Tekki Sandan

Quick Facts

About the kata

Tekki Sandan is the third and last kata of the Tekki series. JKA material counts 36 movements with two kiai, at the 16th and 36th; themartialway.com.au and Jaap Kooman give the same count for Kyokushin, while karatevancouver.ca counts 33. Like the other katas of the series it is practised on a single line, sideways, in kiba dachi. Per themartialway.com.au it brings techniques absent from the first two katas: the knocking-down forearm block zenwan uchiotoshi, the forearm rotation zenwan hineri, and the downward-sideways fist swing zenwan gedan furisute. Many techniques use an "added hand", soete, supporting the movement. The same source classes it with close-range fighting with grappling elements; shotokan-karatedo.org calls it a kata of counter-strikes. In the JKA grading syllabus, per northstowekarate.com, examiners may pick it for the 5th-dan exam; we found it among no kyu-grade katas. In competition the official WKF list admits it as Tekki Sandan and Naifanchin Sandan, and the WUKF list for several styles.

The kata in different styles

Creator and history

We have not been able to confirm with certainty who made a third separate kata out of Naihanchi. English Wikipedia says some researchers see Nidan and Sandan as Anko Itosu's work, others as parts of one kata split into three; historyoffighting.com notes only Tekki Shodan has a formal opening, and concludes all three come from one form. André Bertel cites a claim that it was originally one 79-movement exercise ending in the closing stance only after today's third part's 36th movement; he himself sees this as unimportant. Per the same author, Tekki Sandan's first two movements match Heian Sandan, and Itosu is said to have taken them from there into the Pinan series.

Differences between styles

In Shorin-ryu and Shito-ryu the kata is called Naihanchi Sandan. The WUKF list places it among Shorin-ryu's shitei and sentei katas, and Tekki Sandan among the optional tokui katas of Shotokan, Budokan and Shisui-ryu. According to Jaap Kooman, Hatsuo Royama officially reintroduced it into Kyokushin Kan as Naifanchin, and it was taught to black belts at international summer camps.

Rhythm and dynamics

JKA material gives its length as roughly 50 seconds and names mastering the fast timing of alternating blocks as the kata's main task. Jaap Kooman and themartialway.com.au both describe it as a very fast kata in which many techniques follow one another without a pause.

Floor pattern (embusen)

According to JKA material the kata runs along a straight line. The practitioner moves with four crossed steps kosa dachi, at the 9th, 18th, 26th and 33rd movements, and twice, at the 19th and 34th, sets a new kiba dachi with a stamp fumikomi.

Bunkai – applications

Themartialway.com.au ties most interpretations to immobilising the opponent's attacking limbs so they cannot attack again; the added hand soete may grip or catch the opponent's technique. For the 8th movement André Bertel gives two classic tegumi uses, an arm lock and a strangle. He says Nakayama Masatoshi taught the 11th movement's circular forearm swing as a kick defence so students learn it correctly; the real use, Bertel says, lies elsewhere, as a variant of the same lock and strangle.

Competition status

• Sport karate (WKF) — Official kata list · valid from 1/1/2026 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shorin-ryu — Shitei (compulsory) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shorin-ryu — Sentei (selected) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗
• WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) – Shotokan — Tokui (free choice) · valid from 4/26/2024 ↗

Technique Sequence — Shotokan

Breakdown source: jkakarate.co.uk

1. #1
   Kiba DachiUchi Uke(L)
2. #2
   Kiba DachiUchi Uke(R)Gedan Barai(L)
3. #3
   Kiba DachiOtoshi Uke(R)Osae Uke(L)
4. #4
   Kiba DachiNagashi Uke(R)
5. #5
   Kiba DachiUraken Uchi(R)
6. #6
   Kiba Dachi
7. #7
   Kiba DachiSeiken Choku Zuki(R)
8. #8
   Kiba Dachi
9. #9
   Kosa Dachi
10. #10
    Kiba DachiGedan Barai(R)
11. #11
    Kiba Dachi
12. #12
    Kiba Dachi
13. #13
    Kiba DachiSeiken Choku Zuki(R)
14. #14
    Kiba DachiUchi Uke(R)Gedan Barai(L)
15. #15
    Kiba DachiUchi Uke(L)Gedan Barai(R)
16. #16a
    Kiba DachiNagashi Uke(L)
17. #16b
    Kiba DachiUraken Uchi(L)
    kiai
18. #17
    Kiba Dachi
19. #18
    Kosa Dachi
20. #19
    Fumikomi Geri(L)Kiba Dachi
21. #20
    Kiba DachiOtoshi Uke(L)
22. #21
    Kiba DachiNagashi Uke(L)
23. #22
    Kiba DachiUraken Uchi(L)
24. #23
    Kiba Dachi
25. #24
    Kiba DachiSeiken Choku Zuki(L)
26. #25
    Kiba Dachi
27. #26
    Kosa Dachi
28. #27
    Kiba DachiGedan Barai(L)
29. #28
    Kiba Dachi
30. #29
    Kiba Dachi
31. #30
    Kiba DachiSeiken Choku Zuki(L)
32. #31
    Kiba DachiTsukami Uke(R)
33. #32
    Kiba DachiKagi Zuki(L)
34. #33
    Kosa Dachi
35. #34
    Fumikomi Geri(R)Kiba DachiUchi Uke(L)
36. #35
    Kiba DachiUchi Uke(R)Gedan Barai(L)
37. #36
    Kiba DachiNagashi Uke(R)Uraken Uchi(R)
    kiai