''Passai'' (拔塞,
katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived f ...
パッサイ), also ''Bassai'' (バッサイ), is the name of a group of
kata
''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practise ...
practiced in different styles of
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...
, including
karate
(; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...
and various
Korean martial arts
Korean martial arts ( Hangul: 무술, Hanja: 武術, ''musul'' or Hangul: 무예, Hanja: 武藝, ''muye'') are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and ...
, including
Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
,
Tang Soo Do
Tang Soo Do ( Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art
based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...
, and
Soo Bahk Do
Soo Bahk Do (수박도) is a martial art founded and taught by Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee, his successor Hwang Hyun Chul, known as H.C. Hwang, and instructors who are certified by member organizations of the World Moo Duk Kwan, Inc. This martial ...
. There are several variations of these kata, including ''Passai sho'' (拔塞小) or minor ''Passai'' and ''Passai dai'' (拔塞大) or major ''Passai''. The kata are generally known as ''Passai'' in
Okinawan styles of karate and ''Bassai'' in Japanese styles, although
Gichin Funakoshi
was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...
originally spells the name of this form パッサイ (''Passai'').
In
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, the kata have several names: ''Bassahee'', ''Bal Se'', ''Pal Che'', ''Palsek'', ''Bal Sae'', ''Ba Sa Hee'', and ''Bal Sak''. The kata focus on the idea of changing disadvantage into advantage by strong and courageous response, switching blocks and differing degrees of power. The feeling of kata should be precise, with fast execution of technique and attention given to appropriate balance between speed and power. ''Passai'' kata are usually classed as intermediate.
History
This form has been used and practiced in many cultures, including
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
Ryūkyū
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
and
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
. The origins of this kata are obscure, however there are several theories as to its history. Some researchers believe the Passai kata is related to Chinese
Leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...
and Lion boxing forms, with some sequences bearing a resemblance to Leopard boxing (the opening blocking / striking movement in cross-legged stance) whereas others are more representative of Lion boxing (open handed techniques and stomping actions). Okinawan karate researcher Akio Kinjo believes that the name originates in the Chinese ''bàoshī''/豹獅 meaning "leopard-lion" which is pronounced "Bá-săi" or "pà-sai" in some Chinese dialects. Here are the spellings of 豹獅 in several Chinese dialects:
Other historians have noticed the resemblance between some parts of ''Passai'' and ''Wuxing Quan'' ("Five Element Fist")
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...
. Yet another theory as to the naming of the kata is that it may represent a person's name.
In his 1922 book,
Gichin Funakoshi
was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...
names the form ''Passai''/パッサイ and provides no
Kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...
characters to go along with this name.
The same "Passai" spelling is used by
Motobu Chōki in 1926.
By 1936, Funakoshi switches to calling the form ''Bassai''/バッサイ but uses the characters "拔塞" which he spells as "Passai/パッサイ".
"Bassai/Bá-sāi" would be the Chinese pronunciation of "拔塞", which in Japanese would be pronounced "Batsu-sai/ バツサイ".
Whereas the Japanese meaning of "拔(batsu)" is "to pull out or to extract", in Chinese "拔(bá)" can mean "to seize or capture"; and "塞(sai/soku)" means a "place of strategic importance" or fort. Thus Funkaoshi's characters of "Bá sāi(拔塞)" would mean "to seize or capture" a "place of importance/fortress." However the 1973 translation of Karate-do Kyohan lists Funakoshi's explanation of the form name as "Breaking through an enemy's fortress."
[Karate-Do Kyohan, p 36.]
The Korean
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...
spelling of the
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
"拔塞" is "bal-chae (발채) ".
Hwang Kee spells the form as both Basahee and Bassai, stating "the original name of the form is Pal Che (拔柴)".
[Hwang Kee, Soo Bahk Do Tang Soo Do Volume 1, 1961, page 411 Library of Congress 79-110358] Both Hwang Kee claiming the form is affiliated with the "So Rim Sa"
and Gichin Funakoshi who indicates the form is of "Shōrin-ryū /少林流"
attribute the form to Chinese Shaolin/少林 styles, although originally, Funakoshi spelled this as "昭林流".
Versions
Of the
Okinawan versions of ''Passai'', a clear evolutionary link can be seen from ''Matsumura no Passai'' (named after the legendary
Sokon Matsumura), to ''Oyadomari no Passai'' (named after the
Tomari-te
Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts, such as karate, tegumi and Okinawan kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island. Due to its central location, Okinawa was influenced by various cultures with a long hi ...
karate master
Kokan Oyadomari), and then onto the ''Passai'' of
Anko Itosu
Anko may refer to:
People
* , Japanese emperor
* , father of modern karate
*, karate master and contemporary of Itosu
*Ankopaaingyadete (Anko), 19th-century Kiowa calendar artist
Fictional characters
* , in the ''Naruto'' series
* , in the ma ...
who popularized karate by introducing it into the curriculum of Okinawan schools. The Matsumura version has a distinct Chinese flavour, whereas the Oyadomari version is more "Okinawanized". It was further modified by Itosu, and is thought to have created a "sho" (''Passai sho'') form of it.
Gichin Funakoshi
was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...
of
Shotokan
is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...
took it to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
and taught them as ''Bassai dai'' and ''Bassai sho''. The Tomari style which incorporated ''Oyadomari no Passai'' was passed down the Oyadomari family for three generations, originally taught by a Chinese living in Tomari (possibly named Anan), who "used very light techniques".
Sokon Matsumura also learned Chinese boxing from the military attaches Ason and Iwah at
Fuchou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
.
The Okinawans did not have a clear definition for the name "''Passai''" for Funakoshi to translate into Japanese, so he substituted it with a similar-sounding
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
, "''Bassai''". This can be literally translated to mean "extract from a fortress" or "remove an obstruction". This is thought to be in reference to the power with which the kata should be executed, emphasizing energy generation from the hips and waist. However, the designation of ''Bassai'' by the Japanese does not appear to have a direct relation to movements in the kata or its origins.
The
Shorin-ryu version of ''Passai'' bears a close resemblance to ''Oyadomari no Passai'', and is a much softer kata than Shotokan's ''Bassai dai''. Further evidence that ''Passai'' has roots in
Tomari city is that ''Passai dai'' starts with the right fist covered by the left hand, like other kata thought to have originated there, such as ''
Jitte
A is a specialized weapon that was used by police in Edo period Japan (1603 – 1868).
History
In feudal Japan, it was a crime punishable by death to bring a sword into the ''shōgun''s palace. This law applied to almost everyone, including the ...
'', ''
Jion'', ''
Jiin
Ji'in, Jion, and Jitte form a group of kata used in Shotokan and other karate styles, beginning with the same characteristic kamae of the left hand covering the right, which apparently has roots in ancient Chinese boxing. Their origin is though ...
'' and ''
Empi''. This hand gesture is a common
salutation
A salutation is a greeting used in a letter or other communication. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in an English letter is wed by the recipient's given name or title. For each style of salutation there ...
in China. However, there is some contention between researchers as to if there was a separate Tomari school of karate.
The suffix -''dai'' means "large" and -''sho'' "small". Hence, ''Passai sho'' is a shorter variation on ''Passai'' and also bears some resemblances to ''Bassai dai'', indicating this kata may have been born out of combining elements of ''Passai'' and ''Passai sho''. One notable point is that
bunkai , literally meaning "analysis" or "disassembly", "is a term used in Japanese martial arts referring to process of analysing kata and extracting fighting techniques from the movements of a 'form' (''kata''). The extracted fighting techniques are call ...
describes it as a defense against a
bo.
Itosu is thought to have created this from a version of ''Bassai'' practiced in Shuri city. To confuse matters even more ''Bassai Sho'' is written exactly the same way as a Chinese form known as ''Ba Ji Xiao'' which has a counterpart form known as ''Ba Ji Da'' (from the
Ba Ji Ch’uan style), so perhaps this kata pair and the ''Dai-Sho'' naming scheme originates from China, invalidating the claim Itosu authored most of the -''sho'' kata.
See also
*
Karate kata
Kata ( ja, 形, or more traditionally, 型; lit. "form") is a Japanese word describing detailed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. Karate kata are executed as a specified series of a variety of moves, with stepping and tu ...
References
Further reading
* Bishop, M. ''Okinawan Karate'' (Tuttle, Boston, 1999).
{{Karate
Karate kata