26 kata in shotokan

[kitsune_no_tama]

personally, i cant find the shotokan kata's to be enough! i learn kata from several different styles and practice 8-10 hours a day. my parents worry about my dedication and think i should take a rest.

[karate kid 1]

i dont think 26 katas is too bad if you wish to master the art you must be prepared

[Psilokan]

The Tekki katas are w/o a doubt my favourite katas. I'm currently 4th Kyu and am working on Tekki Shodan. Getting the moves down didnt take long, however getting the hip rotation down is another story. Tekki is great for teaching hip rotation, maximizing the delivery of force w/ the least amount of effort. Not to mention they just look amazing. Another thing i love is that it takes so little space to exicute. When I started Karate I lived in a dorm, and would've loved to have known Tekki then so I could practice it in my limited space. Heian Shodan simply could not be done in my tiny kitchen

I eagerly await learning Tekki Sandan, as that one just blows my mind. Other than that, the ony kata that I am overly eager to learn is Gojishiho Sho.

[pers]

Kata is life long training. I have been training constantly for over 28 years now. Do I think theres too many Kata?

No I dont at all. As for remembering them, what you learn with pain you never forget.

These days I take a Kata and spend 2 years dedicated to that exclusively (outside the Dojo).

The 3 Tekki Kata are quite different. Never judge a book by its cover.

what a good answer regarding tekki katas !

Personally I thought there were 27 shotokan katas , can not in hounesty say i know them all by heart ! there are some who do and they are called master , but it takes a life time to learn them perfectly , I can not imagine how one can master 50 katas ,but there could only be a few .for most of us is important to have an understanding of all of them and then choose the ones we like best and suits our bodytype and fighting attitude and then try to perfect those by concentrating on them.

[P.A.L]

i love Sensei Mabuni, he was a kata collector ( me too i learn katas from anybody and any sty) you can see all the three main linage katas (shuri-te , tomari-te , naha-te plus Ryuei ryu) in his style.

it's intersting that sensei motobu one of the best karate-kas ever, belived that 3 naihanchi katas are enough for mastery in karate.

[Chirath]

Naihanchi isn't part of the Kyokushin syllabus. Even though theres video footage of Mas Oyama peforming it. It's a shame, as the bunkai I've seen for Naihanchi is really effective

[Bleeding Lion]

Blue dragon could you tell me or give me a link to 14 kyokushin kata.

In the goju ryu style I have learn Geki sai dai ichi, seisan, and saifa.

Goju Ryu kata list: Gekisai dai ichi, Gekisai dai ni, saifa, seiyunchin, shisochin, sanseru, sepai, kururunfa, sesan, suparinpei, tensho, sanchin.

In Shoreishobukan Goju Ryu, up to shodan, we have:

Hookyu dai ichi/ni, Gekisai dai ichi/ni/san, Gekiha dai ich/ni, Kakuha dai ich/ni, saifa, seisan, gakusei no "student" kata, two forms of sanchin (long/short).

After that, im not too sure but I think its 7 more from shodan to nidan, 12 more from nidan to sandan... after that, i have no idea.

[patusai]

IMHO many good responses. the lifetime comment I totall agree with. Yes that are all important. If they were not why have them learned at all? I am not sure what rank the starter is but perhaps there will be a better understanding later on.

as for are 26 too many? They are not that long! I could see if you had 26 kata that were 250 moves long that might be a bit taxing...but, again IMHO doable

[knarfster]

I really like tekki shodan, but because I started in Shorin Ryu before Shotokan it was the first kata I learned. 26 is not too many if you have a life time to learn them, but you spend 2 years plus on each kata it will take you forever get your Sho Dan LOL.