Chinto (martial arts)

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Chinto (In Shotokan, Gankaku (岩鶴)) is an advanced kata practiced in many styles of Karate. According to legend, it is named after a Chinese sailor whose ship crashed on the Okinawan coast. To survive, Chinto stole from the crops of the local people. Sokon Matsumura, a Karate master, was sent to stop Chinto. In the ensuing fight, however, Matsumura found himself equally matched by the stranger, and consequently sought to learn his techniques.

It is known that the kata chinto was well known to the early Tomari-te and Shuri-te schools of Karate. Sokon Matsumura was an early practitioner of the Shuri-te style. When Gichin Funakoshi brought Karate to Japan, he renamed chinto (meaning approximately "fighter to the east") to Gankaku (meaning "crane of a rock"), possibly to avoid anti-Chinese sentiment of the time. He also modified the actual pattern of movement, or embusen, to a more linear layout, similar to the other Shotokan kata.

The kata is very dynamic, employing a diverse number of stances (including the uncommon crane stance), unusual strikes of rapidly varying height, and a rare one-footed pivot. Bunkai generally describes this kata as being useful on uneven, hilly terrain.

Today, chinto is practiced in Wado-ryu, Isshin-ryu, Shorin-Ryu, Shito-ryu, and Shotokan.