July 3Jul 3 Kata is great for working up a sweat, but its not going to win the tournament. All seriousness, it depends how the internal landscape is taught. What is the internal dialogue of the student when practising kata? Is it for fighting or developing the moves? Do they know they are moving from zenkutsu- dachi to kiba dachi to neko-ashi dachi? If yes are they aware of their weight distribution? What type of emotions are they experiencing or should be experiencing? In Yoga and Kalaripayattu as well as mallakhamb the practitioners are taught drishti or point of focus as well as sound, symbolic imagery because even in form training, there is an internal reality that is the practitioners mind. I have seen this in boxing, two boxers who shadow box but one is doing it to go through the motion and the other is hyper aware of their anatomy, their breath, their hand and foot position even though on the outside, both look similar, one of them is engaging on a deep internal level. It begins with the knowledge that the severity of a strikes impact is amplified by a smaller surface area.
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