Gekisai Dai Ichi

Gekisai Dai Ichi was created by Goju ryu founder Chojun Miyagi in 1940 for the purpose of developing an 'introductory' form to help popularize the spread of his art and karate in general among younger students. Up until this time Sanchin had been regarded as being the alpha and omega - the beginning and the end - of Goju ryu karate (and to a great extent, it is still seen in that light) but this kata, along with its sister Gekisai Dai Ni, offered a more immediate entry into Goju ryu with a series of attacks and defenses that were easier to understand and master and which were, from the point of view of a general onlooker, more obviously combative and looked more like what karate 'should' look like.

The name means 'attack and smash (or destroy)'. It was originally called Fukyugata Ni (Master Shoshin Nagamine, also developing an appropriate entry-level kata for use in Okinawa, had in the same period created Fukyugata Ichi) but Miyagi changed the name when he developed a second kata (Gekisai Dai Ni) and wanted an appropriate name that allowed him to both distinguish his two kata while at the same time making sure the names reflected the fact that they were related.

The kata is linear in its approach and teaches the concept of forming an aggressive mentality and series of techniques to deal with an attack at longer range (traditionally Goju ryu kata emphasize close quarters combat).

Gekisai Dai Ichi performed by Master Morio Higaonna