The purpose of blocking in kata
By Shihan Tak Sameshima
The purpose of blocking in kata has to do with it being both an offensive and defensive technique. To understand this concept, first consider the following three points:
• Kata cultivates the mental attitude of the student. There is no offensive technique in Karate.
• As an old Chinese strategy states, if you understand your opponent and yourself then you will never lose. In kumite, do not rush to attack your opponent without understanding your opponent's real ability. First, you must reach for the level where you will never lose in a fight. If your opponent fights at a certain level then you must rise above that level and be superior to that level. If he strives and increases this level, then you too must improve and rise above that position, and so on....
• Uke-te (blocking hand) equals Uchi-te (attacking hand). This simply means a block in karate is not merely a block, it is also an attack. The defending technique itself is an attack. An effective block, or defensive technique, should do damage to the opponent's attack.
The purpose of training is to develop one's technical ability so that the block becomes superior to the attack. Karate techniques have both positive and negative sides. Kata enables a person to understand that defense is not simply the negative of a positive movement. In fact, neither the terms positive nor negative fit. The attack is an attack and its defence could possibly be superior to its attack.
It is, therefore, important for all Karate students to develop a deeper understanding of kata. Its meaning goes beyond what is practiced in the Dojo. Defense and offense are only one aspect of those movements. Kata is for the student to study and learn beyond the movement and the technical ability.