Gojushiho Sho

五十四歩小

The name Gojushiho (or 五十四歩 in Japanese) means ‘Fifty-Four Steps’. This kata was originally developed by Sokon Matsumura (1809 – 1899), who was given the title of Warrior (or Bushi ( 武士 ) in Japanese) by the Okinawan king in recognition of his abilities and accomplishments in the martial arts. It was allegedly his student Ankō Itosu (1831 – 1915; originally Ankō Ichiji) who created two versions of this kata: Dai (or 大 in Japanese) and Sho (or 小 in Japanese). Due to the avoidance of loss of honor caused by the incorrect announcement of this kata during an important tournament, both versions have since then been switched (in almost all style groups). For Shotokan kata, the larger form (Dai) is easier to perform than the smaller form (Sho), because the latter is more advanced (as in Kanku and Bassai). However, due to this weird swap, this principle no longer applies to both Gojushiho kata. In the video embedded below (recorded on 4 December 2023), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national runner-up from the Netherlands, performs the easier Fifty-Four Steps kata of Shotokan ( 松濤館 ) Karate-do ( 空手道 ).