Creating Bunkai

First, each system, style and branch of karate has its fundamental bunkai. This bunkai is unique according the the creator of the system, style or branch. It comes from a combination of combat experience passed down to succeeding generations and usually evolves into a personal unique fundamental bunkai of the individual practitioner.

In this bunkai may not be exact as it was originally intended - traditionally/classically. This is good. Bunkai in kata are the blueprints of combat and the best means of conveying such things especially in today's cultural societal times - relatively peaceful.

We can create bunkai ... BUT, should we. In most cases in today's karate world and relative to karate as budo we don't actually create bunkai. We will take the bunkai that is passed down to us and create a variant that works for the individual. A simplistic example or explanation but that is all we should do.

There are criteria for bunkai, simplicity and natural. Bunkai must be efficient and fit well within the fundamental principles of martial systems. They should follow closely natural movements and connect to the natural instinctual moves the body is already encoded with for survival. Training and modify what the brain draws on and this closeness to natural instinctual physical movement is critical to "make it work" in an adrenaline flood of chemicals hell bent on turning you into a drooling curled up baby hoping to survive.

Their simplicity should enhance and shorten the learning process. The bunkai then can be used to continually support and strengthen that encoding so it will always be fresh and available to the lizard brain when things go hinkey.

Bunkai that are complicated are not bunkai but merely a tool of interest to keep paying customers interested and coming to the training hall. Karate as budo is not meant to be a sport and complicated instant gratification type teachings are not conducive to karate as budo for fighting, defense, protection or combat scenario's.

The question then arises in western martial arts, is bunkai necessary? In most cases it is not necessary because our western culture tends to label karate as sport, not budo. As a sport the combative aspects conveyed by bunkai for that purpose are not allowed in the sport arena. Even when you label it a combat sport it is not a budo or combative in reality or real world violent encounters of predatory nature. This point can be argued until the cows come home but in my view it is factually accurate in a more traditional/classical aspect of conflict.

Creating bunkai for the "test" is also a waste of time. Bunkai should never be "created" to test one for a black belt of any level. Testing or evaluating the application of bunkai learned as one progresses is absolutely a good thing but creating for a test is a waste of time. First, it impresses only the uninitiated. Second, it is always a tool used to build up a quantity that impresses the uninitiated or ignorant they are actually "doing something useful or cool." Third, they created bunkai after testing is always forgotten and therefore serve no useful purpose in karate as budo, i.e. karate goshin-do.

In closing, bunkai and kata as in martial arts is misunderstood in the west and it can only be truly understood by looking to the cultural belief systems of the past and present of the origins - Okinawa, China and Japan culture and beliefs that influenced karate as budo, i.e. karate goshin-do.