A form is a fixed sequence of movements that a school uses to store and teach its technique. Here they are grouped by art and style. Movement counts follow the official body named in each entry; other lineages may count differently. The sequence is a summary in our own words, not a replacement for a teacher.
1
Dawn, an empty dojo. One student, no opponent. She bows — and the first move begins.
2
Every block, turn and strike is a page of a book written by teachers long gone. The form is how they kept it.
3
Below: what each form is, where it comes from, how many moves it has — and how to read its hidden fights (bunkai).
Heian means “peaceful and safe”. It is the Japanese reading of the same characters as the Okinawan name Pinan.
Origin
Created in Okinawa by Ankō Itosu from older kata such as Kūsankū and Channan; introduced into Okinawan schools in 1895. Funakoshi Gichin renamed them Heian when he took karate to mainland Japan.
Movements
JKA counts: 21 / 26 / 20 / 27 / 23 (see table).
When it is learned
Beginner (kyu) grades, one after another in order of difficulty; each federation sets which kata is needed for which exam.
Form
Movements
Kiai
Heian Shodan
21
9, 17
Heian Nidan
26
11, 26
Heian Sandan
20
10, 20
Heian Yondan
27
13, 25
Heian Godan
23
12, 19
The sequence (summary)
All five follow an I-shaped floor line (embusen). Shodan: low blocks and lunge punches along the side lines, three rising blocks moving up the centre (kiai on 9), three lunge punches moving back down the centre (kiai on 17), and four knife-hand blocks in back stance to finish. Nidan adds the side snap kick with back fist, spear hand and front kick. Sandan works in horse stance with close-range elbow and hammer techniques. Yondan adds the knee strike (kiai on 13). Godan adds crossed-arm blocks and a jump.
Principles
Basic stances (front, back, horse), turning on the spot, hip rotation, the pulling hand (hikite) and a fixed rhythm with two kiai.
Bunkai / applications
Itosu built the series to teach children, using sequences taken from Kūsankū. Many teachers read the “blocks” as ways to free a grabbed wrist, clear an arm or strike at close range; the pulling hand often represents holding the opponent.
Variations between styles
Shitō-ryū, Wadō-ryū, Shōrin-ryū and Kyokushin keep the name Pinan. In some styles Shodan and Nidan are swapped: what Shotokan calls Heian Shodan, Shitō-ryū calls Pinan Nidan. Wadō-ryū and Shūkōkai teach Pinan Nidan first. Tang Soo Do practises them as Pyung Ahn.
Tekki means “iron horse/rider”, after the straddle stance used all the way through. The older Okinawan name Naihanchi has no settled translation.
Origin
Okinawan. Funakoshi wrote it as Naihanchi in 1922, called it “Kibadachi” in 1936 and the 1956 edition of his Karate-dō Kyōhan uses Tekki. There are three kata; some researchers think Nidan and Sandan were added by Itosu, others that one kata was split in three.
Movements
JKA: Shodan 29, Nidan 24, Sandan 36.
When it is learned
Shotokan: first intermediate kata after the Heian. Shōrin-ryū (Matsubayashi): Naihanchi Shodan is the first brown-belt (2nd kyu) kata.
Form
Movements
Kiai
Tekki Shodan
29
15, 29
Tekki Nidan
24
—
Tekki Sandan
36
—
The sequence (summary)
The whole kata travels along one straight side-to-side line. You cross one foot over the other to step sideways, sink into the straddle stance and work facing forward: elbow strike, hooking and double blocks, punches to the side, and the “returning wave” (lifting one foot to the inside knee before stamping back down). It then repeats to the other side.
Principles
A low, rooted stance, turning the hips without stepping forward, strong legs for shifting quickly, and fighting at very close range.
Bunkai / applications
Although the line is straight, the techniques can be applied against an attacker at any angle. Some researchers see Naihanchi as a slow two-person grappling exercise: holding, pulling and striking inside the opponent’s arms.
Variations between styles
Shotokan uses a deep straddle stance (kiba-dachi). Shōrin-ryū uses naihanchi-dachi: shoulder width with the toes turned in. In Shōrin-ryū (Matsubayashi) Naihanchi Shodan is the first kata of the syllabus to open with a technique to the right rather than to the left.
Usually translated “to storm (or break into) a fortress”; dai = the major version.
Origin
Okinawan, origin unknown. Motobu Chōki counted Passai among the three most practised kata in Okinawa and said it came from China. One theory links the name to the Fujian lion dance (“pa sai”). Funakoshi renamed Passai Dai to Bassai in 1935.
Movements
JKA: 42 (kiai on 19 and 42).
When it is learned
Intermediate; usually the first “major” kata after the Heian and Tekki Shodan.
The sequence (summary)
It opens by moving forward into a cross-legged stance with a supported block, then changes side again and again with inside and outside blocks. The middle part has knife-hand blocks in back stance and a scooping block; near the end comes the double “mountain” punch.
Principles
Turning a disadvantage into an advantage with a strong, decisive response; switching blocks; balancing speed and power.
Bunkai / applications
The repeated side changes are often taught as clearing an arm and pulling the opponent off balance before striking; the scooping block as catching a kick.
Variations between styles
Many versions exist (Shōrin-ryū, Shitō-ryū, Tomari lineages). Korean arts practise it as Bassahee, Bal Sae or Pal Che (Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk Do).
Kankū means “gazing at the sky”, from the opening in which the hands frame the sky. Kūsankū is the older name.
Origin
Shuri-te lineage. Tradition links it to Kōshōkun (Kūsankū), a Chinese envoy in 18th-century Ryūkyū, but there is no primary evidence. Funakoshi renamed it Kankū in 1935; it was one of his favourite kata.
Movements
JKA: 65 (kiai on 15 and 65); about 90 seconds.
When it is learned
Advanced; a standard kata for black-belt exams in Shotokan.
The sequence (summary)
It starts slowly, raising the open hands into a triangle to look at the sky, then opens in all directions with open-hand techniques. Itosu took several of its sequences to build the Heian, so students recognise many passages. It contains kicks, a jump with a turn and a drop to the floor before rising.
Principles
Flowing open-hand techniques that recall White Crane kung fu, control of rhythm (slow and fast), and moving in eight directions.
Bunkai / applications
In Matsubayashi-ryū the low “hiding” stance near the end is read as escaping a bear hug from behind by twisting and dropping.
Variations between styles
Shotokan also has Kankū Shō (48 in JKA). Shōrin-ryū keeps Kūsankū Dai and Shō; there is also Chatan Yara Kūsankū. In Tang Soo Do it is Kong Sang Koon.
Taikyoku is the Japanese reading of Taiji, the “supreme ultimate” of Chinese philosophy.
Origin
Developed by Yoshitaka (Gigō) Funakoshi and introduced by his father Gichin Funakoshi to simplify the Heian even further for beginners.
Movements
Taikyoku Shodan: 20 (kiai on 8 and 16).
When it is learned
The very first kata in the schools that use them (several Shotokan groups and Kyokushin).
The sequence (summary)
Same I-shaped floor line as Heian Shodan. Shodan uses only two techniques: a low sweeping block on every turn and a middle lunge punch on every step, all in front stance. Nidan replaces the middle punches with head-level punches. Sandan replaces six of the low blocks with inside blocks in back stance.
Principles
Learning to step, turn and keep the stance before adding difficulty.
Variations between styles
Kyokushin calls them Taikyoku Sono Ichi, Ni and San; Sono Ichi is in effect the same as Shotokan’s Shodan.
Gekisai: “attack and smash”. Fukyūgata: “kata for spreading (karate)” — a standard beginner kata.
Origin
In 1940 a special committee on Okinawan karate, under prefectural governor Gen Hayakawa, asked for standard beginner kata. Nagamine Shōshin (Matsubayashi-ryū) made Fukyūgata Ichi and Miyagi Chōjun (Gōjū-ryū) made Fukyūgata Ni, known in Gōjū as Gekisai Dai Ichi. Both were presented in 1941.
Movements
No fixed count: schools count movements differently.
When it is learned
Beginner: in the IOGKF syllabus Gekisai Dai Ichi and Dai Ni are the first two open-hand kata.
The sequence (summary)
A simple cross-shaped pattern with rising, inside and low blocks, punches, a front kick and an elbow strike, alternating forward and back.
Principles
Give every Okinawan style a common, simple starting point.
Variations between styles
Only some styles keep both. Since 2005, on Okinawa Karate Day (25 October), Fukyūgata I, II and III are performed by everyone in the parade in Naha.
Translated as “rip and tear”, “pound and pulverise” or “tearing and breaking ground”.
Origin
Origin and creator unknown. It may come from the Chinese styles studied by Higaonna Kanryō; because Tōon-ryū (another Higaonna lineage) does not have it, others think Miyagi Chōjun created it.
Movements
No fixed count: schools count movements differently.
When it is learned
Taught third in the IOGKF and Meibukan, after Gekisai Dai Ichi and Dai Ni.
The sequence (summary)
Short, close-range combinations: freeing the hand from a grab, back-fist and hammer-fist strikes, with body shifting at angles.
Principles
Closed-fist strikes (back fist, hammer fist) and simple grabbing techniques.
“Three battles/conflicts”, usually explained as uniting mind, body and spirit.
Origin
Apparently from Southern China (Fujian). It is the core of Uechi-ryū and Gōjū-ryū and also exists in Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors and Pangai-noon.
Movements
No fixed count: schools count movements differently.
When it is learned
The first kata in Uechi-ryū; Gōjū-ryū (IOGKF) teaches it after Saifa. Practised at every level.
The sequence (summary)
Slow steps forward in sanchin stance, strikes from a fixed guard with controlled breathing, and turns to step back. The teacher may test the student’s stance and tension during the kata (shime).
Principles
Build muscles and bones to withstand blows and drill the mechanics of a strike from a stable base.
Bunkai / applications
Seen more as a conditioning and structure kata than as a fight sequence.
Variations between styles
Uechi-ryū strikes with the open spear hand (nukite); Gōjū-ryū and Chitō-ryū use a closed fist. Gōjū has two versions (Miyagi’s and Higaonna’s). Late in life Miyagi removed the two 180° turns; some students kept this, others (such as Toguchi Seikichi) put them back.
Created in 1921 by Miyagi Chōjun, founder of Gōjū-ryū, as the soft (jū) counterpart to Sanchin. It may be a version of the southern Chinese form Rokkishu.
Movements
No fixed count: schools count movements differently.
When it is learned
Intermediate to advanced in Gōjū-ryū; practised alongside Sanchin.
The sequence (summary)
Done in sanchin stance: continuous circular movements of the open hands and wrists, combined with deep breathing and dynamic tension.
Principles
The soft side of Gōjū (“hard–soft”): flowing hands that redirect instead of meeting force head on.
Variations between styles
Some styles call it Rokkishu. Some researchers think it is Miyagi’s own reading of Kakuha, a kata in Higaonna’s syllabus that Gōjū-ryū no longer keeps.
Taegeuk is the yin–yang symbol on the Korean flag, the “ultimate reality” from which everything comes. Each of the eight forms stands for one trigram (gwae) of the I Ching.
Origin
From 1967 to 1971 Kukkiwon-style taekwondo used the older Palgwae forms of the Korea Taekwondo Association. As more kwans (schools) joined, the Taegeuk forms were created to represent all of them; by 1971 they had replaced the Palgwae, which some schools still teach.
Movements
Il Jang and Ee Jang: 18 each. The others vary slightly between counting methods (see table).
When it is learned
Colour belts, one per grade. For black belt you normally must know all eight and perform them back to back without a break. World Taekwondo poomsae competitions use them.
Form
Movements
Trigram
1 Il Jang
18
Heaven, light
2 Ee Jang
18
Joy (lake)
3 Sam Jang
20
Fire, sun
4 Sa Jang
20
Thunder
5 Oh Jang
20
Wind
6 Yuk Jang
19–23
Water
7 Chil Jang
24
Mountain
8 Pal Jang
24–27
Earth
The sequence (summary)
All eight follow an I-Ching inspired floor pattern (three horizontal lines joined by the centre line). The early forms use walking stance, front stance, low and middle blocks, punches and front kicks; back stance, knife-hand techniques, side kicks and elbow strikes appear progressively; the later forms add jumps and more complex combinations.
Principles
Each form expresses the character of its trigram (for example, Il Jang: the simple beginning; Pal Jang: earth, the end of the cycle before black belt). Exhale on each technique; kihap on the key moves.
Variations between styles
ITF taekwondo uses a different set, the tul (Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun, Do-San…). Some Tang Soo Do and Song Moo Kwan schools also have “Taegeuk” forms, but those are the karate Taikyoku and are different from the Kukkiwon forms.
Named after the Koryo dynasty (around 918–1392), which gave its name to Korea.
Origin
Kukkiwon / World Taekwondo black-belt poomsae.
Movements
30 movements (50 techniques).
When it is learned
The first black-belt poomsae (1st Dan); many schools ask for it at the 2nd Dan exam.
The sequence (summary)
Starts from a special ready stance with the hands in front of the face (tongmilgi junbi). Back-stance double knife-hand block, a low side kick followed immediately by a high side kick, knife-hand strike and punch, repeated to each side. Then low knife-hand blocks with arc-hand strikes to the throat and front kicks, knee breaks, wedge blocks, horse-stance sections with side punches and elbow strikes, and it ends with knife-hand and arc-hand strikes.
Principles
Restrained power and grace; the double side kick trains balance and control.
Variations between styles
Do not confuse it with patterns of other federations (ITF) or with older versions.
“Little idea for beginning”. Also written Siu Lim Tau.
Origin
Wing Chun (southern China). In 1972, weeks before he died, Ip Man was filmed performing it.
Movements
Not fixed: the forms differ between Wing Chun branches.
When it is learned
First form; practised for life.
The sequence (summary)
Performed without moving the feet, in the symmetrical stance (toes turned in). The arms work one at a time along the centre line: punches, palm strikes and the basic hand shapes (tan, bong, fook and others). One section is done very slowly.
Principles
The “seed” of the art: balance, body structure and the centre line. Some branches treat the symmetrical stance as a fighting stance, others only as a training stance.
Variations between styles
Differs a lot between branches. In Ip Man’s lineage the first section trains power by tensing and relaxing the arms; in Moy Yat’s it is done slowly without muscle tension, almost as meditation.
“Seeking the bridge” — the bridge is the contact between your arms and the opponent’s.
Origin
Second Wing Chun form.
Movements
Not fixed: the forms differ between Wing Chun branches.
When it is learned
Intermediate, after Siu Nim Tau.
The sequence (summary)
Adds what the first form lacks: turning (pivoting) the stance, stepping, kicks and coordinated movement of the whole body, plus close-range elbows and knees.
Principles
“Bridge the gap”: enter, disrupt the opponent’s structure and balance, and recover your position and centre line when you lose them. Body weight in the strike comes from pivoting or stepping.
Variations between styles
Branches that use the “sinking bridge” reading put more emphasis on uprooting and spiralling.
Not fixed: the forms differ between Wing Chun branches.
When it is learned
Advanced.
The sequence (summary)
Very short and very long range techniques, low kicks and sweeps, elbow strikes and finger thrusts, with more upper-body movement and stretching than the earlier forms.
Principles
“Emergency” techniques to recover when your structure and centre line are badly compromised. A Wing Chun saying is “Biu Jee does not go out the door” — read by some as “keep it secret”, by others as “avoid using it”.
Older dummies were set in the ground. The wall-mounted Hong Kong dummy was designed by Ip Man to fit an apartment. A legend (not history) says the nun Ng Mui merged 108 Shaolin dummies into one.
Movements
Often taught as 108 movements, but versions differ between lineages.
When it is learned
Advanced, after the three empty-hand forms.
The sequence (summary)
Done against a dummy with three arms and one leg, which stand for an opponent’s body in different positions. The springy mounting slats let you practise absorbing force into your stance.
Principles
Apply the empty-hand techniques to the angles and lines of force of a “live” opponent.
Variations between styles
Bruce Lee modified a dummy for Jeet Kune Do (modified neck, metal leg). Choy Li Fut uses a different dummy (Ching Jong).
Baat Jaam Dou: “eight-way chopping knives” (a pair of butterfly knives). Luk Dim Bun Gwan: “six-and-a-half-point pole”.
Origin
The two traditional Wing Chun weapon forms. The knives were also called “life-taking knives”. The pole, sometimes called “dragon pole”, is tapered and 8 to 13 feet long (about 2.4–4 m).
Movements
Not fixed: the forms differ between Wing Chun branches.
When it is learned
The last stage of the system in most branches.
The sequence (summary)
The knife form teaches advanced footwork and builds strength in stance and technique. The pole form is built on seven principles: uproot, expand, shock, deflect, cut down, circle and flow — flow counts as the “half point”.
Principles
Some branches apply the pole principles to unarmed fighting too.
Variations between styles
The knives are also known as Yee Jee Seung Dou (“parallel-shape double knives”). The Yuen Kay Shan / Sum Nung branch also trained dart throwing.
“24-posture simplified tai chi”; called the Beijing form after its place of origin.
Origin
In 1956 the Chinese Sports Committee gathered tai chi masters in Beijing, led by Li Tianji (coach of the national wushu team), to make a simple form for public health. It is based on Yang style and is now one of the most practised tai chi forms in the world.
Movements
24 movements; about six minutes.
When it is learned
Beginner; a common first form and a base for the 42 competition form and the traditional long forms.
The sequence (summary)
Keeps well-known Yang postures — opening, parting the wild horse’s mane, white crane spreads its wings, brush knee, grasp the sparrow’s tail, single whip, cloud hands — and ends with the closing form. The hardest movements were removed, nothing is repeated, and the left and right sides are worked evenly.
Principles
Slow, continuous, relaxed movement with the weight shifting smoothly from leg to leg.
Variations between styles
Yang family teachers do not recognise it as Yang family tai chi. Later standard forms include the 48 and the 42 competition form (mixing four styles).
The traditional hand form of the Yang family, standardised by Yang Chengfu.
Origin
Yang Luchan studied with Chen Changxing from 1820 and from 1850 taught the Imperial Guards. His grandson Yang Chengfu removed the jumps, stamps and bursts of power (fa jin) from the hand form to create the slow, expansive “large frame” that is the most practised long form today.
Movements
About 150 movements, usually counted as 85, 88, 103 or 108 postures depending on the teacher.
When it is learned
Intermediate; usually learned after a short form.
The sequence (summary)
Three sections that repeat key postures (grasp the sparrow’s tail, single whip, cloud hands) at a steady, even speed.
Principles
Slow, steady, expansive and soft movements suitable for everyone. The vigorous elements were kept in the weapon forms (sword, sabre, staff, spear).
Variations between styles
Yang Jianhou’s “middle frame” form is closer to Chen style and more martial. The Cheng Man-ch’ing short form derives from Yang forms but is not recognised by the Yang family.
Laojia = “old frame”. Yilu = first form (routine); Erlu = second form, better known as Cannon Fist (Pao Chui).
Origin
Chen style is the oldest known tai chi style (Chen Village, Henan). Chen Changxing (14th generation) condensed the family training into two routines, the Old Frame, and taught Yang Luchan, the first recorded outsider. Chen Zhaopei published his First Form with photos in 1930 and kept the Old Frame alive in the village from 1958.
Movements
Laojia: Yilu 74, Erlu 44. (Xinjia, the New Frame: 83 and 71.)
When it is learned
In Chen Village Laojia Yilu is the foundation form and always taught first; Erlu is advanced.
The sequence (summary)
Yilu is mostly slow and continuous with occasional bursts of power, stamps and a jump; Erlu (Cannon Fist) is faster and more explosive, with more jumps and strikes.
Principles
Silk reeling (spiral movement through the whole body), alternating slow and fast, and bursts of power (fa jin). Yilu teaches footwork, stances and coordination of mind, body and energy.
Variations between styles
Xinjia (New Frame, from Chen Fake via Chen Zhaokui) uses smaller circles and more visible wrist turning. Other branches: Small Frame (Xiaojia), Hong Junsheng’s Practical Method (81 and 64 moves).
“Forms of throwing”: one of the two randori-no-kata (free-practice forms) of Kōdōkan judo.
Origin
Created by Kanō Jigorō to show the principles of throwing so they could be applied in randori. It started with ten throws; five more were added later, including kata-guruma and uki-otoshi.
Movements
15 throws in 5 groups of 3, each done to the right and to the left (30 throws).
When it is learned
Often required for black-belt (shodan) exams.
Form
Movements
Throws
Te-waza
3
uki-otoshi, seoi-nage, kata-guruma
Koshi-waza
3
uki-goshi, harai-goshi, tsurikomi-goshi
Ashi-waza
3
okuriashi-harai, sasae-tsurikomi-ashi, uchi-mata
Ma-sutemi-waza
3
tomoe-nage, ura-nage, sumi-gaeshi
Yoko-sutemi-waza
3
yoko-gake, yoko-guruma, uki-waza
The sequence (summary)
Tori (who throws) and uke (who is thrown) bow to the front and to each other, step into natural posture and perform the groups in order: hand, hip, foot, rear sacrifice and side sacrifice throws. In uki-otoshi, for example, uke steps forward three times; on the third step tori breaks the rhythm, drops to the left knee and throws uke forward with a steering pull.
Principles
Breaking balance (kuzushi), positioning (tsukuri) and execution (kake), with strict etiquette.
Variations between styles
The other randori-no-kata is Katame-no-kata (ground techniques).
Finalised in 1933 from the Dai Nippon Teikoku Kendō Kata of 1912, composed by committees of masters from several sword schools.
Movements
10 kata: 1–7 with the long sword (tachi), 8–10 with the short sword (kodachi) against the long sword.
When it is learned
Part of kendo dan exams together with the practical test and a written exam.
The sequence (summary)
Done in pairs with wooden swords (bokutō): uchidachi, the teacher role, attacks; shidachi, the student role, answers and wins. Each kata is a short exchange of one to a few cuts or thrusts, at a real distance and with full focus.
Principles
Correct distance (maai), timing, posture and the spirit that continues after the cut (zanshin). They keep the link between kendo with shinai and the real sword.
Created in 1969 by a committee of the All Japan Kendo Federation so that every kendo-federation iaidō club could teach and grade the same set.
Movements
12 kata.
When it is learned
All levels: the basis of grading in kendo-federation iaidō.
Form
Movements
Meaning
1 Mae
1
Front
2 Ushiro
1
Back
3 Ukenagashi
1
Receive, parry and cut
4 Tsuka-ate
1
Strike with the hilt
5 Kesagiri
1
Diagonal cut
6 Morotezuki
1
Two-handed thrust
7 Sanpōgiri
1
Cutting in three directions
8 Ganmen-ate
1
Strike to the face
9 Soetezuki
1
Joined-hand thrust
10 Shihōgiri
1
Cutting in four directions
11 Sōgiri
1
Complete cuts
12 Nukiuchi
1
Sudden draw
The sequence (summary)
Solo kata against one or more imaginary opponents. Each one begins and ends with the sword in the scabbard: draw and first cut, finishing cut, shaking off the blood (chiburi) and returning the sword (nōtō). The first kata start from kneeling, the later ones from standing.
Principles
Imagination and concentration to keep the sense of a real situation; calm, precise cutting.
Variations between styles
Koryū schools such as Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū keep their own, longer curricula. There is also a set of five koryū forms (Tōhō) from five schools.
Developed by Shimizu Takaji in the 1960s from Shintō Musō-ryū for teaching in kendo dōjō. Ten forms come from Shintō Musō-ryū with small changes; two are based on Uchida-ryū tanjō-jutsu.
Movements
12 basic techniques (kihon) and 12 kata.
When it is learned
All levels in kendo-federation jōdō.
The sequence (summary)
In pairs: the jō (a round wooden staff, standardised at 128 cm) against the wooden sword. The kihon are trained alone and in pairs before the kata.
Principles
Controlling the swordsman with strikes, thrusts and sweeps aimed at the hands, arms and body rather than overpowering him.
Variations between styles
Many Shintō Musō-ryū dōjō start beginners with a few seitei forms because they are simpler.
Sequências de ensino: fixed combinations of attack, dodge and counter-attack practised in pairs.
Origin
In the late 1920s and early 1930s Mestre Bimba, with his student José Cisnando Lima, reorganised capoeira to restore its fighting side. He created the sequências de ensino — the first teaching method in capoeira — and opened a formal school in 1932.
Movements
Not a solo form: short paired combinations.
When it is learned
Beginners in Capoeira Regional; the base before playing in the roda.
The sequence (summary)
Two students repeat set exchanges: one attacks with a kick (for example the martelo, which Bimba added), the other dodges and answers, then roles switch. What is learned is then tried freely in the roda with music.
Principles
Attack, dodge and counter-attack, with precision and discipline.
Variations between styles
Capoeira Angola, founded about a decade later, keeps a more traditional practice without these fixed sequences.
