How many katas are in Shotokan Karate?

26 katas
Shotokan Karate is comprised of 26 katas, each with their own emphasis on fast and slow or controlled and powerfull movements. Virtually all of the katas taught today in the Shotokan system have two kiai points.

What are the Shotokan Karate belts in order?

Belts for 6 years of age and above including adults are as follows:

• 10th Kyu White.
• 9th Kyu Orange.
• 8th Kyu Red.
• 7th Kyu Yellow.
• 6th Kyu Green.
• 5th Kyu Purple.
• 4th Kyu Purple with white stripe.
• 3rd Kyu Brown.

What is the first Shotokan kata?

Heian Shodan is also known as Shotokan Kata 1. Heian Shodan is the first Shotokan kata and is followed Heian Nidan and Heian Sandan. It is a Shotokan kata for color belt (non-black belt) Shotokan Karate students.

What does Shotokan mean in English?

The name Shotokan is actually made up of two words “Shoto” and “Kan”, and actually came from his students. “Shoto” means pine waves or waving pines and it is referred to as Gichin Funakoshi’s pen-name as he would use this name when writing. The word “Kan” means house or hall.

What is the most difficult kata?

Unsu (雲手), literally “cloud hands”, is the most advanced kata found in the Shotokan, Shito-Ryu and karate styles and is generally taught to karateka at the 3rd to 4th Dan. It contains many intricate hand techniques, such as the ippon-nukite (one finger strike) in the opening sequence.

Is Shotokan effective in a street fight?

Is Shotokan Karate good for street fighting? Yes, Shotokan is suitable for street fighting as it guarantees your self-defense mechanism. Shotokan Karate co-operates very destructive techniques that aim at entirely destroying, maiming, or killing your opponent.

Which is the best kata in Shotokan karate?

Mae Mawashi Empi Uchi: Augmented side elbow strike (e.g. in the kata, Heian yondan) Sokumen Zuki: Double side punch (e.g. in the kata, Tekki shodan) Ippon Nukite: 1 finger Spear-hand strike (e.g. in the kata, Unsu) ^ John Van Weenen (1987). John van Weenen, Advanced Shotokan Karate Kata. Vine House. p. 196. ISBN 0-9517660-1-5.

What are the different types of Shotokan stances?

Fudo Dachi: rooted stance (e.g. in the kata Bassai Dai) Hangetsu Dachi: half-moon stance (e.g. in the kata Hangetsu) Kiba Dachi: horse stance/side stance (e.g. in the Tekki katas) Kokutsu Dachi: back stance (in almost all Shotokan katas; usually first learned in Heian Shodan) Kosa Dachi: cross-legged stance (e.g. in the kata Heian Yondan)

What are the basic rules of karate kata?

Kata/forms were created as solo forms containing the concatenated sequences of movements of the defensive portions of the drills. The initial forms being simply strings of movements, sets of rules were created to allow the creation of kata which could fit comfortably within training spaces.

Where did the name karate kata come from?

This is because Gichin Funakoshi, and others, renamed many kata to help Karate spread throughout Japan. Kata originated from the practice of paired attack and defence drills by ancient Chinese martial artists. However, as the numbers of attacks and defences being practised increased the difficulty of remembering all of the drills also increased.