Wankan - Kings Crown

Wankan is the shortest katas found in the Shotokan syllabus. Yet Wankan is far more complex kata than it first appears. It is from the same historic line as the Chinese kata's Wanshu, and Wando. This kata is originally from the Tomari area of Okinawa and is also practiced by students studying Shorin-ryu, Shito-ryu, and Matsubayashi-ryu. It was aid to be the favourite kata of the Founder of Matsubayashi-ryu, Master Shoshin Nagamine.

The Shotokan version of Wankan is said to have been created by Master Gichin Funakoshi's son, Yoshitaka Funakoshi (also known as Giko) who tragically died in the prime of his life during World War II. Because Wankan is so short, there are many practitioners today who feel that it is not a genuine Shotokan kata, since they feel that Sensei Yoshitaka never finished Wankan. We will never know for sure, but today, Wankan is unique amongst all of the Shotokan katas in that it only has one kiai.

Wankan is often referred to as the "old mans kata" or the "lost kata" of Shotokan karate. Because today it is practiced primarily by the oldest generation of karate-ka, and not often taught in many dojos today, even it is said, in Japan.

This kata contains 20 movements and should take the student approximately 30 seconds to complete. The correct performance of this kata is required in order to advance from Ni Dan (2nd Dan) to San Dan (3rd Dan).