Karate Bites — July 2026
Welcome to Issue #5 of Karate Bites — a monthly newsletter from Karate Explained featuring insights, articles, and resources to support your karate journey.
Understanding the Kata We Practise
Learning a kata involves much more than remembering a sequence of movements.
Every kata has a name, a history, a lineage, and its own distinctive lessons. Some kata share common origins, while others reflect different teachers, regions, and methods of training.
As our practice develops, it becomes increasingly valuable to understand where each kata fits within the broader tradition.
That knowledge helps us see kata not simply as separate forms to be collected, but as part of an interconnected body of karate.
In this issue, I’m featuring the Karate Explained Kata Knowledge Table — a structured reference covering 42 Shito-Ryu kata.
It is designed to help practitioners learn the names, pronunciations, meanings, key facts, and lineage of the kata they practise.
The Ultimate Kata Knowledge Table
Shito-Ryu preserves one of the broadest collections of kata found within karate.
This richness gives us an important connection to several influential teachers and traditions. It can also make understanding the relationships between the kata challenging.
The Kata Knowledge Table was created to bring this information together in one accessible reference.
42 Shito-Ryu kata — organised, searchable, and supported by pronunciation audio.
Each entry includes the kata name in romaji and kanji, a phonetic pronunciation guide, key information, and its historical lineage. Audio recordings are also included to help practitioners learn the correct pronunciation.
You can search the table by kata name, pronunciation, or lineage, making it useful as both a quick reference and a long-term study resource.
Learn with the Kata Study Cards
The Kata Study Cards provide another way to explore and reinforce the information contained in the Kata Knowledge Table.
The front of each card displays the kata’s kanji, encouraging you to recognise and recall the kata before revealing the answer. Turning the card reveals the kata name in romaji, phonetic spelling, audio pronunciation, meaning, history, lineage, and defining characteristics.
The cards can be reviewed regularly, allowing you to gradually strengthen your knowledge without trying to memorise everything at once.
A few minutes of focused study can gradually build a much deeper understanding of the kata tradition.
How Well Do You Know Your Kata?
Most practitioners can name the kata they currently practise. But how much do we know beyond the sequence itself?
Choose one kata from your training and explore its name, meaning, pronunciation, and lineage.
Was it associated with the Shuri-te, Naha-te, or Tomari-te tradition? Who introduced or preserved it? Does its name provide any clues about its character?
Learning even one additional detail can change the way we see and practise a familiar kata.
Continue the Kata Discussion
Which kata are you currently studying? Is there a particular kata whose history, meaning, or lineage you would like to understand more clearly?
Join the Karate Explained community to share your questions, compare perspectives, and continue learning with karate practitioners from different backgrounds and levels of experience.
Until next time, train hard, stay thoughtful — and always remember you are Forever a Student.
Mike Williams Kyoshi
Karate Explained