The role of kata
I have long held the belief that kata is the heart of karate, the most important element. Although this series has dealt with the development of the body and skills through drills, I would like to draw the reader's attention to the traditional side of the martial arts. Here are two extracts from my published articles which explain my views on the importance of karate kata.
From the article "Making an Impact":
What has kata got to do with fighting? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. It all depends on how you look at it.
In the kata we have the wisdom of the ages - the masters who have gone before us. When we practice a kata, we are doing karate here in the 21st Century exactly the way a student did it a hundred years ago. Master Funakoshi studied under Master Itosu, and spent three years learning each of the three Tekki katas. When I am practicing Tekki, I am very aware that I am learning karate the way that it was learned by the founder of Shotokan.
Performing a kata is like listening to a piece of music or reading a book. Milton said "a good book is the lifeblood of a master spirit". The kata were laid down by the Masters of karate, and their performance is to touch a higher world of experience, of thought manifested. Time, distance and death may deny us the opportunity to train with these greats, but performance of kata allows us to practice karate the way they intended it to be practiced. Arnold Bennett wrote "people who would sooner hibernate than feel intensely will do well to eschew literature". The same could be said of those who think they do not need to practice the kata!
Hanshi Steve Arniel of Kyokushinkai recently said that, after 40 years, he is still finding hidden bunkai in the kata that he was previously unaware of! Just goes to show to much more there is that we all have to learn.
George Dillman and Vince Morris have been teaching kyoshi jutsu - pressure point and grappling applications from the original kata. When doing bunkai in my class, I often try to show these "new old" moves for a deeper understanding. At my Jujutsu class, as a student, I am being shown techniques that I now realise I had known for years, that were hidden in the katas I had been practicing. This kind of deep wisdom can be no bad thing for a martial artist.
Master Enoeda states that kata is the heart of Shotokan, the heart of karate. The symbol of Shotokan is Tora - The Tiger. Master Enoeda himself has been called "The Shotokan Tiger", a compliment within a compliment. When performing kata, one can sum up the indominable spirit of a karate master, the spirit of the Tiger. In boxing, we hear talk of "eye of the tiger", as characterised in the film Rocky 3. Surely this is the same thing. If we can develop this through the practice of kata, how much will this spirit help us in a real encounter?
We are now left with another dilemna - which kata to practice? My favourite workout is to use the three kata Heian Godan, Bassai Dai and Jion. I believe these three best exemplify the Shotokan spirit. Heian Godan, with it's bold powerful movements, some of which can be seen again in Bassai Dai - who's very name means "to storm a fortress" - to knock down castle walls - the spirit to penetrate any defence. Jion, perhaps the ultimate Shotokan kata, who's name is handed down from the Jion temple of China, roots buried deep in Chinese Kempo, via Okinawa, via Japan. Often I "warmup" with kata before doing my bagwork and find my focus is better, techniques crisper and sharper, and my spirit and resolve set.
So back to the original question, what has kata got to do with fighting? I would say Everything!
From the article "Kata - Heart of the Matter":
To start with I would like to draw your attention to the eighteenth precept of Shotokan - "kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono" - "practising a kata is one thing, engaging in a real fight is another". Only by taking the bunkai and practicing them realistically as possible will they be of value to you. There are two reasons to practice bunkai - one is that it helps to understand the kata better, so that you have a better understanding of the technique if you know what it is supposed to be, and so that you can glean the defensive techniques from them.
Master Kanazawa, one of the greatest karate masters of modern times, set out ten elements for kata, which are to be practicised and understood by all students.
The first is Yoi no kisin and refers to the spirit of getting ready. Concentrate the mind and the will against the opponent. This is the first thing you do in the kata, before the movements themselves. Standing in yoi, without having even bowed, the kata has begun in the mind. In Japanese philisophy something that often appears is Sanmitsu - thought-word-deed. Think it, say it, do it. If you conceive of something, say what you think and mean it, then doing it is simple because most of the job is done. At this stage the fight is already over and you have already won, all you need do now is manifest that the situation in reality.
Imagine being a boxer and on the day of a big fight you read your horoscope in the paper and it says "today you will win that big fight". How would you feel if this was you on the morning of a karate tournament? How differently would you perform knowing you could not fail? It's all to do with self belief and confidence, so if you bring this mindset to every kata, imagine what you can do if you switch it on like a light before every fight?
The last Shotokan precept reads: Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo - "always think of ways to live the precepts every day". An old samurai maxim: "You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair."
So when we practice karate, we must commit ourselves 100%, wholeheartedly, like the samurai in battle who might die at any moment. For, if we're honest, how do we know that we won't?
Master Kanazawa's eighth element refers to kiai. Each kata has kiai at set points and we perform these to show martial spirit.
Like the rei, most karate students don't understand kiai. Just as the rei is more than a bow, the kiai is most definately more than just a shout. (For more insight on Rei, see my article How To Fight).
The sixth element refers to kokyu - breathing. Throughout the entire kata, breathing is specific and controlled. Each posture and movement can only be correctly performed with the proper breathing.
Most kata have two kiai. Unlike other techniques in martial art, there is no point in repeating kiai - one kiai, giving everything, is all that is needed. If you are capable of performing a second kiai immediately after the first then you have not done the first one properly!
Kiai is made of two words - ki, meaning energy, and ai meaning harmony or union. The union of energy.
You are weak when breathing in and strong when breathing out. When the enemy breathes in, shoot forward and hit him using kiai - so all your energy is in the technique. You hit him while you are strongest and he is weakest. Taking a deep breath and breathing out is a well known technique for calming oneself. A strong blow landed when one is breathing in can cause a shock which paralyses the heart and lungs. This is the origin of the stories about karate masters being able to kill an enemy with a single punch.
Shoto's fifteenth precept reads: "hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe" - "think of the hands and feet as swords". With the knowledge of your own breathing and knowledge of your enemy's breathing, your hands and feet will truly be as effective as any sword. Knowledge is power, after all.
