Kata-Kumite Connection

Sensei Patrick Parker in a blog post on Mokuren Dojo blog gives a short, terse and succinct explanation on how kata and kumite connect. It is best to read his post but what I got out of it was the following.

Kata is the blueprint. It provides us guidance to explore and make work the many techniques within each one. It provides us a basic shape of what we will create as we progress in karate with its application. It is how we learned to print letters which is an apropos example since writing in Asia, i.e. kanji/kana, is one of the few arts that inspired the art of kata in all things Japanese. I liked Parker-san's examples of writing, coloring and staying within the lines analogy.

Kumite in reality is taking kata techniques or bunkai and as Parker-san says, deviating from the structure that is the kata. Kata structure is necessary to transfer knowledge in a form that is readily understood so it can be morphed into actual "fighting technique," or deviation from kata structure.

Kumite is an "engagement" form of hopefully "reality based physical interactions to avoid extreme damage and to protect and preserve life." In the beginning you know who is uke and tori but where it must go on the path of the empty hand is into a realm few actually go. The realm of where you never know who is uke or who is tori or which form the attack will take and what technique or techniques will be required to engage with out losing, mostly, karate form - loose form that remains within the adrenaline influenced fight.

If this sounds overly complex it is but this is what my personal perception of Parker-san's blog post on Kata and Randori. I just adjusted it a might to fit my belief as to karate training and application assuming my readers will remember all the things that involve real life fights, attacks and predatory blitzes.

My thanks to Patrick Parker of the Mokuren Dojo blog for his expert, concise and succinct explanation of a most difficult topic - kata and kumite (kata and randori for Judo and Aikido :-)

Patrick Parker of the Mokuren Dojo states, "The purpose of randori is for both partners to gain experience in giving and taking various techniques outside of the constraints of kata." In martial karate it can also be said, "The purpose of kumite is for both partners to gain experience in giving and taking various techniques outside of the constraints of kata." Once we take the competitiveness out of the equation it comes to surprise many just how much more they learn. What they learn is far more valuable than the ability to say, "I won that match!"

and Parkers-san writes, one of my instructors used to say, "Randori (Kumite) is not a matter of winning and losing.  In randori (Kumite) there are those who win, and there are those who learn."  Often, they are not the same person.  Sometimes it is your turn to be the "winner" and sometimes it is your time to be the "learner."

Let my put it this way, "Yugoka (yuu-go-kah) or "fusion of ideas and techniques." Kata and kumite should be a fusing of practices that does not simply mix them but rather combines the two not changing their individual nature but rather fused them into something new, new to each individual who uses this method to fuse their practice into "one" complete martial system of karate-jutsu-do." [p.s. I took some liberties with the defining of yugoka :-), the yugoka principle is actually based on a "holistic" thinking process.]