We set out some general criteria to prove the K-property, refining the assumptions used in an earlier paper for the flow case, and introducing the analogous discrete-time result. We also introduce one-sided
$\lambda $
-decompositions, as well as multiple techniques for checking the pressure gap required to show the K-property. We apply our results to the family of Mañé diffeomorphisms and the Katok map. Our argument builds on the orbit decomposition theory of Climenhaga and Thompson.