It’s well known that Saito Sensei developed the 5 kumitachi kata. No doubt these katas were developed from the training he received from the founder, O’Sensei.

In this post, we explore the surviving archival film of O’Sensei in search of the origins of the 5 kata.

Note that the frame rate in the following examples has been halved to help analyze the movement.

Kumitachi 2 and 4

Kumitachi 2 and 4 are somewhat similar except for the high opening and strike to the knee in the 2nd kumitachi. This video contains most of the essence of these two katas.

Kumitachi 3

Kumitachi 3 is quite a simple kata characterised by the opening sword tap. This clip I believe captures this kata.

Kumitachi 5

Kumitachi 5 is quite a difficult kata, especially for beginners. Here we see the kata from midway through the opening attack.

What are your thoughts? Do you think these examples capture the essence of the katas? Have you seen a similar film that can help show the development?