About This Kata
| Name | Seisan [十三] |
| Translation | Thirteen / Thirteen Techniques |
| Style | Gōjū-ryū |
| Level | Intermediate |
| History | Seisan is thought to be one of the oldest kata in Okinawan karate, likely dating to the 17th or 18th century, and exists in various forms across multiple styles. In Gōjū-ryū it was transmitted through Higaonna Kanryō from Chinese martial arts sources. Related versions appear in Shōtōkan (as Hangetsu), Uechi-ryū, Isshin-ryū, and Shitō-ryū, though stylistically very different. |
| Lineage | Chinese martial arts → Okinawan karate → various masters depending on the version and school, including Higaonna Kanryō and Kenwa Mabuni → Chōjun Miyagi (Gōjū-ryū) |
Step-by-step movements
| Step | Technique | Translation | Stance | Stance translation | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoi | yoi | ready position | musubi-dachi | standing stance | Cross the hands in front of the abdomen and begin directly from this position. |
| 1 | ryowan-uchi-uke | double inside block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Step the right foot forward and perform the double middle-level inward block. This action is also commonly described as morote chudan uchi-uke. Breathe in for a long count, breathe out briefly, then hold the breath firmly. |
| 2 | hidari hikite / hidari chudan gyaku-zuki / hidari chudan-yoko-uke | left fist pullback / left middle-level reverse punch / left middle sideward block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Keep the right arm in place and draw the left fist to hikite; punch with the left, then perform the left side block. Turn the right foot slightly out and slide the left foot forward, keeping the arms in the double middle-block position. Use strong Sanchin-style breathing. |
| 3 | migi hikite / migi chudan gyaku-zuki / migi chudan-yoko-uke | right fist pullback / right middle-level reverse punch / right middle sideward block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Repeat the preceding hand sequence on the opposite side, then step the right foot forward while maintaining the double-block position. |
| 4 | hidari hikite / hidari chudan gyaku-zuki | left fist pullback / left middle-level reverse punch | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Repeat the left pullback and reverse punch, finishing with the right foot forward. |
| 5 | migi shuto-uchi | right knife hand strike | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Open the left hand at face height. Whip the relaxed right knife hand into the left palm without changing stance. |
| 6 | hidari haiwan-age-uke / migi teisho-otoshi-uke / migi haiwan-age-uke / hidari teisho-otoshi-uke | alternating rising back-of-forearm block / dropping palm-heel block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Turn both palms forwards. Raise the left arm and lower the right palm, reverse the actions, then repeat the first arrangement. Perform the three alternating actions rapidly directly in front of the body. |
| 7 | morote-sukui-uke / suri-ashi / morote-osae-uke | double scooping block / sliding step / double pressing block | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Scoop with both hands. Slide the right foot backwards, then forwards again, with the left foot following. Finish in right parallel stance with a forceful double pressing block. First repetition. |
| 8 | morote-sukui-uke / suri-ashi / morote-osae-uke | double scooping block / sliding step / double pressing block | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Repeat the preceding scooping, sliding and pressing sequence. |
| 9 | morote-sukui-uke / suri-ashi / morote-osae-uke | double scooping block / sliding step / double pressing block | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Repeat the sequence a third time. |
| 10 | ryoken-hikite / migi kansetsu-geri | double pullback / right low side kick | Pull both fists sharply to hikite, raise the right knee and kick diagonally forwards-right towards the knee. | ||
| 11 | mawaru / hidari jodan teisho-uchi / migi gedan teisho-barai | turn / left upper-level palm-heel strike / right lower palm-heel sweep | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Raise the right knee and turn 180 degrees left on the left foot. Set the right foot on the rearward central line in Sanchin stance. Perform the two palm actions simultaneously, slowly and powerfully. |
| 12 | hidari gedan teisho-barai / migi chudan sukui-uke / migi kake-uke / migi chudan hiki-uke | left lower palm-heel sweep / right middle scooping block / hook block / pulling block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Step forwards into right Sanchin stance. The right scooping hand turns palm-up into a hooking action and is drawn slightly backwards and downwards; the left hand sweeps at lower level. |
| 13 | migi gedan teisho-barai / hidari chudan sukui-uke / hidari kake-uke / hidari chudan hiki-uke | right lower palm-heel sweep / left middle scooping block / hook block / pulling block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Step forwards into left Sanchin stance and repeat the preceding movement on the opposite side. |
| 14 | hidari gedan teisho-barai / migi chudan sukui-uke / migi kake-uke / migi chudan hiki-uke | left lower palm-heel sweep / right middle scooping block / hook block / pulling block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Repeat the right-sided version. |
| 15 | migi gedan teisho-barai / hidari chudan sukui-uke / hidari kake-uke / hidari chudan hiki-uke | right lower palm-heel sweep / left middle scooping block / hook block / pulling block | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Repeat the left-sided version, completing four advances. |
| 16 | migi kaishu-mawashi / ken o musubu | right circular open-hand movement / close the fist | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Slide 90 degrees to the right, with the left foot following. Circle the right hand three times from inside to outside while the left fist remains in hikite. At the end of the third circle, close the right hand into a fist beginning with the little finger. The label is descriptive because no standard technique name is assigned. |
| 17 | hidari chudan gyaku-zuki / migi chudan-zuki | left middle-level reverse punch / right middle-level punch | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Without changing position, punch with the left and then the right. |
| 18 | migi gedan sokuto-geri | right lower blade-of-foot kick | Raise the right knee while lowering the right fist into a lower punch position. Keep the upper body fixed and kick diagonally forwards-right with the blade of the foot. | ||
| 19 | mawaru / hidari jodan teisho-uchi / migi gedan teisho-barai | turn / left upper-level palm-heel strike / right lower palm-heel sweep | sanchin-dachi | hourglass stance (three battles stance) | Turn 180 degrees left on the right foot and repeat the slow, powerful palm-heel combination from sequence 19. |
| 20 | hidari chudan kake-uke | left middle-level hook block | shiko-dachi | square stance | Slide in the same direction into a half-profile square stance. Perform the left hook block and draw the right fist to hikite. |
| 21 | migi chudan-zuki / hidari chudan-zuki / migi chudan-zuki | right / left / right middle-level punches | shiko-dachi | square stance | Deliver three rapid middle-level punches without changing stance. |
| 22 | migi gedan sokuto-geri | right lower blade-of-foot kick | Raise the right knee, lower the right fist and repeat the lower blade-of-foot kick in the opposite direction. | ||
| 23 | mawaru / migi age-ura-zuki / hidari chudan teisho-otoshi-uke | turn / right rising uppercut / left middle dropping palm-heel block | seisan-dachi | natural stance | Remain standing on the left leg with the right knee raised and turn the upper body 90 degrees right. Set the right foot onto the rear central line in Seisan stance, a square-stance variant with the front foot pointing forwards. Perform the uppercut and palm-heel block together. (First part of sequence 31) |
| 24 | migi jodan uraken-uchi / migi otoshi-empi-uchi / migi gedan harai-uke / hidari kagi-zuki | right upper-level back fist / right dropping elbow strike / right lower sweeping forearm block / left hook punch | seisan-dachi | natural stance | Continue at the same position with the back fist, dropping elbow and lower sweep. Finish with the short sideways left punch described here as yoko sun-zuki (kagi-zuki), while the right fist returns to hikite. (Second part of sequence 31) |
| 25 | migi gedan sokuto-geri | right lower blade-of-foot kick | Raise the right knee from Seisan stance and deliver another lower blade-of-foot kick. | ||
| 26 | mawaru / hidari chudan hiki-uke (kake) | turn / left middle-level pulling hook block | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Raise the right knee again, step with the right and then the left while turning left to face the front of the kata. Finish in left parallel stance with the left pulling hook block; the right hand is held at the side, palm down. |
| 27 | ryosho mae / ryoken-hikite / migi mae-geri | both hands extend forwards / double pullback / right front kick | heiko-dachi | parallel stance | Extend both hands forwards with the palms down, pull both fists sharply to hikite, then deliver a right front kick. |
| 28 | migi chudan gyaku-zuki | right middle-level reverse punch | han-zenkutsu-dachi | shortened front stance | Set the right foot backwards into shortened front stance and punch with the right. At the same time, return the left palm to the right shoulder. |
| 29 | tora-guchi | tiger mouth | neko-ashi-dachi | cat stance | Draw the left foot slightly back into cat stance and perform tora-guchi slowly and in a relaxed manner. |
| Yame | naore / rei | return / bow | musubi-dachi | standing stance | Lift the left hand beneath the right. Bring the left foot to the right, rotate the hands around one another, lower them in front of the abdomen and bow. |
Variation note
Seisan is practised with recognised differences between Gōjū-ryū lineages and organisations. This table records one coherent version for use on Kata Step By Step.
Other versions may differ in the grouping of the opening Sanchin-style sequences, the naming of the open-hand circular actions, the number of repeated palm-and-hook combinations, and the detail of the side-facing section. Notable variations include describing the early open-hand movements as married hands, circular blocks, spear-hand actions or palm-heel controls; performing three or four advancing palm-and-hook combinations; describing the side movement as circular hands, figure-eight hands or ridge-hand actions; and grouping the later backfist, elbow, sweep and short hook-punch sequence differently.
These differences should generally be understood as lineage and terminology variations rather than errors.
Kata steps and diagrams to come. If you would like to help completing this page, please contact me (mark.loftusuk@gmail.com).