The Essence of Traditional Karate: Kata

Karate Begins and ends with courtesy. At the beginning and end of each class we bow to the front show respect for all of those instructors who have preserved traditional karate and made it available to us.  Then Sensei bows to students and students bow to Sensei. Sensei bows to show appreciation for the students as well as what Sensei will learn in the process of teaching the students.  Students bow to Sensei to show appreciation for the time sensei will take to train them. At the ends of class students bow to each other, as a way of showing courtesy for what they learned from each other during the class.  When we bow we consciously think about courtesy and respect. If there is no courtesy it is not a Traditional Karate class.

Now you may be wondering what is kata and why was this guy rambling about courtesy and bowing.  Kata is an organized way to pass on effective combat techniques. Each kata is based on specific principals of self-defense.   Whenever we train kata we begin and end with a bow and consciously think about courtesy.   Using the physical techniques of karate is a last resort if we first start with respect and courtesy for those around us often times we can solve conflicts without resorting to violence.

After bowing we then come to the ready position (yoi).  We clear our mind and prepare for the business at hand.  The karate-ka lower their weight, steadies their breathing, straighten their posture,  chin leaned slightly forward, mouth shut, and hands crossed one atop the other (symbolizing non-aggression).  There are no pre-occupying thoughts only the task about to be started the kata.

The first stage of learning kata is committing the movements to memory.  This can be an awkward time for students as they must concentrate very much on themselves.  In this stage student concentrate on balance, breathing, distance timing, etc.  In this stage students to look awkward, movements tend to be uneven and require much effort.  Over time the movements are committed to muscle memory, movements become smooth and powerful while requiring less effort and now the karate-ka is ready to learn the meaning of the kata.

The second stage a karate-ka learns kihon bunkai (basic applications) for the movements.  The sensei shows them the basic meanings of the movements and they are paired up with a partner to practice to self-defense techniques. Now the karate-ka begins to understand what it is they are actually doing in the kata.  This changes their kata performance, now they visualize the attackers and begin to apply power appropriately in their techniques. Timing, breathing and movement become smoother.  Students at this stage realize that through concentrate effort they can reach their goals.  At this point the student is ready for grading and will begin the process anew with a more complex kata.

Next Blog: The Essence of Traditional Karate: Kata part 2 : the third stage of learning kata

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