Bassai dai

Bassai Dai (Passai, Patsai) is one of the oldest kata in karate .

Bassai means "destroy the wall" or "storm the fortress". Accordingly powerful, the kata should also be demonstrated. She is said to have been created by Matsumura Sōkon and can be attributed to the Okinawan Tōde -Katas.  It is believed that it was taught in its original form already in the late 13th century by Chinese master and as a result of trade relations to Okinawa came. Today it is no longer clear how far today's Bassai Dai still corresponds to its old origin.

Bassai Dai belongs to the group of Shorin-Kata, whose training emphasis is beside the techniques to train the speed of karateka . The main feature of kata is that the individual techniques are exercised very quickly and powerfully. It contains many defensive blocking and lever techniques and comparatively few leg techniques. With about 40 individual techniques Bassai Dai is one of the longer Katas. That's why she is one of the Katas, which are very often performed both in Dōjō and on Kata competitions.

In the Shōtōkan style, two versions of the Bassai are practiced: the Bassai Dai and the Bassai Sho. " Dai " means "big", and thus denotes the big or longer version of the Bassai, while " sho " means "small" and wants to designate a smaller or shorter version of the Bassai. What's remarkable about the Bassai Sho is that it involves disarming techniques against a vertical stick attack , as disarming techniques are not found in every kata.

The following variants are known, which are taught in different karate styles and are usually named after their masters