama, per karatephilosophy.com, from the Shotokan Gojushiho. In Tang Soo Do, per the English Wikipedia, it is practiced under the Korean name O Sip Sa Bo.

Competition status

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

Related katas

• Variants: Gojushiho Sho
• Variants: Gojushiho Dai