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9 |
The Kata and its applications |
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The true place of Kata Many people, regardless of their rank or presumed level, consider Kata to be a figure of style, important indeed, but somehow disconnected from the rest of the forms of learning that are principally Kihon and Kumite. It's true that it's often difficult to escape from a "stereotyped" perception of the exercise to project oneself into a more realistic, and consequently freer and more spontaneous, vision. However, if we go back a little, to still recent sources, Kata was considered by the Experts to be the very essence of Karate in general and of authentic combat training in particular. Let's not forget that Me FUNAKOSHI himself was the bearer of this message, and that "sporting" assaults only saw the light of day after his death. Find link It's precisely here that an extra effort is required, whatever the quality of the "classic" components of execution (mental, breathing, rhythm, etc.), so that the Kata is enriched by an additional sensation, close to that of a real fight, to the point of making you forget the conventional pattern and predefined techniques. And this effort is really important, if indeed the aim is to execute a Kata impregnating it from start to finish, without a single flaw or fraction of a second of inattention, with this sensation. How many of us are capable, even on an archaic (Embusen) pattern, of actually visualizing one or more potential opponents at all times, of making conscious the sensation of distance (Ma-Aï), of dodging, of contact, of controlling the opponent. It is said, especially for certain Kata such as Bassaï for example, that the spirit of a Kata is to transform an unfavourable or even hopeless starting situation into a favourable or victorious one. Let's be honest with ourselves - are we really in this state of awareness every time we go into Yoï to start even Taïkyoku Shodan? And that's precisely where the real secret of progress in Karate lies. From theory to practice But there's another prerequisite if the sensations described are to be credible, and that's to have actually performed the techniques contained in the Kata with a real opponent. Failing this, it's easy to imagine sequences that are totally unrealistic or ineffective in real combat. This is particularly true when it comes to keys, projections, etc., where the slightest imprecision in gesture or posture means that "it doesn't work". On the other hand, it's more difficult to make the transition between the basic scheme of Kata techniques and its applications, as we have to find the right compromise by "stepping outside" the strict framework, while not straying from the spirit and without distorting the coherence of the Kata by extracting a given sequence from its context. This is why the study of "Bunka" or "Kata applications" is essential to progress on the Kata path. In doing so, we simply progress along the path of karate in general and of its effectiveness. By repeating the applications thousands of times, the gestures gradually become part of our "motor stereotypes", manifesting themselves more and more naturally and spontaneously in conventional assaults (Yakusoku Kumite) or free assaults (Jiyu Kumite). The practice is enriched by unsuspected treasures, and we gradually move away from the sempiternal "Gyaku Tsuki Jodan" to produce the technique best suited to each situation from the whole range offered by Karate. Organizing our training Even among those convinced of the need to practice Kata applications, it is sometimes objected - and rightly so - that this can "break" the rhythm of sustained training, given the need to demonstrate in detail each application, to assign roles to each of the partners, to "run through" the sequences, which often leads to downtime, discussions, slacking off, etc. This is well-founded, and it is recommended, wherever possible, to train outside the Dojo with an available and trusted partner. But there is always a compromise to be found in everything, and the teacher's role is to know how to dose the introduction of this kind of work in a simple and reasonable way, fitting it into the lesson plan in a balanced way and imparting the appropriate dynamic. |
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