Shotokan Kata: Enpi (Flight of the Swallow) Shotokan (松涛館) is a school of karate, reflecting the style of the initial students (including his son, Yoshitaka) of master Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957). ... Kata (型) (literally: form) is a Japanese word describing detailed patterns of defense-and-attack movements practiced either solo or in pairs. ...

Empi comes to us from the Okinawan Tomari-te school where it apparently first appeared in 1683. It is believed to have been influenced by Chinese boxing. It was originally called Wansu (wanshu). Funakoshi Gichin changed the name when he moved to the Japanese mainland in the 1920's. Funakoshi changed the names of many of the kata, in an effort to make the Okinawan art more palatable to the then nationalistic Japanese. The main theory about its creation and development is that a Sappushi Wang Ji, an official from Xiuning, transmitted the kata while serving on Okinawa. Legend has that Wang Ji had the habit of throwing and jumping on his adversaries. Because of this dynamic form of combat, this kata resembles a flying swallow. Others purport that it was a product of the interaction between Okinawans and the so-called "36 Chinese Families" that immigrated to the islands in the late 1300's. This article is about the prefecture. ... Tomari-Te refers to a tradition of martial arts originating from the village of Tomari, Okinawa. ...

Execution

Video reference

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Karate Online.org videos of all major kata and training adcice from the online karate resource- click on kata homepage and select Empi

 videos include - Leading JKA instructor Sensei Kanazawa 10th Dan Junior Lefevre - European and World Champion (many times) 

See also

Bunkai, Kata, Shotokan Bunkai is a Japanese term used in Karate. ... Kata (型) (literally: form) is a Japanese word describing detailed patterns of defense-and-attack movements practiced either solo or in pairs. ... Shotokan (松涛館) is a school of karate, reflecting the style of the initial students (including his son, Yoshitaka) of master Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957). ...