Looking at Bunkai and Kata - another way to look at it!

I perceive the value in bunkai as fluid and chaotic. The reasons for this is obvious to the fight. I see the kata as a blueprint to what is possible. It is easier to code the data of a fight, combat, strategies and tactics by the creation of a form.

What I mean, the form or patterns of kata are only there to promote learning and encoding of specifics so the mind can achieve a holistic whole depending entirely on the current moment. Memory is a tricking business and the best way to learn, remember and pass down to others is through a memory trick, if you will allow me the use of that inefficient word. Lets call it "memory improvement techniques."

It is a bit like the memory thing used to code in to memory a specific thought, word(s) or events. Do a google search on Mnemonic and using the whole body-mind to remember. By associating things to other things causes the brain to code it, store it and then assign it a "key" so it can be retrieved.

It is this that the kata provides a mnemonic body-mind memory encoding. Therefore, I would see each atomistic technique as unique and alone to be associated with some counter you may need on the fly to stop damage.

It is and has never been means to fight any one or group of attackers but merely a memory tool to pass down combative blueprints that are generic enough to be applied to any and many attack patterns. I don't advocate connecting them as if they were combinations, etc. as that tends to lock a person into one thing for countering another one thing.

It must be used to teach fundamentals and as one encodes they must then remove the patterns and create holistically and wholeheartedly to the moment - fluidly and according to the moment what ever that moment is. Imagery/visualization is all part of this. Taking the pattern of kata and breaking it down and creating instinctive and eclectic application to said visualized attacks on the fly is the next phase.