| Chinto | |
This kata was developed by Bushi Matsumura from the teaching of a Chinese sailor named Chinto (which translated means Peace Preservation Center Faction) who was shipwrecked on Okinawa. Some say that Chinto was a Crane boxer and taught the Crane sets to Matsumura, who developed this kata from those sets. This is plausible given the fact that legend has it that Matsumura,, in confronting Chinto, was impressed by the man's ability to evade capture. Evasion is an important concept in Crane boxing; likewise, the series of high/low blocks from a one-legged stance, seen in the Shuri version of Chinto, suggests Crane influence. There are two main versions of this kata, again with many variants. There is the Shuri version, which is characterized by a series of three high/low blocks and a second series of three high/low blocks from a one-legged stance. The Tomari version does not have these series of blocks, and imediately after the opening bow a Tomari variant will generally turn and face 45 degrees to the right. One author claims that there are three main versions: Tomari, Kyan, and Itosu, although this still represents only two distinctions, since Itosu studied with Matsumura and Kyan studied with Itosu, thus continuing the Shuri line. Given the translation of the name Chinto, it might be appropriate to speculate that Chinto represents a group rather than a single individual. Throughout time and culture the of story telling and oral history presentation has often reduced a group to an individual, thus making the story less complex and more dramatic. |
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