Kata Bassai Dai

The ancient form of Bassai Dai originates from the Passai range of kata. This true origins of the form are unknown however there are several theories that link the kata back to ancient chinese Leopard style Kung Fu. The form as we know it today has 38 moves and is practised mostly in the shotokan school karate after Gichin Funakoshi adopted the kata into the early Japanse Karate style back in the 1930's.

The meaning of the kata is roughly accepted to mean, Storm the castle or Penetrate the fortress and this is based losely on the Chinese interpretation, however a lose translation of the word Bassai Dai from its japanse origins simply means just 'push and pull'.

The kata demonstrated in the video above is performed by Sensei Mark Brown, our Black Belt instructor at Mill Hill Dojo who is totally blind.