Shotokan Kata · Intermediate (4th Kyū)
Step through all 29 movements. The whole kata is performed in horse stance on a straight line, so the figure stays low and square; the direction shown is which way you work or turn your head. Use the arrows or press play, and pair the figures with the written sequence below.
Tekki Shodan is close-quarter karate distilled. Locked into a horse stance with nowhere to run, you learn to generate power from hip vibration rather than stepping, to fight along a wall or in a crowd, and to defend both sides of your body at once. It is short on travel and long on lessons — many masters have called it the single most important kata for real fighting.
It was originally named Naihanchi and is one of the oldest kata in karate; Gichin Funakoshi renamed it Tekki (“Iron Horse”) when he systematised Shotokan. The second half mirrors the first, so once you learn moves 2–15 you already know 16–29 to the other side.
A text reference for the whole kata. Moves 2–15 work to one side; 16–29 mirror them to the other. Four moves (10, 12, 24, 26) are pure head-turns that set your focus before the next technique.
| # | Technique | Direction / note |
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JKA counts 29 (including the four head-turns and counting block-and-strike as separate beats); some dōjō count fewer by merging these. Kiai on the two double-punches (15 & 29) is agreed across sources.
Tekki Shodan is the horse-stance and in-fighting toolkit. Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Tekki is grappling-range karate: read it as fighting a person right in front of or beside you, often against a wall.
The palm hooks and traps a grabbing or punching arm; the elbow drives straight into the ribs or head as you pull them onto it — a classic in-fight entry.
Snapping the foot up checks a low kick, stamps an instep or hooks and unbalances the attacker’s lead leg, while the arm blocks the same side — defending high and low without a step.
A side punch and a hook punch land together — one to the body of the person in front, one to a second attacker at your side, or a two-level strike to a single opponent you have trapped.
Kiba-dachi must stay low and level for all 29 moves — no bobbing up on the cross-steps or the kicks. Your head should glide sideways, never up and down.
Tekki’s power is hip vibration — a sharp, small snap of the hips into each technique — not shoulder muscle. Without it the strikes are hollow.
Nami-gaeshi is a compact upward snap of the foot along the shin, then straight back down into stance — not a wide swinging kick.
The pure head-turns (10, 12, 24, 26) are not filler — they are your eyes finding the next threat. Turn the head sharply and see.
At a brown-belt (4th kyū) test, examiners want a low, unwavering horse stance held for the entire kata, power from hip vibration rather than the arms, compact, correct returning-wave kicks, sharp head-turns that lead each change of focus, the two kiai on the double punches, and a straight, accurate embusen with no drift up or off the line. 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 Tekki Shodan performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Tekki Shodan” 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 continue the Tekki line with Tekki Nidan, or return to the kata library.