Kata as calisthenics

LastKing · Yellow Belt

In our club, under our old sensai, kata was used simply as a tool for burning calories, though, he insisted on good form.
Personally, I enjoy bunkai, but that's probably because I've got that kind of mind which is entertained by conceptual debate and the big reveal. But more than that, I like to think of them as a tool for mental engagement and relaxation. I see them as faster, more aggressive versions of tai chi (tai chi, of course, being kata taken to its logical extreme), and just the process of learning kata is an end in itself. It uses that part of the brain which is dormant so much in every day life, and is a nice counterpoint to the flurry and aggression of sparring and the repetition of kihon.

RW · Green Belt

From a historical perspective, kata is a living encyclopedia of sorts.

At one point in history, not everybody could read and write (and of course, there were no print books or youtube videos

)

So how do you pass the knowledge of the moves of your martial art? Well, by teaching them.

So you have to teach every strike...every block... every stance... every transition. It's an overwhelming task!

Unless you could... integrate several moves, blocks and stances into a sequence? Say you have a sequence where the person turns to the left, does a specific stance and a specific block, then transitions into a different stance and a strike... you just taught 5 things (stance, block, movement, stance, strike) in 2 moves!

Welcome to Kata.... the living encyclopedia of martial arts. Bunkai is important, because it puts into context how those moves work too.

That's it, in my opinion. I don't think it was meant to teach people how to fight (that's why you spar and drill the techniques) or something like that. Kata is like the encylopedia that teaches you the moves that you'll be using in drills, sparring, etc etc.

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