Gojushiho Dai - Shotokan Karate do Kata Teach by Naka Shihan

Gojushiho Dai, or “Fifty-Four Steps Big,“ is the longer and more complex of the two Gojushiho kata. At 67 counts, it is the lengthiest of Shotokan kata, beating Gojushiho Sho (and Kanku Dai) by two moves. Its surplus of movements over its twin can basically be accounted for by the inclusion of two techniques in Gojushiho Dai that are not present in Gojushiho Sho: koko-sukui-uke/tsukidashi and washide. Washide, or “eagle-hand,“ is a precise attack using all five fingertips pressed together in the shape of a bird's beak to strike an opponent's pressure points. Outside of this kata, washide does not exist in Shotokan. Gojushiho Dai has a smaller frame than its twin, mostly due to its “trademark set“ of kitsutsuki-no-kamae, keito-nagashi-uke, and otoshi-ippon-nukite. Essentially, the larger frame of the ryuun (flowing cloud) set of Gojushiho Sho is replaced by the smaller kitsutsuki (woodpecker) set of Gojushiho Dai. The grand style of ryuun-no-uke is replaced by the smaller curving keito-uke; the long shihon-