The Naihanchi kata are practised widely among traditional karateka of the Shorin Ryu lineage where it considered both a Kihon or fundamental kata and a Kumiawase or ‘linking’ kata. Naihanchi is the Japanese pronunciation, Naifanchen, the Okinawan pronunciation, but it is also known as Naifanchin, Naifanchi and Tekki (renamed by Gichin Funakoshi). 

The most widely accepted pronunciation is Naihanchi, which is the Japanese pronunciation, It can also be called Naifanchi, Naifanchin, or Naifanchen (the Okinawan pronunciation).

As a Kumiawase kata, Naihanchi Shodan was linked to Seisan kata in Taika Oyata’s Okinawan Kempo curriculum. 

Interestingly, in Hironori Ohtsuka’s curriculum, Naihanchi Shodan was linked to both Seishan (Seisan) and Chinto katas. 

Taika Oyata consider that Naihanchi Shodan was primarily for attacks from the front whereas Naihanchi Nidan was primarily for attacks from the rear. 

Naihanchi Shodan was Taika’s most used kata in that it was typically taught at a white belt level initially, so it was the perfect kata to use as a framework to teach fundamental principles or Kihon.  Taika created various exercises based on Naihanchi.  One such example was Naihanchi Front/Back where Taika used the kata to teach a series of 180 degree turns based on the foundational framework of the kata, but he also taught many others.  

Taika’s Naihanchi katas most likely came from his Okinawan Kempo teachers Shigeru Nakamura (1894-1969), who learned it from Kentsu Yabu (1866-1937