Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 24 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor, especially for the staff-defence sequence.
Jitte is a kata of bold, heavy power and weapon defence. Its stances are strong and wide, its techniques direct and committed — palm-heel pressing blocks, the mountain-posture forearm strikes, X-blocks and rising blocks, all thrown with total kime. Its centrepiece is the bō-defence: grabbing an attacker’s staff with two “tiger-mouth” hands, lifting it with a rising knee, and thrusting it back. It teaches you to meet force with rooted force and to control a weapon at close range.
The name “Ten Hands” suggests the power to defend against ten opponents (or to fight with the strength of ten). Jitte belongs to the temple trio with Jion and Ji'in, sharing their covered-fist opening salute, and comes from the Tomari-te tradition.
A text reference for the whole kata, following the JKA form.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: JKA counts 24 with kiai on 13 & 24. Some schools count 27 by splitting combinations. Note the JKA version has no kick — crescent/axe kicks in the yama-gamae section appear only in non-JKA variants. The side strikes (moves 4–7) are teishō (palm-heel) in JKA; some dōjō use ridge-hand.
Jitte’s vocabulary is heavy and weapon-focused. Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Jitte reads as heavy close-quarters defence, weapon and empty-hand.
The pressing blocks smother and control an attacker’s arms; the palm-heel side strikes drive into the head or body of an opponent to your flank, from a rooted horse stance.
You catch a thrusting or swinging bō between two tiger-mouth hands, lift it with the rising knee to unbalance the wielder, then thrust it back into them — disarming and countering in one flow.
The repeated rising blocks, turning to face attackers on every side, sweep away descending strikes and set up the covering, powerful conclusion and final kiai.
Jitte is a heavy kata — its blocks and strikes want full body weight and total kime. Performing it lightly loses its whole character.
The yama-gamae and its forearm strikes need strong, wide stances and a real sense of the arms as heavy weapons, driven by the hips and the stamping steps.
Moves 15–18 mean something specific — grab, lift, thrust. Perform them with that intent, not as abstract shapes, and keep the two hands working together.
JKA Jitte has no kick; if you were taught a crescent kick in the middle, that’s a different lineage. Follow your own dōjō, but know the JKA form.
As a dan-grade kata, Jitte is judged on heavy, powerful technique with strong wide stances and full kime, a convincing yama-gamae and forearm strikes, a clear, purposeful staff-defence sequence, sharp turns to face each direction, 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 Jitte performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Jitte” 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 Gankaku and Hangetsu, or return to the kata library.