About Kata

In a recent question posed at the Ryukyu Martial Arts FB Wall about kata I posed or suggested that the question was limited in nature and did not provide a true picture of what folks should be looking to in the practice of kata. These are my thoughts and are also very limited simply because the art of kata, like the art of self-defense provided in Marc MacYoung’s book “In the Name of Self-Defense,” is not that simple to explain in the written word. Even so, there are books upon books on this subject worth studying to gain a true understanding of what kata is and why it is an intricate part of the martial disciplines. 

Bibliography:

DeMente, Boye Lafayette. "Kata: The Key to Understanding & Dealing with the Japanese." Tuttle. Vermont. 2003.

Tokitsu, Kenji. "The Katas Meaning behind the Movements." Shambhala. Boston & London.

Kane, Lawrence A. and Wilder, Chris. "The Way of Kata: A Comprehensive Guide for Deciphering Martial Applications." YMAA. New York. 2005.

Wilder, Kris. "The Way of Sanchin Kata: The Application of Power." YMAA Publication. New York. 2007.

Here is my comment on this persons questions:

Hi, Liam Renish: Nice question. It is not that easy to answer by written word. It is not a matter of “going as hard as possible,” or to “Leave it all on the mat to the point of exhaustion.” These are way limited and don’t really give a full picture of the kata.

First, kata are simply a string of techniques that were supposedly created by the ancients to convey fighting ability to students that may not have experienced fighting or combat. They were talented enough to create the kata in a form that flowed with cadence, rhythm and purpose - at least as they were passed down they were slowly changed to reflect what is studied today.

Second, most of the kata westerners learned were not the originals but rather the watered down versions created in the very early 1900’s for the educational systems, i.e. for children or young adults. 

Third, although today’s martial artists are steadily studying and converting today’s modern kata back to what they use to be when Okinawan karate was called either “Ti” or “Toudi” where each kata also conveyed specifics that promoted principles as one practiced. This means that the kata and its string of techniques contain certain applications BUT that is not all inclusive as those bunkai change according to the particular training context as practice and training continue over time.

It is about certain principles as applied holistically as one practices kata solely then in paired practice, i.e., Uke and Tori models. Underlying each applied application according to the training situation requires certain things such as void or a certain cadence that would apply a certain type of power application also governed by the training situation. 

Take a look at the following principles that underly every aspect of martial disciplines and then consider that when practicing kata, any kata, or combinations, etc., that each and every single principle is applied to maximize that particular application of technique and/or combinations according to any given training situation, that is always fluid in nature, to “get-er-done.” 

PRINCIPLE ONE: PRINCIPLES OF THEORY (Universality, Control, Efficiency, Lengthen Our Line, Percentage Principle, Std of Infinite Measure, Power Paradox, Ratio, Simplicity, Natural Action, Michelangelo Principle, Reciprocity, Opponents as Illusions, Reflexive Action, Training Truth, Imperception and Deception.)

PRINCIPLE TWO: PHYSIOKINETIC PRINCIPLES (Breathing, posture, triangle guard, centerline, primary gate, spinal alignment, axis, minor axis, structure, heaviness, relaxation, wave energy, convergence, centeredness, triangulation point, the dynamic sphere, body-mind, void, centripetal force, centrifugal force, sequential locking and sequential relaxation, peripheral vision, tactile sensitivity, rooting, attack hubs, attack posture, ???)

PRINCIPLE THREE: PRINCIPLES OF TECHNIQUE (techniques vs. technique, equal rights, compliment, economical motion, active movement, positioning, angling, leading control, complex force, indirect pressure, live energy and dead energy, torsion and pinning, speed, timing, rhythm, balance, reactive control, natural and unnatural motion, weak link, non-telegraphing, extension and penetration, Uke.)

PRINCIPLE FOUR: PRINCIPLES OF PHILOSOPHY (Mind, mushin, kime, non-intention, yin-hang, oneness, zanshin and being, non-action, character, the empty cup.)

Principle’s One through Four: 

Pearlman, Steven J. "The Book of Martial Power." Overlook Press. N.Y. 2006.

PRINCIPLE FIVE: PRINCIPLES OF SELF-DEFENSE (“Conflict communications; Emotional Intelligence; Lines/square/circle of SD, Three brains (human, monkey, lizard), JAM/AOJ and five stages, Adrenal stress (stress induced reality based), Violence (Social and Asocial), Pre-Attack indicators, Weapons, Predator process and predator resource, Force levels, Repercussions (medical, legal, civil, personal), Go-NoGo, Win-Loss Ratio, etc. (still working on the core sub-principles for this one)”Attitude, Socio-emotional, Diplomacy, Speed [get-er done fast], Redirected aggression,  )

Principle Five: 

MacYoung, Marc. "In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It." Marc MacYoung. 2014.

Goleman, Daniel. "Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition]." Bantam. January 11, 2012.

Miller, Rory. "ConCom: Conflict Communications A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication." Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 2014. 

Miller, Rory and Kane, Lawrence A. "Scaling Force: Dynamic Decision-making under Threat of Violence." YMAA Publisher. New Hampshire. 2012

Miller, Rory. "Force Decisions: A Citizen's Guide." YMAA Publications. NH. 2012.

Miller, Rory Sgt. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.

Miller, Rory Sgt. "Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected." YMAA Publishing. 2011.

Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1993.

Morris, Desmond. “Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.” Harry N. Abrams. April 1979.

So, in closing, kata is not about going as hard as possible (although as an exercise that may be just “one way” to use your kata) or to the point of exhaustion (actually, it is counter productive to go that far at least on a regular basis but once in a while may be ok as another “way” to do kata but that is not the all of kata) as that is not the true purpose of kata. Look at kata as a blueprint of what you need to do and an intricate part of basics in martial disciplines for there is much, much more to it than that.