Four hundred years ago Kung Fu teachers crafted their moves into the quick, pouncing movements of a Leopard. A hundred years ago Okinawan Karate Masters took these moves and changed them to safe their king. Today, students know they have reached the heart of Karate when they delve into the secrets of Passai Kata.
The leopard is one of the five traditional Animals of the Shaolin Temple. This feline beast is able to move quickly and with much power. The first moves of the form Passai show this ability.
That the form is at least four hundred years old is indisputable, as silk drawings of the form have been carbon tested to that age. In addition, there are Chinese spellings of the name that are quite similar to the Okinawan. In Mandarin the spelling is Baoshi, Fuzhou spelling is Bas-sai, and there is even an entire art, Ba Ji Ch'uan.
This puts forth the understanding that the founder of Passai, Ankoh Itosu, was inspired by the Chinese arts when he created the Okinawan version. Actually, records indicate an evolution of form from Sokon Matsumura to Koken Oyadomari to Ankoh Itosu. One cannot be sure, of course, but such a lineage could very well happen.
Once arrived in Okinawa, the form was used to train the king's bodyguards. This brings forth the provocative theory that the form was tailored to the actual floor plan of the palace. Arrival as it does after mastery of the Pinan Kata, this is a definite possibility.
The name of the form is understanding to mean 'to break a fortress.' However, this name was chosen by Funakoshi, and some scholars hold that his translation is not accurate. The traditional translation of the name is supposed to mean 'to citation from a castle,' or 'to take off an obstruction.'
Thus, the bodyguards were not taught to 'storm a fortress,' but rather to take off the king from the Shuri Palace. While the younger students fought a delaying operation in the throne room, the industrialized students were supposed to hustle the king to a rear hallway, and then to...'extract him from the castle.' This is unquestionably a strategy with much merit.
At any rate, whether one chooses to enjoy this theory, or to believe in one of other devise, the points of similarity are there. This writer believes the similarities are more than mere coincidence. One thing is certain, however, and that is that a students will unquestionably be overjoyed to touch the quick yet noteworthy movements presented by Passai Kata, and may be said to be doing the basic movements of the Kung Fu Leopard of Shaolin notoriety.
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