Iain Abernethy - The Practical Application Of Karate

This latest podcast calls into question the accepted translation of “Pinan” as “Peaceful Mind”. I’m currently preparing a book on the combative application of the Pinan (Heian) series and, as a result of some of the new research for that book, I’m now convinced that the karate world has got the translation wrong and that this alternative translation has ramifications for how we should view those forms. You can see the characters used for writing “Pinan” (Heian) as part of this blog entry and their meaning will be explained in the podcast. I believe that Anko Itosu (the creator of the Pinan Series) did not intend for these characters to be read as “Peaceful Mind” and that they do in fact have a name directly related to their purpose and combative function. The view expressed in this podcast runs contrary to the universally accepted meaning of “Pinan” and I am aware that this view is potentially controversial. To my knowledge, I am also the only person to who has suggested this alternative theory to the widely