Chinte

Chinte, meaning "Unusual Hands" or "Incredible Hands," gets its name from the array of unique and rarely seen hand techniques found within the kata. Those techniques include: tate-zuki, nakadaka-ippon-ken, nihon-nukite, and hasami-zuki.

Uncommon techniques include gedan-mawashi-haito, found in both Gojushiho kata, and kentsui-tate-mawashi-uchi which occurs only in one other kata, Heian Shodan.

The three small hops at the end of the kata (yori-ashi) probably provide the most unusual aspect of this kata and seem radically different from all other Shotokan movements. Although seemingly very simple movements, they are extremely difficult for students to execute with grace and comfort.

Bunkai for these hopping movements range from simple retreating motions, to wrist locks, or even to a full nelson hold. Many argue that the hops were simply added later in order for the karateka to regain the starting point of the kata, especially for competition.

When practicing Chinte, one should feel like the waves of the sea, beginning in calmness, then ebbing and flowing with the changing winds to become a tempest, and finally, with the last three hops, to be as the receding tide after the storm, bringing everything back to tranquility.