Kata is the heart of all Okinawan Martial Arts. Kata are the formal exercises of Karate and can be defined as a set of prearranged movements of attack and defense against imaginary opponents.

Kata are used as the primary training methodology in Karate. Since the techniques of Kata were developed from actual fighting, Kata are the ritualized reenactment of former battles. In order to immerse oneself in the kata there are 7 aspects which must be incorporated. These 7 tenents are known as:

More importantly, Kata serve as a dictionary of fighting techniques which have been tested in combat.