Wankan Kata Tutorial
This is a tutorial for the black belt kata Wankan (kings crown)
This is the shortest Shotokan kata and only has one kiai.
Wankan (王冠)
Wankan translates as Kings crown and refers to the first few moves that are supposed to resemble the shape of a crown.
The history of Wankan is a bit of a mystery, but we do know it was developed in the Tomari area of Okinawa, there are historians who believe a Chinese white crane master introduced the kata into Okinawa, by the name of Wang Ji and some historians also believe the kata was named Wankan because it was practiced by the Okinawan royal family.
The shortest of all Shotokan katas, Wankan has only one kiai and it is rumoured that Master Gigo Funakoshi was changing the original kata and sadly passed away bedfore he could finish it, hence the kata is very short and has only one kiai.
The opening kakiwake-uke (v block or wedge block) can be practiced in either kokutsu-dachi or neko-ashi-dachi (cat stance).
