Pinan

The Pinan (平安?) kata are a series of five empty hand forms taught in many karate styles. The Pinan kata originated in Okinawa and were adapted by Anko Itosu from older kata such as Kusanku and Channan into forms suitable for teaching karate to young students. When Gichin Funakoshi brought karate to Japan, he renamed the kata to Heian, which is translated as "peaceful and calm". Pinan is the Chinese Pinyin notation of 平安, which means also "peaceful and calm". Tang Soo Do(Korean Karate) systems also practice these kata; they are termed, "Pyong-an" or "Pyung Ahn", which is a Korean pronunciation of the term "pin-an".