I came across a reference to Chinto being taught by an attache' from the Ming Court in 1732 named Ching-To and to honor him the Okinawans named the form Chinto.
Now I had thought that Chinto was taught to Sokon Matsumura by a shipwrecked pirate possibly named Chinto that was hold up in a cave and was preying on passerby. After failing to capture the gentlemen after many attempts, he ended up befriending him and was taught his style of fighting,of which Chinto is the basis. Hmmm how many storied are there and which are true?
How manny versions of the Chinto Kata/Hyung are there?
which do we do in TSD?
The latter story is the one I heard also.
I was judging forms just today at a tournament in Grand Blanc Michigan and one competitor performed a version of chinto that I hadent seen before. I seen a resembalance of the kata chinto and Tang Soo Dos Jindo but the movements were varied.
GM Zacker
www.michigantsd.com
Martial Art Style Founder Tang Soo Do Martial Arts Society
There's the Kyan version , & there variants like that of Tatsuo Shimabuku's . There's the matsumura version , which is what is practiced in matsumura seito , wado ryu , TSD , & Shotokan among others . The Gohakukai , if I remember right does two versions from Tomari ; & Chito ryu practices one created by Chitose Soke based on the Kyan version , as well . Out of all of them , I like the Kyan based one practiced in Isshin Ryu .
I guess Tatsao Shimabuku's version may be more of a original version than a variant though, because Chotoku Kyan ended up turning his back on the matsumura/ Itosu influenced forms and Shimabuku may have learned a older form of the kata, but then we can also dispute this because he also had a habit of not teaching the same forms the same way also.hmmm
He did w/o a doubt remove , & change some of the moves , from what he learned from Kyan Sensei . The reason I like the Isshin Ryu version is because he changed some of the stances to Sanchin Dachi , , & some of the movements he changed , & now look like Goju Ryu , due to his training w/ Miyagi Sensei ; and that is the reason I like this version .