In one of my earliest posts on this blog, I mentioned some key differences between the major schools of Goju-ryu in the way that the kata Gekisai Ichi (or Gekisai Dai Ichi) is performed. This includes the height of the first punch (high vs. middle), the locations of the kiai (on the reverse punches vs. on the kicks and shutos), and the inclusion or omission of additional moves at the end. <\/p>\n
One aspect of the kata that I did not realize varied substantially among schools within a style is the overall tempo. I have been struggling somewhat to slow down my performance of Gekisai Ichi to the pace expected in my current school (Meibukan), and I am coming to realize that, in part, this is because my muscle memory was trained to do it significantly faster in my old school (Jundokan).<\/p>\n
Here are a few examples. Note that “total kata duration” below refers to the time from the first move to a return to the start position.<\/p>\n
Here is the kata, as performed by Sensei Akihito Yagi, son of the current head of the Meibukan<\/a> school:
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