Rōhai (鷺牌) meaning ''“image of a heron”'' or ''“sign of a heron”'' is a family of kata practiced in some styles of karate. The kata originated from the
Tomari-te school of
Okinawan martial arts. It was called ''Matsumora Rōhai'', after Kosaku Matsumora, who was presumably its inventor (not to be confused with
Sokon Matsumura).
Ankō Itosu later took this kata and developed three kata from it: ''Rōhai shodan'', ''Rōhai nidan'', and ''Rōhai sandan''. In
Shorin-ryū and
Matsubayashi-ryū
Matsubayashi-Ryū (松林流), is a style of Okinawan karate founded in 1947 by Shōshin Nagamine (1907–1997) (an Okina Sensei). Its curriculum includes 18 kata, seven two-man yakusoku kumite (pre-arranged sparring) routines, and kobudō (w ...
this kata introduces Gedan Shotei Ate (Lower/Downward Palm Heel Smash) and Ippon Ashi Dachi. (One Leg Stance) It contains a sequence of Tomoe Zuki (Circular Punch) exactly the same as the one in Bassai, although the ending of the sequence chains into Hangetsu Geri/Uke (Half Moon Kick/Block).
Shito-ryu teaches all three of the Itosu Rohai kata as well as ''Matsumora Rohai''. Some styles such as
Wadō-ryū employ only one of Itosu’s kata (''Rōhai shodan'' or ''just Rōhai''). While other styles such as
Genseiryū
is a style of Karate founded by Seiken Shukumine (1925-2001). With Genseiryū, Shukumine combined classic Shuri-te techniques with his own innovations thus developing the special characteristics of unique to the style. However, Shukimine would ev ...
and
Shindō_jinen-ryū
is a form of karate that was founded in 1933 by .
The Naming of Shindo Jinen Ryu
Konishi believed that if one lives a moral life, then one is naturally following the divine way. Extending this idea, he posited that, if training in karate in ...
only teach Matsumora Rohai.
The Shotokan version of Rōhai (renamed Meikyo (明鏡), literally "bright mirror" by
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, ...
) is very distinct from either the Matsumora or Itosu versions. It is believed that Funakoshi being a much older and earlier student of Itosu than
Kenwa Mabuni may have been taught a different version of Rohai from Itosu known as ''Gusukuma Rohai''. Sometime in the early 1990s
Tetsuhiko Asai
was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), founder and Chief Instructor of the International Japan Martial Arts Karate Asai-ryu (IJKA), and founder of the Japan Karate Shoto Federation (JKS; former ...
introduced two new kata of his own design: ''Meikyo nidan'' and ''Meikyo sandan''.
In
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 unlike most of its forms which can be traced back to Shotokan, their version of ''Rohai'' was based on the Matsumora version. Over the years practitioners have made numerous changes to the form including the addition of a board (or brick) breaking element, which can be performed using either a downward punch or palm strike.
See also
*
Karate kata
References
* Redmond, R. Kata: The Folk Dances of Shotokan, 2006 (https://bu-do.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The_Kata_Book_2008-03-26op.pdf)
External links
Akari-ki Karate: RohaiShotokan kata execution diagram
Karate kata
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