Karate
Karate Kata Directory
The whole landscape
Four categories. Four style columns.
Official JKF references organise kata for a federation competition context. Read the categories vertically and compare the named style columns horizontally.- 01Basic kata
Foundation sets: Gekisai, Heian, or Pinan, depending on the style column.
- 02First designated kata
Two named forms in each of the four columns.
- 03Second designated kata
A further two named forms in each column.
- 04Tokui kata
The broadest lists, recorded separately for each style column.
Category matrix
Basic and designated kata
| Category | Gōjū-ryū剛柔 | Shōtōkan-ryū松涛 | Wadō-ryū和道 | Shitō-ryū糸東 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BasicFoundation sets |
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| First designatedTwo per column |
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| Second designatedTwo per column |
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The wide field
Tokui kata expands the map.
The 2013 JKF amendment records 85 style-list entries in total. This is a count of entries across columns, not 85 unique forms: names can recur between styles and designated kata also appear within the Tokui lists.
- Gōjū
- 10
- Shōtōkan
- 21
- Wadō
- 10
- Shitō
- 44
Search and compare
Find a published kata guide
Search a romanised or Japanese name, reading, variant label, family, or documented context. Tradition filters may be combined.Showing all 16 kata guides.
Published reference
All 16 kata guides
Every record links to a confirmed public guide and keeps name relationships separate from technical identity.Name family
Heian / Pinan
Historically related beginner-series labels whose modern ordering and execution vary by lineage.
- Heian Shodan平安初段 へいあんしょだん
A foundational Heian guide with labelled Shōtōkan-ryū and Shitō-ryū Basic Kata references.
Open full guideShōtōkanShitō - Heian Nidan平安二段 へいあんにだん
A second-series guide with JKA-specific count and grading context plus labelled Shōtōkan-ryū and Shitō-ryū references.
Open full guideShōtōkanShitō - Heian Sandan平安三段 へいあんさんだん
A third-series guide with JKA-specific count and grading context plus labelled Shōtōkan-ryū and Shitō-ryū references.
Open full guideShōtōkanShitō - Heian Yondan平安四段 へいあんよんだん
A fourth-series guide with JKA-specific count and grading context plus labelled Shōtōkan-ryū and Shitō-ryū references.
Open full guideShōtōkanShitō - Heian Godan平安五段 へいあんごだん
A fifth-series guide that completes the Heian comparison set while keeping Shōtōkan-ryū, Shitō-ryū, JKA and JKF records version-specific.
Open full guideShōtōkanShitō - Pinan Shodan平安初段 ピンアンしょだん
A Pinan-series guide with a documented Wadō-ryū context and an explained Heian relationship.
Open full guideWadō - Pinan Nidanピンアン二段 ピンアンにだん
A Wadō-ryū Basic Kata guide that keeps the historically related Heian name family technically distinct.
Open full guideWadō
Name family
Sanchin
A body-training name shared across traditions whose breathing, tension, and sequence are not universal.
Name family
Bassai / Passai
Related labels found in several modern and Okinawan traditions, without one identical cross-style form.
Name family
Jion
A Shuri-lineage name with documented modern Shotokan and JKF reference models.
Name family
Naihanchi / Tekki
A lateral-pattern name family whose Naihanchi and Tekki labels remain version-specific.
Name family
Seisan / Seishan
A widely transmitted name family that crosses Okinawan and mainland lineage boundaries.
Name family
Seienchin / Seyunchin
A Naha-lineage name family whose Shitō-ryū and Gōjū-ryū versions remain distinct.
Name family
Kankū / Kūshankū
Mainland Kankū and Okinawan Kūshankū-family labels connected by documented transmission.
Name family
Gekisai
A modern Gōjū-ryū kata pair whose Dai Ichi and Dai Ni labels should remain explicit.
No published kata guides match this search and tradition filter.