Kata - What's it all for?

[Jissen]

The problem here is that when people here the word "kata" they immediately think "the kata itself" or "the solo performance of kata"

Think of it in reverse. Teach 30 of your self defense techniques, variations, principles etc. Now string those techniques together and the kata becomes a culmination of all of that knowledge. each time the student see's a move in kata, he'll remember the lesson associated with it, not just the technique itself.

Parts of an article i wrote a while ago.

When most people hear the word kata, the first thing that pops into their mind is a prearranged, dance like series of movements. In a sense, this is kata, rather (and more correctly) it is "a kata", or "the kata", referring to the solo performance of kata.

Kata is much more than this of course, as I'm sure most of you are aware. What I want to describe is what kata means to me, as I believe that many people 'cant see the forest for the trees' in regards to kata training.

To me each kata represents a phase of training. In short each should build upon the last, and each should have its own general lesson, and its techniques and strategies should reflect that lesson. As an example we'll take Iain Abernethy's model of the pinan kata.

According to his teachings, pinan shodan teaches the all important concept of interception. This is the kata's "overall" lesson. The person is still in the "process" of attacking you, but have not gotten their hands on you yet. The idea is to intercept the attack before it is successful.Physics states that energy can only travel in one direction at a time, thus the best time to defend is while the attackers energy is still commited, usually concentrating on striking as your main means of counterattack. This allows you to use "4 ounces to move a thousand pounds" to use the old Taiji analogy. Indeed few would argue that it's useless to block a punch that has already broken your nose! In other words you must intercept it "in transit" while the opponent is still commited to one direction. If you stop the attackers momentum, this gives them the opportunity to change directions. As an interesting side note, this is the main concept that Bruce Lee based his art of Jeet Kune Do on, and it literally means "way of the intercepting fist".

The kata is also telling us that our entire training regimen should be focues on the idea of intercepting attacks in transit. Your visualization while doing kata. Your kumite. Your bunkai (analization) and oyo (application) of the self defense found in the kata,...everything should revolve around the principle of interception, and I believe your applications should fit this description. Everything you do should reinforce this concept to the point of nausea until you're ready for the next kata, or phase of training.

The next kata taught (if taught in the original order) is pinan nidan. This kata deals with situations where your interception (learned through pinan shodan) has failed, and the person has their hands on you. It has many escape and counter techniques. As you can see this is the next logical step in a natural progression of violence. While at this stage of training, your entire regimen should reflect and concentrate on basic grappling, and escapes from grabs, while not ignoring what you've previously learned from pinan shodan.

Next comes pinan sandan. As we have seen, pinan shodan when approached offensively is more or less a striking kata. Defensively it's teaching you the concept of interception. Pinan nidan is more concerned with basic grappling and escapes. The next logical progression would obviously be to combine the two.

So you can see how eack kata is a phase of training, having an overall general concept, as well as several examples of that concept for you to experiment with. Each succeeding kata builds upon the last in a natural progression, and when the pinan series is taken as a whole, it represents a basic, simple, functional fighting system, and serves as a great template to teach students how to "study" their other more "advanced" kata

To me each kata is taken as a whole in and of itself, yet is also a part of a greater whole. I believe that each kata (or series of kata)is a "style" of fighting. However I do not believe that each kata is a complete self contained "martial art".

To use an analogy (an admittedly poor one) Naihanchi kata can teach you the "style" of fighting your adversary while standing sideways at a 90 degree angle relative to the attacker. This doesn't mean they attack you from the side (though this is entirely possible), it simply means that naihanchi teaches you to adopt a sideward facing posture as your defense, and or offense, as I said, this isn't the greatest example, but you get the idea.

Kata also teach important principles that apply to every moment you're practicing, as an example let's look at the mighty sanchin kata. Sanchin (3 battles) teaches many things, one of the most important things it teaches is how to stay "rooted" to the ground, hip tucked, belly pushed out and down, knees bent, toe pointed in (or heel pointed out, depending on who you ask), shoulders pressed down, you get the idea...down down down. This of course provides structural stability, as well as being the foundation of power.

It also teaches one how to protect themselves, to cover their most vulnerable areas. The narrowed, and lowered stance, combined with the lead foot turned in protects the legs, and groin. The elbows being down and in protects the armpit area, as well as the rib cage, and gives you 'barriers' to hide behind. The idea being to take the "attribute" lessons from one kata, and apply it to all of them, and indeed every aspect of your training.

Many great masters (Hironori Ohtsuka for example)have said not to get stuck in the kata. This to my mind simply means that we should not overpractice the solo performance of the kata as it can lead to bad muscle memory. It also means you do not have to follow the pattern of the kata itself, otherwise we would have no need of bunkai. It does not necessarily mean that your movements should never look like the kata, at least initially, quite the opposite in my opinion, albeit not nearly as pretty. Many of these same masters also say to never change the kata. So in my opinion the Okinawan masters did it right the first time. They left us a link to the past, that we should not change, because it does not need changing. It gives us all an outlet to express ourselves in our own way, and to create (over time) our own "style" within the system we practice.

A word on mushin, to me, one way this applies to karate is 'the ability to do something without thinking about it'

This ability comes from repititiously doing the actual task. Whether its tying your shoes, evading a kick, or putting on your gi. We all start with a fairly standard way of doing it. Then we teach someone else how to do it the same way we were taught. Thus...we're teaching a kata.

But the ability to use these skills does not come from the solo practice of kata.

"without 2 person training the mind will never be free"

The solo practice of kata (the kata itself) simply teaches certian qualities of motion. and the higher the "quality of movement" is during the solo kata, the more correct it'll be in execution without having to think about it. It just becomes habit to shift your weight via stances, rather than just 'freestyling' everything with no method.

Some people didnot/do not understand kata, so they were led away from it. I was too initially, that is until someone reverse engineered the reverse engineering for me. This made me want to find what others (and myself) sought elsewhere, within the kata. The old masters were renown for their fighting prowess, so obviously (to me) there just had to be more to it than i was being taught in TKD. I'm no expert by any means, but I do not believe kata is at all useless, unless it's not understood...then it is useless.

[Dobbersky]

Is This not where Shuhari comes to play

ShuHaRi(Kanji: 守破離 Hiragana: しゅはり) is a Japanese martial art concept, and describes the stages of learning to mastery.

Shuhari roughly translates to "first learn, then detach, and finally transcend."

shu (守?) "protect", "obey" — traditional wisdom — learning fundamentals, techniques, heuristics, proverbs

ha (破?) "detach", "digress" — breaking with tradition — detachment from the illusions of self

ri (離?) "leave", "separate" — transcendence — there are no techniques or proverbs, all moves are natural, becoming one with spirit alone without clinging to forms; transcending the physical

Aikido master Endō Seishirō shihan stated:

"It is known that, when we learn or train in something, we pass through the stages of shu, ha, and ri. These stages are explained as follows. In shu, we repeat the forms and discipline ourselves so that our bodies absorb the forms that our forebearers created. We remain faithful to the forms with no deviation. Next, in the stage of ha, once we have disciplined ourselves to acquire the forms and movements, we make innovations. In this process the forms may be broken and discarded. Finally, in ri, we completely depart from the forms, open the door to creative technique, and arrive in a place where we act in accordance with what our heart/mind desires, unhindered while not overstepping laws."

The Shuhari concept was first presented by Fuhaku Kawakami as Jo-ha-kyū in Tao of Tea. Then, Zeami Motokiyo, the master of Noh, extended this concept to his dance as Shuhari, which then became a part of the philosophy of Aikido. Shuhari is part of the philosophy of Shorinji Kempo.

Shuhari can be considered as concentric circles, with Shu within Ha, and both Shu and Ha within Ri. The fundamental techniques and knowledge do not change.

During the Shu phase the student should loyally follow the instruction of a single teacher; the student is not yet ready to explore and compare different paths.

Some Chinese martial arts, popularly known as Wushu, have a similar 3 stage concept to Mastery:

地 di (Earth) Basics. To experience movements at the fundamental levels.

人 ren (Human) Ready to learn. (Some Chinese martial grandmasters equates the entry to this level as the Japanese belt system level of black belt 1st Dan (rank)

天 tian (Sky/Heaven) No conscious thought, flows/moves like the elements. This stage takes years of training and coaching from other Grandmasters.

[Jissen]

As you said, Shu Ha Ri is a Japanese idea. I look at Karate as an Okinawan art. A good way to view training as a whole, but we're talking about karate kata specifically...at least I am.

Most Okinawan practitioners I've talked to use a 2 tier approach, and you never intentionally "make innovations" to a pre-existing kata, as this is seen as disrespectful to the person who lived through a bunch of crap long enough to create it. If you must do this, then just create your own kata.

They survive the test of time for a reason. There's no need to make any innovations to the kata. Your innovations come in the form of your Oyo...your creative practical applications of the movements. Where you are not bound by the "form" literally. When people started changing things is when it went to h*ll.

Of course the two tiers being. Omote, and Ura.

Similar idea, different expression.

[Dobbersky]

As you said, Shu Ha Ri is a Japanese idea. I look at Karate as an Okinawan art. A good way to view training as a whole, but we're talking about karate kata specifically...at least I am.

Most Okinawan practitioners I've talked to use a 2 tier approach, and you never intentionally "make innovations" to a pre-existing kata, as this is seen as disrespectful to the person who lived through a bunch of crap long enough to create it. If you must do this, then just create your own kata.

They survive the test of time for a reason. There's no need to make any innovations to the kata. Your innovations come in the form of your Oyo...your creative practical applications of the movements. Where you are not bound by the "form" literally. When people started changing things is when it went to h*ll.

Of course the two tiers being. Omote, and Ura.

Similar idea, different expression.

Lol, I must be the acception. My Style Ashihara Karate to starat with is a "Modern Concept" of Karate and is based on Jissen. our kata is based on Jissen and our stances and movements are based on Jissen

I've taken it further and amended, added & removed techniques combinations and Kata that I found in my experience would work in what I considered as Jissen situations

I think Ed Parker had a saying about this

[Jissen]

Ashihara's idea of kata, and what I'm referring to are not the same thing as far as I know.

Am I mistaken in thinking Ashihara has no "kata" other than their 2 person fighting kata?

For intance you guys don't do Sanchin, Naihanchi, Chinto, Pinan's etc etc.

[Dobbersky]

Ashihara's idea of kata, and what I'm referring to are not the same thing as far as I know.

Am I mistaken in thinking Ashihara has no "kata" other than their 2 person fighting kata?

For intance you guys don't do Sanchin, Naihanchi, Chinto, Pinan's etc etc.

Jissen, correct to a point, Ashihara don't practice traditional kata no, but their kata is useabel for 95% of situations

Here's some Ashihara kata, I stick to the core of them but amended a few of them. I also practice Naihanchi, Nisieshi, Bassai, Chil Sung Ee Ro Hyung, and Koryo Poomsae.

First kata I was taught

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zNtpGJMQqU

I've worked on a Ne Waza version of this kata!

and this one

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkQ8F7DujTs&feature=related

and

and

1st Dan Kata

These Guys show a majority of the Ashihara Kata with application on the "Tube"

[bushido_man96]

The main issue I have with kata/self-defense is that its more of a roundabout way of learning self-defense. You can learn self-defense without spending time on kata.

[Dobbersky]

The main issue I have with kata/self-defense is that its more of a roundabout way of learning self-defense. You can learn self-defense without spending time on kata.

Its a bit like mathematics. as long as you can add, subtract, multiply and divide do you really need Calculus etc

OSU!!

[tallgeese]

The main issue I have with kata/self-defense is that its more of a roundabout way of learning self-defense. You can learn self-defense without spending time on kata.

Its a bit like mathematics. as long as you can add, subtract, multiply and divide do you really need Calculus etc

OSU!!

Sorry, I'm just not catching the analogy. Which is which in the comparison. But then again, I've never been a math guy

[JusticeZero]

I'm not seeing it either. Given that you are going to have to spend time in bunkai for each link in the kata, if you just worked bunkai of random linked movements outside of kata, you would get a similar effect - you would lose the time spent memorizing the ritual, but lose the ritual itself. That said, I don't think people in America have their life or psyche structured in a way that possessing the ritual is actually useful. So it's just a block of memorization to restrict your linking movements study to a certain serial chain.