Tekki Shodan

鉄騎 初段

The Tekki series consists of three kata with always the same stance, namely Kiba-Dachi (or straddle stance), while moving side to side in a linear fashion, meaning that the embusen (or line of movement) is a straight line, running horizontally. Introduced by Gichin Funakoshi (1868 – 1957), the name Tekki ( 鉄騎 ) combines two Kanji characters: Tetsu ( 鉄 ), meaning ‘iron’ or ‘steel’, and Ki ( 騎 ), meaning ‘to ride on a horse’, ‘equestrian’, or ‘knight’. Put together, the name Tekki means ‘Iron Knight’ or ‘Steel Horse Riding’. The first kata of this straddle stance series is named Shodan ( 初段 ), meaning ‘first grade’. It serves as the primer of the Tekki series. In the video embedded below (recorded on 12 June 2023), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national runner-up from the Netherlands, performs this first grade Steel Horse Riding kata of Shotokan ( 松濤館 ) Karatedo ( 空手道 ).

© Shotokan-Karatedo.org : This page was last updated on 2023/06/14.