Kata (型 or 形) (literally: "form") is a Japanese wor describing detailed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. Karate Kata are executed as a specified series of approximately 4 to 40 moves, with stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form. The practitioner is counseled to visualize the enemy attacks and their responses. Karateka "read" a kata in order to explain the imagined events. There are perhaps 100 kata across the various forms of karate, each with many minor variations.