Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
Reading articles on kata recently it came to me that most who define kata are getting it right but wrong, i.e., they are simply confusing the difference between Japanese kata and Okinawan Kata, i.e., Japanese budo kata of kendo, judo and the like vs. Okinawan Karate kata.
The first article that really does an excellent job of explaining this confusion can be read HERE.
The next article that explains some concepts on the practice of Japanese kata can be read HERE.
There will follow other articles on the kata but before I list those the following three paragraphs are a synopsis of my views and beliefs on Japanese Kata and Okinawan Kata. One note, at the list there will be an article on “Shi-kata” that I believe drives all Japanese kata.
It becomes apparent to me when researching kata that the confusion for karate practitioners comes from the meaning and use of kata as it applies to Japanese Budo vs. Okinawan Karate. Japanese kata are technique based, i.e., a direction connection to the external form of the kata and the technique itself. I quote, “Consequently, it can be said that kata is tantamount with the technique.”
Therefore Japanese budo kata are a technique based teaching, training and practice form. You can see this even further when the kata are named because the descriptive name are related to the kata and the individual technique(s), etc. The Japanese complete kata and the related technical content, technique, etc. In Okinawan karate kata it appears that the external manifestation is about technique when in reality the content, or what some are calling bunkai, are not the actual content, etc. I quote, “The practical skills are not defined and the kata do not clearly demonstrate the relationship between external form (kata) and technique (waza).”
Furthermore, the names of all the kata in the karate systems are not related to the external or internal meanings but refer to ether a person who created the kata or to certain characteristics of the kata in general. The kata themselves are tools to teach certain fundamental principles toward the application of multiple methodologies rather than toward a specified technique based teaching model like the Japanese kata. I quote, “Contrary to jūdō and kendō, the names of the kata of karate such as Naihanchi, Passai, and Kūsankū etc. barely allow any conclusion about its technical contents, nor do the names of individual techniques contained therein.”
In closing, distinguishing the kata for your practice will help a great deal in understanding both the systems kata as well as its applications in general, i.e., Japanese Budo or Okinawan Karate. It may benefit to remember that the Japanese Karate is also different in many ways than the Okinawan karate if for no other reason than the Karate that was reformed to fit the Japanese beliefs, etc., came about toward the kata definition and implementation that matches the Japanese kata methods. It also behooves us to distinguish the crossover that will be apparent of Japanese karate and Okinawan karate, i.e., as more and more influence was asserted by the Japanese due to the absorption of the Okinawans into their cultures, etc. will also make it necessary to find those distinctions if you wish to retain a more traditional Okinawan karate practice.
Bibliography (Click the link)
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