Why Bunkai?
Published 7-29-2011
By Spencer Sensei
Bunkai is the understanding of the techniques practiced in kata. Kakushite is the secret movements in kata that are not overtly demonstrated. Over time the original bunkai and kakushite for most katas has been lost, so today’s karateka might ask why bunkai? Why do I need to examine every kata to glean the simple meaning of the self defense techniques? Isn’t a kick a kick and a punch a punch? The truth is that kata contains more than simple one-two techniques. It is a series of techniques used to respond to a certain type of assault. It contains punching, kicking, jujitsu, pressure points, timing, strategy, and most of all theory. Early karateka may have only learned one or two kata, but they knew every application overt and covert. If they were attacked in a specific way, their muscle memory kicked in and the defense was delivered instantly without thought. To the casual observer, this gave the martial artist the appearance of being able to perform superhuman feats once attacked. The truth is that his/her defense had been practiced countless times during their performance of kata. If the karateka does not know the bunkai he/she is merely dancing. If the student knows the bunkai real or imagined, they train their mind to respond, so when called upon their retaliation is quick and decisive.
I propose it is better to create a concocted self-defense series of techniques for the moves in a kata, when the original bunkai is unknown, than to simply memorize benign moves. To learn kata for the sole purpose of memorizing a series of moves is simply dancing, but to understand what you are doing in the performance of the kata reinforces a self-defense scenario that can be utilized in a given situation. It also enables the student to visualize the attack and the attacker. We must remember that a kata is not one big, long fight or a fight against multiple attackers. Kata is small bites of self-defense in response to some specific type of attack. Still if the bunkai is contrived make it a viable response to an attack, and not some set of flashy moves that simply will not work in the given situation.
Discovering bunkai is a rewarding part of training in karate. Ask black belts outside your dojo, yet in the same system, if they know the bunkai for a given set of moves in the kata. Next go outside your system and inquire as to the true nature of the bunkai. Record all variations of bunkai and decide which seems to be most appropriate for the moves in the kata. Do not change the moves of the kata to fit the self-defense. If the moves don’t fit, it is not the bunkai or you’re performing it wrong. Bunkai is not limited to punching and kicking. Punching and kicking is so one dimensional that there is no reason to have a kata to help remember its nuances. Bunkai is also not necessarily only hidden pressure point attacks. Nor is it all tuite and grappling. Truthfully it is all of these rolled in to small bits of moves that make up the best response to a given situation. These were developed by our karate ancestors, so their response could be lightning fast without thought. Kata is created when these small bits self-defense are concatenated to form the dance like moves we call kata.
To understand a certain bunkai the karateka must understand the attack. Determining the bunkai of a series of moves within a kata, calls for the karateka to first figure out what the attacker is doing. Is he/she punching? Is he/she kicking? Are they grabbing you from the front, side or back? Are you in a bear hug? Are they lunging to tackle you from the front? Are they trying to choke you or throw you? What initiates the attack? Once you’ve determined the attack you can reverse engineer the moves of the kata to see if the response is correct.
There are rules to follow when examining bunkai. First it should not change the movement in the kata. Is the bunkai something that is practical or in other words will it work? Remember if the hand is on the obi (belt) there is something in it. No one places their hand on their obi in a fight just because their sensei said to. If you’re in a Horse-Riding Stance, how does that affect the series of moves you have just performed? If dropping your weight does not add something to the overall bunkai, you’re on the wrong trail. Dropping your weight must increase pressure on a lock or increase damage to what ever attack you’re executing. Dropping into a cat stance normally means you’re pulling some one backwards off balance. If your sole intent is to kick with the front leg, there are better options than placing most of your weight on the back leg to perform this kick. Many systems have what they call a supported block. Why would you tie both hands up to make a block? Most blocks are only taps utilizing the aggressor’s momentum against them to deflect the attack to the outside of your body while opening up the attacker’s defense to a counterattack. A block is not always a block. A closed fist can be a grab and not necessarily a punch. Supporting blocks are in most cases locks or tuite. When the palm is open under an elbow that is delivering a blow, this can mean that the attacker’s blow has been deflected by the palm and the limb has been intercepted while striking over the attacker’s blow. These techniques may look like they happen at the same time, but in reality, one always follows the other. By demonstrating them at the same time simply means they are two techniques that follow each other so quickly that they appear to be happening simultaneously. This is true for “U” shape punches, twin forearm blocks and other twin techniques. Some moves like an “X” block is exactly what it appears to be, but this move intercepts an attack and cannot be the end of the series. Most bunkai end with a technique that renders the attacker immobile. Only katas like the Heian series do not. Funakoshi sensei wanted to end his kata in a more spiritual way. By ending with a block, he epitomizes his belief that karate is for defense only, and that karate should be used to elevate a student’s character. Many high level bunkai use pressure point attacks, but not every move in the kata is there to set-up a pressure point attack. Pressure point attacks do not always work, so why would every move of a kata be an entrance to this type of counterattack. Remember the movement of the kata should not be altered to make the bunkai fit. Bunkai is the heart of karate, so follow these rules and don’t change the kata.
Examine your kata to see if it is performed differently from the majority of other karate systems. It could be that the founder, of your style, changed the kata which could mean they changed the application or possibly the disguised the self-defense. No two systems do every kata exactly the same. A good example is Seisan or Hangetsu. Uechi Ryu’s version looks like it is from another planet, but it may be the closest example to its’ Chinese cousin. Hangetsu is Funakoshi’s version of this kata. It was changed by him and his son Gigo to be more palatable for the Japanese students. Isshin Ryu, Shorin Ryu, and the Seibukan’s Seisan are all slightly different. We need to embrace the similarities because they’re the most likely the remnants of the original kata.
Why might you ask did the katas change? Funakoshi sensei changed his kata for aesthetics and to be in line with his personal philosophy. Shimabuku Tatsuo sensei made his changes to make his karate a more practical approach to self-defense when the student found himself in a real altercation. Bunkai is less important to some styles of karate than others. Japanese karate does not stress bunkai while Okinawan karate does. Losing the bunkai, of a kata, reduces the necessity for reproducing kata in its original form, so in some systems change is not all that important. Funakoshi sensei believed that karate could help the student transcend the ordinary. It was more about building good people than good warriors, so bunkai became secondary in his system. Shimabuku Tatsuo sensei was training young marines that wanted a system that worked. Shimabukuro Zempo sensei wanted to keep the kata as close as possible to the way Kyan sensei had taught them, but time and physical condition forces the karateka to change the way he/she performs kata. My jumping front kick is not as high at fifty-seven as it was at twenty. No two students perform kata exactly alike. These slight changes passed on generationally can change a katas appearance. So to answer the question, it has been my experience that it is philosophy, age, and personal nuances that change katas.
In the Isshin Ryu version of Seisan kata there is a good example of kakushite or hidden technique. On one of Master Harold Mitchum’s DVDs on kata, he chastises other Isshin ryu stylists for adding a palm heel strike to the simultaneously middle ridge hand block and low shuto block move in the form. He acknowledges that this is a possible hidden technique but warns against inserting it into the kata. Another part of kakushite is when a kata shows the attacker’s movement, and in the next series of techniques shows the counter to the first offensive movements. Do not mistake a series of overtly offensive techniques as just another set of bunkai that is entirely used to direct an offensive attack against an opponent. Look at the series of techniques that follow to see if the next series contains the counter to the previous overtly offensive attack. Another example of kakushite can be seen in Naihanchin kata. In Naihanchin kata, according to Motobu sensei’ son Chosei, the high knee lift as one steps into the horse-riding stance is a hidden kick. I’ve seen versions of this kata where a kick is executed not just implied. The instructors that add the hidden portions to their kata do so simply because they do not see the need to hide the technique. When the katas were being developed it was a different story. By watching a karate master’s kata, another master would know how he/she would respond to a certain attack. This is like knowing the other team’s plays in a football game. It gives you a great advantage. Now when you attack the other master you can throw something unexpected into the mix. By knowing how they will respond, you can fake the attack scenario, and use the knowledge of how they will respond to strike a lethal blow. Kakushite makes understanding kata and its’ bunkai more difficult but finding one of those little hidden treasures can be very exciting.
Bunkai is living history. In this age of mixed martial arts bunkai is unnecessary. One dimensional fighters live within the world of martial science and cannot see beyond the stopping power of their kicks and punches. Martial artists transcend the rudimentary street fighting seen on television. They seek the true life and death techniques of the old master hidden in plain sight. This is the art in martial arts. To become a master, you must leave the arena of martial science and step into the world of martial arts. Bruce Lee once called traditional martial arts a fancy mess. This was in reference to kata and the way masters rigidly clung to their training regiments and fixed positions. Not knowing the bunkai or why you do any technique, in my opinion, leads me to agree with sifu Lee. Without knowing the bunkai of kata you have a fancy mess that will get you injured in an attack.