 Paste Text Here .... Dave Lowry began his training in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu ken-jutsu under master Kotaro Ryokichi. Like all traditional Japanese arts of the sword, training emphasises Kata. ‘The first kata of the Yagyu Shinkage ryu required me to step forward four times, delivering an overhead strike, then a sideways slash from left to right, followed by a reverse cut from right to left, and finishing with a stab to the chest. The defender in this kata moves steadily backward in response to the assaults, blocking and redirecting the assailant, countering the final thrust with a slicing cut that would sever the arms of the attacker if the weapons were not of wood. As I repeated the sequence to memorise it, Sensei simply met my oaken blade, assuming the role of defender and putting nothing of the tremendous strength of his hips and shoulders into the blocks. When we had covered the length of the dojo floor, we switched roles and slowly waltzed back again, this time with him attacking, again without force, and me defending.
As I began to learn them, the kata of the Yagyu style of swordsmanship had none of the speed and force of the individual techniques I performed daily. But patiently, Sensei increased the tempo of the two man exercises. His blocks came a little bit faster, with more focus. In attacking, his speed was even greater. I hardly finished making one parry before the second cut was upon me, forcing me back steadily. The difference between cutting and defending against an imaginary opponent...and entering a session with another body that moved and struck back was enormous. I would find myself skipping in an effort to keep up with my teacher as he retreated ever more quickly from the reach of my bokken. When I did catch up, I would be out of place for the following strike and Sensei’s bokken would come down like a lash on my hands or wrists. The return trip up the dojo floor was just as swift, with Sensei’s hacking cuts constantly threatening. Where once I had been able to make a strong stance and creditable block, I found myself batting with my bokken and scrambling to avoid getting hit. Under the pressure of the kata, attention was narrowed. My mind was filled with the sounds of the dojo, the slap, shuffle, slap, of our feet as they slid across the smooth wooden planks; the sharp bark of the bokken meeting; the rustling of hakama; my laboured pants - and the steady, overwhelming hiss as sensei exhaled, always exhaled, like a tiger approaching from the forest.’ [i]
For the Japanese samurai the constant fighting which marked the Sengoku Jidai or Age of War (1490-1600) meant that the techniques of all the schools of bu-jutsu were constantly being field-tested under harsh conditions, but once peace came to Japan after the victory of the Tokugawa at Sekigahara, the schools of bu-jutsu were no longer subjected to the same unforgiving environment. Karl Friday and Sumi Humitake point out in their excellent work on traditional swordsmanship and the samurai that without the constraints imposed by the needs of actual fighting kata tend to become meaningless in traditional terms. “Under such conditions, kata came to assume an enlarged role in the teaching and learning process. For new generations of first students and then teachers who had never known combat, pattern practise became their only exposure to martial skills. As instructors slipped further and further away from battlefield and duelling experience, and as evaluation of student progress came to be based on performance on pattern practise alone, it became increasingly difficult to determine whether or not students - or even their teachers - actually understood the kata they were performing. In some schools, skill in pattern practise became an end in itself and of itself. Kata grew showier and more stylised, while trainees danced their way through them with little attempt to internalise anything but the outward form.” [ii]
Modern model
Shotokan instructor Takayuki Mikami comments on the changes in technique and training methods. “Even in the same style, kata changes. The JKA kata changed from the kata in Okinawa. Originally the stances were higher and narrower. In Japan, kata stances became deeper and more elongated. Within the JKA, there was a definite purpose in doing this. The primary reason was physical development. Deeper, lower stances build up the legs to a greater degree. So that was why we made changes. True, the original forms were used in training karate-ka for fighting. But that purpose no longer holds. So the changes are for the better in that they adapt karate to the present day and increase an individual’s physical development.” [iii] Although Mikami does not comment on the reasoning behind the JKA’s decision to abandon the traditional approach to kata training, it is likely that one major consideration was that the classical approach was very time consuming. [iv] Okinawan Shorin Ryu instructor Takayoshi Nagamine observes that “After years of practice, the student begins to take moves from the kata and make practical applications...Of course, to any kata there can be many variations in the bunkai. It is up to the advanced student to explore these possibilities.” [v]
In the early 1950s Shotokan was mainly practised in the universities and Japanese university students simply did not have the time to explore the bunkai of the kata to develop fighting skills. Like university kendo and Judo dojos competitively based sparring methods replaced the older kata centred approach. The decision to relegate the primary role of kata as methods of developing combat skills to the secondary function of supplementary callisthenics exercises intended to strengthen the legs indicate how far the JKA had moved from both the traditional Okinawan model and from Gichin Funakoshi’s ideas. Once kumite training became the main way of inculcating fighting skills, the role and importance of kata changed in the JKA scheme of training. JKA kata and kumite champion Yoshiharu Osaka believes “if you can do the Heian kata well, then the advanced kata are easy”. [vi]
One of Osaka’s students David Hooper pointed out that when Osaka takes an advanced kata class at the JKA honbu dojo he “spends more than half the time...referring back to the five basic Heian katas. The spinning high outside block in Jion kata that finishes in back stance, for example, is fundamentally the same movement as the first spinning downward block in Heian shodan. If students can’t do the latter, it should be no surprise that the former seems so difficult.” [vii] While the mechanics of the movements in the basic Heian kata and the more advanced kata may be fundamentally the same, the possible application of those movements may reflect very different responses to a wide range of attacks. Reducing kata practice to the lowest common denominator of developing good body mechanics is to negate the need for anything more than the five Heian kata or even just Kanku-dai. Those who promote this approach need to explain the point of maintaining a group of twenty-six kata: practising a large number of kata only makes sense if those kata are the vehicles for transmitting a wide range of self-defence techniques via the bunkai. If the purpose of kata is simply physical education a small number of training routines will suffice. According to Hirokazu Kanazawa when Itosu created the five Pinan (Heian) kata he derived the movements from Kushanku (Kanku-dai), [viii] so it could be argued that for dan grades Kanku-dai might be the only kata they need to practice as it includes all the techniques found in the five Heians, plus aspects of Bassai-dai and Tekki shodan. This was certainly the position held by Itosu’s student Kentsu Yabu, who advised his followers “If you have time to practice the Pinan, (Heian), practice Kushanku (Kankudai) instead.” [ix]
Masatoshi Nakayama suggested that the five Heians were sufficient to develop the skills needed to master karate. He wrote “Through the performance of the Heian kata, one should master the principles and skills that are indispensable in karate.” [x] In fact Masatoshi Nakayama once told a group of American karate-ka that Heian shodan was the perfect vehicle to incorporate new knowledge into basic techniques. [xi] The other kata were seen to be of value in the sporting arena as they added variety to the competitor’s repertoire. Nakayama noted that learning Bassai-dai and Kanku-dai is “important...as they are both selected for Japan Karate Association matches.” [xii] Other senior Shotokan instructors also accord great value to the basic kata. Teruyuki Okazaki believes that “All the techniques and strategies we need for self defence and kumite are contained in the fundamental kata.” [xiii] Masahiko Tanaka states that “Master Funakoshi believed that fifteen kata are enough for the practitioner of karate disciplines. For the other kata it is sufficient to practice their application.” [xiv]
The modern approach to kata training referred to by Takayuki Mikami was transmitted to foreign students of Shotokan. Frank Cope began to train in Shotokan in England in 1960. He believes that training in bunkai is a “time waster.” He says that kata training “is a way to improve basic form...really it is just an extension of kihon (basic) training, and it certainly isn’t “Kumite”...If you want to practise sparring, then do more kumite training.” When asked what was the point of kata training he replied “it’s good for your spirit, it’s good for your attitude...Kata is kata. It’s on its own, it’s an exercise...I think kata practise is very important, it’s like a life-exercise, like T’ai Chi I suppose, only more dynamic. It’s a training method.” [xv]
Some senior Shotokan instructors think differently, and embrace a more traditional viewpoint. Robin Rielly, an American Shotokan 6th dan, says that “Without the practice of bunkai, there can be no real understanding of the movements, and the kata becomes merely a gymnastic exercise. Those who wish to truly understand kata and perform it well must practise the application of the moves...the possibilities for the interpretation of a kata movement seem to be endless, limited only by the practitioner’s imagination. This is why higher ranked karate practitioner’s talk about “studying” kata, not just performing it...Being able to walk through the movements of 20 kata is useless if one has no feeling for or understanding of any of the movements. It would be comparable to reading a book in an unknown language. One could pronounce all the words, but the meaning would be incomprehensible.” [xvi]
Rielly’s instructor Hidetaka Nishiyama says “The problem today is that everyone copies their instructor and very few people understand the proper application of the moves in kata. The kata is only an outside symbol that represents the inside. So you must understand the inside, if not then you are only a puppet doing movements with no meaning.” [xvii] Tetsuhiko Asai (born 1935) 9th dan explains that “Kata is kata. It is the tradition of karate. Kata applications have always been practised as part of that tradition. Each style has its own tradition, like Shotokan or Goju or Chinese styles. To practise the applications from the kata is called Yakusoku kumite. This is a way to get a feel for and an understanding of the techniques from the kata. To practise Yakusoku kumite with a partner or more than one partner has always been the tradition. It is a pre-arranged kumite...you know what you are going to do and they know what they are going to do, like a demonstration. Of course there are many variations on what you can do. But, this has always been the tradition with kata. I have my own ideas on the meanings, just like other people have their own ideas. This is why the kata change slightly sometimes, because of people’s different interpretation of the application. You practise the kata as an exercise and the applications as Yakusoku kumite. This is the tradition.” [xviii]
Fusajiro Takagi was a student of Gichin Funakoshi. He explains that “Although there are many stages depending on the practitioner’s level, the importance should be placed on whether the individual understands the meaning contained in the movements of the kata. Without practice based on the understanding of the meaning of kata, then kata practice has no value. Of course, the level of understanding will naturally vary depending on the practitioner’s level, a shodan (1 dan) will have a shodan’s understanding; and an 8-dan will have an 8-dan’s understanding. A recent tendency is to practice kata which is appealing for competition purposes; however, competition is only a part of practice and not the final goal of karate. Importance should be placed on the accurate understanding of the meaning of kata and to the mastering of its movements in accordance with the meaning through practice. Further, kata was formulated against an imaginary opponent, thus, the meaning changes if the opponent changes. That’s why the kata of karate is limitless in variety and its practice never ending.” [xix]
The American karate-ka and full contact fighter Bill Wallace in his column ‘Front Kicks’ [xx] asked the question ‘Do You Want to Dance?’ He describes the type of ‘creative, innovative’ kata that has been on the American scene for some time and is starting to appear more and more in Britain ‘Kata competition today is done for beauty, not the effectiveness of the techniques. It is a beauty pageant to see who dresses the nicest, and who can do the most somersaults or back flips to wow the crowd and win the musical forms. It’s not really martial arts any more. It’s - like Jhoon Rhee has said - a martial ballet. It’s a dance. The kata competitors come out and do somersaults and back flips, and maybe throw a punch or one or two kicks. People like to see that, but it has nothing to do with the martial arts. I was in the Cayman Islands recently, and I was talking to some kids who asked me if I could do back flips and such like they had seen in the martial arts movies. I said ‘No. Every time I’ve tried to do a back flip, I’ve landed flat on my face.’ People want to see the back flips and the somersaults in kata. It’s fancy, but it’s not kata any more. When old traditional Japanese karate instructors look at that stuff, they just kind of giggle. They are probably thinking to themselves ‘Okay, fight me like that. Come on. Do a back flip. As soon as you land I’m going to take your face off.’
This kind of gymnastic approach has made inroads in many of the kata taught by systems regarded as ‘traditional’. For example the older version of Unsu kata features a spin on the supporting leg meshed with a crescent kick, followed by a ducking action to the ground. The more modern version, where the body is launched in to the air, is practised by most Shotokan karate-ka. It is physically more demanding than the older version but less practical in application. We can see the same process at work in Kanku-sho; the modern version includes a jumping action where the sole of the right foot strikes the extended left palm, followed by the rest of the body which leaves the ground and turns over in the air. I have a video of a senior JKA karate-ka performing the same kata in the 1950s. In the older version the karate-ka does not leave the ground, but extends the hand in kokutsu dachi, hits it with a crescent kick, and then drops to the ground as if ducking a blow or grabbing an opponent’s ankles in order to throw him.
[i] Autumn Lightning: The Education of an American Samurai Dave Lowry Shambhala 1985 pp 78-79
[ii] Karl F. Friday with Seki Humitake, Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture (Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press, 1997), 117-118.
[iii] Harrison McGuane, “Takayuki Mikami: A Shotokan Master Looks Back” Inside Karate 6 (1): 23 (Jan. 1985).
[iv] There are also Japanese aesthetics to be considered. Many Japanese have a belief in “form” which seems illogical to anyone accustomed to a more analytical empiricist way of thinking. A classic example of this is to be found in Robert Whiting’s The Chrysanthemum and the Bat (Tokyo, The Permanent Press, 1977), 41. This work, a fascinating study of the Japanese approach to baseball, provides an interesting insight into Japanese mentality, and the Japanese way of doing things. Whiting says the “obsession with form has its basis in the Japanese belief that form has a reality of its own. There is a right and wrong way to attack an opponent with a sword, to arrange flowers in a vase, to construct a garden...The correct form...has been discovered and refined...by the great masters of the past. A good player is one who can merge his own movements with correct form; everything else will follow in time.
In America, excellence is equated with getting results no matter how unorthodox the form. In Japan it is more important to conform to the set way of doing things.”
Joe Joseph, The Times Tokyo correspondent observes “in every school playing field across the country...you can see thousands of children, dressed in expensive tennis whites or immaculate baseball outfits, serving imaginary tennis balls and striking phantom baseballs, for hours on end, until they can mime perfectly the textbook rhythm of the movement. It is only when a real ball is introduced that the schoolboy athletes encounter a spot of trouble.”
Joe Joseph, The Japanese Strange But Not Strangers, (London, Viking an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd., 1993), 236.
[v] Matt McCormick, “Nagamine on Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu” Kick Illustrated 4 (11):34 (November, 1983).
[vi] Anon, “JKA Champion Visits England” Combat 3 (5): 31 (Feb., 1977).
[vii] David Hooper, “Thoughts from Japan JKA Shotokan” Dragon Times 14:9.
[viii] Hirokazu Kanazawa, Shotokan Karate International Kata Vol. 1 (Japan, 1981), 137.
[ix] Charles J. Swift, “Channan The “Lost” Kata of Itosu ?” Dragon Times 18:28.
[x] Masatoshi Nakayama, Best Karate Vol. 5 (Tokyo, Kodansha International Ltd., 1979), 14.
[xi] Stephen St. Laurent, “The Essence of Kata As Taught By Master Masatoshi Nakayama” Fighting Arts International 57 Vol. 10 (3):35.
[xii] Masatoshi Nakayama, Best Karate Vol. 6 (Tokyo, Kodansha International Ltd., 1979), 14.
[xiii] Farid B. Amin M.D., “Master Teruyuki Okazaki Seminar” Shotokan Karate 67:4 (May, 2001).
[xiv] Masahiko Tanaka, trans. Schlatt, Karate-Do Perfecting Kumite (Lauda Konigshoften, Germany Erhard Gotzelmann, 2001), 242.
[xv] John Cheetham, “Frank Cope 6th Dan ‘A Pioneer of British Shotokan’ ”Shotokan Karate 38 p7.
[xvi] Robin Rielly, “Kata To Kumite The Role of Bunkai” Shotokan Karate 24 p17.
[xvii] Don Warrener, “Nishiyama Hidetaka: A Karate-ka’s Karate-ka” Bugeisha 3, p51 (Summer 1997).
[xviii] John Cheetham, “Tetsuhiko Asai 9th Dan Chief Instructor to the J.K.A.” Shotokan Karate 39 p 5-6.
[xix] Anon, “I Still Discover New Things” Karate-Do Nippon 2 p12 (September 1987).
[xx] Black Belt magazine October 1992 Vol. 30 # 10
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