What does "me" mean in kata as in "ippon-me"?

by Patrick
(Noumea)

What is the meaning of the word "me" in Kata names? Thanks.

Answer: Thank you for your question. It is a suffix to indicate an order such as "th", "nd" and "rd".

So the first kata is Ippon-me. 2nd kata is nihon-me. And it keeps going.

What is hon/pon/bon then? The kanji for these is 本. And it is used to count long and thin objects like chopsticks.

Then why is 本 used for kata???

In old days, these kata was written in scrolls.

So you will be given a scroll by your teacher...

Teacher: "This is your first scroll and you can learn the first kata"

And he gives you a scroll but it is rolled up. it looks like a thin and long object. Therefore, it is called ippon-me (the kata No.1 that is written in the first scroll that is given to you).

(at least that is how I learned...)

Hope this helps!

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