Kata, the Driving Force of Karate - Fact or Fiction?

What draws people to karate's method of combat? Is it history, or its knowledge and skill or maybe it's because to some people it looks effortless and at times even elegant rather than as a system based on strength and youth.

The fact that those seeing the experienced karate practitioner render people helpless with punches and kicks excites them and they desire to have the same skills or as they see it a new form of fighting. It's true, traditional karate enjoys immense respect or at least it did once.

When karate first appeared on the scene, its way of fighting seemed almost miraculous to the uninitiated. But unfortunately over the following years it began to lose its statue once it wasn't new anymore.

During the Bruce Lee era, practitioners began to question traditional karate and when full contact karate was demonstrated the combination of hand boxing techniques, kicking and footwork it soon became apparent that as far as real combat was concerned it was superior over traditional karate techniques and the demise of the more traditional karate schools began as many of them moved over to make way for full contact karate.

The result of all this was that many karate schools were not traditional anymore and the word traditional became hard to justify. Today, it seems that there are three distinct types of karate practiced. One is the traditional type of karate practice consisting of (kihon) basics, kata and pre-arranged sparring (kumite) utilising what some may say useless or unrealistic techniques. "Not my opinion by the way".

However, the second school is the self defence method training and reacting to common self defence situations requiring a series of responses, they include, a variety of combative moves as well as striking, kicking both short and long-range all delivered with a realistic theme and an emphasis on an aggressive manner.

Then we have the third, which is sport karate, relying on footwork, distance and non-contact point scoring. As such, the training for a sporting contest the techniques would have been modified and power down-graded to help the non-contact aspect of the sport and the smooth, crisp touch only delivery of a winning technique upon ones opponent.

Sport karate, only equips the karate student with techniques to compete successfully in an arena shared by the desire to win and bring home some shining trophies. It is argued that some attributes of this form of karate are valuable in actual fighting.

While I agree that timing and quick reactions are useful outside in street fight I have my doubts about the rest. The fact is what the sport orientated fighter learns has very little resemblance to the realities of self defence or street fighting in truth, he will find himself poorly equipped if he had to deal with a real street criminal high on crack cocaine.

Now, this may sound a bit odd, to me anyway, since most students' prime goal in joining a martial arts club karate in particular, is to learn how to fight and defend themselves correct? I'm not trying to diminish the sports karate practitioner, success in any sport is commendable, and I'm just saying sport is sport okay.

Therefore, in the increasingly violent urban world we find ourselves living in the ability to act against an unprovoked violent attack means learning a practical skill set to do exactly that. So time spent in the dojo practising such techniques surely is time well spent. Don't you agree?

But regrettably, it is in the traditional dojo which causes the greatest confusion, which for the beginner comes about through training in kata movements that bare no resemblance to practical fighting.

But that isn't quite true, you see, kata movements combined with their practical applications (bunkai), are useful because the moves found within the bunkai of any given kata can and indeed do have practical street applications when it comes to self defence and real combat. And yet, the average student only receives training in kihon and kata movements and is judged for promotion purely on this basis.

In contrast, the old style of combat, techniques and strategies were designed for the battle field they were taught because they worked in real combat in that era. Modern day combat is very different so obviously practitioners don't expect to learn about the battlefield. Indeed, that means, the traditional karate-ka does not know if the technique he is practising is real or effective for the purpose given. This begs the question, was empty hand fighting really that much different a century or so ago than it is today?

After all, people grabbed and punched each other in the face, biting, clawing and grappling was the same as it is now during a Saturday night pub brawl, hitting people over the head with a sake bottle instead of a beer bottle. But kata moves seems to have no resemblance in such a setting. But, kata is what real combat is all about, kata is combat and kata is karate.

Let me explain, kata is quite simply a collection of deadly and effective combat techniques. It also utilises pressure point striking rather than random counter-blows. Which means, when kata movements are applied in real time they look the same as when performed solo. All in all, kata basics are just sections of kata peeled away to perform separately and more intense study.

What's more, the self defence aspects come directly out of the kata itself. By practising kata bunkai the student learns to understand the exact meaning of the movements as they are being performed so that it becomes the same as self defence training. Certain scenarios can be set up and kata movements used to pressure test there effectiveness.

Thus, the student comes to understand the concept of kata movements and by using visualisation as well to relate to the combat situation at the time your sub-conscious mind is being programmed to react instinctively to the said threat meaning, you will act without conscious thought. In the past karate masters understood and taught their students to use their minds through visualisation to see their opponent whilst performing kata.

The mind is a powerful tool and kata teaches you specific responses to set combat situations. But, all this means nothing; if we don't embrace the past teachings whilst at the same time, embrace the new, you must understand that the type of criminal and the type of threats we face today have changed but the physical techniques still remain the same it's variations of those very same skills that have changed in order to be able to deal effectively with the 21st century criminal and today, even terrorist's.

So, is teaching something new about reclaiming what has become lost? Establishing kata once again as the central point and key in training the karate-ka in a fighting art in its pure form as it was originally created to be? If your answer is yes, then in order for it to be so you must first unmask and make kata the driving force of any future karate training, true or not?