Unsu

雲手

The name Unsu (or 雲手 in Japanese) means ‘Cloud Hands’. This kata was taught by a teacher of Gichin Funakoshi (1968 – 1957), namely Seisho Aragaki (1840 – 1918), who probably developed it himself. It contains many intricate hand techniques, such as the Ippon-Nukite (one finger strike) in the opening sequence. Its name is derived from the constant transformations, expansions, contractions, and shifting, of the body as the kata is performed, just as clouds constantly change and transform. It is generally regarded as the most advanced Shotokan kata. In the video embedded below (recorded on 5 December 2023), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national runner-up from the Netherlands, performs this Cloud Hands kata of Shotokan ( 松濤館 ) Karate-do ( 空手道 ).