Hirokazu Kanazawa

Two Of My All-Time Favorite Shotokan Karate Katas

Yesterday, I already talked about karate katas by re-introducing former World Champion, Jean Frenette.

Today, I would like to share the two katas I used to really like doing while practicing Shotokan karate.

The first one is known as Enpi which translated means ‘Flying Swallow’ and the kata itself tries to depict the dynamic fighting form of a swallow in flight. Hmm.

And the second one is called Jion (translated ‘Temple of Love and Goodness’). It clearly emphasizes the importance of the perfection of the basic stances, notably zenkutsu dachi (front stance) and kiba dachi (horse stance).

Hirokazu Kanazawa, 10th Dan, the Chief instructor and President of Shotokan Karate-do International Federation, impressively demonstrates both of them for us.

By the way, Sensei Kanazawa is one of the very few remaining karateka who were able to train under the founder of Shotokan karate, Gichin Funakoshi.

Alright then, tighten your belt for Enpi and Jion: