The argument about remaining true to the original kata has been argued time and agin over the last four decades of karate. There are excellent arguments for both sides. My point of view on the subject is remain true to the original kata at the kyu and lower dan ranks so you get the full, complete and traditional view then you let the kata become your own in a manner of speaking.
How you train the kata is a matter of methodology, the methodology of the dojo, the system, the sensei and later in the life of a karate-ka the karate-ka themselves. Kata can remain steady and static to a point throughout your practice and training but the methodology can change as you change, your sensei changes, the dojo and system change.
It seems simple enough. It is important to the traditions of the system to keep things at the novice level strictly to the system as it was meant to be taught by the founder. It is not meant to remain static once a person travels beyond the novice level and struggles into the expert levels. To remain static is to remain a novice and that causes the system to remain incomplete.
A solid post yesterday by the The Classic Budoka blog gives us a really awesome view of how kata might have been taught after a certain period. This may be directed toward the Japanese systems while the Okinawan systems of karate, etc. take a different approach. Then you can theorize that all of them being fathered by influences from the Chinese martial systems means they all have a thread of commonality that may also encompass this view. It reminds me of the concept of "shikata" from the early feudal era.
The moral of this post is don't remain steadfast in the novice level regarding kata and its benefits. Let yourself set a solid foundation and then move on from there. You can have both the traditional forms and your own individualized forms, they both will work for you.
Read the classic budoka post "Kazure: 'Breaking' the Kata"
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