The Purpose of Kata

[Rick Wilson]

The Purpose of Kata


The purpose of kata is to have a purpose.

Lots of folk give up on Kata because for them it becomes a superficial exercise and just training applications gives them more bang for their buck.

However, if we look deep into the Kata we begin to see that if we do Kata with the principles we believe in then the movements begin to take on a purpose and through that purpose we begin to learn.

Patrick McCarthy has written that there is no Chicken or the Egg conundrum in Kata.

There was application and the movements of the kata were derived from the underlying principles that made the applications work.

This does not mean there is or was only one application for a Kata move.

The example for me is the six harmonies. If we work the harmonies in our Kata it becomes much easier to use them in application.

Another could be moving with the core.

Or driving with the knee.

Many examples.

But once a Kata movement takes on purpose then the ground opens up and you begin to see the depth of kata.

[emattson]

"form" is translated in Japanese to "kata".

102 katas are approved by the World Karate Federation, which seems like a lot. Uechi-Ryu has 8 kata. Sanchin is the very first kata I learned; even though it's basic, people can still improve upon it's form many years after being awarded their black belt.