Jion

慈恩

Allegedly, the kata Jion originated from a Chinese temple where martial arts were practiced named Jion-Ji, which literally means ‘Jion Temple’. The Buddhist term Jion (or 慈恩 in Japanese) means ‘Love and Goodness’. Although the kata’s creator is unknown, credit is usually given to Sokon Matsumura from the nineteenth century, who is presumed to have learned this kata during his travels to China. It starts with the Ming Salutation (from China) or Jiai-no-Kamae posture, that is, left palm over right high fist. In the video embedded below (recorded on 19 June 2023), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national runner-up from the Netherlands, performs this Love and Goodness kata of Shotokan ( 松濤館 ) Karatedo ( 空手道 ).