Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 33 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor.
Meikyō is a kata about symmetry and self-examination. It is constructed as a series of mirror-image doublets — a technique performed to one side, then repeated identically to the other — so it trains you to build a form that is equally correct left and right, with nothing hidden on a weaker side. That reflective, balanced structure is the “mirror” of its name. Senior practitioners return to it not to impress, but to polish their fundamentals until they are flawless on both sides.
Its practical core is staff defence: twice, you receive a thrusting bō in both open palms (ryōshō bo-uke), grip it, and press it down to the floor while dropping onto one knee (bo-oshikomi). The kata closes with the spectacular triangle jump — a leftward-rotating leap landing on an elbow strike and knife-hand block, carrying the single kiai.
A text reference for the whole kata, following the mainstream JKA form.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: the JKA standard count is 33 and the single kiai is on move 32 (the triangle jump) — confirmed across sources; a minority of dōjō add a kiai on the crescent kick (move 24). Nakayama-style breakdowns count ~49 by splitting sub-actions — that is granularity, not a different kata. The mirror-pair structure is unanimous; the specific left/right starting side of each doublet, and exact turn angles, vary slightly between references — confirm the first-side convention against a JKA video and your dōjō.
Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Meikyō as, above all, a manual for disarming a staff (or spear) attack.
Both palms receive a thrusting bō, the hands grip it, and your bodyweight drives it down to the ground as you drop to one knee — trapping the weapon and the attacker with it.
Read as evading a low sweep or line of attack while closing distance, the leap delivers an elbow strike and knife-hand block on landing — the kata’s one explosive moment and its kiai.
Every doublet is bunkai practice for the same defence against an attack from the opposite side — the kata insists you can answer either way.
Meikyō exposes a weaker side instantly. The second half of each doublet must match the first in depth, timing and power — that is the whole point of the kata.
Bo-oshikomi must drive down with real bodyweight into the knee-drop, not a token push. It is a whole-body pin, not an arm action.
The triangle jump is about controlled rotation and a precise landing, not maximum height. Land balanced in kokutsu-dachi with the elbow and block arriving together on the kiai.
Meikyō is a kata of composure. Blasting through it loses the calm, mirror-like quality examiners are looking for.
As a dan-grade kata, Meikyō is judged on identical, balanced mirror halves, committed staff-defence presses into a stable knee-drop, a controlled triangle jump with a clean landing carrying the single kiai on move 32, and an overall calm, reflective rhythm. Because sources vary on the first-side convention of the doublets, examiners look for consistency with your own dōjō’s form. 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 Meikyō performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Meikyō” 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 the full kata library.