Chinte

Chinte supposedly traces its origins back to Chinese martial arts though when it precisely entered into Okinawan karate is unknown. The form is an unusual one in the Shotokan syllabus as it continues to employ more circular movements, thereby indicating that it escaped, at least to an extent, the simplification process carried out by Itosu sensei and Funakoshi sensei that make many traditional kata more linear and direct and shaped the development of Shotokan as we know it today.

Funakoshi sensei also tried to change the name of this kata once in Japan to Shoin but the new name never caught on. The original name literally means 'Strange hands' and the pattern emphasizes hand movements above all else, employing a wide variety of different strikes to weak (pressure) points on the opponent. The kata emphasizes close-quarters-no-rules combat and is a very useful and interesting one to learn from the point of view of investigating karate as a pure martial art.

The final stages of the kata are a little confusing as they involve the practitioner hopping back to his original starting point. Precisely why this is done is unknown though one suggestion is that the original closing movements have been forgotten and lost and the hops simply return the karateka back to his original starting position, thereby making everything 'neat and tidy' as all the other forms begin and end in the same position.

The kata was not one of those described in Karate Do Kyohan.

Master Kanazawa performing Chinte