Kata: Are we singing opera without knowing Italian?
By Paul Sexton
We spend a lot of time studying kata in karate, but how many of us know what the moves in the kata are for. Sure we all know that a down block is against a kick and a rising block- a face punch, but how many of us take time to really master each kata we learn? It seems to me that too many of us learn one kata and then rush on to the next one required for a grading. Some can boast of knowing twenty kata but how many really know even one. For example, how many karateka have a clear idea what the first move in Heian Nidan or Heian Yodan is for and can use it effectively in the appropriate situation?
In the past a karate master would practice one kata for a lifetime. Not only would they know the basic sequence, timing, stances, etc. but they would also know exactly what vital area or pressure point being attacked and the most effective way to use the technique. That one kata that they knew was a lethal combination of moves that was more than enough for anyone to know and they knew each move so well that they could do it without thought quickly, efficiently, and lethally.
To a degree, it is the responsibility of our instructors to teach these moves and what they are for, to us, but the greatest responsibility lies with each of us to learn each move and the ways that it can be used efficiently. We must practice each move with a real opponent until we can internalize it and do it without having to think about it. We must be able to use this technique and adapt it with many different variations because each attack will not always come at you in the same way. A quote that I have heard over the years is that if you learn a technique and only practice a few times before trying it on someone, then that technique is your opponent’s because you don’t know it well enough and he/she will use that weakness to defeat you. If you practice it a thousand times then maybe you are ready to use it and it will be yours. It is up to you, once you learn the basic sequence of a kata, to think about each move and how to apply it. Ask your instructors for help and as your understanding of the martial arts increases so will your ability to truly understand the katas that you are taught.
Title based on a similar statement from George Dillman at one of his seminars. For further information on kata applications, see Patrick McCarthy : his translation of "The Bubushi" and seminar tapes; Simon Oliver tapes on Oyo techniques in shotokan kata; George Dillman books and tapes.