Being taught Kata...But not the Bunkai?

[Shotokannon]

Hi Guys,

This is a source of frustration for me at my Dojo, where we learn different Kata and the movements, but never the Bunkai!

Granted, there are a large number of children at our club so I presume that the Club doesn't wish to be a bad influence by teaching arm locks etc, but my opinion is that I view Kata as a catalogue of techniques one could use in self defence, if we're not taught the application of such techniques then what's the point in doing them?

has anyone else ever experienced this at A Dojo before?

[126barnes]

If I have missed the meaning of Bunkai, please ignore.

We start application of kata, during green belt. At this point we would be learning our 8th and 9th katas, although 5 have the same footwork with different blocks/strikes. Here we would start working our first kata with attackers. We are required to present all kata with attackers for our next grading.

I must say it was like learning the kata all over again and at the time wished we would of learned the kata with the attackers in the first place. Even thou we did receive verbal/physical explanation of what we are defending/attacking in the first place, at this point seemed inadequate.

But thinking about it now, we all need time to learn a skill and somewhat become competent before having to apply that skill. This maybe would be a little overwhelming for young kids and some adults, many who don't take to conflict very well at this point.

I think this or a similar approach is one way to really start accelerating the exponential curve of the art.

[Wado Heretic]

Bunkai is analysis; what is more important is to grasp the principles of the kata rather than potential applications.

126barnes sums up rather well the issue; it can be hard to understand the kata without physical opposition. In all things, context provides meaning; kata performed for the sake of kata lacks this context.

You do not need to be taught bunkai; you will learn the process of bunkai over time as you already thinking about it. What you need to do is study the kata principles, study the nature of physical violence, and in turn introduce what violence you can into your training. From their your applications will evolve.

[Lupin1]

It depends. As Wado said, many places never explicitly teach bunkai-- it's something you come to understand over time.

My school does specifically teach bunkai, but doesn't start that until Shodan. Up until Shodan, we just learn the kata. We might get a taste of the bunkai here and there as a means of understanding what a specific move is supposed to look like, but we don't really look into it and get all the alternatives and all that until we enter black belt training.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Identifying techniques and decoding kata can be very confusing without the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor. Teaching kata without anything more than a general explanation is unfortunately the norm in the majority of dojo. A few go as somewhat more in depth with interpretations, but in these cases what is shown is at best one of many application possibilities and at worst the result of misinformed guesses.

Often there is also a certain tendency to look for specific applications instead of trying to find the principles and main idea that make the techniques work. If one learns principles instead of individual applications, the possibilities are endless.

For the sake of training, though it is best to start with the simplest techniques first and move on to more variations after having grasped the common principle. To become truly effective and usable, applications must be drilled individually and independently instead of a sequence with a prescribed order as in the kata. Doing this allows one to develop the ability to extract and use the techniques contained in kata.

A recommendable book on the subject is "the way of Kata" by Lawrence Kane. It is focussed on Goju ryu, but the information it has on how to understand and analyze kata content is excellent and works for all karate or other form-based systems.

[Nidan Melbourne]

At my Dojo our juniors don't start learning bunkai until they reach Shodan-Ho level and to grade to shodan they have to be able to do Gekesai Bunkai.

Our seniors on the other hand start at purple belt (4th kyu) with gekesai bunkai. Then they add saifa bunkai at 2nd kyu and seeiunchin bunkai for 2nd dan.

We have our Taikyoku Kata (Jodan, Chudan, Gedan, Kake & Mawashi Ichi). But don't have specified bunkai for it that is why we start with gekesai bunkai.

We have them to at least have some 'mastery' of the kata first. But also they have to have some understanding that a block isn't always a block like how a strike isn't always a strike.

[Kusotare]

Bunkai is analysis; what is more important is to grasp the principles of the kata rather than potential applications.

Of bunkai - a friend of mine once summed it up along the lines of...

"Bunkai means to take apart and analyse. If kata was a bicycle, bunkai would involve taking it to pieces to find out how the bicycle works!

 

I'd much rather concentrate on learning how to ride."

I can't speak regarding other styles, but from a Wado perspective it is very true.

K.

[Wastelander]

When I was training in Shuri-Ryu, we were taught the kata first, and then as soon as we had the pattern memorized, we started learning the "official interpretation" of the applications. At the time, I was never shown anything more than these "official interpretations," in their various forms, and they were essentially the same kind of material you see in JKA bunkai demonstrations.

In our Shorin-Ryu dojo, however, we will teach applications along with the kata. Obviously, we don't show applications for the entire kata right off the bat, because that would be overwhelming. We tend to start off with the pattern, and show applications for any parts of the kata that a student has trouble understanding how to do. This often helps them perform the movement properly. We also teach applications as self defense on a regular basis, even if we don't explicitly connect it to the kata, although we usually do.

[sensei8]

I'm of the opinion that Kata without Bunkai is akin to sitting on a chair with only one leg; incomplete, and totally unbalanced.

We teach Bunkai and Kata literally at the same time so that students can begin to embrace the many possibilities, as well as understanding how "things" work when put in motion.

We teach the three K's right from day one!!

Also, we teach kids arm locks and the like. In that, we don't discriminate our students, no matter age, from learning EVERYTHING Shindokan has to offer. That's not teaching them anything. An arm bar, for example, could save them, so why limit that from them. Beside, we'd rather teach them things like that than learning it incorrectly elsewhere.

[Spartacus Maximus]

It makes much more sense to teach both instead of waiting until a random arbitrary level. Learning the sequence and choreography of numerous kata without any idea of how the techniques work is like learning a dance.

If one knows exactly what each move is meant to be, it gives the necessary understanding required to correctly learn how to use the techniques. That is the first step in developing skill with it. Otherwise one remains stuck at the outer form with a lifeless shell and a meaningless pantomime. Kata is dead. It must be brought to life and bunkai is the process by which it is brought to life.