Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 67 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor.
Gojūshiho Dai is a kata of delicate precision at length. Its trademark is the “woodpecker” set — the chicken-head wrist block (keitō) opening into repeated dropping one-finger spear-hands (otoshi-ippon-nukite) that peck at small, soft targets. It uses more neko-ashi-dachi (cat stance) than any other Shotokan kata, demanding light, mobile footwork sustained over 67 movements. Its lesson is control and accuracy held together across the longest form in the system — there is nowhere to coast.
What sets Dai apart from Shō is the pair of washide (eagle-hand) strikes and the koko-sukui scooping work — the extra techniques that make it the longer of the two. The name means “54 steps” (from the old Okinawan Useishi), down the Matsumura → Itosu line; Funakoshi tried to rename it “Hotaku” (woodpecker) after its pecking strikes, but the name never stuck.
A text reference for the whole kata, following André Bertel’s JKA outline.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: this follows Bertel’s explicit JKA count — 67 movements, kiai on 59 (jun-zuki) and 66 (double dropping spear-hand). Dōjō that don’t count the crossed-foot transitions (27, 30, 52, 55) will number the tail a few counts lower. A few pages loosely cite “54 movements,” but that reflects the name, not the JKA count. Per-move facings are the standard JKA embusen — verify against a JKA video and your dōjō.
Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Gojūshiho Dai as light, precise pecking attacks on soft targets from mobile cat stance.
The chicken-head wrist deflects and hooks an attacking arm; the dropping one-finger spear-hands then peck rapidly at the eyes, throat or pressure points — control, then precise strikes, drilled four times.
The washide (eagle-hand) drops low and rises high — a grabbing/tearing hand form striking the groin then the throat, the technique that distinguishes Dai from Shō.
Both palms grab a thrusting bō to the side; later the double hammer-fist rear scissor (kentsui hasami) strikes two targets behind and beside you at once.
Neko-ashi-dachi must stay light and mobile, weight on the back leg — and it must hold up over 67 moves. Sinking or stiffening the cat stance drains the kata.
The one-finger and eagle-hand forms need exact shape and support — a floppy nukite is both ineffective and a heavy grading flag.
Each keitō-and-nukite set must be crisp and identical; letting the later repeats blur together is the most common fault in a long kata.
It is the longest kata — stamina matters. The final spear-hands and the two kiai (59, 66) must be as sharp as the opening, not a tired shadow of it.
As an advanced dan-grade kata, Gojūshiho Dai is judged on light, mobile neko-ashi-dachi sustained throughout, exact keitō, one-finger and eagle-hand forms, crisp and identical woodpecker sets, controlled staff-grab and scissor techniques, stamina across the longest form in the system, and the two kiai on moves 59 and 66. Know which physical kata your school labels “Dai.” 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 Gojūshiho Dai performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Gojūshiho 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 compare with its sibling, Gojūshiho Shō.