Annanku, the Gem of Okinawa and Taiwan

Many years ago, in a discussion with Soke Jim about requirements for 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree black belt, Soke Jim told me the requirements for 3rd dan were two katas, one called Annanku and the other Wansu. For 4th dan, the requirements were two Chinese Boxing forms.

At the time, Soke Jim was a nidan, and I was only a blue belt. He mentioned something about me having the "cheek" to ask about requirements so far beyond me that they were legendary, like aspipring to climb Mt. Olympus.

Soke Jim said that he had seen Annanku and Wanshu but hadn't learned them yet. There wasn't anyone around Cheyenne, Wyoming that could teach them. This was 1974 and there just weren't that many karate schools available. Soke Jim wouldn't be able to learn Chinese Boxing forms for another ten years or so, when he met Grandmaster Raymond Tan of Leong Chu Kung Fu system.

So, I began looking into the mysterious Annanku form. I saw different versions in different books on kata, and asked Soke Jim what he would want to see if I was ever to test for 3rd dan. He said, "Anybody's Annanku is good, it doesn't have to be from a particular style."

Eventually, I learned the Hayashi-Ha Shito-ryu version from a younger brother of Sensei Tony Shuler, when I was in Laramie, Wyoming. And although I learned the movements and the bunkai, I couldn't find much about the history of the kata. Here is what I have found as far as history:

Annanku (安南空) is an Okinawan karate kata, greatly influenced by Chinese Boxing, particularly the White Crane system of Taiwan. It is said that it was originally taught to green belts as a bridge between the Naihachi kata and the Pinan kata. Its meaning is "Peaceful Southern Sky". It was composed by karate Master Chotoku Kyan and it is thought to have been created when Kyan returned from a trip to Taiwan.

What makes this kata special is its techniques of offense and defense while in zenkutsu dachi and neko ashi dachi. This kata is also taught in most Shōrin-ryū dojo and in Matsubayashi-ryū, specifically.

That the kata was taught to green belts and therefore considered to not be in the black belt syllabus of most dojo, does (I believe) a disserve to it. Annanku is 41 movements long, making it roughly the equivalent of Bassai and Chinto. It takes about 1 minute and 10 seconds to do, if you don't rush. The bunkai is rich in self-defense techniques and while many movements are basic to karate, there are others that are quite advanced, and some really good fighting combinations.