The Cache
This micro is a replacement for the original Heian Yondan, the Wind Kata, which was archived due to health and safety concerns at the original location. It is in an entirely different part of the city in the Tolka Valley Park. Please note, when choosing your approach, that it is hidden to the north of the River Tolka. I have provided waypoints and details for two of the park's many access gates below. It is hidden close to a pond which forms part of the Integrated Constructed Wetlands (IWC, 1999) which has a shallow shelf along the edge and so is relatively safe for children. However, the ground is uneven and can be slippy, hence the rating.
(This cache will be considered a substitute cache for those wishing to find all 5 in the series.)
Pause
At the location, look around you, and notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending in the wind.
If you wish, you can watch a demonstration of this kata by Osaka Sensei
Encoding
Kata is often described as a set sequence of karate moves organised into a pre-arranged or choreographed fight against imaginary opponents. In Shotokan, the historical purpose of kata was to turn human "dance" into a biological data storage system; the kata contain encoded information about the applications of basic techniques that reveal themselves gradually as the student progresses. This was less cumbersome than attempting to write everything down and has subsequently bestowed an air of mystery on the possible secrets that have been hidden in kata.
Kata names
Heian can be taken to mean "basic". The first 5 kata the shotokan student must study are the Heian kata: Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan, Heian Yondan and Heian Godan, with Heian Shodan being the simplest (first step of basic) and Heian Godan being the most advanced (fifth step of basic).
Philosophy
When developing his karate, Funakoshi laid out the Twenty Precepts of Karate, which are based heavily on Bushido and Zen, and within which lie the philosophy of Shotokan. It was Funakoshi's belief that through karate practice and observation of these twenty principles, the practioner, or karateka, would improve their person by uniting shin (mind), gi (technique) and tai (body). There are strong parallels here between this and the swordsman Myamoto Musashi's Gorin No Sho, (A Book of Five Rings). Musashi's book is divided into 5 chapters, each of which is named after an element. There is a speculation by some that the first 5 Shotokan kata also have a basis in the five elements of ancient Japanese belief.
Heian Yondan contains more kicking and air techniques than before and can be considered to be the Air kata. The picture shows mae-geri (front kick), one of several kicking techniques that feature in the fourth Heian kata.