40 Curious Questions About Kata
by Sensei's Joseph Claycomb & Mark Kupsz
Kata is one of karate's most misunderstood elements, with many schools teaching the various forms as an integral part of a grading syllabus, often without regard to the application of what is contained therein. Even at this level kata practise brings benefits including exercise, improving mental focus, flexibility & agility. Kata also introduces you to new techniques, and promotes transition work etc. However as a study in the application of self defense, sadly many points are overlooked, taught incorrectly, or are not known, by many instructors.
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Before reading on it is assumed that students have a basic grasp of what kata is and more importantly what it is not. For those new to kata study here is a brief summary:
i) Kata is a series of interwoven and flowing self defense drills set in the framework of a specific pattern (embusan) with distinct timing and precise techniques. The moves or combination of moves. themselves having multiple defense applications.
ii) There is no right or wrong explanations as to the interpretation of a given move.... in a real situation it either works or does not. Practise and understanding increases your chances of making techniques work.
iii) Variations in kata between different karate styles or within a style facilitate understanding of how to deal with similar threats in a variety of different ways. Variations in stance, performance, execution should be considered as one "Masters" solution to a problem compared to others. There is no "good" or "bad" kata only variations in performance and understanding.
iv) Kata is an aid to remembering a sequence of defence drills. The moves can be used in part or in combination. Kata also has built in redundancy, making the assumption at various points that things might not go to plan and at this juncture suggests what you need to do to regain control of a situation or deliver a finishing technique.
v) Some elements of kata appear "stylized", appearing to have little value or requiring modification to make them workable. Maybe it's the case that explanation of a kata in its entirety is beyond the instructors current understanding?
vi) Angles in kata define the position of your body relative to your opponent and not vice versa.
vii) Kata has within it a full range of defensive and offensive techniques including throws, locks, chokes, breaks, submissive techniques etc and incorporates strategies for grappling, ground fighting, weapon attacks and dealing with multiple assailants.
viii) Kata was never intended as a defence system against trained martial artists and to practise defence and attack against karate strikes, kicks etc isn't practical as you are unlikely to be attacked in this manner. Instead kata should be thought of as a response to street fighting tactics dealing with predictable attacks from hooligans, muggers and the likes.
ix) You cannot learn much about how kata functions in self defense by just learning the moves of the kata. Initially the attacks, counters etc should be taught as a two-person drill and continue to be practised as such so that moves can be refined to the point where they become automatic and immediate responses. After that the solo practise of kata serves as a "flow drill" reminder.
x) The more complicated the explanation or execution of a technique the less likely the chances of making it work in a real situation.
xi) Knowing kata cannot guarantee a successful fight outcome. No matter what you know and how well you execute it the chances are that in a real fight you will get hurt.
xii) Kata themselves do not increase in complexity... i.e it's as hard to learn the moves in Heian Nidan as Bassai Dai but the complexity of applications does increase with the rank of the kata. i.e. Heian Shodan & Sochin both have similar knifehand blocks but the explanation of how these are applied is more advanced in the advanced kata.
xiii) You can spend 100's of hours developing your kata so that it becomes sharper and more powerful or conversely you can spend the time trying to understand its meaning and practising real fight scenarios.
The following rhetorical questions will hopefully illicit a thoughtful attitude towards kata practise so that you can decide what you want to get back from your study and training.
1.What would happen if we just picked a series of self defense techniques and practised them directly instead of spending so much time learning kata?
2. Reflecting on the positive benefits of kata, can we benefit from the same advantages in other forms of practise, or is kata the only place to get these benefits?
3. Would karate suffer if we did not study kata? (There are many systems that don't include kata at all.)
4. Would karate be better off if we built a library of self-defense techniques from kata and practised them in their originally intended form with a partner? Instead of performing solo routines?
5. Would it be better to study kata bunkai with realistic attacks instead of the "karate style" attacks which lead to developing counters in a way that are not realistic either?
6. What is the purpose of learning kata when we have access to all the techniques they contain in books or on YouTube?
7. If kata's purpose was to "hide" secret techniques for whatever reason? Since there is no longer a need to practise karate secretly what is their purpose presently?
8. Are kata the only way to determine a style of karate or martial art?
9. Can kata be more than just solo practise in their current form?
10. Are the kata practised in most schools today the actual form of the techniques they reference to or are they a modification?
11. Were kata modified with purpose or simply for style as in the case of Shotokan kata that now possess less effective and more showy techniques?
12. Why are karate kata not practised in the form of two-man drills such as in Judo, Ju-Jitsu or Aikido?
13. Doesn't it make sense to study applied techniques as realistic two-man drills first instead of memorizing techniques as "air karate" of solo practice that do not guarantee understanding?
14. Realistic application of techniques require understanding from a realistic view. Shouldn't we practise kata as a reference "after" learning the proper application instead of before learning them?
15. What purpose does referencing to techniques in an improper form serve?
16. Should the number of kata be limited so we can fully understand them before worrying about having to learn more of them?
17. Is it important to learn every kata in your style?
18. Shouldn't real technique in the form of actual function be the main priority instead of aiming for sport beautified demonstrations?
19. Given that kata is a blend of good form, strong technique and useful function which, if any of these qualities is the most important?
20. Many Arts rely on kata training, Many arts don't, both types of arts seem to have value? "Kata-less" arts seem to have a more direct approach to their training principles, enabling them to be enjoyed, appreciated and learn at a much faster rate. Kata based arts often suffer from the lack of interest in kata due to its indirectness and lack of visual/physical approach to what is found so easily in other art forms.. How do we close the gap and make kata easier to learn and be deemed important to less experienced practitioners who find kata "pointless"?
21. Historically, often a kata represents an entire art. Adopting so many kata seems easy to memorize techniques, yet it is almost impossible to learn all techniques on a functional level even though many are parallel in purpose. Does this not defeat the purpose of learning a martial art from a self defense standpoint? If we spend so much time perfecting "air technique", when do you get the chance to learn real techniques that will actually help us in real life?
22. Does kata actually teach us self defense if we just perform patterns?
23. How can kata become more appealing to more people?
24. How can kata become more effective in learning real self-defense?
25. Why after so many years of study in so many establishments is it that so few people really know kata completely, Most speculate, some have valid ideas yet few are totally sure what each kata is intended for because nothing is documented, Nor can anyone claim a "Correct way". Why were kata not specified with purpose? or categories? All we know is someone decided to put them in a specific order based on so called physical difficulty, Yet all techniques are so different, not more difficult. I personally find "Enpi" just as physically difficult as "Sochin" but in different ways. Not more difficult to remember. Why is one kata deemed more difficult to learn than others other than the obvious Short v Long?
26. When did kata become a solo practise and when did the two-man application drills get dropped by the majority of karate schools?
27. Being that karate is a defensive art and most, if not all techniques are derived from kata. Why then do most karate schools understand substantially less about self defense techniques than other arts like Hapkido, Aikido, Judo, Ju-jutsu who do not practise kata?
28. Should kata be introduced to younger / newer students or should it be held back until a practitioner understands and performs a repertoire of effective techniques such that these can then be related to kata.
29. Is kata literal or should we study and practise it with a looser approach than the rigidity often attributed to the form?
30. Is kata relevant and applicable to all types of combat or self defense based arts?
31. Does kata enhance your fighting skills?
32. Does kata decrease your self-defense and combative skills by simply neglecting other aspects of training due to a heavy focus on solo training?
33. What are the selling points of kata for new prospective students looking to start martial arts training?
34. How can we make kata more appealing to children or students who prefer other training methods?
35. What would be the best attributes of a kata?
36. Why isn't there a ground grappling kata?
37. Why do styles like Judo, Ju-jutsu, Aikido, Hapkido, Sumo, Boxing, some styles of Kung-fu & Karate not utilize kata in its solo format?
38. How old is kata and has it always been practised the same way as the present day?
39. Should new kata be added or existing kata modified to take into account techniques such as roundhouse kick, back kick etc?
40. Is standardizing kata important? Or is it okay to modify, create, add or subtract parts of kata if you deem it necessary for improvement or should we just copy/imitate/memorize kata for sake of tradition and preserving them for posterity?
If you would like some answers to the questions presented here I recommend you now read the excellent article by Iain Abernethy "Kata Why Bother?
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