Commonest kata.

[LastKing]

Hi all

I've been asked to take over our karate club, which is a great opportunity. Only our karate club has a strange assortment of kata which seem to bear little resemblance to any of the official kata present on youtube (I suspect they are a mish mash of kata, put together years ago by someone with "individual" tastes and passed down as official). Frustratingly, our kata all bear official names - taikio (I know, it should be Taikyouku, but the instructor freely admittend to altering that one), Pinan Nidan, Pinan Sandan, Pinan Yodan, Kenkasho and one called Kintaro which from what I can find is a bastardised version of seienchin). Our club is rural and is mainly kids. My concern is that they'll leave for university, or simply join another club, and their kata won't be recognised in any other club.

Though we're a "freestyle" club, our style in kata is Shotokan (though if I'm right in my research, the names of our kata are not. The Pinan's should be heian, as Pinan is Ank's Okinawan karate and Heian is Funkakoshi's Shotokan?).

So, which are the commonest kata?

Cheers

Edited October 1, 2019 by LastKing

[mushybees]

More than which are the most common you should give some thought to what you want to teach through them.

The pinan/heian katas are a good start. I don't know Kenkasho or if it's been renamed, what it is analogous to.

[P.A.L]

I think it is great that you gonna correct the past and create a solid program for the kids.

sometimes (on youtube) I see young teenagers doing Sanchin kata completely different and being tested (sanchin shime) in a sadistic way, I feel depressed.

Since you do Shuri-te and close to Shotokan. pick up the fundamentally (and historically ) important kata(s)

1 Kihon Kata

5 Heian kata from Shotokan ( well documented )

3 Tekki from Shotokan.

1 Passai like Matsumura no Passai from Shotokan

1 Kusanku like Kusanku dai from Shotokan

I think it is important that you put your kata in line with reputable organizations even if you don't do all the katas in their curriculum.

if you are flexible not to follow Shotokan all the way, I would replace the Tekki series with Naihanchi series from one of the Okinawan Shorin-ryu styles.

[Wastelander]

I'm guessing Kenkasho might be Kanku Sho? If you're Shotokan, that would be your version of the Kusanku Sho kata that I practice. If you want to clean up and correct your kata to fit modern Shotokan, there are lots of videos available to reference. If you want to go more old-school, you can look at Funakoshi's old books, but if you have been doing modern Shotokan basics then that can be a tough transition.

The most common kata in karate is Seisan, technically. In Shotokan, it's called Hangetsu. Naihanchi is the runner-up, and is called Tekki in Shotokan. The Pinan/Heian series is pretty ubiquitous across Shuri-Te systems, as are variants of Passai/Bassai and Kusanku/Kanku. Still common, but less consistent, are Chinto/Gankaku and Useishi/Gojushiho.

What you want to use for your curriculum is kind of up to you, but I highly suggest you work on developing a solid understanding of the "new" versions you want to teach BEFORE you start teaching them. I also highly recommend you look into the practical application of them, so you can answer questions you will inevitably get about why you are doing certain movements and poses.

If I were to give you a small suggested list to work from, for what you want to do, it would be this:

1. Pinan Nidan/Heian Shodan

2. Pinan Shodan/Heian Nidan

3. Pinan/Heian Sandan

4. Pinan/Heian Yondan

5. Pinan/Heian Godan

6. Naihanchi/Tekki Shodan

7. Naihanchi/Tekki Nidan

8. Naihanchi/Tekki Sandan

9. Seisan/Hangetsu

10. Itosu Passai/Bassai Dai

11. Itosu Kusanku/Kanku Sho

That gives you a solid collection of Shuri-Te material, covering a wide array of methods, which will provide your students with a solid base to work from if they move or transfer. They may have learned them "out of order" for the school they transfer to, but these are at least very common, very well-known kata that can be easily referenced and adjusted, as needed.

[JR 137]

I’m not a Shotokan guy, so take my post as you will. I’ve read a lot about it, so I’m going by some assumptions here...

Are you looking for a Shotokan list of kata? There are many Shotokan syllabi online. Here’s the JKA’s (Japan Karate Association) syllabus:

https://www.jka.or.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/b98c5e1514acc9fe91bbbc4b2fcb79f2.pdf

There are a ton of Shotokan kata videos online. IMO the definitive version of Shotokan kata has to be Kanazawa. I’d watch his videos for reference.

As far as “Kintaro” being a weird version of Seiunchin, I’ve never heard of Kintaro. But more importantly, I’ve never seen Seiunchin being on any Shotokan syllabus.

If you’re looking to keep the kata list Shotokan, I’d go with the JKA’s syllabus. I’d also go by Kanazawa’s versions. I don’t think anyone would be laughed out of anywhere if the students went elsewhere with that knowledge. That’s assuming you can teach them the kata correctly.

Last thought - you’ll sometimes see “kihon kata” listed on a Shotokan syllabus. I’ve been lead to believe that’s an alternative name for Taikyoku 1/Shodan. I’ve also seen many Shotokan syllabi that doesn’t include the 3 Taikyoku kata; I believe those schools teach them to the kids rather than the adults.

[JR 137]

While I’m pondering Shotokan kata and syllabi, this question has always perplexed me...

What exactly does “Optional Kata” mean?

Does the student choose which “optional kata” he/she will learn?

Does the teacher decide which ones?

Is it that they learn them all, but they can choose which one(s) to perform during a test?

Or is it that they learn them all, but the examiner decides which one(s) they’ll test the student on?

I just can’t understand it. Both organizations I’ve been in, everyone is taught the same kata for each respective rank, and everyone’s tested on every kata. There’s no optional anything.

I actually could see some good in optional kata from an age ability standpoint. Take a kata like Unsu. It’s highly athletic, and typically a 4th dan kata. If you’ve got a yondan who’s up there in age and isn’t going to be able to adequately perform it no matter how hard they try, why bother with it? Have them do a different kata that they’re capable of doing adequately and can pull equally useful bunkai from.

I guess what I’m saying is I know quite a few guys who’ve gotten higher up in rank and aren’t in their physical prime that are required to do kata that should be reserved for people in their 20s and 30s.

Unsu kata, for reference:

Or better yet, Seido Empi No Kata Sho

[sensei8]

What's the most common Kata?? Whatever you, as the CI, says that they/it are/is, no matter what someone else might suggest. Teach what you know!! Those before me here have given you some solid advice.

[MatsuShinshii]

Not a Shotokan practitioner however I would ask a simple question;

Are you under an organization like the JKA?

If so use their syllabus if not then I would chose what you wish too.

Not sure what "freestyle club" means. If you are outside of a parent organization you have free rein to do as you please. Having said that if it where me I would stick to the standard Shotokan Kata as others have listed.

Below is a list I found very quickly on google.

Shotokan – Taikyoku Shodan

Shotokan – Taikyoku Nidan

Shotokan – Taikyoku Sandan

Heian Shodan

Heian Nidan

Heian Sandan

Heian Yondan

Heian Godan

Tekki Shodan

Tekki Nidan

Tekki Sandan

Bassai Dai

Bassai Sho

Kanku Dai

Kanku Sho

Enpi

Jion

Gankaku

Hangetsu

Jitte

Chinte

Sochin

Meikyo

Jiin

Gojushiho Dai

Gojushiho Sho

Nijushiho

Wankan

Unsu

[Spartacus Maximus]

A kata called Kintaro definitely sounds like a joke. That would be akin to calling a kata “robin hood” or something similar. Kintaro is a character from popular Japanese folklore. Unless of course the name is a corruption or bastardized distortion of an original kata name.

Mainstream kata lists from most karate schools are quite easily found online. Even Wikipedia has a very complete list of karate kata included in several styles. All karate has its roots in Shuri(shorin ryu line) or Naha(goju ryu line). Only a few exceptions exist such as uechi ryu and styles with mixed roots.

All styles stemming from shorin ryu such as shotokan and off-shoots include the Pinan kata and the naihanchi. The Naha styles all share sanchin and perhaps one other.

[JR 137]

A kata called Kintaro definitely sounds like a joke. That would be akin to calling a kata “robin hood” or something similar. Kintaro is a character from popular Japanese folklore. Unless of course the name is a corruption or bastardized distortion of an original kata name.

Mainstream kata lists from most karate schools are quite easily found online. Even Wikipedia has a very complete list of karate kata included in several styles. All karate has its roots in Shuri(shorin ryu line) or Naha(goju ryu line). Only a few exceptions exist such as uechi ryu and styles with mixed roots.

All styles stemming from shorin ryu such as shotokan and off-shoots include the Pinan kata and the naihanchi. The Naha styles all share sanchin and perhaps one other.

Do the Naha-Te styles typically share Seiunchin? Along with Sanchin, of course.

I think the Shorin-Ryu schools typically claim Naihanchi is the most important kata, and the Naha-Te styles claim Sanchin is their most important. Uechi-Ryu claims Sanchin as their most important too.