Instructions for Wado-Ryu Karate Kata - Pinan Yondan

This page will help you to learn the Wado-Ryu kata - Pinan Yondan. This is the fourth Karate kata used by the Wado-Ryu system.

Written step-by-step instructions for Pinan Yondan are provided below. However, if you have any questions about a particular kata movement, please check with your instructor because kata instructions can vary by school and organization.

For additional Wado-Ryu Karate katas (i.e. Pinan Shodan), please visit the main Wado-Ryu Katas page. If you are searching for other katas (i.e. Shotokan), please visit the main Kata & Forms section.

Written Instructions for Wado-Ryu Kata - Pinan Yondan

• From masuba dachi, (atten­tion stance) rei (bow), then open to hachiji dachi (ready stance).
• Drop your body, set­ting your left foot to your left, into a left mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), 90 degrees to your left, while doing a haishu (back­hand) to your left with your left hand, and doing an open hand agi uke (ris­ing block, described by Mr. Everett Sen­sei as a “bump block” the arm will come up in front of your head rolling over, at the end, palm out across the top of your head with a slight upward angle toward the hand) with your right hand.
• Stay­ing low, pull your left foot back to it’s orig­i­nal posi­tion (hachiji dachi, ready stance), then set your right foot to your right (while relax­ing your arms), into a right mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), 90 degrees to your right, while doing a haishu (back­hand) to your right with your right hand, and doing an open hand agi uke (ris­ing block, described by Mr. Everett Sen­sei as a “bump block” the arm will come up in front of your head rolling over, at the end, palm out across the top of your head with a slight upward angle toward the hand) with your left hand.
• Stay­ing low, pull your right foot back to it’s orig­i­nal posi­tion (hachiji dachi, ready stance), as you draw both hands to your belt (in low hikites), then set your left foot for­ward (toward your orig­i­nal front line) into a jun­zuki dachi (front stance), and throw a gedan juji uke (low x-block), with the right arm on top.
• Relax your arms to your left side as you step for­ward with your right foot, into a right mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), and throw a right soto uke (mid­dle block) to the front, and a left uriken uke (back­fist block) across your body (left arm pointed to the front and par­al­lel to the floor.
• Move your left foot for­ward to your right foot, heels and toes together into heisoku dachi. As you step into the stance, your hands pull to a right tae uke, and you turn your head to the left.
• Keep­ing your body fac­ing your orig­i­nal front line, simul­ta­ne­ously throw a left gedan uke (low block) and a left mae geri (front kick) to your left (the bot­tom knuck­les, at the face of the fist, should be touched by the kick­ing shin). After the kick snaps back, set your left foot for­ward, mov­ing into a left gykazuki dachi (reverse punch stance), then throw a right empi (elbow strike), par­al­lel to the floor and across your lower chest, into the palm of your left hand (thumb cocked). The right hand should stop palm fac­ing your body, with the left arm in line with the right, and the left fin­ger­tips even with the tip of your right elbow.
• Turn back 90 degrees to your right, as you draw your right foot to your left foot into heisoku dachi, your hands pull to a left tae uke, and you turn your head to the right (from your orig­i­nal front line).
• Keep­ing your body fac­ing your orig­i­nal front line, simul­ta­ne­ously throw a right gedan uke (low block) and a right mae geri (front kick) to your right (the bot­tom knuck­les, at the face of the fist, should be touched by the kick­ing shin). After the kick snaps back, set your right foot for­ward, mov­ing into a right gykazuki dachi (reverse punch stance), then throw a left empi (elbow strike), par­al­lel to the floor and across your lower chest, into the palm of your right hand (thumb cocked). The left hand should end palm fac­ing your body, with the right arm in line with the left, and the right fin­ger­tips even with the tip of your right elbow.
• Let your left hand open (thumb cocked) as you throw a left gedan uke (low block) to your left and a right open hand agi uke (ris­ing block) to your front, as you turn your head to your left 90 degrees. Then allow both feet to pivot to the left, end­ing par­al­lel and 45 degrees to your left off your orig­i­nal front line, as you turn your shoul­ders 180 degrees to your left, and throw a left open hand agi uke (ris­ing block) to your left (90 degrees left of your orig­i­nal front line) as you sweep to the front line.
• Throw a right mae geri (front kick) to the front line and set it for­ward a slightly extended dis­tance then draw your left foot to your right foot. The left foot remains back half a foots’ length, with the toes at the instep of the right foot, and the heel raised slightly, the front right is flat. Both feet are straight, and the knees are pressed together and bent with the left knee just slightly more for­ward than the right. The weight is car­ried evenly by both feet, and the body is straight for­ward. As you move into the reverse shomen neko ashi dachi (front fac­ing cat stance), both hands close into fists, and the left hand reaches for­ward over the top of the right as the right hand comes back to your body. They con­tinue a for­ward rolling motion with the fore­arms par­al­lel to the for­ward (front line) fac­ing body, and as the right hand moves over the top, it will reach out to throw a down­ward uriken (back­fist) to the bridge of the nose, while the left hand pulls back into a hikite position.
• Set your left foot around to your left, turn­ing your body 225 degrees, into a left shomen neko ashi dachi (front fac­ing cat stance), end­ing with a left soto uke (mid­dle block).
• Throw a right mae geri (front kick), set it for­ward into a long right jun­zuki dachi (front stance), then throw a right jun­zuki (front punch) fol­lowed by a left gyakazuki (reverse punch), allow­ing the right foot to slip back to allow proper rota­tion for the gyakazuki.
• Set your right foot around to your right, turn­ing your body 90 degrees, into a right shomen neko ashi dachi (front fac­ing cat stance), end­ing with a right soto uke (mid­dle block).
• Throw a left mae geri (front kick), set it for­ward into a long left jun­zuki dachi (front stance), then throw a left jun­zuki (front punch) fol­lowed by a right gyakazuki (reverse punch), allow­ing the left foot to slip back to allow proper rota­tion for the gykazuki.
• Set your left foot around to your left 45 degrees into a left mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), and simul­ta­ne­ously throw a left soto uke (mid­dle block) and a right uriken uke (back­fist block) across your body (right arm pointed to the front and par­al­lel to the floor.
• Step for­ward with your right foot into a right mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), and simul­ta­ne­ously throw a right soto uke (mid­dle block) and a left uriken uke (back­fist block) across your body (left arm pointed to the front and par­al­lel to the floor.
• Step for­ward with your left foot into a left mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance), and simul­ta­ne­ously throw a left soto uke (mid­dle block) and a right uriken uke (back­fist block) across your body (right arm pointed to the front and par­al­lel to the floor.
• Pull your left hip back and allow the left foot to slip back, and the right foot to pivot enabling the body to shift into a left shomen neko ashi dachi (front fac­ing cat stance). As you are shift­ing, allow the right arm to come up, palm fac­ing you, and cross the left arm at a 45 degree angle, then pull back to the right so that it mir­rors the left arm (both in a soto uke position).
• Pivot your left foot 45 degrees and set the heel to the floor as you raise your right knee to your cen­ter line (it should be higher than your belt), keep­ing the foot pulled back (par­al­lel to the floor). As you raise the knee, throw both hands to your sides in a dou­ble gedan uke (low block).
• Set your right foot to the floor beside your left foot, turn­ing it as far as pos­si­ble to your left, then turn your body to the left 135 degrees, set­ting into a left mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance, 45 degrees to the left of your orig­i­nal front cen­ter line). As you turn, let your right hand cross over the left elbow, then throw a left shuto uke (open hand block, hand at a relaxed angle, thumb open), at a 45 degree down­ward angle, as you drop the right arm down to a posi­tion across your body and par­al­lel to the floor, rock­ing the hand back, thrust­ing the palm side of the wrist down­ward, strik­ing with the tip of the bone at the out­side base of the palm.
• Reach with the heel of the right foot, and pull onto the ball of the right foot, allow­ing the left foot to slip under­neath you in a right mahamni neko ashi dachi (side fac­ing cat stance) 90 degrees to your right. As you shift, let your left hand cross over the right elbow, then throw a right shuto uke (open hand block, hand at a relaxed angle, thumb open), at a 45 degree down­ward angle, as you drop the left arm down to a posi­tion across your body and par­al­lel to the floor, rock­ing the hand back, thrust­ing the palm side of the wrist down­ward, strik­ing with the tip of the bone at the out­side base of the palm.
• Reach straight back with your left foot and pull the right foot back and let the arms relax to your sides end­ing in the hachiji dachi (ready stance).
• Close into masuba dachi (atten­tion stance), then rei (bow).

References

1. The written kata instructions were kindly provided by Dojo Update, Pinan Yondan Kata, http://www.dojoupdate.com/wado-ryu-katas/pinan-yon-dan, Added - 10/20/14