Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 41 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor.
Sōchin is the kata of the immovable stance. Almost every technique is delivered from a deep, rooted fudō-dachi — so central to the form that the stance took the kata’s own name. Its lesson is strength held in calm: you generate heavy, whole-body power without losing balance or composure, staying planted like a rock while the storm passes. The name itself — “strength and calm,” or “immovable in the storm” — is the instruction.
Around that rooted core sit its set-pieces: the opening muso-kamae (a simultaneous age-uke and gedan-uke), twin back-fist-and-side-kick combinations into elbow strikes, a long six-count knife-hand run, a flat spear-hand, and — unique to Sōchin among Shotokan kata — a spinning crescent kick that flows into the final posture. It is one of three Aragaki-lineage kata in Shotokan, alongside Nijūshiho and Unsu, and its Shotokan form is credited to Gigō Funakoshi.
A text reference for the whole kata, following the JKA count.
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
|---|
Accuracy note: this follows the revised JKA count — 41 movements, kiai on 30 & 41, fudō-dachi dominant. Nakayama’s Best Karate Vol. 10 counts 40 (kiai 28 & 40), and SKIF/club renderings give 36 or 28 — same kata, different grouping. The opening posture is variously named muso-kamae / jōwan-nagashi + tate-uraken, and the spear-hand yoko-/ura-nukite. Per-move turn angles are the standard JKA embusen — verify against an Osaka or Kanazawa performance and your dōjō.
Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Sōchin as immovable power: absorb, root, and answer with heavy whole-body strikes.
Muso-kamae answers a two-level attack — a high strike and a low kick — in a single rooted posture, then feeds into the counter that follows.
From the chamber, a back-fist and side snap-kick strike an attacker to the flank, and the front elbow finishes at close range — power to both sides in turn.
The jōdan mikazuki-geri sweeps an attacking arm or head off-line as you turn, flowing straight into the rooted muso-kamae to face the next threat — the kata’s one flourish, and unique to Sōchin.
The immovable stance must be genuinely deep and rooted — hips down, weight even. A high, weak stance throws away the entire character of the kata.
The opening posture is slow and strong, both arms arriving together with equal power. Snapping it or letting one arm lag breaks it.
Sōchin is strength and calm. Muscling the techniques with a tense, bobbing body misses the point — the power should come from the ground and hips, not agitation.
The spinning mikazuki-geri must stay controlled and flow directly into the rooted stance, not throw you off balance out of the turn.
As a dan-grade kata, Sōchin is judged above all on a deep, stable fudō-dachi held throughout, a strong balanced muso-kamae, heavy hip-driven power with composure (strength and calm together), clean back-fist / side-kick / elbow combinations, a controlled spinning crescent kick, and the two kiai on moves 30 and 41. Examiners look for the “immovable” quality — rooted, unhurried, powerful. 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 Sōchin performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Sōchin” 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.