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These notes contain an explanation of particular techniques from each of the 26 Shotokan katas where confusion or misunderstandings have been noticed. These notes are NOT simply a set of instructions describing each move of each kata and so are not intended to teach the katas to students. Similarly, these notes are not intended to correct the hundreds (or thousands) of details connected with each kata. It is not (realistically) possible to compile a comprehensive list, as each student remembers (and forgets!) different details of each kata, so this list only attempts to cover the most common points (ie those which affect most students). It is the aim of these notes to highlight a few isolated techniques within each kata, where there are common misunderstandings / problems / mistakes or inadequacies amongst students learning the katas. They may also highlight a small detail of a kata, which is often forgotten.


Therefore these notes intend only to highlight (and re-iterate) the correct way to practice and teach particular kata techniques, within ESKA. It is hoped that this list will aid individual students to improve their own kata and perhaps more importantly will be used as a check list for ESKA instructors, in order to prevent any small errors being passed on to students learning new katas. For more general advice on performing good kata, see the 'Kata Tips' page.


At the end of these notes is a summary of some of the similarities between katas, which sometimes get confused with each other. In order to remove the confusion, the correct techniques for each kata are explicitly stated.


If you have any other points you wish to add or highlight within this list, please pass the info onto the instructors or website organisers.
 
 

Teikyoku Shodan

  1. The most common mistake with this kata is to think it is too easy. Many students do not use good hip movement during this kata, especially when turning and blocking. It is important to ensure the hip is pulled back properly on each block.

Heian Shodan

  1. The tettsui uchi (hammer fist strike) must be a large strong movement. It is a strike to the collar bone, which will not be damaged if a small or weak technique is used.
  2. The 4 shuto uke (knife hand block) are at the end of this kata. Sometimes there is confusion with the 4 shuto blocks in the middle of the heian nidan kata and the shuto blocks are incorrectly put in the middle of Heian Shodan.

Heian Nidan

  1. Following the first 6 moves and just before the keage kick the step up should only be a half step up with the back leg, in order to keep in line with your opponent. This technique used to be taught as a full step up and many black belts will be used to doing this, but it should now be taught as half a step only.
  2. For the 2 gyaku uchi uke (reverse inside block) the stance should be shortened only on the second block and not on the first one. It is often forgotten which block should include the shortened stance.
  3. The moroto uke (augmented block) should be in front stance. Back stance is sometimes seen, as it can become confused with heian yondan and godan, which have several moroto uke blocks in back stance.

Heian Sandan

  1. The kosa uke (cross blocks) at the start of the kata are often seen to be weak arm waving techniques with apparently no knowledge of the true technique. These techniques are a combination of a basic gedan barai (downward block) with the arm on top and fist near the opposite ear AND a basic uchi uke (inside block) the arm underneath and fist under the opposite arm pit. The actual blocks should be carried out with the gedan barai passing between the your body and the inside block.
  2. The pull up to koshi gamae (hip position) after the first kiai should be a slow move to a rough count of 4 with head, hands and feet all stopping at the same time. Often the move is seen done much to quickly.

Heian Yondan

  1. The breathing on the first 2 moves (haishu uke) is unusual and therefore important. The downward movement of the arm should be quick with a sharp exhaled breath, followed by the slow rising arm movement accompanied with a slow deep breath in.
  2. In both the kakiwaki uke (reverse wedge block) techniques the elbows should be close to your ribs and not sticking out to the sides. Also at the end of the block the fists should be pointing towards the face of your opponent.
  3. When grabbing the head just before the second kiai, the hands should be open and 'head width' apart, often the hands are much too wide. Also on the knee strike the toes should be pointing to the floor with a straight foot, often the foot position is forgotten.

Heian Godan

  1. Both the kage zuki (hook punch) are slow moves and are accompanied by a long slow breath in. Often both these hook punches are done fast along with the first 2 moves of the kata.
  2. Following the juji uke (cross block), the twisting hands should be lowered slightly during the twist so they finish level with the chest instead of the face.
  3. Ensure that the first nagashi uke + gedan nukite uchi (sweeping block and downward spear hand strike) is in front stance and is followed by a big front leg (left) movement to switch to back stance for the manji uke (manji block). This occurs a second time shortly after, but is on the opposite side. Often the stances, leg positions and leg movement is poor for these techniques.

Tekki Shodan

  1. The most common mistake in this kata is to bob up and down, it is important to stay the same height throughout the whole kata.
  2. Head movements are very important in this kata, ensure any head movements precede the following move and do not lag behind it.

Bassai Dai

  1. On the first move, the left hand should be placed with the tip of the middle finger level with the wrist joint.
  2. Near the start of the kata, just prior to the sukui uke (scooping block) the extended left hand should be open. Both open and closed hands have been used and although not crucially important it is good to be consistent.
  3. For the wrist block just prior to the first kiai point, only the tips of the 3 middle fingers should be covering the wrist (the incorrect version is to use the whole hand to cover the wrist).
  4. Following the nagashi uke + gedan nukite (sweeping block and downward spear hand) you should immediately pull the front leg up along side the back foot into manji gamae (manji position). This is often confused with the similar techniques in heian godan where manji uke is used first, before the pull up into manji gamae (with feet together). In Bassai Dai it is incorrect to go into back stance in the manji uke position.

Kanku Dai

  1. Following the manji uke (manji block) in back stance and gedan nukite (downward spear hand) in front stance, pull up to gedan gamae (downward block position) with the rear hand on your hip. This is often confused with Bassai Dai in which the pull back is to manji gamae (manji position) with rear hand in the air (see point 4 under Bassai Dai). This sequence of moves is repeated again shortly afterwards.
  2. During the ura zuki (close punch) and hiza gamae (knee position) the supporting (left) hand should be placed such that the finger tips are level with the wrist, which is the same position as in the first move of Bassai Dai.
  3. For the double gedan shuto (downward knife hand) the palms of the hands should face each other.
  4. Following the turn and uchi uke (inside block) the punch should be gyaku zuki (reverse punch). Often people confuse this turn and block with the same technique in Jion and Kanku Sho, both of which turn and block before a stepping punch. Kanku Dai should use a gyaku zuki (reverse punch).
  5. On the yame (finish) ensure the back remains straight. To achieve the low arm position, lower the stance in preference to the easier option of simply bending your back.

Enpi

  1. The first move of Enpi used to be taught such that the knee touches the ground and this is still correct the correct method. However any student who has any problems with their knees is suggested to not to touch the floor with the knee, but to drop down and rise fairly quickly to remove any strain on the knees.
  2. ESKA used to use only mawashi geri (round house kick) for this kata. However the EKGB standard now states that both mawashi and hiza geri (knee kick) are both equally acceptable. It is therefore up to the student to decide. However mawashi is the more difficult kick (and is not in any other kata) so Enpi can be considered a good opportunity to use and practice mawashi geri.
  3. After the mawashi geri (round house kicks) the punch in kosa dachi (cross stance) should have back straight and hips pushing forward. Often because of this unusual punching position there is a tendency to lend forward and let the hips slip back.
  4. The Enpi kata can easily drift to the left of the starting position (due to the double shuto uke blocks both to the left of the centre line). In order to compensate for this an extra long slide should be used for the otoshi zuki (dropping punch) just following the final mawashi (or hiza) geri.
  5. Following the final Teisho kosa uke (palm heel crossing block) the slide forward into gedan barai (downward block) in back stance should be done by moving both back and front legs in slightly in order to maintain the centre line. Often only one leg (front or back) is used to close the gap but this is incorrect in Enpi.

Jitte

  1. For the 3 consecutive teisho uchi (palm heel strike) ensure that the hikite (pulling back) hand is a fist. Because there are 3 consecutive teisho uchi it is very easy to leave the other hand in the teisho form.
  2. On the 3 yama uke (wide block) ensure that you do not over rotate. Often it is seen that the effort involved in rotating the body, results in the arms over rotating also, therefore losing the correct form of the block. Also these blocks are often carried out without a lot of kime (muscle tension). As with nearly all karate techniques there should be strong kime for the blocks.
  3. The hand positions for the morote jo uke (augmented jo block) are very important in this kata but are difficult to explain in concise written form. Therefore ask your instructor or reference a book (preferably Kanazawa Kata vol 2) if you are not sure.

Ji'in

  1. The first move of Ji'in and Jion are often confused because they are very similar, both being kosa uke (crossing block) in front stance. Ji'in has a normal gedan barai (ie over the front leg) and a gyaku (reverse) uchi uke. In contrast Jion has a normal uchi uke (ie over the front leg) and a gyaku (reverse) gedan barai.
  2. Following the first age uke, oi zuki (rising block, lunge punch) the right (front) leg does not pull right up to the left leg (as is done in all the more basic katas) but instead should only pull up half way before forming the next front stance. Many students still do this step up in its most basic form and pull both legs together but this is not correct in Ji'in
  3. For the 3 consecutive shuto uchi (knife hand strike) ensure that the hikite (pulling back) hand is a fist. Because there are 3 consecutive shuto uchi it is very easy to leave the other hand in the shuto form.
  4. In Ji'in both the kakiwaki uke (reverse wedge block) techniques should be done in front stance. As this technique is done in back stance in the Heian Yondan kata students often assume incorrectly that back stance is also used in this kata.
  5. This kata contains 4 kosa uke (crossing blocks). The first 3 are all in front stance and are all the same (ie inside block or higher arm is on the same side as the front leg). The 4th is in kiba dachi (side stance) and should have the right arm higher in the inside block position.

Jion

  1. The first move of Jion and Jiin are often confused because they are very similar, both being kosa uke (crossing block) in front stance. Jiin has a normal gedan barai (ie over the front leg) and a gyaku (reverse) uchi uke. In contrast Jion has a normal uchi uke (ie over the front leg) and a gyaku (reverse) gedan barai.
  2. Step forward on inside blocks near end.
  3. Following the reverse wedge block, there is a kick and 3 punches. ESKA teaches this as 4 chudan (stomach level) techniques, with the timing kick-punch in quick succession, a slight pause and then punch-punch in quick succession.
  4. As in Enpi there are 3 consecutive teisho uchi (palm heel strikes). Again ensure that the hikite (pulling back) hand is a fist position and does not remain in the teisho position.
  5. Following the inside blocks, near the end of the kata, the following punches should be lunge punches (not gyaku zuki as in some other katas).
  6. In the final few moves the yumi zuki techniques should be done slowly with power and the backs of both hands should face upwards. Also the pulling hand should finish approximately in line with the nipple.
  7. ESKA used to teach a long kiai at the end of this kata, however competition kata tend to now use a much shorter kiai at the end of this kata.

Hangetsu

  1. The 3 inside block and gyaku zuki techniques are slow moves (each movement to the count of 4) and should be carried out with full tension (kime). Because the moves are slow students often ignore the kime which should be applied.
  2. The kaishu yama gamae (open hand wide position) should be square to the front. Often students are unaware that their shoulders and arms are diagonal and in line with the feet position of hangetsu dachi (crescent or half moon stance). Also this move should be accompanied with a long deep in breath.
  3. Often the kaishu kosa uke (open hand crossing block) techniques are too wide, the block should stop when the arms are in line with the edge of the body (not wider).
  4. The second kiai is on the mikazuki geri (crescent kick) and not on the following gedan gyaku zuki.

Bassai Sho

  1. On the first move the left hand should be horizontal and the right hand vertical (this is the opposite to the first move of Gankaku in which the right hand is vertical and the left hand is horizontal.
  2. The keage geri is accompanied with a haito uchi (not a uraken as used in several other katas).
  3. After the ryowan uchi uke (both arm inside block) you should slide forward on heiko ura zuki (parallel close punch) moving both feet forward, do not keep the feet stationary.
  4. On the 3 ashi barai (leg sweeps) try to ensure that you maintain the same height, as it is easy to move the body up and down during these 3 leg techniques.

Chinte

  1. The 3 tate shuto uke (vertical knife hand blocks) near the start of the kata should all be in sochin/fudo dachi (rooted stance), not in front stance as is sometimes seen.
  2. Following the 2 shuto uke (knife hand blocks) you should maintain the same height for the back leg mae geri (front kick). Often students straighten the front leg during the kick (to try to maintain balance) and so raise their height, but this should be avoided.
  3. The pull up to ryowan gamae (both arm position) in tsuri ashi dachi (one leg stance) should be a slow move and balance maintained throughout. Try to hold this balance for a second and do not to rush into the next technique.
  4. Towards the end of the kata, ESKA teaches the nakadaka ippon ken hasmi uchi (middle knuckle fist scissors strike) with the knuckles pointing towards you. (Note the Kanazawa Kata Book 2 has the knuckles pointing away from you).

Gankaku

  1. The hand positions of the first move are not always clear and can appear ambiguous. The right hand is the main blocking hand and should be vertical. The left hand is used to hook around the right hand and should be horizontal.
  2. After the spinning gedan barai (downward block), the change to front stance should involve a movement of both feet (right foot to the right AND left foot to the left) in order to keep the line of the body central. Often students only move one foot in order obtain front stance.
  3. Each of the 4 keage (snap) kicks towards the end of this kata should be followed by a long gyaku zuki in kiba dachi (side stance). Often (because of the side stance) students assume that the punch is the similar but shorter hook punch, but this is not the case.
  4. When doing the age empi (rising elbow) near the end of the kata the right arm should be held high and level leaving a clear view under the right arm. Often the arm sags to obscure the view or some students even look to the right of the right arm.

Tekki Nidan

  1. As with Tekki Shodan the head movements are very important in this kata. Especially, take note that you should look to the right on the first move, and then to the left when on the same move is repeated on the fifth move. Often students look to the front on the repeat of the first move, but this is incorrect.
  2. During the first 8 moves of this kata, several of the blocks have unusual arm positions (opposite direction of arm twist) and are different from the more usual arm twist of inside block or downward block. For example your knuckles should point towards you on the 2nd move, to the floor on the 3rd and 4th moves and then the repeated sequence of towards you on the 6th move, to the floor on the 7th and 8th moves.
  3. Again as with Tekki Shodan you should remain the same height throughout the kata and not bob up and down during the stepping or kicking techniques.

Kanku Sho

  1. At the start of the kata the twist of the wrist following each io zuki should not be a full uchi uke (inside block) but only a small sharp twist used for disengaging a grab to the wrist.
  2. The timing of the keage geri (side snap kicks) is often confusing in this kata (because of the similar kicks in Heian Yondan and Kanku Dai). In Gankaku the keage kicks immediately follow the first jump and do not follow the (second) pull up to gedan gamae. The second pull up to gedan gamae should be followed by manji uke and sokumen morote zuki (manji block and double side punch).
  3. Unlike Bassai Dai and Bassai Sho the wrist hooking block in Kanku Sho should have the whole hand covering wrist (only 3 finger tips are used in Bassai Dai and Bassai Sho).

Nijushiho

  1. The arm movements at the start of this kata are often not clear. The first punch should be underneath the left arm. The left arm should then move forward down and back underneath the right arm, before applying the elbow strike. This elbow strike is one of the few times when you should actually lean forward.
  2. After the kekomi geri (side thrust kick) the punches are long punches to the side (sokumen zuki) and not the similar hooking punch.
  3. You should lean slightly forward for the teisho awase zuki (combined palm heel punch). This is the second time in this kata when leaning with the body is actually the correct technique, however in this instance it should be only a slight lean.
  4. Following the haishu uke and age empi uchi (back hand block and rising elbow strike), the next move should be a long punch with the left arm combined with the start position of the gedan barai block with the right arm. Sometimes the right arm is used as an outside block but this is incorrect, the right arm should only do a gedan barai. This is repeated again later in the kata and the same rules apply.

Meikyo

  1. Meikyo involves the same sequence of moves repeated 3 times, each with a different block. There is sometimes confusion in the ordering of the blocks (is it age uke, ude uke, gedan barai or gedan barai , ude uke, age uke?). The answer is gedan barai then ude uke then age uke. This is easily remembered by thinking bottom up!
  2. This kata contains the san kaku tobi (triangular jump). Unlike the jumps in other katas, the prime aim of this jump is not to jump high. The main aim of this jump, is to jump around the outside of your opponent. For this reason your position through the air is more important than the height, for this particular jump. Often students strive only to jump higher, which is not strictly correct for this particular jump.

Sochin

  1. Excluding the shizentai (natural) stances, this kata contains only 2 stances sochin dachi and kokutsu dachi (rooted stance and back stance). Therefore in this kata any technique carried out in front stance is incorrect. As all other katas include a front stance (excluding the tekki katas) students often assume that at least a few techniques must be in front stance, eg the empi uchi (elbow strikes) following the keage kicks, but these are also in sochin dachi.
  2. The early moves of this kata are sometimes carried out at the wrong speed. The first move is slow and each of the 3 gyaku tate shuto uke (reverse vertical knife hand block) techniques are slow moves. All other moves in this kata are fast moves.
  3. Often in more basic katas, the feet are pulled together prior to a keage kick. However in Sochin the keage kicks are carried out straight from the previous technique without the feet together 'half way point' used in several earlier katas.
  4. Near the end of the kata, following the last mae geri (front kick), the yumi zuki (bow punch) should have the knuckles of both hands pointing upwards and the right hand on the chest.

Tekki Sandan

Wankan

Unsu

Gojushiho Dai

Gojushiho Sho




Several katas contain small sequences of moves, which are very similar (but slightly different) to those in other katas. When several or many of the 26 katas are known these small differences can become confused. In order to clear up this confusion below is an explicit list of which version of the technique should be used in each kata.


1 - FRONT STANCE OR BACKSTANCE FOR KAKIWAKI UKE

  • Heian Yondan - Kakiwaki uke in back stance
  • Jiin - Kakiwaki uke in front stance
  • Jion - Kakiwaki uke in front stance

2 - SHORT OR LONG PUNCH - kage zuki (short) or sokumen/gyaku zuki (long)

  • Heian Godan - gyaku zuki (long) when in back stance and kage zuki (short) when feet together
  • Tekki Shodan - kage zuki (short) in side stance (just prior to kosa dachi)
  • Enpi - kage zuki (short) in side stance
  • Jion - kage zuki (short) in side stance
  • Gankaku - sokumen zuki (long) in side stance
  • Tekki Nidan - kage zuki (short) following vertical knife hand
  • Nijushiho - sokumen zuki (long) in side stance after thrust kick
  • Tekki Nidan - kage zuki (short) following vertical knife hand

3 - PULLING UP FROM GEDAN NUKITE

  • Heian godan - first manji uke (back stance), followed by pull up to manji gamae (feet together)
  • Bassai Dai - immediately pull up to manji gamae (feet together)
  • Kanku Dai - immediately pull up to gedan gamae (natural T or L stance)

4 - PUNCH FOLLOWING INSIDE BLOCK (to step or not to step?)

  • Kanku Dai - reverse punch do not step (way to remember it - long kata so does not need extra movements!)
  • Jion - lunge punch, step forward to punch
  • Kanku Sho - lunge punch, step forward to punch (way to remember it - kanku dai doesn't so kanku sho SHOuld!)

5 - WRIST HOOKING BLOCK (finger tips or whole hand)

  • Bassai Dai - tips of 3 middle fingers only
  • Bassai Sho - tips of 3 middle fingers only
  • Kanku Sho - whole hand covering arm

ESKA. ESKA Shotokan karate. ESKA - English Shotokan Karate Association. ESKA karate.