Heian Shodan

Heian Shodan is the first Kata in the Heian series and is usually the first Kata that a beginner must learn. It has 22 movements and its embusen is roughly I-shaped. This Kata takes the student through a similar floor pattern as Taikyoku Shodan, but incorporates different techniques including a hammer fist strike (tettsui-uchi) and knife hand block (shuto-uke). The Kata introduces various stances including forward stance (zenkutsu-dachi), L-stance (renoji-dachi), and back stance (kokutsu-dachi), helping students develop stability and proper weight distribution.