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Trying to find historical accounting of kata seems daunting especially since there is little to no accounting of its origins in any definitive historical document. There are many theories, idea’s and beliefs all from various studies, studies done more in our modern times from a strong curiosity by the practitioners to gain a bit of understanding as to what are kata, where were kata first created and practiced, when did they first do kata, how did kata become the foundation for martial arts and why were kata created and so on ad-infinitum.
The only source that I could find on kata is a study and presentation written by Boye Lafayette DeMente on the cultural system of kata the underlies every aspect of Japanese society, i.e., “Kata: The Key to Understanding & Dealing with the Japanese.”
Where I also theorize on the idea of kata from this source is both Japan and Okinawa were influenced a great deal by the Chinese influences as to both culture and etiquette. Since that seems to be true it supports the idea that, like taking off shoes upon entering a home or dojo along with bowing, etc., such cultural etiquette’s are not unique to karate and martial arts but simply the natural inclination of the martial artists to use those same cultural etiquettes in the dojo. When you view how the society works in every day living you see bowing and kata like aspects that have made their culture and efforts, especially in creation of products, so spectacular.
It also explains quit well why certain aspects of teaching karate and martial arts is more observational then taught through words because everything is kata and kata is everything means that once a kata is created the harmonious beliefs of the culture require learning by observing and not by talking, questioning and listening especially since words are often, at the times kata became a part of social practices and conditioning, inadequate to explain things. It was therefore expected that a student would observe and practice until what they performed as kata exactly matched the kata of sensei.
Take the written characters of the Japanese language, you can include Chinese and Okinawan as well since almost all of it is derived from ancient Chinese influences. The characters are exact, they have certain patterns that must be followed and they all require a huge amount of practice, practice and more practice to master and commit to memory. There are certain patterns followed as the student achieves a certain level of competence when learning to write, read and understand those characters, i.e., kanji, etc. so one can perceive a kind of kata-esque process to learn and memorize a huge volume of characters.
It appears that many of us, in the West, due to early influences and limited knowledge and understanding of karate, martial arts and their kata assumed that the kata were unique and an intricate part of karate and martial arts. Like many other cultures where military training involves drills, i.e., also a combination of moves and techniques in teaching inexperienced military to fight, etc., the kata-esque practices are not exclusive to Asian military disciplines. These kata are practiced throughout history and are critical not just to learning and teaching combative aspects of war but also critical to the ability to analyze the atomistic concepts to create, or synthesize, new more appropriate tactics and strategies so that military expertise can achieve the goals of war that are most effective to the times where fought.
I also feel we tend to attribute more meaning to the kata than is meant and necessary. It is more about certain principles and applications of methodologies then specific/specified techniques, offensive vs. defensive and their combinations toward a more dynamic changing situational applications. In a time long ago where words used were more symbolic rather than exacting, where such exacting words of description along with observational teaching and learning requirements put the principles and methodologies in the dark where over time and with experience practitioners came to know of them in a more primal conditioned way rather than one easily related and connected to articulation vs. just physical demonstrative methods.
Kata are, like drills and other methods of other cultures, exceptional in passing down knowledge of combatives from generation to new generations with a requirement toward analysis and synthesis to accommodate changes in time, culture and the way of war that always evolves. The ancient Chinese “Cheng-n-Ch’i” concept is critical to learning from and teaching kata like methodologies that tend to transcend time.
I like to liken kata as to words, i.e., each word is a technique driven by a methodology, an idea, that is coupled with other words to form, kata, an idea or theory or concept appropriate to the moment or situation and the sentences collected appropriately to tell the story, the story of kata work in a similar fashion where as time passes and kata evolve along with the culture and beliefs of the society that word or words change, the structure of the sentence changes and the meaning of the sentences and paragraphs convey a new, yet ancient, story appropriate to the modern times at that moment and in those situations.
To truly understand kata, forms and drills you have to learn and connect them to the ancient ones but you also have to allow them to evolve, even if only in how they are interpreted and applied, according to the changes of human social evolution or they become merely artifacts of a time long past. To truly learn, understand and accept kata for what they are requires being open to change and evolutionary necessities of the kata.
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