The Heian kata (平安)

Key takeaways

The Heian are the five foundation kata of Shotokan, learned from white belt upward.
Ankō Itosu created them around 1900 to introduce karate into schools.
They teach the core stances, blocks and strikes in a graded sequence.
The series was originally called Pinan before being renamed Heian.

The five “peaceful mind” kata

The Heian series — Shodan through Godan — are the foundation kata of Shotokan, learned from white belt up. Created by Ankō Itosu around 1900 (originally called Pinan) to introduce karate into schools, they teach the core stances, blocks and strikes in a graded sequence. Master these five and you hold the vocabulary the entire system is built on.

Heian ShodanFull walkthrough Heian NidanFull walkthrough Heian SandanFull walkthrough Heian YondanFull walkthrough Heian GodanFull walkthrough

Looking for a different form? See the full kata library.

Sources & further reading

This guide is cross-checked against the references below. Where sources genuinely disagree, that is flagged in the text above rather than smoothed over.