Shotokan's Secret

A critical comparison of Shotokan kata with those of related Okinawan arts reveals that someone has inserted jumps in our katas in places where they don't belong.

The jumps in Heian Godan and Empi were not there originally. They were added to make the katas more dramatic. That's fine for the kata dancers, but the karate-jutsu people need to recognize that the dramatic insertions are also dramatic digressions.

We don't have to explain situations where the performer's feet leave the ground. They aren't real. They are just dance moves.

An earlier version of this thread accused the Kanku Dai jump kick (nidan geri) of being a shotoism. Thanks to Jimmy Rancourt (a French karate teacher) for reminding me that this is not the case. The jump kick is present in all versions of Kanku, including the Isshinryu version, which is allegedly the oldest.

I have edited the message above to correct that error.