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Kata Training: Part One There have been many articles and books written on kata training. There are as many different beliefs about this form of training as there are species of living organisms. It is to the very basic traditional view that I will express my views on this subject. Kata training is essential to the development of your karate. It is the essence of your karate. All basic techniques are developed in the proper training of kata along with the proper breathing, balance, and spirit (ki) that are essential elements for each kata. We Westerners are rookies to the martial arts and have turned them into mostly sporting events which do not embrace the true essence and values of karate. Kata was developed in India and China long before it reached Okinawa and later Japan. On its surface level there must at the very least be something of value in it. Unfortunately most students and I'm sorry to say, instructors here in the United States, believe that kata are basically just a set form of standard moves to help train the basics. This belief but scratches at the surface of kata training. If you train in a traditional karate school that can trace its lineage back to a master from Okinawa or China, and your instructor is still training under that lineage, than your chances of training kata correctly are very high indeed. Kata are not just a set or sequence of moves. Books or Videos in no way can teach anyone a kata. Books and videos do not explain breathing, body shifting, balance of weight, and correct speed and motion. Furthermore, kata must be learned at different levels until all of even the tiniest of movements are refined to their best form. If your instructor is training continuously with his or her senior instructor, and they stress the kata in your particular style of karate, than you have a good chance of learning the true essence of karate. Kata were not developed by the "Masters" for fun and games. There must be a deeper reason why they exist. If you belong to a traditional style of karate and prove yourself to your instructors through your long and hard training and dedication, you will be taught more about each kata that you have learned along your way up the kyu grades. One can never master a kata or truly know a kata. Know that this is the single most important practice that you can do. Practice your kata relentlessly everyday. Practice each move in your mind. Physically go through the kata fast and slow. Do them totally relaxed and do them totally tight. Visualize the kata before you do them. Do them in a small area to practice in and in a large area. The point is to do them over and over and over again. Then let your instructors help you refine them.
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