Katas

Wado Ryu Katas

The following 17 kata (excluding First Basic) are listed as Wado Kata with the Japan Karate Federation (JKF)-Wado Kai and the World Karate Federation (WKF)

In 1939 the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (the Japanese governing body for martial arts) held a Budo festival in Kyoto for all of the martial arts of Japan and every Style (Ryu) had to register its name, and the name of its founder. Otsuka Sensei registered his style here for the first time and listed as its original kata the first 16 kata (excluding Unsu).

In his book, Wado Ryu Karate, Otsuka Sensei demonstrates the first nine, and he "only incorporates these nine in his movements", commenting that "some falsely believe that mastery and progress comes by knowing as many kata as possible. One must remember that it is quality over quantity when practicing any kata."

Okinawan Name	Funakoshi Name	Origin	Description
(First Basic Kata)	Taikyoku Shodan	Gichin Funakoshi	Balance, Timing, Coordination, and Reflexive Thinking
Pinan Shodan	Heian Nidan	1907 - Anko Itosu, Shuri-Te	Defense using Free Style Sparring Techniques
Pinan Nidan	Heian Shodan Variation	1907 - Anko Itosu, Shuri-Te	Introduction to Body Shifts (Tai Sabaki)
Pinan Sandan	Heian Sandan	1907 - Anko Itosu, Shuri-Te	Defense for Close-In Fighting
Pinan Yondan	Heian Yondan	1907 - Anko Itosu, Shuri-Te	Defense using Jiujitsu Techniques
Pinan Godan	Heian Godan	1907 - Anko Itosu, Shuri-Te	Defense against Weapons
Kusanku	Kanku Dai	1761 - Chinese Envoy Kusanku	'To View the Sky' - The Pinan katas 'originator'
Naihanchi	Tekki Shodan	Pre-1825 Matsumura to Shuri/Tomari	'The Iron Horse' or 'Battlefield' kata
Seisan	Hangetsu	1700 from Fukien, China to Naha	'The Half-Moon' or '13 Hands' kata
Chinto	Gankaku	Chinese Sailor - China to Shuri	'Crane on a Rock'
Jutte	Jitte	Tomari-Te	'10 Hands' - Representing mastery over 10 men
Jion	Jion	Tomari-Te	'In the Jion-ji Shaolin Temple'
Passai	Bassai Dai	Pre-1869 Kosaku Matsumora - Tomari	'To Storm a Fortress'
Neseishi	Nijushiho	Shuri-Te, Ankichi Aragaki	'The 24 Steps'
Rohai	Meikyo	Tomari-Te	'The Mirror of the Soul' or 'White Heron'
Wanshu	Empi	1683 from China to Tomari	'The Flying Swallow'
Suparinpei	Pechurrin (Chinese Name)	1600s from China to Naha	'108 hands' - Representing the 108 evil spirits of man
Unsu	Unsu	Tomari-Te	'Defense of a Cloud' or 'Cloud Hand'

Kata Belt Requirements

Our schools currently practice all of the katas above except Unsu. However, the katas are not taught in the order that they were originally listed by Otsuka Sensei. They are taught in an order that allows basic techniques to be introduced first with more advanced techniques coming in the later katas.

Kyu – Belt Requirements

Rank	Belt	Kata
11 Kyu	White
10 Kyu	Gold	Half of First Basic Kata (Moves 1-10)
9 Kyu	Orange	All of First Basic Kata
8 Kyu	Blue	Pinan Nidan
7 Kyu	Purple	Pinan Shodan
6 Kyu	1^st Level Green	Pinan Sandan
5 Kyu	2^nd Level Green	Pinan Yondan
4 Kyu	1^st Level Brown	Pinan Godan
3 Kyu	2^nd Level Brown	1^st Half of Kusanku
2 Kyu	1^st Level Red	2^nd Half of Kusanku, Jutte
1 Kyu	2^nd Level Red	Jion

Dan – Belt Requirements

Rank	Belt	Kata
Shodan	1^st Degree Black	Naihanchi
Nidan	2^nd Degree Black	Chinto and Passai
Sandan	3^rd Degree Black	Seisan, Neseishi, Rohai, Wanshu, and Suparinpei

Kata Movements

This section links to pages that detail the movements in each kata. Each kata's page begins with the Japanese lettering for the kata name, the Funakoshi name, the origin, and a brief description of the kata. The katas are listed below in the order that they are practiced in our schools.

First Basic	Kusanku	Seisan
Pinan Nidan	Jutte	Neseishi
Pinan Shodan	Jion	Rohai
Pinan Sandan	Naihanchi	Wanshu
Pinan Yondan	Chinto	Suparinpei
Pinan Godan	Passai	Unsu

Kata Videos

Videos of Sensei Conrad Jones performing the 12 katas required through 2^nd Dan are available for purchase here. They are highly recommended for CJK students.

The following sites provide online videos of different versions of the katas. Some are Wado versions that are fairly close to the way we do them, and some are from different styles and are dramatically different.

Web Site	Description
http://members.tripod.com/wadoryukata/kata_video.htm	Gavin Evans (a Welsh Karateka) doing many of the katas.
http://home.tiscali.nl/~martg/kata/kata.htm	Wado from the Netherlands. The page is in Dutch, but the video links are marked with "Speel video".
http://www.johnstonkarate.net/downloads/page0002.html	Wado katas from South Carolina plus some rare non-Wado katas. Requires RealPlayer.
http://www.wado-kai-karate.co.uk/	Wado katas from England available on the Downloads page.
http://www.kua.com.au/kata.htm	Shotokan versions of all the katas we do plus some other interesting ones.
http://www.iogkf.it/video/supvid.htm http://www.inigmasoft.com/goju/suparenpei.mpg http://conradjoneskarate.com/Files/Suparinpei.wmv	Gojo-Ryu Suparinpei Streaming Video. Performed by Taigo Spongia, Goju Ryu. Requires RealPlayer Another Gojo-Ryu Suparinpei Streaming Video. Kokusai Dentokan Bugei Renme Shito-Ryu Suparinpei. Performed by Gavin Evans of the Welsh Karate Association.
http://www.shotokan-arts.com/katavid.htm	A Shotokan site with classic and modern videos of 26 different katas.

Kata History

For more detailed information on the katas practiced by our school, CJK students can download the Karate Katas document from the Downloads page.