Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 41 movements. Use the arrows or press play. Remember the first section is slow, with breathing and tension — the figures can’t show the effort, so pair them with the written sequence and your instructor.
Hangetsu is the kata of breath and tension. Its slow first half is performed with the whole body under deliberate isometric tension, coordinated with long, deep breathing — building the connection between breathing, the centre (hara) and physical power that softer kata never demand. Then, having grounded and gathered that power, the second half releases it: fast front kicks, back-fists and a crescent kick. It teaches you that stillness and tension are as much a part of karate as speed.
Hangetsu comes from the Naha-te tradition — the kata Seishan (Seisan) — and is the only clearly Naha-te-rooted form in Shotokan, which is why it feels so different from the rest of the syllabus. Its name, “half moon,” refers both to the crescent path the feet trace and to the arc of the half-moon stance itself.
A text reference for the whole kata. Moves 1–16 are the slow tension-and-breathing section; 17–41 speed up into blocks, punches and kicks. HD = hangetsu-dachi.
| # | Technique | Stance / note |
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Accuracy note: JKA counts 41 with kiai on 11 & 40. The tension strikes at moves 7–8 are variously named (nihon-nukite / ippon-ken / morote-zuki) by lineage; kicking landings are transient stances. Sequence confirmed across JKA-lineage sources.
Hangetsu is defined by its stance and breathing. Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Hangetsu’s slow blocks read as controlling and holding at close range; its fast half, as breaking free and striking.
The inside block deflects while the lower hand covers; the grasping hand then seizes the attacker’s arm or head — the tension in the stance is what lets you hold and control a resisting opponent.
The back-fist snaps to the face, the cross-step closes or evades, and the front kick drives into the middle as you regain distance — the release of all that gathered power.
The crescent kick knocks aside a guard or arm onto your open palm; the punch lands immediately through the opening — the kata’s final, focused strike and kiai.
The slow section needs both together — deep, controlled breathing driving constant muscular tension. Doing one without the other misses the kata’s entire purpose.
Hangetsu-dachi should be strong and inwardly tensioned, feet curving in. Standing in a loose front stance instead loses the kata’s foundation.
The second half must genuinely speed up and explode against the slow opening. Performing the whole kata at one pace flattens it.
The breaths are long and deliberate — let them set the tempo of the slow section rather than hurrying to the next move.
As a dan-grade kata, Hangetsu is judged above all on the slow tension-and-breathing section — visible, controlled muscular tension coordinated with deep breathing — a strong, correct hangetsu-dachi, a genuine contrast into the fast second half, clean kicks and strikes, the two kiai, and an accurate embusen. Requirements vary by association — confirm with your dōjō.
The illustrations on this page are study schematics — they show the shape of each move, not a real body in motion. To see Hangetsu performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Hangetsu” performances on YouTubeOpens a YouTube search in a new tab. Look for JKA / Japan Karate Association or established Shotokan instructor demonstrations for the most standard version of the form.
Or explore Kanku Dai and Empi, or return to the kata library.