“MOKUSO, THE STUDY OF SILENCE – Robin Hill – 2017” — Dive into the emptiness and discover yourself
“WHAT IS HARA – Patrick Hill – 2017” — A look into one of the biggest secrets of Karate
“DO – WHAT DOES IT MEAN – Teemu Puotinen – 2015”  —  Did you ever think what does “the way” of Karate mean?
“THE CONCEPT OF KIAI – Sebastien Venot – 2014” —  A look into the mysteries of “kiai”, through the eyes of a Karate-student
“PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF ELITE KARATE ATHLETES”
“ULTIMATE GUIDELINES ABOUT CORE TRAINING FOR KARATE” – Karate Science Academy
“10 KEY POINTS TO BE EXPLOSIVE” – Karate Science Academy
“STRENGTH TRAINING CHECKLIST” – Karate Science Academy
“BRUCE LEE´s TRAINING SECRETS – William Cheung” —  How did the legend train?
“THE MATSUYAMA THEORY, as told by Patrick McCarthy to Jesse Enkamp” —  P.McCarthy talks about Sensei Matsuyama and the art itself.
“A LOOK AT MARTIAL ARTS – J.W.Brown” —  General information about other styles of Martial arts.
“GUIDE TO FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH – Owen Johnston” —  Exercises and ideas to build strength in Karate and in life.
“ODD OBJECT TRAINING – Owen Johnston” —  Improvised objects to train with. Make your own!
“UNDERSTANDING KARATE – Owen Johnston”  —  Thoughts about Karate, from its origin to the present day, from a Wado-Ryu perspective.
“REAPRENDENDO A RESPIRAR” – Tiago Pedroso – An essay (in portuguese) on the importance of correct breathing in each and every part of Karate training
Soon you will be able to download more booklets, essays and information from this page!
In most Shotokan schools, 26 katas are normally practiced, leaving the 4 elementary forms created by Senseis Gichin and Yoshitaka Funakoshi out. Those are Taikyoku Shodan, Taikyoku Nidan, Taikyoku Sandan and Ten-no-Kata.
In SEITOKAI Karate-Do Shotokan, we practice a selection of 36 katas,
See below the complete list of katas practiced at our Dojo, divided in 3 main origin groups:
(click on the Kata’s name to see the video, and on “JPEG” to see the diagram. You can also see the Kata performed by a Junior karateka by clicking “Junior“)
KATA origin (to known record)  —  work in progress
| KATA | CREATOR | OTHER NAMES |
| Ten No Kata (kata of the universe) | Gichin Funakoshi | |
| Taikyoku(preparation of the body) | Yoshitaka Funakoshi | Tai Chi (Chinese name), Juni No Kata (Shito Ryu), Kicho Hyung (Tae Kwon Do, Tand Soo Do) |
| Heian(calm mind) | Anko Itosu | Pinan, Channan/Chian Nan (original form from which the 5 Heians were created) |
| Tekki(iron horse rider) | Shorei Ryu (divided into 3 parts by Anko Itosu) |  Naihanchi, Naifanchin |
| Bassai(to storm the fortress) | Kung Fu Bao Quan | Passai, Bassahee, Bal Se, Pal Che, Palsek, Bal Sae, Ba Sa Hee, and Bal Sak (Korean), Bà oshī (believed to be the original form of Bassai, from Chinese “Leopard Boxing”), Ba Ji Da (Ba Ji Ch’uan). Bassai Sho is believed to come from the counter-part form of Ba Ji Da: Ba Ji Xiao. |
| Jion(name of a temple) | Jionji (Tomari-Te) | |
| Kanku(to look at the sky) | Kusanku (Chinese Diplomat) | Kusanku; Kushanku; Kong San Koon (Tang Soo Do) |
| Jutte(ten hands) | Jionji (Tomari-Te) | |
| Empi | Sappushi Wang Ji (Tomari-Te) | Â Enpi; Wansu |
| Hangetsu | Chuan-Fa (Naha-Te – Tomari-Te – Shuri-Te ) |  Shi San Shou; Seishan; Seisan |
| Jiin | Jionji (Tomari-Te) | |
| Chinte | ||
| Nijushiho | ||
| Meikyo | ||
| Gojushiho | ||
| Sochin | ||
| Gankaku | ||
| Unsu | ||
| Wankan |
Modern-day Karate-Do students generally assume that the ranking system of kyu (color belt) and dan (black belt) levels, and the various titles that high-ranking black belts hold, are, like the katas, a part of karate tradition extending back centuries. However, despite the fact that Karate is indeed very old, the ranking system itself dates back only to the early 20th century.
The “color belt” system was adapted from Judo. When the number of students per class was increasing exponentially, as a way to facilitate the “Do” teaching, giving each student a recognition of a certain level was a great way not to lose track of what is there to learn.
As Karate-Do started to be extended also to junior students, many schools developed “junior grades”, by introducing striped belts, 2 color belts, and other similar methods.
In SEITOKAI, this is our Grading System:
Video-syllabus:
Video-syllabus:
Video-syllabus:
Video-syllabus:
