Ni-sei-shi Kata – A Private Lesson
The video below is a recording of a private lesson with Sensei Gary E Swift Hanshi at the BWK Honbu in which he demonstrates and explains kata Ni-sei-shi in some depth. The video is shared as a useful study aide for other students.
Ni-sei-shi
‘Twenty four’. (Okinawa). Refers to the twenty-four acupoint contacts, within the Kata. A Karate Kata practised within numerous schools of Karate including Wado-ryu, Shito-ryu, Sanku-kai, Ryuei-ryu, Kobayashi-ryu etc. The name of the Kata was changed by Gichin-Funikoshi, and is now known as Ni-ju-shiho (twenty four steps/moves) in Shotokan and numerous other styles of Karate.Niseishi is Chinese for the number 24. In Japanese, it translates as Nijushi, the “ho” character (in this case) means “move” and hence Nijushiho translates as “24 moves”. The Chinese and Japanese Kanji are identical. Chito-ryu Niseishi is not the same Kata as Niseishi from Shuri-te lineage styles; even the Embusen (stepping pattern) is different. The complete origin of Chito-ryu Niseishi is unknown, however some pieces of our Niseishi can be found in other Okinawan Kata.
Some Goju-ryu schools, specifically those in the line of Higa Seiko (a student of Higashionna Kanryo and later Miyagi Chojun) practised a Kata they call “Hakutsuru” (some Japanese pronounce this Hakaku, in either case, it means “White Crane”) which contains the “cut, front kick, slide forward, x-block, back to square stance, ridge hand strike, repeat” sequence. It seems that Seiko Higa obtained this Hakaku Kata from Gokenki (1886-1940), the Chinese tea merchant who taught White Crane Gungfu in Okinawa from 1912/13 until his death.