“Visualization during kata is important. But your imagination must be based on your experience in kumite. The relationship between the two is very important. It can’t be fantasy. The point of kata is to learn how to apply the movements in reality, how to train the body to adapt to situations in a flexible way.”Mitsusuke Harada in “The Warriors Path”
Harada Sensei, one of the few direct students of Funakoshi Sensei still alive makes his opinion clear in the above quote: kata applications flow from fighting. I believe it to be unfortunate that he uses the word “kumite” in this quote because, for the vast majority of karateka worldwide, kumite infers a sporting event rather than fighting. On the other hand, his organization, the Shotokai, has not supported sport karate in the past and in this particular reference, Harada Sensei is probably suggesting “fighting” rather than sport kumite. It cannot be emphasized enough: kata applications are reactions to a real attack; their form must represent a pragmatic response that controls and terminates the onslaught as quickly as possible.
There are two basic methods of kata analysis: posture analysis and sequence analysis. Posture analysis entails the consideration of each kata posture and all the possible applications for that posture. The karateka would then combine and recombine the various kata techniques to create a nearly infinite number of defence responses. The first point Tony Annesi makes in his kata primer “Cracking the Kata Code” is that techniques within a kata (or a kata series such as the Heian or Tekki series) may be re-arranged in any order to create a usable application combination. The karateka needs to look at kata as entire fighting systems with consistent themes rather than just a bunch of disparate techniques thrown together.
Sequence analysis attempts to reduce the number of attackers visualized in each kata encounter to an absolute minimum, preferring to dedicate large portions of each kata to a flowing, logical response to one attacker. Schmeisser Sensei, in his excellent book “Bunkai: The Secrets of Karate Kata” (see also “Channan: The Heart of the Heians”) demonstrates this approach very well utilizing the Tekki (Naihanchi) kata series, reducing his potential attackers to really just two or three (depending on how you count). Within his text he interprets some of the sequences as “plan B” movements that would apply closely related movements to an attacker with either an alternative attack or alternative attack vector. In my opinion, neither posture or sequence analysis may be used to the exclusion of the other; the karate posture limits the possible applications while the sequence suggests a logical flow.
Both methods of analysis requires that the student step outside of strict karate “punch and kick” applications. We need to keep in mind that the majority of the kata originated in a time before there was a strict divergence of the martial arts into styles. Within a historical context striking arts, grappling arts and weapons training were all trained together. The techniques within the different arts represented the reality of the existence of the other arts. It was assumed that the student would use any and all methods at his disposal to defend himself against any possible attack. The traditional kata reflect this reality; we cannot be fixated on ‘punch and kick” or “grab and throw” because they are all found within the kata. In fact, I have always been told that many of the weapons kata were merely modifications of empty hand kata altered to fit the weapon used. I have one reference (Classical Fighting Arts #36) that shows Uechi Ryu Sensei Shinyu Gushi performing “Mee No Jiffa” , a weapons kata designed for the long, rather sharp top-knot pin used by Okinawan nobility to secure their hair (and poke unsuspecting criminals it seems). I may be wrong, but “Mee No Kata” has a nearly identical embusen and techniques as the Shotokan kata “Kanku Sho”. If one kata did flow from the other, no one is talking.
It is really only over the last fifty to one hundred years that there has been such a pronounced separation between the combative arts. For example, today we consider aikido and judo to be distinctly separate grappling arts, yet both arts spring from the original jujutsu and both most definitely had striking as a integral part of their original system. Ueshiba Morihei, originator of aikido, was often quoted as saying that “atemi is 99% of aikido”. Certainly we do not see atemi (striking) during aikido demonstrations, but Ellis Amdur, author of “Duelling with O-sensei” believes that an aikidoka should be able to perform an effective atemi-waza at any point within a classical aikido throw or control. Without the potential of atemi-waza within the aikido technique, the aikido is unlikely to be effective in a real confrontation. The same could be said about karate: without the potential for a throw or control within the context of a karate contest, it is unlikely that the karate would be effective in real combat.
Let’s look closely at the various stances for possible applications to combat:
1. Kiba-dachi: as already discussed, this stance has strong lateral stability and a low center of gravity. The strong axis of the stance is linear from side to side: this implies lateral defence. On the other hand, the stance allows the karateka to drop his center of gravity straight down without any loss of stability or posture alignment by merely flexing the knee and hip joints: this would suggest that the opponent may have been thrown and lies prostrate on the floor below you.
Kata that demonstrate this element well may be Heian Godan and Bassai Dai, with the sequence of block-crescent kick then step down into kiba-dachi and elbow strike to palm. In application this sequence may run something like this: intercept an incoming attack and immediately kick to groin, abdomen, or one of the legs. Assuming the kick slows the enemy down and hopefully bends his head down slightly, the elbow strike will become an attack to the head or neck. If, as you stepped down into kiba-dachi you managed to step down with your lead-leg behind or to the outside of the opponent’s lead-leg, the elbow-strike, combined with a firm pull of the attacker’s arm with the hikite hand, becomes an effective throw.
Applying this application in Bassai-Dai also infers an application of the three “augmented downward blocks” immediately following the elbow strike/throw. The opponent is on the ground below you and your “downward block” is actually a head punch, while the “augmenting hand” would be holding onto the arm of the aggressor while you hit him. I think the term in MMA for this approach is “ground and pound”, is it not?
2. Zenkutsu-dachi: this stance has a strong axis from front to back (slightly diagonal, but shifts depending on the relative inner thigh connection) This stance suggests a strong offense or defense to the front. This is clearly an “offensive” stance, but we should not assume that we are always striking when applying this stance. Many of the techniques within the kata, especially the two handed techniques such as juji-uke may imply an aikido like projection or control. I can actually see applications such as shiho-nage or an over the shoulder arm-bar in many of the kata where we turn 180 degrees and step into front stance with both our hands drawing over our head and forward. Two examples of kata that have what I see as aikido type projections are Gankaku (kote gaeshe and shiho nage) and Kanku-Dai (shoulder arm bar or shiho nage).
3. Kokutsu-dachi: this stance, slightly lower than zenkutsu-dachi and with most of the weight carried over the rear leg, appears to be mostly defensive in nature. The axis remains strong front to back, while the heavy loading of the rear leg with the relatively reduced weighting of the front leg may suggest a defensive position poised for a very rapid and powerful counter-attack by merely shifting into front stance. This could be compared to a boxer’s “weave” to slip a punch: you drop back onto the rear leg to create distance and avoid an attack, simultaneously loading the rear leg to drive into the attack. On the other hand, an alternative application must be considered: the “dropping” of the center of gravity and the relative stability of the stance may imply that you have grabbed the opponent and are pulling him in while applying some sort of control technique. Note closely that many of the kata apply kokutsu-dachi with either an open hand block (implying grabbing of the enemy) or an augmented block (often implies a control of an attacker’s limb).
If you combine the two above sections and look at Gankaku kata closely, you may see a good example of both aikido projection in front stance with joint control in back stance. Consider the movement from Gankaku where, from front stance downward juji-uke, you turn 180 degrees, apply a second downward juji-uke in front stance and then turn again to perform a double handed downward block in kokutsu-dachi. My application here is: turn to intercept an incoming stabbing attack at the half-way (transition point) and step out into downward juji-uke: this would be a aikido kote-gaeshe or wrist throw. The next technique, applied forcefully against a bent and controlled enemy, would involve grabbing his hair and turning 180 dgrees, projecting his upper body to the floor while continuing to control the stabbing arm with you second hand. Performed this way either the opponent ends up on the ground or his twisted wrist gives way.
4.Kosa-dachi: cross legged stance, which appear in many kata, can be very confusing to most karateka. Kosa-dachi hardly appears to a worthwhile combat stance; practically all your weight is distributed on one leg, with the second leg perched behind on the ball, merely stabilizing the stance. This stance is unstable and yet does not really contribute to mobility. It’s a conundrum. On the other hand, if you look at the kata movement immediately following or proceeding most kosa-dachi postures you may notice a rotation in place. Kosa-dachi should be considered a transitional position that would not actually be held at all, but would indicate a body movement crucial to the combat application.
An example of a kata application that may apply here would be the first move in Bassai Dai: drive forward onto the right leg with a long step, land in kosa-dachi with an “augmented block”. Here I will give my own opinion of just one application, among many.
Bassai Dai, as I understand the translation, means “storming the fortress-long” (or “breaking the siege” etc. etc.). I have always been led to believe this means that you are fighting from a position of relative weakness, trying to overcome some superior force. In my mind I see two attackers and you are in the weak position of being pinned between them. Musashi, in Go Rin No Sho, recommends that a fighter faced with multiple opponents must maneuver to place them on one side so he need only fight on one front. In Bassai you have the more aggressive fighter to your front, but his wing-man is directly behind you. The aggressor reaches out with his right hand to restrain you, grabbing your right hand. Your reaction is to trap his hand on your wrist with your left hand, kick (or knee) forcefully into his gedan region (hopefully groin) and lunge forward into him, applying a modified nikkyo technique to his trapped right arm and perhaps striking him with your right fist as you land (in kosa-dachi). The lunge forward (after the strike to the groin) takes you away from the attacker to your rear, off-balances the attacker to the front by doing the unexpected (Most opponents would resist the arm grab and try to pull away; you, on the other hand, trapped the grab and lunged into the attacker.). The kosa-dachi now becomes intrinsic to the application: this is critical but transitory position, after which… you will grab the opponent you just hit and drive him in the other direction, into his buddy standing behind you. In this situation the kosa-dachi is the set up to the projection of the opponent in the opposite direction, thus “stacking” your attackers to one side, allowing you a single front.
The emphasis here is that the kosa-dachi is merely a transitional stance allowing for a rapid turn-in-place with a powerful drive into the new direction. One point of note: if you look at any of the popular Aikido manuals, many of the step-and-turn movements on “entry” are in fact kosa-dachi; the only difference between karate and the aikido version is that the aikido movement is clearly transitional, never portrayed as a individual stance.
Some writers also suggest that the “crossed leg” stance of kosa-dachi may represent a leg trap. I personally have trouble seeing this as an effective technique but only because I have never seen it applied this way. On the other hand, I could see is as part of a “trip” used in a fighting combination.
5. Neko-Ashi-dachi: this stance is practically self explanatory. I include it here merely as a good example of where henka techniques are inferred. As previously stated, many of the Chinese kata forms have implied techniques that are not performed but merely accepted as logical sequel flowing from a specific posture. The weighting of Neko-Ashi Dachi obviously favours a front leg kick, and therefor any time you see Neko-ashi-dachi you can assume that a kick may be part of any application for that posture. You may also look for joint control applications, sweeps or take-downs included with or bracketing the Neko-ashi dachi: the kick would either be a softener prior to a control/take down or it would be a finisher to an opponent already appropriately subdued.
6. Kneeling positions (ie: from Empi or Gankaku) these would imply that the opponent is downed and you are finishing him on the ground. Look for some sort of throw or joint control either before or included into the kneeling movement. From Empi, combined with the introductory salutation position (“yoi”), I see an arm bar followed by a dropping hammer-fist joint attack to the opponent who made the mistake of grabbing your right wrist with his left arm. Other authors have suggested that you are dropping suddenly to throw an opponent who has grabbed you from behind over your shoulder. I have tried this and it could work.
I see a similar movement hidden in Gankaku: the movement is right Manji-uke spinning into left Manji-uke, then dropping into kneeling Juji-uke. What I see is a) block a round punch to your head as you punch his belly then b) spin so your back is spooned against the enemy with your left arm grabbing his head as your right elbow folds him by smacking his left ribs or kidney then c) immediately drop onto one knee as you launch him over your shoulder. This application would take some fancy foot work, but I am sure it would work if you applied the appropriate atemi-waza to soften the opponent.
Further applications may be implied by the steps, turns and unique movements found in many of the kata. Consider first any stepping actions, even just the simple step-forward in zenkutsu-dachi that we see in Heian Shodan.
Any stepping action may be modified to include a kick, a sweep, a trip, or a throw. Just about all of us have accidentally up-ended our training partners while doing simple step sparring when we clash knees as we step forward; this could be considered a very successful attack if we had intended to trip them by slamming our attacking knee into their retreating leg.
Any turn in any kata should be considered an implied throw. Judo has a technique called O-soto-geri (great, outside reap) which basically involves throwing the opponent over a hip or leg as you turn 180 0r 270 degrees. The obvious example of this would be the big turns found in Heian Shodan, but certainly many others come to mind.
Angle changes in the embusen, while they may indeed imply a new attacker from that direction, may also imply “tai sabaki”. The angles may be suggesting that you should alter your attack vector and come at the opponent who faces you at an angle. This point rang home when I read Pearlman’s text “The Book of Martial Power”: he had several sections dedicated to the value of attacking the enemy’s guard from an angle. Mr. Pearlman’s favoured angles were somewhere between 22.5 degrees and 45 degrees, which pretty much conform with the typical angle adjustments seen in the Shotokan kata embusens. I know that 22.5 degrees seems like a pretty strange number to throw out, but that is one-half of 45 and represents how little you must move to avoid the enemy’s direct attack line but still maintain your own direct attack line to his center. One of the most common ”bad habits” students make using Tai Sabaki is to move too much, thus destroying their own chance at pay-back. The angle issue is well addressed by both Kane and Wilder (“The Way of Kata”) and Abernethy (“Bunkai Jutsu”); you need to reconsider the angles in every kata with this concept in mind. The enemy is not necessarily at an angle, but you may want to be.
Jumps are always a favoured question by the new students. Of course, the clear application of any jump is that you are avoiding the razor sharp edge of a lethal katana or the twirling dervish of a well handled bo staff….Do I sound convincing? Sincerely, how about we just dispense with the whole jumping to avoid a weapon business altogether. I am not even all that good with a bo staff and I can guarantee you that I can swing that stick fast enough to hit any jumper twice before they hit ground. Jumping is a damn poor way to fight: once you are in the air, you are committed to only one possible vector and the enemy merely needs to aim his next attack at your landing point. The exception to this may be the jump in “Meikyo”, which includes as part of the jump an attack from above as you drop out of the air: this application in not an avoidance of attack but an attack of its own.
The jumps imply a throw of the enemy, the suggestion being that if you can throw your own body mass into the air, there is a good chance you could do the same thing to an opponent. Look at any of the jumps; there is usually a pretty good “softening” attack prior to the throw. Heian Godan has a crescent kick-elbow strike just prior to the “throw”, while the landing involves a downward juji-uke on bent knee. This looks pretty much like two softeners, a throw, and a grab n’ punch of a downed enemy to me. Empi has a groin strike followed by a groin and throat grab to soften the enemy, followed by a jump. I am not sure how the landing in back stance with knife hand block works into this, but the jump is clearly a code for a shoulder lift and throw of an appropriately softened opponent.
For jumps, my favourite application thus far is the jump in Unsu (I know that the jump does not appear in the original Shito version of Unsu; too bad that I only know Shotokan). What I see here is something like this: an opponent behind me grabs my left shoulder with his right hand, intent on spinning me around and hitting me with his left fist. Instead of resisting him, I spin into him quickly, my left hand immediately disengaging his grip and establishing a good grab of my own on his right arm. I continue my rotation, driving my right knee up into his abdomen and my right elbow into his throat or chest. I now basically jump into the air, purposefully pulling and rolling him underneath me as I rotate. The net result is him pulled down on his back and me landing front first on top of him down on the floor, my right knee driving hard into his groin while my right elbow drives into his throat. You may laugh at this, but I tried it last year on one of my students; it worked perfectly and I came very close to seriously hurting him. Having proved it to be an effective application, I have not attempted a repeat performance.
You also need to look at hand positions from each posture and, most importantly, the transitional movements that got them to that position. As a general rule of thumb, in every kata technique, both in the finished form and in transition, both hands are doing something. No movement, however trivial in appearance is wasted or meaningless. Here are some ideas to play with:
1. Hikite should always be taken by it’s true translation: pulling hand. Always assume that the hikite has something near and dear to the opponent grasped as it pulls back to your hip. This movement will often off-balance the opponent, especially if you correctly apply the twisting motion as you draw it to your hip. The pull and punch aspect of the action cannot be overlooked either: why not accelerate the enemy towards your punch as your punch accelerates toward him.
2. The classic “cup and saucer” position demonstrated in kata such as Heian Nidan, Heian Yondan and repeatedly in the Tekki series absolutely implies some sort of grabbing joint control. Applying this approach to these movement makes the following sequences in both H2 an H4 much clearer: enemy grabs you, you off-balance him by yanking his arm across your body as you shift off his power line (tai sabaki), then go into attack mode with kicks, back-fist strikes and elbow strikes. Other positions similar to the “cup and saucer” might be telling you to “grab and hit” in the same spirit as the time honoured “hockey punch”. For examples of this you may want to look at Tekki Shodan with it’s fist under elbow postion, or Heian Yondan with the elbow strikes to the palm. On the other hand I have seen one other application for “fist under elbow” that made sense and I had never even thought of: you are blocking a face punch with the upper arm while you punch the opponent in the ribs with the lower hand. That idea comes from Sun Family Tai Chi Chuan if you can believe it.
3. The above approach may also be applied to the “salutation” positions demonstrated in Jion, Jitte, Jiin, Bassai Dai and Sho, Empi, and even Tekki Shodan. While each kata suggests a different defence technique, they all may be suggesting that you are using both hands to deal with some sort of grab by the enemy. I know that many authors will claim the salutations are just that: historical martial arts tradition with no meaning, but the applications that flow out of these salutations make such clear sense that I just cannot believe that they are meaningless tradition.
4. Any time that you grab yourself with one hand while performing a technique with the other is suggesting that you are actually grabbing or trapping the opponent. Augmented blocks suggest some sort of joint manipulation along the lines of a modified ikkyo or nikkyo. Of course, you may also be dealing with a “hidden technique here” ; you may be blocking an attack and delivering a nearly simultaneous punch behind that block as implied by the augmenting hand.
5.Widely separated arms such as seen in haiwan uke in Heian Nidan or Yondan, or manji uke seen in Heian Godan, Jion, of Gankaku (among many others) suggest either a control or separation of the enemies arms or a simultaneous block and attack. An excellent example of this comes from Elmar Schmeisser; haiwan uke from H2 becomes a rising block against a wild round-house punch to the face coupled with a punishing hammer fist to the opponent’s face as you step in. With this thought in mind, Manji-uke then clearly could be a flowing block to a head attack while the lead hand pounds the gedan area of the enemy.
6. Open hand techniques suggest a block and grab, also know as “sticky-hands” in Chinese martial arts. Applying this to the knife hand blocs seen throughout many of the katas, out of every pair of knife hand blocks, the first becomes a control of the enemy, while the second becomes an attack. Conversely, any closed hand technique, while it may indeed be a punch, could also be considered a firm grab. The key here is that you need to see what is there and also what MIGHT be there.
Open hand strikes can be effective, but you REALLY need to consider where they are being applied to: techniques such as “nukite” seen in H2 would, by necessity, be applied to soft spots such as throat, groin, and eyes. If the demonstrated target in the kata is the chest (H2), do not ask how you are supposed to pierce a chest wall with just your outstretched fingers, it is much better to ask how the opponent’s throat of eyes got down to that level. There may indeed have been men capable of piercing a chest with their nukite at one time, but I would bet those old guys could barely use their hands for much else. There undoubtedly would be massive amounts of bone and joint damage (read that arthritis) involved in training your bare hands to pierce the human rib cage.
7. Transition positions are crucial. Consider again the very versatile knife hand block discussed above. There is a theory that as a student progresses the blocks and strikes tend to morph from closed hand techniques to open hand techniques; while the closed hand techniques are safer for untrained fingers and hands, they are not as versatile for the seasoned martial artist. The knife hand block itself is a case-in-point: the actual block itself is an effective strike when applied to critical points such as the neck (carotid artery and carotid sinus: one good way to cause momentary loss of consciousness and possibly death) while the intermediate “coil” of the block at the half way point is an effective deflection technique for both attacks and guard hands. In bunkai analysis the transition points of every block, punch, kick, or step have to be evaluated for potential applications. The transitions are almost always the key to the effective application.
8. Techniques performed slowly imply one of three things: a) they are complex and therefor would be difficult under fight stress, so you need to practice them perfectly (any joint manipulation) or b) they really would be done slowly in a real fight (many “parting blocks” might actually be choke holds) or c) someone artsy thought the “slow” looked cool. I really rather doubt the last suggestion is valid.
So all this brings us to “sequence analysis”, which may be either explained in ad nauseum detail or it may be just generally outlined, allowing the student to fill in the blanks. In my opinion the greatest value of kata lies in it’s vague versatility; with this in mind I believe a general idea of the sequence analysis is more valuable than a detailed instruction manual. Details create constriction, and constriction is the parent of mediocrity. Here are some of the general guidelines as I know them:
1) All sequences must demonstrate the elements of proper “Ri-ai”: pragmatic, principled combat sequences against realistic physical attacks.
2) All sequences will represent defences against one attack from one attacker. We should not train to counter “typical” or “potential” combinations for two reasons. Primarily we need to understand that training to defend against a combination infers that we have some sort of prescient ability to predict the actions of an unknown assailant. The second reason we need not train against combinations is that this would be contrary to our primary principles of defence: early interception/ suppression- domination- incapacitation. We need not consider the second technique in any combination because our strategy demands that we smother the attack from at the first stages of the first technique. In the same vein: defenses that would be applied blindly or merely instinctively should be questioned: again we should not assume karate instills some sort of extra-sensory perception.
3. Discard all the labels for techniques. Remember that a block could be a lock, might be a blow, should be a throw. The corollary to this point is that the transitional “preparation” postures for each technique become very important. With respect to blocks, the “set” position for any block often becomes the real interception, while the block itself becomes an attack.
4. Tai Sabaki is often demonstrated within kata. Any change of direction may indicate either a movement off the direct attack line or a physical unbalancing and redirection of the incoming attacker. The key here again is to move in a way such that the first attack is completely ineffectual and a second attack is practically impossible.
5. Sequences typically start with an intercepting block and end with a decisive take down or finishing blow. Look for kata sequences of three to four movements that would inflict progressively more damage to the opponent and would likely render him incapacitated by the last technique. The final decisive technique may be indicated by a big turn (throw) of a dropping into a low stance (joint control/ manipulation to inflict pain compliance)
6. While any kata may deal with the possibility of multiple attackers, each sequence will deal with only one attacker. Kata bunkai will never demonstrate defence against simultaneous attacks. Kata bunkai may demonstrate correct strategy to deal with multiple aggressors surrounding you.
7. Keep in mind that kata are “training sequences”. As such, if we see repetitive sequences within a kata we are seeing one of three things:a) repetition for emphasis of an important strategy or technique. This would include training both left and right sides of the body b) alternative uses for a specific technique: for example a block used as a block or an attack or c) alternative forms of the technique against various attacks. For example in Heian Shodan the first downward block to the left may represent a simple intercepting block and counter-strike, while the second downward block, combined with the hammer-fist strike, may represent a sort of “Plan B” to be used if your block is intercepted and trapped. Bill Burgar has an excellent approach in his application of Gojushiho Sho: with the repetitive sequences throughout the kata he tries to find an alternative application for each sequence either by altering the potential attack or by altering the response.
Under the topic of “training”, some of the repetitive sequences may represent emphasis of an important concept by repeating, but only demonstrate the “finishing blow” once. For example in the three rising blocks found in Heian Shodan, Itosu may have been training the concept of intercept with an rising block then attack with a rising block ( training the principles of a)alternative uses for a technique,b) training both left and right, and c) early interception of an attack), yet he only included the final finishing throw and punch after the last set of blocks (the big turn, then step in punch to the head of the downed enemy)
8. Some of the sequences may appear overly long. This may represent what Mr. Burgar terms “redundancy”. Going back to primary principles: intercept-dominate-incapacitate, our assumption would be that every technique we use, including the first block, has the potential of ending the conflict. (Kane and Wilder consider this to be the primary goal of all applications). Of course we cannot really expect this to be the true case. Many techniques are likely to fail and thus we need a back-up plan. Most importantly with regards to redundancy: each successive technique must flow naturally with minimal re-adjustment of position. We need to maintain our momentum throughout the defense sequence.
9. Sequences must have three basic qualities: they will unbalance the enemy with each technique, they will lead the mind of the opponent, giving him neither time nor urge to alter his attack strategy, and finally they will maximize the predictability of outcome for each technique. This predictability of outcome is important for the successful application of any bunkai because, for the most part, all the follow up techniques in any sequence are dependant on those results. Going back to my statements that most “real fights” are decided by head attacks, then we would likely want to set up most of our sequences to have the penultimate technique be a solid head shot, then finish the enemy with a throw to the ground.
As an example, let’s look at Schmeisser’s interpretation of Heian Nidan, the third sequence: you start standing sideways to the attacker, weight supported on the left leg, the right leg slightly ahead, poised ready to kick sideways, towards the “back” of the embusen. The hands are held in the classic “cup and saucer” position on the left hip, the eye-line is sideways over the right shoulder. The sequence unfolds from here: you simultaneously kick to the right with your right leg as you snap out a right back-fist strike, You complete this sequence with a step down into left kokutsu dachi, with left shuto uke, facing the front of the embusen again. Now, apply our posture analysis: the “cup and saucer” position implies that you have the attackers limb (presumably he grabbed you) trapped and pulled across your body, extending and locking the arm, bending and off-balancing the opponent. The kick would be applied low, preferably groin or thigh height, while the back fist strike would be face level now that the enemy is bent. Now, before we call this done, we take the “set” position for the knife hand block: our left elbow swings forward to touch the inside of our right elbow. In this scenario the enemy’s head would be just about there, so the “set” position for the shuto uke becomes a nasty little elbow to the bridge of the nose. Finally, the step down into kokutsu dachi simultaneously flashing out the shuto-uke as I turn 180 degrees would likely snap the enemy’s head around a bit, possibly dislocating his neck or just finishing him with an insurmountable accumulation of injuries. In this scenario all our applications flowed naturally from technique to technique, utilized the transitional positions, and took advantage of the predictable reactions of the enemy. I believe it demonstrates proper Ri-ai.
10) Broaden your view of the individual techniques: if you cannot fathom the application of a specific technique, look at the techniques that bracket it on either side, making sure to include the transitional positions. Do not feel constrained by either the standard embusen or rhythm. Remember that the embusen might be suggesting a tai sabaki strategy rather than an actual response to an attacker along the demonstration embusen. Furthermore, the traditional rhythm of the kata is more about the performance value of the kata than it is about the bunkai applications. If we include the potential applications of the transitional positions, then the rhythm of any kata would be altered when used as bunkai.
This chapter has been pretty exhausting. It covers vast amounts of information that can be found in far more complete form in other texts (see the Reference guide). All of my references, while often having dramatically different applications for the same kata, all espouse the same basic principles of kata applications analysis. There really are guidelines to this code and they really do work if you apply them correctly. As a general rule of thumb, if you are having to really alter the kata dramatically to get the application to work, then you have either the wrong application or you have the wrong attack. When I first started looking at bunkai seriously, I had two immediate reactions: delight at how simple and logical most of the applications were when I got them right and disappointment that so many of the traditionally accepted bunkai were hopelessly flawed by any meassure of Ri-ai.
My next section will depart from the rest of the text in that it will flow completely from my imagination. I want to “create” a kata, applying the “rules” as I have listed them. I will start with imagining a series of attacks and then I will try to come up with a series of defences that conform to our rules. I am specifically not trying to create a new demonstration kata; this is merely just another training drill that is best discarded when it has served it’s purpose the same way second grade penmanship exercises would thrown away at the end of the school year.
