does anyone who has gone to Okinawa beleive the naihanchi (Tekkei) kata were to protect the Okinawan King?

In European castles there were narrow passages and stairways in order to be able to take on and fight one enemy at a time instead of having to fight multiple opponents.

Emperor residences in Asia tended to be huge so it was not easy to hide or get to the emperor without being seen in an attempt to assassinate. So no, I do not believe this story to be true. I also believe that the Naihanchi kata were a Chinese import like Kusanku and Chinto. I learned shorter 2 man forms in Shaolin Kung Fu that are similar to naihanchi.

I have not trained in Okinawa. I have never heard this one. I have heard many. But I can tell you this is not true. It is only a myth. There is another myth that says the Naihanchi kata were created to fight on a ship on a plank were reasons for the sideways kata. However, if you learn more about bunkai you will understand the purpose of angle in kata. Thre is a relationship of angles. It is not about where the attack comes from, but the relationship is where you are when you apply the techniques. In the case of the Naihanchi kata you will be at your attackers side when applying the techniques. This kata has a lot of grappling in it.

Edit:

I understand there are a variety of myths surrounding the origin of this kata and why it is a sideways kata. Another theory is ti fight with your back against a wall. But again when you consider what angle mean in bunkai you will have a better understanding of how to apply the techniques of the kata. It will dispel some of the myths such as training or fighting in boats and planks. They just make for a good story.

i have done a lot of research into naihanchi but never came across that one.

naihanchi traces its roots back to a kung fu system, there were several possibility. it was not created to defend the castle any more then the pinan kata were. at least the pinan kata myth sounded more believable to me.

this was suppose to be a two man kata. now if you ever come across the other set to that kata do let me know.

Good question:)

The story is probably a myth..

It is much more likely to have being originally created by fishermen, to be able to protect their boats and their goods, while near to the shore by other people in boats, especially in places where a lot of boats were to be found near to the shore...In addition probably they were using it for training, while in the boat, since they were spending a lot of time in their boats.

The movements are indicating that, since stances are indicating that stability is less than normal, so more balance is needed, the moving to the right and to the left sideways indicates that their is some length but not so much width, so normally the scenery is a boat, that has some length and is narrow enough for someone to be able to row...

Later on obviously they have added different applications, in different places, according to their sceneries, but the original reason most probably was that, since the first form's applications, are most probably closer to how it looks, than the later additions and interpretations.

I did Naihanchi for my Taiwanese teacher, and he said that it is a longer form from China, developed by Fisherman and Ferry owners. Their boats were narrow and they used Naihanchi's movement to keep their centerline aligned with the centerline of the boats. They can execute leg technique without tipping over their boats and losing their catch or goods.

I told him that is it a longer form but at the time I did not know the other sets.

Hokama Sensei said Naihanchin's name is Chinese and it is pronounced Dai Po Chien.

Versus a corridor, what about a threshold into a room?

EDIT: Ok so then that pretty much debunks my theory