Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Brown belt)
Step through all 42 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics of a powerful, direction-changing kata — pair them with the written sequence below, and (because some connective combinations vary by lineage) with your instructor and a JKA reference.
Bassai Dai is about overwhelming force. Its name — storming a fortress — describes the spirit: you commit forward, changing lines of attack, refusing to give ground. Its central technical lesson is hip reversal: the famous opening chain of switching inside and outside blocks is driven not by the arms but by snapping the hips from one side to the other, so that a defensive, weak position instantly becomes an offensive, strong one. Learn to power those blocks from the hips and you understand the kata.
Bassai Dai is old and widely practised across styles (Passai in Okinawan systems). It is a favourite for competition and dan gradings for its dynamism and its dramatic changes of direction.
A text reference for the whole kata, following the standard JKA form.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: JKA counts 42 with kiai on 19 & 42. The landmark moves (opening blocks 1–9, the shutō run 15–17, the side kick and back-fist 18–19, the horse-stance stamp 26, the scooping blocks 38–39, and the closing knife-hands 40–42) are consistent across sources; the exact order and handedness of some connective combinations (roughly moves 12–14 and 20–37) varies by lineage. Verify those against a JKA chart or your dōjō’s version.
Bassai Dai adds several new shapes. Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Bassai Dai as charging in and reversing an attacker’s momentum against them.
Each hip reversal redirects a punch and simultaneously loads a counter: you deflect one attack while the returning hip drives your own arm through — defence and offence in the same motion.
The scooping block catches an incoming kick or a leg and lifts it, uprooting the attacker for a throw — the kata’s answer to a low attack.
Lift the knee to clear or check a leg, thrust the side kick into the attacker’s middle, and land the back-fist to the head — the first kiai, a complete finishing burst.
The inside/outside block chain must be driven by hip reversal, not shoulder swing. If your hips aren’t snapping side to side, you’ve missed the whole kata.
Bassai Dai charges in on move 1 — commit to the forward drive. A soft, cautious entrance kills its “storming” spirit.
Even when turning, the feeling is always of pressing forward and overwhelming. Retreating or shrinking between techniques drains its momentum.
The deliberate open-hand and scooping moments provide contrast; snapping through them flattens the kata’s dynamics.
At brown belt and into the dan grades, Bassai Dai is judged on hip-driven switching blocks (not arm-swung), a committed forward, storming spirit, clear changes of direction with strong stances, the side kick and back-fist burst at the first kiai, controlled contrast between fast and slow passages, the two kiai, and an accurate embusen. Requirements vary by association — confirm with your dōjō.
The illustrations on this page are study schematics — they show the shape of each move, not a real body in motion. To see Bassai Dai performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Bassai Dai” performances on YouTubeOpens a YouTube search in a new tab. Look for JKA / Japan Karate Association or established Shotokan instructor demonstrations for the most standard version of the form.
Or explore Jion and Empi, or return to the kata library.