Places to Go

The word kata means "formal exercise". That's exactly what kata are: set routines for practicing certain moves or combinations of moves. When you first start karate, the kata you perform are very basic. As you progress, you learn more and more complicated kata, in that the moves themselves are often more difficult, and the patterns and combinations get longer and more complicated. In addition to learning more complex kata as you progress in the art, you also have a more profound understanding of the bunkai (applications) in the kata. Of course, different styles of martial arts, and even karate, have different kata, or require different kata at different levels. In most styles of Asian martial arts, kata are the foundation for learning the art.

The following are lists of the kata that are practiced in Iki Shin Do, Chibana-ha Shorin-Ryu, and Ryukyu Kobujutsu that I have learned how to perform (and only those that I learned). Since my training in the kyu ranks was primarily in Iki Shin Do, I've grouped those kata by the rank at which they were required. Notice that the colors are different than we now use for Shorin-Ryu. A rank with no kata listed is an indication that I don't know any kata at that level. Most of the kata in Iki Shin Do are from Shotokan karate. The Shorin-Ryu kata include some kata that are not formally part of Chibana-ha Shorin-Ryu, and they are listed in the order in which they are typically learned. For the kobudo kata, I've grouped them together by class of kata, with some ordering based on which I learned first. Note that some of the Shorin-Ryu kata have the same name as Iki Shin Do kata, but they are not usually the same (or even pronounced the same).

9th Kyu Kihon Shodan (Basic Level 1) Kihon Nidan (Basic Level 2) Kihon Sandan (Basic Level 3)	8th Kyu Kihon Yondan (Basic Level 4) Kihon Godan (Basic Level 5)	7th Kyu Heian Shodan (Peaceful Mind 1) No Hi (Crane on a Rock)
6th Kyu Heian Nidan (Peaceful Mind 2) Heian Sandan (Peaceful Mind 3) Tekki Shodan (Iron Horse 1)	5th Kyu Heian Yondan (Peaceful Mind 4) Heian Godan (Peaceful Mind 5) Tekki Nidan (Iron Horse 2)	4th Kyu Jutte (Ten Hands)
3rd Kyu Tekki Sandan (Iron Horse 3) Bassai Dai (Penetrate a Fortress 2) Kanku Sho (Look to the Sky 1 or name of karateka)	2nd Kyu Kanku Dai (Look to the Sky 2 or name of karateka) Nijushiho (24 steps)	1st Kyu Enpi (Swooping Swan)
Dan Levels Jion (Buddhist Monk) Unsu (Hands in the Clouds)