The place of kata

Kata remains important to me. I use its solo movements to revisit lessons explored through training with a partner.

I have not abandoned kata

I still practise and enjoy kata. What has changed is not how much I value kata, but where I place it in the learning process.

I no longer begin with a movement and invent an attack to make it fit. I begin with the physical problems people may face, then see whether something in kata helps me understand or remember a useful idea.

A memory aid, not a script

Kata is performed alone. It can help preserve a change of angle, a way of moving someone off balance, or a transition between positions. What it cannot show is how another person moves, resists or continues attacking.

That is why I return to paired practice. Bunkai — exploring how kata movements may be used with another person — needs more than a neat demonstration. A movement taught as a block might also help control an arm, pull someone off balance or deliver a short-range strike. Those possibilities need to be tested with a partner.

I do not look for one approved application for every movement. The underlying idea may be expressed differently when the distance, pressure or circumstances change.

The more I understand what the movement is helping me to remember, the less my response has to resemble the finished shape of the kata.

Returning to the solo form

After exploring a movement with another person, I can return to kata on my own. It helps me revisit the transitions and body movements we have been working on, while remembering what solo practice leaves out.

For me, kata supports the training. It does not decide what an attacker must do.

Further reading: How Do We Use Kata Effectively? explores this question in more detail.