Kata, What is it Good for?

 

A series of recent conversations made me question what I do.  There was more than just Kata covered, but this is indicative of a whole train of thought.   To deal with it all in one go would be difficult, so I intend to look at the elements strand by strand, starting with Kata.

I hope that it is understood that originally Kata were developed as an aide memoire for the body to remember the moves associated with combat, developing them to a point that they become muscle memory and burning them into the subconscious to be used as a "flinch" response.  They are not necessarily intended to be pretty, their intention is to be brutal, to defend yourself as second nature.

That said, there are differing opinions on how they can be taught, and ultimately I believe what they can be used for apart from their initial intent.

How Kata is taught

So firstly I would like to consider how Kata is taught for the original purpose.  

The traditional (as I had it explained to me) mechanism is that Kata should not be taught until all the basic moves of the system you are learning are fully mastered.  This includes kicks, blocks, strikes and above all stances.  From that point you should be able to learn Kata.  This should be simply a matter of putting the elements in sequence.  The sequence can be learnt in stages, but should always be practiced at full speed and with full intent, as the moves are already ingrained.

The method by which I learnt my first kata is different.  Although Kata was not included in my first grading, the first one was included in the third grading.  The elements of the Kata were taught alongside the basics, along with an understanding of how the elements were intended to be used.  This doesn't mean that you use the strikes, blocks and kicks in the sequence drilled, but you understand what they represent.  Kata are learnt in stages, but you learn them slow at first, then build them up to full power and speed.

Learning Kata from a video gives you none of this.   However, I would suggest that if Kata are used for purposes other than the original intent, then this may be a reasonable mechanism by which to learn.  Provided of course it is backed up by other tuition in the purpose for which you are using it.

How Kata can be used

So the obvious use for a Kata is to learn techniques for self defence.  This is the traditional purpose espoused by the likes of Kung Fu and Okinawan Karate.  There are obviously other martial arts that use similar techniques but these are the two I am using as reference points.

For other uses, let's start with the big Negative if introduced as a part of school education, they can be used as a tool for mass indoctrination.  This is precisely what the Pinan or Heian Kata were developed for, to fit into the Education system and develop good soldiers for the Japanese War machine.

That said, I believe they can be effectively used as a form of physical exercise.  I worked with a couple of Sensei to develop my use of Kata as mild cardio and breathing exercise, so I believe that is a legitimate extension of their use.

Kata can also be used as a form of meditation and reflection, as I found when I undertook Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help mitigate stress and depression.  I use one Kata for feeling a sense of position, another for tensioning and a third for relaxing (same as I use for deep breathing).

Kata can be used for competition, to demonstrate physical competence in execution and if taken to the limit, artistic grace in interpretation.  Not my cup of tea, and my co-ordination is such that I couldn't perform as they do if I tried, but it is certainly beautiful to watch and takes a lot of skill and effort to perform.

Finally, I actually find it fun to try to learn new Kata (at least the framework), as it is both a mental and physical challenge to me.  

I honestly believe that you can use Kata for what you want, so long as you understand the intent and what you do is fit for the purpose you intend.  For example, sports kata are probably not worth learning if you want to learn self defence.

Any comments are much welcomed.

REY 24/09/2022

Notes on The Martial Arts of Ryukyu - a Nerd blog

These are my recollections of the online lecture given by Andreas Quast to Karate Virtual on 22/08/2020.  This lecture was given against the timeline given in:

Peridization of Ryukyukan History

Pre 1609           - Old Ryukyu
1609-1879        - Early Modern Ryukyu
1879 onward    -  Modern and Present Ryukyu

Old Ryukyu, according to the lecture, was a very martial place, but not by way of open hand martial arts.  There were originally a number of distinct early kingdoms which were unified at the start of the Sho dynasty (The Ryukyukan Royal family from 1429 or 1470 to 1879).  The Ryukyukans of the time prided themselves on their prowess, and with the Royal family being invested by the Chinese, they had a monopoly of trade with the mainland.

The Satsuma clan from Japan, a part of the Shogunate, had tried to come to arrangements with Ryukyu for access to trade and intelligence, but weren't exactly met with approval.  On a least one occasion, the severed head of an emissary was sent back to the Satsuma clan.  The final straw was when an army from Ryukyu attacked the Satsuma holdings in Japan itself.  This resulting in the Satsuma clan's army invading Ryukyu and subjugating the country in 1609.

The Satsuma clan allowed the Sho Dynasty to keep the throne of Ryukyu (presumably to maintain the links with China), but gained access to trade and information, and took control of the protection of Ryukyu, with the arrangement to defend the kingdom if needed.  They instituted an uncontrolled Fire arms ban, but access to swords and other weapons was never removed.   At this time, Japanese martial arts would have also started to feature in the culture of Ryukyu.

The martial aspect of Ryukyukan culture was not removed, but rather reflected into internal security.  Duties such Coast guard duties, defense of official shipping against against pirates, local law enforcement, protection of property and noble families, etc.  became a major feature of their culture.  Local officials started to be trained accordingly and eventually three "schools" were established for this function.   These were in Shuri, Naha and Tomari (sound familiar?) with (if I remember correctly) the School in Naha concentrating on Coastal and Shipping protection and the one in Tomari on Law Enforcement.

The use of fire-arms was permitted, but only under license from the Satsuma clan.  There was an arsenal maintained in Naha, from which were signed out Cannon and other firearms, for use in the protection of shipping against piratic activity.  Once the duties were finished, the weapons had to be returned to the arsenal and accounted for.

Apart from swords, naginata and the like in the hands of nobility and their protectors, two other weapons that were in use at the time, for things such as law enforcement and property protection were probably bo and sai.  The sai of the time were not stabbing weapons but were blunted, possibly used for prodding, weapon and limb trapping and control.

Martial arts of the time were not just limited to security, coastal protection and law enforcement; they took the form of dance, physical exercise, sport and cultural events.  The use of bo in village festivals is well established, there are dances which draw heavily on martial influences and demonstrations of martial prowess formed a part of things such as building dedications. There are definite local roots to sports such as wrestling (Shimi is an old local form of wrestling similar to Sumo) in Ryukyu as well.

Where do kata feature in all of this?  That there was a long established Chinese trading enclave in Ryukyu is long established, and the practice of forms as part of Chinese martial art is also well established.  However, there were also Chinese settlers in Ryukyu. Most of these lived in the area known as Kume village.

For many years, the earliest known demonstration of kata took place at the Ochayagoten in the East garden of Shuri castle on March 24th, 1867, for the visit of the Chinese Sappochi, as part of a three part demonstration of folk dance, drum music and bujutsu.  The kata performed at the event were seisan by Aragaki Tsuji. and suparinpei by Tomura Chikudon.  This is event has become known as "The 10 items of Bugei" 

10 items of Bugei - Jesse Enkamp (P. McCarthu)

What is less well known is that the performers were not from Shuri, Naha or Tomari, rather they came from the village of Kume.

However, more recently an earlier demonstration has come to light, from an interview carried out at the start of the 20th century with one of the participants.  The demonstration to place in the late 1849 for the renewal celebrations for one of the wooden palaces at Shuri Castle.  The kata he recalled being performed were Passai and Kushanku, again by the people of Kume village.

In conclusion (these are mine, not Andreas')

The Meiji restoration of 1879, dismantling of the Kingdom of Ryukyu and militarization of Japan all probably helped trigger the foundation of what we know as Karate of today, but what it is made up of is a melange of all the things that went before, during the Early Modern period.  What individual styles teach now is more likely a result of who the originators were taught by, and trained with, rather than the place they came from.

Kata similar do not belong to any particular style, as labelled Shuri, Naha or Tomari te in origin, but are again a function of what specific masters learnt from others around them.

A video of the full lecture can be found by following the below link:

Martial Arts of Ryukyu Through the Centuries - Andreas Quast /Karate Virtual

You can always watch and drawn your own conclusions.