KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: Artist or Artisan

“Suppress, dominate, incapacitate” Bryce Fleming often misquoted as “the man is an idiot”.

Yes, you’re right, I did quote myself.  I figured that I had quoted a bunch of historical characters that most readers have no clue about, so why not quote a real nobody like myself? It’s always strange how we all take the written word of some famous historical persona as intrinsically worthwhile, yet we immediately discount the sage words of the guy next door simply because he said them (Of course, this may be the same guy who parked in the middle of your lawn after the company Christmas party last year).  In business there is a saying that the definition of an expert consultant is anyone coming from more than three hours away.  There is a lot of irony in that. 

I originally planned this chapter to be an introduction to the kata “Tanto Kata Ichi”, my created kata of a series of defenses against a knife.  The project was not meant to actually create a new performance kata to be used by other karateka; it was meant to be simply an exercise in direct application of the principles of karate and kata discussed thus far.  I had a predetermined idea of the knife attacks I thought were common and I had a good idea of the defenses that I thought were appropriate.  In truth, I probably could have gone ahead with my project as planned; the goal was not so much the creation of a viable series of defenses against a knife but the creation of a karate kata through systematic application of principles.  Unfortunately the whole issue of Ri-ai came to the front; my kata had to demonstrate practical, pragmatic defenses against common attacks. I had to research what exactly comprised “common” attacks and I had to find viable defenses against those attacks.  I had to do the job right or not do it at all.

I grew up around knives and various other sharp implements.  My father was ex-military and was the scion of a long line of veterans. Hell, one of my ancestors fought for both sides during the American War of Independence. My father raised all his boys to be able to take care of themselves almost regardless of the situation.  My first real “grown-up” gift from my father was a laminated Mora Steel whittling knife at seven years of age. The rule with my father is that you got the knife at seven, but you were not allowed to actually use the knife until you could sharpen it to a scalpel edge with nothing more than a common whet stone.  My father was nothing short of unyielding: dull knifes are dangerous and no boy in his household is going to use a dull knife.  I still have that knife and to this day all my personal knives (as apposed to the ones my wife tries to ruin in the kitchen) are razor sharp at all times.  On the other hand, I do have some really choice scars from years of using and abusing knives.  Knife wounds happen in an instant and, if the blade is truly sharp, they bleed profusely.

Two of my scars I should tell you about, just so we all understand how fast severe cuts happen and how functional a badly cut person can be after those cuts. This plays into my later discussion.  (by the way, the kata is NOT going to be about knife attacks.  You will understand in a few moments).  The first scar I should tell you about extends the entire length of my left index finger.  I was performing a field post-mortem exam on a dead cow with my trusty K-BAR knife ( pretty useless piece of steel by the way: won’t take an edge and dulls up immediately) and slipped as I slashed a rib: the blade flashed out of the rotting carcass (dead of God knows what) and in an instant was buried to the bone along my clenched left hand. The middle joint was opened and I could see joint fluid dripping out of the wound.  It barely hurt and my only reaction was “Crap, that’s going to hurt by the end of the day”. I finished the examination and drove forty miles home, finished my report and daily billing, and then meandered down to the emergency center about two hours later.  The wound was pretty deep, but it barely even slowed me down. 

 The second scar I should tell you about is from a wound that was a wee bit more serious.  Through bad judgment and bad luck, I managed to take a large scalpel into the meat of my right fore-arm. The blade buried effortlessly and only stopped because it hit bone. On the way through the scalpel cut the vein, nicked the artery and barely missed the Ulnar nerve. Holy crap did it bleed; like Niagara Falls during Spring flood. In this case I knew that if I did not get something done fast I was going to pass out from blood loss. The passing out would save my life likely (bleeding stops with low blood pressure) but that would leave the surgery I was doing half finished and my panicking client alone, fifty miles from any help.   In this situation I stepped back, looked the by-now very pale cowgirl in the face and told her to grab the surgical needle and suture out of my nearby kit, throw two tight stitches across the wound and wrap some convenient bandaging material around the wound a few times.  I added that she had about two or three minutes to help me before I was past being able to give coherent instructions. To this day all I remember was that the stitching hurt one hell of a lot more than the cutting.  After all this I completed the surgery I was doing and drove myself back to the city fifty miles away. It was two days before I actually visited the hospital: everyone that knows me, knows that hospitals and doctors scare me more than anything as trivial as death and infection.

The three things that you desperately need to take home from the two stories above are 1) knife wounds happen fast and without warning 2) knife wounds rarely hurt much, even when they are potentially life threatening and 3) you should not just sit down and die if you get cut; you are unlikely to die, so stand up, dust yourself off and soldier on.   This has been my experience and, after doing a bit of research, this is likely the truth about knife wounds.

I consulted three sources before I started to write this article. There are many more worthwhile resources, but truthfully it only took me three to realize just how unrealistic this whole venture really is.  Based on my current knowledge, most martial artists have not a freaking clue about knife attacks or wounds.  The community seems to fall into two camps: those that are of the assumption that there is no possible defense against a knife and you should just run away screaming if you see one, and those who believe their “Joot Koot Poo” will armour them against any weapon coming their way.  Both camps are tremendously smug in their opinion.  Not a freaking clue.  Lets look at both sides of the argument. 

On one hand, faced with a criminal flashing a knife, should you assume that either submission or a hasty retreat is going to save you?  Are you sure the criminal will be satisfied with just your wallet? Maybe he wants your wife or daughter too. Or maybe he just likes to hurt people and will give you a poke anyway as you pass your wallet over.  How about running away?  Are you absolutely sure you can outrun anyone?  I happen to be almost fifty now and I never was much of a runner, so if faced with a young, healthy hood and his trusty shank I have very few options.  I better hope I see the bastard coming and cross over to the other side of the street.  Furthermore, how about this scenario: you are cornered with both your wife and daughter. Maybe you can outrun the scum, but are you sure they can?  A real man is going to step up to the plate and fight long enough to give his loved ones a healthy head start on the sprint for life.

The other side of this coin are the invincible warriors.  Somewhere along the way some of us have come to the conclusion that knife slashers are going to announce their intentions with great looping flourishes of their blade and yet they are likely to have little or no expertise with the knife.  Here is a news flash: using a knife is practically a natural movement and really takes little or no training to perfect.  Its not like there is “knife fighting academies” on every corner, so trained shankers are truly rare; yet there are reports of knife attacks practically daily in my neck of the woods.  Then there is the classic statement that I hear repeated practically as a mantra: “If you get in a knife fight, you will be cut. Assume it”.  This statement is all very fine, but I hear it coming from people who have never actually been cut under any circumstances.  Blanket statement like that are really of little use; you need to understand just two things about a knife cut: it is unlikely to kill you quickly and you are unlikely to feel it when it happens.

The two best references I found were “Logic of Steel” by James Lalond and two articles gleaned from “Jissen” magazine, written by Reverend Bodhi Chenevey.  I actually contacted the good Reverend and he came back to me with some very sage advice that I will share with you.  He is the major reason I fell back, regrouped and re-planned this whole silly little project.

“Logic of Steel” is a frank and truthful book about the reality of bladed violence.  I am not sure what type of man Mr. Lalond is, but he has led a very interesting and dangerous life.  He speaks with the authority of a man who has both used a knife in personal combat and has been at the lethal pointy end of a knife. His book is absolutely filled with useful information that every martial artist needs to understand before he gets glib about knives and defenses.  The three most important points he makes we all need to take to heart: 1) victims of knife attacks rarely realize that there is a knife involved until it is far too late. Often they don’t understand their lethal error until there is lots of blood involved. 2) victims of knife attacks rarely feel the cuts.  Often they assume their attacker is “punching” them when in fact he is stabbing them. 3) most victims of knife attacks survive. Often they are permanently injured, but they survive.  So the question has to be: how do you defend against a weapon you never see, you rarely feel and you do not recognize until after the fight is over?

Mr. Lalond makes it clear that most “knife fighters” do not brandish their weapons. Even the marginally experienced shanker will usually enter the conflict with the knife at a hidden ready position: low, hip or pocket level, hidden against the contour of the leg.  The knifer is depending on getting into range with stealth and then attacking with a blitzkrieg attack.  Most attackers will be right handed, most wounds will be to the left side of the face and body. Of the people who actually brandish the blade, you are likely to meet two types: those who are scared shitless and just want you to back off and give them space, and those who intend to terrorize and intimidate for sporting fun. Of course, mixed among all these guys are going to be the crazy bastards who just don’t give a crap and plan to hurt you whether you see the knife or not.  Reverend Chenevey’s first article in “Jissen” covers this topic really well with the simple statement of “Be careful of who you piss off!!”.

The Reverend Bodhi Chenevey is an interesting character.  His articles in “Jissen” magazine (Google it guys, its free on-line) are blunt, illuminating and give the reader an essence of the nature of knife assaults.  Reverend Chenevey does not pass on many little gems about defending against the knife, but he does give us the unpolished view of what happens when a blade comes into play.  Chenevey no longer calls it “knife fighting” ; he calls it “knife killing”; the inference that anyone that pulls a knife on you has showed clear intent to kill you and should be treated as a potential murderer.  Detailing his experience both as a combat soldier during the Viet Nam War and his thirty years training both military and police officers in combat tactics, Reverend Chenevey brings a reality that only first hand experience can give.  His articles in Jissen magazine can be boiled down in to a few salient points: 1) knife attacks are usually surprise assaults. 2) you often do not feel the cuts and often do not realize the severity of your wounds until long after the altercation. 3) the quick kill with the knife is for the most part a myth. You are likely to survive for at least a little while when attacked with a knife.   These three points lead automatically to three important conclusions: 1) stay aware of your surroundings and who is around you. Always watch who is watching you and be respectful of anyone you don’t know well. You never know who is carrying a shank. 2) defend yourself without concern for the cuts.  This does not mean “do not avoid being cut”, it means “do not panic and quit if you are”.  I personally have a series of pictures of a police officer who thought he could take a knife wielding thug without any back-up. The cuts tell the story: his arms have some defense wounds, his belly and chest have a few deep wounds, but his back is absolutely shredded.  The tale it tells is that he took some defensive cuts, a couple of potentially dangerous body strikes and then he panicked and turned turtle, taking numerous deep and dangerous cuts to his undefended back.  Finally, 3) you have time to survive if you do get cut. Once cut, keep on going until either you collapse or you disable your attacker.  Kill him if you have to; he called the match the moment he pulled the knife.

The personal notes Reverend Chenevey sent me were interesting to say the least, especially for a karate guy. Here is a synopsis of his suggestions:

1) stance: faced with a known attacker (blade displayed) stand hands up, elbows tucked in, chin tucked, spine and neck vertical, hands open, hips and spine aligned with shoulders. Hips and knees are flexed.  The posture is very reminiscent of standard Tai Chi Chuan balanced posture.

2) Always use Tai sabaki, preferably shifting diagonally to the outside. This creates distance and time.

3)Do not try to “grab” the knife hand.  It will never happen, even against the untrained knifer.  Think instead of “hooking” the arm into your elbow/armpit area and simultaneously striking to his head with your other hand. Repeated open hand strikes that lead to control of the head as you continue to keep the knife arm hooked.  You can try to hyper-extend the elbow by levering the hooked arm across your chest once you have the head controlled.  Focus on a three dimensional flowing action applied simultaneously. Control the knife arm at the elbow. ( I just recently discovered the value of this while doing bunkai for Niju Shiho- Bryce)

4)Entering on a diagonal as you hook the arm and smash the face, hyper-extend or break the arm, then change level at the hips, taking the assailant to the ground by flexing your hips and knees without bending at the waist.  Maintain an upright posture.

5)If his arm is still undamaged once you are on the ground, finish the job.  Unless you are legally responsible to keep the scum alive and mostly undamaged, then finish the fight; he was trying to KILL you. (Years ago  a gentleman called Dave Doncaster led a course at my dojo on police arrest tactics. I asked him what would he do if he had no back-up, he was surrounded by bad guys and he had one down and subdued. He answered me that he would purposefully break the man’s arm so he at least had one less offender to deal with.  He felt that lawyers and the court system were much easier to deal with than morticians and the forever-after.- Bryce)

6) Spiralling take downs, keeping the offender spinning and off balance work well. Think of youself as the center of the whirl pool and the offender the piece of feces circling the drain. 

7) Do not forget leg strikes. Knee strikes to the thigh can assist a take down, knees to the groin if you shifted to the inside of the attack. Reaps of the feet as you simultaneously push the upper body away. The reverse process of sweeping the foot and pulling the upper body works well too.

8 ) Try to remain light, non-threatening and relaxed. Remain soft and pliable, with hooks and attacks almost flowing. The best defenses are going to be those that the opponent does not sense until it is too late to respond. This approach is most similar in application to Tai Chi Chuan strategy rather than karate. Karate tends to be too staccato and applied at too long a range. The heavy nature of karate is likely to telegraph to the knifer your intent and thus allow him a chance to alter tactics.  You need to flow and remain continuous.

9) Defang the serpent by cutting off the head. Do not worry about the knife.  Be aware of the knife and certainly do not invite injury, but concentrate on destroying the man. 

Having  said all this, I have come to the conclusion that making a “knife defense” karate kata is practically useless. Certainly the basic principles of technique and strategy of karate can and should be applied if one faces a knife, but in application those techniques are not likely to greatly resemble traditional karate. Fighting against a knife you are likely to flow, applying multiple explosive percussive techniques on the fly as you avoid the attack and hook the arm.  The net result is going to be more comparable to Tai Chi Chuan or Aikido. Why should  I create anything that is going to have to be drastically altered to be applicable? It is not worthwhile.

So, let’s look at some scenario that involves a weapon, will likely involve an announced and telegraphed attack, and, just for fun, has the constraint that you cannot “kill” your opponent. Subdue yes, render harmless until the police arrive of course, but more or less in one piece and alive.  

 So here is my scenario: a local tradesman turns up for work at your house drunk practically to the point of incoherence.  You fire his useless ass as anyone would and he goes ballistic.   He desperately needs the money to pay for his wife’s medical bills and he is not about to leave without a fight. He picks up the closest weapon he can find,  a straight piece of steel rebar about two feet long with a fairly pointy end on it.  You are cornered in your small back yard; the neighbour is watching and is calling 911.  In your part of town you know that there is a minimum 15 minute response time for the police and, let’s face it, the guy is not a bad guy, he is just a desperate drunk.  Your goal is to successfully defend yourself until the police arrive but hopefully not kill or permanently disable this unreasonable but armed drunk.  Is this scenario a little artificial? Of course!  It’s about as realistic as a daytime soap opera during sweeps week, but it does set up some specific parameters from which we can develop our kata.

Let’s consider three basic factors: the attacker, the weapon, and the environment.

1) the attacker is an unreasonable mean drunk.  He is right handed (93% of people are) , is not terribly athletic or trained in any combat arts.  The drunk is about our height and weight, so the reach advantage here is about 2 feet, the length of the rebar club. On the positive side his reactions will be slowed, his strategy will be primal and likely direct, and his balance will be poor.  On the negative he is unlikely to feel much pain, is less likely to concede defeat when he is obviously losing, and may be unusually strong as the alcohol decreases his natural inhibitions.

2) the weapon is basically a club, but may be used as a stabbing shank.  Clubs are typically used with  large swinging or slashing movements along any angle you can imagine.  Often the action of the slash is a figure of 8 motion, flowing from outside high to inside low and back to inside high to outside low.  Of course the club can be used in any variation of this, and a thoughtless drunk might just wildly flail the club without any logical path vector.  In this case the rebar may also be used as a shank: the drunk may just try to stab you with the pointy end much like a fencing aficionado might use his foil. 

The nature of the club attack may be compared to the slashing motion of a military sabre (or a Japanese wakazashi/ short sword). We know from physics that the tip of the weapon is moving much faster than the handle and thus the tip of the weapon has far greater kinetic energy and therefor represents the real danger of the slash.  Swordsmen of old knew that the tip of the sword was the real danger and, in fact, the base of the sword could be blocked with a gloved hand fairly safely.  This applies to this situation as well; any defense we should consider  will involve early interception of the base of the club, avoiding the dangerous tip.  For the most part this will involve driving inside the arc of the slash, preferably very early after the inception of the attack, before the attacker develops much inertia.

Any defenses we create will absolutely have to take the nature of the weapon into account.

3) the environment is a wide open grass yard, recently mowed and dry. Traction is good, there are no major obstructions and, most importantly, the drunk has found the only weapon available in the yard.  I basically just described my own back yard, but I also described the nature of the historical Okinawa dojo; limited space but fairly good conditions for unarmed combat.

So let’s consider the potential attacks:

1) Overhead downward slash to our head.

2) outside to inside slashes from any angle.  The angle of the slash really does not matter since the strategy will remain the same: early interception of the base of the club about where his hand is grasping it.

3) inside to outside slashes from any angle.  This will likely be the follow-up or backhand version of the above attack. 

4) Spearing thrust, using that pointy end to stab our belly.

Of course, a trained martial artist may handle the club much like a “hanbo”  or half-bo, using both ends of the club effectively from a shifting hand or two handed grip, but here we are dealing with an untrained drunk. For the sake of simplicity and keeping in mind that this is simply an exercise in kata creation, we will say that Wally the Wino is just attacking you by swinging the club at you wildly (and maybe trying to shank you with it).

So I start my kata.  For the sake of making this a traditional karate kata, I will make this a stepwise progression with typical staccato rhythm and standard stances.  In application, as bunkai, there will likely be a flowing action for many of these actions, especially the interception/ blocking action into the second, attacking action.  Keep in mind that our true goal remains: supress, dominate, incapacitate (but, at least here, don’t kill). Call it, just for fun, “Rusty Bar Kata Ichi”.

 

1. shizentai or yoi position
2. drive in to left front stance, left rising block.  Fast action, full kime.
3. step forward, slowly into right sanchin stance, making sure the right leg flows through a true “C” step as you move. The elbow of the left arm is dropped to about shoulder height, the hand an open tiger mouth grip facing away from you. As you step the right hand comes over the top and assumes an “augmenting” position with the right hand placed against the proximal left forarm at the crux of the elbow. The right forarm is horizontal, about throat height. This should form a classic four point joint lock.
4. driving hard off the right leg, step 90 degrees to the left into left front stance. Simultaneously draw both hands to the left hip in the classic left fist in right hand position. This is done explosively and fast with full kime.
5. immediately punch downward with a right reverse punch. This is a hard, full force punch deserving of a kiai.
6. step back with your right leg, rotating your feet ninety degrees (so you are in a poised front stance facing the front again). In a flowing action rotate 180 degrees and drop onto the left knee. You are now facing the rear on a bent left knee.  At the very beginning of this action you brought your right hand back to  the left hip. Left downward teisho uchi.  Your hands should somewhat align as if there is an arm barred between them.
7. step back with your right leg as you stand up, finishing in a left front stance. Arms come to a traditional triangle guard, facing the  rear of the embusen.
8. drive forward into right front stance, right rising block. Full speed, full kime.
9. rotate clockwise 180 degrees around the right leg, finishing facing  the front of the embusen again. Throughout this action the hands are drawn firmly to the right hip into a right fist inside left hand position.
10. left reverse punch to the head from this stance. Fast, full kime, practically simultaneous to landing in stance.
11. step in immediately with a low left front snap kick. simultaneously pull your left hand back from the punch to your left hip, keeping your right hand on your right hip.
12. land in left front stance, left hand at left hip, right hand locked on the right hip.
13. turn 180 degrees to the rear of the embusen, dropping onto your left knee as you do, with a downward left downward teisho-uchi, keeping your right hand locked on the right hip. Kiai.
14. As you stand, turn 180 degrees to front, left zenjutsudachi, left downward block.
15. Step in fast into right leg forward kiba dachi, upward right teisho uchi with left hikite.
16. Rotate  90 degrees to the rear of the embusen, dropping into left leg bent, right knee kneeling position, right downward teisho uchi, left hikite . The left hand stays locked on the left hip throughout this movement, the right hand flows from high to low as you turn and drop.
17. Rise to left zenkutsu-dachi facing the rear of the embusen, form a triangle guard.
18. step back with the left leg , bringing your legs together, left arm extended, right arm at chamber position for a knife hand block. Step back out into right kokutsu dachi, right knife hand block. This is a flowing transition.
19. Drive into left leg forward kiba-dachi, left upward teisho-uchi, right hand snapping to hikite.
20. Pivoting on the left leg, turn 27o degrees to face the rear of the embusen, drop into right leg forward kneeling position, left downward teisho-uchi, right hand locked on the right hikite position.
21. Rise into right zenkutsu-dachi, standard triangle guard.
22. Pull right leg back until your legs are together, rotating clockwise 90 degrees and bringing your hands to your right hip, “cup and saucer” position, right hand under left.
23. Step back toward the front with your left foot and rotate counter-clockwise into left front stance, drawing both hands, kept together, across your body to the left hip. Rotate your hands as you do this so the left hand is now on the bottom of the “cup and saucer” position.
24. Keeping your left hand locked on your hip, quickly draw your right hand back as if to grab something about shoulder height and then suddenly drop into left leg forward kneeling position, right downward teisho uchi.
25. You should be facing the front now, about where you started from. Finishing where you started is not that important really, but I did make this kata so it finished about where I started. Step back into shizentai-dachi.  The kata is finished.

So, in analysis, is this a “good” kata? That is hard to say. It certainly is not interesting or terribly creative. It does have some elements I really like, and is has a few elements that I really hate.  I have tried the applications for this repeatedly and, with some training, they work well. I am not so sure that they will work under preassure though.  Here are my applications; for the first and only time the karateka will actually know without doubt the “original” apps for a kata.

1. Movements one through six are all one sequence.  The attack is an overhead downward swing with right hand, trying to “crown” you with the 2 foot steel re-bar.  Because the nature of a “club” attack, the swing really is “big” and loopy, kind of what we all dream our knife attacker will attempt.  Drive in hard with your left rising block, using early interception timing to stop the attack before the downward swing gathers much momentum, hopefully breaking the drunk’s stance as well. Flow through this in application, stepping forward, around his leading right front leg with your exagerated “c” step, landing in right sanchin-dachi, your right thigh contacting his right thigh.  Your right  arm arches behind his right arm, striking the inner elbow as you do, hopefully creating a sharp flexion of the elbow.  Trap his right arm with your left “tiger mouth’ block, lock his arm into position with the classic 4 point arm-bar. Note here you have his weapon and arm tied up, his inertia and stance broken, and your right elbow in a position about face high on the enemy.  Turn rapidly 90 degrees into a left front stance, ramming him with your elbow as you do, then wrenching his  right arm across your body, throwing him over your hip.  Punch the downed man immediately. Keep his right arm locked on your hip. In application you might hit him a couple more times (“henka” technique). Step back with your right foot and rotate , twising his arm hard as your left hand hammers his right elbow with your teisho-uchi. In application this represents a ikkyo style arm bar, though imagination may turn this into nikkyo.  Either way, the end result is him on the ground, beat up and in an “arrest” position awaiting the police.

Does this sequence work?  Well, I like the early interception and the fact that everything from there on maintains our domination.  I really like the elbow strike to the face and the finishing punch after the throw. This fits the rule of “three strikes for every throw” or “atemi waza for every throw” rule.  I do not like the four point arm bar.  I can apply this arm bar instinctively because I have been using it for years and my brain works well this way.  I have tried to teach it to students and maybe one in ten catches the drift.  This tells me that this sequence is weak because it is unlikely to work under field situations.  I also have little or no “fall back” position.  Bill Burgar calls this redundancy: if “plan a” does not work, does your sequence have a “plan b” to resort to?  The sequence does end up with the drunk down and well restrained, so it fits well to our requirements, but I doubt that it would work in real life.

   2.  Movements 7 through 13 represent a variation of the same defense as above.  The attack again is a downward slash to the head.  Here I am going to break convention with karate kata: typically there is no “ready” stance in kata, but in my kata I do have “ready” stances demonstrated.  I do this as a matter of principle: if you were ever faced with a determined attacker I would hope that everyone would have the sense to take some sort of defensive guard.  In this application Iuse the intercepting rising block again,  attempting again to jam the attack at its inception rather than after the drunk has some inertia and the steel bar is starting its dangerous downward arc.  In this application I flow through the block, using it merely to guarantee a deflection of the attack. I step through the arc, hooking the arm as I go, rotating on my leading right foot to face the back of my attacker.  In training this I found that if I did not counter-attack immediately on finishing the rotation, my partner would naturally rotate with me, bringing his weapon into line for a second attack.  The counter-attack I suggest is a strike to the back of the head (potentially lethal), but since “arrest” is our goal here, I use the strike to the back of the head in step ten to grab the collar of my attacker while my other hand is maintaining control of the weapon (I maintained contact as I stepped through, pulling the weapon with me).  I kick  to the back of  my attackers legs (whichever leg is closest) and pull him into my body with my grip on the back of his jacket. This action should fold him off balance (it certainly did in training, at least until my partner got sick of falling down and started coming up with defenses). After the kick, step in, keeping the enemy “folded” off balance and immediately rotate 180 degrees into a kneeling position, controlling the drunk’s head and the trapped weapon hand. The kneeling position “teisho-uchi” again represents our “arrest”, here the final action being to slam the drunk face first into the dirt, his trapped arm locked out straight and maybe your knee placed strategically either in the middle of his back or actually pinning his elbow as you hyper extend his elbow.

 

This attraction of this defense is the use of body movement to neutralize the attack followed, again, by a barrage of attacks to dominate and eventually incapacitate.  I like the slight variation of the use of “rising block” as compared to the first sequence and I like the use of the reverse punch as a grab rather than a strike, demonstrating the variability of technique application (“a block is a lock is a strike is a throw”).  In application I found most of my “opponents” tended to roll out to face me as I stepped through with their trapped hand unless my counter-attacks were very rapid fire.  Coming back to Reverend Chenevey’s recommendation that you need to take control of the attacker’s head as a key part of your defense really applies here: the initial control stops the drunk from “rolling out” and facing you, keeping him open to your kicking attack to his lower legs.  Maintaining control of his head is crucial to the final “arrest”  : your kick decimates his stability and the turn and downward thrust of your controlling hand plants him face first in the dirt.  The weakness here is that there are plenty of opportunities for the attacker to quickly adjust to your strategy and you have no alternative plan that flows directly from this application.  No redundancy.

  3.  Steps 14 through 16 represent a defense against a outside to inside swinging attack to your body or head. In this case the defense again is an early interception, just as his swing starts.  I do not personally believe the exact attack arc matters much; you merely would adjust the height of the interception to match the level of the attacker’s hand, which of course is really where you want to apply your interception.  Again, the follow up counter-attack here must flow from the interception, striking and controlling the enemy’s head practically before he realizes that his strike has been intercepted.  My counter-attack is an upward strike to the jaw, driving the head sharply up and back, unbalancing him by applying force against the weak axis of his stance.  Having broken his stance and taken control of his head, I now spin him off balance, driving him down onto his back while retaining the attacking hand trapped with my left hand.  Once again the kneeling stance with teisho-uchi represents an “arrest of  the drunk; him prone on his back with his arm barred across my knee.

This defense is merely a variation of Heian Shodan, nothing else.  It can be applied easily and will work just about every time.  There is a good, powerful and dependable strike prior to the throw and the application is simple enough that it can be learned quickly, maintained with minimal training, and applied under combat stress. Again, it is lacking in “plan b” redundancy, but it is simple enough that a few “henka” techniques could be added without substantial alteration which would make it more effective.  Again the principle of attacking the head, controlling the head and throwing by rotation around a “whirl-pool” fits with Reverend Chenevey’s thoughts.

  4. Steps 17 through 20 represents the second half of the above defense: what to do if you miss the timing on the outside to inside strike.  Typically the club is used in reversing arcs: and outside to inside arc almost always precedes an inside to outside arc. These arcs may be at different levels, but once again this does not matter since your goal is to control the hand rather than the weapon.  Step 17 represents a strategic withdrawl, allowing the steel bar to flash by you, after which you immediately drive back in, catching the attacker’s arm hopefully before he manages to reverse the direction of the slashing attack. Once again, you flow through the knife hand block into a steady kiba dachi and strike to the head with an upward teisho-uchi, aiming this time for the base of the skull near the ear, hopefully destroying his balance mechanism by a direct strike to the vestibular system of the ear.  Once again, after the solid head strike, take control of the head while trapping the attacker’s arm. Rotate quickly on the spot, spinning the disoriented enemy to the ground face first.  And yet again the kneeling teisho-uchi represents us driving the “arrested” attacker to the ground while barring his arm for control.

This application perhaps does represent a “plan b” redundancy defense for swinging attacks.  I like this defense because it is actually a very subtle variation of the defense described in sequence three, applying a similar counter-attack of teisho-uchi, one to the front of the face, the other to the back of the head.  The attack to the vestibular system of the head represents a true “vital point” attack, thus getting extra points for effectiveness.  The classic knife hand block is applied here, demonstrating an open hand interception with implied “sticky” hands attachment to the weapon hand of the drunk.  Again I use rapid spinning of the opponent to unbalance and throw.  This certainly is a “recurrent” theme of this kata, but this is indeed one of the teaching goals of any kata: repetition of a specific strategy as emphasis.

5.  Steps 21 through 25  represents a defense to a lunging stabbing attack to the belly with the sharp end of the re-bar club.  Of course we could have applied a variation of sequence 3 above, but I really felt like looking at a new principle. In this case I am going to use a variation of aikido’s kote gaeshi or wrist throw.  Here I face the drunk with my right side forward, anticipating his charge.  As he lunges and stabs at me, I strategically retreat, rolling to my right to allow the rebar prod to pass by my belly by mere inches.  I trap the weapon-hand as I roll out with both hands (hence the “cup and saucer” grip to my right hip). Having avoided the stab with rotation (a form of tai-sabaki) and trapped the extended weapon hand, I now roll hard to my left, rotating basically 270 degrees on my axis, taking the attacker’s arm with me, rotating that arm hard and fast to twist the wrist sharply to the outside.  Applied very quickly this defense will break most wrists, while applied slowly it will painfully upend the attacker, rotating him sharply around as he tries to alleviate the pain in his wrist and elbow.  While keeping the weapon hand trapped and twisted with your left hikite hand wedged against your left hip, you reach out, grasp the drunk’s head or neck, and finish by slamming him hard into the ground as you drop to your right knee.  This defense would likely be completed by firmly wrenching the trapped arm to throw the drunk or fracture his arm in real life.

This defense is fine as far as it goes.  I found it relatively easy to apply against a short, rubber training knife, while I found it difficult to dodge the attack with the much longer training club. I ended up with lots of bruises on my hands or on my belly while trying to figure this defense out; the length of the club really was an issue for this defense.  I personally like this defense because applied correctly it is extremely painful and thus gives you full control of the attacker.  Unfortunately I just cannot see this working in real combat: it has pathetically small margins for error and demands the maintenance of ice cold nerves under extreme stress to perform correctly.  Maybe trained bull fighters can do things like this (basically a variation of a “veronica” pass with the cape), but the rest of us mortals would die trying this. Furthermore, it has no redundancy in application: it better work because everything you see is everything you have.  This defense is great for Hollywood and choreographed public demonstrations, but I am not so sure that it is worthwhile wasting much time on training this sequence.

So that is my “kata”; nothings special or involved and certainly nothing worth retaining into the mists of time.  I do have some of the elements of classic kata: defense against common attacks from an untrained fighter, early interception, domination and incapacitation, and, of course teaching elements. The teaching elements I included:

1. early interception of each attack
2. tai sabaki to avoid attacks.
3. vital point attacks
4. attack and control of the head to dominate the fight.
5. rapid rotation to unbalance and throw.
6. striking to unbalance before, during and after a throw.
7. open hand techniques to imply “sticky hands” interception and control of limbs.
8. use of hikite as a pulling or trapping action in practically every application
9. use of dropping the body weight as an energy source.
10. repetition of action to train certain concepts and thier variations.

My greatest disappointment with my creation is that it is too specific.  The greatest beauty of most kata is that they are so very malleable; the potential applications are only limited by the practitioner’s imagination.  On the other hand, my kata is very specific to the intended attacks against which it is designed to defend against. If we were to alter the attacks or even the length of the weapon (I did try both of these variations) and the kata has to be changed substantially to become applicable.  I do not believe this to be the nature of the traditional kata. I believe the original kata were truly meant to give the karateka a kind of versatile tool box from which he could draw any number of useful tools that could be mixed and matched to meet the circumstances.

This more of less completes my opus on “the basics” of karate. Certainly there are many, many details hidden here and there and everywhere throughout this longwinded essay, but, if you pare down the details and concentrate on the big picture (the chapter titles pretty much cover all the important issues) you will see that I covered really very little ground.  A minimalist could probably cover everything of real value in this book just reading the table of contents and skimming the bibliography.  I emphasize that you need not take anything from this book nor agree with me in the least. In fact I am fully satisfied that I have done my job if you take the time to formulate a good argument to the effect that I really am full of crap. That, in fact is the result I am looking for: to stimulate people to reconsider what they think they know about martial arts.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: cryptography

“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.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: Form follows function

” It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, Of all things physical and metaphysical, Of all things human and all things super-human, Of all true manifestations of the head, Of the heart, of the soul, That the life is recognizable in its expression. That form ever follows function. This is the law.”  Louis Sullivan, American architectural innovator of the late 19th century

Finally, after many pages of preparation, we have reached the point where we actually start addressing “bunkai”.  The term “bunkai” as it is commonly used in the western dojo means “learning applications”.  Typical of western culture, we have failed to learn the full translation of that word and have settled on the very simplistic definition of “applications”.  The true translation of the word “bunkai” actually infers a process of analysis of any subject by detailed dissection or dis-assembly of the whole.  In fact, bunkai could include all the possible study methods of kata that we have already discussed. On the other hand, kata bunkai most definitely includes potential applications of individual techniques or sequences found within the kata.

Of primary importance when considering kata bunkai is the concept of Ri-ai.  Ri-ai, as defined by Donn Draeger in “Japanese Swordsmanship”, represents the blending of all elements of performance and intent to create a meaningful combative action sequence.  Within the context of kata bunkai, this would suggest that the techniques, sequence and embusen would be applied against a realistic attack in a realistic way to give an appropriate result.  We have already touched base on this topic in the last chapter: against a street-real attack the defender must intercept/ suppress-dominate- incapacitate using techniques that could be applied under severe acute combat stress.

The title of this thesis is “Kata Follows Function”, which, it should be obvious by now, is a play on the old quote “form follows function”.  The phrase “form follows function” originated from the studio of the sculptor Horatio Greenough, but was popularized by the master architect Louis Sullivan.  The basic premise is that the form of any building should flow from it’s designated function rather than popular style. The buildings that were designed during this period were typically spare, with minimal ornamentation and maximal utility. Frank Lloyd Wright was probably the most famous of the students of Sullivan. I really like this term when I apply it to kata and kata bunkai. Kata should represent a pragmatic response to an attack.  The emphasis here is that the actual techniques and combinations in kata flow from a real attack and should demonstrate Ri-ai rather than merely demonstrating a jumble of unrelated, illogical karate techniques that “look cool” together.  This attitude and approach can be used directly for the creation of personal kata that might be used in modern “open” karate competitions (not my cup of tea, but to each his own) and indirectly for the interpretation of the traditional kata: if the imagined applications do not stand up under realistic conditions, you need to reconsider you application.

Before we start looking at applications analysis (let’s call that bunkai for simplicity sake), lets look at the traditional teaching methods of bunkai.  The first level of instruction of bunkai is the simple, kihon application where a block is simply a block and a punch is simply a punch.  At this level the student is taught the application as the literal label definition of the kata technique.   The point of this training technique is to basically train kihon as kihon, but under moderate combat stress. Kanazawa sensei stated “kyu grades should be taught simple bunkai to develop a feeling for the kata. If they just practice the cold movements from the kata, then the feeling will not be right.”  My own sensei, Rick Jorgensen, a seventh dan under Nishiyama sensei, emphasizes this approach, and I, for the most part have come to believe that this is the best approach for most karateka under brown belt level. 

 The point I must emphasize here is that “simple” applications need not mean “easy” applications.  I come back to the drill that I have mentioned numerous times: the application of the first downward block in Heian Shodan against an unannounced lunging attack to the left side of the body.  This drill should be very difficult: the attacker should be truly attempting to hit the receiver and the receiver should be truly trying to intercept the attack in it’s very early stages. Done correctly the “block” will be a pre-emptive attack which absolutely deflates and breaks the attacker’s momentum.  The block should not be applied to a fully extended attack but against a half-completed (or less) attack.  This action is very early sen timing or nearly sen-sen-no-sen timing. I have seen many seasoned kudansha be challenged by this drill; it’s merely a matter of finding the appropriate opponent to push them to their limits.   The point of my sensei (and now MY point as well) is that you need to train the students to have great timing with good technique first before you start to teach them intricate applications that require both dexterity and timing.  With timing any defense can be applied and it will work, without good timing no application, no matter how well trained it is , will be possible.  For the self-defense oriented group that would really like to inject some “street” defenses into the mix, feel free to put a rubber training knife into the opponent’s hand and shorten up the attack into a shifting-in slash or stab: the early, pre-emptive nature of the defense then becomes absolutely critical.  

Of course, teaching the detailed action of each technique is important; many of the transitional positions are pivotal in applying the grappling and joint manipulation applications taught at the next level of bunkai.  On the other hand, teaching the final position of each technique such as a downward block has it’s benefits too. Consider the common natural reaction of anyone under attack: we flinch and usually throw an arm into the path of the incoming weapon.  Tony Blauer,  a Canadian combatives expert involved in training both military and police in unarmed defense, trains his students to use their natural tendency to flinch as part of his defense system. It is Mr. Blauer’s opinion that many of the well know kata postures such as the first moves of Heian Nidan (Pinan Shodan) and Heian Yondan are just variations of a natural head cover.  The only difference from natural reflex and Mr. Blauer’s approach is that the defender moves into the attack, intercepting and smothering the opponent’s momentum early. If one looks critically at the kata, you hopefully will notice that most of the “blocks” are done while advancing rather than retreating: there is a theme here.  The masters of old were emphasizing that we need to “smother’ each attack at it’s inception by early interception.  There is also another point that should be made here: most of the applications well tend to be variations or manipulations of our own reflex reactions.  This point, that bunkai should work with or complement natural reflex reaction can be considered one of the important keystones of kata applications. 

 The one major drawback of the first level of kata applications instruction, is that the students have a tendency to develop “label disease”  Label disease is the myopic insistence that the only possible application of a technique is the named application: a block must block and a punch must punch.  Even the most inexperienced neophyte must be told that every kata technique has a multiplicity of applications and that part of their training responsibility it to discover all the applications of kata techniques.  One of the great beauties of kata (and possibly one of the great weaknesses of kata) is the plasticity and vagueness of the art form: kata can be everything and nothing to combat training, depending on how you approach them.

Once the student has mastered the basic applications and understands the importance of timing, the second level of kata training discards the named “labels” for techniques and starts to explore all the potential uses for the kata techniques.  In his book “Cracking the Kata Code”, Tony Annesi repeatedly reminds us that “a block is a lock is a blow is a throw”.  Besides being fun to say, this is clearly an exhortation to looking at ALL the possible applications and variations of our basic techniques.  If you wish to really look at this subject (and I mean REALLY look) I strongly suggest that you read and re-read Rick Clark’s book “75 Down Blocks”.  This pioneer maverick took a block that appears in absolutely every unarmed self-defense system in some form and he found literally 75 different ways to apply that one block. Mr. Clark really did find a block, lock, blow and throw within that simple action, along with many other applications few of us would even consider. 

 Now, in my classes, this level of application is very specific: the key elements of the kata technique and embusen may not be altered at all, merely the timing and true application. Going back to the first move of Heian Shodan: envision an attacker from the front who grabs your right hand with his left hand.  Having trapped your dominant hand, his predictable next move will be a head shot with his right hand  Your defense will be to drop (flinch away from the punch) extend your right hand slightly down and twist it against the grip of his thumb. As you do this swing left, chamber your left hand by swinging it quickly up to your right ear, passing through the center line and…. under his grabbing arm, peeling his grabbing arm off your right hand. Grab the wrist of the offending left arm as you roll it through the downward block chamber position (snapping your right hand back to the hikite position as you apply the release, thus aiding the release process and “loading” your reverse punch). Snap the downward block out as you drive into a front stance to the left.  This action, while peeling the enemy’s hand off your wrist, also will snap-rotate the enemy off line to the left, mis-aligning his right hand punch and hyper-extending his grabbing left arm, unbalancing him and leaving his left rib cage and left back exposed to your reverse-punch.  In this example I have at no point altered the traditional technique or embusen of the kata, but I have used a “block” as both a release technique and unbalancing method to pre-empt the attack while destroying the defenses of the opponent.  You can play with variations of this approach (there is likely close to uhmmm….. 75 variations), and each one of them would be properly called “oyo” of the technique or examples of alternative applications.  Here is a second important point for applications analysis: do not allow yourself to be blinded by labels: see all the possible “oyo”.

The next level of kata applications training would be “henka” techniques.  I have found any number of interpretations for this term, but the translation is “hidden” or alternative techniques.  Here is where the translation of the term should be discarded for the “spirit” of the term.  My opinion (and I hope I have this correct) is that the applications used as “henka” techniques would be applications that are related to or flow from the traditional kata but do not necessarily appear in the traditional kata.  The most common variations, and it is very debatable, would be the embusen. 

The embusen is always a point of conflict. Kane and WIlder suggest that the embusen is not suggesting how the defender is actually moving, but how he is “entering” the fight in relation to his attacker.  These authors suggest that in kata that have a turn to the left (or right) as the first movement, the message is not telling you that your attacker is to your left, but it is saying that your entry be at ninety degrees to the attacker. Kane and Wilder suggest that in every kata the attacker is always in front of you; the logic being is that common sense (and maybe Ri-ai) demands that you would always face a potential threat.  The example I used above with the grip-release followed by joint manipulation would turn the enemy off his attack line and make your entry ninety degrees to that line. Another example of embusen alterations would be Schmeisser’s bunkai analysis of Tekki Shodan (Naihanchi, Nifuanchi).  Sensei Schmeisser interprets the first cross step movement as a turn-in-place to avoid and intercept an incoming soccer kick. Most traditional Shotokan dojos teach the first move of Tekki Shodan to be an interception of an attack from the right.  Schmeisser has altered the embusen from the traditional interpretation of the Shotokan school, but he has not necessarily altered the embusen from the potential applications under the demands of Ri-ai.  I do not consider his interpretation to be “henka” in the least. 

 The debatable point here is “do embusen changes truly represent enough alteration of the kata to make it henka?” My reply to that would be sometimes yes and sometimes no, but it depends on the spirit of the change.  I believe it would be henka if the timing/ strategy of the kata is altered.  An example of this would be to have the first move of Heian Shodan become “step back to the right as you downward block to the left” rather than the traditional embusen movement of “step in left as you block left”.  The henka alteration here represents a shift from early sen timing to go-no-sen timing and therefor a complete change of strategy (it still demonstrates proper Ri-ai though). The key point here, I believe, is to not get fooled by the embusen: look for the underlying strategy rather than just the movement. 

Chinese styles such as Tai Chi Chuan have many “henka” movements and these actually form a large portion of their kata applications training.  Many posture positions are actually meant to imply an attack that is not actually performed.  I can give a few examples of this “code”, but there are many.  Any technique performed in “cat stance” (neko ashi dachi) implies a front leg kick, usually to the groin.  Any sequence that completes with a block but has the other hand poised in a striking position, such as Tai Chi’s “single whip” infers that the “single whip” hand would naturally strike nearly simultaneously with the block.  Any posture that completes with both hands going in disparate directions suggests a simultaneous block and attack (sen timing).  Any posture with two hands together may imply a grab or joint lock, but if one hand is “hiding” behind the other it may represent what is called a “hidden hand technique”. 

 An example of a hidden hand technique in karate could be the augmented blocks seen in Heian Nidan (Pinan Shodan), Heian Yondan, or Heian Godan.  In all of these kata there is at least one posture ( H4 has three movements like this) that finishes with an inside to outside augmented block. In performance the augmenting hand ends up with the meaty palm proximal to the little finger wedged against the inside forearm of the blocking arm, palm facing upwards, elbow  braced against your abdomen.  Traditionally we call this position an “augmented block”, but consider this: if you are using early sen timing as the stepping in action suggests, in what situation are you actually going to need to “augment” those blocks? How big is the guy you are fighting and really how poor is your timing?  You should never need to augment any block if you are applying correct timing.  On the other hand, what else could that augmenting hand imply?  Perhaps the creator of the kata is suggesting the time-honored and kumite-proved strategy of using a pre-emptive block to either intercept  a lead-hand technique or move a lead-hand guard and then have a powerful reverse punch sneak in behind that block. If you actually try this strategy in kumite, you will find that you will have to have the reverse punch already in motion as the “block” moves the guard out of the way if you want to be successful.  The reverse punch hidden behind the block would be the “henka” technique here.  Of course, anyone with any grappling experience will see an arm bar hidden within the augmented block, but this would not be “henka” as it does not require any modification of the kata to be applied: it would be ”oyo”. 

One key issue here is that “henka” truly represent “added on techniques” that should be explored only once the student has a firm grasp on the traditional, existing techniques.  Henka applications should never be used to explain any sequence for which you cannot imagine a viable oyo: if you cannot find an appropriate applications for the kata as it stands, then you need to reconsider the attack against which you are defending.  Often incomprehensible kata passages become patently clear if you alter the attack technique or direction; it is rarely necessary to substantially alter the kata itself.

Some authors would suggest that there is yet another level of kata study: “kakushite”.  As I understand this term it means “secret techniques”.  Historically, these secret techniques were taught by the master to only a select few, trusted students.  The martial arts are filled with stories of “kakushite” which were only passed on to the “one” who was chosen to succeed the master, often transmitted once the master was nearly on his death bed.  In his Internet articles John Vengel refers to the Chinese “gates” system through which the student slowly learned all the various “secrets” of the system as they entered each subsequent higher level of “gate”.  The gate system was prevalent in any number of schools: Musashi actually refers to this system in the fourth book of Go Rin No Sho (Book of the Wind, as in “hot air”). Musashi derided any school that operated under a “gate’ system and repeatedly said that there are no real secrets. 

 Modern day authors such as Tony Annesi repeat this admonition: there are no secrets.  In ” The Principles of Advanced Budo” Annesi makes many excellent points (some of which fit my specific definition of “principles” and many of which fit my definition of “details”) but one of his best points is that there really are no true secrets in martial arts.  Martial arts hide everything in the open and it is the duty of the student to see the ”secrets” which are clearly there.  Truthfully: all humans have about the same abilities and about the same limitations, and this little pearl of common sense dictates that there really cannot be anything hidden.  Anything discovered or invented by one person can be found and contemplated by another.  To me, this is a very important point: far too many students train complacently, considering their chosen sensei to be the only true source of instruction and expecting their sensei to spoon feed the “secrets” to them with absolutely no effort on their own part.  Over the many years I have trained I can do nothing but credit my various instructors. Each has done a superb job in their own way to help me find “The Way” of karate, but some of the best instruction can be found in what they did not tell me.  Self-discovery of the kakushite is perhaps the most important quality to be found in kata bunkai.  If you question this approach consider the opinion of Kanazawa sensei: while kyu grades should learn and apply the simple bunkai of kata, students Shodan level and above should be able to find proper oyo applications independent of their instructor. Dan ranked karateka should look for guidance from their instructor but not wait for be shown everything.

I want to quickly list some of the points made here for quick reference:

1.Every application should demonstrate Ri-ai as defined by Donn Draeger. It should demonstrate a meaningful combative sequence.

2.Simple applications should be taught at beginner levels, but the emphasis should be on the application of timing with excellent technique.  Timing is of paramount importance.

3. Applications should work with and complement our own instinctive reactions such as “the flinch”.

4. Do not become infected with “label disease”: look for all the possible applications of every technique both by itself and in combination with the rest of the kata.

5. The embusen may impart both directionality and strategy. Perhaps the attacker really is “to the left” or “to the right”, but perhaps the kata is merely telling you how to approach the attacker who is standing right in front of you.

6. Look for both implied technique and hidden techniques. They do not necessarily appear in the kata and they should not form the foundation of the basic kata applications, but they should not be ignored ever. Never use “henka” to explain yourself out of an inappropriate application; it is better to reconsider the nature of the potential attack.

7. There are no such thing as “secrets”. All secrets are merely oyo or henka that you have yet to discover.  It is the responsibility of the dedicated karateka to independently study and find these oyo and henka.

And now, after much ado about nearly nothing, it comes time to start looking at the code of kata and how we may be able to decipher or “reverse engineer” kata.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION:Predator and Prey

Pareto Principle: Vilfredo Pareto noticed that 80% of Italy’s wealth was owned by 20% of the population. He then carried out surveys on a variety of other countries and found to his surprise that a similar distribution applied.   The 1992 United Nations Development Program Report showed the distribution of global income to be very uneven, with the richest 20% of the world’s population controlling 82.7% of the world’s income.

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule, may be applied to a variety of mundane matters.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2008

Let’s just step back to Rosenbaum’s opinion (and the opinion of just about everyone else that is involved in the martial arts)  that karate originally developed as a  mostly unarmed civilian self-defense system. I am just going to make the assumption that this is the truth; it fits with everything I know and have experienced in karate, and it also feeds into the entire rest of my thesis. It would hardly do to contradict myself and invalidate my thesis so early in the process. I leave it to other, more capable martial artists than I to completely invalidate my text.

Anyway, if karate was develped as simple self-defense for the average citizen, what exactly would it be defending against?  Karate most likely would be defense against common street attacks by untrained or poorly trained thugs with criminal intent.  Patrick McCarthy originally coined the term “Habitual Acts of Physical Violence” (HAPV) which has since evolved into “Habitual Acts of Violence”  (HAOV), a more inclusive term that covers non-contact acts of violence such as invasion of personal space to threaten and intimidate.  If one considers that there are really just a limited number of ways that the human body may move and there are a very few instinctive attacks, we may be able to assemble a very specific list of techniques that a person can expect to encounter if they are assaulted.  This list would be the “HAOV” to which Mr. McCarthy refers. And here also is where “Pareto’s Principle” comes into play.

As referred to in the lead-in quote, Pareto’s 80-20 rule may be applied to many different “mundane” subjects. Karate would be one of those “mundane subjects” (or is that “arcane”?).  The concept goes something like this: “If only 20% of the possible attack techniques are likely to be used in 80% of physical confrontations, then it is very likely that self-defense training should dedicate 80% of it’s training time learning how to defend against that specific 20%. Furthermore, the karateka should dedicate 80% of his time to training the 20% of his own techniques that are likely to be effective in physical confrontation.”.  You can thank Rick Clark, author of “75 Down Blocks” for that simple but confusing subject.  Basically, what it says is train those few techniques that really work most of the time and learn to apply them against those few techniques that you are likely to encounter.  Furthermore, the same principle could be applied to kata applications assessment: when considering possible applications for any kata, the first assumption made must be that the incoming attack will of the common street variety rather than some exotic karate technique.  Certainly, in my experience, all the kata applications I know work best against street assaults such as round-house punches and football kicks.  How about we look at some of the potential attacks.

Rick Clark gives a pretty decent list of possible attacks in his little book “75 Down Blocks”. The list is distilled from several sources, the majority of which were police reports of violence encountered during arrests.  Of course, police officers likely encounter far more and  different types of violence than the average citizen: let’s face it, every day police encounter a whole different lower form of the human species than the average citizen. Still, there are only a few, predictable ways the human body may move, therefor it does not pay to get too focused on all the potential attacks you may encounter.  The four most common assaults you may expect (only four??) are 1. a grab, 2.  a push, 3. a punch and 4. a kick.  Each of these attacks also have sub-groups, but defenses against those sub-groups will likely be variations of a single theme. For example, if the assailant grabs you, it will be one of three techniques: a same-side grab, a cross-side grab, or a double grab. Furthermore, there are only a few, likely targets the enemy will grab: your hand, somewhere on your arm, your lapel, your throat or your hair.  On the same subject, there are likely only three specific follow ups to these grabs: forceful abduction or control, a strike, or a choke. The strikes you may expect in these follow-ups (or certainly as a primary attack) are just three: round-house punch/ hook to the head, upper-cut to the head or body, and perhaps, rarely, a straight punch to the head or body.  As far as kicking goes, the majority of the kicks are going to be front football type kick to the predictable targets below the belt. You may run into the odd guy that attempts a round-house kick and certainly a knee strike should always be expected if you get too close.  Steve Collins, creator or the R.E.A.C.T self-defense system adds attacks such as tackles, head butts, and head locks, while Bill Burgar asks us to consider bear hugs, grabs from behind, and  simple invasion of personal space.  All told, this is a very limited list, and not a karate style step-in punch or spinning back kick in the bunch.

As an aside here, we really should address the basic point of all this: self-defense. Self-defense “gurus” such as Peyton Quinn, Steve Collins and Tony Annesi (among many others) have repeatedly stated the obvious: the best defense to any attack is avoidance.  Of course, avoidance assumes recognition of the circumstances. I would suspect that anyone with any common sense would know that dark alleys and skid-row shooting galleries are best avoided, but many of us are at a loss to notice when we are actually about to get bitten by the shark.  In his published articles, Peyton Quinn often recounts his rough beginnings as a road-house bouncer: his primary failing was in timing rather than technique. He, as most of us do, failed to recognize the impending shit storm in it’s earliest stages, when a limited confrontation (hopefully just verbal jousting) was still possible. Tony Annesi suggests that there are two basic confrontations you may encounter: the sudden attack or blitz attack, or the combat attack or duel. The sudden attack would be the most common, but of course, what is “sudden” to some may be  “predictable” to others. It really depends on how observant you may be.  Muggers typically select their victims: they observe, watch for signs of weakness or perhaps test the waters with some simple probing.  Quinn calls this “the interview”; it may consist of a few choice threats or just a simple passing “bump” to see how the intended reacts.  Undue attention from a stranger and his “posse” may be the first warning of an attack or perhaps merely the presence of a stranger loitering “out of place” may be a sign of trouble. Often, what seemed to be a sudden attack to us was really an assault that was pre-planned and packaged before we even came on the seen.  Dave Doncaster, a police instructor with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used to tell of a team of muggers that haunted the bars of a small, mid western Canadian city. This pair would actually go out “trawling” for victims; one of the pair would engage the victim with a threatening verbal barrage while the other would blind-side him with a sucker punch. The two gentlemen were never convicted and their crime spree only came to an end when one of the men died while imprisoned for unrelated crimes. The point made here is that these guys planned well ahead for an attack their victims thought of as suddenly coming out of nowhere.

Steve Collins, in his text outlining his R.E.A.C.T system, gives us a few of the visual ques to watch for when confronted with an aggressive individual. In the early stages of a confrontation, the aggressor may have a flushed face, accost you with foul or threatening language and become progressively more physical. Try to ignore the words and watch the body language; people lie but actions never do.  Ragged, rapid and shallow breathing may suggest indecisive moments as he contemplates an attack, while taking an upright, chest forward stance may indicate posturing for a dominant effect.  As the situation escalates, the individual may become more animated and start to invade your space. Often the attacker can be seen clenching and relaxing his fists as he builds himself up to attack.  Once this fever pitch is reached, you need to prepare and watch for the “calm before the storm”, because the signs of imminent attack are near.  Once the moments of indecision are passed, the assailant may become pale, drop his voice to a tight lipped murmur and focus down his gaze, intent on his victim.  Typically there will be a drop into a “stance”, however subtle; it may just be a slight shift of a foot into a right or left lead.  Often, just before the first blow is thrown, the offensive banter stops altogether and you may see a indrawn breath. At this moment the opponent may actually turn away from you, hiding his face, only looking around at that last moment to find a target.  All this may occur over just a few seconds, but if you remain calm and observant, you might have that slight advantage you need.

Once the attack is started, the untrained street fighter does not “spar”: usually the attack will be a blitz attack with the first blows aimed at the head. Most attacks will start at far shorter distances than commonly found in “dojo sparring”; often well within grabbing or grappling range. You are very unlikely  to  run into any traditional martial arts techniques; most of the attacks will run to sloppy but continuous attacks, usually raining down upon the head by preference. Most of the fights will only last a few seconds, ending with the downing or submission of one participant. Sadly enough, the winner is most often whomever threw the first punch. Oh, and forget rules; real fights don’t have rules.

So, lets just recap the previous few paragraphs quickly and then ask ourselves how that applies to kata.  Attackers will use a limited, predictable number of very basic attacks.   Muggers choose their victims, often through predator hunting practices which reveal the “natural born victims”.  Learning to watch for these predator behaviours and the typical body language indication imminent attack can help you avoid or at least suppress any potential attack.  Attackers usually enter their onslaught from a close distance with a rapid-fire blitz attack, often initially attacking the head. There is rarely any form of sparring behaviour and unless you manage a successful defense immediately the fight will likely be over in seconds.  So… how does this apply to kata? 

 All applications of kata are going to be based only on the behaviour of the attacker: they are about doing what you have to do, not what you want to do.  Here are some basic precepts that will flow directly from typical attack behaviour: 1. applications will likely be medium to short distance 2. first application of the kata must be an early interception and suppression of the first attacking technique.3. Often that first “defense” will be against either a grab (prior to a dirty little head shot) or against a dirty little head shot 4. body movement will help suppress any possible second attack by either moving off the primary attack line or unbalancing the attacker. 5. after the first suppressing technique, every move will represent continued dominance of the attacker, resulting in his inability to continue any attack.  There is never any “sparring” in kata. This sequence of intercept/suppress-dominate-disable should be represented in every possible kata application. Finally, based on the 80-20 rule as it applies to our own defenses, we can expect to see variations of a very few basic technique applied repeatedly throughout the kata against similar types of attacks.

Having touched briefly on the psychology and actions of any potential attacker, we need to look at the psychology and reactions of any potential defender, for they too are going to influence kata applications. Your natural physiological reaction to the stress of an attack will definitely affect your physical capabilities during that attack.  Any realistic kata application will have to work under the duress of acute stress and the physical limitations it may put upon your body.  The term that has been coined for this sudden physiological shift is “the adrenaline dump” .

Kane and Wilder, in their excellent text “The Way of Kata” pretty much outlines the physiological response to imminent threat.  Perception of threat starts a chain reaction throughout the body starting at the little crocodile brain at the base of our Cerebrum.  Under acute stress, the amygdala, sitting a few centimeters behind the eyeballs, sends out signals to activate a series of hormonal responses. The metabolic rate is increased as both the thyroid and adrenal glands are kicked into action, releasing cortisone, thyroxine and, most importantly, adrenaline (epinephrine).   The epinephrine has a multiplicity of effects, all designed to put the body into “fight or flight”mode.  The pupils dilate, which allows more light into the eye but will interfere with our ability to focus on details.  Going back to our earlier discussion on how our eyes work, this is actually a good thing: focusing slows us down by using the relatively insensitive cones grouped around the ocular fovea rather than the highly sensitive (especially to movement) rods predominating on the periphery of the ocular retina.  We need to lose our focus, both actually and intellectually; remember we do not want to “think” here because thinking while fighting is a slow thing.  Down in the lungs the epinephrine causes bronchodilation, opening the airways and allowing increased airflow, while in the peripheral circulatory system it causes vasoconstriction, closing down superficial blood vessels and diverting blood centrally to the muscles and immediately vital organs: the heart and lungs. Organs that are not immediately necessary are temporarily shut down: blood is diverted away from the kidneys, digestive tract, and spleen. Bodily wastes may be voided (urine and feces) as all extra weight is jettisoned.  Throughout this process the heart rate is climbing in response to the epinephrine dump. At this point the body is fully prepared to either fight or flee; the muscles filled with blood, the lungs exchanging oxygen at peak efficiency, blood sugar (glucose) has elevated acutely, and the central blood pressure has topped out.  On the other hand, our mental acuity and manual dexterity has dropped dramatically. 

 Kane and Wilder provide a very complete chart, but it will suffice to say that as the “adrenaline dump” proceeds and your heart rate climbs you will progressively lose fine muscle control until only gross, large muscle mass movements become effective.   As the stress increases, tracked by ever climbing heart rate, sensory perception fades: hearing deteriorates, tunnel vision occurs, and logical, tactical thought becomes a challenge.  Once we reach maximum heart rate, we have ceased to be capable of any complex thoughts; we are running on pure animal instinct. And here is the take-home pearl: the only dependable skills left once you have reached true combat mode are those skills that you have completely internalized to the point of near instinctive action.  Furthermore, even the best fighter is going to find the complex techniques such as joint manipulations or pain-compliance techniques to be nearly impossible to successfully apply: he just won’t have the fine muscle control.  Clearly, any realistic applications found in a kata are going to have to take the predictable physical limitations of the “adrenaline dump” into account.

Take two basic truths into account when reading this next section.  In the kumite section we already discussed the nature of brain activity and the fact that when we are “fighting” or sparring we do not necessarily want to be actively thinking: we want to be observing and reacting.  On the other hand, above I said that under acute stress we do not actually ”think” well at all: we react instinctively.  If we want to perform well under combat conditions, we need to train enough that we are indeed capable of performing a finite number of effective techniques with limited intellectual input.  We need to operate in “crocodile mode”.  Two of my references dealt with this subject in two different methods, both of which deserve some coverage. Bill Burgar, in “Five Years, One Kata” discusses an OODA loop, which stands for Observe- Orient- Decide- Act.   Basically he is suggesting that in every scenario you will have to perceive the threat, orient yourself to that threat and consider the possible responses,  decide on the appropriate response and act. The action and any possible outcome will feed you back into another OODA loop as the situation progresses. Clearly, the more involved the OODA loop may be with multiple options and outcomes, the slower the process becomes.  In a conflict situation you need to simplify the action-reaction process  so decision making is quick and possible outcomes are predictable. Considering potential kata applications, this would suggest that any technique should produce a predictable response in the opponent and any follow up technique should naturally flow from that response.  We want our OODA loops to naturally flow so we need not “think” while fighting.

Kane and Wilder approach the issue from a slightly different direction: the decision tree.  As a veterinarian I frequently use this sort of analytical process and actually have entire text books filled with decision trees.  The actual term for the process is Bayesian Medical Diagnostic Algorithms.  The basic premise is that for a given set of symptoms the practitioner can create a series of decision pathways based on the sequential results of a series of diagnostic tests. This pathway, with a very high degree of probability,  will almost always yield the correct diagnoses and as an added bonus, tends to be the most thorough process in the medical-legal context.  Unfortunately the algorithmic process tends to be slow, often to the point of nonsensical process simply for the sake of process.  As an example, a patient with a severe lameness hardly needs to go through a detailed work-up to completely characterize the lameness if a broken bone is clearly protruding through the skin.  Obviously, in an acute, emergent situation the decision tree needs to be pruned down to an absolute minimum.  Kane and Wilder call it the creation of a “decision stick”; the martial artist needs to formulate just a very few basic responses to any assault, train them so they are instinctive, and stick to that formula.  Bill Burgar suggests the same idea when he talks about the “log jam” theory of combat: under stress if the fighter has too many possible responses, he is likely to contemplate and thus hesitate rather than operate.  This all comes back to my statements (which are based on the thoughts of many other authors: there really is nothing new under this sun) in the kumite section: the only intent in any fight or kumite match is to take and maintain complete dominance of the opponent, regardless of your personal strategy.  This may mean striking first or it may mean using pre-emptive blocking to destabilize the opponent, suppress further attack, and render him incapable of any attack as quickly as possible.  “The Way of Kata” (among others) suggests that, in a perfect world, the first interception ( I will not call it a “block”) should be applied so efficiently that further effective assault is impossible.

So, very quickly, let’s just list the elements of kata that we have covered in this section. This list will be the first of several that may help us ferret out potential kata applications:

1. kata applications will likely be against just a few common techniques that might be used by an untrained thug. A simple list of these are a grab, a push, a strike and a kick. Most primary attacks are to the head. Most decisive attacks are to the head.

2. 80% of fights will only involve less than 20% of likely attacks.  80% of Kata applications will likely demonstrate defenses against that likely 20% of attacks.

3. most assaults commence, occur and finish at medium to short distance. Kata applications should be against medium to short range street-style attacks.

4.  most assaults are over within a few seconds and involve rapid-fire blitz style attack. Kata applications should demonstrate early suppression of any assault where each technique either disrupts, unbalances, or injures the attacker, making his “blitz” attack lose momentum or completely fail. 

5. there is no sparring in real fighting, there should be no sparring in kata.  Intercept/suppress-dominate-incapacitate.

6. fine motor skills and intellectual capabilities deteriorate under acute combat stress. Kata applications should not require fine motor skills or complex thoughts.  Most kata applications will be variations of a few simple themes, allowing repetitive training of skill sets and hopefully instinctive application under stress.  As an aside: anything that will require detailed motor movements or complex thoughts may be demonstrated as a slow movement within a kata.

7. Considering the OODA loop, in a real fight you cannot take the time to apply complex decision making processes.  Kata applications should produce a predictable reaction in the opponent (ie; a powerful head strike will usually cause the opponent’s head to snap back and his stance to rise up, often leaving his body open for a follow up shot) and any follow up technique should be designed to go with that predictable reaction.  Keep the OODA loops to a minimum by creating predictable reactions in the enemy.

8. decision algorithms have to be practically eliminated in real fighting.  Only by early suppression of the blitz attack can we cut the “decision tree” to a simple “decision stick”.  While we can predict reactions from our own attacks, we cannot predict primary actions by our opponent, therefor we need to be por-active from the very first technique and suppress all further techniques by complete dominance from that point.

This completes this section: we have actually covered quite a distance and I have not even named a single kata nor discussed a single technique yet.  I am not sure a person can get any more style neutral than that.  Please keep in mind that, while I do not directly cite any one author, I give credit to all authors on this subject. There really are no “new” ideas with regards to fighting, just new ways of describing those ideas.

 

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION:Becalmed in the Doldrums

“the kata is only an ouside symbol that represents the inside. So you must understand the inside; if not then you are only a puppet doing a movement with no meaning”  Hidetaka Nishiyama, Kudan, head of the ITKF

“For the pre-modern or classical martial artist, kata practice was not just an empty routine performed for aesthetically appealing reasons.  It was instead a complicated training ritual used to instill martial behaviour patterns that were critical to their survival. Kata and the use of pre-arranged routines, allowed the classical martial artist to preserve techniques and behaviours that had proved successful in mortal combat”  Michael Rosenbaum “Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge in Traditional Martial Arts”

As I mentioned in my last article, I have long since retired from debating the relative value of kata.  I no longer argue whether kata forms an vast encyclopedia of fighting techniques versus an archaic bunch of martially inspired folk dances best preserved for public demonstrations of performance art.  Either you believe in kata or you don’t and I am not the guy to argue the point. I just don’t have the credentials nor the patience.  The entire remainder of this text will be dedicated to the assumption that kata represents martial knowledge passed down from real fighters of the past to us clowns in our starched white uniforms. If you see kata as little more than something to pass your belt rank with, then you can just skip on down to the bibliography and close the book.

Most people consider “the doldrums” to be a descriptive word for a state of boredom or unproductive inactivity. Few people realize that the term actually refers to a specific geographic area of the Pacific or Atlantic oceans that centers around the equator.  “The Doldrums” result from a peculiar combination of the Earth’s rotation and the Earth’s climate which create an area of the ocean where the wind either whithers to an inconsequential puff or blows with the terror of a tropical typhoon.  In the days of the great sailing fleets a ship of the line could get caught in the doldrums, becalmed for weeks at a time, drifting at the mercy of the weak equatorial currents and the will of the fickle Gods.  In the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” Samuel Taylor Coleridge  describes the despair of the dying sailors as they floated helpless, burned by the noonday sun, surrounded by water, yet not having a drop of water to drink. The ship was adrift,  with no destination on the horizon and no wind to fill it’s sails and give it freedom.  Such is the case of kata training today: the collected kata are drifting with each passing generation, slowly losing meaning and recognizable form as we continue to use them merely as superficial demonstration vehicles.  Without realistic applications the kata are losing any utility and without utility they will cease to have true use.  Having killed the Albatross, the Ancient Mariner was damned to sail without hope of safe harbour; we are killing the core of our karate and unless we change course, we will be damned to continuing mindless repetitions of martial dance we hardly understand.

Most of what follows is gleaned from several sources, the majority of the historical references being from either Harry Cooks “Shotokan Karate: A Precise History” or from Donn Draeger’s “Classical Budo”.  If you really wish to understand how kata has become the mess we practice now, you really need to do the historical research yourself. I plan on giving you my heavily opinionated version here, mostly because it feeds well into the rest of my discussion.

What I call “the devolution of kata” is the result of a perfect storm of history combined with human nature. History, in the form of war, conquest and cultural influence has both altered the kata forms and hidden the true kata applications. The all too human vices of suspicion, avarice, sloth and myopia also have played their part in the slow death of what was once the core of our martial art.  As a preamble to this discussion I would like to illustrate what I believe to be the truth of the origins of kata and how they might naturally “drift” from their true forms.

I personally agree with the author and karate instructor Bill Burgar when he suggest that  kata is a mnemonic training tool to aid in the preservation and instruction of a student in the ways of martial arts.  His contemporary , Michael Rosenbaum, as quoted above, suggests that the use of kata can be dated back into the stone age, probably originating around the fires of our cave dwelling ancestors as they passed the oral history of the tribe from elder to youth.  If these gentlemen are correct, the progenitors of our karate kata were successful (or at least well self-promoted) fighters who had a few basic principles which they chose to pass onto a few students.  In most cultures, the exact preservation of oral histories is a matter of great pride.  The oral histories are usually in the form of rhythmic rhyme and dance, often so to not only impart some underlying tribal principle, but to also give the audience an essence of the importance of the sacred truths within the history.  Furthermore, the rhythmic nature of the dances aids in their memorization, much the same way we all used stupid little poems to remember equations in high school math and chemistry.

In martial arts, the instructor typically had a very few students under his direct instruction. Each student was stridently taught to learn the by exact repetition of the master’s movements.  The learning process is generally termed “Shu Ha Ri”.  In very simple terms, “Shu Ha Ri” represents the three levels of understanding within a martial art. “Shu” is the beginner who learns by rote and repetition, without question or assumption. “Ha” is the advanced beginner who has understanding of the essential principles and  may self-correct within the framework of what he has been taught, while “Ri” represents mastery and perhaps transcendence of form. This all comes back to my earlier statement that the goal is not to learn what the master knows, the goal is to seek what the master was looking for when he started down ”the Way”.  The question in my reader’s mind at this point must be “what the hell this has to do with kata drift?”. Well, it’s all about the transcendence of form; when we individually reach that point and what it really means.

Within any group of students training at a martial arts school, you are likely to meet five basic different personalities.  The first group are the talented traditionalists, the second group will be the talented innovators, while the third will be the untalented but steadfast. The fourth group, the most common, will be the quitters, while the last group will be the artistic performers. The talented traditionalists will learn everything the master has to teach exactly how the master teaches it and will be unwilling to deviate from that way for the entirety of their life.  This group is most likely to preserve and protect the basic principles of the style, including the moves and applications of the kata. The talented innovators will  learn everything the master has to teach, but may transcend the basic curriculum of the school, creating their own spin on the style and kata of that style.  These innovators are most likely to alter the form of the style to fit either their own perception of martial arts or the requirements for changing circumstances.  The third group, fairly common to see in every dojo (I likely fall into this group) are the untalented but steadfast.  We tend to learn everything the master has to teach and we will endeavour to pass that knowledge on without alteration, but we are limited by our own physical or mental inequities.  The fourth group, the quitters, are easily the most common martial artist. These guys rarely complete their training in any style, leaving each school often before they actually perfect or even learn any of the most important principles. These guys are simple dabblers and are unlikely to ever pass on anything of true value to the next generation. Finally, the artistic performers are captivated by the “art” in the martial arts These artists may be talented and may actually be excellent martial artists, but they are more than willing to add a little flourish to everything they do for simple aesthetic value. These groups, taken by themselves, have little effect on “kata drift”. On the other hand, once the members of these groups leave the master and become instructors themselves is when the entire essence of the style may be effected.

The talented traditionalists represent the true and original form of the style. Unfortunately now, nearly two hundred years after Matsumura,  we have no idea which modern school remains true to the “Way”. You have to keep in mind that within each generation of each school the same five groups existed, so there is no telling who stayed on the path and who deviated. On the other hand, perhaps that is unimportant because the path of the talented innovators likely has not only preserved the old ways but improved them to match the modern times.  Of course, within both groups are going to be souls such as me: untalented by well instructed. My students, as long as they strive for their own perfection rather than slavishly copying my personal style, are just as likely to meet or exceed the standards of the original style. It must be emphasized that the relative athletic talent of the instructor is no measure of the quality of the school; it’s all about the quality of the instruction itself. The schools that deviate the most from the true path are going to be those of the quitters or dabblers. Because these martial artists never had the intestinal fortitude to actually complete their tuition in any style, they cannot possibly pass on the principles of that style in total; they can’t because they never learned them.  The schools of the quitters are best represented by the modern day strip-mall “McDojo” which teaches a little of everything and as a result, perfects nothing. Finally, the artisans of the crowd, ever ready to perform and please some spectators, may actually alter the style profoundly as they pass on their own artistic variation of the kata without explaining to students that it represents showmanship rather than useful application.  We all should seriously consider how the interaction of personality and instruction has altered our karate as each succeeding generation of karateka has passed on his variation to his own students.

The loss of appropriate applications to our kata is likely the result of generational kata drift. There are numerous historical examples of either innovative alterations or simple incomplete transmission. Consider for example the Shotokan standard katas of the Heian (Pinan) series.  Most sources agree that Itosu Ankoh created the Heian kata as an introduction to karate kata to be taught in high school physical education classes. The Pinan series, while demonstrating most of the basic principles of karate, were never actually meant to be cohesive fighting system as the older kata such as Kwanku (Kanku Dai, Kushanku) were meant to be. They  were, in fact, meant to be calisthenic exercises with a martial flavour.  Of course, the similarities between Kanku Dai and the Pinan kata cannot be overlooked; it is likely that the Pinan kata were derived from Kanku Dai (or it’s original progenitor). On the other hand, if you study an even older kata sequence called “Channan” originally taught (presumably to his student Itosu) by Matsumura Sokon, the resemblance becomes absolute and impossible to ignore. “Channan” can be traced back to a Southern Chinese Wushu form called “Chiang-Nan”.  Here we have at least three passages of a kata from the original form with absolutely no proof that the original applications were ever taught at each passage. Shinpan Gusukuma, an original student of Itosu Ankoh, admitted that he did not know many of the applications of the kata he learned from Itosu. He explained that Itosu himself did not know all the applications and had felt that many of the movements were merely for aesthetic appeal and little else.  This opinion may actually be the truth and is likely the result of a process that was in action long before karate ever entered the Western World.

Donn Draeger, in his excellent book “Classical Budo” discusses the distinct difference between bujutsu, the tactics of the warrior, and budo, the way of the warrior. These two similar terms actually represent companion but contrasting ways of thought. Without rewriting his entire thesis (I certainly am not capable of this, nor am I worthy), he basically views bujutsu as the martial schools that developed out of the battle tested strategies and techniques of the true warrior. These styles, in a reflection of  Helmut von Moltke’s statement, are all about expediency. The warrior, in battle, does what he has to do to survive rather than what he wants to. On the other hand, after the ascendancy of the Tokugawa Shogunate with it’s two centuries of enforced peace, the utility of these battle tested techniques was questionable. Separated from the reality of the battle field, the warrior class, what we call the Samurai, had to find new applications for their martial training.  The goals of the martial ways became self improvement rather than self defense.  Budo was all about finding perfection of character within perfection of form.  Certainly, within the budo training we can find very viable self defense techniques, but they are often hidden within formal disciplines dedicated to development of the mind-body connection.  Readers interested in this entire process should read both Draeger’s essay and Rosenbaum’s masterpiece “Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge”.  Modern day martial arts did not avoid this quantum shift of attitude, they were born right into the middle of it. Consider the first line in Funakoshi’s “Dojo Kun” : “hitotsu, jinkaku kansei ni tsutomeru koto” or “first, seek perfection of character”.

History has other ways of muddying the waters.   Any karate historian will tell you that much of what we call karate actually originated in Southern China, but was heavily altered and flavoured by the original Okinawan martial art known simply as “Te”.  Simply put, we should probably accept karate as a grass roots Okinawan martial art.  The real changes to karate probably occurred once it was imported from Okinawa to Japan at the turn of the last century.  There are several records of old Okinawan masters commenting (or complaining about) the dramatic changes after the “Japanification” of karate. Just considering the changes in stances evidenced by comparing the upright, shorter stances of Funakoshi Gichin to the longer, deeper stances of his son Funakoshi Yoshitaka makes one pause in wonder if they were indeed practicing the same art.  Many of these changes were likely the result of exposure to Japanese martial arts such as Maniwa Nen-ryu Kenjutsu which prefers a very deep and long stance, selecting stability over mobility. Of course, comparisons of old Okinawan kata to modern Japanese kata could fill an entire text-book: the name changes alone could confuse Einstein. 

The devastation of World War Two played a large part of the loss of kata applications. The original “Shotokan” dojo burnt down during the bombing and fires of Tokyo, while the battlefields killed many of the first generation of Japanese karateka.  In 1945, in a conquered nation where karate had to wear the guise of little more than a cultural dance, the old masters were either gone or no longer able to finish the instruction of a new generation.  Funakoshi himself was nearly eighty at the end of the war and actually participated very little in the direct instruction of students in his final years.  Nakayama returned to Japan after the war, but, at that point, had spent many years as a military attache in Southern China, separated from the core of karate and studying alternatives such as Tai Chi Chuan.  Similar scenarios were played out in every karate dojo throughout Japan and Okinawa; maybe especially Okinawa where the sharp end of the American invading force had made landfall.

Of course, WWII had other, perhaps unforeseen, effects on karate.  The American occupation of Okinawa and Japan introduced karate to an entirely new audience. Once the primary hurdles of cultural misunderstanding were overcome, G.I Joe adopted karate with a passion that only a homesick young man with no possibility of romance on the horizon can.  Unfortunately, the soldiers were often only stationed overseas for very short periods; far too short to completely  understand and internalize even a small proportion of this new and exciting fighting style. Many of the new karateka returned to America with fresh, stiff bunny-eared black belts, determined to open their own schools and pass on their newly minted knowledge to their own students.  On the other hand, after the war karate also started to develop in the Japanese universities as a team sport. The nature of the university experience flavoured the karate of the day.  New recruits often entered the university dojo either with no previous knowledge or alternative knowledge of martial arts (often kendo or Judo). These students had to learn the entire curriculum during their four years at university, usually graduating senior members of the black belts in their fourth year.  It was often from among these talented seniors that the current, most famous Japanese instructors were selected.  Fresh white belt to senior black belt and instructor, all while getting an education during their four university years. Think about it.  Furthermore, the pressures of competition had their influence on kata performance.  An excellent example of this can be found in the Shotokan black-belt kata Nijushiho.  Originally, Nijushiho included two stomping kicks (fumikomi geri) from kiba dachi.  In the mid-fifties, while attending the JKA instructor’s class Asai Sensei and Okazaki Sensei altered these kicks to Yoko Geri Kekomi because “they were young, strong and flexible and the kicks looked cool!”  Asai Sensei later performed the kekomi geri variation in competition,  became a champion, and thus the form was permanently altered. Without a doubt the kekomi kicks are far more difficult and much more aesthetically pleasing versus the original stomps, but as a practical application, they are hardly useful.  If the reader needs yet more illustration of how competition is changing kata, one merely needs to look at just about any kata demonstration found on “You Tube”: all very dramatic, but many little more than artistic performance filled with dramatic pauses and histrionic screams. 

The advent of the Internet with it’s absolutely vast amount of unedited information has created yet another previously unseen method of devolution for just about all the martial arts. Deluded individuals can convince themselves that they are “learning” an entire martial art while picketed in front of a computer screen. They believe they are perfecting a highly technical, traditional physical art form while sitting upon their ever-enlarging ass sucking up radiation from their monitor.  There’s a pathetic thought. This sort of fraudulent tuition is, in many ways, worse than the quitter-dabbler schools: it gives merely a cheap facsimile of knowledge rather than any real experience. The modern day multi-disciplined McDojo at least gives the student something physically real.  Check out sometime the medieval and early Renaissance illustrations of “sea monsters” and “mythical beasts” found in the travel logs of early world explorers. These illustrations were artist’s renditions of written descriptions of real animals glimpsed for mere moments by frightened or amazed men travelling in lands far from home and miles off the beaten path. These illustrations barely resemble any current or extinct creature and are often more akin to the dragons, gryphons, and chimera of Greek and Norse mythology.  These are the result of second hand interpretation of questionable first hand experience.  This is exactly how the Internet dojo will effect martial arts if we allow it: we will eventually have modern “masters” who have learned all they know from the most questionable source of information in the world: the unedited and likely biased Internet.

Of course, there are other reasons the kata have lost their meaning, some of them directly attributable to the kata themselves, or more specifically, how we practitioners choose to interpret them. When I was young and karate was an open book I was told that each kata represented a series of attacks from multiple directions by multiple assailants.  Within that framework everything I learned was taken as literal truth: a block was always just a block ,a punch was always just a punch and we were always striking rather than grappling.  The result of this very rigid method of study was a mishmash of impractical defenses against unlikely attacks. In this form the kata are not just useless, they are actually detrimental to learning any self-defense techniques that may be hidden in the kata.  If we want to make the kata meaningful to our students, instructors need to emphasize that kata is actually NOT a dramatized shadow fighting sequence but it is actually a codified teaching vehicle designed to preserve and pass on effective techniques, movements and strategies. I would like to touch base on a few superficial points here as they pertain to the devolution of kata, but I will expand these points in later in future segments.

Each kata has a specific embusen or performance line. Simplistically, the embusen represents the attack direction of each sequential assailant and for the most part they do work well in this fashion.  On the other hand, even the most naive karateka will have to admit that many of the embusen are impractical and actually defy any effort to make them applicable in real combat. Go back to what they really are: teaching vehicles limited by the classroom and the instructor.  Most of the original kata instruction was done on a one-to-one basis in the very small back yard of the master.  The embusen of each kata were always limited by simple geometry: they had to fit the dojo dimensions.  Furthermore, we also need to remember that kata was and is a form of demonstration; it needs to be visually clear and concise so the observer can follow all of the movements in detail. By altering the embusen of specific kata and perhaps inserting specific coded movements to signify a directional change where none actually occurs, the performance becomes more concise and precise, therefor easier to assess and critique.

 Consider the Tekki/ Naihanchi/ Nifuanchi kata series: perfectly linear and all in kiba-dachi or shiko-dachi.  This form is hardly applicable for “real” fighting (unless we get tremendously creative and start discussing fighting in narrow back alleys or on the deck of a fishing boat, two suggestions that have been brought forth to explain the Tekki series).  On the other hand, if we look closely we see several points where the transitional phase has a cross step; extrapolating from Aikido, a cross-step often signifies a body turn in place to “enter” the attack at a different angle.

 On a lighter note, some of the kata embusen, when drawn out in detail, actually can form the shapes of the Chinese Kanji used to form parts of their names. As an example, take the Heian/ Pinan series (the only one I actually know that does this for sure).  If you take the embusen of the first thee kata of the series and combine them, then take the embusen of the last two kata of the series and combine them, then invert the last combination end for end, you will end up with two figures that look suspiciously like traditional Chinese kanji. The first kanji  is pronounced, in Japanese, as “hei” while the second kanji would be pronounced “an”; combine the two characters and they form “Heian”. That is just so cool, but I admit that it does take a bit of imagination and eye squinting to see the effect.  If this little aside is true, then one should have little problem explaining why the embusen make little sense: they were modified heavily to create the kanji rather than mimic a fight.

On the other hand, some of the kata embusen may be imparting strategy rather than directionality.  Back in our sections on kumite I discussed the concept of tai sabaki in detail. Perhaps some of the embusen, rather than suggesting that we are turning to meet an attacker coming from a specific angle, are suggesting that we turn ourselves to meet an frontal attack from an angle.  Look at the most simple example I can think of, the first move of Heian Shodan/ Pinan nidan. Beginners are told that the first move represents an intercepting block from a lunging body attack from the left. The question that should be asked immediately is “why am I not facing my assailant if I am being attacked?”. Well, perhaps you are; perhaps the assailant is attacking you from the front and the kata embusen is telling you to intercept the attack, turn the assailant ninety degrees to the left with your block and attack his weak axis with your follow-up attack. This would likely be a superior strategy and thus may be a better explanation of the movement.  That is assuming we wish to stick with the literal application of the block as “just a block”. More on that concept as we progress.

Some of the sequencing in the kata tends to cloud the waters with regards to applications.  In many kata we see repetitive blocks in sequence or the same blocks with minor alterations.  It just does not make sense to perform three rising blocks sequentially if we are hide-bound to the traditional concept of kata as a sequential fight demonstration.  On the other hand, if we go back to our “kata as a teaching vehicle” concept, then repetitive motions make great sense.  The nature of any training program, especially karate, is repetition.

 As an example of how this may work, let’s go back to Heian Shodan again.  The first two movement sequences are block and punch left, then block, hammer fist strike and punch right.  Here is a perfect example of two variations on the same theme: we use both left and right (it is important that the proficient fighter attempt to keep his body skills balanced between left and right, regardless of his dominant hand) and we also use a subtle variation from the left side to the right side: we add in the hammer fist strike.  The hammer fist strike actually includes an escape from a grip followed by an immediate flowing counter-attack. In the most simple explanation of these two sequences (there are many, far better and more sensible applications for these simple sequences) the progenitors are saying “train left and right equally, and have a plan “B” if plan “A” is not successful”.  That is pretty good training advice. 

 Heian Shodan also includes three rising blocks in a row down the first long leg of the embusen. I can remember how crazy I thought the first applications I was taught for this sequence appeared: I was driving in rising blocks against my assailant who is… stepping away from me as he punches?.  Ridiculous. On the other hand, if I dispense with the rising block as “a block” and look at it as “an attack” then the sequence starts to make sense, especially if I look at the entire sequence through the big turn at the end of that arm of the embusen. Consider the first part of this segment: we downward block to the front, then immediately lift that blocking arm head high as the traditional “guide arm” (which become hikite), we then step in rising block. How about this thought: the “guide arm” is actually the real block, intercepting a head attack, then the  apparent block becomes a forearm strike to the throat, face or the elbow of the offending arm. Of course the “hikite” has grabbed the attacking arm, pulling the assailant into your incoming forearm strike.  Now this is looking a little realistic.  The second part of the sequence then becomes merely practice of the concept. Take this one step farther though: now the big turn into downward at the end of the embusen arm becomes logical: we soften the opponent by slamming his throat, then we spin on our axis and throw him to the ground, quickly following up with a finishing blow to his now much lower head.  Here the entire sequence is saying “here are the set-up techniques, repeat them so you know them, and then they will lead to the final, finishing throw and blow”. 

This leads us to the timing and sequencing of many of the techniques.  Bill Burgar, in his book “Five Years, One Kata” suggests that repetitive sequencing within a kata may suggest that the karateka should find alternative applications for each appearance of a specific technique or posture within a kata.  He quite successfully demonstrates this approach as it applies to the Shotokan version of Goju-Shiho Sho: this kata has some very specific movements appear and re-appear throughout the kata and he manages to find alternative applicators for each.

Typically we all practice kata with a machine-gun type staccato rhythm, punctuated by various pauses and the odd slow motion movement. The slow movements are always difficult to assess and new students often find them to be some of the largest stumbling blocks when trying to see the utility of the kata.  Again, you need to go back to the “kata as a teaching vehicle” concept to justify slow actions within a kata.  The primary reason I see for slow actions is the demonstration of perfect form. Keeping in mind the nature of human observation: rapid movements tend to give general impressions rather than detailed observation.  Moving at high speed, the karateka can “hide” many deficiencies of their form.  Slowing the action down will almost always uncover weaknesses in either application, alignment, or stance.  Slowing the action down allows the instructor to correct the student before too many faults accumulate.  The second reason that kata may include slow actions is related to difficulty of application.  Under high-stress situation such as an unprovoked attack, the ability to perform complex physical manipulations pretty much disappears.  Complex actions require Beta brain wave action (thinking) and we have already said that thinking while fighting gets you killed.  Complicated movements such as arm-bars and joint manipulations require exacting movements with strict adherence to both your own and your opponents body position and joint angles.  If you deviate even just a little bit from those parameters, then the opponent is likely to “slip” the compliance application and be able to counter-attack from a very dangerous distance.  In these cases, the student must apply the action slowly every time to completely internalize those very exacting parameters.  Having said that, it also suggests that the instructor needs to teach the application of those moves correctly so the student may train with intent each time he trains.  The third reason that we may do something slowly is that it really would be done slowly in application. Think of the “parting blocks” (kakiwake uke): these blocks may be applied against a strong person who has a firm grip either on your neck or on your clothing (lapels): as you perform this movement you may actually be driving the assailant back and “parting” his arms enough to allow you your own attack.  The final reason for slow actions, not to be overlooked but to be minimized, is for aesthetic value.  We do need to keep in mind at all times that kata is, and always will be, a demonstration of karate. If you really want to have your demonstration make an impact it needs to be visually appealing: the break of kata rhythm from fast and staccato to slow and fluid is very appealing and has far more artistic impact.

Finally, before we get into the “meat and potatoes” of kata analysis, we need to look once more at what karate and kata actually are.  If you take the time to read Rosenbaum’s “Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge”  and maybe follow that up with Draeger’s “Classical Budo” you will understand that karate, by strict definition, is NOT a martial art. The true definition of “martial art” is an fighting art that developed out of battlefield applications.  Fighting sequences from ancient Greek battle craft, Roman Legion training or indeed, modern army training can be considered to be “martial arts” because they pertain to and are applicable to wartime conflict.  The easiest way to figure out if a ”fighting art” is a “martial art” is if they involve real weapons. Since we first crawled out of the trees man had used weapons to kill each other and it is absolutely natural for us to defend ourselves with the first available weapon.  Interviews with modern soldiers confirm that their first concern prior to going to war is the state of their assault rifle and how many rounds of ammunition they can practically carry into the field.  Their ability to throw a punch is likely somewhere below “clean, dry socks” on their list of important things to take to war.  No, truthfully, karate is a civil fighting method, designed completely for self-defense against an untrained ruffian in the relative peace of civilian life.  The key point here is that the karate defenses are designed to be used against an untrained, civilian attacker.  This point has been made in just about every book on karate and kata applications ever wrote, and yet the majority of the training drills we use for kata applications are based on standard karate attacks such as the step-in punch.  The applications done this way do not work or do not make any sense whatsoever.  This is no great wonder really: if you use the wrong tool for the wrong task, you are highly unlikely to get the right result. 

 For example, let’s look at Heian Nidan (Pinan Shodan). The first sequence involves a double high block (haiwan uke) in either kokutsu-dachi or neko-ashi-dachi, followed quickly by a nagashi uke/mawashi tetsui-uchi combination, followed immediately by a straight tetsui-uchi with the lead hand.  The standard application I was taught was that the attacker leads from the left with a straight punch to the face, which I successfully block with the lead hand of the haiwan-uke.  The back hand of the haiwan-uke is “held waiting in ready position”, essentially doing nothing. The attacker now reverse punches to my face, which I miraculously anticipate, block with the nagashi-uke and I manage to nearly break his arm with my spectacular mawashi tetsui-uchi.  I then finish the devil with a hammer fist strike to the body. 

All this is just so damned unlikely!!  Look at it realistically: I have the ability to successfully block the first punch, but I illogically hold my free hand high in the air in preparation to….what? In what world do we hold one hand up over our head in preparation to strike?  Following this, by some miracle of mind reading, I just know that my attacker is going to punch with his other hand to my face, so I automatically block it and attack the limb.  Let’s get this straight: my attacker is going to attack with a trained karate punch, but when I respond by leaving my body completely unguarded to protect my face, he is going to overlook the body attack and go for the face again. And I am going to anticipate this?  Finally, with a small body movement and a relatively soft technique I am going to “break his arm” with my mawashi-tetsui-uchi.  Santa Clause is more realistic.  Of course, maybe we should look at all this some other way: one karateka suggested to me not so long ago that the haiwan-uke represented simultaneous attacks from two assailants, both using standard stepping in attacks to the head.  In this little scenario the defender deals successfully with the attacker to the left by “breaking his arm”, and just completely ignores the attacker on the frontal plane.  My God, how unreal do we want to make this? 

How about we look at the best, most likely scenario: we have one attacker in front of us, he swings with a typical, street style round house punch, arcing past our lead hand (hence it’s name “round-house punch”)  and coming to stop on the raised, rear hand of the haiwan uke. In this scenario we are using the lead hand to … attack of course. We stepped in, thus we are not necessarily in a defense mode at all. We have one hand above our brow, clearly blocking something, while the other is striking out to somebody directly in front of us. This is realistic fighting. Now I am not saying that this is the only application for this sequence, it is just one of the best I have seen. It makes sense and it works in the circumstances that karate was originally designed for: the untrained hoodlum attack.

There is really only one more step to cover before we start looking at the real nuts and bolts of kata applications.  As suggested above, the most likely applications for kata are going to be defenses against an untrained attacker in a sudden, unexpected attack.  These applications will not be about “sparring”, which suggests some sort of duel between two opponents, but they will be about attacks you can expect from the average bar-room thug, full of beer and spoiling for a little Saturday night entertainment.  If we really want to find the right key for kata applications we need to look for the right door and the right house: these applications will be against a few typical civilian attacks and will have to be applicable under severe psychological distress.  I guess we need to discuss the mindset and tactics of the attacker (the right door) and the likely state and capability of the defender (the right house).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

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KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: a mouth too full

” In actuality, the practice of combative techniques in pre-arranged forms is a methodology that has been used by many cultures throughout history, from the Roman soldier whose drills taught striking with the shield and then stabbing with his gladius, to modern-day karateka whose kata is executed so crisply in their starched white gi”  Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge by Michael Rosenbaum

” A visitor from California promulgated to me the kata-as-an-exercise-in-futility idea.  He used to do kata, even liked them, but had totally dropped them from his regimen as they had nothing to do with martial arts except for a linkage to outdated training concepts. ”And what do you do to prepare for sparring?” I asked him. “My instructor shows me properly thrown individual blows, then how we work them into combinations.  I then practice them solo until I have them down with good speed and form.” he replied. “Oh” I interrupted “So  you practice kata too!”  Cracking the Kata Code by Tony Annesi

 

Kata is my one great love in karate.  Years ago I used to dedicate (and waste) much of my Internet time arguing fruitlessly with other Internet denizens about the relative value of kata training. I have since abandoned this debate: there will always be those who see no value in kata and then there will be the real karate practitioners.  That’s right; I just threw down the gauntlet and basically said that if you do not study and practice kata, you are not doing karate.  That’s just the way I see it.

Now don’t get me wrong: I am not saying that kata is a measure of the value of a martial art or that fighters that do not do kata are poor fighters. I am merely stating that kata is, and always will be, the cornerstone of traditional karate. Without the practice of kata, you may indeed be doing a really fantastic martial art, but you are not doing karate. My position on this is not negotiable; if you have dispensed with kata training, just change the name of your martial art (or, as my above quote from Mr. Annesi suggests, reconsider your definition of kata).

The topic of kata is an absolute Everest, probably far larger than I can possibly do justice to (thus explaining the title of this section: I likely bit off more than I can chew). At the end of this discussion, after I have pirated ideas from many more capable authors, I will provide a complete annotated reference list from whence my ideas have come.  I fully recommend my readers to check out most of the books on that list.  In fact, as a matter of decency, I will also point out the really poorly written and presented books with merciless critiques.  I will likely make a few enemies (take a number and form a line to the left).  My best advice on this topic is that the astute karateka should STUDY kata rather than just PERFORM kata. An unexamined life is not worth living (Socrates) and an unstudied kata is just so much dance.  Study kata.

I personally believe the major issue in kata training throughout karate dojos everywhere is the lack of true kata study.   We teach the kata as simply a grading requirement and, if we have a couple of minutes at the end of class we might throw a few perfunctory, uncomplicated applications to our students.  If I look at my own kata training over the years critically, I would suggest that I was told very few really valuable uses for kata other than grading requirements. I would hope that my own instruction is more complete, but, in truth, I doubt it really is.  This failure lies in the actual nature of karate and kata. Karate is an artform wholly centered around details and perfection. We often get so wrapped up in the details of performance that the performance becomes the only raison d’etre for kata. We either forget or simply marginalize the actual study of kata which encompasses just so much more than simple performance. If, as instructors, we could impart just a small fraction of the wealth of information hidden inside kata training, I believe we would likely win over even the most strident kata-phobic karateka. In this section, I want to deal with the general elements of kata study, then I plan to dedicate the entire rest of the project to discussing kata applications.

Andre Bertel, a Godan ranked follower of Asai Sensei whom I “met” years ago as an Internet acquaintance, frequently commented on his experience of kata training while in Japan.  Kata was, and presumably still is, viewed by the Japanese he trained with as merely a form of kihon training.  Applications, on the rare occasions they were brought up, were pretty rudimentary and quite pedestrian in nature. This “kata as kihon” is not necessarily a poor approach to kata training and really should be the first segment of nearly every kata session. Go back to the discussion sections on kihon, but now apply those elements to  training.  Start with eye-line: each turn in each kata represents an opportunity to train eye-line acquisition. Consider the “mechanical drills” espoused by Sensei Ron Fagen: the first step in each move, including the turns, is to look directly along the next part of the embusen without any “sight-seeing” along the way. Once you have the eye-line established, maintain that line as you work on alignment  of stance and technique. Train so that each specific posture is absolutely correct in form, posture and alignment. The next time through the kata, concentrate on the elements of movement, working each element with the concept of moving as a single mass centered on the tanden. It may also be worthwhile to look at each kata as a lesson or theme: some seem to emphasize balence, others seem to work hip action, while yet others seem to develop alignment. No doubt each karateka can find something of value emphasized in any kata, depending on our own point of view.  I actually select my “favourite” kata based on my own perceptions of my personal weaknesses.  For example, a few years ago my balance was abysmal; as a correction I started to train Gankaku as my tokui kata. Years before that, after being accused of having very stiff hips, I trained Bassai Dai to the exclusion of all others for over a year. Finally, whenever training kata, remember to co-ordinate your breathing to augment your actions: properly done kata should leave the audience breathless, not the performer.

There are some drills that can be used to assist development of all these skills; many of them everyone will know well.  We have already discussed the eye-line drills previously in two sections; utilizing a simple kata such as Heian Shodan (Pinan Nidan) have one person perform an unannounced attack from the traditional embusen directions (ie: first move is a stepping in abdominal attack from the left) while the defender must perform a pre-emptive block and counter with early sen timing. I know I have discussed this drill several times: I cannot emphasize the utility of this drill enough. This sort of very simple drill trains timing, eye-line, alignment, and speed. It also allows for a cross-over between kata training, kumite training and, yes, self-defense training.  To train “self-defense” merely substitute the standard karate attack of very limitted value in “real life” with a lunging knife attack to an unsuspecting victim: the element of reality can be increased or decreased merely by making slight alterations to the attacker’s distance (ie: stepping in stab or slash versus shifting-in stab or slash).  Continuing on in partners, the  correct alignment of the stance, technique, and eye-line, also known as proper form, can be tested by applying forceful resistance against each finished stance as a performer works through his kata. Performing the entire kata to a count, have one partner apply resistance to the completed posture of the performer from several directions, against the actual technique, the upper torso and the hips; any loss of balance may represent a lack of good form (or excessive force by the partner).  Finally, again in partners, have one person move through the kata while the other applies moderate, appropriate pressure against the performer as they move.  If there is any break in form as the karateka moves, this will show up under this stress test and allow for self-corrections. This drill is very much like the drills we discussed in basic kihon where one partner used his belt looped around his partner’s hips to apply moderate resistance as they stepped across the floor.  Finally, one way to develop “spirit” or at least help import kumite spirit into kata performance is, training as partners, perform one kata side by side immediately followed by a full speed sparring drill such as Kihon Ippon kumite or Jyu Ippon Kumite or simply Kogo sparring (previously discussed). Training kata this way tends to “ramp-up” the spirit of the kata performance and it is usually reflected in vastly better kata.

Of course, proper “spirit” is always important in karate and kata, but what is the nature of that spirit?  We have discussed the term “zanshin” several times throughout this project, and have referred to it variously as “readiness” or “continued readiness”. The translation I have is “remaining spirit” or “alertness remaining form”.  This is a difficult topic that encompasses so much that it becomes nearly impossible to define. Perhaps we should start with looking at the way the brain works. There are four basic levels of brain activity, each characterized by a particular electrical wave frequency. Beta waves, cycling at 14 to 30 cycles per second, represent a fully awake, excited, and focused brain (thinking HARD).  Alpha waves, cycling at 8 to 13 cycles per second, represent a relaxed, composed and passively aware mind.  Cycling a bit slower, at 4 to 7 cycles per second, is the Theta waves. The Theta waves represent a state of light sleep or drowsiness. Finally, Delta waves, the slowest at 0.5 to 3.5 cycles per second, represent a person in deep sleep.  Obviously, the first two states of mind activity are the states we are concerned about while performing martial arts (unless, like me, you get hit really hard while thinking with Beta waves, then your brain may slow right down to Theta and Delta waves as you crumple unconscious onto the floor).  The  most useful level of consciousness for us is the Alpha wave: observant, aware, but not actually thinking or judging. The Beta wave, that excited state of mind where you are constantly puzzling over the past, present or future is just likely to get you hit: thinking and fighting do not mix well.  The description used so often in many texts to characterize this Alpha brain wave state is “mizu no kokoro” and “tsuki no kokoro” or “mind like water” and “mind like the moon”.  And, we ask, just what the hell does that really mean?  For your mind to be like water, or specifically for your mind to reflect everything like the surface of a placid lake, it needs to be completely calm. Once your mind becomes disturbed (moves from Alpha waves up into Beta excitement) it’s ability to assess the correct situation may become clouded (with thought and emotions) .  On the other hand, your mind should also be non-judgemental, seeing, assessing and reflecting equally on everything that is within it’s purview. Everything your senses take in has to be judged equally, the same way everything under the moon receives equal light. The other term we might see is “mushin” or “no-mind”. Mushin may be defines as a mental act without thought or acting without thought. In fact, mushin may actually be our entire goal in karate training: the ability to act appropriately instinctively, without thought or hesitation, when faced with danger.  We can train ourselves to reach this state of mushin; in fact the best athletes can slip into Alpha states (getting into “the Zone” is the term) at will in preparation for their competition. The other example of  people who can “find” the Alpha zone at will are practitioners of Zen meditation.

Many people consider mushin to be the very essence of zen.  The goal of meditation in Zen is to find that void where you sense everything around you but think about nothing. Zen meditation can be done in several ways: Sazen is sitting meditation and is the most commonly known form of Zen. Tachizen is standing meditation and I have no idea what that would look like. Finally, ugokizen would be zen in moving performance.  It is the last one that I am interested in: zen in movement. I personally consider kata a form of ugokizen when performed correctly.  The question that one asks is how can we use kata in this way.  The first step along this path is constant, intense, repetitive training of the kata.  You need to get to that point that the kata flows without any consideration on your part for either the last move, the present move, or the next move.  I compare it to driving a stick-shift car: the actual mechanical action of steering, working the gear shift, the brakes, the clutch and the gas pedal must be done without thought while we actually navigate over the road.  We cannot mistake the act of operating the car with the act of driving.  The same should be said for performing kata: we should not mistake the physical movement and techniques for actual kata performance, they are merely the superficial shell of the kata.  The second part of kata training should be static visualization: you should be able to perform an entire kata, step by step in every detail, without moving a muscle. Try this sort of training as you lie in bed before sleeping; start at the formal bow-in and proceed in as much detail as you can to the formal bow-out.  I actually found this training drill to be very worthwhile for passing time without wasting time on my last visit to the hospital: it helped me control my emotions as my doctors decided my fate.   Kata training may also take on a “flow” type of drilling, as long as the karateka is able to dispense with some of the karate dogma that demands speed, staccato rhythm and kime.  Try training each kata with a flowing action, moving absolutely seamlessly from posture to posture without discernible pauses or changes in rate.  I find the longer katas to be most amenable to this sort of drill.  This style of training kata is exactly what the practitioners of Tai Chi Chuan are doing while performing the 108 moves of the Yang style long form.  Within that form there are infinite postures, 108 postures and only one posture, all of them performed with equal emphasis. The goal is to perfectly form each posture and perfectly flow between each posture.  This takes us back, full circle, to the concept of zanshin: continuing spirit.

Of course, we do need to at least touch upon the topic of performing kata for the sake of performance.  The value and demands of perfect kata performance should not be underestimated. Perfection is valuable in it’s own right.  Let’s just take a detour here into the topic of human surgery.  Anyone that has ever suffered an inguinal hernia knows that it is bloody uncomfortable, life limiting and sometimes life threatening.  There are numerous repair methods ranging from simply sewing it shut to implanting an artificial carbon filament mesh into the body wall.  At most hospitals, the surgery to repair it takes up to ninety minutes long and has about a fifteen percent failure rate, which results in a second or even third surgery. At the Shouldice Clinic, a small surgical hospital north of Toronto Ontario, the surgery takes about 45 minutes and has an astonishing one percent failure rate.  The Shouldice Clinic represents an even greater anomaly: they have no secret techniques or high tech cures: they merely sew the damn thing shut.  The difference at the Shouldice Clinic? Every surgeon does every hernia surgery exactly the same way and all they do is hernia surgery. Thousands of them every year, exactly the same way every time. Furthermore, typically, the doctors on staff at the Shouldice Clinic are not “board certified” surgeons. Most of them have very limited surgical training but after a one year apprenticeship at the Shouldice Clinic any of them can be considered among the best in the world when it comes to hernia surgery.  Why? Practice of course. They do the same thing the same way over and over and over. If we checked their brain waves while in surgery, I would bet that they constantly hover on the edge of Alpha wave patterns. When asked if they find surgery at the Shouldice Clinic to be tedious or boring, most of them reply that true perfection is the reward: perfection is exciting.  If you wish to perform well in kata and indeed karate, you need to find perfection exciting.

While performing a kata you need to go beyond simple form.  Of course form is important and you need to start your kata training by mastering the outward, superficial form. Refer back to the paragraph above dealing with kata as kihon. On the other hand, you need to find the proper rhythm to each kata: none of the kata are meant to be a tedious metronomic marches through the steps; they are meant to have the broken rhythm of a real battle.  Within each kata there are groups of actions that are meant to be performed as combinations with a significant but not lengthy pause after each. Envision an opponent for each combination and a finishing blow for each opponent.  My first sensei, a practicing Polish Catholic, used to entreat us to “say a rosary over the disabled body of each enemy” before we continued on to the rest of the kata. This may have not been politically correct, but the suggestion worked to create a rhythm within such simple kata as Heian Shodan. Furthermore within most kata there are slow elements and fast elements: make sure you differentiate those two.  Allow the slow elements to actually be slow, but do not let them become “rest stops”; rather look upon them as tension builders, performed as if you are the Great White Shark circling, poised to strike and kill at a moment.  Any movement out of these slow actions should come with an explosiveness and suddenness that takes the breath away from any observer.  For the fast movements the feeling should be twofold: each move must be as fast as you can imagine moving, but yet each technique should have appropriate kime so that they remain separate entities rather than all running together. There should be a staccato rhythm yes, but also a sense of continuity where each technique is complete yet completion is merely the commencement of the next technique.  Perfect performance also suggests a perfect finish. You really should attempt to start and finish on the exact same spot; to do so demonstrates a consistency of stance performance throughout the entire kata and a strict adherence to the traditional embusen. Again, there really is a certain beauty to perfect reproduction of kata.  On the other hand, we need to remember the difference between an artisan and an artist.  An artisan is a skilled technician, capable of exactly reproducing an artifact with no appreciable variation from the original. The artisan does not create art, he reproduces it.  The true artist creates art which not only reflects something of his own perception of the world, it allow his audience to experience some of that perception. True art is about individual sensations, perceptions and emotions.  In performing your own kata you need to become an artist rather than an artisan.  You need to become the fighter in the kata, battle the enemies sequentially and end the fight with composure and continued awareness. You need to perform on a stage and sell the kata rather than just plod on through it. The artistry in kata performance lies in visualization: you need to see an application for each technique or sequence to perform them realistically. Obviously, to correctly see the applications in your mind’s eye, you need to know some applications.  Even for the tried and true competitive kata performer who cannot ever envision using kata techniques in a real fight will benefit from knowing at least some rudimentary applications for every part of their kata.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: Tora! Tora! Tora!

” to unfailingly take what you attack, attack where there is no defense…..to advance irresistibly, push through their gaps”  The Art of War by Sun Tsu

“This method is called striking the opponent in the same breath (ichi byo shi). In executing this technique , you must  strike your opponent while he is still undecided about whether he should retreat, parry or strike” Go Rin No Sho, the Water Book by Miyamoto Musashi.

 

This article, I am afraid, is going to ring a wee bit hollow. It is all about initiating an attack, something that I am hopelessly weak at.  I will tend to rely heavily on both my training within Mr. Nishiyama’s style and of course, Miyamoto Musashi. In fact, I suspect this entire article will be basically one great rehash of Go Rin No Sho and much of what we have already discussed.  I may have some new ideas, but if you are already a really great fighter, I doubt that I will impart anything much of value. Still, one must strive for completeness, so I really must discuss initiation of the attack.

Primarily, every fighter has to realize that absolutely no attack will succeed if the opponent is jutsu.  No matter how fast you are or how fantastic your favourite combination may be, if the opponent has a clear sense of your impending attack, he is likely to react and successfully counter-attack, probably using any of the timing schemes previously discussed.  I would think the previous statement should go without saying, but having watched many tournaments over the years, I am under the impression that many fighters do not know this concept.  I have often seen ill conceived attacks fired from an untenable distance at a fully prepared opponent. Most had the same predictable result: complete failure.   You need to attack when the opponent is kyo: either naturally vulnerable or you must create vulnerability.

Generally you are going to have either one of two categories of initiation: “kake-waza” or pure initiation or “shikake-waza”, which really is the use of combinations to create opportunity.  When I use the term “combinations” I am using a very general sense of the word: anything that could be used in combination with a karate attack that will increase the likelyhood of success. I will come back to this in a few moments.  Kake-waza, of pure initiation, should be briefly touched on first.

First remember that all attacks must be done on a vulnerable opponent. I know this is a repetitive statement, but certainly it cannot be repeated enough.  Come back to my original statement that moments of kyo are usually transition points: the opponent is kyo simply because he is in the midst of either a physical transition or, more commonly, a mental transition. Let’s look at some common examples.  Stance shifts where the opponent is stepping forward or backward, or merely shifting from a left lead to a right lead.  At these moments the opponent is committed to a directional vector (back, forward, sideways) and typically his mass is “floating” as one or both legs are travelling. These moments are excellent opportunities to attack with just about any technique but the attack must be initiated once the opponent is committed to his transition. Attacking a moving opponent is a great opportunity to attempt sweeps or reaps, attacking the travelling leg and either extending it’s path (a reap) or directing it’s path (a sweep), preferably into and through the position of the pivot (planted) leg.  The best sweeps I have ever seen have been instigated as the opponent stepped or shifted back, usually to avoid a jodan attack; the lead leg was scooped as it moved back and practically kicked into the static pivot leg of the opponent by a well timed low kick of the attacker.   Of course, this sort of attack assumes movement on the part of your opponent and will be far more likely to be successful if you can induce the opponent to move as you wish by a set-up technique (shikake-waza).  With regards to stepping actions and their vulnerability to sweeps, one should also consider the tendency of some fighters to actually bounce from foot to foot as they fight: each bounce represents a transition point where the mass is floating and the feet are free to sweep. Furthermore, the bouncing action tends to become rhythmic and thus predictable: bouncing back predicts a bounce forward and vice-versa. Metronomic, predictable movement is just as bad as complete immobility, perhaps even worse. One should always strive for broken, unpredictable un-rhythm (or, conversely, your own strategic rhythm that can become suddenly broken at will) 

 Mental transitions are also worth discussing. In fact, we have already looked at the most common transition: from defense to offense, where we would apply sen-sen-no-sen timing. The above quote from Musashi refers to this transition: the moment, the very moment, you sense the opponent shifting from defense to offense should be that moment you attack.  On the other hand, this statement assumes a couple of things.  The first assumption is that you will be in a position to attack, while the other assumption is that you are always prepared to attack.  Use these assumptions to form a strategy.  Consider distances: his distance, your distance, and the real interpersonal distance. Upon setting your strategy, keep his distance in mind and slip to the very edge of that distance. Once you have reached the edge of the bubble, then creep across the line into deadly ground, watching for your opponent’s telegraphs of attack. Set your mind back into the binary system we discussed earlier: “Go” or “Not Go”.  The “Go” nature of your mindset must be “attack” at the slightest feel of threat (nota bene: understand that I am referring here only if you choose to use kake-no-sen timing; if you choose to use a variation of go-no-sen timing, then the attitude remains the same except now the decision is to intercept your opponents attack rather than initiate your own attack.  Thus we always approach fighting with the same intent of full domination, just different strategies).  You need to go in without hesitation, set on attacking the opponent with greater speed and conviction than he.  This concept is covered by Musashi under “striking without thought and consciousness”  (“munen muso no uchi”).  It is critical here to repeat: have the mindset that you will attack at the first threat rather than just react. This all comes back to my very early discussion on “intent”: lack of intent can only result in failure. 

 Personally, this essay has been very illuminating for myself because I have finally realized what my major weakness in sparring has always been: I allow myself to creep out into deadly ground without any clear intention and then I am caught unawares by my victorious opponent when they  attack me.  Considering my many sparring losses, most of them resulted from attacks which caught me completely flat footed as I contemplated options within easy striking distance.  One should never enter deadly ground without a clear plan of action.  Finally, the most common form of transition point or kyo will be that transition from one technique to the next, which leads us to shikake waza, or set-up techniques. 

 One of the most common forms of shikake waza would be, as we have already discussed, sasoi-waza, or inviting the attack.  This concept deserves a second look in that it is a perfect illustration of what I mean by a “very general use of the term combination”. In this case, the strategic fighter is going to create the appearance of weakness in his defense with the intent of drawing a specific attack when and where he wants.  Sun Tsu discusses this in detail:” therefor those who skillfully move opponents make formations that the opponents are sure to follow, give what the opponents are sure to take. They move opponents with the prospect of gain, waiting for them in ambush”.  While the use of sasoi-waza is meant to result in an apparent go-no-sen timing counter-attack, used strategically it really is a form of primary initiated attack: you bait and force your opponent to move as you wish, thus being the true aggressor. The baiting is actually an integral part of the combination.  I do not want to belabour this point, but the acceptance that a strategic fighter is always striving to dominate, even while appearing to be defensive, is key to developing both superior strategy and better technical expertise.  I found, once I internalized the concept that all my blocks were actually strategic intercepting attacks, my blocking ability and timing improved dramatically and I seemed to have far more time for my counter-attacks. Again, here we are talking about intent; without the proper intent your karate will be hollow and weak.

Assuming that a fighter is capable of creating and/or recognizing kyo, the next element of an attack sequence must be combination training.  Mr. Nishiyama calls this Renzoku-kogeki-waza, or “continuing attack”.  There are many elements of performance that need to be considered when using combinations, the most important, surprisingly, is the principle of ikken hisatsu.  This truly seems contradictory in every sense of the word: train so that each  single technique could end a confrontation yet train to flow seamlessly from technique to technique, linking several techniques in combination.  On the contrary: for any combination of techniques to actually work, the opponent must truly believe that each technique is dangerous and react appropriately.  As a strategy the use of combinations are three-fold: first you want to get ahead of the opponent’s rhythm (and thus take advantage of his natural kyo that falls in the off beats of his rhythm), second you want to create openings in his triangle guard by drawing his guard to alternating and possibly disparate targets, and third you want to create a break in his jutsu by forcing movement (transition). The key elements in combinations have been covered well in the kihon basics section: complete each technique completely but do not pause between techniques, flow from one to the next seamlessly using the “pulse’ of your abdominal contractions which control your breathing, link the techniques tightly with one breath-multiple exclamation marks type breathing, thus keeping your own transition kyo to a minimum.  The key point here is that the flow has to be so rapid fire that you overwhelm the opponent’s defenses.  This ability will be absolutely dependant on how much the opponent believes each technique: if they do not convince the enemy, then the enemy need not react to them and may merely stand calmly, looking for his own opening. You cannot afford to let him be calm and find his strategy. 

 Part of every combination should be misdirection to break his triangle guard.  A good example of this would be the classic combination of jab face, reverse punch body.  The jab pulls the guard up, the reverse punch sneaks in underneath. Actually, this is an excellent and simple example of both step one and step two: if the opponent does not believe the jab, he will not break his guard and if your combination is not correctly linked, failing to get ahead of his rhythm, he will respond to both attacks successfully and be able to counter-attack at will. The final key to the combination attack is to off-balance by causing movement or retreat: the goal becomes not just break the rhythm but break the balance by driving the enemy back on his heals with the sheer momentum of your onslaught.  The feeling of the combination, in many cases, should be that of a locomotive driving full tilt down the track.  On the other hand, there might be some strategy to be found in the idea of broken rhythm.

Years ago I trained with a gentleman called Andy Holmes. Sensei Holmes was a British transplant to the West Coast of Canada and was really very talented. At one time Andy had been quite well known in the British kumite tournaments and he brought his skills and knowledge to Canada.  He introduced me to two ideas that I recognized years later as lifted from Musashi’s book, whether Mr. Holmes knew it or not.  One of Andy’s drills consisted of establishing a standard combination such as Jab face-punch body and repeating it perhaps twice with your opponent, producing a consistent reaction in the opponent. Once that patterned reaction was established, then Sensei Holmes would suddenly shift up the drill by altering the combination slightly to jab face, punch face.  The opponent, having established his routine previously, usually fell for the ruse by blocking the jab and then automatically dropping his hand to block the expected body shot. The face punch scored nearly every time, even when we all knew the trick.  Musashi calls this technique the “mountain to sea transition” and suggests that you should never repeat an attack more than twice and when you change the shift should be as different as the mountains and the sea.  Perhaps Mr. Holmes suggestion is not quite as different, but in this case it is the very similarity that makes the combination work: make the opponent expect the mountains but give him the sea instead.  Another strategy Mr. Holmes gave me would be comparable to Musashi’s “Rhythm-timing of the second action” from the Water Book. Musashi’s strategy was to strongly attack the opponent and incite a “flinch” reflex, only to pause for a moment after that strong attack. Most opponents will tend to relax just a little when they realize that the primary attack was cut short.  Musashi recommends to attack in the same breath as his relaxation, driving in to the finish.  Mr. Holmes had us drill this technique by doing full attacks in combination a couple of times, then applying the broken rhythm of the false attack (feint) followed by the slight pause and then attack.  The test runs of the full attack could be considered either establishing a pattern (which you will then alter by shifting from mountains to sea) or could be considered testing of the opponent to guage his typical reaction.  Again, referring back to Musashi, this may be considered “moving the shadow”; test the opponent to reveal his strategy, then use that knowledge to crush him.  The self defense members of the gallery should also consider the elements of combination training when they discuss the idea of continuity of defense: once you have entered the fight against an attacker you need to keep moving and attacking until the fight is finished.

One skill I have found that did help my pitifull sparring was, believe it or not, Tai Chi Chuan kata training.  I always  manage to “freeze” when I am sparring and, inevitably, get caught flat footed.  I earned the nickname “humanpunchingbag” the hard way.  Either way, a few years back, after a major surgery had sidelined me for several weeks, I returned to Tai Chi Chuan kata training to try to rehabilitate.  After over a month of wasting away around the house, I returned to karate and, eventually, kumite.  I expected to be a sitting duck for the first few weeks back, but low and behold, I was better than ever before.  Well, actually, I did not really score any more points against , but nothing and nobody was catching me in sparring. I had learned to “flow”, moving smoothly from defense to attack, technique to technique. I credit the weeks of training in smooth, flowing kata, one finish of one move becoming the beginning of the next. 

 Philosophically, karateka should at least look at Tai Chi Chuan: it is both diametrically opposed to our style and yet a natural pairing with our style.  Karate starts our training by disassembling each technique to train techniques in detail, then perfecting each technique as an independent unit. As we improve, we attempt to link those techniques in to combinations, each technique perfect in and of itself and each combination complete and flowing. Tai Chi Chuan approaches the question from a different direction: start with the flow of one technique to the next and then slowly work to perfect each technique within that flow. Two approaches to the same question really. The nature of the Tai Chi Chuan training forces you to ignore what you are doing at the moment and always think one step ahead. Doing Tai Chi Chuan you have to trust your body to perform each technique without direct guidance from the cerebral part of your brain simply because the cerebral section of your brain is dealing with the next move down the kata embusen.  You can do this sort of training with karate kata as well, though most of us will find the years of hard training in karate difficult to overcome as we march through our standard short kata. 

The final concept I want to cover in the kumite section involves the concept of kuzushi-waza or breaking the balance of the opponent.  By definition this is yet another form of combination training, but in this case the initiation of the combination may be either a minor physical attack as a set up to a full attack or a psychological assault to break the focus of the opponent.  Read the section in Go Rin No Sho, the Water Book, called “Slapping Down Block” where he discusses establishing a rhythm beneficial to your strategy, then applying a moderately firm slab to the enemy’s sword to pull it off guard, allowing an immediate attack.  Now take that suggestion and apply it to karate: as you initiate a full-on attack, rather than attacking the core, go after his forward guard, pulling it down or sideways with a hooking or slapping block and then feed the scoring attack into the breach created in his triangle guard.  The feel here must almost be a flowing block-attack: as you surge into the opponent your lead hand extends, contacts his guard and moves it down or off-center while the reverse punch is launched almost simultaneously.  Musashi  may also be addressing this same concept in the Fire book where he recommends “attack the corners” or go after the extremities.  Consider the strategy of “the Raging Bull” Jake Lamotta: he hammered away at the arms of his opponents until they simply could not defend against his direct attacks any longer.  I am certainly not recommending that approach, but it still is worthwhile to consider a “shocking attack” against a limb as a set up to a scoring attack against the core.  Another example of this sort of attack might be something like reaching out with your lead foot and giving his leading foot a little love tap on your way into a full attack combination: the love tap is to draw his attention down while your real attack is being delivered.  One strategy a good friend of mine used to do did not even involve an actual physical attack. Donny, who has since become a police officer, used to delight in just extending his lead fist into my face as he quickly advanced, only to pull it back at the last instant as he threw his real attack at whatever target I had left open while I was pre-occupied by the fist in my face.  Again, Musashi suggests a similar approach when he suggests “Stabbing to the Face”: induce a reflexive flinch and use that flinch as an opportunity.  This might be considered a form of psychological fighting.

Of course you can always off balance the enemy simply by screwing with his mind. Two concepts that need to be addressed are “catching” (“utsuraseru”) and “making the opponent nervous and upset”, both well covered by Musashi. The concept of catching is an experience common to everyone: moods can be infectious.  Notice how sometimes at work or at school everyone seems to be in the same foul mood or the same buoyant mood. Often it only takes one person to infect the entire office with joy or ennui.  Take this concept to kumite.  If you practice you can “infect” your opponent with either an attitude or an advantageous rhythm.  In practice, try to alter rhythms from fast to slow or pressure your opponent one moment and back off the next. Watch their reaction.  Once you have learned how they will react to your changes in distance, timing and rhythm, then use that knowledge to your advantage.  One friend of mine, Lance, used to pressure me mercilessly while we sparred, then once I was completely rattled, suddenly back off. Almost inevitably, I would relax my guard when he backed off, on which he immediately attacked with a full driving combination. He had learned to control my mood and had attacked when he had “infected me” with relaxation.  The opposite of relaxation is being upset. Another strategy might be to rattle your opponent and force a mistake once he starts to become emotionally unglued.  This concept comes back to broken rhythm timing and perhaps a little shock therapy. Always be altering your distance and rhythm, lead the opponent in one direction, then shift to another the moment he gets comfortable. Perhaps use an unexpected kiai as a shock tactic as a pre-lude to an attack.  One might also consider the use of “kakegoe” while sparring, though this may not fit for everyone and it may only work in a few situations.

Kakegoe is the use of nonsensical vocalizations as you fight to set the tone and spirit of the match. The term kakegoe translates literally as “hung voice”, though this should be loosely interpreted as meaning “ornamental or decorative” voice, very much the way you might hang a picture on the wall (kakemono: the art of picture hanging). Traditionally kakegoe is used in performance arts such as Kabuki as verbal encouragement from the audience or the theater wings. On the other hand, in kendo the term kakegoe suggests vocalizations by the participant to encourage himself, to bouy up his own spirit. Traditionally the use of kakegoe was restricted to local kenjutsu schools populated by the peasant class such as the Kashima-Katori-Shinto schools rather than the samurai favourites such as the Shinkakge and Itto schools.  As far as I can tell, kakegoe was used as a form of utsurseru to either lull the opponent into complacency or unbalance the opponent with anxiety. Musashi discusses using kakegoe in his section called “Three Combat Shouts” where he recommends using one of three exclamations to either demonstrate your fighting spirit, to shock your opponent as you attack or to proclaim your victory. In karate, the use of kakegoe may simply represent self encouragement, but it might also be used to set the opponent on edge.  You have to read each opponent: some will find the incomprehensible growling, barking and shouting to be unnerving while others will merely find it amusing.  Of course, if you get hit as often as I do, then you may want to go for amusing; at least it will make fighting more fun.  Certainly I do not suggest linking your kakegoe with your attacks: do not give the opponent any warning of any attack, especially not by barking or grunting faster and louder right before you charge.  On the other hand, perhaps you could use this concept to giving the impression of impending attack, then attack on the relaxation that might occur when no combination is forthcoming.  It is all a mind game.

One final drill I would like to throw in here which can be used to drill all the elements of sparring in a controlled manner is kogo sparring.  This is really a semi-free sparring drill that “reins-in” the players just enough to force them to actually apply strategy rather than just battering away at each other. In kogo sparring the only limitation is that there is an assigned initiator and an assigned receiver (attacker and defender). In this style of sparring the receiver/defender cannot initiate an unprovoked attack; he must wait and react to the actions of the initiator/attacker.  To the more simple karateka this may suggest that the receiver/defender must just sit helpless and disadvantaged until his opponent chooses to attack.  On the other hand, anyone that has been following the thread here will understand that acting as the receiver/defender need not be a passive activity; you can apply distance, timing and attitude to control your opponent so they act and react as you choose. Using kogo type sparring I find that students suddenly start to apply strategy as both the attacker and defender: attackers look to create kyo in an opponent they know is ready and waiting, while the defenders look to create kyo by inviting the attack they choose when and where they select. My one complaint in these drills is that there is a tendency for karateka to dispense with appropriate maai because they have pre-determined roles to play: attackers fail to respect any potential attacks that a real opponent could throw simply because they know that the reciever cannot initiate any primary attack.  One way to correct this is to allow the receiver to throw an simple reverse punch or jab (without a shift-in) if the attacker gets close enough to be within range. This idea is most appropriate for upper levels karateka who have demonstrated good control; it is likely to get people hurt unless good control is always maintained. This drill is one step short of free sparring and should be used as such.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: Timing is strategy

” Hyoshi: the concept that there is rhythm and timing to every aspect in life…..In combat, you must first percieve your opponent’s rhythm-timing and then execute your techniques with a rhythm-timing that your opponent would never expect. This unexpected rhythm-timing is the result fo your constant training that becomes spontaneous.”  from the Ground Book of Go Rin No Sho by Musashi.

“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy and war is always a matter of expedients”   the famous German strategist Helmuth von Moltke the elder.

A student of Napoleonic strategy, Helmuth von Moltke was a very interesting fellow. While his famous quote above seems to suggest that he did not value battle planning, he actually did plan every battle under his command down to the last detail.  He considered multiple possibilities and designed contingency plans for each.  Every plan was based on doing whatever was necessary to win: war is all about expediency.  We can compare this directly to the entire text of Go Rin No Sho which repeatedly reminds us that the only goal of battle is victory and the warrior should be prepared to do whatever it takes to win.  A warrior always needs to be expedient in his every action.  On the other hand, considering the variables and brevity of kumite,  we need not have any detailed battle plan, merely a broad strategy which we can apply consistently yet alter as needed. 

As previously discussed, the nature of kumite is all about distance and timing.  A karate strategist should be able to play with both variables to serve his greater strategy of dominating or controlling the opponent.  We should address distance first, because this basic element controls not only the time to impact of any technique, it also influences the potential attacks of both defender and opponent. Consider the distance and range of our various techniques.  First, stepping-attacks of all types cover far more distance than shifting-in techniques. Kicks, typically, have greater range than punches. Extended lead-hand techniques usually have slightly greater range than reverse-hand punches.   Techniques with greater distance can be initiated from a “safer” range, but take longer to reach the target, therefor they are easier to perceive and defend against. Techniques with shorter distance, such as a shifting-in jab requires that the karateka take a risk and close the interpersonal distance between the two fighters, yet they reach their target far quicker and are much more difficult to defend against. Finally, some fighters may be able to initiate and perform short range techniques such as a shifting-in jab from a “safe” distance, but this ability is not necessarily an advantage since the greater distance again creates more time for the opponent to perceive and respond to the attack.  Just because you can successfully jab from a distance does not mean you should. The karate fighter needs to balance his need for safety, his technical ability to strike from various ranges, and his opponent’s perceived ability to defend or attack. You need to learn to play with the distance to manage both what attacks you can use and what attacks you are vulnerable to.

Consider the three distances: your attack distance, the attack distance of your opponent, and how those variables should affect the distance between the two of you.  That interpersonal distance should reflect the attack distances of both fighters and if it does not then one of two scenarios is occuring: there is no contest due to too great a distance or there is excessive contact due to too little interpersonal space.  The actual feeling should be one of two sharks circling each other, staying right on the razor’s edge of that contested ground where one or both of the fighters may be capable of an attack. That contested ground shared by the fighters is refered to Sun Tsu in “The Art of War” as “Deadly Ground”; this is the interpersonal space at which one of the fighters could successfully attack at any time.  A good fighter knows exactly where that point is for himself and a better fighter knows where that point is for both himself and his opponent (this is a reference back to Sun Tsu again: the general that knows both his own strategy and that of his enemy will always prevail). 

There are several drills that are very worthwhile to train these distances; some of which we have already touched on, while others are subtle variations of the basics. I will use them here as an illustration of how playing with distance may be used strategically.  In drill number one the receiver (defender) merely acts as a simple target for the initiator. The initiator attacks with a shifting-jab or reverse punch to the face or body, taking care to aim to the target but control his distance to finish about one centimeter from the receiver.  Light contact may be acceptable for the body shots, but the jodan tsuki really must show strict control.  The initiator now attacks from various different distances, trying to find that perfect distance which allows him to complete a technically perfect technique with no foreshortening (you started too close) or over-extension (you started too far away). You will know that you have it just right when you know that you are capable of completing a second technique immediately following the first attack; always remember that the key to successful kumite is the maintenance of zanshin (previously covered).

The second drill now trains both sides of the equation: initiator and receiver.  This is a drill in “sasoi-waza” or inviting the attack.  The initiator continues to fire his attacks from a more or less static position.  The receiver now starts from a “safe” range and slowly shifts forward, encroaching and eventually entering “deadly ground”. The initiator must attack as soon as the receiver enters range. The attack must be launched without hesitation or thought. The term here is “Ichi byo shi” or “in one breath”; the fighter must recognize the opportunity and “cross at the fords”. (again from Musashi) The receiver may then either merely retreat, or as the drill progresses, elect to respond with a block and attack.  Repeat this and switch sides until each players knows exactly how close they may approach before an attack is lashed out at them.  Strategically the value of this should be obvious: if I know where exactly the “break point” of my opponent is, I can play with the distance and choose the moment when I allow my opponent to attack.  I become the puppet master.  Musashi discusses this exact concept under the heading of ” a commander controlling his soldier”; the strategist must learn to command his opponent. Of course, it is of great value to know when the attack is coming; it might be worthwhile to control where the target may be.

The majority of martial artists use a variation of the triangle guard. Consider the structure of the fighting stance. The torso and body would become the base of the triangle, while the moderately extended arms projecting forward and toward the center-line would form the sides of the triangle.  For the most part the lead hand does the majority of the blocking while the reverse hand stands at ready to punch. Of course both hands should be able to punch or block depending on the situation (“war is always a matter of expedients”). I personally prefer a guard where the lead hand is about 50% extended, elbow down, fist up at chin level covering the upper body and ready for a straight lead attack at anytime. The reverse hand should be held slightly closer to the body , elbow down and fist aimed at the abdomen of the enemy.  With this position the head and torso are well covered yet the hands are in perfect attack position. This guard fulfills our tension-release principle from kihon basics very well; we are strategically in a position that allows defense and immediate offense.  Conceptually the triangle guard should be considered to form a sharp edge off which any attack will merely deflect as we cut down the center, just like the bow wave breaking off the steel plates of a Navy destroyer.

Of course an effective guard should be trained through sparring and sparring drills, but there are a few other drills that helps the student learn both the interception-block concept and the flowing, redirection block concept.  Mr. Nishiyama has one drill which really helps drive the point home for the concept of interception-block rather than merely blocking.  Opponents pair off and face each other in shizentai-dachi.  Each player holds his hands at a loose, even guard position.  The initiator should randomly snap one of his hands out and attempt to lightly touch his partner’s chest. The defender’s job is obvious: block or deflect the random attacks.  This can be quite challenging, especially if the initiator starts to use a few of the strategies such as broken rhythm that we touched on earlier.  After a few minutes at this play, stop the drill and have the defender reach out at firmly grasp the arms of his opponent, visualizing intercepting the arms rather than merely blocking them.  Return to the original drill immediately.  The defender should find the blocking much easier now because he is now extending his blocks and intercepting the attacks early rather than merely blocking them as they approach. Musashi calls this “treading down the sword” or suppressing the incoming attack. The second part of this drill should train  nagashi-uke, teaching the student again to deflect an incoming attack with only the appropriate amount of force and movement.  The players here face off in standard front stance (or any stance you want for that matter). The defender takes a very modified guard position with his hands held together in a “praying” position held on the center-line. The initiator then slowly starts throwing alternating punches at face level, on target. The defender blocks each punch merely by shifting his “prayer hands” slightly left or right, depending on the incoming punch. The concept here is to guide the fist gently by the face by intercepting and deflecting it just enough to miss by a hair. Once this action is clear to the student, repeat the drill with him in a normal guard position. Now the defender will either block by deflecting the attack with either his palm hand or his back hand, again dependant on the attack.   You may also train this same sort of drill from shizentai, using either hand alternately: left hand blocks with palm, then backhand or right hand blocks with palm or back hand.  Whatever hand is used the point is that you internalize the action of intercepting the incoming attack  early and deflecting it off the point of the triangle guard.  Once you have the triangle guard perfected, then you should consider the value of “selective application”. As a strategy a fighter may select to purposefully but subtlety leave an opening in his guard. This represents another form of sasoi-waza: invite an attack upon the area you select and draw the opponent into your web. Maybe drop your lead hand and leave your face open or lift your lead slightly and open up your ribs. Maybe you can part your guard slightly and clear the approach to the chest. Either way, you are choosing to leave a target open to draw the attack as part of your overall strategy.

On the same path, perhaps it might be worthwhile to be able to select not only the when and where of the attack, but also the what.  There is a old saying that you should never trade kicks with a kicker, punches with a puncher or grapple with a wrestler.  You should never play the opponent’s game, make him play yours. Again setting the appropriate distance is the key to attack selection.  Faced with a good kicker, the key is to cut the interpersonal distance until you are inside optimal kicking range; remove the likelihood that your opponent will choose to kick (but remember that he may still try and even bad kicks can hurt). On the other hand, faced with someone with great hands, you may choose to stay outside his range and attack with long range techniques such as kicks.  Finally, if a grappler decides to visit your karate dojo, just kindly remind him that the judo dojo is down the street (this is about karate).  Distance and timing is what strategy is all about.

At this point a person should remind himself of the dual concepts of “jutsu” and “kyo”.  The state of kyo, or vulnerable to attack is a requirement for any successful attack.  While there certainly are many natural opportunities to attack in every match, just biding you time and waiting for an opportunity is a weak strategy. A more pro-active strategy would be to create kyo in your opponent. There are any one of a number of techniques for creating kyo; I will cover some of these using a series of drills to illustrate the concepts.

The first defense timing every student learns is usually “go-no-sen”, which liberally translates as “initiate later”.  I really like this definition because is feeds into my domination principle well.  Most new students see “go-no-sen” as just “block and then counter attack” and truly this is exactly what it appears to be.  On the other hand, if we come back to the idea that the block is more of an interception, then the feeling of this strategy changes. While the punch indeed may be done with “go-no-sen” timing, the block needs to be early timing or “sen-no-sen” timing. Consider the block as an intercepting stop-attack to the incoming attack.  The earlier you intercept the attack, preferably very early in it’s flight before it has gained momentum, the greater your impact on the entire momentum of the opponent. The goal here is to “steal” the attack of the enemy, breaking his momentum and leaving him open to your counter-attack, which, if properly done, lands before the opponent is even settled in his stance.  We have circled back to “treading down the sword” of the enemy: smother his attack absolutely and never let him come up for air again (“hold down the pillow” is the term Musashi uses for it).

The first timing drill I would like to look at works “amashi-waza” or “eating the technique”. The basic concept here is to absorb the opponent’s technique completely, drawing him to a full, extended first technique at which point he will be open for a quick counter-attack.  I see this as “give a little, gain a lot”. Pair off again and face each other in fighting stance at guard. The initiator will attack with, sequentially, a jab to the face, reverse punch to the face, or reverse punch to the body.  All of these are realistic, shifting-in punches and must be done at full speed on target, no count. The defender responds by shifting slightly back, out of range of the attack and applies a gentle nagashi-uke such as trained in the drills mentioned above. Deflect the incoming attack only enough to move it off your own attack line and use only that power necessary to do so. The key here is to give the attacker the impression of success, leading him to fully extend his punch past your face, allowing you to counter-attack with a reverse punch while safely inside the primary attack.  Over-blocking, besides being unnecessary and wasteful, will tend to alert your opponent to the ruse and will close your window of opportunity for attack. The same could be said for shifting too far back or pausing in your movements: failing to shift appropriately and maintain flow will merely close the opportunity for counter-attack and must be trained away. The feeling should become more of a “wave” back and out of range rather than a true shift. The counter-attack here should impact practically before the opponent’s attack is completed.  Here you have created “kyo” by extending the first technique and counter-attacking before it’s completion.

The second timing drill I have works on slightly earlier “go-no-sen” timing.  This drill works “uke-waza”, or intercepting techniques.  This drill takes us back to the idea that our block is an early interception and actually a form of attack. Here I think “give nothing, take it all”.  Pair off again, the attacker will apply the same three techniques: jab face, punch face, punch body. The receiver will now respond with a firm intercepting block followed by a reverse punch counter-attack.  The block here must be early, practically at the inception of the shifting-in attack, and applied with substantial body connection so it “shocks” the initiator, breaking his momentum immediately. I repeat again: the feeling must be that the receiver is “stealing” the technique of the initiator. Properly applied the initiator should feel “deflated” even half-way into the attack, knowing that he is already defeated.  Here we are creating “kyo” by shocking the opponent, breaking his balance and momentum and slipping our attack into that “break”. 

Here is yet another drill that combines both the first drill and the second: it’s all about learning how to successfully apply a reap (ashi barai) to our opponent.  In the first part of the drill the initiator just randomly throws face level shifting-in jabs. The receiver practices just touching the attacking fist, attempting to  catch it progressively earlier in it’s attack path.  The feeling should be “gently touch and ride” the fist with your lead hand. Again, try to be so early in your interception that the initiator feels robbed of his attack.  Once you have that mastered, start reaching out with both your lead hand and your lead foot to touch both the attacking hand and the shifting-in front foot. Focus on being gentle and withdrawing your entire body (moving away from the attack with a “wave” movement, very similar to your actions in the amashi-waza drill) with your lead hand and lead foot riding the lead of the initiator.  You really have to get that feeling of early interception such as we have in the second drill and combine it with the wave-like retreat we use in the first drill. Once you have that feeling, then your goal is to gently “hook” the front, travelling leg of the initiator and merely draw that leg  (and his punching attack) past his normal comfortable final position and over-extend the shift. You do not necessarily need to reap him right off his feet (though that would be decisive and really wonderful to do in a sparring match), but you do want to break his balance completely, leaving him absolutely wide open for a finishing attack.  Properly applied the “reap” should feel like nothing; you are merely being a boy-scout and reaching out with hand and foot to help a little old lady across the street. The more gentle and timely you are, the more devastating this strategy will be.  Just apply early interception with gentle, strategic withdrawal.

I digress here for  a moment by discussing the next timing in the progression: sen-no-sen timing.  In karate circles this timing implies (not always or by everyone) the application of a block and counter-attack simultaneously. Certainly this strategy is demonstrated in many of our kata (just consider almost any technique using both arms synchronously). A common example would be the application of a jodan level nagashi-uke concurrently with a chudan level gyaku-tsuki.  We often see this particular combination, especially when we are performing simple timing drills where the initiator is limited to a shifting-in jab to the face. In fact, this scenario is a perfect illustration of why I really dislike this timing: it is dependant on and assumes that we know exactly what attack is coming our way.  In the above drills, the receiver is always going to know what is coming down the pipes at him, and therefor will really have a tendency to go the easy route by blocking without thought or intent and burying his counter-attack with absolute confidence of success. It works every time but only because the drill is pre-arranged.  Take away this pre-arrangement even just a little bit by allowing the initiator to do any of the three training attacks randomly and the simultaneous block and counter timing fails miserably. This all feeds back to Musashi’s discussion on “intentional strike versus accidental contact”; we can have good karate or just good luck.  If you have any doubt on the weakness of this strategy, just watch your new students: typically in the timing drills and in limited free kumite they will almost always discover “sen-no-sen” timing on their own.  Usually, somewhere along the line a sparring pair will attempt simultaneous attacks (ai-uchi) and will clash. In these cases one of the karateka will perceive the incoming attack and instinctively put up a hesitant block with one hand while finishing his own attack with the other (or finish his kick). The  action practically becomes little more than instinctive flinch and cover, hardly a true strategy.  Of course, in the spirit of expediency (“war is always a matter of expedients”), this strategy is useful but it should not be depended on and it need not be trained because it comes naturally.

The final timing I would like to address in this section (of course there are other timing strategies and I will get there eventually) is “sen-sen-no-sen” timing. This timing is where the whole “karate ni sente nashi” concept becomes a little foggy. Properly applied, this is really going to look like the receiver started the fight or threw the first punch.  The theory behind “sen-sen-no-sen” timing is based on the fact that the human mind is really only capable of considering one thought at a time.  We can either defend or attack, but we are really not capable of committing to both at the same time. If you really think about it, the entire basis for karate training is all about this little weakness in the human psyche: we train repetitively to internalize as much of our skills as possible, trying to make them subconscious automatic reactions rather than conscious considered actions. Our true goal is to internalize as much of our technical training as much so we never have to consider the “how” of a technique and we only have to consider the “when”. Anyway, back to the kumite question. When you are faced off against an opponent, each circling, searching for an opening (kyo), we are usually in defensive mode, at a safe distance and in a full triangle guard. We are justsu and should have no obvious openings.  On the other hand, at some point one of the karateka is going to see his opportunity (“the crossing at the ford”) and attack. There will always be a slight change in his body language at that moment of commitment to attack. Boxers call this a “telegraph”, karateka should call this “kyo”.  Some guys change their breathing pattern (that’s me), some guys focus their eyes, while yet others change their footwork.  Everyone has these telegraphs, but the better fighters have either learned to minimize them or have learned to cover them with other apparently superfluous movements.  One good justification for maintaining constant movement during kumite is to cover your telegraphs with other actions.  Either way, the key is to pick up these telegraphs and “feel” the incoming attack rather than see it. That “feel” is your moment of kyo and you should attack at that instant (“ichi byo shi”).  Here are some drills for developing that feel.  Start off with the first move of Heian Shodan (or Pinan Nidan, or Tai kyoku Shodan for that matter): receiver is standing in shizentai-dachi facing front, personal radar up and ready, body under light tension (“tension-release” principle from Tsuruoka Sensei).  Initiator attacks from the left with any stepping-in body shot, full speed, full intent, no count.  The “defender”, to perform successfully, must catch the feel of the attack and drive in with a intercepting stop block, catching the attack practically at it’s early inception.  We have covered this drill a couple of times before, but I like to repeat the really worthwhile stuff.  The next drill is slightly more directly applicable to kumite.  Square off, both fighters in kumite stance at an appropriate fighting distance (right on the edge of the “deadly ground”.)  The initiator holds his hand crossed in front of his face, much like a standard juji-uke position. The receiver is in full, prepared guard, fully prepared to attack.  It is absolutely critical that this drill is done with full intensity and speed. There cannot be any count and the players must put themselves in the mind-set of a real match or, better yet, a life and death self defense scenario.  The initiator, without actually shifting forward, will snap his hands apart randomly, simulating an attack.  The initiator must visualize performing a shifting jab or reverse punch, much like the above drills, but do not shift in. If you do shift in, I can guarantee you will get hit hard because you opponent will be attacking with full intent and you will have absolutely no possible defense.  The receiver has only one job: sense the impending “attack” (the snapping apart of the arms) and fire in your reverse punch, attempting to get the punch into the target before the arms are uncrossed.  Typically if you do ten repetitions, an experienced karateka will have maybe one that is acceptable: acceptable is defined as your punch landed on target just as the initiator “thought” about snapping his arms apart. Of course this entire drill depends on people being honest on both sides of the drill, you need to admit when you “got caught” so your partner knows that he performed well, and you need to admit to yourself when you did not catch the feeling and just fired a punch in blindly.

All the above drills can be performed with just about any single attacking technique, one merely needs to apply your imagination and modify the drills to fit your requirements.  Over the years I have found a couple of weaknesses in the drills that should be addressed.  The first weakness is that people tend to cheat both themselves and their partners.  The pre-arranged nature of each drill tends to lead to complacency in both players; initiators start just hitting a thoughtless rhythm with their attacks and both initiator and defenders tend to ignore the realities of combat and fail to maintain correct fighting distance.  The instructor needs to be on guard against complacency and periodically stop the training and recharge the intensity levels.  Use frequent rotations of pairs, make sure everyone remembers to avoid rhythmic, predictable attacks, and keep all the interactions at full intensity throughout the drills.  As far as distancing goes, maybe allow receiver the freedom to either lightly attack spontaneously if the initiator is creeping too close, or just tell the receiver to reach out and touch the lead arm of his opponent if the initiator is ignoring proper distancing.  Either way, these may be drills but the players need to remember that they will fight as they train, so train as they should fight.

The next section will deal with initiating attacks or “kake waza” or it’s cousin “shikake-waza”. There will be tremendous overlap in these articles simply because time and timing are a continuous river rather than specific points.

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: first know your tools.

“The third way is the Way of the samurai, who must understand, among other things, that he must make his own weapons. He must become familiar  with the usage of each weapon as well. Without the knowledge of weapons and their proper usage, one cannot call oneself a true samurai”   Go Rin No Sho by Miyamoto Musashi, as translated by Hidy Ochiai 2001

As discussed in the last segment, the ultimate goal in kumite is the dominance of the opponent.  To truly dominate, the karateka must be able to flow from technique to technique with little conscious thought beyond the overall strategy.  Proficiency in kihon techniques must be acquired through dedicated training before the student can actually hope to apply any strategy in his kumite. Of course karateka of any level may score points and win matches, but often this amounts to little more than good luck or good athletics rather than good karate. ( addressed in the section”The intentional strike and the accidental contact”in Go Rin No Sho)  Our goal in karate should be to attain a level of proficiency such that every movement we make is contributing to our overall strategy for victory. 

Kumite skills can be broken down into two very broad classes: performance and strategy. Performance deals with the actual use of the kihon techniques and  involves training the techniques until the karateka has an instinctive knowledge of the capabilities of each technique or combination.  The assumption made with all the performance training is that the karateka is sufficiently trained in basic kihon drills that he can now start using those skills against a moving target.  Kihon training “builds” our tools, but we then have to know the uses and limitations of those tools. (thus the quote above) I will deal with strategy in subsequent sections.

You really cannot discuss kumite without discussing the concept of “maai”.  Some authors define this term simply as “distance”, but, as I understand it (with my very limited Japanese) the term encompasses the concept of both distance and time.  I compare this term to one of those brutal mathematics problems we all had to contend with in high school (or on our police academy entrance examination) where two trains leave opposing cities miles apart at the same time but travelling at different rates on the same track. The crux of the problem is “when or where  will they meet?”.  To solve this problem, the student has to know (or should be able to surmise) how far apart the cities are and how fast the trains are travelling to calculate the interception point.  Take this to karate now: two opponents separated by feet, each moving at their own rate and each attempting to collide with the other (hit each other).  Obviously the interception point between opponents is going to be a function of both the time it takes to complete an attack and the distance that attack has to travel. Maai is about time and distance.

In karate, the funny thing about maai is that it is different for each one of us: maai will vary dramatically because it is going to be a function of our own abilities combined with our own anatomical proportions. It is also going to vary according to our opponent’s movement, skill, and size.  In fact, the maai that we have to consider in kumite is actually three separate issues: your maai  in relation to the opponent, the opponent’s maai in relation to you, and the actual distance between the two of you.  Here is where I need to make a few definitions that may be specific just to myself. The first definition is “distance”. Distance is the measure of the interpersonal space between opponents at the beginning of an attacking technique. The attack distance will vary according to the technique used (ie: stepping-in kicks versus shifting-in punches) and the height of the opponent (long-legged tall critters cover one heck of a lot more ground than  stumpy-legged shrimps. Love it or hate it, the reach of your opponent really does make a difference). The second definition is “range”. Range is the interpersonal distance between two opponents at the finish of a technique.  The range will vary, again, with the technique used, but now will often be much more influenced by the extended length of the limbs of the attacker and the target on the opponent.  Basically the initial “distance” between players will define what attacks can or should be used and how long they will take to complete, while the range of each attack is an individual variable that it is crucial for each player to know if they expect to actually land a technique.   Consider how often you see students perform a stepping-in attack against a stationary target (heavy bag) only to either miss altogether or crash unceremoniously against the bag simply because they have no idea how far they need to be away from the target either at initiation  or completion of the attack . They just do not know how far they travel in a step nor how long their own limbs are.

Training distance and range is the first part of “performance” training and probably is the major justification of  the old five step and three step sparring drills.  I cannot imagine anyone that has not suffered through these drills, but, for those few gifted souls that missed these drills, here they are.  You pair off with an opponent. One of the pair does five or three sequential  specified stepping-in attacks to a specified target. The opponent steps back with each new attack and applies an appropriate block. On the last technique there may or may not be a counter-attack. These are very simple and likely tedious drills that should be introduced at the beginner level.  Most karateka hate these drills and consider them so hopelessly simple that they border on useless.  I was certainly one of those karateka  just a few years ago, until I actually did a little thinking about these drills and what they are training.

In the multi-step drills the attacker is learning both his distance and his range. He is getting to practice this repeatedly against a moving target. The value should be clear.  The defender, on the other hand, is getting both a feel of the distance of his attacker and the timing needed to intercept the incoming attack. The astute defender is going to notice the different distances between people of different statures, and hopefully start to recognize the futility of a linear retreat in the face of a full frontal attack. I find the multi-step drills excellent for exploring different facets of strategy as well: altering the rhythm and rate of the count often alters dramatically the feel of the drill. Often, for portions of the drill, I will use a counted rate of attacks. In the beginning I will use a metronomic, predictable count and allow the students get a feel for their opponent. As the students get into the drill, I will then pick up the rate of the count, forcing both the attackers to remain “on guard” and the defenders to move much faster to dodge the bullets.  Once I have people moving as if their life depended on getting in or getting away, then I might start breaking the count up, specifically trying to avoid any noticeable rhythm. Often the defenders start getting hit around this point as the strategy of “broken rhythm” starts coming to the front. 

Of course step-drill sparring is very rudimentary, but I no longer believe it should be relegated to “beginner level” drilling.  I remember reading an article by Sensei David Hooper out of Japan that described in detail the warm-up drills of his university karate team; the simple stepping-in sparring drills represented a major part of the team warm-up and often resulted in bloodied noses and fat lips if the students did not remain focused and within the moment. Certainly the drills can be used to explore distance and range, but they also provide ample opportunity to train speed and rudimentary strategy for the advanced belts.  The key to keeping these drills relevant is, once the students understand them clearly, to drill them as merely a small part of a training session and to drill them at close to full speed and intent.  The students should actually dread these drills for fear of getting hit rather than despise them due to tedium.  Instructors also need to briefly explain the point of these drills so the students can train with intent at every opportunity.  The five and three step drills also represent an example of the teaching concept previously mentioned in which we teach big and demonstrate big, but drill to apply smaller as the student learns.

A similar process has to be carried out for all our attacks, including the more common shifting-in attacks seen in kumite.  Pairs should take turns throwing various techniques at each other, one acting as merely a target while the other attacks. Drills should move from stationary exchanges of technique without any blocking, through stationary exchanges of technique with blocking, to moving exchanges of technique with or without blocking. The students need to learn to “dance”, playing with the interpersonal distance to find the optimal attack or defense point while both stationary or moving.  Of course, throughout these drills, other concepts of kumite will be drilled (timing, strategy etc. etc.), but it is of crucial importance that the students always attack on target and land each technique as close to target as possible without actually harming their partner.  Furthermore, for the simple reason of safety, make sure the students are always clear on who is attacking and who is receiving; full contact impact on simple distancing drills are hardly good for the health of either the students or the dojo.  One major issue I have with these “unopposed” drills where the “defender”  acts merely as a reciever is that the students often (almost always) start to creep in on their partner and attack from an unrealistic distance. This habit represents typical human laziness as the students realize that it is much easier to land a technique as they  close on their opponent. This shows a failure to understand the nature of actual sparring where you are just as likely to receive a blow as to give a strike.  The instructor has to constantly remind the students to respect the potential of their opponent and pretend that they may indeed choose to hit you first if you choose to creep into their range. The other option is to just tell people to reach out and give their attacker a little love-tap if they realize that the attacker has forgotten that potential (not a great idea for beginners)

Throughout my discussions of basic kihon, I repeatedly discussed the concept of linkage on techniques, using breathing, hikite and kime. I also touched base on the idea of alignment of technique and briefly on the concept of movement off the line of attack in tai sabaki.  These skills, at a rudimentary level, are best drilled with one step sparring.  I believe that one-step sparring can be introduced at beginner level, but is worthwhile even at black belt level, dependant on how intense and varied you choose to make the training. One step sparring gives us a chance, in a controlled environment, to explore alternative blocking, counter-attacks, timing and movement. Many people loudly criticize the artificial nature of pre-arranged sparring, but as an intellectual exercise to demonstrate fighting drills I cannot fault pre-arranged sparring.

The primary value of one step sparring, where the defender blocks and counterattacks a single, announced attack from either shizentai or from a “fighting” stance, is to practice linkage and, of course, counter-attack distance. Typically, the lower kyu ranked karateka will tend to concentrate on blocking the incoming attack as they step back. There is often a long pause after the block and, because of the emphasis on not getting hit, they are usually way too far from their opponent to successfully counter-attack.  They are missing the point altogether.  In my dojo I repeatedly emphasize that the only reason to block an incoming attack is to set up the counter-attack.  Truthfully, if you really do not want to get hit, the logical response to an attack is to run away; standing your ground and blocking is all about fighting. (“where there is fighting there is hitting” to paraphrase a dead Confederate General). The corollary to my “block only to hit” theory is that the block and the counter-attack must be linked and practically simultaneous.  Now we come full circle back to kihon basics: complete each technique with full hikite and kime but never pause at completion rather use your “one breath-two exclamation marks” abdominal pulse to link the block and counter. The emphasis on the block must be to intercept early, redirect the attack (rather than “block” it; the difference may be subtle, but it is crucial) and remain in range for an immediate counter-attack (usually a reverse punch, but anything goes as skills develop).  The entire process is all about timing and as such, we need not get fancy here: there is really no need for creative counters or fancy blocks because you are training the basic principles that, once perfected, allow any defense to work.  Of course, once a karateka has reached some proficiency at basics, he need to step out and try to get creative, as long as the final counter-attack would be a finishing blow.

Tai sabaki, while truly being a form of strategy, is worthwhile to discuss here in the performance section since it is as much about learning how to move to the optimal angle as it is about learning when to move to that angle.  The concept of “tai sabaki” is that you sidestep the incoming attack with your entire body and immediately counter. Theoretically, if done correctly, the movement off the attack line make any block superfluous and therefor the defender may concentrate on the counter attack only.  I want to revisit an idea that I mentioned before: weak axis and strong axis.  Assuming our attacker is well trained, he will always attack with his technique correctly aligned with the strong axis of whatever stance he may be using.  As a defender, we would prefer to avoid directly contesting this powerful attack vector and choose instead to step off the attack line.  Let’s also assume that we too know enough about karate to attack aligned along our strong stance axis, the question becomes where do we want to counter-attack?  In a perfect world we want to counter-attack along our strong axis and colliding against our attackers weak axis (90 degrees to the long axis of his stance).  This principle is hardly a new idea, Sun Tsu addressed it in “The Art of War”  twenty-five hundred years ago: avoid the enemy’s strength, attack with your strength against his weakness. In tai sabaki, the counter-attack is all about angles, weapons, and weak points.

Consider the opponent in  fighting stance, typically with one leg leading, lead hand at high guard, reverse  hand at abdomen guard or attack ready.  In attack the opponent is going to have an “inside” or frontal plane and an “outside” or rear plane. If we shift to the “inside” we will be facing his crotch, belly, and face, all excellent targets. We will also be facing his reverse punch, his front snap kick and we will be directly in his eye-line, allowing for a faster response to our defense. If we shift to the “outside” we will be facing the side of his head, his kidneys and ribs and he is open for a powerful leg attack.  In the “outside” position we are off his immediate eye-line and we will not be facing any potential aligned counter-counter attack without our opponent shifting his own position.  Typically, shifting to the outside, while not affording as many “juicy” targets, gives us a little more time to counter-attack because our opponent cannot bring any weapons on line easily.  We need to practice tai-sabaki, shifting in both potential directions in every possible way, playing with distances and weapons to expand our armament.

Sensei Ron Fagen, out of Halifax Nova Scotia has a nice drill for tai sabaki he calls the “ten steps”. We learn this drill using standard one step sparring where the defender starts in shizen-tai dachi, then we drill the student to shift in any one of ten directions in response to standard stepping-in attacks.  I prefer to keep the attacks consistent through the learning phase of this drill: stepping-in right handed face punch is as good as any attack. So what are the ten steps? Stepping straight back to the right and the left, using pure timing and blocking are the first two (tai sabaki only applies if you consider stepping away from a punch to be a form of tai sabaki. I do not).  Shifting to on a angle to the left or right (one will be shifting inside, the other outside. Make sure the students notice the difference) will be the next two. The third pair of movements will be rotating to the left or the right: on foot remains in place as a pivot while the other rotates across and behind to the chosen direction.  The students should notice the different feel between the linear blocks, the shifting tai sabaki and the rotation tai sabaki: the rotational movements will tend to give a feel of guiding the attack by us versus directly challenging the attack with our block.  Elmar Schmeisser does an excellent job of addressing this difference in his book “Advanced Karate-Do”. The fourth pair of movements are large shifts directly sideways, ninety degrees to the attack vector of the opponent. This movement renders any block practically redundant, but is quite difficult to perform successfully due to the large nature of the movement (larger shifts are harder to accomplish and easier to spot by our opponent.) Finally, the last pair of “inside-outside” steps consist of a rapid step into the incoming attack vector with a full rotation around that foot to “pass” the attack and end up behind the opponent.  I compare this avoidance of attack with the classical bull-fighters move “the veronica”. In a veronica the matador presents his body behind the cape as a target and then rotates in spot around the points of the bull’s horns at the last moment, leading the bull past him with a floursish of the cape and ending up behind the bull, safe from the lethal attacking horns.  This particular form of tai sabaki is obviously very difficult and requires tremendous amounts of training and lots of luck to perform successfully. Once the students have the basic concepts, obviously this entire drill has to be upgraded by introducing  alternative attacks, doing it from stationary fighting stance and while moving, or, finally, training with free sparring but requiring the heavy use of tai-sabaki.

One drill for tai sabaki that I find to be fun and quite worthwhile is what I call “flow training’.  For this drill to be successful, you need to make sure the entire class understands that the point of the drill is not “winning” or “scoring” but is really all about maintaining a continual flow between the pair where no contact is ever really possible.  I start off the pair facing each other in standard fighting stance (whatever that means to your club or style). The initiator calls a single attack by announcing both technique and target. The defender acknowledges the call (perhaps the only good use for Ossu), and the initiator immediately attacks.  The defender then shifts and blocks WITHOUT any counter-attack. Both players now freeze in position, they do not shift, shiver or step. The defender now calls an appropriate attack from his new position, and attacks as soon as his partner acknowledges the new attack. The partner shifts, blocks and they both freeze.  The sequence is attack-shift/block-new attack. There are no counter attacks in this drill; it is not about counter-attacking but it is about shifting off the line of an incoming attack.  As the players get the concept mastered, the pace must pick up dramatically: attacks must be called and acknowledged fast and they must be made at full speed and intent. Now, where are we going here? The first level of learning here will be “where can I go to avoid this attack successfully and leave my opponent at a disadvantage?”. The second level of learning will be “where can I go to avoid this attack, leave my opponent at a disadvantage, and allow me to make my own devastating attack”. The third level of learning, which may come either before or after the second level, will be “what technique is best used from this particular position and distance in relation to my opponent?”. Finally, the student will hopefully get to the point of “where can I move to avoid attack and place myself in position to use any attack I choose?” The students should be encouraged to use unique shifts to avoid attack and to utilize alternative techniques appropriate to the position and distance they find themselves after the shift. Done properly this “dance” should flow quickly and smoothly and resemble something like a Hollywood martial arts fight.  It really is fun, though the urge to “win” which always tends to rear it’s ugly head will ruin the drill.

One training drill that can be used to combine kata with kumite is yakusuku kumite. This form of training is highly formalized pre-arranged kumite using specific sequences from various kata to defend against a series of various attacks.  Fagan Sensei combines this with his ten step training, altering the various kata combinations to fit the various directional shifts.  An example might be the first combination in Heian (Pinan) godan: inside block, reverse punch.  The first two combinations would be shift directly back left side and right side.  The second combination would be shift to the inside or the outside. The third combination, using rotation to avoid,  the block would have to be altered somewhat to actually work: perhaps something along the line of doing a “flowing” inside block with the gyaku hand, followed immediately with a jab off the front hand. This has the same basic intent as the kata, but we have altered the techniques to fit the tai-sabaki shift.  The 90 degree shifts are exactly like the kata, but perhaps the counter-attack technique would have to be altered to deal with the altered distance.  The final pair of shifts, the step into  and rotate behind the opponent, perhaps the timing of the block would be altered to occur as you stepped through the attack, using the block to actually ricochet your body off the opponent’s attack. The point of this training is to not only explore kata application, but to get the student to play with alternative weapons and techniques in kumite rather than just depend on the standard few we routinely see in competition.  Of course there is a reason we see a limited number of techniques in competition: survival of the fittest.  Competition kumite, controlled by rules and referees, limits the both the number of potential attacks that are actually worthwhile. On the other hand, in self defense situations the potential attacks and situations are only limited by ones imagination and the laws of physics. Self-defense training demands that we perfect a few very effective techniques for use in any and every situation. Yakusuku kumite is what this is all about.

Perhaps the most difficult skill to learn, at least for me, is the ability to remain focused and “in the moment” during sparring, always poised to react to the slightest action of my opponent. The Japanese term for this skill is zanshin, and this is perhaps the most valuable skill one can accrue from karate; the ability to act and react clearly and appropriately under stress.  The first levels of this training can be done with a series of basic drills done at white belt level that basically amount to little more than the childhood game of “Simon Says”.  The first part of zanshin training is done while simply doing the standard marching line drills we all do while practicing kihon. It needs to be emphasized that the students must react to the count immediately but they should not anticipate the count and “jump the gun”.  The count represents and attack and we need to train ourselves to cue off the count with the same snap response we would have to a real attack.  Use this same training rule for kata training when you do kata “to the count”.  Break the count up periodically, avoiding the typical metronomic count we all tend to fall into.  Take the drill a step farther and start barking out orders in broken rhythm, sometimes calling for a step forward, other times asking for a step back, sometimes asking for a technique in place. Keep on pushing the limit of the students, asking for ever increasing and variable skill levels, always faster and with greater intensity.  Here I want to step back to the kata drill I discussed in the section on “eye-line”,  using good old Heian Shodan as a template.  Pair the students off in sparring pairs and have one stand in shizentai dachi while the other performs an unannounced stepping-in attack from the left side. The key here is to remain absolutely focused on picking up the hidden telegraphs of our attacker with our peripheral vision (remember that our peripheral vision is better for picking up movement as compared to our central vision) and reacting as soon as we “feel” the imminent attack.  Of course this drill explores all sorts of other elements of karate, but the most important element demonstrated has to be zanshin.

Toru Shimoji of Atlanta, Georgia has a series of drills that are very worthwhile for training zanshin.  I find these drills to be very demanding and, frankly, fraught with danger for solid contact.  I am not sure that students much below the level of brown belt will get much out of them besides fat lips and bloodied noses, but properly done they really do give the karateka an sharply honed edge in kumite. These drills are deceptively simple, but they really must be done at full speed and power to get much out of them. There must be a real sense of danger to help the student “turn on  the juice”.  Again, it must be emphasized that the players are not to try to win or score, but to remain strictly within the constraints of the drill. All these drills are done from fighting stance, shifting in using the internal lift principle for shifting rather than bouncing or stepping.

Pair off and select one karateka to be initiator while the other is responder (this is the easiest way to think for this drill). Initiator shifts in jab to the face while the responder merely acts as a target, neither moving nor blocking.  Once the punch is completed, the initiator slowly, without changing his position, draws his hands back to a loaded guard position.  At the very instant that the initiator reaches “guard” the responder explosively shifts back away from the initiator. At this stimulus the initiator must immediately, without hesitation, shift-in with a reverse punch to the abdomen. The responder must remain zanshin to be able to shift back the instant that his partner reaches guard, while the initiator must remain zanshin to attack the instant his partner shifts back.  Follow this drill immediately with this next step.  The initiator again shifts in jab, but in this case the responder shifts back immediately on the attack. The initiator must then again attack immediately with a reverse punch. Drill both of these repeatedly to set the tone and establish a pattern. Now throw a wrench in the works by mixing the two drills up.  The responder may now either shift back immediately on the jab or stand his ground. The initiator must respond appropriately with the corresponding drill pattern. The key here is that the initiator forms a sort of binary code decision tree that is something like GO or NOT GO. This drill is very simple, but really is very difficult if you are honest with yourself (and lets face it, karate is all about self development; you might as well quit now if you cannot be true to yourself).  Now step up the drill again: the responder may now simply shift away (initiator follows in with an immediate attack) or the responder may choose to block the jab and counter-attack. The initiator should block the counter-attack. Now the decision tree becomes ATTACK of DEFEND for the initiator.  Once that level is mastered, add in the first option so the initiator has one of three possible scenarios that he may encounter.  Finally, add in option four: the responder shift away from the jab immediately, to which the initiator is supposed to immediately reverse punch. The alteration in this case is that the responder now may block the reverse punch of the initiator and counter-attack. Obviously the initiator now must immediately block the final counter-attack once he realizes his reverse punch has been deflected by his partner.  Drill these separately and drill them together, but always drill them at full speed and intent. 

Now, for a real boost to both kumite and kata, do any of the kumite drills for a set number of repetitions, then have the students perform one kata at full speed and power as a side by side pair.  The point here is to have the intensity and zanshin of the kumite drills to “bleed” over into the kata. I truly believe that kata training, done correctly, can benefit kumite and vice-versa. The key here is to practice kihon, kata and kumite with equal intensity and focus so that each may “bleed” over into the others. This all brings us back to the original concepts of intent and Zen in karate that I addressed much earlier.

The final section of the kumite segment of my creation will be “strategy”.  I do not pretend to be a master strategist, I am merely a master of the drills.  I know I have said it before, but I will say it again: go read “Go Rin No Sho” by Musashi. Heck, you can even find a free copy out on the Internet (not to mention any number of sites dedicated to it’s interpretation) While you are at it read a copy of “The Art of War” (Ping Fa) by Sun Tsu. Combined, both will give you everything you need to understand real fighting strategy as long as you keep your mind open and see all the potential meanings behind the text.  What follows is merely a set of drills designed to develop a feel for strategic timing. Timing is everything in fighting (as in life).

KATA FOLLOWS FUNCTION: kumite; the when and the why

“karate ni sente nashi”  (there is no first hand in karate)  Funakoshi Gichen, “The Twenty Precepts of Karate-do

” In facing an enemy with a sword in your hands, it is crucial that you intend to cut the enemy, no matter what.You may block your opponent’s sword, you may strike it, touch it, push it or simply parry it, but these actions are simply a setup for the main purpose of cutting your opponent down”  “the attitude-no attitude teaching” in the Water Book of Go Rin No Sho by Miyamoto Musashi.

The two quotes above, while discussing different topics and actually addressing different concepts,  still seem to contradict each other.  Funakoshi Sensei appears to be suggesting some sort of Christian “turn the other cheek” approach to life, while Musashi is appears to be promoting some sort of Machiavellian “the end justifies the means” approach to conflict.  My take on this is “no” the first and “yes” to the second.  I believe “karate ni sente nashi” is actually imploring the karateka to avoid conflict whenever possible and to never look for fights simply for the sake of fighting.  I do not for a second believe that Funakoshi Sensei is telling us to always allow the other guy to swing first; that  strategy of reactive rather than pro-active and by definition it is weak.  Musashi, on the other hand, is not suggesting mindless aggression but he is suggesting a pro-active strategy in which every movement in a fight is serving the greater strategy of eventual victory. Musashi spent most of his life fighting for survival in hundreds of live blade contests while Funakoshi was a school teacher.   In my opinion Musashi has better credentials with regards to fighting, so I will tend to quote him heavily throughout the sections I will dedicate to kumite.

Let’s start with some full disclosure: I really am poor at sport kumite.  Just about anyone can and has scored on me .  Perhaps my very failure at kumite has led me to study it closely and learn just about every drill you can imagine to improve my performance.  Unfortunately, it is probably my intellectual study of kumite that has destroyed my kumite: I am thinking about strategy while my opponent is punching my lights out.  Thinking while fighting is not conducive to winning.  On the other hand, I am also a very solidly built fellow and my rabid pit-bull approach to kumite has severely limited my pool of potential opponents: lots of people may have scored on me, but,having survived one encounter,  none of them have ever asked for a rematch. 

Coming back to the concept of “basic principles” of karate.  I defined a principle as “a concept that always holds true, regardless of the situation”.  I personally believe that there is one, and only one, principle in kumite: your goal in every match must be to lead your opponent.  Note how I said that: “lead your opponent”.  I am not suggesting that you must be the aggressor or that you must hit first; I am suggesting that absolutely everything you do in a kumite match must serve your strategy while eroding that of your opponent. The concept of “taking the lead” must be the guiding principle of kumite; allowing the opponent to always initiate and lead is a deficient and weak strategy in which you will always be playing catch-up and will likely eventually get caught. Of course, the term “taking the lead” can be interpreted in many apparently contradictory ways.

The key issue we all need to understand is the term “kyo”, which is a very nice Japanese term for vulnerable to attack.  The opposite of “kyo” would be “jitsu”, or on guard.  Any successful attack needs the opponent to be in a state of “kyo” to succeed; if they are truly are prepared for our attack, they will capably defend it and likely counter-attack successfully. Obviously, the perfect goal of kumite must be to for ourselves to remain constantly in a state of jitsu, while capitalizing on every moment of kyo in our opponent.  We also need to recognize that there are three types of “kyo”: avoidable natural kyo, unavoidable natural kyo, and created kyo.  By understanding this important point, the capable karateka can develop an entire strategy and training program around it.

Avoidable natural kyo is almost always due to a momentary loss of intent and focus on the part of the karateka.  The most common form of avoidable natural kyo has to be pure loss of focus.  Examples of this would be the opponent who daydreams while sparring. I would be a perfect example of this; while sparring I tend to plan and strategize, losing myself in my plans for brief moments. Unfortunately, those brief moments often leave me open to attack; my opponent recognizes a slight pause in my focus, a lift in my stance and a failure to react appropriately as they adjust their distance into a lethal range. Often, by the time I have come back to the mats, my opponent has crept inside my defenses and can launch just about any attack successfully.  All of us can remember matches that we lost by that mystical, “came out of nowhere” punch; we were daydreaming and our opponent “crossed at the ford” when he spotted our lapse.  Perhaps a more subtle form of this lapse is when ourselves or our opponent fails to maintain an appropriate distance as the fighting heats up; often we see fighters closing the gap as tensions build, but neither recognizing the potential for attack.  I have all sorts of pictures of kumite where either fighter was in a clear position for a successful take-down or sweep, but neither attempted to do so because both were concentrating on simply exchanging punches. Clearly to miss a devastating technique such as a sweep is a mental loss of kyo.  Another example of “avoidable kyo” would be the fighter who loses his cool and becomes too reactive to the opponent.  Consider the “hyper-reactive” fighter who jumps at every feint, blocks at every move or attacks at the slightest provocation.  This type of fighter is easily led and easily flustered.  When I face someone like this, I have found it to be quite worthwhile to just loudly “kiai” out of the blue and attack when my opponent startles and reacts. I am merely taking advantage of their natural weakness and that is all part of taking the lead.  On the other hand, another form of natural kyo would be a temporary loss of balance; a slip on the floors or mats.  We see this often, especially during a long match when the floor is getting a bit slippery with sweat.  Often, when one fighter slips and is left open, his opponent fails to recognize a clear opportunity and capitalize.  Both these actions are moments of kyo: the man who slips is physically kyo while the man who stands still and fails to attack is mentally kyo.  Finally, I would say that physical or mental exhaustion are forms of avoidable natural kyo; both can be successfully overcome by fitness and proper training ( breath control maybe??).

 

Unavoidable natural kyo is a term that many karateka absolutely fail to recognize; many believe that they can maintain absolute readiness no matter what the circumstances.  Unfortunately, this inability to recognize this gap in our defenses both leaves us open to attack and deprives us of a potential for attack.  The truth of the matter is that there is a gap between absolutely every technique and movement we make: we are essentially kyo when we are in transition.  In my mind I see two different illustrations of this concept: a common zipper on clothing and an ocean wave.  The zipper analogy would look like this: each tooth on the zipper would represent a technique at full kime, where the fighter is fully loaded and prepared (and about to) fire into another technique. The space between each tooth becomes that point of transition where the fighter is committed and moving into a follow up technique.  The key for each fighter is to spot those gaps in techniques and either minimize their own gaps or capitalize on their opponent’s gaps. The ocean wave analogy  is very similar in visuals: the peaks of the waves would represent moments of complete readiness while the troughs would represent open moments of transition between the peaks.  Now take this back to application in kumite.  The first point of transition in the enemy might be that moment when the opponent mentally shifts from defense mode to attack mode. If one recognizes that moment (perhaps our opponent has a telegraph such as he changes his breathing pattern or he fails to use “tension-release” training and he has to wind up each technique) you can often attack at that moment successfully. This is an example of that much sought after “sen sen no sen” timing: attacking just as our enemy forms the intent to attack.  The second point of transition might be during the flow of the first attack: the opponent commits to an attack and we, anticipating that attack, respond with our defense with interception timing. The key point here is that I am not discussing either a block or a strike, I am merely discussing intercepting the incoming attack with a technique of your own as the enemy is on their way in.  This timing might be an example of sen timing (simultaneous attack or ai-uchi) or early go-no-sen timing.   Another point of natural kyo might be merely when the karateka is shifting or stepping: while you are moving it is very difficult or impossible to alter direction which leaves you open to an attack timed to hit you in flight.  The best example of this might be the fool who tries to launch a jumping kick in competition: once he is in flight he can hardly shift his vector to avoid a well timed counter-attack. The  final transition point comes between techniques: jab-punch, block-punch, kick-punch, punch-block or simply attack and shift to guard.  No matter what, no matter how good you think you are, those transition points are there, ready to be exploited.

Once the fighter recognizes the presence of unavoidable natural kyo, he can train himself to minimize his own kyo points.  Now here is where I really feel vindicated in writing this text: by correct basic training you can minimize kyo while maximizing effective techniques.  For example, the second transition point I discussed above, the initiation of the first attack technique, is an illustration of where proper, dedicated basic training becomes essential. In basic training not only does the fighter learn how to move very quickly with little telegraphing (thus shortening the transition) we also learn the most effective range and distance for our techniques.  If we know our distancing instinctively then we not only know the most effective distance to attack from to keep our transition period to a minimum, we also learn the most effective defense distance to hopefully maximize the enemy’s transition period. Consider the proper use of breathing, hikite and kime.  I discussed the concept of kime being merely a infinitely small moment of time at which the technique is finished and the body is poised, ready to perform the next technique. We literally bounce out of one technique and into the next. releasing our potential energy from the loaded hikite. Everything we do in the technical end of training feeds into the applications end of training by narrowing that gap between techniques. It all starts with the concept that the finish of one technique is merely the beginning of the next.  The speed of the techniques not only increases the power and effectiveness of their impact, it shortens the distance between the wave peaks.  We need to train our kihon with this intent in mind.  We also need to consider those “gaps” carefully as they represent the openings in the opponents defenses and our opportunity for attack.

The gaps or transition points represent opportunity and the strategist not only should how to consider taking advantage of those gaps, he should consider how to extend those gaps to increase his window of opportunity.  The majority of the strategies and training drills I will likely cover over the next several segments will have to deal with either creating or extending the natural gaps in our opponent’s defenses.  We need to create kyo; to do this we need to take advantage of both normal human nature and the individual nature of our opponent. Hopefully I will touch base on any number of topics and match a drill with each of those topics. On the other hand why would you read the comics when you can appreciate a masterpiece? I wholly recommend that every serious fighter read and digest “Go Rin No Sho” by Miyamoto Musashi .  I personally have FIVE translations. The best versions I have found to be either the direct translation by Victor Harris (Overlook Press, 1974) or the annotated version by Hidy Ochiai(Overlook Press 2001). There are hopelessly trashy versions out there too, so look out. There are many people that try to read more into “Go Rin No Sho” than is really there; it is best to remember that this was a book dictated by an ailing old hermit in a wet, dark, cold cave to a fawning student.  Musashi was not a complicated philosopher, he was a war hardened killer of men, so he most likely meant literally what he said rather than some deeper concepts. I also recommend a read of “The Art of War” by Sun Tsu.  This does not apply very well to karate, but it is absolutely worthwhile to compare and contrast the two manuals of strategy and realize that the strategy of the individual can and does apply to the many if you can think outside the envelope.

Before we leave this introduction to kumite altogether, I would like to address one last time the concept that “karate ni sente nashi” does NOT mean that we should let every opponent throw the first punch before we defend ourselves.  I believe the nature of the first five kata the Shotokan style learns pretty much contradicts that concept. The astute karateka will notice that each of these kata start with a block. Not just any block though; this is a stepping-in or intercepting block. Each of these introductory kata (Heian kata one through five) is actually introducing, in no uncertain terms, the concept of early interception of an attack with a “stopping” block. In fact, the first movement in these beginner’s kata could actually be considered to be a “sen” timing attack rather than a block: the opponent dares to initiate an attack and the karateka defends himself with a pre-emptive interception of the attack early in the transition period.  This strategy cannot be reactive defense where the fighter awaits the overt attack, this strategy is a pro-active defense where the fighter anticipates the attack and intercepts it early on the incoming vector, reacting off the unconscious telegraphs of the enemy rather than the overt movement.  The nature of the Heian kata make my point for me: the primary strategy of karate is that of taking the lead from the start of the conflict.  We start training the strategy from our first class; it’s unfortunate we often do not recognize this fact until very late in our training.