Heian Shodan is the first Kata in the Heian series and is usually the first Kata that a beginner must learn. It has 21 movements and its embusen is roughly I-shaped.
This Kata takes the student through a similar floor pattern as Taikyoku Shodan, but incorporates different techniques including a hammer fist and a knife hand block. The Kata also introduces changing stances from the normal front stance into a cat stance, and later into a back stance.
