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Structure

Kihon Geiko should be understood as an organized technical system, not as an unbound collection of movements.

In Masutatsu Oyama’s works, basic technique is presented within a clear foundational structure in which the body’s weapons, stances, and technical groups are arranged systematically. This makes it possible to read Kihon Geiko both as a pedagogical progression and as a technical whole.

At the same time, Kihon Geiko is also a training format with defined guidance. Here, technique appears not only as name and final position, but as command, preparation, count, tempo, execution, and kiai.

Main structure

Kihon Geiko can be divided into the following technical areas:

  • Tsuki and uchi waza
    basic striking and thrusting techniques

  • Uke waza
    basic blocking and protective movements

  • Hiji waza
    elbow techniques

  • Shutō waza
    knife-hand techniques and related hand forms

  • Geri waza
    basic kicking techniques

This division makes it possible to document the material both systematically and with technical clarity.

Sequence structure

In the standardized kihon form documented here, the techniques are organized into blocks tied to stance and command.

The sequence is structured as follows:

Block 1 – Migi sanchin-dachi

  • seiken chūdan tsuki
  • seiken jōdan tsuki
  • uraken techniques
  • seiken ago uchi

Block 2 – Kiba-dachi

  • seiken shita tsuki
  • hiji uchi

Block 3 – Hidari sanchin-dachi

  • basic uke waza
  • combined blocking
  • shutō techniques

Block 4 – Hidari zenkutsu-dachi

  • mae keage geri

Block 5 – Heikō-dachi

  • uchi mawashi geri
  • soto mawashi geri
  • hiza geri
  • kin geri
  • mae geri
  • yoko keage geri
  • yoko geri
  • kansetsu geri
  • ushiro geri
  • mawashi geri

Final technique

  • enkei gyaku tsuki

This block structure shows that Kihon Geiko is not only divided by technique type, but also ordered through stance, transition, and training rhythm.

Pedagogical order

Within Kihon Geiko, there is an internal progression.

Training normally moves from:

  • simpler to more complex techniques
  • clearer basic forms to more coordinated movements
  • a stable base to more demanding movement paths
  • hand techniques to kicking techniques
  • fixed position to greater movement demands

This is not a random order, but a technical pedagogy in which earlier elements create the conditions for later ones.

Technical families

Tsuki and uchi waza

This group includes the basic techniques using seiken and uraken.

Here, the following are established: - direction - body line - finish - power transmission - the relationship between the center and the striking surface

Uke waza

The blocks are trained as active technical forms.

They should not be understood as passive protective movements, but as structured movements with a clear path, direction, and finish.

Hiji waza

The elbow techniques represent a shorter and more compact technical logic than the longer thrusts and strikes.

Shutō waza

Here, the focus shifts from seiken to a different striking surface and a different movement path.

Geri waza

The kicking techniques form a distinct main group because they place different demands from hand techniques, especially on balance, the supporting leg, hip line, retraction, and striking surface.

Count, tempo, and kiai

Kihon Geiko is organized not only through technical groups, but also through count, tempo, and kiai.

A technique is often trained in several phases. It may first be performed slowly or in a preparatory manner in order to establish correct form, direction, and body coordination. This is followed by the main count, in which the technique is repeated with clearer intensity, rhythm, and finish. In this phase, kiai serves as an important marker of the technique’s concentration.

This means that Kihon Geiko is not merely a series of movements, but also a rhythmic training form in which command, count, breathing, and kiai work together.

Kihon Geiko as a guided sequence

In practical dojo form, technique often appears as a sequence with several stages:

  1. command for stance or readiness
  2. the student’s adoption of the starting position
  3. command for kamae or preparatory arm position
  4. technical pre-positioning
  5. main technique
  6. tempo indication
  7. count
  8. kiai

This means that the documentation of Kihon Geiko should not only describe the final form of the technique, but also its training-form expression.

From basic form to application

Kihon Geiko is trained first and foremost in basic form.

This does not mean, however, that the techniques lack application. On the contrary, their basic form functions as the technical core that can later be:

  • moved
  • combined
  • formalized in kata
  • adapted in kumite

The structure of Kihon Geiko is therefore not merely a cataloguing system. It is an order for technical development.