The last three techniques of the kata are thought to be symbolic of a young wife bowing and backing away from her angry husband, allowing him to have his way, or at least, to think that he is having his way when really he has been fully manipulated and will now do as she wishes.
Chinte and Chinto are supposedly related to each other in that Chinte relates to young women and Chinto relates to older women.
One place where Chinte is a unique kata is in the use of elbow strikes to the upper level.
The title of this kata‘Chinte’ is taken from the Chinese characters which mean ‘Strange hands’,despite an unsuccessful attempt to rename it ‘Shoin’ by Master Funakoshi in his attempt to make the art more accessible to the Japanese public.
Also important to consider in this kata is the fact that it teaches you a great deal about striking to vulnerable points of the body, and once you absorb the knowledge from this kata, you will be able to apply this to the rest of your karate, and actually improve the effectiveness of your karate.
From this point of view, Chinte is critical kata in the syllabus, although it is commonly disliked by many students, and like Hangetsu, many of the more advanced karateka gain an appreciation for the kata over time.
Its mixture of standard movements and rarely-seen techniques, vestiges of ancient forms, give this kata a special appeal.
Particularly dynamic, with its alternating strong and slow passages, Chinte is unique also in the presence of a number of circular techniques, despite the preference in Shotokan karate for linear movements.
I can't dispute that Chinte still isn't what it should be.
I can't help remembering, though, that when I moved on to Chinte, several people told me that they'd never thought Empi was a particularly good kata for me. And you just never see people of higher ranks doing it as their primary kata.
Despite its age, the video shows that Chinte is one of the few kata that is virtually unchanged through the years.
But shuttles are so much prettier so I had 3 zeals, a dragoon and a robo facility when Chinte sent 15 lings at me. Being the gosu micro master that I am, I lost all 3 zeals, the dragoon, two probes, and a pylon.
Chinte's was all the way across the map at mid-right.
I soon found Chinte's expansion on the other "island" in the middle and destroyed it with some gosu drops that only succeeded because Chinte had no money for defense.
Chinte contains a number of typically Chinese techniques which are rarely found in karate (and much less in Shotokan), such as nihon nukite (two-fingered spear-hand), ippon-ken (single knuckle fists), and large circlar motions.
The Shotokan version of the kata finishes with three small hops or jumps, making it one of the most unusual katas to see.
In this case, knowing that I had a good feel for Empi at one time, I had to believe that he felt if I worked that kata for awhile, and got that "feeling" back, then something from that could translate into breaking through my block.
I'll still be doing Chinte, just working it for now as a second kata, not first kata.
Chinte remains a kata that I like and think I should be able to do well, but it's one I'll have to keep revisiting over time to try to get the feeling down.
On the evening of Friday 10th March Members of Chinte JKA Southampton braved rush hour traffic to attend a course and kyu grading with Sensei Ohta, 6th Dan, hosted by Purbeck and Wareham Shotokan Karate Club at the Springfield Sport Club near Wareham.
Chinte School of Shotakan has joined the Japan Karate Association England, led by Sensei Ohta, 6th Dan.
When Michael left Southampton to pave the way for his new career members of Chinte JKA Southampton presented him with a pair of Tonfa and case to congratulate him.
www.chinte.org.uk /news.htm (920 words)
Ataru SKC - Chinte(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-27)
Chinte means 'Chinese hand', 'Strange hand' or 'Incredible hands'.
The word Chin may relate to a Chinese technique for attacking the vital points.
Sensei Funakoshi referred to the kata as Shoin but it is not known where he obtained this name.
Shotokan Karate Advanced Shotokan Kata, Volume Three, instructional videos, JKA style includes Unsu and Chinte(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-27)
Chinte, demonstrated by Sensei Bendickson, is a versatile kata featuring techniques which are effective without requiring a great deal of strength.
This is possible mainly through the use of a variety of hand positions used to deliver strikes to vulnerable targets.
Because less power is required to be effective with the many techniques in Chinte, this kata is useful for smaller people and women.
www.karatevid.com /ak3.htm (184 words)
Page 64(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-27)
Campbell S. (The Chinte, Okinawa's weapon of Vengeance, 1985) and John Sells (Unante, 2000) are two researchers that have made a historical link between the kataChinte and the weapon Chinti.
A bunkai interpretation of Chinte has been developed using the sai in place of the Chinti for the purposes of recreating plausible applications.
Prominent seniors such as Taiji Kase have stated publicly that the hops were put in to return the performer to the starting position.
This site is dedicated to the art of Shotokan Karate
Inside you will find links to historical information, pages on the kata and grading syllabus of the KUGB, the association of which Chinte is a member and all manner of interesting material.
You will also find information about the club where we are located, training times, training costs and links to various sites that can provide BOOKS, VIDEO and DVD as well as internet access.
