TEKKI SHODAN

TEKKI SHODAN - IRON RIDER, 1ST LEVEL.

The original name of the tekki kata is Naihanchi (or Naifanchi). The Wadō-ryū, Shōrin-ryū and Shitō-ryū styles have retained the name "Naihanchi".

The name "Tekki" was changed by Funakoshi. He himself practiced the three tekki for a decade at a young age until he fully mastered them. The Tekki shodan is the first kata in this particular series of three. The three Tekki kata contain a special theme, which offers additional possibilities in combat: the action from the lateral position Kiba dachi.

In Tekki shodan, the Yōi is no longer done in the previous position of Hachi ji dachi, but in Heisoku dachi. The hands are held in front of the body, the left covers a large part of the right. The enbusen is a line, so all translation steps should be executed accurately, otherwise the end point of the kata tends to shift forward. Most techniques are executed laterally, so upper body rotations occur frequently. This requires constant checking of the stances to keep them correct and stable.

Fumikomi techniques are executed with large circular movements of the legs. For the correct rhythm of the techniques Empi uchi/Koshi kamae and Gedan barai/Kagi zuki, the first and second techniques are combined respectively, then the third and fourth techniques.

In the nami-ashi techniques, special attention must be paid to the following:

• The legs must be raised very high to avoid the ashi-barai attacks.
• The body weight must not be shifted to allow counterattacking at maximum speed.

To give expression to the kata, special attention should be paid to the directions of gaze. Due to the fact that opponents often attack from very different directions, a timely turn of the head is a sign of fighting commitment.

Duration: about 50 seconds