Heian Katas

The Heian kata are held to be the basis of karate. They were developed at the beginning of the 20th century by Anko Itosu who had introduced karate as a physical education curriculum in Okinawa.

The original name for the Heian kata was Pinan, but Funakoshi changed the name by using the japanese pronunciation of the kanji for the okinawan Pinan. The meaning of the characters therefore remain the same, "calm and peace" or some translations use "peaceful mind".

Most of the basic Shotokan techniques are learned throughout the five Heian kata.

Heian Sandan builds on the previous two and introduces new techniques such as kiba-dachi (horse riding stance), kosa-uke (cross block), tetsui-uchi (hammer-fist strike), fumikomi (stamping kick), and empi-uke (elbow block).


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HEIAN SANDAN
KATA VIDEO



HEIAN SANDAN
>MUSIBI
>OREI - (BOW)
>STATE NAME OF KATA - "HEIAN SANDAN"
>READY STANCE ---KIAI---
>LOOK OVER LEFT SHOULDER
>STACK FOR MIDDLE FOREARM BLOCK WITH LEFT FOREARM
>TWIST INTO A BACK STANCE FACING LEFT SIDE, LEFT FOOT FORWARD
>EXECUTE MIDDLE FOREARM BLOCK, WITH LEFT FOREARM
>STEP UP WITH RIGHT FOOT SO THAT FEET ARE TOGETHER
>SHOOT RIGHT ARM DOWN TO POSITION FOR LOW BLOCK
>EXECUTE A SCISSOR BLOCK WITH BOTH ARMS
>EXECUTE A SECOND SCISSOR BLOCK WITH BOTH ARMS

>LOOK OVER RIGHT SHOULDER
>STACK FOR A MIDDLE FOREARM BLOCK, WITH RIGHT FOREARM
>EXECUTE A LONG 180 DEGREE TURN INTO A BACK STANCE, RIGHT FOOT
>EXECUTE MIDDLE FOREARM BLOCK WITH RIGHT ARM
>STEP UP WITH LEFT FOOT SO THAT FEET ARE TOGETHER
>SHOOT LEFT ARM DOWN TO A LOW BLOCK
>EXECUTE A SCISSOR BLOCK WITH BOTH ARMS
>EXECUTE A SECOND SCISSOR BLOCK WITH BOTH HANDS

>LOOK OVER LEFT SHOULDER - (DOWN THE MIDDLE)
>STACK BOTH FISTS ON RIGHT HIP FOR A REINFORCED ELBOW BLOCK, WITH LEFT ARM
>STEP OUT INTO A FRONT STANCE LEFT FOOT FORWARD
>EXECUTE A REINFORCED ELBOW BLOCK WITH LEFT ARM
>SLAP DOWN WITH LEFT HAND
>WHILE STEPPING FORWARD INTO A FRONT STANCE, RIGHT FOOT FORWARD, EXECUTE A SPEAR HAND TO THE SOLAR PLEX, WITH RIGHT HAND
>GRAB AND HOLD AS YOU SPIN ON RIGHT FOOT INTO A KIBA-DACHI STANCE
>EXECUTE A BOTTOM FIST STRIKE WITH LEFT FIST TO GROIN, ON LEFT SIDE
>STEP FORWARD INTO A FRONT STANCE RIGHT FOOT FORWARD
>EXECUTE A LUNGE PUNCH WITH RIGHT FIST TO SOLAR PLEX ----KIAI----
>LOOK OVER LEFT SHOULDER TO REAR
>BRING LEFT FOOT TO RIGHT AND TURN TO FACE REAR
>STACK BOTH FISTS ON LEFT AND RIGHT HIPS, THUMB TO HIP
>WITH RIGHT FOOT EXECUTE AN IRON BLOCK, SETTING FOOT DOWN IN KIBA-DACHI TO SIDE, RIGHT FOOT FORWARD
>BLOCK WITH RIGHT ELBOW
>EXECUTE A BACK FIST TO FACE WITH RIGHT FIST
>WITH LEFT FOOT STEP THROUGH INTO AN IRON BLOCK, SETTING DOWN IN KIBA-DACHI TO RIGHT SIDE, LEFT FOOT FORWARD

>BLOCK WITH LEFT ELBOW
>EXECUTE A BACK FIST TO FACE WITH LEFT FIST
>WITH RIGHT FOOT STEP THROUGH INTO AN IRON BLOCK, SETTING DOWN IN A KIBA-DACHI, TO LEFT SIDE RIGHT FOOT FORWARD
>BLOCK WITH RIGHT ELBOW
>STEP FORWARD WITH THE LEFT FOOT INTO A FRONT STANCE
>EXECUTE A LUNGE PUNCH TO THE SOLAR PLEX WITH THE LEFT FIST....KIA

>LOOK OVER LEFT SHOULDER
>BRING RIGHT FOOT FORWARD AND SPIN ON RIGHT FOOT AND SLIDE STEP TO LEFT INTO KIBA -DACHI FACING FRONT
>EXECUTE AN ELBOW BLOW TO THE MID-SECTION AND AN OVERHAND FIST TO THE FACE ON LEFT SIDE

>LOOK OVER RIGHT SHOULDER
>SLIDE STEP SIDEWAYS TO RIGHT INTO KIBA-DACHI, STILL FACING FRONT
>EXECUTE AN ELBOW BLOW TO THE MID-SECTION AND AN OVERHAND FIST TO THE FACE ON THE RIGHT SIDE----KIAI----
>STAY IN KIBA-DACHI, FACE FRONT
>WITH LEFT FOOT STEP INTO MUSUBI -OREI
>STATE NAME OF KATA - "HEIAN SANDAN"

ITEMS TO WATCH FOR:

1. ALL FRONT STANCES - DEEP KNEE BEND ON FRONT LEG, BACK LEG LOCKED, FEET SHOULD BE A SHOULDER AND A HALF DEPTH AND WIDTH
2. ALL BACK STANCES - HEEL IN LINE, 70% OF WEIGHT ON BACK LEG, FRONT KNEE BENT SLIGHTLY, BACK LEG BENT DEEPLY
3. ALL KIBA-DACHI STANCES SQUARE AND IN LINE, NO LEANING INTO THE PUNCHES AT THE END
4. ALL LONG 180 AND 270 DEGREE TURNS SHOULD BE SMOOTH AND BALANCE D
5. BLOCKS :
SCISSOR BLOCKS, CRISP AND POWERFUL
REINFORCED ELBOW BLOCKS, STACKED ON OPPOSITE HIP, FISTS- THUMB TO THUMB
ELBOW BLOCKS, DON'T LEAN WITH THE BLOCK
IRON BLOCKS, TOES POINTED DOWN, DON'T SWING LEG WIDE ON TURNS INTO BLOCK
BODY TWIST ON ALL BLOCKS, EXCEPT THE IRON BLOCK
6. KATA SHOULD BE ABOUT 60 SECONDS IN LENGTH
7. THE MEANING OF "HEIAN" - PEACEFUL MIND
8. KATA PATTERN: "T"





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