Posting this as a new thread at the suggestion of others.
Let's say that kata (forms, poomsae, etc) is a set of movements, ostensibly designed to encode a series of attacks and defenses for the martial artist to learn. I'll use the term 'kata' only because it is the term I know the best.
Many forms of martial arts training have kata, although many do not.
We might describe kata as an extension of basic exercises. In other words, first we practice punches and kicks and blocks, then we put them together into a set of stylized movements where we use the punches, kicks, and blocks that we have learned as 'basic exercises'.
Typically, there is a 'story' to each individual kata. That is, we learn that such-and-such kata is for 'fighting at night' or 'fighting on a hillside' or 'fighting with your back to the wall' and so on.
As we learn the movements, we learn practical application for them as well. This is part of the story of the kata, and it's often called 'bunkai'. A block is imagined as a defense against an imaginary opponent who is delivering a punch, or a kick, and so on. This can be taken further by having one martial arts student play the part of the attacker, and deliver the sequence of attacks that cause the person performing the kata to perform the sequence of responses.
Digging deeper into the kata, many arts encode multiple purposes for the movements in the kata, so there is more than one set of applications or bunkai for a given kata. In some cases, the number of applications becomes staggering. This is referred to by some as 'oyo bunkai' or applications that go far beyond the standard reasons or explanations of the movements. Oyo bunkai can be endless, or nearly so. One can spend their entire life examining and mining kata for more and more levels of application.
At some point in kata training, whether one dives deeply into oyo bunkai or simply concentrates on mastering the basic applications contained in the kata, the student begins to be able to extract parts of the kata and apply them outside of the kata. Not just in terms of a strike or a block, but also a transition, a body shifting movement, a timing that draws an opponent off balance, and that type of thing. Overt movements can be spotted; it is not unusual for a person to notice a technique being applied in sparring, for example, and to realize what kata it came from. Other movements are more subtle and may not be clearly seen as being 'from' some kata, but it was through the development and study of a given kata that the subtle movements as well as the clearly-defined movements can be taken and applied.
Taking a slightly different tack, one also begins, through the study of kata, to see how everything affects the kata and the applications. For example, breathing, timing, footwork, and the generation of power by calling upon different muscle groups, using different body mechanics, and applying leverage and power in ways other than the kata might call for on the surface.
It is (for me) primarily through the breathing and centering techniques,when applied in the context of kata, that one begins to see how these apply not just to kata but to all of karate. One begins to reflect on terms commonly heard but perhaps not commonly understood. "There is no first strike in karate," for example. "A block is a strike and a strike is a block," for another. Wheels within wheels, terms once understood as something else, shift their meaning and then shift back again.
And then, the big jump. This is when the student begins to see how the core principles of kata, the very basics that start even before the kata is committed to memory, apply to all of life. Balance. Breathing. Centering. Calmness of the mind. Trained responses to certain situations. Avoiding attack becomes avoiding attack, whether the 'attack' is a punch to the head or a remark made by a coworker and intended to damage a career or job. Orderliness of the mind required for clean kata becomes orderliness of the mind required to do one's job effectively. Moving with opponent's energy becomes moving with the flow of traffic while driving, moving with the flow of relationships with others. Everything furthers, it all applies.
Understanding the nature of an attack means understanding something of the person attacking. Applying this first to kata, as we develop the 'first do this, then they do that, then do this' responses, then to understanding more of both human body mechanics and human goals and motivations, and then finally realizing that people attack in a variety of ways; physical, verbal, mental, and so on. But the causes and the desires are the same. The movements and patterns are the same. People are people, their attacks don't radically change; kata shows us how to anticipate the attack and how to respond to it. Kata teaches us how to prepare, how to evade, how to strike but more importantly when to strike and how to make it effective when we do strike.
A mountain is a mountain, a river is a river. Then they are not. Eventually, they once again are what they seem to be, but now seen as according to their nature. Not my words, but taken from several zen texts which I do not recall at the moment.
Some might call this spiritual. Perhaps it is, but I tend to think of it as philosophical. There is nothing outside the realm of human experience involved that I can see. It is deliberate, calm, meditative. It is prepared responses trained until they become nearly instinctive, but which are never delivered without mindfulness of both the actions and the probable consequences. It is putting all the thinking in a box as a set of trained and conditioned responses, so that when the box is opened, the technique jumps out, mindful and intelligent, capable of shifting and changing, but not requiring deep concentration to apply; it is all done ahead of time.
These are the things I think of when I say that karate is kata and kata is karate. Was all this intentionally encoded into the kata developed by karate masters hundreds of years ago? I don't know. However, I suspect that it can be found there because it was put there; perhaps not intentionally. Perhaps it is impossible to encode one's knowledge into a form or kata without also encoding one's life and the reasons one lives the way one does.
I do know that when I learned to find sure footing in the dojo, it could be tested; it was either sure footing or it was not, despite what I thought of it. As I believe I find deeper meaning in the study of kata, I test it, and so far, it seems to work, it seems applicable.
Yes, kata is a simple set of exercises that demonstrate a set of attacks and defenses to an imaginary set-piece fight. It also is not that at all. The question is how deep down the wormhole one wishes to go.
I submit this as a student of karate. I am a master of nothing. This is what I am learning, exploring, and attempting to develop within myself. I do not claim to have any answers for anyone but myself.
Let's say that kata (forms, poomsae, etc) is a set of movements, ostensibly designed to encode a series of attacks and defenses for the martial artist to learn. I'll use the term 'kata' only because it is the term I know the best.
Many forms of martial arts training have kata, although many do not.
We might describe kata as an extension of basic exercises. In other words, first we practice punches and kicks and blocks, then we put them together into a set of stylized movements where we use the punches, kicks, and blocks that we have learned as 'basic exercises'.
Typically, there is a 'story' to each individual kata. That is, we learn that such-and-such kata is for 'fighting at night' or 'fighting on a hillside' or 'fighting with your back to the wall' and so on.
As we learn the movements, we learn practical application for them as well. This is part of the story of the kata, and it's often called 'bunkai'. A block is imagined as a defense against an imaginary opponent who is delivering a punch, or a kick, and so on. This can be taken further by having one martial arts student play the part of the attacker, and deliver the sequence of attacks that cause the person performing the kata to perform the sequence of responses.
Digging deeper into the kata, many arts encode multiple purposes for the movements in the kata, so there is more than one set of applications or bunkai for a given kata. In some cases, the number of applications becomes staggering. This is referred to by some as 'oyo bunkai' or applications that go far beyond the standard reasons or explanations of the movements. Oyo bunkai can be endless, or nearly so. One can spend their entire life examining and mining kata for more and more levels of application.
At some point in kata training, whether one dives deeply into oyo bunkai or simply concentrates on mastering the basic applications contained in the kata, the student begins to be able to extract parts of the kata and apply them outside of the kata. Not just in terms of a strike or a block, but also a transition, a body shifting movement, a timing that draws an opponent off balance, and that type of thing. Overt movements can be spotted; it is not unusual for a person to notice a technique being applied in sparring, for example, and to realize what kata it came from. Other movements are more subtle and may not be clearly seen as being 'from' some kata, but it was through the development and study of a given kata that the subtle movements as well as the clearly-defined movements can be taken and applied.
Taking a slightly different tack, one also begins, through the study of kata, to see how everything affects the kata and the applications. For example, breathing, timing, footwork, and the generation of power by calling upon different muscle groups, using different body mechanics, and applying leverage and power in ways other than the kata might call for on the surface.
It is (for me) primarily through the breathing and centering techniques,when applied in the context of kata, that one begins to see how these apply not just to kata but to all of karate. One begins to reflect on terms commonly heard but perhaps not commonly understood. "There is no first strike in karate," for example. "A block is a strike and a strike is a block," for another. Wheels within wheels, terms once understood as something else, shift their meaning and then shift back again.
And then, the big jump. This is when the student begins to see how the core principles of kata, the very basics that start even before the kata is committed to memory, apply to all of life. Balance. Breathing. Centering. Calmness of the mind. Trained responses to certain situations. Avoiding attack becomes avoiding attack, whether the 'attack' is a punch to the head or a remark made by a coworker and intended to damage a career or job. Orderliness of the mind required for clean kata becomes orderliness of the mind required to do one's job effectively. Moving with opponent's energy becomes moving with the flow of traffic while driving, moving with the flow of relationships with others. Everything furthers, it all applies.
Understanding the nature of an attack means understanding something of the person attacking. Applying this first to kata, as we develop the 'first do this, then they do that, then do this' responses, then to understanding more of both human body mechanics and human goals and motivations, and then finally realizing that people attack in a variety of ways; physical, verbal, mental, and so on. But the causes and the desires are the same. The movements and patterns are the same. People are people, their attacks don't radically change; kata shows us how to anticipate the attack and how to respond to it. Kata teaches us how to prepare, how to evade, how to strike but more importantly when to strike and how to make it effective when we do strike.
A mountain is a mountain, a river is a river. Then they are not. Eventually, they once again are what they seem to be, but now seen as according to their nature. Not my words, but taken from several zen texts which I do not recall at the moment.
Some might call this spiritual. Perhaps it is, but I tend to think of it as philosophical. There is nothing outside the realm of human experience involved that I can see. It is deliberate, calm, meditative. It is prepared responses trained until they become nearly instinctive, but which are never delivered without mindfulness of both the actions and the probable consequences. It is putting all the thinking in a box as a set of trained and conditioned responses, so that when the box is opened, the technique jumps out, mindful and intelligent, capable of shifting and changing, but not requiring deep concentration to apply; it is all done ahead of time.
These are the things I think of when I say that karate is kata and kata is karate. Was all this intentionally encoded into the kata developed by karate masters hundreds of years ago? I don't know. However, I suspect that it can be found there because it was put there; perhaps not intentionally. Perhaps it is impossible to encode one's knowledge into a form or kata without also encoding one's life and the reasons one lives the way one does.
I do know that when I learned to find sure footing in the dojo, it could be tested; it was either sure footing or it was not, despite what I thought of it. As I believe I find deeper meaning in the study of kata, I test it, and so far, it seems to work, it seems applicable.
Yes, kata is a simple set of exercises that demonstrate a set of attacks and defenses to an imaginary set-piece fight. It also is not that at all. The question is how deep down the wormhole one wishes to go.
I submit this as a student of karate. I am a master of nothing. This is what I am learning, exploring, and attempting to develop within myself. I do not claim to have any answers for anyone but myself.
