Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan

After bowing and announcing the name of the kata ("Heian Godan") ...

Yōi (cross open hands at groin level in musubi dachi) and kiyomeri kokyū (purification breaths)
Kamaete (shift right foot into nami heikō dachi while closing hands into fists at knee width)

	1	Turn 90 degrees left into hidari neko-ashi dachi with hidari yoko uke, then gyakuzuki
	2	Step one foot-length forward and pivot 90 degrees to the right on the left foot, drawing the right foot into heisoku dachi whilst pulling both hands to the right hip in kansetsu waza (kote gaeshi)
	3	Turn 90 degrees right into migi neko-ashi dachi with migi yoko uke, then gyakuzuki
	4	Step one foot-length forward and pivot 90 degrees to the left on the right foot, drawing the left foot into heisoku dachi whilst pulling both hands to the left hip in kansetsu waza (kote gaeshi)
	5	Step forward into migi zenkutsu dachi with migi soete uke
	6	Step forward into hidari zenkutsu dachi with gedan kōsa uke, then pull both hands to the solar plexus and jōdan kōsa shutō uke ("gasshō uke") [see Note(1) under "Key Training Aspects" below]
	7	Turn both hands 180 degrees so they are wrist-to-wrist with the right palm facing right and left palm facing left, then as if joined at the wrist twist and pull them down to solar plexus level, finishing with the right hand palm up to perform ude hineri(2)
	8	Draw the right foot into heiko dachi with hidari chūdan yoko kentsui uchi and full hikite
	9	Step 90 degrees left into migi han-zenkutsu dachi with migi oizuki
	10	Turn 180 degrees right into shiko dachi with migi yoko gedan barai, immediately shifting the left foot into hidari han-zenkutsu dachi with hidari chūdan yoko kentsui uchi and full hikite
	11	Turn and open the left hand into nukite position, then step forward into migi han-zenkutsu dachi with migi chudan hiji ate against left palm and immediately draw the left foot forward into migi kōsa dachi(3) with soete ura-ken uchi(4)
	12	Pivot on both feet 180 degrees left into hidari neko-ashi dachi, then step forward and pivot 90 degrees left into migi kōsa dachi(3) with morote hikite followed by gedan kōsa uke
	13	Step 90 degrees right into migi zenkutsu dachi with migi soete uke
	14	Without moving the feet turn into hidari kōkutsu dachi with manji uke (manji nage)
	15	Without moving the arms draw the left foot into hidari han-kōkutsu dachi w, then step 45 degrees right into migi kōkutsu dachi with manji uke (manji nage) and kiai

Zanshin yame (withdrawing right foot, turn 45 degrees left and return to kamaete)
Naotte (perform tekagami movement while sliding right foot into musubi dachi)
Rei (bow)

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Heian Godan is typically taught to students of Shimabukuro-Ha Shitō-Ryū karate-dō in preparation for advancement to rokkyu (green belt).   It presents the student with new variations in technique that many find challenging initially.  As with other intermediate-level kata, its emphasis is on matching stances to the purpose and effectiveness of the techniques being employed, as well as the need to develop increased speed, power, stability, and focus in its performance.

Note⁽¹⁾:  Heian Godan introduces jōdan kōsa shutō uke ("high crossed knife-hand block"),  which is often called gasshō uke ("praying hands block") due to its resemblance to gasshō zukuri (合掌造り) style roofs found on old farmhouses in Japan.  In jōdan kōsa shutō ukethe angle formed by the raised arms resembles the the angle of a gasshō zukuri roof and the crossed hands resemble the projections above the peak.  Although it is called jōdan kōsa shutō uke, the surfaces that actually makes contact with the opponent's striking arm are the backs of the hands; not the shutō (knife-hand edges).

At left is photograph of a typical gasshō zukuri building, characterised by its steep roof lines and the small projections at its peak. 

Note⁽²⁾:  The movement that follows jōdan kōsa shutō uke (#7) is a kansetsu waza (joint-twisting technique) called ude hineri ("arm twist").  After trapping the opponent's forearm with gasshō uke, both hand turn 180 degrees and grasp it, the twist it whilst pulling it downward, causing the opponent to bend sharply forward at the waist.  The kentsui uchi that follows in step #8 then strikes the opponent at the side of the head or base of the skull.

Note⁽³⁾:  kōsa dachi in movements #11 and #12 should be performed with the rear knee tucked in to the back of the front knee for stability; not with the knees apart as depicted in the video.

Note⁽⁴⁾:  The "soete ura-ken uchi" performed in step #11 is a misnomer that describes the ending position of the arms—the right arm and fist in yoko uke or ura-ken uchi position with the left arm parallel to the floor and left fist palm-down beneath the right elbow—but the movement should not be performed as an ura-ken strike.  Instead, immediately after the migi hiji ate against the left palm, whilst drawing the left foot forward from han-zenkutsu dachi into kōsa dachi, the right arm should swing 90 degrees clockwise and the left hand close into a fist palm-down.  This movement is not a strike.  It positions the hands and arms to perform a "chicken wing" ken kansetsu dakkyū (shoulder dislocation) in movement #12 that follows. 

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When learning a new kata, it is important to remind oneself of the adage: "Manabu no tame ni hyakkkai, jukuren no tame ni senkai, satori no tame ni manga okonau" (学ぶのために百回、熟練のために千回、悟りのために万回行う.).  A hundred times to learn, a thousand times for proficiency, ten thousand repetitions for complete understanding.   A related Okinawan saying is "ichi kata san nen" (一型三年):  one kata three years.  Think of it this way:  it takes about 40 seconds to perform Heian Nidan.  So in just ten minutes per day for only ten days (or twenty minutes a day for just five days), you can learn the correct sequences of movements in Heian Nidan.   But to become truly proficient-to be able to perform it correctly, and with the speed, power, timing, and bushi damashii (samurai spirit) necessary to make its techniques effective in a real self-defence situation will take a thousand repetitions, which equates to 100 days at ten repetitions a day.   And to fully understand and apply all of its principles, nuances, and variations will take 1,000 days (three years) at ten repetitions per day.

Although the kihon katachi (Kihon Katachi Ichi and Kihon Katachi Ni) do contain some basic budō principles, they are primarily intended as training exercises in order to prepare students to learn actual kata.   Kata, therefore, incorporate the need for both bunkai (step-by-step analysis) and ōyō (practical application). 

The word bunkai (分解) literally means "disassemble and analyse."   It is the same term Japanese sports officials use for the slow motion frame-by-frame analysis of the video of a contested referee's call, and it has a similar purpose and application in budō.  It involves examining each technique in minute detail, as if frozen in time, to determine its potential uses and the factors that make it most effective.

Ōyō (応用) means "effective use" or "practical use," so ōyō is the application of the knowledge gained from bunkai.   Once you have analysed every movement of the kata and determined both its intended use and the principles that make it effective, you will be able to use each of the techniques in the kata against the types of attack for which it is best suited.  Although this takes years (at least three), it doesn't mean you have to study only one kata for three years.  Since many kata share some of the same movements, you can be performing bunkai and perfecting ōyō on several kata at once!

The ultimate purpose of analysing and perfecting kata is to develop a methodology and a habit of analysing and perfecting every important aspect of one's life:  knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviour, attitudes, ethics, motivation, ambitions, desires, ideals, beliefs, values, relationships, and character.

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