Take the time to find the true meaning of kata

Every so often, I see a person perform kata that I know well, yet they seem to perform it in a way that I never can. They may demonstrate great strength, or speed, or sometimes there's just something about the rhythm of their version that makes it special. I'm sure that if you've been to tournament, or you've seen certain black belts performing kata, you'll know what I'm talking about. So what is it that makes their kata so special?

Every kata represents a sequence of combat moves developed in response to particular situations. On the superficial level, most kata appear to be about simple stances, blocks and strikes, and this is the level that we learn in class. It incorporate many of our basic blocks, stances and other techniques, as well as few exotic ones that are only ever practiced in kata form.

Deep below that, the vast majority of kata also have a hidden level, which is largely unknown by most senior instructors, let alone the average student. This level is all about joint locks, nerve holds, pressure point strikes and more. It's been lost in the verbal passing down of kata from master to student over the decades, and is only now, in parts, being rediscovered.

However, in between these two levels, I believe that there is another level, which, whilst not a secret, can only be discovered by rigorous practice and repetition. Unlike the other two, which can be taught, this in-between level can only be learned for oneself, ideally through solitary practice. This level is where you learn the balance and strength of a kata. It's where you learn to move beyond just repeating a series of moves parrot-fashion, and start to discover how you can perform them optimally for your own physiology and capabilities.

I've always believed in performing your grade kata or below at competitions, rather than attempting higher kata and performing them badly (as I have on the occasions when I've tried! :) Thus it was that I was preparing to perform Bassai Dai at competition about year ago. I went out and practiced it every day for a couple of months, and sometimes practiced for a couple of hours a time at the weekend. At first, I was simply re-enforcing my knowledge of the pattern, and trying to hone the basics, but then suddenly something magical started to happen - I began to know the kata in a whole new way. I starteed to experience strength, power, balance and a kind of sharpness that I'd never felt before. I don't know whether or not my new knowledge of the kata was visible to an observer, but in myself, I felt that'd started to express the kata in a more effective way.

I'll be honest and say that when I stopped practicing that intensively, some of that feeling started to fade, although, I still retain many of the gains I made, both in terms of muscle memory, and the mental memory of how right it felt for a few months.

There's a book by Bill Burgar called "Five Years, One Kata", in which he describes his five year study and practice of a single Goju Ryu kata, Gojushiho, in his search to find the true meaning of the kata. He also offers advice on how to undergo your own "kata-quest".

Perhaps, once we've learned the pattern of all of the kata, we can embark upon our journeys to truly know them. My brief glimpse into the deeper world of kata, has inspired me to want to try again, and again, and again. Perhaps I might choose one kata annually and explore that for a few months. I thoroughly recommend the pursuit, as it is both enlightening and rewarding.

To start on your own journey, I recommend taking a kata that you like, and practicing it intensively for a few weeks. You'll be amazed to discover that even just a single hour spent working on just one kata, can start to yield results. Your muscles adapt to the stances and the other demands that the kata places upon them, and as you have to think less about the basic basics, more of your mind is left free to work on the refinements. As they too become become second-nature, you can work on even more delicate subtleties.

You don't have to perform the entire kata every time - perhaps you might just focus on a single block and counter, or turn, or evasion, or piece of footwork. You'll probably find that you get more from performing two moves fifty times, than from performing fifty moves twice. Having said that, try to put it all together at least once or twice per session, just so that you don't lose sight of how it all fits together.

I wish you the best of luck on your quest to discover real kata!