Kanku dai is one of the longest kata in the shotokan karate system. The original name for kanku dai was Kusanku, which Master Gichin funakoshi (the founder of shotokan karate), changed to Kanku Dai, when karate was imported to mainlkand Japan. The name kusanku is believed to be the name of a Chinese martial arts master who taught the Okinawan martial artists this karate kata. Kanku Dai translates as "To view the sky", the first move in kanku dai is probably the reason Master Gichin Funakoshi, named kusanku, kanku dai.
Some karate historians believe the five Heian kata were developed from moves in Kanku Dai and there are strong reasons to show that this could be accurate. The five Heian kata look very similar to parts of Kanku Dai. It is believed that the karate master, Ankō Itosu struggled to teach kusanku to new karateka, so he broke the kata down into five smaller Pinan karate kata.
Master Ankō Itosu is also believed to have shortened the original Naihanchi kata into the three tekki kata we have today. Tekki Shodan, Tekki Nidan and Tekki Sandan.
