KATA

Kata is the second pillar of a student’s karate. Each kata is a pre-arranged pattern of techniques, providing opportunity to practice different combinations of moves and movements. Often, the movements are put together to simulate a combat situation. Therefore, it is also important to learn the bunkai or application of all kata.

In Shotokan, there are 26 kata to learn over the student’s lifetime. In the early stages, 1 new kata is taught for each new belt level. Further, kata knowledge is cumulative. This means students learning Heian Godan cannot forget what they learned in Heian Shodan because each additional kata builds on previous ones while introducing additional concepts.

Below is a list of all katas of our style, roughly in the order they should be learned. Most will have a graphic chart showing all moves step by step, and katas that have been featured will also include video links and additional info.

Japanese Name	Translation	No. of Total Moves	Position of 1st Kiai	Position of 2nd Kiai
Basic Kata
Taikyoku Shodan		20	8	16
Heian Shodan	Peaceful – First Step	21	9	17
Heian Nidan	Peaceful – Second Step	26	11	26
Heian Sandan	Peaceful – Third Step	20	10	20
Heian Yondan	Peaceful – Fourth Step	27	13	25
Heian Godan	Peaceful – Fifth Step	23	12	19
Tekki Shodan	Iron Knightor,	29	15	29
Tekki Nidan	Steel Horse or,	24	16	24
Tekki Sandan	Steel Horse Riding.	16	36	36
Bassai – Dai	“Extract from a fortress”, “rescue”(Big Bassai)	42	19	42
Kanku – Dai	“The view of the sky”(Big Kanku)	65	15	65
Jion	“Temple” – from a temple named “Jion-Ji”	47	17	47
Empi	“Flying Swallow”	37	15	36
Gankaku	“Crane Standing Upon a Rock”	41	11	40
Jitte	“Ten Hands”	24	13	24
Hangetsu	“Half Moon” or “Half Month”	42	28	42
Advanced Kata
Nijushiho	“Twenty-four Steps”	34	18	33
Bassai – Sho	“Extract from a fortress”, “rescue” (Little Bassai)	27	17	22
Kanku – Sho	“The view of the sky” (Little Kanku)	48	6	48
Chinte	“Unusual Hands”	32	28	32
Sochin	“Grand Suppression” or “Energetic calm”	41	30	41
Gojushiho – Dai	“Fifty-four Steps”(Big Gojushiho)	67	59	66
Gojushiho – Sho	“Fifty-four Steps”(Little Gojushiho)	65	57	64
Unsu	“Cloud Hands”	48	36	48
Wankan	“Kings Crown”	24	24	–
Meikyo	“Bright Mirror”	33	32	–
Jiin	“Temple Grounds”	35	11	35