Rōhai (鷺牌) meaning ''“image of a heron”'' or ''“sign of a heron”'' is a family of kata practiced in some styles of karate.

Origin

The kata originated from the

Tomari-te Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts, such as karate, tegumi and kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island. Due to its location (between " Mainland Japan" and Taiwan), Okinawa was influenced by various c ...

school of

Okinawan martial arts Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts, such as karate, tegumi and kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island. Due to its location (between " Mainland Japan" and Taiwan), Okinawa was influenced by various c ...

. It was called ''Matsumora Rōhai'', after Kosaku Matsumora, who was presumably its inventor (not to be confused with

Sokon Matsumura Seres Group () (previously known as Sokon Group or Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Co., Ltd, ) is a Chinese automotive manufacturer founded in September 1986 with headquarters in Chongqing, China. Born as a manufacturer of components for househol ...

Ankō Itosu is considered by many the father of modern karate. This title is also often given to Gichin Funakoshi because of the latter spreading karate throughout Japan, but only after Ankō sensei had introduced the art of Okinawa-tode to the country. ...

later took this kata and developed three kata from it: ''Rōhai shodan'', ''Rōhai nidan'', and ''Rōhai sandan''. In Shorin-ryū and

Matsubayashi-ryū Matsubayashi-Ryū (松林流), is a style of Okinawan karate founded in 1947 by Shōshin Nagamine (1907–1997) (an Okina Sensei). Its curriculum includes 18 kata, seven two-man yakusoku kumite (pre-arranged sparring) routines, and kobudō (wea ...

this kata introduces Gedan Shotei Ate (Lower/Downward Palm Heel Smash) and Ippon Ashi Dachi. (One Leg Stance) It contains a sequence of Tomoe Zuki (Circular Punch) exactly the same as the one in Bassai, although the ending of the sequence chains into Hangetsu Geri/Uke (Half Moon Kick/Block).

Schools and variations

Shito-ryu teaches all three of the Itosu Rohai kata as well as ''Matsumora Rohai''. Some styles such as

Wadō-ryū is one of the four major karate styles and was founded by Hironori Ōtsuka (1892–1982). Ōtsuka was a Menkyo, Menkyo Kaiden licensed Shindō Yōshin-ryū practitioner of Tatsusaburo Nakayama and a student of Yōshin-ryū prior to meeting the O ...

employ only one of Itosu’s kata (''Rōhai shodan'' or ''just Rōhai''). While other styles such as

Genseiryū is a style of Karate founded by Seiken Shukumine (1925-2001). With Genseiryū, Shukumine combined classic Shuri-te techniques with his own innovations thus developing the special characteristics unique to the style. However, Shukimine would event ...

and Shindō_jinen-ryū only teach Matsumora Rohai. The Shotokan version of Rōhai (renamed Meikyo (明鏡), literally "bright mirror" by

Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). ''Karate-Do: My Way of Life'', Kodansha International Ltd. . he was one of the Okin ...

) is very distinct from either the Matsumora or Itosu versions. It is believed that Funakoshi being a much older and earlier student of Itosu than

Kenwa Mabuni was one of the first karateka to teach karate in mainland Japan and is credited as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū. Originally, he chose the name Hanko-ryu, literally "half-hard style", to imply that the style used both hard and sof ...

may have been taught a different version of Rohai from Itosu known as ''Gusukuma Rohai''. Sometime in the early 1990s Tetsuhiko Asai introduced two new kata of his own design: ''Meikyo nidan'' and ''Meikyo sandan''. In

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

and

Soo Bahk Do Soo Bahk Do (수박도) is a martial art founded by Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee, and now is taught by Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Hyun-chul, Hwang Hyun Chul, known as H.C. Hwang, and instructors who are certified by member organizations of the World Moo Duk ...

unlike most of its forms which can be traced back to Shotokan, their version of ''Rohai'' was based on the Matsumora version. Over the years practitioners have made numerous changes to the form including the addition of a board (or brick) breaking element, which can be performed using either a downward punch or palm strike.

References

* Redmond, R. Kata: The Folk Dances of Shotokan, 2006 (https://bu-do.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The_Kata_Book_2008-03-26op.pdf)

External links

Akari-ki Karate: Rohai

Shotokan kata execution diagram
Karate kata {{karate-stub

Origin

Schools and variations

See also

References

External links