The Way of Least Resistance

I was asked on a forum why the suffix “te” is added to numeric kata names (such as “sanseru te”, “seisan te”, etc.). Furthermore why not the non-numeric kata names (eg. kururunfa)? The Chinese martial arts often add "step" (“pu” or “bu”) to the name of a technique or a form in order to give it some sense. Hence "mabu" is their term for shiko/kiba dachi and it means literally "horse step" . The same goes for zenkutsu dachi (gong bu - forward step). This is to avoid the absurd labels "horse" or "forward" without any qualification. In this case "bu" or step has the same function as stance or "dachi". They sometimes use the suffix "ji" meaning technique, but if the particular technique involves a stance or moving, "bu" or step is preferred. In Okinawa it is traditional to add the character "te" after kata instead of "pu/bu/ji". This is a cultural tradition that distinguishes Okina...

It is known that a version of Seisan was taught in Naha by Seisho Aragaki as early as 1867. Moreover the Shuri and Tomari te styles of karate (the “Shorin” schools) appear to have taught a version of Seisan even before this. Seisan is presently taught in all Goju-ryu schools, in Ryuei-Ryu, in Tou’on-ryu and Uechi-ryu (the "Naha te" schools). Although the Uechi-ryu version is significantly different from the other Naha te schools in the second half, the first half is clearly identifiable as being from the same source. As with Sanchin, Seisan is said to have been performed originally with open hands (which is still the case in the Uechi-ryu kata). Seisan is also still common to all systems of Shorin schools, truly warranting its status as "the universal kata". At first glance the Shorin versions of Seisan appear to be completely different to those of the Naha te schools, however a closer analysis reveals that they too are related, albeit distantly. Goju seisan - as pe...