Once you have achieved 2nd Kyu, you will be introduced to kata Empi. Empi sees the return to Shuri-te and Tomari-te styled kata.

Stances In Empi:

  • Zenkutsu dachi (long forward stance)
  • Kiba dachi (horse riding stance)
  • Kokutsu dachi (back leaning stance)
  • Saifa and Seiunchin. However in Empi the kosa dachi is held much lower
  • Tsuru ashi dachi (crane stance). This is similar to the sagi ashi dachi (heron stance) used in kata Saifa, however the raised foot is tucked in behind the knee of the base leg.
  • Kosa dachi (reverse cat stance – where all the weight is on the front foot and the heel of the back foot is raised off the ground).
  • You may recall that kosa dachi was also used in the second last moves in kata

GKR Karate – Empi

Empi History

Continuing on with the pattern of GKR’s kata curriculum, having spent a good deal of time on Seiunchin (a Naha-te based kata), Empi sees the return to Shuri-te and Tomari-te styled kata. Empi develops similar fighting principles as Bassai-dai, being agility focused and deriving power through explosive straight-line speed. It trains a student to eliminate telegraphing and introduces sound self-defence techniques highlighted with the multiple hair grabs, knee strikes and groin punches. It also trains a student to develop evasive movements, using them to quickly turn defence into attack.

Perhaps the oldest kata in all karate, Empi came to Okinawa around 1683. No-one knows its actual Chinese name because the Okinawans called it Wansu (or Wanshu), naming it after the Chinese envoy who brought it to the island.

Wansu taught the kata (of the same name) in the city of Tomari and therefore it became part of the Tomari-te system. Being originally Chinese, it is likely the Okinawans were quick to give it a more snappy and direct approach (making it more indigenous to the arts of Okinawa). As with many kata, as the Okinawan Masters passed away, their students went out and taught slightly different versions. The version that Go-Kan-Ryu practises comes from the Shotokan lineage and it is thought that this version was modified from the original possibly by ‘Bushi’ Matsumura, but most likely Yasutune Itosu.

While Okinawan karate-ka still refer to it as Wansu, most styles around the world refer to it as Em-pi which translates to mean ‘The Flying Swallow’ (‘Em’ meaning flying and ‘Pi’ meaning swallow). Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan) changed the name from Wansu to Empi when he brought the kata to Japan because he felt the up and down swooping movements were a close resemblance to the swooping flight of a swallow. These movements are seen in its numerous techniques where a distinctive jaw strike is followed by the defender grasping the opponent and drawing him inward, simultaneously jumping in and attacking again.

Empi Lineage

Wansu (year unknown)

A Chinese envoy who brought the kata to Okinawa around 1683. Wansu was unlikely its creator or its original name, rather it was called Wansu, implying it was his kata.

Shinun ‘Peichin’ Takahara (1683-1762)

No one knows for sure who his instructors were so it is unclear who taught him Wansu (Empi). It is most likely Takahara, who passed it onto Sakugawa (see below).

‘Satunushi’ ‘Tode’ Sakugawa (1733-1815)

The Okinawan teacher of Sokon Matsumura (see below).

Sokon “Bushi” Matsumura (1796-1893)

Student of Sakugawa and teacher of Itosu (see below). It is possible Matsumura (as Chief bodyguard to the King) modified the kata a good deal from its original form but most evidence suggests it was his student (Itosu, see below) who did so.

Yatsutsune “Ankoh” Itosu (1830-1915)

A student of Sokon Matsumura’s, Yatsutsune Itosu taught the kata to his student – Gichin Funakoshi (see below). Yatsutsune likely modified the kata a good deal from the way he was taught. He likely did this because it was Itosu who introduced karate to the Okinawa school system (bringing karate out from under its veil of secrecy), and therefore modified kata to make it easier to learn and less lethal in appearance (due to the fact that children were learning it) and perhaps because he instigated a number of his instructor’s philosophies into the kata.

Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957)

Founded Shotokan karate (incorporating ‘Wansu’ but changed the name to ‘Empi’)

GKR Karate

While many styles incorporate Empi, GKR derives its from Shotokan karate.