The Five Heian Kata
Said to have been created by Gichen Funakoshi's teacher Itosu Yatsume, these kata were developed to further help in teaching basic techniques and to help in conditioning the body, and learning proper hip usage. The name Heian comes from the contraction of the characters for heiwa and antei, meaning peace and stability.

Heian Shodan (Peaceful Mind First or #1)
Emphasis on basic low blocks/strikes and stepping punch, moving through the center and building strong and low front stances, hammer fist technique and face blocks/strikes, including transitionally timed blocks and strikes, back stance knife hand block/strike, proper basic breathing and application of kiai. Hip rotation, vibration, shifting/thrusting, reconnection.

Heian Nidan (Peaceful Mind Second or #2)
Emphasis on multiple blocks, trapping/breaking techniques, back stance knife hand block/strike, reverse stance blocks and counters, transitional blocks and counters, proper basic breathing and application of kiai. Hip rotation, vibration, shifting/thrusting, pendulum (side snap kick), and reconnection.

Heian Sandan (Peaceful Mind Third or #3)
Emphasis on multiple blocks, trapping/breaking techniques, release from wrist locks and grabs, forearm deflection and back fist strikes, defense from various grabs and holds, proper basic breathing and application of kiai. Hip rotation, vibration, shifting/thrusting, reconnection.

Heian Yondan (Peaceful Mind Fourth or #4)
Emphasis on multiple blocks, trapping/breaking techniques, kicking and countering, double arm block/break/release, devastating counter attacks with elbow and knees, front kick defense, defense from various grabs and holds, proper basic breathing and application of kiai. Hip rotation, vibration, shifting/thrusting, pendulum (side snap kick and front kick), reconnection.

Heian Godan (Peaceful Mind Fifth or #5)
Emphasis on multiple blocks, trapping/breaking techniques, defense from various grabs and holds, Leg blocks and strikes, continuous changing of focus and direction of attacker, take downs, proper breathing and application of kiai. Hip rotation, vibration, shifting/thrusting, pendulum (side snap kick and front kick), reconnection, up and down energy.

Bassai Dai (To Penetrate a Fortress - Big or Greater)
This is one of the oldest kata in the system and is common, in many variations of both technique and name, to different styles of Japanese karate. This kata is known for its application of power and strength and changing disadvantage to advantage by the use of switching strikes to blocks and blocks to strikes. Extreme use of hip rotation is a hallmark of this kata, although all of the major hip actions can be found throughout it. This is a Shuri-te school kata of Itosu. There are two forms of Bassai taught in the Shotokan syllabus: Bassai-Dai, and Bassai-Sho. Bassai-Dai is considered one of the most important kata for shodan black belt level, along with Jion, Tekki and Kanku-Dai.

Jion (Jion Temple in China, a Buddhist term meaning love and/or goodness)
One unique feature of this kata is the hand position that both starts and ends the kata. This position is a slight variation on a Chinese hand salutation or greeting. This basic, but powerful kata is considered one of the best representative kata of the Shotokan system. Although the kata is composed of primarily basic stances and techniques, it is quite difficult to perform properly and there is little room for error, or variation.