Cambridge Karate Club

English - Fifty four steps; large

The two Gojushiho katas were known as Useshi, and then Hotaku before settling on the current name. The name Hotaku refers to pecking movements, which are obvious throughout the Dai version of the kata. The two katas are very similar in structure, more so than the Bassai and Kanku pairings.

There is some confusion over which version of the kata should be known as Dai and which Sho, and many organisations reverse the names, notably those associated with Sensei Kanazawa. In the SKA, we use Dai for the neko-ashi-dachi dominant form, and Sho for the kokutsu-dachi dominant form.

Video links

Videos from YouTube.

Sensei Ogura

There's no sound in this video. It appears to be slightly slowed down to show the techniques.

Dario Marchini