It is told that the Pinan series were originally split from a kata known as the Channen Kata or Great Pinan, Pinan has been translated to mean (peace and tranquillity) however from a recent source of information (Iain Abernethy) and his research he has found that the Chinese translation of the word Pin An to mean “Safe from Harm”, this makes far more sense to me as the Pinan Katas themselves contain an unlimited amount of Self Defence or Applications that if known correctly and are able to use in live situations would keep the karate-ka more than “Safe from Harm”.
If the legend of the Great Channan kata is true, then it is my belief that the creator of the Pinan series Master Anko Itosu split the kata down into 5 separate katas known as Pinan`s Nidan,Shodan,Sandan, Yodan and Godan sometime in the early 1900`s, again it is my own opinion and may not reflect how others see this, that this was done so that Master Itosu had a collection of relative basic katas to perform to an education board prior to instructing and taking the studies of Karate-Do into the school system, this would make sense to teach children a watered down system of karate, giving them the correct posture,timing and ability to perform the katas as children but also giving them the desire to become strong military men when they become of age to learn the real application behind the katas and serve their country well.
Itosu would of held the key to 2 systems of Karate-Do, the real methods of karate as taught to him by his Sensei suitable for adults and true Martial Artists and the watered down approach a method of karate Master Itosu adapted, which was to be taught within the school system, i think sadly the one that stuck was the latter of the 2, and for the past 50-60 years westerners have both been taught and practised and instructed a watered down karate and kata, not really understanding the principles behind the katas, i don't believe this is anyone's fault maybe it was just the one that took off better and was easily understood by outsiders Fashion thing maybe?
Today in the majority of Karate Dojo`s up and down the country Kata instruction is taught as a defence against multiple attackers all waiting in turn to attack from strange and different angles, that's if they teach any application at all, yet the kata Pinan Nidan (one which is a favourite of mine) contains so many techniques to help a person defend themselves for real, i will explain further my thoughts on the applications later in my paper, however for now if i was to consider that i was writing this paper for a person who has no idea to the applications behind Pinan Nidan, i will simply say that within the first 9 movements to Pinan Nidan (up to the 3rd rising block) there are no less than 7 realistic techniques that cab be utilised as either stopping techniques or leads to stopping an unprovoked attack, such as; shoulder locks,neck cranks,heavy strikes,obstruction clearance's wrist locks,stopping strikes,take downs and a throw. And this is all within the first 9 movements.
While teaching others my thoughts and application to the kata Pinan Nidan, i firstly start by explaining that although there is a particular order to the sequence of movements in the kata, this does not mean the application must be followed in this way, and to borrow a quote from again Iain Abernethy;
“We should no more use the application in order of there appearance in the kata than we speak in the manner the dictionary tells us to”.
The kata to my mind is a record of techniques and movements placed together in one form this does not mean that because there is a down block and a turn we must use it as this in a live application in that order, it would be difficult if not near impossible to do this effectively, so we must take the information recorded in the kata and use it as we see fit, i will explain more on page 2.
Pinan Nidan the first and basic kata?, If history is right and in this case i do believe it to be, Master Anko Itosu was an awesome Martial Artist one with incredible strengths and superior intelligence, we are led to believe that he created the pinan katas as a children's kata or a lesser kata, i don't!, in fact i believe them to be far more superior than people would like to admit, why would a man of Itosu`s considerable talent want to create anything other than a superior combat effective form, Human nature shows that we as students learn from our teachers and then push to surpass them in ability and knowledge, this is something i firmly believe of Itosu, he took what he was taught from his own teacher and evolved his study further. And in my mind anyway it stands to reason that if we was to consider the Pinan Katas are the youngest of the katas, then they would in fact be the most advanced, you only have to look at literature nowadays to more than prove this argument, in 1950`s Karate books were written showing the side kick,roundhouse kick and the basic blocks and punches, this would be of little help or use today as writers of these books today have evolved both in there studies and in there understanding to cope with the increased demand and thirst for martial knowledge, people believe that the pinan katas were a break down of Kushanku, however the majority of applications from Kushanku can be found in pinans Yodan and Godan, so the argument really has no substance to it, there are far more advanced applications in the Pinan Katas than in Kushanku, yet Kushanku is still to this day refered to as an advanced kata, and if the argument was to be that it is easier to learn the pinan katas than the other so called “more advanced” katas then id have to say “What a load of cobblers”, in my own training i found it easier to learn the sequence from Nai-Hanchi and especially Rohai,so if this was the case then surely the order of kata should be either Rohai then Nai Hanchi and so on and so forth, yet Ohtuska openly said that it would take more than one whole lifetime to understand the complexity of Nai Hanchi. Food for thought.
Going back to the way the Pinan Katas are taught in the majority of Dojo`s today, if the question is ever raised “But why do we move this way to the left/right? “ the common explaination that ive seen and heard was that, there are mutiple attackers waiting in all directions, some with swords, this one always made me wonder why? If a sword is pulled then wouldnt the best defence be to just make like Lynford Christie and run the hell away, i know i would. And also another that im still yet to find is the fact that all of these attackers/muggers are waiting in turn to attack you? Sadly perhaps it's just me but when i was set about by 3 people the trend seemed to be when i was busy with one the other 2 liked to take pot shots at me and not be as polite as some karate instructors would have us believe.
The very fact that Pinan Nidan shows us that all the angles in katas are in relation to where we will either be performing the technique or where weve just placed or taken our opponent, it is my belief that to truly understand the applications of all the katas the karate-ka must first learn to understand the principles of Pinan Nidan, Maybe this is what we were supposed to use the first kata in the Wado-Ryu syllabus for, a learning tool a way to advance your understanding of each movement, again this maybe another reason why back in Okinawa students to the Karate Masters were only taught a few katas, perhaps they had to use there first kata as a deciphering aid to the others, However there is also substance in the fact that Gichin Funakoshi states the katas as Fighting styles or systems, this is given substantial credibility to me considering the huge amount of information within the Pinan Nidan just 25 moves (including yoi as a combatative movement) that is in my opinion as complete a fighting system as a person would need during there first 3-4 years of solid karate training, if we were to slow our kata progress down and spend at least 3-4 years really learning Pinan Nidan, then the entire Grading structure could and should be changed to suit, thus creating a system of karate that truly warrants the tag Traditional.
Applications of Pinan Nidan
These are applications that i feel suit my stature,strength and ability and may not suit everyone.
Pinan Nidan
Technique, Turn left downward block (gedan barai) step through reverse punch,turn 180 Degrees to right with downblock.
Application, you are grabbed at the chest/clothing, by turning to the left and performing the down block over the attackers arm at the elbow joint this will lock up the attackers arm,elbow and shoulder forcing there arm behind there back, stepping through either strike (closed fist) to the base of there skull, or open handed, use strike as a neck breaking technique, grabbing hold of either hair or collar of clothing perform the 180 degree turn down block, this is a take down (if using the head as a grabbing point) the take down becomes far more deadly with increase risk of neck break.
Technique , hammer fist block step through reverse punch turn 90 degrees left down block.
Application, your wrist has been seized, by performing the hammer block this will turn the attackers own wrist placing them in a wrist lock, stepping through either punch or grab the hair,ears or clothing turning left 90 degrees and performing the down block will again act as a vicious takedown.
Technique, step through rising block (in the kata this is done in 3`s) turn 45 degree's down block.
Application,(providing the rising block is done correctly with the blocking arm coming down across the body first before shooting up above your head) An attacker has seized you at the front of your clothing,throat or lapel bringing your arm across and onto there arm as in the correct technique of the rising block,this will take your attacker off balance jerking there head forwards towards you, then forcing the “Blocking arm” or forearm either into there face or at the throat, this will rock there heads right back causing an almost whiplash movement, then turning left in a 45 degree angle and grabbing hold of them and with a down block will again be another take down and finish.
Technique, Stepping reverse punch (in the kata it's x3) turn 45 degree's into short cat stance then spear hand step through spear hand strike.
Application, confronted face on with an imminent attack, grabbing attackers clothing and pulling them on to a reverse punch in the solar plexus (pre-emptive strike), then seizing there wrist turn 45 degree's into short cat stance this causes an extremely painful wrist lock and with the speed of the turn a take down,foring your attacker to spin around to the ground in pain, whilst in the short cat stance you should still have hold of the attackers wrist, placing this across the bended front knee from the short cat stance can force the elbow to be snapped, then using the first spear hand strike as a palm heel to the attackers face step through and throw the next spear hand at the attackers chin, this will twist there head to the side, which if done correctly and without control will break there necks, = fight stopper.
So as anyone can see the few applications ive explained of the many that are there, are not in anyway nor should they be classed as a basic children's kata, the techniques i have listed have in variations been used and are still being used today within the elite regiments of the British Army such as the SAS and the Royal Marines, techniques that are employed during times of WAR.
Although i have explained the techniques and application in order, i have done this as it is hoped that it will read easier and not be so confusing, however as i stated above these do not have nor need to be used in the order shown in the kata, for instance the movements can be mixed up so to help a person dealing with an attack at seriously close grappling range,
Scenerio; a person has grabbed hold of you with both arms they may be a lot physically stronger than you are and have pulled you in so close that you can feel them breath in your face, by using the rising block up to there jaw line or throat first this will jolt there head backwards then wrapping your arm around there head and grabbing there hair or ears turn off to a slight angle and perform a down block this will pull them straight away from you if this fails then instead of using the reverse punch as a punch use it as a grab to the attackers groin area and thrust forward, regardless of how strong or tough the attacker, a grab and thrust / strike on the groin will drop them faster than they could ever imagine.
I therefore feel that Pinan Nidan to be a seriously overlooked kata in A, its principles and B,its true applications , just using this kata as a stepping stone to climb up the coloured belt ranks is not learning karate, i see this as starting to read a book by glancing at the cover then turning to the credits on the last page and saying that was a good book and easily read, to truly understand and read a book each and every page must be turned read and absorbed before anyone can say “ive read and know that book”, i may never know what Master Itosu wanted from Pinan Nidan but i know 100% that i can use it to great effect and understand the elements of what make it work and how it should be made to work, however as in the book analogy, im still reading the pages, and enjoying each and every one.
Written by Nigel Lee 3rd Dan BCA and ZKJ 3rd Dan Grading Candidate