Heian Nidan

Quick Facts

About the kata

Heian Nidan is the second kata of the Shotokan Heian series. According to karatedecoded.com it has 26 movements and two kiai shouts, on the eleventh and the last movement, and the practitioner spends roughly half in the back stance kokutsu dachi. Its floor pattern, per themartialway.com.au, is close to the letter I. Compared with Heian Shodan, shotokankarateonline.com calls it a big step up in difficulty. The main novelty is linking: a block flows into a counterattack within a single count. The best-known moment: the practitioner strikes with the back of the fist while kicking to the side with yoko geri keage. Karatedecoded.com lists it as the grading kata for 8th kyu; EIKA tests it for the move from 8th to 7th kyu. In Itosu's series this kata came first. According to historyoffighting.com, Gichin Funakoshi swapped its order with today's Heian Shodan in the nineteen-thirties. Shito-ryu, Wado-ryu and Shorin-ryu, keeping the original names, still practise it as Pinan Shodan. Kyokushin took over the Shotokan order and number and calls it Pinan Sono Ni; there Jaap Kooman describes it as a “water” kata, fast and flowing.

The kata in different styles

Differences between styles

In Shorin-ryu the same kata is called Pinan Shodan, and per bunkaijutsu.com the practitioner rises out of the stance during the rising block, while Shotokan keeps the same height throughout. Wado-ryu and Shukokai, per the English Wikipedia, keep Itosu's names but teach Pinan Nidan first and this kata only second – so their teaching order matches Shotokan's. The Kyokushin Pinan Sono Ni, per Jaap Kooman, has 20 steps instead of 26, with shouts on the eighth step, at the fingertip strike yonhon nukite, and on the twentieth, at the upper block jodan uke. Korean tang soo do practises the series in the Japanese order, and the second form there is called Pyung Ahn Ee Dan.

Bunkai – applications

Karatedecoded.com reads the opening movements as an upper block turning aside a grab or head strike, with the bottom-fist strike landing on the head or the gripping arm. The same source reads the pair in the seventh movement – a back-fist strike with a side kick – as defence against two attackers from different sides. Bunkaijutsu.com reads the rising block as a forearm strike from below, under the chin and into the throat; that, it says, is why the body rises during this technique in Shorin-ryu.

The hardest part

Shotokankarateonline.com advises dropping the weight straight down at the start, mostly onto the right leg, shifting sharply onto the left in the fourth movement. In the eight-movement sequence after the four knife-hand blocks shuto uke, the practitioner should not lean back, and the weight should stay forward. Karatedecoded.com warns about a collapsed back stance: roughly 70% of the weight should rest on the bent rear leg, and both feet should stay flat on the ground.

Competition status

• Sport karate (WKF) — Official kata list · valid from 1/1/2026 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Kyokushin — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Sankukai — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shito-ryu — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shorin-ryu — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shotokan — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Wado-ryu — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗

In grading syllabi

• IKO grading (traditional honbu): 7th Kyu – Blue belt with black stripe

Techniques in the kata