Medicinal Kata:
Published 6/28/2014
Sensei Spencer
Kata is the unwritten text of the martial artist. Some are centuries old while others are relatively new. Normally they consisted of a collection of techniques that the creator did not want to forget, and if you‘ve been teaching in the martial arts long enough you realize how easily a series of techniques can be forgotten. Still kata is more that just a simple exercise necessary for promotion. Many instructors believe it to being nothing more than an outdate training device used to motivate young students with low attention spans. Kata in Judo and a few other non-empty hand arts is merely a two-man prearranged exercise. Other’s instructors claim it is an art form distilled from folk dance and martial arts. Some believe that it was created to train large numbers of students simultaneously, and I agree akachan kata (baby kata) was created by Itosu sensei for that purpose. Advanced kata, on the other hand, was practiced in secret decades before it entered the Okinawan educational system. I believe kata is much more than a simple training device, or the Okinawan equivalent of modern dance. It also has medicinal purposes. It can be a healing balm for the body and mind.
A few years ago, I read a book by sensei William Hayes titled My Journey with the Grandmaster. Sensei Hayes is a master of Shobayoshi-ryu karate. The book was a recounting of his training and personal experiences on Okinawa. It is an excellent read, but what caught my attention and was possibly the impetus for this paper sprang from an incident with another Marine on base. In Okinawa the villagers worked on base. Major Hayes walked in on a Marine sergeant unjustly berating an Okinawan worker and intervened on his behalf. The sergeant stopped the tirade, but before he stormed off, under his breath used a racial slur directed at Sensei Hayes. Hayes’ first response, like anyone else, was to rip the man’s head off, but the Okinawan man kept his gaze fixed upon Hayes sensei. When Bill Hayes returned the man’s gaze, he calmly said,” Okay to make noise sometimes.” Hayes sensei went on to explain that this meant immaturity was expected from the immature, and that kept him from doing something he would possibly regret later, but it did not take the sting away. As he made his way through the village, to karate practice, he carried the burden of that incident with him, and it began to consume his thoughts. While in the main karate class, he tried to practice, but his mind was on the ugly encounter and not karate. Finally, he left practice and went to a small dojo located across the street, so that he could collect his thoughts. It did no good. After awhile his sensei went to the small training hall to check on his student. With out entering his sensei spoke to him from outside and instructed him to practice Sanchin kata. Sanchin is a Goju-ryu kata, and is mainly consists of isometric exercise, but there are hundreds of nuances to the form. The name Sanchin means three battles, and there was a raging battle going on within him. He cleared his mind and pushed all the anger and frustration into the kata. As his focus was placed upon perfecting the form his anger was displaced. He went over each piece of the form until late in the night, and in a state of total concentration he found his peace. The anger was gone.
Kata is not simply a means of perfecting or reinforcing our ability to destroy our adversary. These are not simply sets of drills for training to respond to an attack. It, whether by design or not, became much more. Kata can be a form of moving meditation. Until you understand that there is more to kata you will only receive a portion of its benefits. When I perform kata, I cannot hold onto the stress of work and home. To get this benefit you must clear your mind and give the kata your total concentration. This ability does not happen over night. Out of total concentration you will become aware of everything in your environment without focusing on it. Foot position, hip rotation, weight transfer, balance, and power can be adjusted and readjusted until your kata is sharp like the edge of a knife. Practice kata slow, medium, and then fast. Practice centering your body over your stance. Place every foot in its proper place. Make certain each punch or block is exactly where it should be. Work to make every moving part stop simultaneously. Feel the power generated in the technique. Visualize your adversary. When this body and mind mechanism is in sync, you’ll feel the power surge forward and the kiai (yell) will come automatically. Total focus allows the outside world to slip away. Kata promotes good mental health.
The dojo is a microcosm of our universe. Everything that happens outside the training hall happens inside too. Anger, jealousy, pride, and hurt feelings happen within the cloistered walls of every school. The dojo teaches us how to deal with life in a safe environment. We have a right to these feelings, but we also have a responsibility to control them. Not every student has good people skills, nor does every coworker. Kata can be the vehicle that helps you deal with these challenges.
I had a black-belt student that came to train at my home dojo one Saturday. I noted that his mind was not on his training, so I asked what was going on in his head. He was angry with another black-belt that had made a disparaging remark about his kata. Understand this both students are exceptional martial artists. I remembered the lessons learned by Hayes Sensei, and instructed him to channel his anger into Kusanku kata. This is a very long and technically difficult form. It has a very strong Chinese influence and performing it with power is not easy. As he performed the kata, each move popped with power. Each stance was strong and filled with purpose. Afterwards I ask him how he felt, and he noted that he felt a little better. I asked, “How was your kata performance?” He sheepishly acknowledged it was better. I then instructed him continue practicing the form while maintaining the same level of power. Although he was tired at the end of class his anger was replaced with an understanding of power in his form. He, through kata, traded a negative emotion for a positive performance.
Teaching students properly is a difficult proposition. Each student has his or her own learning style. Teaching beginning kata makes these differences more apparent. A good instructor strives to teach each student according to their learning style. Some learn by listening while others must be shown over and over. The more difficult the student, the greater the lesson the sensei learns. Students learn they’re able to accomplish more than they believed physically and mentally possible through kata training. It stretches the young karateka’s ability to memorize sequences. This skill will be transferred into their everyday life. Learning a kata for the first time is an exhilarating experience. Performing your kata before a group of peers builds confidence and reduces the fear of the public forum. I had a young student that was terrified to perform kata in class. As he grew in confidence, he became the first to volunteer when it was time to exhibit forms. We are constantly stalked by fear of failure in a public venue, but training in kata helps the karateka overcome that dragon.
One of the knocks on karate is that it is not an aerobic exercise. This is true, but kata can become aerobic when used for that purpose. For this purpose, kata must be linked in one contiguous string. No stopping just one constant flow. Begin with your first kata and roll into the next. The trick is to breathe as you move through your forms and to not stop until the heart rate is up and the sweat is rolling down. Work fast and slow, but always breathe. Push your body past where you think you can go until you’re exhausted. Work on timed intervals. Increase your time up to thirty to forty minutes non-stop. At the end of the timed period, you must walk through your kata to cool down. Next work isometric kata and tighten every muscle in your body. Last perform your kata with the proper cadence while making self corrections. If possible, enlist a coach to push you harder. The final exercise can be one of your own designs, but I like a lungs and push-ups to build strength. You can do step aerobics or be a devoted karateka and push yourself until as Funakoshi sensei once said of hard training… that he felt like he tasted dirt in his mouth. Kata not only can teach you how to dispatch your enemy, it can also be used to promote good cardiovascular health.
What separates man from the animals is his ability to appreciate beauty. Yes… the thumb thing is also a difference too, but it has little to do with this paper. Kata transforms the brutality of destroying another human into a palatable art form. If you cannot appreciate the innate beauty of kata, you’re simply a street fighter that thinks with his/her fists. Anyone can ball their fist and strike their neighbor. If kata is no more than an exercise to enhance your ability to crush your brother’s skull, then you’ve missed the many benefits of kata. The karateka flows graciously through the deadly dance like a deer running through a minefield. In its exhibition lies a brutal but artistic performance that separates the untrained brawler from the trained martial artist. Kata teaches a grace found only in classical dance and has as many if not more nuances. Beauty must be appreciated, and kata teaches us grace.
Kata has many uses. It is more than a means to dispatch an adversary, yet that is the purpose with which it is most commonly associated. The karateka must ask himself or herself is kata is merely a superficial endeavor? Is it only necessary for the next promotion, or can it be more? Does kata go beyond your fists or the weapon you wield? Do you suffer through it, or bask in its’ richness? Do you dig deeply into your forms and try to see all the facets of the diamond or see it as just one more tool used to train children. Is kata medicinal or is it an empty exercise? The answer is up to you.