The Kata of Kokondo Karate

Until the introduction of free-sparring in the 1950’s, kata was universally considered to be the core element of karate training and the most important area of development for karate practitioners. Today, while most of the traditional schools still practice and teach kata, many do so for purposes of competition, necesitating that greater emphasis be placed on the aesthetics of kata as a performance rather than on the self-defense techniques contained within the movements of each form. Kokondo’s primary reason for emphasizing kata is to teach the diverse arsenal of self defense techniques and lessons developed by sensei in previous generations. Since there were few written records of karate techniques until this century, we must consider kata to be the living encyclopedia of ancient karate sensei.

Kata practice offers many benefits to Kokondo-ka in addition to self defense. All Kokondo kata require deep, strong stances and include upper and lower body techniques, providing excellent all-around muscle development and flexibility. Most kata include techniques on both the left and right sides, enhancing one’s coordination. Multiple repetitions of kata offer an excellent cardiovascular workout, with the added benefit of unified mental and physical coordination. For this reason, kata practice should never be boring. By definition, kata is the simultanious development of mind and body working together in harmony--an essential ingredient for effective self-defense. Kata practice enhances concentration and focus, lessons which carry outside the dojo into Kokondo-kas’ everyday lives. Kata practice allows individuals to learn and train at their own speeds, and to set personal goals which can be reached, beaten, and revised. Finally, unlike most other martial arts activities, kata allows one to practice karate at any time and in any location, alone or with other people.

Some of the characteristics of all traditional karate kata include* :

In Kokondo karate, one of our primary goals is for our basics, kata, kumite and self-defense to be performed virtually identically. This goal can only be accomplished with continuous and rigorous study of both kata and their bunkai. Interestingly, as one delves deeper into repetitions of a given kata, those particular techniques are ingrained and perfected mentally and physically into the “muscle memory” of the karate-ka. Thus, with correct kata training, when one defends against fast incoming surprise atacks, the correct bunkai emerges automatically and effectively. On the contrary, if one memorizes the moves of a kata unaware of their purpose, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to draw on kata in a real self defense encounter. As Shihan Arel teaches, one must practice kata so that it “becomes a part of you, and only then it will be there when you need it.”

Many modern martial artists (including some from “traditional” styles) see kata as an outdated exercise which serves no self-defense purposes. After all, how many fights in the real world procede according to a choroeographed pattern? This argument immediately indicates a lack of understanding of both kata and of the value of traditional karate training. In self-defense, techniques from kata need not be extracted in the exact order in which they appear in the form itself. Rather, individuals adept at bunkai select specific movements or groups of techniques from various kata and utilize them in combination (renraku waza) as specific self defense situations demand. Thus, a defense against two multiple attackers may include techniques from any number of kata, selected rationally and instantly by the defender according to distance, environment and the needs of the situation.