JOURNEY TO
KATA
五十 の 型 の 旅
A personal blog recording my kata training and reflections leading to one final continuous performance of all 2,255 moves in 50 shotokan kata.
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Today’s Planned Schedule
- Kanku Dai
- Kanku Sho
- Tekki Shodan
- Tekki Nidan
- Tekki Sandan
- Bassai Dai
- Bassai Sho
Karate Training
I've incorporated a 10 minute workout to the start of each session as stamina and flexibility require some improvement. So I jog 750m in 5 minutes and then do 5 minutes of stretching, then a short session of weights, - then onto katas.
- Junro Shodan× 1
- Junro Nidan× 1
- Junro Sandan× 1
- Junro Yondan× 1
- Junro Godan× 1
- Jion× 1
- Jitte× 1
- Jiin× 1
- Gojushiho Sho× 1
- Gojushiho Dai× 1
Karate Training
- Tekki Shodan× 1
- Tekki Nidan× 1
- Tekki Sandan× 1
- Junro Shodan× 1
- Junro Nidan× 1
- Junro Sandan× 1
- Junro Yondan× 1
- Junro Godan× 1
- Kakuyoku Shodan× 1
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Winding Down Kanku
Kanku Dai and Sho are similar and confusing. I need to start practising them as a pair to remove the confusion.
Got a sweat up. Only because air con is broken though.
- Kanku Dai—
- Kanku Sho—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Hachimon—
- Joko Nisei—
Daily Karate Workout
Daily Karate Workout
Short but sweaty
I can gel Kanku Sho really bedding in now. I hope next weeks schedule has a few refresh days on it though.
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
Sleep after tea = no energy.
- Kanku Sho—
Only Kanku Sho – no Dai
Kanku Sho almost locked in. I feel like I need another few nights on it though.
Did 8 Kanku Sho plus 6 refreshes , so decent 49 minutes tonight.
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Meikyo—
Kanku Confusion
- Kanku Sho—
- Bassai Dai—
- Kanku Dai—
Day 1/5 for Kanku Sho
Up to move 33 in Kanku Sho after one night is good enough for me.
The aircon wasn’t working tonight so I got a great sweat up 🤣
- Kanku Sho—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Kanku Dai—
Beautiful clear beach day.
No more smash burger at the mid-way harbour cafe. I could hardly walk back never mind practice kata.
- Kanku Dai—
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Meikyo Nidan—
- Roshu—
Stick to the programme FTW.
Sticking to programme!
Need to start working on consistent breathing patterns
Decent workout. Broke sweat without any kata mistakes.
- Kanku Dai—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Empi—
After a days rest I’m back!
- Kanku Dai—
- Meikyo—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Training
The journey continues even when tired.
I watched a very cool performance of Kanku Dai by Kurihara Sensei that will help me with those last few moves I’m struggling with. I still need more practice with this kata but I feel it is almost ready to “click”
I felt really tired today so it was more of a walk through but at least I turned up.
- Kanku Dai—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
Kanku Dai day 3
Getting better at last combo. Happy with gojushiho sho and Dai, and Empi.
Last few moves of Kanku Sho need repeating 20 times I think.
Sticking to schedule felt awesome.
- Kanku Dai—
- Gojushiho Dai—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Empi—
Day 2/5 of Kanku Dai re-learning
All techniques figured out apart from the 3 hito strikes. There’s a difference in the way each is performed depending on old school or current JKS so I will need to research this further.
Felt good identifying the fine detail of the last combinations. Also felt good to revisit bassai sho and Meikyo to - so glad I prepared a full training plan which includes refresh as well as learning.
- Bassai Dai—
- Bassai Sho—
- Kanku Dai—
- Meikyo—
Training Plan Activated!
Closer to Kanku Dai moves than I thought. Ask the way through so good for the first night of a 5 night Kanku Dai streak.
Last sequence of moves needs a lot of attention.
It felt really good to be training with a plan in place. Thanks to ChatGPT I am on day 1 of a personalised plan that should see me prepared to take the challenge in March 2027
- Kanku Dai—
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Refresh Nights
This challenge needs structure. I need to plan Refresh nights where learned katas are revisited to keep them fresh, and learning nights where real progress is made with learning new katas on the road to 50.
The current method of simply doing what I feel motivated to do in any one night is not achieving the progress you 50 that I need. Tekki Shodan is a good example of why not - I spent three nights on that basic kata obsessed with every detail. That’s not what this challenge is about. Getting each of the 50 kata to competition standard is for another day, this is a recall challenge to perform 50 kata, 2255 moves, in one go.
To achieve this I need to timetable the entire journey. To do that I have something to work to which will deliver progress.
The fact I remembered 10 kata that were quite new to me a few weeks ago was good because memory is going to be a factor in this challenge.
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
Tekki 16 times. Not happy.
No Sunday morning beach karate this week - rained off. So of to the sports centre later today for indoor practice.
It’s incredible that I can film myself doing Tekki Shodan, a basic Kata, and see minor faults, and spend 45 minutes doing kata, filming it, reviewing it, repeat 16 times and dull not be happy with the performance.
This brings into doubt this whole 50 kata challenge. If I get stuck on basic kata what chance is there with advanced kata?
Worked up a sweat.
- Tekki Shodan—
Tekki Shodan timing and head
Even at beginner level we are told about the importance of head moment in Tekki Shodan. They even have their own count which is unusual enough to underline the importance. Although there are 6 important head movements, most concentrate on the 4 associated with the sweeping foot blocks. But to achieve a sharp performance there is more to just these 4 alone.
Tekki is a good example of correct timing, fast and slow. For such a short kata, timing is’s important. However the correct timing is not what you might read in a book, or see online. Correct timing is largely dictated by an individuals body mechanics.
I can see so many faults in this video ie, very first move thumb position. Gedan Baria is not correctly formed (fist movement), and I raise and lower the stance a little to create power in move 2/3. I've picked this up from watching the more fluid style of Asai Sensei doing this kata, but I'm not sure whether to go with the fluid style, or the more regimental style seem in competitions by JKS and JKS karate-ka.
Tuning your kata to your body is as important as tuning your body to a kata.
Head movement and snapping techniques from full speed to dead stop.
Combating forward creep is also important, and difficult. Nakayama Sensei thought this important enough to talk about in his teachings, so it’s something to work on until consistently achieved.
It’s all in the detail. Progress? Maybe a little individual kata progress. But the 50kata challenge? I’ll not be making much progress at all if I keep pausing to spend days and days on the detail of one kata.
- Tekki Shodan—
Tekki Sandan
Kime, focus, reduce micro movements.
Worked up a sweat, which was great.
- Tekki Shodan—
Return of the Gi
Filmed this session and saw lots of small details that had a significant impact on the quality of the performance. Oh well. Practice more.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
Wankan
Felt good to tick another kata off the big 50 list.
- Wankan—
Karate Training
Film Night
I decided to record myself doing Tekki and Jiin, Jitte tonight. Filming is such a faff i.e setting the camera up to catch the full boundary’s of the kata without being so far away that the detail is lost.
Then there’s the pleasure of watching back a kata performance that felt good, and looked great in your minds eye, but on video looks very much below the desired standard.
It’s like the third stage of learning kata. The first stage is the sequence of moves, the second stage is technique, timing and kime, and the third stage is the longest - fixing poor techniques that seem so obvious on video but invisible during the performance. Tough to watch at times.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
Tekki 3x3 3xJ and Junro
There’s two sequences of unusual moves in Junro Yondan which just occurred to me where a forward moment is contradicted by an opposing technique. I’ll explore this further.
Tekki felt great!
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jion—
Nichiyō Asa Hama Keiko
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Tekki 3x3
Today I again wondered if this 50 kata challenge was even feasible. I keep forgetting moves.
I need to get enough sleep and look for memory supplements.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Karate Training
Training with Joe
It was good to have someone to train with rather than my usual flying solo. Joe has a lot of karate experience and exposure to high level training with the best in the world so it was a great session.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jion—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
Join Jiin Jitte
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Jion—
Karate Training
Back to Coaching. Then jitte.
The major progress today was to be back coaching again. I took a kids class followed by a senior class. Their usual coach is away to JKS championships in Brazil so I was happy to cover for him.
After that I went to my training studio and practiced Jitte for a while.
Jitte is unlike any other kata and takes a lot of practice for a short kata. I was tired after teaching, so not a lot of energy left but at least I got half an hour of focus on Jitte.
Good to be back training.
- Jitte—
Karate Training
Karate Training
Only Jiin
Today I worked on the three consecutive shuto strikes from kiba dachi, a fairly unusual combo. I also worked on finishing on the start point. This proved to be a challenge as Jiin naturally wants to finish half a stance to the left of the starting point. To correct this a zenkutsu dachi at the opposite end of the embusen has to be sacrificed a little.
This kata didn’t flow like a tekki, or a junro so footwork is key to avoid it from feeling or looking a bit janky.
It felt good just to take my time and concentrate on one Kata only.
- Jiin—
A mile of barren beach.
Training outdoors always feel good.
- Jiin—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Kakuyoku Nidan—
- Meikyo Nidan—
- Meikyo—
- Kashu—
Jiin
I’m am conscious that spending so many nights on Junro Katas is holding me back in progress.
So I focussed on Jiin this evening. This is one of the 50 kata in my list, but omitted for Nakayamas Best Karate series. Still, I found it easy to set the 35 moves to recall in one session so this is good progress.
It felt really good to get a full kata refreshed and added to the list in just one session. I must have done Jiin more on the post than I realised.
- Jiin—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Interrupted 2
- Junro Godan—
Interrupted 1
Karate Training
One step forward, two steps back.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Junro5 Progress
I also wanted to check embusen line after all 5 and the Junro are pretty good. I finished pretty close to the starting point. This is a secondary part of the overall challenge - finish on the same point the 50 started on.
15 minutes to complete 5 Junro
Should manage to finish on starting point.
Still needs more repetition to seal the deal.
Considering I only had 4 hours sleep last night, energy was pretty good. Worked up a wee sweat after 30 minutes.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Five Junro again.
Almost there. Just sticking at 1 or 2 places.
Progress is real with consistent practice.
Training was disturbed by a young lad who wanted to put his gloves on and play tippy tap with the focus dummy. It put me off my concentration a little but this in itself is a good thing. Training to be inside a kata where the outside world is out of focus is an important step to kata mastery.
Broke sweat a bit today. Need to ramp that up a tad.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
17 Kata Beach Day
Kanku Sho & Dai were progressed today.
Still allowing a few errors to creep in so more repetition required.
Training on a wet and windy Scottish beach, brilliant. And we found a new hidden alcove to train in away from dog walkers.
- Kanku Dai—
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Kakuyoku Nidan—
- Kashu—
- Roshu—
When one kata flows into another.
I did feel that I was getting more kime with Junro Godan.
I discovered that some very basic combinations can still provide a technical challenge.
Repetition is key so the challenge will be consistency. There must be no let up. Training every day!
Because I failed to do my challenge of all 5 Junro consecutively today, I didn’t really enjoy it very much.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Karate Training
Junro Godan – 1st Steps
Starting again with Junro Godan
Karate Training
Tekki Tekki Tekki
I can't stop doing Tekki. Help me.
Training with No Plan
A Sun Tzu quote, to get back on track.
Karate Training
Tekki & Junro
Memory is a Problem.
Lifetime Karate
It's Kata on the Beach day! Glorious day and some karate reflection.
Junro Yondan, Spin Fun.
Junro Yondan count and turn confusion is real. But like a lot of karate, once it clicks, its great.
Sacrificing Technique for Speed
In the wild speed wins, before technique or strength, speed wins. But in training it's technique first.
I tried 10 today, 20% There.
Thought I'd try 20% of the challenge tonight and do 10 kata's back-to-back. It was quite surprising...
Tekki x 20 times, What a Great Trio.
Working back to kime and power, motivated by Osaka Sensei.
Enpi – weak knees, no stamina
An Enpi refresh, Tekki Nidan a few times and a reminder on the importance of sleep.
Tekki AKA Screaming Knees
Tekki Sandan committed to memory at last, its been a struggle and my knees are really complaining, but this is progress!
A Wet Sunday on the Beach and Videos
Beach, Rain, Tekki, and disappointing video.
Training – 25 July 2026
Early Morning Session on Gojushiho Embusen
Gojushiho full power & embusen, and Tekki Sandan troubles.
Training – 24 July 2026
Training – 23 July 2026
Training – 22 July 2026
Training – 21 July 2026
Training – 20 July 2026
Training – 19 July 2026
Training – 18 July 2026
Training – 17 July 2026
Training – 16 July 2026
Training – 15 July 2026
Training – 14 July 2026
Training – 13 July 2026
Training – 12 July 2026
Training – 11 July 2026
Training – 10 July 2026
Training – 9 July 2026
Training – 8 July 2026
Training – 7 July 2026
Training – 6 July 2026
Training – 5 July 2026
Training – 4 July 2026
Training – 3 July 2026
Training – 2 July 2026
Training – 1 July 2026
Training – 30 June 2026
Training – 29 June 2026
Training – 28 June 2026
Training – 27 June 2026
Training – 26 June 2026
Training – 25 June 2026
Training – 24 June 2026
Training – 23 June 2026
Training – 22 June 2026
Training – 21 June 2026
Training – 20 June 2026
Training – 19 June 2026
Training – 18 June 2026
Training – 17 June 2026
Training – 16 June 2026
Training – 15 June 2026
Training – 14 June 2026
Training – 13 June 2026
Training – 12 June 2026
Training – 11 June 2026
Training – 10 June 2026
Training – 9 June 2026
Training – 8 June 2026
Training – 7 June 2026
Training – 6 June 2026
Training – 5 June 2026
Well, that’s that then.
Game Over - for now....
Training – 3 June 2026
Training – 2 June 2026
Training – 1 June 2026
Getting back into it.
Building a routine.
Studio 2 Training
Building up Slowly.
Today’s Planned Schedule
- Kanku Dai
- Kanku Sho
- Tekki Shodan
- Tekki Nidan
- Tekki Sandan
- Bassai Dai
- Bassai Sho
Karate Training
I've incorporated a 10 minute workout to the start of each session as stamina and flexibility require some improvement. So I jog 750m in 5 minutes and then do 5 minutes of stretching, then a short session of weights, - then onto katas.
- Junro Shodan× 1
- Junro Nidan× 1
- Junro Sandan× 1
- Junro Yondan× 1
- Junro Godan× 1
- Jion× 1
- Jitte× 1
- Jiin× 1
- Gojushiho Sho× 1
- Gojushiho Dai× 1
Karate Training
- Tekki Shodan× 1
- Tekki Nidan× 1
- Tekki Sandan× 1
- Junro Shodan× 1
- Junro Nidan× 1
- Junro Sandan× 1
- Junro Yondan× 1
- Junro Godan× 1
- Kakuyoku Shodan× 1
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Karate Training
Winding Down Kanku
Kanku Dai and Sho are similar and confusing. I need to start practising them as a pair to remove the confusion.
Got a sweat up. Only because air con is broken though.
- Kanku Dai—
- Kanku Sho—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Hachimon—
- Joko Nisei—
Daily Karate Workout
Daily Karate Workout
Short but sweaty
I can gel Kanku Sho really bedding in now. I hope next weeks schedule has a few refresh days on it though.
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
Sleep after tea = no energy.
- Kanku Sho—
Only Kanku Sho – no Dai
Kanku Sho almost locked in. I feel like I need another few nights on it though.
Did 8 Kanku Sho plus 6 refreshes , so decent 49 minutes tonight.
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Meikyo—
Kanku Confusion
- Kanku Sho—
- Bassai Dai—
- Kanku Dai—
Day 1/5 for Kanku Sho
Up to move 33 in Kanku Sho after one night is good enough for me.
The aircon wasn’t working tonight so I got a great sweat up 🤣
- Kanku Sho—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Kanku Dai—
Beautiful clear beach day.
No more smash burger at the mid-way harbour cafe. I could hardly walk back never mind practice kata.
- Kanku Dai—
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Meikyo Nidan—
- Roshu—
Stick to the programme FTW.
Sticking to programme!
Need to start working on consistent breathing patterns
Decent workout. Broke sweat without any kata mistakes.
- Kanku Dai—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Empi—
After a days rest I’m back!
- Kanku Dai—
- Meikyo—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Training
The journey continues even when tired.
I watched a very cool performance of Kanku Dai by Kurihara Sensei that will help me with those last few moves I’m struggling with. I still need more practice with this kata but I feel it is almost ready to “click”
I felt really tired today so it was more of a walk through but at least I turned up.
- Kanku Dai—
- Jion—
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
Kanku Dai day 3
Getting better at last combo. Happy with gojushiho sho and Dai, and Empi.
Last few moves of Kanku Sho need repeating 20 times I think.
Sticking to schedule felt awesome.
- Kanku Dai—
- Gojushiho Dai—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Empi—
Day 2/5 of Kanku Dai re-learning
All techniques figured out apart from the 3 hito strikes. There’s a difference in the way each is performed depending on old school or current JKS so I will need to research this further.
Felt good identifying the fine detail of the last combinations. Also felt good to revisit bassai sho and Meikyo to - so glad I prepared a full training plan which includes refresh as well as learning.
- Bassai Dai—
- Bassai Sho—
- Kanku Dai—
- Meikyo—
Training Plan Activated!
Closer to Kanku Dai moves than I thought. Ask the way through so good for the first night of a 5 night Kanku Dai streak.
Last sequence of moves needs a lot of attention.
It felt really good to be training with a plan in place. Thanks to ChatGPT I am on day 1 of a personalised plan that should see me prepared to take the challenge in March 2027
- Kanku Dai—
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Refresh Nights
This challenge needs structure. I need to plan Refresh nights where learned katas are revisited to keep them fresh, and learning nights where real progress is made with learning new katas on the road to 50.
The current method of simply doing what I feel motivated to do in any one night is not achieving the progress you 50 that I need. Tekki Shodan is a good example of why not - I spent three nights on that basic kata obsessed with every detail. That’s not what this challenge is about. Getting each of the 50 kata to competition standard is for another day, this is a recall challenge to perform 50 kata, 2255 moves, in one go.
To achieve this I need to timetable the entire journey. To do that I have something to work to which will deliver progress.
The fact I remembered 10 kata that were quite new to me a few weeks ago was good because memory is going to be a factor in this challenge.
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
Tekki 16 times. Not happy.
No Sunday morning beach karate this week - rained off. So of to the sports centre later today for indoor practice.
It’s incredible that I can film myself doing Tekki Shodan, a basic Kata, and see minor faults, and spend 45 minutes doing kata, filming it, reviewing it, repeat 16 times and dull not be happy with the performance.
This brings into doubt this whole 50 kata challenge. If I get stuck on basic kata what chance is there with advanced kata?
Worked up a sweat.
- Tekki Shodan—
Tekki Shodan timing and head
Even at beginner level we are told about the importance of head moment in Tekki Shodan. They even have their own count which is unusual enough to underline the importance. Although there are 6 important head movements, most concentrate on the 4 associated with the sweeping foot blocks. But to achieve a sharp performance there is more to just these 4 alone.
Tekki is a good example of correct timing, fast and slow. For such a short kata, timing is’s important. However the correct timing is not what you might read in a book, or see online. Correct timing is largely dictated by an individuals body mechanics.
I can see so many faults in this video ie, very first move thumb position. Gedan Baria is not correctly formed (fist movement), and I raise and lower the stance a little to create power in move 2/3. I've picked this up from watching the more fluid style of Asai Sensei doing this kata, but I'm not sure whether to go with the fluid style, or the more regimental style seem in competitions by JKS and JKS karate-ka.
Tuning your kata to your body is as important as tuning your body to a kata.
Head movement and snapping techniques from full speed to dead stop.
Combating forward creep is also important, and difficult. Nakayama Sensei thought this important enough to talk about in his teachings, so it’s something to work on until consistently achieved.
It’s all in the detail. Progress? Maybe a little individual kata progress. But the 50kata challenge? I’ll not be making much progress at all if I keep pausing to spend days and days on the detail of one kata.
- Tekki Shodan—
Tekki Sandan
Kime, focus, reduce micro movements.
Worked up a sweat, which was great.
- Tekki Shodan—
Return of the Gi
Filmed this session and saw lots of small details that had a significant impact on the quality of the performance. Oh well. Practice more.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Gojushiho Dai—
Wankan
Felt good to tick another kata off the big 50 list.
- Wankan—
Karate Training
Film Night
I decided to record myself doing Tekki and Jiin, Jitte tonight. Filming is such a faff i.e setting the camera up to catch the full boundary’s of the kata without being so far away that the detail is lost.
Then there’s the pleasure of watching back a kata performance that felt good, and looked great in your minds eye, but on video looks very much below the desired standard.
It’s like the third stage of learning kata. The first stage is the sequence of moves, the second stage is technique, timing and kime, and the third stage is the longest - fixing poor techniques that seem so obvious on video but invisible during the performance. Tough to watch at times.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
Tekki 3x3 3xJ and Junro
There’s two sequences of unusual moves in Junro Yondan which just occurred to me where a forward moment is contradicted by an opposing technique. I’ll explore this further.
Tekki felt great!
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jiin—
- Jion—
Nichiyō Asa Hama Keiko
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Tekki 3x3
Today I again wondered if this 50 kata challenge was even feasible. I keep forgetting moves.
I need to get enough sleep and look for memory supplements.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
Karate Training
Training with Joe
It was good to have someone to train with rather than my usual flying solo. Joe has a lot of karate experience and exposure to high level training with the best in the world so it was a great session.
- Tekki Shodan—
- Tekki Nidan—
- Tekki Sandan—
- Jion—
- Jiin—
- Jitte—
Join Jiin Jitte
- Jitte—
- Jiin—
- Jion—
Karate Training
Back to Coaching. Then jitte.
The major progress today was to be back coaching again. I took a kids class followed by a senior class. Their usual coach is away to JKS championships in Brazil so I was happy to cover for him.
After that I went to my training studio and practiced Jitte for a while.
Jitte is unlike any other kata and takes a lot of practice for a short kata. I was tired after teaching, so not a lot of energy left but at least I got half an hour of focus on Jitte.
Good to be back training.
- Jitte—
Karate Training
Karate Training
Only Jiin
Today I worked on the three consecutive shuto strikes from kiba dachi, a fairly unusual combo. I also worked on finishing on the start point. This proved to be a challenge as Jiin naturally wants to finish half a stance to the left of the starting point. To correct this a zenkutsu dachi at the opposite end of the embusen has to be sacrificed a little.
This kata didn’t flow like a tekki, or a junro so footwork is key to avoid it from feeling or looking a bit janky.
It felt good just to take my time and concentrate on one Kata only.
- Jiin—
A mile of barren beach.
Training outdoors always feel good.
- Jiin—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Kakuyoku Nidan—
- Meikyo Nidan—
- Meikyo—
- Kashu—
Jiin
I’m am conscious that spending so many nights on Junro Katas is holding me back in progress.
So I focussed on Jiin this evening. This is one of the 50 kata in my list, but omitted for Nakayamas Best Karate series. Still, I found it easy to set the 35 moves to recall in one session so this is good progress.
It felt really good to get a full kata refreshed and added to the list in just one session. I must have done Jiin more on the post than I realised.
- Jiin—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Interrupted 2
- Junro Godan—
Interrupted 1
Karate Training
One step forward, two steps back.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Junro5 Progress
I also wanted to check embusen line after all 5 and the Junro are pretty good. I finished pretty close to the starting point. This is a secondary part of the overall challenge - finish on the same point the 50 started on.
15 minutes to complete 5 Junro
Should manage to finish on starting point.
Still needs more repetition to seal the deal.
Considering I only had 4 hours sleep last night, energy was pretty good. Worked up a wee sweat after 30 minutes.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Five Junro again.
Almost there. Just sticking at 1 or 2 places.
Progress is real with consistent practice.
Training was disturbed by a young lad who wanted to put his gloves on and play tippy tap with the focus dummy. It put me off my concentration a little but this in itself is a good thing. Training to be inside a kata where the outside world is out of focus is an important step to kata mastery.
Broke sweat a bit today. Need to ramp that up a tad.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
17 Kata Beach Day
Kanku Sho & Dai were progressed today.
Still allowing a few errors to creep in so more repetition required.
Training on a wet and windy Scottish beach, brilliant. And we found a new hidden alcove to train in away from dog walkers.
- Kanku Dai—
- Kanku Sho—
- Gojushiho Sho—
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
- Kakuyoku Shodan—
- Kakuyoku Nidan—
- Kashu—
- Roshu—
When one kata flows into another.
I did feel that I was getting more kime with Junro Godan.
I discovered that some very basic combinations can still provide a technical challenge.
Repetition is key so the challenge will be consistency. There must be no let up. Training every day!
Because I failed to do my challenge of all 5 Junro consecutively today, I didn’t really enjoy it very much.
- Junro Shodan—
- Junro Nidan—
- Junro Sandan—
- Junro Yondan—
- Junro Godan—
Karate Training
Karate Training
Junro Godan – 1st Steps
Starting again with Junro Godan
Karate Training
Tekki Tekki Tekki
I can't stop doing Tekki. Help me.
Training with No Plan
A Sun Tzu quote, to get back on track.
Karate Training
Tekki & Junro
Memory is a Problem.
Lifetime Karate
It's Kata on the Beach day! Glorious day and some karate reflection.
Junro Yondan, Spin Fun.
Junro Yondan count and turn confusion is real. But like a lot of karate, once it clicks, its great.
Sacrificing Technique for Speed
In the wild speed wins, before technique or strength, speed wins. But in training it's technique first.
I tried 10 today, 20% There.
Thought I'd try 20% of the challenge tonight and do 10 kata's back-to-back. It was quite surprising...
Tekki x 20 times, What a Great Trio.
Working back to kime and power, motivated by Osaka Sensei.
Enpi – weak knees, no stamina
An Enpi refresh, Tekki Nidan a few times and a reminder on the importance of sleep.
Tekki AKA Screaming Knees
Tekki Sandan committed to memory at last, its been a struggle and my knees are really complaining, but this is progress!
A Wet Sunday on the Beach and Videos
Beach, Rain, Tekki, and disappointing video.
Training – 25 July 2026
Early Morning Session on Gojushiho Embusen
Gojushiho full power & embusen, and Tekki Sandan troubles.
Training – 24 July 2026
Training – 23 July 2026
Training – 22 July 2026
Training – 21 July 2026
Training – 20 July 2026
Training – 19 July 2026
Training – 18 July 2026
Training – 17 July 2026
Training – 16 July 2026
Training – 15 July 2026
Training – 14 July 2026
Training – 13 July 2026
Training – 12 July 2026
Training – 11 July 2026
Training – 10 July 2026
Training – 9 July 2026
Training – 8 July 2026
Training – 7 July 2026
Training – 6 July 2026
Training – 5 July 2026
Training – 4 July 2026
Training – 3 July 2026
Training – 2 July 2026
Training – 1 July 2026
Training – 30 June 2026
Training – 29 June 2026
Training – 28 June 2026
Training – 27 June 2026
Training – 26 June 2026
Training – 25 June 2026
Training – 24 June 2026
Training – 23 June 2026
Training – 22 June 2026
Training – 21 June 2026
Training – 20 June 2026
Training – 19 June 2026
Training – 18 June 2026
Training – 17 June 2026
Training – 16 June 2026
Training – 15 June 2026
Training – 14 June 2026
Training – 13 June 2026
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Training – 11 June 2026
Training – 10 June 2026
Training – 9 June 2026
Training – 8 June 2026
Training – 7 June 2026
Training – 6 June 2026
Training – 5 June 2026
Well, that’s that then.
Game Over - for now....
Training – 3 June 2026
Training – 2 June 2026
Training – 1 June 2026
Getting back into it.
Building a routine.
Studio 2 Training
Building up Slowly.
What is the 50 Kata challenge?
This challenge is something that I dreamt up after a year long break from 40 years of karate training. I need a challenge to occupy my mind. So I resumed training - solo, 7 days a week, with a new target in my sights:
Learn all 50 Shotokan karate kata over a period of intense daily training, then perform all 2,255 moves of 50 kata in one continuous one and a half hour performance.
Target completion date is currently March 2027.
MILESTONES
- Start the JourneyMay 2026Foundation & Basics
- 10 Kata MilestoneAug 2026Building Consistency
- 25 Kata MilestoneNov 2026Halfway Point
- 40 Kata MilestoneJan 2027Refinement & Depth
- The Final ChallengeMarch 2027All 50 Kata. One Take.
LATEST JOURNAL ENTRIES
June 18, 2026
Why I Started This 50 Kata Challenge
My personal karate lineage and what led me to this bonkers challenge.