| Kata shows all flaws in all schools | |||||||
| by BUDDY AMATO | |||||||
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Many people, when they hear the words martial arts/Karate, immediately think of punching and kicking/fighting, or, worse yet, breaking boards. As a matter of fact, I recently watched, at a demo in the area, an instructor, who in his attempt to wow the audience, break what looked like, tom and many others, wafer thin, cracker-like boards that a newborn, if placed on it would have fallen through it! This is so far from the truth for the reasons I will explain in this column. The art of kata was originally created by the Chinese to help hide their art of fighting. They concealed the are of their ancient animal forms by making them look like they were doing a dance. These forms/katas, at this time were called short and long forms. They would mimic animals fighting skills by putting them together into long and short patterns that resembled something that, to the untrained eye, looked like an elaborate dance. These patterns actually were preset fighting movements against multiple attackers. Each movement had a block and strike or an evasive skill that, if studied was a fight against opponents that in fact were not there. These forms or preset drills varied in length, from a minute to two minutes and some even five minutes. As the martial arts spread, each country of origin created their own type of patterns. This was important later on in the martial arts because it kept the martial artists honed and allowed them to practice without really hurting themselves or someone else. Katas today, have become a very important pat of martial arts training. Without the art of kata, you cannot really say you are teaching the real art. Many schools have different styles of katas and many schools even add and change the forms to suit their specific needs. There is nothing wrong with this practice as long as you try to keep the original ideas still intact. To give you an example, the kata is from the system of Isshinryu and is one of the oldest katas known today. It is practiced all over the world, including my dojo/school. This same kata, when adapted by the Japanese was changed and then called Hungitsu. The only real changes were that Saison had low front kicks in it, but the Japanese took them out and added blocks and punches in their place, but the pattern itself stayed the same. This happened with many katas in other countries, and other martial artists made changes that were more adaptable to their students. Some of the changes stuck and some did not. To give you and example, I like the changes that were made in the Saison kata, but I still teach the original to my students. But, some of the students like the changed verison, so I incorporate both versions, and both katas are accepted in my system The most basic kata of them all is called th "I" kata or kata Ichi, this translates to kata number one. This kata, when performed, traces the letter capital "I" and if you look at if from the side, looks like the letter "H". this kata has been accepted by almost every style of martial arts known today. It is a simple kata that beginners can lean, but at the same time, you can add to it to make it as complicated as you wish. I recently ran a benefit that many other fine martial arts schools performed at. It was great to watch the many different variations of the art called kata, especially when as myself, you can recognize the changes that hundred of years has made on the different styles. The martial arts forms/katas art truly ageless, and an important part of any martial arts school. To ignore it, or not to teach it is like going to school without your mind. One major thing to watch out for, when trying to understand what type of a school you wish to train at, is no matter what school/dojo it is the basics are always constant. The student should always look sharp when performing any kata, and his focus should remain on the striking or blocking area that the attack is coming from. If the student is allowing his head and his eyes to drift, or his balance is obviously off throughout the kata, then either the instructor needs to reevaluate himself, or the student should seek other training facilities. Grandmaster Buddy Amato operates Amato's Karate and Weapons Academy, 589 Palmer Avenue, West Keansburg and is the author of Buddys Animal Kingdom. For more information, call (732) 671-9555.
Copyright Buddy Amato Amato's Goju-ryu Karate, Nunchaku, Bo-staff, Aikido, Sword, Kendo, Sais, Kick-boxing, Tai-Chi and more 589 Palmer Ave, Keansburg and is the author of Buddys Animal Kingdom, NJ 07734 (732) 671-9555 |
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