01The short answer
02The list, in the dojo’s order
The order below is that of KarateIDS’s programme catalogue, belt by belt; the right-hand column says only what is documented — by the WKO, by the glossary of the Japan Karatedo Federation (JKF), or by our own comparisons.
| Kata | Kanji | Dojo programme | What is known |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taikyoku sono ichi | 太極その一 | Orange | The first form: basic stances and turns. The WKO starts beginners on Taikyoku Ⅰ to Ⅲ. |
| Sokugi Taikyoku sono ichi | 足技太極その一 | Orange | The Taikyoku “of leg techniques”: the same pattern, in kicks. |
| Taikyoku sono ni, sono san | 太極その二・その三 | Blue | The next two Taikyoku. |
| Sokugi Taikyoku sono ni, sono san | 足技太極その二・その三 | Blue | Their kicking versions. |
| Pinan sono ichi | 平安その一 | Blue | The first of the five Pinan, created by Itosu Ankō in the Meiji era, the foundation of Shuri-te (JKF); Heian in Shotokan. |
| Pinan sono ni, sono san | 平安その二・その三 | Yellow | Pinan 2 and 3. |
| Sanchin | 三戦 | Green | “Three battles.” A Naha-te form, a Goju kata; slow, under tension, forced breathing. On the WKO shodan exam. |
| Pinan sono yon | 平安その四 | Green | Pinan 4, and the ura (裏, “reverse”) versions of Pinan 1 to 3. |
| Pinan sono go | 平安その五 | Brown | The last Pinan. |
| Yantsu | 安三 | Brown | Outside the Pinan and Goju series: one of the forms specific to Kyokushin. |
| Tsuki no kata | 突きの型 | Brown | “The punching form,” specific to Kyokushin; with the ura versions of Pinan 4 and 5. |
| Tensho | 転掌 | Black | “Turning palms.” A Goju kata. WKO shodan exam. |
| Saiha | 最破 | Black | A Goju kata (Saifa). WKO shodan exam. |
| Gekisai dai, Gekisai sho | 撃砕大・撃砕小 | Black | Created by Miyagi Chōjun, founder of Goju-Ryu, for beginners (JKF). |
| Garyu | 臥竜 | Nidan and sandan | “Reclining dragon.” A form specific to Kyokushin. |
| Seienchin | 征遠鎮 | Nidan and sandan | Naha-te lineage: close range, no kicks, slowness and weight (JKF). |
| Seipai | 十八 | Nidan and sandan | “Eighteen.” From the Goju-Ryu repertoire. |
| Sushiho | 五十四歩 | Nidan and sandan | “Fifty-four steps” (Gojushiho elsewhere). |
| Kanku | 観空 | Nidan and sandan | “Looking at the sky.” Related to Shuri-te’s Kushanku, which Shotokan calls Kanku dai (JKF). |
The catalogue also lists, at green belt, a single-name form, “Ichigai kata,” and the ibuki breathing exercise, which is not a kata. Kyokushin karate belts gives what each grade asks for beyond the kata.
03Four families
- The Taikyoku and Sokugi Taikyoku. Six short forms, the same pattern in punches and then in kicks (足技, “leg techniques”). Their job is to teach stances and turns, not to be elaborate; the WKO starts beginners on Taikyoku Ⅰ to Ⅲ.
- The five Pinan. Created by Itosu Ankō in the Meiji era as the basic forms of Shuri-te, since adopted by many styles (JKF); Shotokan calls them Heian. The dojo teaches them from blue to brown, then in ura (裏, “reverse”) at green and brown.
- The Goju forms. Mas Oyama taught Goju-Ryu in his first dojo, in 1953, and Sanchin, Tensho, Gekisai and Saiha are Goju kata; Seienchin and Seipai belong to the same Naha-te lineage. These are the slow kata, under tension, where breathing is part of the technique — Kyokushin vs Goju-Ryu tells that story.
- Kyokushin’s own forms, and the two big ones. Yantsu, Tsuki no kata and Garyu belong neither to the Pinan series nor to the Goju repertoire: they are the ones What is Kyokushin kata? calls “developed within Kyokushin itself.” Kanku and Sushiho close the list: the first is related to Shuri-te’s Kushanku, the second carries the number of its steps in its name.
04What the WKO says about it
The WKO Shinkyokushinkai first-year textbook is clear: Oyama valued kumite, but asked that kata not be forgotten, because it gives “spring throughout the body” and balance. The same textbook places Sanchin, Tensho and Saiha on the shodan exam — exactly the three the dojo puts on the black-belt programme. What each form builds, what it does not replace, and why its weight varies from one club to another: What is Kyokushin kata? answers those questions.
05Where to see each kata
In class, first: the forms are introduced one at a time, at the pace of the grading curriculum. To review them between classes, the dojo’s video programmes by belt show every kata of its grade, from orange belt’s Taikyoku sono ichi to the five forms of nidan and sandan. The first class is a free trial — and kata is in it from the first hour.
Come and learn the first one
Taikyoku sono ichi is learned in the very first classes. A free trial class on Nuns’ Island.
Book a free trial class