Visited a Dojo today and they were doing Pinan Shodan. It looked nothing like the kata we call Pinan Shodan. Do the different styles use the same name for different katas? Not saying one was wrong but just not the same.

Hi Jason,

Without seeing the Pinan Shodan in question it's hard to know what you saw, but the folliwing might help.

Itosu's original Pinan Shodan when Transplanted to Japan and was Renamed/reworked became Heian NiDan.

Apparently Funakoshi felt the orignal 2nd form was simpler and put it first.

In time I recall reading some other groups felt the same and renamed/reordered Pinan NiDan to Pinan ShoDan, etc.

So perhaps you were seeing one of the groups that switched the first two Pinan kata. Everyone did not do this.

Then again perhaps somebody created new forms and lifted the names. In the contemporary MA scene any answer might be possible anywhere.

Our Pinan Shodan looks like the first one on this page but we only do 2 open hand blocks at the end. The group I saw yester day Pinan Shodan looked more like the second kata on the same page.
http://www.natkd.com/old_katas.htm

Thanks for the help.

I think that matches what Victor was saying - some styles reversed the names of the first two katas. not by mistake, but by design.