The Mistakes I (and many others) Made In Kata (型) Practices

In my opinion, I measure how good a person is in Karate (空手) by the person’s performance in Kata (型). In disagreement, some people argue that Kata (型) is useless. It is just “some” form, we cannot use in practical fights. Besides, practicing Kata (型) takes years and years while practicing punching and kicking might only take months if not weeks.

Kata (型) might not look practical at first if we compare it with Kumite (組手) which we can apply in street fightings. Undeniably, Kata (型) is the essence in Karate (空手) where the incorporation of strength, agility, speed, balance, harmony, flexibility, stamina, etc are become one flow. Karate (空手) is a martial art, a way of life, everything in Karate is not always about fighting. As abstract it might be, Karate (空手) is also about building character. Anyways, through the sequences of Kata (型) performance, we can observe a person’s stability and balance while performing kicks, punches, turns, etc.

There are various of Kata (型) in Karate (空手); different styles and affiliations in Karate (空手) exercise a divergent number of Kata (型). Shōtōkan (松濤館) exercises kata (型) which Gōjūryū (剛柔流) does not vice versa; although there are Kata (型) quite universal that exercised by several different Karate (空手) styles if not all. Yet there are nonidentical forms in the performance, because of the different translation in the practice of the movements or their application, or due to aesthetic reasons.

As a Gōjūryū (剛柔流) practitioner, I can understand and exercise the Kata (型) from the other styles of Karate (空手), the non-Gōjūryū (剛柔流) practices. That is because Karate (空手) styles started from the same root. Bunkai (分解) as the application is the drive for Kata (型) forms. How a Karate (空手) style translates a Kata (型) into its application may explain how a Kata (型) is being performed.

Arguably, there are forms in Kata (型) performances, especially in the tournaments that can be pure for the reasons of aesthetic not function. For example, a “Mawashi uke – 廻し受け” is a double block and strike form. In the original form, exercising the “push” by the open palms facing front; the tournament-style or some Karate styles exercise the "push" with the palms facing to the left and right side (pictured).

In my previous Kata (型) training, many years ago, I made mistakes following inefficient methods. Assuming everyone has the same body structure, the same stamina, the same level of absorbance creates ineffective practices. The mistakes I made as many others might do as listed below:

1. Repetition exercising the same level of force causes fatigue. During the beginning years of my practice, while practicing Sanchin (サンチン or 三戦) one “basic” Kata (型) in Karate; as a student, there was an urge to practice Sanchin (サンチン or 三戦) in full capacity, breathing, tension, and strength. To repeat that extent of practice over and over more than a dozen times. As no one was truly doing it right because performing Kata (型) especially Sanchin (サンチン or 三戦) is taking so much strength. After a few times of repetition without pause, most of us already started faking it. We did it properly only when the sensei came at us and checked our form. Yet, the practice in dojos is still going until today. My solution to the Kata (型) training is dissecting the Kata (型) training into four steps (read the future article “Four Steps In Kata Training”).

2. Practices without an understanding of the purposes of the forms. Kata (型) is not a dance; every move in Kata (型) carries meaning and function. Practicing Kata (型) without knowing every move’s purposes is ineffective. I have mentioned previously, there are techniques not visible for spectators to see in the performance. But knowing the secret moves in particular Kata (型) helps the training in launching a purposeful kick or punch or strike.

3. Wrong breathing. This mistake could cause harm in some Kata (型) like Sanchin (三戦) and Tensho (転掌). These two Kata (型) are strong in breathing; wrong breathing in a full capacity of training and repetitive caused me internal injuries after several years at the beginning of my training. That is why I strongly suggest practicing Kata (型) in easy breathing until a practitioner mastered and understood the whole concept of the Kata (型). It might take a couple of years in everyday training, but upon achievement of the objectives, the practitioner will accomplish the excellent Kata (型).

4. Too tense in muscles and body posture. One common problem for anyone who has no deep experience in Kata (型) training, anyone who is new in a practice that involves strength, agility, speed, balance, harmony, flexibility, and stamina might face a situation where the body and the muscles become too tense and rigid to form. One very obvious signal is the shrugging shoulders; the core location is under the belly button that should be in focus and controls the breathing is slacking. The four steps in Kata (型) training that I mentioned earlier help to overcome this problem.

5. Too many exaggerations in the form. Often time I watch in the training and tournaments some practitioners form the techniques in significant exaggerations causing certain moves to lose their purposes entirely. I take one example, the opening Kata (型) of Suparinpei (壱百零八) which is quite similar to Sanchin (三戦) where Sanchin-dachi (三戦立ち) comes with Chudan-uke (中段受 け) when a contender performed it with way too high than a Chudan-uke (中段受 け) should. It is like the blocking goes to the Jodan – 上段(upper) area. Another example is in the Sanchin-dachi (三戦立ち) some practitioners form it too wide, but that might be the preference of certain Karate (空手) style. Talking about exaggerations, try to observe some Macdojos videos, especially the ones that create their own Kata (型). If you know what I mean.

6. Circular or linear? The style that I practice, Gōjūryū (剛柔流) uses circular moves instead of linear moves as the other styles of Karate. It is more difficult to create a snappy sound at the end of every move as the effort in emphasizing the technique. I can write another article on how to produce that in more detailed explanations of Kata (型) practices. If you are a devoted Gōjūryū (剛柔流) student don’t cut corners as I did in the past; I did that on achieving the impression that I have mastered the Kata (型) while I performed as a non-Gōjūryū (剛柔流) Karate-ka (空手家).

7. Remembering or embedding? Last but might be not least, when we learn a Kata (型) we try to remember the Kata (型), the pattern, the moves, the techniques, the tempo, the timing, the flow, etc. The goal is not remembering the Kata (型), but more to embed the Kata (型) within. Condition the body to map it, “remember” it by the way of our body moves. Until we can perform the Kata (型) as our body maps it and flows without our brain “conscious” instructing the body to move, it very likely disrupts the flow while we perform it before spectators. Integrating the Kata (型) within our body promotes a significant improvement.

Okay, that would be it. I hope my insight may help to improve the Kata (型) training. Keep doing Karate (空手).

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