Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 34 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor.
Nijūshiho is the archetypal jū-gō (soft-hard) “wave” kata. Sources liken its rhythm to ocean tides: slow, flowing, extended-breath preparations that gather energy, then break into short, sharp, explosive close-range strikes. Learning it means mastering that constant expansion and contraction of tempo and breath — the hardest thing in the form is not any single technique but the timing that connects them.
Its toolkit is close-range and unusual for Shotokan: palm-heel strikes including the double teishō-awase, a rolling wrist-drop (makiotoshi) that flows straight into that palm strike, three elbow strikes, back-hand blocks, and — rare in Shotokan — the sanchin-dachi hour-glass stance bracketing the form. The name means “24 steps” (from the older Okinawan Niseishi), attributed to Aragaki Seishō and carried into Shotokan by Funakoshi, who gave it the Japanese reading.
A text reference for the whole kata, following the mainstream JKA form.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: techniques, stances and the 34-count are corroborated across sources; kiai on 18 & 33 are confirmed by two independent references (a few list the second kiai as 32 — a numbering artifact around the closing cluster). The two side kicks (11, 14) are a relatively modern JKA addition — older/original Niseishi used stamping (fumikomi) instead. Stance names on the scoop/teishō sections vary (zenkutsu vs fudō/sōchin vs sanchin) by lineage. Precise turn angles are best confirmed against a JKA video and your dōjō.
Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Nijūshiho as close-range control: unbalance, then strike soft targets with the palm and elbow.
Makiotoshi rolls and drops a grabbed wrist to unbalance the attacker; you enter (irimi) and the teishō-awase double palm-heel strikes high and low together — often called the coolest movement in the kata.
Each haishu-uke opens the line and feeds directly into a short, heavy elbow strike at grappling range — the close-quarter heart of the form, drilled three times around the box embusen.
The teko-uchi / haishu rising strike lifts sharply into the attacker’s chin or arm as the tide crests — the first kiai.
Nijūshiho lives or dies on rhythm. Doing every move at the same speed flattens it — the slow parts must be genuinely slow and breathing, the fast parts genuinely explosive.
The hour-glass stance is rare in Shotokan and easy to fake. Tension, connected knees and controlled breath make the opening and closing clusters work.
The three elbow strikes are close-range finishers — they need bodyweight behind them, not just an arm swung to the side.
The wrist-roll must flow smoothly into the palm-heel strike as one connected action, not a jerky two-part motion.
As a dan-grade kata, Nijūshiho is judged on its soft-hard rhythm and breathing above all, correct tense sanchin-dachi at the opening and close, a smooth makiotoshi into teishō-awase, heavy committed elbow strikes, and the two kiai on moves 18 and 33. Examiners want to see the tide — the deliberate control of tempo — not just accurate techniques. 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 Nijūshiho performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Nijūshiho” 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 the full kata library.