Gekisai Dai Ichi is taught as the first kata in the Goju Ryu Karate syllabus. Students are required to perform this kata for their yellow belt grading. Below is a beautiful demonstration of this kata by Sandra Sanchez, a multiple time world kata champion from Spain. The Taikyoku/Taigyoku is the shotokan karate first kata. The name Taikyoku refers to tlearn karate katahe Chinese philosophical concept of Taiji. Let's learn Karate first kata step by step. A key kata in the practise of Shotokan karate is Taikyoku Shodan. It provides a really strong foundation for karateka and develops an understanding of some of the key fundamentals of Shotokan karate. As the most widely practiced style, Shotokan is considered a traditional and influential form of karate do. Etymology. Calligraphy of Shotokan. Shotokan was the name of the first official dojo built by Gichin Funakoshi, in 1936 [3] at Mejiro, and destroyed in 1945 as a result of an allied bombing. [4] . The various styles of karate study different kata, or variations of a common core. Some kata may therefore be known by two names, one in Japanese, the other in Okinawan or Chinese. This is because Gichin Funakoshi, and others, renamed many kata to help Karate spread throughout Japan. Kata names Chinese connections The first two kata that we learn in GKR Karate are known as Taigyoku Shodan and Taigyoku Nidan, but they are more commonly referred to as First and Second kata. 1) Heian Shodan. Heian Shodan is a basic kata that is commonly practiced in Shotokan Karate. It is the first of the five Heian katas and is also one of the mandatory katas in karate competitions. The name Heian Shodan means „peaceful mind level one" and is usually translated as „first step in the peaceful mind.". Shotokan Karate is comprised of 26 katas, each with their own emphasis on fast and slow or controlled and powerfull movements. Virtually all of the katas taught today in the Shotokan system have two kiai points. "Named after the Saint" Gojushiho Dai: 67 "54 Steps - Big" Gojushiho Sho: 65 "54 Steps - Small" Nijushiho: 24 "24 Steps" Wankan N7tp.