Karate notes
Principles
Kata - 形
Shotokan kata all have two kiai, except for Wankan. They can be divided into groups.
Shitei Kata - 指定形
Shitei means “designated”, and these kata are the compulsory ones for brown and black belts. All Heian and Tekki Shodan are in the list. In competition, these are the kata that can be asked during qualification rounds. For black belt examination, the knowledge of these kata is required together with one of the Sentei kata of student’s choice.
Sentei Kata - 選定の形
Sentei means “selection”, and these kata are the selected ones to represent the essence of Shotokan karate. These include Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion and Enpi. The Sentei kata are significantly longer and more challenging than the Shitei kata. The Sentei kata are the source from where Heian kata were created in order to simplify them for new students. Brown belt need to choose one (usually, but not necessarily, Bassai Dai, for it forces to master the basic techniques) for their 2nd/1st kyu, and the black belt exam. This is normally referred to as Tokui - 特異 kata.
List
| Name | Moves | First Kiai | Second Kiai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heian | |||
| Heian Shodan | 21 | 9 | 17 |
| Heian Nidan | 26 | 11 | 26 |
| Heian Sandan | 20 | 10 | 20 |
| Heian Yondan | 27 | 13 | 25 |
| Heian Godan | 23 | 12 | 19 |
| Tekki | |||
| Tekki Shodan | 29 | 15 | 29 |
| Tekki Nidan | 24 | 16 | 24 |
| Tekki Sandan | 36 | 16 | 36 |
| Sentei | |||
| Bassai Dai | 42 | 19 | 42 |
| Kanku Dai | 65 | 15 | 65 |
| Jion | 47 | 17 | 47 |
| Enpi | 37 | 15 | 36 |
| Funakoshi | |||
| Jitte | 24 | 13 | 24 |
| Gankaku | 42 | 28 | 42 |
| Hangetsu | 41 | 11 | 40 |
| Advanced | |||
| Kanku Sho | 48 | 6 | 48 |
| Bassai Sho | 27 | 17 | 22 |
| Nijushiho | 34 | 18 | 33 |
| Sochin | 41 | 30 | 41 |
Glossary
References
The information on Kata is based on http://shotokankaratecsl.com which contains precious information on Shotokan kata.