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Practical Kata
Author: lain Abernethy
Practise Kata is often criticised for being impractical' and ineffective'. As a strong believer in the value of traditional kata, you may expect me to disagree.
However, in the vast majority of cases I'd wholeheartedly agree that kata is impractical and ineffective! This is not a problem with kata itself; it's more to do with the prevailing way in which kata is approached and practised.
There are numerous levels and aspects to kata practise. However, the majority of practitioners concentrate upon the solo performance in the mistaken belief that it is the totality of kata training. As a consequence, most people who practise kata, and those who criticise it, fail to appreciate that there is much more to kata than the initial solo form. If we fail to move beyond the solo form, the criticisms directed at kata are inescapably valid. From a combative perspective, 'kata training1 is of no value if all we do is practise the solo form of a kata.
In this article we will look at the key things that we need to do to make our kata training practical, worthwhile, functional and relevant to actual combat. However, before we go on to discuss these neglected parts of kata practise, we need to understand what kata actually is.
Kata can be defined as 'a way to record and summarise the key combative techniques and principles of a fighting style so that they can be preserved and passed onto future generations/ It should be clearly understood that each and every kata is a summary of an entire fighting system! Obviously it would be impossible to record every technique from a fighting system within a single kata. However, it is possible to record techniques that demonstrate the key combative principles of that system.
Techniques are limited to specific situations. Principles, however, can be applied in many different situations. If you want to be a versatile fighter, it's not techniques that you need, but a thorough understanding of fighting principles. The creators of the katas understood this, so they designed their katas to include techniques that best demonstrated the key fighting principles upon which their system was based.
The concept of principles over techniques can be a difficult one to grasp. An analogy that I like to use to better explain this point is to think of a fighting system as being like an oak tree. An oak tree is vast, both in terms of its size and years lived, but everything about that tree, and everything required to reproduce it, is found in a single acorn. A fighting system produces a kata in the same way that an oak tree produces acorns. Both the acorn and the kata are not as vast as the thing that created them, but they record them perfectly. For an acorn to become an oak tree it must be correctly planted and nurtured. For a kata to become a fighting system it must be correctly studied and practised. It is here that we find one of modern karate's biggest failings, in that the katas are rarely studied sufficiently. To return to my analogy, we have the seeds but we don't plant them! Now we've established that kata is a record of the key principles of a fighting system, how do we extract and 'reassemble' the fighting system that gave birth to the kata?
To practise kata in a practical way. we need to study the applications of the kata movements (Bunkai). Ideally, the applications of the movements should be taught to you by your instructor. However, many karate instructors don't teach bunkai. In the absence of a knowledgeable instructor, you can advance your understanding of kata applications through studying the large amount of material that is now available on this subject. Unfortunately there is a tendency in some of this material to present kata applications as something 'secret' or 'hidden'. This can lead to students viewing kata applications as something that is the sole reserve of those who possess this "hidden knowledge'. Not so! Every karateka can understand the meaning of kata movements if they understand a few basic concepts and have a little patience.
Whilst the books and DVDs produced by people like myself can help 'kick-start' your understanding of kata, once you've got a basic grasp of the 'language of kata' there is absolutely nothing to stop you 'unlocking' the 'secrets' of kata for yourself. It's not the purpose of this article to discuss how to analyse kata. However, if you visit my website (www.iainabernethy .com) you can download a free e-book called "An Introduction to Applied Karate", which contains all the information you need to get started.
Karate is frequently criticised from its lack of close-range methods. In the majority of cases, this is a valid criticism because close-range methods are not practised in most dojos. The ironic thing is that the kata are full of close-range techniques! In Geoff Thompson's superb book "The Pavement Arena" - a book that all karateka should read - he states, "It's not that the content of the karate syllabus is lacking, more that the syllabus is not fully utilised. A closer look at kata will divulge not only the manoeuvres we have all come to know and love, but also grappling movements, throws, hook and uppercut punches, eye gouges, grabs, knee attacks, ankle stamps, joint strikes, head-butting and even ground fighting. Have a look at your own dojo. How much of this information has been discovered, utilised and taught therein? When had my own karate club all these techniques and more were covered. Why? Because they encompass every eventuality in all scenarios; a necessity if one is to be at all prepared for an attack."
To date, I've written four books on the close-range aspects of karate and kata application. As a result of the popularity of those books, I've also conducted innumerable seminars up and down the country on this very important part of karate training. Having visited a large number of clubs and groups, I've personally witnessed that an ever greater number of karateka are including regular bunkai study in their training. The karateka who embrace bunkai are therefore ensuring that the art is not practised in a "partial" way.
Nevertheless, bunkai study alone is still not enough. Remember, the techniques of the kata are there to record combative principles. Therefore, in order approach kata in a practical way, we also need to study the underlying principles.
Hironori Otsuka (founder of Wado-Ryu karate) once wrote; "It is obvious that these kata must be trained and practised sufficiently, but one must not be 'stuck' in them. One must withdraw from the kata to produce forms with no limits or else it becomes useless. It is important to alter the form of the trained kata without hesitation to produce countless other forms of training. Essentially, it is a habit - created over long periods of training. Because it is a habit, it comes to life with no hesitation - by the subconscious mind." ('Wado-Ryu Karate' page 19-20).
What Otsuka is telling us is that we need to ensure that we don't become fixated on the techniques of the kata. We need to move beyond technique and examine the principles that gave birth to those techniques. Once we understand the principles behind the techniques of the kata, we can adapt the movements of the kata to suit the exact situation we face. We shouldn't rigidly stick to the 'example' that the kata gives us. We should study the principles demonstrated by the kata technique so that we become adaptable and versatile fighters. Remember that kata is not fundamentally a record of techniques; it is more a record of principles.
Another analogy I like to use is to think of a kata as being like a block of ice. At low temperatures, the shape of the block of ice is constant. However, if heat is added, the ice will turn into water and its shape will adapt to fit its circumstances. Likewise, the solo kata is also constant, but in the heat of combat it will also adapt to its circumstances. The block of ice and the free flowing water may look very different, but they are essentially identical (the same molecules of hydrogen and oxygen). In the same way, the solo kata may look a little different to the ever-changing action of a live fight, but they are also essentially identical (the same fighting principles).
Techniques are for use in specific circumstances. Principles, however, are universal. No two fights are ever the same and if you only understand technique, you are dependant upon the fight presenting you with the specific circumstance in which you can apply your technique. Conversely, if you understand the principles, you do not need specific circumstances and hence you will be able to dominate and dictate the fight.
Having learnt the actual kata, we should then study the application of the movements demonstrated by that kata. Then having grasped the 'example' given by the kata, we should then analyse the fighting principles demonstrated by that example. From studying and experimenting with the principles, we develop the ability to adapt and vary the kata's techniques and we learn how to fight in accordance with the underlying principles. However, this is still not enough to make kata practice truly practical. We also need to gain experience of applying the kata's techniques and principles in live situations. The way to gain this experience is to engage in what I've termed as 'kata-based sparring'.
The majority of karateka include sparring in their training, but the most common type of sparring is based upon the requirements of modern competition and not the techniques and principles of the kata. The katas include throws, takedowns, locks, chokes, strangles, ground-work, elbows, knees etc. However, all of these are absent from most of modern karate sparring.
There are obvious safety issues surrounding kata-based sparring, especially the more 'all-in' variety. Whilst engaging in kata-based sparring I have bled, broken bones and dislocated joints. I therefore fully appreciate that the heavy contact and 'all-in' version is not for everyone. Nevertheless, there are many differing ways to structure kata-based training so that it is safe, beneficial and relevant. Indeed, there are a number of kata-based sparring drills that even the children in my classes engage in.
These 'low level' kata-based sparring drills are greatly enjoyed by most students as they bring the kata to life and help to develop meaningful skill. It's not the purpose of this article to discuss how to structure or organise your kata-based sparring. However, you can find out more about the various types of kata-based sparring in the free ebook I mentioned earlier.
It is vital that we gain live experience of applying the fighting techniques and principles recorded by the katas. Without such experience, all the knowledge we can gain from kata study will be 'theoretical'. We would be foolish to expect this theoretical knowledge to miraculously make the leap to 'practical knowledge' when we need it! Kata-based sparring will ensure that you can put the theory into practice and it will give you first hand experience of some of the sensations associated with actual combat.
It's amazing how many karateka have never practiced fighting from a clinch, never practised close-range strikes or have never practised throws etc. However, all of those methods are recorded in the katas that we practise almost every training session. If we look at the picture of myself performing a kata and then compare it with the pictures of myself and my colleague engaged in kata-based-sparring, to the uneducated eye it may look like the
two practises are not related. However, they are fundamentally the same thing! One is the "theory" and one is the "practise". They are based on the exact same combative principles (remember the "ice analogy" from earlier in this article?). Not only must the karateka practise the katas, they must also practise putting them into practise.
In this article we have seen how the element of karate most frequently criticised for its lack of practicality (kata) is ironically what can ensure that karate is a functional system! All we need to is ensure we approach kata in the right way.
To summarise, there are a number of aspects to kata practise, of which solo practise is just one. From a combative view point, simply repeating the kata is of little value. To make our kata practise practical, we need to engage in the entirety of kata practise. We need to study the applications of the kata, we need to understand the principles that the kata techniques represent, and we must also practise applying those techniques and principles in live kata-based sparring. Only then will we be practising kata in a practical way.
Iain Abernethy is the author of a number of books, DVDs and Videotapes on applied karate/kata-bunkai. Iain currently holds the rank of 5 th Dan Karate with the British Combat Association (one of the world's leading groups for self-protection and practical martial arts).
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