Karate Kata Explained - Part One

[Arthur Stone]

Kata. What is it? For anybody who has not studied one of the classical
styles of karate, taekwondo or kung fu this can be a very perplexing
question. To answer the question I am going to assume that my readers
have no understanding of the term "kata" at all. I know this is
obviously not true. In fact, some readers will undoubtedly have an
equal or even better knowledge of the subject than I do. However, I
have found over the years that it is always better when explaining to
begin in a very basic way and build up from there.
The word kata is of Japanese origin. There are similar words in the
Chinese, Korean and other martial arts but I am going to use the word
kata because that is what I am more familiar with and it will be
easier for the sake of standardizing the explanation.
OK. What is a kata? A kata is a concise set of pre-arranged defensive
and offensive movements performed in different directions and enacted
against imaginary opponents. Many martial arts use kata as the
foundation of their entire teaching structure.
The number of movements in a kata can be relatively few or may be
many. Some of the smaller training kata for beginners may contain as
little as ten movements. However, they can also contain more than one
hundred sequential techniques. It all depends on the experience of the
practitioner and his or her level of ability. Naturally, the more
inexperienced the person, the more simple will be the kata. For
example, the first Shotokan karate kata, called Kihon Kata (also known
as Taikyoku Shodan), consists of only one stance, one block and one
punch - all performed in different directions. The Goju Ryu style of
karate has a similar kata called Gekisai Ichi.
At the other end of the scale, in the Shotokan style, are kata such as
Unsu and Gojushiho. Unsu is Shotokan's most senior kata. It contains
approximately fifty movements. Gojushiho has two versions, each of
approximately seventy movements, depending on the criteria used for
counting the actual number of movements.
Goju Ryu's most difficult katas are Suparimpai (the highest kata in
the style) and Kururunfa. In fact, some technical articles which have
been written on the development of Goju Ryu have suggested that these
two kata were originally one. With Suparimpai running to nearly 110
movements and Kururunfa to almost seventy, it is not difficult to
understand why they could have been split into two.
In all the martial arts which use kata as their base, it is not only
the number of movements which make a kata difficult, it is the
complexity of movements as well. There are also subtle nuances such as
timing, alternating speeds, tension and relaxation, angles of
execution and varying difficulties of stance to name a few.
Most kata have rather exotic translations, many of which are obscure
even to experienced martial artists. Of those mentioned above,
"Taikyoku Shodan" means "First Cause", "Gojushihosho" means "The First
Fifty Four Steps", "Unsu" means "Cloud Hands", "Gekisai Ichi" means
"Break, Hit and Destroy", "Suparimpai" means "The Final 108 Steps" and
"Kururunfa" means " Holding Your Ground."
Some other names of kata which I find personally rather enchanting
are: Sanchin ( The Three Battles of Mind, Spirit and Body), Rohai
(Vision of a White Heron), Empi (Flight of the Swallow), Matsukaze
(The King's Crown), Gankaku (Crane Standing on a Rock), Sochin (The
Grand Prize) and Annanko (The Light Shining From the South).
There are approximately fifty well-known karate kata currently being
practiced today. Some are common between styles but some are unique to
an individual style only. There are also differing methods of
performing a kata of the same name between different styles. Some very
rare and lesser known kata are also practiced. Then, of course, there
are kata which certain modern day individuals have made up as personal
kata. Many traditionalists do not favour this. However, some styles
demand the construction of a kata before an individual is allowed to
pass a particular rank. These are the "freestyle" clubs who borrow
techniques and ideas from everywhere and anywhere.
All of the kata that I have mentioned above are long standing
traditional kata which have been handed down from master to student
through the ages. They have stood the test of time, some through mere
decades, others through centuries.
Before the excellent recording methods that we have available today
such as computers, videos and books, each individual kata could only
be replicated by memory and rough drawings. This is the reason why so
many discrepancies exist. As each giver of information passed it on to
his next disciple, subtle variations were made either through poor
instruction, misunderstanding or deliberate alteration either by the
master or the student. Perhaps the master perceived that the student
was not ready for the full techniques of the kata. Perhaps the student
believed that he had found a better method of performing certain
techniques. Who knows?
It is suffice to say that for whatever reason or reasons, most kata
are not performed exactly the same between the different styles of
karate. For example, Shotokan, Yoseikan and Shito Ryu karate all list
the five Heian kata in their syllabus. However, all are performed
slightly differently.
If these ancient kata were being devised today there would be no
reason for any discrepancies to occur accidentally. Today we have
thousands of instructional video tapes depicting exactly the method
used in each of the kata that are used in all the various styles.
For further information on karate kata please proceed to Part Two...

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