Tekki Katas

The Tekki Kata were originally known as Naihanchi. This name was changed to Tekki by Funakoshi to replace the Okinawan name. He attempted to change the original names of many of the Kata and this is one of the few names that caught on and became commonly used. Tekki Shodan is often credited to Matsumura Sokon of Tomari City, Okinawa, and both Tekki Nidan and Sandan are thought to have been created by Itosu Yasutsune, but as no written records exist (as is the case with any other Kata) we can not be really sure. Itosu specialised in the Tekki Kata and he taught them to Funakoshi. He made Funakoshi spend 3 years learning each one saying that whilst they were the easiest of the Kata to learn, they were also the hardest to learn. The name Tekki is composed of two kanji characters. Tetsu means iron or steel, Ki means ride on a horse, equestrian, or knight. So some valid interpretations could be Steel Horse Rider, Iron Knight, Steel Knight. Originally, the stances used in the Tekki Kata were Uchi Hachi Ji Dachi and Naihanchi Dachi but the commonly used stance throughout the three Tekki Kata is now Kiba Dachi or "Horse Riding Stance". The Kiba Dachi stance could lead you to believe that the techniques are supposed to be practised for use during battle on horse back.
A more probable reason for the wide spread use of the stance is its beneficial quality to bad knee conditions Funakoshi refers to years of training in the Tekki / Naihanchi kata. The knees are thought to be strengthened through practice of the Tekki kata due to the emphasis on sideways stepping. People with bad knee conditions are also frequently recommend to do side to side knee training exercises by therapists.

Students will usually learn the 5 Heian kata one at a time, each time they progress up the belt ranks and then, after reaching the 3rd Kyu, Tekki Shodan is required. Tekki Nidan is then not required until the Second Dan examination, and Tekki Sandan will be looked at in the Third Dan examination under JKA rules. This is a pity as it takes away the chance for Students to practice the Kata at an early stage of their training

Holding a solid unmoving Kiba Dachi stance whilst performing sometimes 9 upper body attack and defence techniques in position is very difficult. Add to this you will also have to demonstrate Kime, Breath control and Direction changes - all in the time span it would normally take you to perform 1 or 2 moves in another Kata. This makes the Tekki Kata perfect preparation for the other more complex Kata

Tekki Shodan

Tekki Shodan begins with the open hands, left over right, pointing fingers down toward the floor, rather than from the more usual natural stance, with the hands resting at the sides. This is a common feature found at the beginning of many kata in the Shito Ryu style, and is similar in style to the opening movement for many Shuri City kata.

Hirokazu Kanazawa says in his 1st kata book, "If one practices daily every morning and evening Tekki he may be called a Karate-Ka. An instructor can value the technical level of his students by the performance of this Kata". Click here for : Start the Tekki Shodan from the rest OR Start the standard Tekki Shodan from the rest

Tekki Nidan

Tekki Nidan is a very rhythmical Kata, and when performed well, can be very interesting and dynamic to an observer. Tekki Nidan was created by Itosu, basically as a training and strengthening Kata. It is based on Tekki Shodan but with the dangerous techniques removed. Click here for : Start the Tekki Nidan from the rest OR Start the standard Tekki Nidan from the rest

Tekki Sandan

Itosu was the creator of the third Tekki kata, Tekki Sandan, Tekki Sandan contains some of the techniques already seen in the previous two Tekki Kata, but with some alternatives as to how to perform them. For example the sweeping blocks and close punches of the first two Tekki are repeated but done differently. It also contains techniques from Jion, Jiin, and Heian Sandan. Click here for : Start the Tekki Sandan from the rest OR Start the standard Tekki Sandan from the rest