Taikyoku Sandan

Quick Facts

About the kata

Taikyoku Sandan is the third and last Taikyoku kata. It keeps the same path and 20 steps as Shodan and Nidan, but according to Jaap Kooman it adds the back stance kokutsu-dachi and the forearm block uchi uke – and beginners reportedly take a long time to master them well. According to shotokan-karatedo.org, to the sides the practitioner alternates uchi uke in kokutsu-dachi with an oi-zuki at the middle level in zenkutsu-dachi, while forward and backward come a low gedan barai and three oi-zuki strikes at the upper level. The English Wikipedia instead describes it as a Shodan where only movements 1, 3, 9, 11, 17 and 19 are replaced by uchi uke, so the strikes would stay at the middle level. The katastepbystep.com breakdown has the strikes at the upper level, lists the middle level as a possible variation, and places the kiai on movements 8 and 16. In Kyokushin the kata is called Taikyoku Sono San. Aranami Dojo of the World So-Kyokushin organisation both begins and ends it in the fudo-dachi stance, also places the kiai on movements 8 and 16, and tests it for 9th kyu; Jaap Kooman places it at 8th kyu in Kyokushin. The English Shotokan Academy requires it together with Heian Nidan for the yellow belt at 7th kyu.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

Sandan (三段) means third level. Shotokan-karatedo.org translates Taikyoku as "the Supreme Ultimate" and explains that it carries all possibilities within itself; the English Wikipedia links the name to the Chinese philosophical concept of taiji.

Differences between styles

According to Jaap Kooman, Masutatsu Oyama adopted the series for Kyokushin. But even there the strike height in Taikyoku Sono San is not consistent: Aranami Dojo's introduction says the sideways strikes are at the middle level and the forward and backward ones at the upper level, yet its own step-by-step breakdown lists seiken jodan-tsuki, an upper-level strike, for all twelve. From the sources available, we have not been able to determine which form prevails in Kyokushin.

The hardest part

The kata's new element is the back stance kokutsu-dachi, and the transitions between it and zenkutsu-dachi – now the back leg carries the weight, now the front leg, as the French club TCMS Karate notes. For kokutsu-dachi, shotokankarateonline.com gives about 70% of the weight at the back (some dojos say 80%), feet at a right angle, heels in line; beginners, it says, often lean the torso back instead of settling onto the back leg with a straight back.

In grading syllabi

• IKO grading (traditional honbu): 10th Kyu – Orange belt

Technique Sequence — Shotokan

Breakdown source: katastepbystep.com

1. #1
   Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
2. #2
   Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
3. #3
   Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
4. #4
   Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(L)
5. #5
   Zenkutsu DachiGedan Barai(L)
6. #6
   Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
7. #7
   Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(L)
8. #8
   Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
   kiai
9. #9
   Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
10. #10
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
11. #11
    Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
12. #12
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(L)
13. #13
    Zenkutsu DachiGedan Barai(L)
14. #14
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
15. #15
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(L)
16. #16
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
    kiai
17. #17
    Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
18. #18
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(R)
19. #19
    Kokutsu DachiUchi Uke(L)
20. #20
    Zenkutsu DachiOi Zuki(L)