Gankaku

Hangetsu

This kata's name is composed of two kanji. The first is rock, and the second is crane (a stork). The common interpretation is a crane standing upon a rock, but it could also be taken to simply imply a species of crane or stork.

This kata is supposed to be related to the kata Chinto practiced in many systems of Shorin-Ryu on Okinawa. There are two different Chinto that we can identify in Okinawan karate systems. One Chinto kata is the Shotokan Gankaku kata, and the other is reminiscent of Gankaku, but not really. The two kata are obviously different versions of one another. Kanazawa Hirokazu has learned and begun teaching the other version of Chinto under the name Gankaku-Sho. You can see the other Chinto in Nagamine Shoshin's book about Shorin-Ryu Karate "The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do."

Gankaku is an interesting kata composed of techniques unique to it. In Shotokan Karate, there are not many kata in which you are expected to

岩鶴

Gankaku – “Rock Crane”

Gankaku

balance upon one leg, but Gankaku requires this action throughout. Another interesting feature is the use of side snap kicks after the one legged posture. The opening technique of Gankaku implies blocking with both hands, either grabbing or merely pressing the incoming technique away. The double level kick of Kanku-Dai is in Gankaku, but in mirror image. The right leg is the first off of the floor rather than the left. Practice of Gankaku could perhaps be viewed a balancing action for this technique in Kanku Dai, but its importance is much more than that.

The author of this kata is unknown. The date of origin of the kata is unknown. However, the original name of the kata was "Chinto" which means Battle East. Funakoshi successfully changed the name to Gankaku not only to present a Japanese language name that would appeal to his market, but also to remove the connotations of war and battle that the name Chinto carries.

Gankaku is not unique among karate kata for imitating the one legged stance of a water fowl to produce a combat motion. Another kata unpracticed in Shotokan but very popular among Shito-Ryu and other Japanese styles is Rohai. Rohai has four different versions, one from Matsumura, the other three from Itosu, all four of which are reasonably popular in other styles of karate. Rohai means "Symbol of the Heron", and it contains one legged postures as well. One of the Itosu versions is the one that Meikyo is thought to come from. The Matsumura version is the most commonly seen among ShitoRyu groups.

I used to hold a romantic image in my mind of elegant storks standing on one leg with a Japanese garden for a backdrop. This imagery was ruined for me by life in Japan, however, where the most common place to find a crane or heron standing on one leg is in a drainage ditch surrounded by litter.

Directions

1. Natural Stance - Gankaku owns no opening flare of its own. There is no strange salute, no looking through triangles formed by your hands, and no spreading of the arms outward in some grandiose gesture. Just stand in the natural position with the hands at the sides in relaxed fists.

2. Pressing Side Block - Place both hands together with the backs pressed together.

The hands should be open in the sword hand position. Do not cross them only at the wrist as if to perform an x-block. Instead, touch the hands together from the knuckles to the wrists. Bring them upward and outward around the right shoulder. As you do this, step back with the right foot so that it becomes the rear foot in a new back stance.

As you step back, do not lean forward or backward. Move the torso directly above the hips and keep the pelvis over the rear foot as much as possible. For some people, the back stance looks more like a horse riding stance gone insane, but that's OK. Do what

Gankaku

you can with what you were born with. Bring the hands across the face from the right and block to the left as if a punch to the chin is being redirected behind the head. By now, you are fully in your back stance.

3. Press Again - Next you will take advantage of a movement in Heian 5. Without changing the stance or the posture, stand in place and move the hands to the right side of the torso below the shoulder. To do this, unhook your hands during the motion so that they are no longer pressed together by the back of the hands. Press the palm heels together, and as you lower the hands to your right, your hands will spin.

Finally, the right hand fingertips will point forward, and the left hand fingertips will point to the right. 4. Two Punches - Punch with the left hand in place without drawing the left hand. It will feel as though you are using a bottom fist strike because of the trajectory. After focusing the left punch, punch with the right hand. Neither punch takes advantage of hip rotation. Rather, you should twist at the waist to bring the right shoulder around to help with the punch.

The timing for these two techniques is 1-2-3-4. Don't pair up the punches. They do not flow into each other.

5. Spinning Down Block - This technique is unique to Gankaku. Lift the right foot as you begin spinning on the left foot in a counter-clockwise direction. Do not fold the arms for a down block. Rather, just move the right arm up and over from it's position punching until you stop spinning.

You should set the foot down when you are back where you started. Set the foot down into a horse riding stance and look over the right shoulder to your right. That's where you block.

6. X-Block - Look to the left, and shift the left foot to open the stance as you turn into a front stance facing front again. The left foot becomes the forward foot. Stab upward with both hands without making a drawing hand chambering action. The hands should finish just above the forehead. Don't straighten the arms. Keep the elbows at about a 90° angle. A little larger angle is OK, but not much larger.

After holding the block steady for a moment, begin slowly lowering the elbows to the torso and closing your hands into fists. Decelerate as you do this, finishing the motion with great tension. 7. Two Level Kick - Hold the hands in position while leaping off the left foot as you front snap kick with the right foot. In the air, front snap kick with the left foot. There should be one jumping action and two kicks in air. The first kick is middle level, and the next kick is high level.

Most people only perform a knee lift for the first technique and a jumping kick only on the second technique. That's not the correct way to perform this technique nor is it challenging enough for someone ready to learn this kata.

Gankaku

8. Lower X-Blocks - When you land, your right foot will touch down first, and then your left. You will end up in a front stance with the right leg as the rear leg. As the left foot touches down, lower level x-block with the wrists in the same posture that they were in while kicking without chambering them.

Turn 180° and look over the right shoulder. Step with the left foot into a new front stance with it as the front foot to your rear. As you turn and the feet pass, pull the crossed wrists up near the right shoulder. As you step forward and the foot touches down, strongly lower level x-block.

The hips are always turned forward facing during an x block in a front stance. 9. Lower Block - Pivot in place 180° clockwise and shift your right foot over until the heels are in line. You should finish in a back stance with the right foot forward. This is a quick action that happens as almost a flip of the knees. As you pivot, block with the right fist to the lower level over the right knee. The left hand should finish under the navel. There is no chambering action for this block. From x-block to down block it's all one motion. Zip! 10. Lower Sword Hand Block - Step forward into a new back stance and chamber and block with the left hand in a lower level sword hand block.

11. Wave Goodbye - Step forward into a right foot forward front stance. Bring both open hands up in front of your and cross them at the wrist in front of the chest quickly. The palms should face inward toward your face. The right hand should be inside of the left hand. Decelerate and add tension as the wrists turn over so that the palms face outward. Wedge block outward with both hands until the fingertips are shoulder height and the elbows are shoulder width. Keep the elbows at 90° angles throughout the motion. 12. Repeat - Sort of - Turn to your left pivoting on the right foot into a new horse riding stance facing your left. Cross the hands again, this time cross them palm outward with the left hand on the inside. Turn over the wrists so that the palms rotate to face inwardly and wedge block outward in a double inside block fashion with the same specifications above. Decelerate and add tension as you move. 13. Stand Up - Straighten the knees, bring the left foot in to the natural stance posture, and look over the left shoulder. Bring the arms down in the downward blocks on either side of the body, quickly at first and then very slowly. 14. Swastika Stepping - Look left, and step out into a back stance while lowering the torso directly downward. Block to the right high with an inside block and to the left with a down block. This is a swastika posture or swastika block.

Step forward into another back stance and repeat the technique above.

The last step is a little tricky. Look over the left shoulder, and spin counter clockwise while stepping forward again. Repeat the block despite the strange spinning step you just executed. 15. Lower X-Block - Tired of X-blocking? You're almost done. Step with the right foot to the left and back so that you end up close to kneeling on the right knee. Block

Gankaku

downward with the fists crossed at the forearms. The right arm should be over the left arm.

16. Wedge Block - Step to the right with the right foot into a horse riding stance and stand back up. As you stand up, repeat the double inside block wedge block that you performed before, but this time do it with fists. Decelerate and add tension as you perform the technique. 17. Stand Up and Spin - Straighten the knees, bring the right foot in to the natural stance posture, and look straight ahead. Bring the arms down in the downward blocks on either side of the body, quickly at first and then very slowly.

Snap the fists to the waist so that the elbows point outward. Keep the elbows at 90° angles. Pivot the hips around to the left and then the right in a snappy action that brings the right elbow around to snap into position and then the left elbow.

Continue pivoting on the right foot 180° until you spin into a crossed-leg stance.

Wedge block outward with the two, tense inside blocks as before from this different stance.

18. Stork on a Stone - It took a while to get to this point, didn't it? Perform the swastika blocks again, but this time decelerate and add tension. As you block. Pull the left foot up behind the right knee and hook it around the leg. Your right knee should be pretty straight. 19. Squeeze Down - Bend the right knee slowly as you bring the right fist to a drawn position at the right waist. Bring the left hand up and over the head, and then settle it on top of the right fist in a cup and saucer posture. 20. Side Snap Kick - From this position, snap the left foot out and back in a side snap kick. At the same time that you kick, extend the left hand out in a back fist strike at your own shoulder height. Do not snap the back fist back - leave it out there where it is.

21. Stepping punch - Step down to the floor with the left foot, but don't form any particular stance. Instead, just pull yourself forward with that foot, and then push with it until you have stepped forward into a right-foot-forward front stance. Punch middle level with the right fist and kiai. 22. Stork on a Stone Again - Lift the right foot until you are in the swastika posture again with the left arm high and the right arm low. Squeeze down, and side snap kick with the left foot. This time, however, step with the right foot into a horse riding stance. Immediately punch across the body with a left fist reverse punch. Don't turn the hips or move the knees to punch. Twist at the waist. 23. Stork on a Stone Reversed - Now try the above on the other side. Look over your left shoulder, and perform the mirror image of the above exactly, finishing with a punch with the right hand in the horse riding stance. 24. Sword Hand Block - Turn 180° to the rear, pivoting on the left foot clockwise, so that the right foot becomes the front foot of a front stance. Block with the right hand in a sword hand block/strike sort of posture. Don't square this off like an upper level

Gankaku

rising block. Block as if it is a vertical sword hand block without the sword hand being vertical. 25. Elbow strike - Raise the left elbow upward vertically until the left fist sits vertically next to the left ear. The palm of the left hand should come down and strike the elbow as if you are pulling someone into the strike. The right fingers should point to the left side. Rotate the hips forward as you perform the elbow strike. 26. Fist in Hand - Pull the left hand down to the waist in a draw action and open the hand. Pull the right hand down with it, forming it into a fist. The right fist should push into the left open hand at the left waist with the knuckles touching the palm. 27. Turn and Squeeze Down - Lift the left foot and spin on the right foot 270° until the right shoulder is pointing in the direction that was forward in the last stance. As you pivot, bring the left foot up behind the right knee. As you turn, the hands should go up over the head and finally end up in cup and saucer position at the right waist.

During this motion, open both hands, press the palm heels together, and twist the hands in a pressing side block to the right side just before the cup and saucer. 28. Side Snap Kick - Left side snap kick and throw the simultaneous vertical back fist strike at the same time. Leave the fist hanging out there in the air, step down with the left foot...

29. Stepping Punch - And step forward with the right leg into a front stance, executing a right side stepping punch. Kiai. 30. Finish - After a pause, turn counter-clockwise pivoting on the right foot, pulling the left foot in, until you face the rear in the natural position.